Page 28 of Stay for Me

“Well, things aren’t going to be so complicated around here in a few months. All this bullshit will blow over when Chase closes the investigation,” he assured me.

I couldn’t help but give him a small smile. “Things are always complicated at Hallow Ranch, Denver. I can’t remember a time when they weren’t. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me you started working with the Mafia,” I joked, laughing at the end.

When he didn’t join in, my laughter stopped, his face unreadable. I felt the glass back in my throat again. “Why aren’t you laughing with me? That was a joke, right?”

Nothing. He didn’t say a damn word.

“Right?” I pressed, leaning forward.

“Sure.”

I blinked. “Denver Langston, are you working with the Mafia?” I asked as calmly as I could.

He clicked his tongue. “Not at the moment, no.”

I was on my feet before he could stop me.“What the heck?”I shrieked and he rose up to his full height, forcing me to tilt my head back. I was just a couple inches shorter than his wife.

He set his heavy hands on my shoulders as he chuckled. “It was a one-time thing—hopefully. Mason’s friends in St. Louis needed some help. It’s all taken care of now.”

“You’re not joking about this at all, are you?” I rasped.

The smirk he wore slowly spread into a devastatingly beautiful smile, a rare gift for me. “Sit back down. I’m going to cook you some soup,” he said before moving into my colorful kitchen.

“You don’t have to—”

“Diana Harper, sit your ass back down,” he ordered, opening one of my cabinets, keeping his back to me. The authority in his voice had my spine snapping straight.

“I can take care of myself, Denver,” I countered, needing to blow my nose all of a sudden. Truth be told, I felt like absolute shit, and despite this happening to me every single year around this time, I still had the gall to act surprised Ms. Sinus Infection knocked at my door.

“Family takes care of family. Now, sit down and rest. I got this.”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but his words struck me somewhere deep in my soul, short circuiting my brain.

Family takes care of family.

As I tried to get my thoughts together, my gaze shifted to the window as I watched my flowers sway in the summer breeze. My mother’s voice rang in my ears then, echoing the last time I’d ever spoken with her, recalling the utter judgment within her voice. It was once a voice I used to seek out whenever I needed comfort or advice. And now? Now, it was only a reminder of the pain she caused me and how everything could flip at the drop of a hat.

“Diana?”

Denver’s voice snapped me out of it, and I swung my eyes back to him. “Hm?”

He raised a brow. “Are you okay?” he asked sincerely.

Brushing off my own issues, I faked a smile and nodded. “I’m fine, really. You don’t have to make me soup. I can do it.”

“Know I don’t have to, Diana. I’m doing it because I want to.”

My smile flattened. “Don’t you have a ranch you need to take care of today?”

He gestured between us, his brows furrowed. “Fixing this was more important,” he said.

“Careful, Denver. If word gets out you were nice to me, you might tarnish your reputation in the town,” I warned, teasing him as I took a seat on one of my bar stools.

He glared at me then. “Told you to take a seat—”

“—and I have. You didn’t say where,” I countered.

“Fucking lawyers,” he mumbled. “What reputation are you talking about?”

---