Page 12 of Drowning Her

“I never said anything about a bad situation,” I snapped.

“It wasn’t my father’s idea to select you.” I bit my lip. Was he implying that he had helped Forrest pick me for Wilder? He continued: “And we knew you were a sex worker. Which, in all honesty, is exactly what my brotherneeds. Someone to agree to whatever he needs to get off, then call it a day.”

“Is he a creep or something?” I asked.

“You know how much pent-up frustration my brother carries with him every day?”

Heat built underneath the surface of my skin, as if my dress was on fire. “Why would he be frustrated?” I asked.

He tilted his head. “You’ll learn as you go, right? He takes it out on his job.”

I closed my fists at my side, gripping my dress. “Takes outwhat?”

“He obsesses over it. Each order. Each command. Each livestock order handled with precision. Anything that has to do with the family business.”

I squeezed the side of my chair, the scar on my hand stretching with the gesture. “Isn’t that a good thing, to handle your family business well?” I crossed my arms. “Having motivation is agoodthing.”

“It’s not motivation,” he said. “It’s a fixation.”

I rolled my eyes. “So what?”

“One day, he’s going to take it out on you.”

Silence filled the gap between us, the tings of forks and knives hitting the plates. The steak and roasted summer vegetables in front of me were getting cold. Where was Wilder? And what was so bad that he was going to take his frustration out on me?

Was his brother trying to warn me?

“Takewhatout on me?” I whispered.

“You really don’t know.” Sawyer blinked his eyes. “What will you do when it happens? Who will protect you?” He lifted his chin. “You don’t have any family.”

My heart dropped. I sneered. “I’ll protect myself.” Like I always had, and always would.

“If that were true, you’d know better. But maybe this is your own suicidal mission.” he laughed.

“Who said anything about death?”

“You.” He stood up, looking down at me. “You think I’m bad, but you have no idea who you married.”

“You’re right.”

Sawyer studied me. I knew that whatever preconceived notions I had of Wilder weren’t real. I didn’t knowanythingabout him, and he had so many walls and was constantly trying to put more space between us, that it was impossible to get a feel for who he was inside.

Yes, I knew that what I had done was a big, bad mistake, but I was going to own it with everything I had.

They were ranchers, right? Livestock. Cattle. Or was it goats?

Sawyer caught eyes with someone in the second row of tables and instantly transformed into a charming man, shaking my hand to leave and scooting away. I sighed with relief, but only for a moment. Forrest had his eyes on me, and when I turned, Wilder was watching me too.

I held my breath. What had I agreed to, exactly?

After we ate, the coordinator came up to me, holding a clipboard. “Where’s your groom?” she asked, grinning widely. “It’s time to do the first dance.”

I scanned the area, unable to find him. I dashed across the yard frantically. Most of the people at the round tables were gawking at me. My skin heated, but it didn’t matter. They didn’t know where he was either.

Right?

I checked behind the main house, then by the storage unit, and the first barn, the one that wasn’t locked. An envelope caught my eye, unmarked, tucked under the mat inside of the entrance. It was full of twenties, more than I couldcount at a glance. I tucked a handful into my purse, then glimpsed around, making sure no one had seen. Bambi and I would have to figure out a meeting point off of the farm.

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