Page 10 of Wylder Ranch
“I...” Haven scans the pub and turns around to where Clementine and Miles are standing together. It’s not as busy as it usually is, though I get the sense it’s still too busy for whatever she wants to talk about. She looks down at her baby, cupping its tiny head in her hand. It’s so bundled up, in one of those carrier things Hendricks used with Max, that I can only see a nose and a pair of chubby cheeks. “Could we go somewhere quieter?”
I mean, sure. Why not? Why not go somewhere quieter with this girl. ..and her baby? It’s not like I don’t have anything else to do. It’s not like I don’t have a company to run. On the other hand, I might be extraordinarily pissed off, but I also want to know what the hell is going on.
“Sure. There’s a room in the back that’s usually quiet.”
Haven winces. “Actually, would you mind if we walk?” Her eyes flick down. “It’s better. . .”
“Fine. We can walk through the village.” I hold the door open and sweep my hand in front of me, allowing her to exit first.
Maybe after I’m done here, I’ll go home, get into bed, and wake up when this nightmare is over.
My eyes catch my brother’s and sister’s again, both of them wearing the same blank expression. I can only offer a shrug in response.
I guide Haven out and to the left, away from the hustle of Valentine High Street. If she wants quiet, we need to goin a different direction.
I’ve only been inside the pub for a few minutes, but the fresh air immediately invigorates me. I’m snapped out of my shock, and infuriatingly, my brain jogs with the one question I’ve been asking myself over and over, along with all the rest I have lined up to go.
“Why didn’t you call me back?” I ask, slightly more whiney than I’d have liked.
Haven pauses her stride, and I swear she squirms a little. “Because. . .”
I wait for the rest of her sentence, but it doesn’t come. “Because? You met someone else, clearly. You didn’t have to come all this way to tell me.”
My tone is harsher than I mean it to be, but the hurt I feel at seeing her is more powerful than I was expecting.
“What? No.” She shakes her head. We’re walking side by side, but as she answers, she steps around a lamppost, and her voice drops so I don’t quite hear the rest of her response.
“It was a week of fun. No big deal.” I blurt the words I’ve been repeating like a mantra.No big deal. “I thought we had a great time together, but whatever. . .”
“We did.”
“Then why didn’t you call me back?”
“What was the point, Alex?” she snaps, and this time, I hear every word loud and clear. The sting is equally loud and clear. “We live five thousand miles apart. When we met, I barely had enough time to sleep, let alone date?—”
“So what? You’ve come to rub it in my face that you’re with someone else? You could have put this in an email. Better yet, kept going with the radio silence. I’d already gotten the message you didn’t want to date me.”
Haven’s face drops, and she looks genuinely hurt by my accusation, though I don’t know why. But it’s enough to make me feel guilty.
“Alex, no. It’s not?—”
“Is this about the ranch?”
Her brows knit together, emphasizing the dark circles under her eyes. “What?”
“Wylder Ranch? You’re selling it. I tried to buy it and never heard back.”
“That was you?”
“Who’d you think it was?”
Her shoulders lift slowly. “Brokers were dealing with it all. I wanted to test the water to see if there would be any takers, but I changed my mind.” She pauses, and another deep frown crosses her face. “Alex, the sale price was one hundred million dollars.”
“Yes. I know,” I reply, but I don’t want to discuss my finances right now. I am such an idiot. “Haven, why did you change your mind? That’s a lot of money.”
“I know it is. But when Everly was born, I couldn’t go through with it. I needed her to know where she came from. My parents built that ranch.” She pats against the bump on her chest, and for the first time since we’ve been talking, she smiles.
A real, warm, genuine smile.
