Page 68 of Wrangling the Orc Cowboy

“Because we need your answer.”

“About the reunion show? I said no. I mean no. No!” I leaned back in the chair, placing my hands gently on my lap. “This is starting to feel like harassment.”

“Harassment?” My mother’s voice snapped like a whip. No preamble this time; straight to business. “Gracie, we’re your parents. If anyone’s being harassed, it’s us. Do you have any idea how selfish you’re being?”

The words hit me in the chest, and my hands tightened to fists. I made them smooth out.Relax. Deep breath. You can handle this.

“Good day to you too,” I said.

“Don’t start with the attitude.” Dad's voice sounded darker now. “We’ve been bending over backward to give you opportunities, and all you’ve done is slam the door in our faces. You think this influencer nonsense will carry you forever? It’s not a career. It’s ahobby, one you need to toss aside for something better.”

A dull throb started at my temple, the kind that came on whenever they decided my life wasn’t up to their impossible standards. I stared at the phone, as though keeping my eyes on it would stop them from worming their way under my skin. “Funny, since that hobby has been paying my bills for the last few years.”

“With our stipend. Don't forget that,” Mom said.

How could I when they lorded it over me each month they sent it? It was mine. I'd earned it. It was not a gift.

“Now you're scraping by, partnering with off-brand laundry detergents and random vacation rentals,” Mom said. “Imagine how far you could go if you stopped being stubborn and saw the bigger picture. We need that money!”

“And there it is,” I muttered, my fingers remaining smooth on my thighs. “This isn’t about me, is it? It never was.” I’d seen it so many times. Accepted it, even.

I wasn’t accepting it any longer.

“You’re wrong about that,” Dad snapped. “This family made you. We gave up everything to build your image, your career, your?—”

“Mycareer?” My bitter laugh echoed in the room. “No, what you built was a circus. My life was never my own. It was a sideshow for everyone to gawk at. Congratulations to the both of you. The Gracie you built isn’t real, butIam.”

“Oh, grow up.” Mom's tone could've frozen water to ice in seconds. “We didn’t lock that trust fund away because we didn’t trust you. It was to protect your future and frankly, after seeinghow you handle yourself now, I’m glad we did. Otherwise, who knows what you’d have thrown it away on?”

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted copper. “You mean things like housing, food, or, oh, I don’t know, paying the electric bill?”

Mom huffed. “You really think your life was hard? We gave you everything. You didn’t want for a thing.”

Except peace, privacy, and a childhood. My chest felt tight, but I refused to let them hear me crack.

“You grew up a star,” she added. “We made you famous.”

“Unlike you.”

“What?” she barked.

“This is the issue, isn’t it? Youneedme. They don’t needyoufor the show. They needme.”

A long pause followed. I imagined them gaping at each other, scurrying to figure out what they’d say next. Using hand gestures to come up with a plan that would make me do what they told me to.

They did not disappoint.

“Here’s the reality,” Dad snarled. “We’ve spoken to Gregory.”

Of course, Gregory. He always found his way into these conversations. My jaw tightened. “Good for you.”

“He’s agreed to the wedding storyline.” Mom powered right through my sarcasm. “It’s brilliant, really. A reunion special and a wedding? The fanbase will eat it up. Picture them bringing me to my seat in the front of the chapel. Me dressed to the hilt, of course, though a touch demure. No sequins. You know I don’t do flashy.”

Sure, she didn’t.

“Then your father walking you down the aisle! The fans will swoon at that one. He’ll kiss you on the cheek and gently place your hand into Gregory’s.”

Cementing me to him, actually, with no way of getting free.

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