Page 55 of Promise You Forever

LUKE

Eli has been gone most of the day which has given me time to do a deep dive on reorganizing the tack room. Paul was pretty set in his ways on how it was when he was still in charge. Even when he let me take over most of the responsibilities, he still preferred things to stay the same. It makes sense now, less confusing for him as his memory slipped away.

“Hello?” an unfamiliar male voice calls from just outside the tack room.

The sight that greets me when I step out is as unwelcome as it gets. Eli’s ex-fiancé stands looking laughably out of place in a suit and tie, one hand shoved in his pocket and the other holding his phone. Even his stance is pompous.

“I’m looking for Eliana,” he says when I say nothing to greet him.

“And you are?” The best way to fuck with guys like this is to insult their ego.

“Her fiancé.”

I smirk. He clearly didn’t hear her when she ended their engagement. It doesn’t even occur to me that she could be lying because she would never.

“Oh, right. Billy. She’s not here.”

“Name’s Brandon. When will she be back?”

“Don’t know.” I shrug. “I’m not her babysitter.”

“Just the hired help, right?”

“Well, Eli’s fiancé, she'll be back sooner or later, I’d assume.” His words don’t even phase me.

“It’s just as good that she’s not here yet.” He smiles and waves as a black sedan pulls up. “I have a realtor coming to look at the ranch.”

She’s going to lose her shit when she finds out. I wait for him to walk away and pull my phone out of my pocket to text her.

Your fiancé is here with a realtor

Might want to come take care of him

What????

On my way

I walk out to where the two of them are shaking hands and chatting. I’m sticking close by because watching Eli rip this asshole into shreds will be the highlight of my week.

“I’ll give y’all a tour if you want. Might help having someone knowledgeable about the lay of the land with you.” I give my voice a little extra good ol’ boy twang.

“Yeah, that’d be great,” the realtor introduces himself to me, but I don’t take note of his name. He’s not local, and he won’t be selling the ranch, so it doesn’t matter anyway.

I start the tour at the back of the property, near the cattle pasture. They ask questions about the size of the ranch, property lines, and infrastructure. All the basics you would need to know if you were going to sell the property.

It’s not until we get up to the main house that I hear Eli’s car pulling up the drive. She gets out of the car, slamming the door, and beelines it for us. I can see the angry set of her brows as she walks up to the three of us.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asks.

“I’m out here looking at the property you’d like to sell.” The real estate agent tries to introduce himself, but she holds up a hand, stopping him.

“I’m not selling, I’m sorry you were told otherwise.”

He looks back and forth between her and Brandon, trying to figure out who is in charge. Discomfort is etched in his features as he takes a step back and then glances at me. I just give him a shrug, fighting back a smile at the enraged look on Eli’s face.

“Here’s my card, I’ll give you a call when we have all this figured out.” Brandon shakes the guy’s hand, a pleasant expression on his face.

They stand there while the realtor gets in his car and drives off before Eli whirls on him. “I cannot believe you.”

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