Page 100 of The Guy Who Stole My Ranch

It was amazing what a single gesture from someone I knew so well could communicate. Courtney could tell I was irritable, and she understood that if our father and I started to argue in earnest, this meal would end up with him walking out like a diva, and nothing would be resolved.

The pat from her told me that she’d take point on this and that I needed to keep my cool.

I swallowed and adjusted my glasses to tell her that I understood.

A few weeks before, Courtney had been the only person with whom I’d shared a bond like this. Now I had Brooke.

How much time would we have to spend together to be able to communicate without talking? Weeks? Months? Years? Courtney and I had had a lifetime of experience. Brooke and I had only just begun our journey.

What would she do under the table to tell me to calm down?

I honestly wasn’t sure, but I was fairly certain that she would try to give me a sign. Knowing her, she’d kick me in the ankle and break a bone in my foot. I’d rather she gently took my hand and squeezed, but that didn’t feel like her. To be honest, I’d be fine with either. Except for the broken bone. Maybe I’d need to start wearing protective guards on my legs.

My phone buzzed, and my heart raced. There was only one person I hoped was leaving me a message.

Courtney folded her napkin and placed it on the table before she turned her entire focus to our father. He didn’t wince under her scrutiny, but he did lean back a little.

“Dad,” Courtney said, “you made an inappropriate advance toward an employee at Luxury Holdings. A company that we’re trying to acquire, which means we’re now in legal negotiations with them.”

“I didn’t say anything to her that I haven’t said to other women,” he grumbled.

With Courtney managing our father, I looked to my mother. My father had been cheating on her for at least twenty years. I’d never had the courage to ask if it had been agreed between them before they’d wed that he could do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted, as long as he was somewhat discrete. By the time I’d caught them arguing about it, they’d been together for ten years.

That had been the day that I’d first seen the people my parents really were. My father was a slave to his physical desires, and my mother was addicted to his money. They were trapped in a situation that they both loathed, but neither was willing to change.

I’d never wanted that for myself, which is why I’d never wanted to get married, for fear that I’d end up with a woman like my mother or that I might turn into a man like my father.

My mother’s left manicured eyebrow lifted a fraction of an inch as my sister laid the accusations before my father. Other than that, she continued cutting her waffle and took a small bite.

“We’ve been through this, Dad,” Courtney said with a hint of anger in her voice. “We all know your tennis games don’t involve a court, and as long as the women are consenting, I don’t need any more information on the matter. The problem is that you forget that the world has changed and that no woman has any sort of obligation to give you the time of day.”

That drew a grunt from my father, and he swiped his phone to life again.

My mind went back to the dinner I’d had with Brooke’s family. They didn’t get along perfectly, but they did know when to have fun and when to back off. How would Robert handle this?

He certainly wouldn’t let anyone at the table disrespect anyone else, and right now, my father was ignoring Courtney. That was going to stop.

“Put it down,” I growled.

My father looked at me and blinked.

“We’re having a discussion that revolves around you, Father. Pay attention.”

I got a glare for my words, but he did as I said.

Courtney took a breath. I could feel her weighing her options. For all her bluster, she was smart, and except for in the case of her own love life, she was good at reading people.

Would she appeal to my father’s vanity? Would she accuse and shame him? Or would she rely on logic backed up by the money involved to get his attention?

“Father, I know I can’t change who you are, but I need you to apologize to this woman.”

He folded his beefy arms across his chest and frowned.

Courtney narrowed her eyes, and I saw the guise of niceness slide from her face. She clasped her hands together, placed them on the edge of the table, and leaned forward.

I winced for my father’s sake. The same sickeningly sweet voice my mother had used came out of Courtney’s mouth. “Daddy, you didn’ttouchthis woman, did you?”

He took a breath but didn’t answer.

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