Page 25 of The Life We Left Behind

I wanted to say no. There was even a part of me that wanted to tell him to find a different buyer, but Willowbrook wasn’t exactly flooded with real estate opportunities. It would be difficult to sell the house and the land this quickly, and if I wanted to get this over with, this would be the fastest way to do it.

“I’m confident they’ll make you a fair offer,” the lawyer added when I didn’t answer immediately. “And if this afternoon doesn’t work for you, I can ask them to contact you to arrange a mutually convenient time.”

Somehow, I doubted anything that came from the Farringtons would be fair. Then I winced. That probably wasn’t fair. Regina might be the devil, and Trace and I hadn’t ended on the best terms, but the rest of them weren’t that bad. There was a time when I wouldn’t have ever thought that about Trace.

“No. It’s fine. I can make time this afternoon. Did they say any particular time?”

I looked at my watch to see that it was just past lunch. I’d only just got back to the house, but there wasn’t much by way of food here. This morning had been so full of making arrangements with people in town that I’d forgotten to go to the store, so as much as I might not want to, I needed to head out again, anyway.

“Anytime this afternoon.”

We fell into another awkward silence, and I got the impression this guy was waiting for me to get excited about the prospect of the sale going through this quickly.

Why wasn’t I? This was supposed to be what I wanted. Even setting aside the awkward, or rather incredibly aggressive conversation I was inevitably about to have with Trace, this was a massive step in the leaving Willowbrook forever plan. I should be happy.

And yet I wasn’t.

CHAPTER TEN

TRACE

Ididn’t need a map to recognize the James’s land. It had been such a massive part of my teenage years that I could walk the entire thing with my eyes closed. Considering that I’d spent most of the time there staring at the beautiful girl walking beside me, I may as well have.

I should feel guilty for trying to force her to meet with me, but it had been a day since I gave her my card and she still hadn’t called.

This was Delaney! The only girl who ever saw the real me and accepted me as a person and not access to a family fortune I never wanted.

After all the history, all the memories, didn’t we at least owe each other a conversation?

I dropped the papers back on my desk and ran my hand through my hair to push it off my forehead for what felt like the millionth time of the day. It was past the point of needing a cut, but my life was such a mess that the everyday life tasks were piling up, and I couldn’t bring myself to think about them.

The whole thing with Chelsea was a massive shit show. Ethan had charged her, and yet she’d somehow been out on bail thesame day. She had the balls to tell the judge that I’d given her the key to the house, and he’d believed her. When the prosecutor tried to deny it, he’d looked at me like I was the devil. Fuck me, I guess. There was no way I was getting that restraining order without indisputable evidence, and the video evidence from the cameras hadn’t been enough. Chelsea had spent most of her life manipulating the people around her. Hell, I might not have been in love with her when we got married, but I’d still thought she was a decent enough person to legally chain myself to her.

But the cameras didn’t have sound, and she’d argued that I was the one to start the argument. That I goaded her into throwing the glass, just like I always did. By the end of her little speech, I was pretty sure the whole courtroom believed I was an abusive ex-husband who had stiffed his wife in the divorce, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

Either way, the gossip mill in this town was about to kick into full gear, so not only was my reputation about to be trashed, but I’d have to deal with my mother as well.

My gaze fell back to the papers now spread across my desk. The James’s land was exactly what we needed to get this deal off the ground. Yet something about it didn’t feel right. The pond I’d shared so many moments with Delaney at glared at me from the plans.

That was our place.

It shouldn’t be part of some development. But without it, the town wasn’t going to survive. This was a sacrifice I needed to make to save the place I’d come to love so much.

Of course, there was another reason I hated absolutely everything about this. As soon as the deal was closed, Delaney wouldn’t have a single thing tying her to Willowbrook, and I didn’t know how I’d survive knowing there was no chance she’d ever come back.

The intercom buzzed on my phone, and I glared at it like the sullen teenager I was starting to regress into. There was nothing redeemable about today. I just wanted to go home, clear up the mess I’d avoided in the kitchen, and go to bed. Preferably with a large pizza and a beer.

Instead, I pushed the button because I was a goddamn adult and also because it meant I could avoid the kitchen for even longer. “Yes.” Even I heard the defeat in my tone. I really needed to pull it together.

“Erm, Tra…Mr. Farrington…Miss James is here to see you?” Rosie, my assistant, sounded so unsure.

And I was about to make it even worse because, rather than saying anything, I leaped out of my chair and ran for the door. I didn’t even try to play it cool and walk through to reception. I charged in there like someone had lit my ass on fire.

As soon as my shoes hit the smooth tile of reception, I lost my traction and skidded, the soles of my shoes screeching as I did.

Rosie turned to look at me in shock, the phone still against her ear. She laughed, then coughed to try to cover it up before gently putting the phone back on the receiver.

“Miss James is here to talk about the James family property,” she said slowly. She did pretty well, considering the smirk on her face.

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