Page 73 of The Billionaire Land Baron

“Slim!” Greg called. Slim appeared in the doorway between the room and the garage. “Can you bring out the car?” Slim didn’t look at Jake.

He passed a piece of paper over to Jake showing line items of what they did. The total was more than triple what Jake thought it would be. “Um, okay.” He glanced at Greg, who was smiling now. But not in a friendly way. Maybe he didn’t just know about Shelby, but everything. Did the whole town know? He swallowed and passed over his credit card.

“Thank you. Enjoy your ride home,” Greg said.

Jake couldn’t find any words, so simply nodded and left.

He stood out front for a moment, waiting for his car, shuffling his foot along the sidewalk. He noticed that there were a lot of people out today. A few of the garage guys were out front, but didn’t speak to him. Across the street by the diner, there were half a dozen people standing out front, then more on down Main Street, all looking like they were waiting for something.

The purr of the engine caught his ears and he turned toward the garage. As Layla nosed out and pulled in front of him, he blinked, not sure what he was seeing.

Slim got out, slamming the door, engine still running. He slapped a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Got you a little something extra there, buddy. For Shelby.”

He laughed and went to stand by the other guys in front of the garage as Jake stared.

Layla’s electric blue paint had been completely covered in graffiti. Not even car paint, but it looked like a mix of spray paint and house paint. All kinds of colors that didn’t match and things like peace signs and smiley faces. Covered. The whole thing.

He heard the sound of snickers surrounding him. Slim, arms crossed in front of his chest, met his gaze boldly, as though daring Jake to say something. More laughter up the street. Heads turned. That’s why they were all lined up, Jake realized. They were watching for him to leave Lucky.

His deal failed, he lost the girl, and in the middle, had turned an entire town against him.

Head down, Jake got behind the wheel. He didn’t want to think about what it would cost to repaint Layla, or what it would be like to drive her on the highways looking like this. She already drew attention, but now it would be double, and not the normal kind. But Jake felt like he deserved it. Or maybe worse.

It wasn’t the car so much as the rejection that got to him. He shouldn’t care so much what anyone in Lucky thought of him. Just Shelby. But somehow, knowing that they’d all turned against him for the land deal, seeing their faces smirking as he drove slowly down Main Street in his defaced car, he knew it did matter. It mattered a lot, because Lucky was Shelby. They had her back. They were her people. And if they were rejecting him, so would she.

His pride was already dead, so he only had one more stop to make before he went to see about Shelby. It was just a car. It was just paint.

But it was so much more. It was everything.

Daddy stoodin the doorway as Shelby packed. “You don’t need to go, sweetheart.”

“Yes, I do, actually.”

“We don’t want you to.”

“We? Really, Daddy? You and I—we were the we. WE were. She gave up being a part of that years ago.”

He sighed, leaning up against the doorframe. She realized that he was wearing his leg. It was one of the first times in a long time she remembered seeing him do it without her having to ask. “Sweetie, we were always waiting for her to come back. You and I. And she did. She’s here now and you can’t ignore that. You shouldn’t. We’re a family. We. The three of us.”

“Three’s a crowd,” she said. “Just let me pack. I’ll be gone soon and then you can do your we thing. Have fun figuring out the house stuff. Let me know what you decide and where you go.”

“Shel…”

“Daddy, just let me go!” Her voice choked with tears as she zipped up her suitcase.

“I always wanted you to travel. That’s why we got the Airstream. I just don’t like how you’re doing it. When and why. It’s ugly. You don’t want to leave this hanging between you and your mama.”

“I didn’t want a lot of things, but I didn’t have a choice. I have a choice about this and I’m going.”

“Is this about something else? Is this about Jake?”

“This has nothing to do with Jake! Forget Jake! He doesn’t care about me and he doesn’t matter. Daddy,” she pleaded. “Please just let me go.”

He stepped aside and she gave him a brief hug as she carried her suitcase from the room. He didn’t say anything else and she caught the wetness in his eyes, but did not stop. She couldn’t. She had to go.

Her mama stood in the middle of the living room, near her father’s chair. Shelby met her eyes for a moment, without meaning to, then pointedly looked away. There was too much vulnerability there. She had to harden herself to walk on by to the front door and out. No goodbye.

Matt stood outside with his truck, the Airstream hitched to it. “You sure about this?” he said, not looking happy.

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