Page 84 of Cabin Fever

My gaze flickered over to where Olivia and Tyler sat. They were still talking and hadn't heard Austen.

"You know who I am? Who I'm related to?" I leaned forward, whispering.

"Yes. The bank manager before me took me aside just before he left and explained everything. He told me not to tell anyone. I remember that day. What happened to your mother and sister . . . I never had a chance to tell you how sorry I am." He reached forward and placed his hand on my shoulder.

Irritation caused me to stiffen but when I looked up into his gray eyes, it was like looking into a mirror. Pain flickered back at me and I wondered if he understood that kind of heartache. He moved here about two years ago, and I knew nothing of his past. I wondered if something had happened to him that brought him here. Something as broken as the events that brought me here.

"Thank you."

He gave my shoulder a squeeze and let go. "Have you looked over the will before?"

I shook my head. When my father died, I holed myself up in the cabin for weeks. The lawyer kept dropping by and left paperwork, but I would stupidly tear it up in my grief. I was lost. My sheep and Kitty were the only creatures that brought me back to life.

"No. I guess I should. How long do I have?"

"Until Monday. Why don't you stop by the bank tomorrow?"

I nodded, accepting the inevitable. Either way, I was screwed. If the money transferred back to my family in DC, they would realize my father had been alive for two decades. They'll be sure to believe that I'm alive and come looking for me.

If I signed the paperwork and the transfer goes through, I'm sure to find a journalist hanging around the bank at some point. At least with the latter scenario, I could avoid the reporters. But if my family found out, there would be no way I could avoid them.

"You two look like you're having an interesting conversation," Olivia said staring at us.

"Just bank account stuff," I said and lifted my menu.

"Speaking of bank accounts, I don't see Emily. She's usually here on Wednesdays." Tyler glanced around just as Debbie showed up.

"You can thank Carter for stealing my new hire. I guess the girl likes sheep more than our coffee and pancakes."

"Impossible! Someone would choose Carter over Fire and Ice?" Tyler slid his eyes to me and quirked his lips.

I really didn't like Tyler.

"She gave notice on Saturday. Seems she grew up on a farm," Debbie said and glared at me as if it was my fault where Emily was raised.

"What I'd like to know is, how come all the new, pretty ladies that come to town always end up at Carter's cabin? Do you have a cult that I don't know about?"

I was about to tell Tyler where he could stick his snarky remarks before Olivia did it for me.

"Dr. Ferguson, you do realize Carter's a sheep farmer?" she said, staring at him.

"Of course. I come out to his farm all the time to check on the sheep."

"Then you know what they say about sheep farmers, right?"

Tyler looked skeptical, but said, "No. What do they say about sheep farmers?"

"That sheep farmers get shit done."

I don't know what surprised me more, the fact she said that with a straight face or that she cursed and I didn't seem to mind. Because it was worth it to watch Debbie and Austen laugh while Tyler groaned and rolled his eyes.

But the best part was when Olivia winked at me. I had been uneasy since she started working for Tyler, that he might go after her and she'd see him as the better prize. But that one simple immature joke was her defending me. It bothered her the way Tyler talked about me and she did something about it.

I stared back and realized in that moment that I loved Olivia. Not because she knocked Tyler down from his stupid pedestal. That was the slap in the face I needed to see how lucky I was to find someone like her.

I thought of her ex-fiancé and couldn't believe what an idiot he was for cheating on Olivia. He had the rare gift of this woman willing to spend the rest of her life with him and he took it for granted. Olivia was smart enough to run, and I was lucky enough to be in her way.

"Olivia, I'm not hungry. How about we head home?" I said, unable to take my eyes off the woman I loved.

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