Page 54 of The Inevitable Us

She barely knows her. Taylee has spoken to Rosalie once or twice in passing, but there was nothing remarkable about the encounters. Typical Taylee erraticism.

“Well, I’m glad you like her. I’ll make sure she fills out the paperwork tonight,” I say with a nod of goodbye.

“Send her to me tonight when she gets home from her classes? I want to ensure she knows how to do everything just right.” Rich, the farm hand, and Kylie, the caretaker, do most of the animal care, despite what Taylee thinks, but if it makes her happy…

“Sure,” I say with one more nod of goodbye. “I’ll send her over to you this afternoon.”

I sneak upstairs with Rosalie while I still can, already missing her. She’s getting dressed for the day.

“Bring my SUV daily, would you, while I’m gone? It has better traction if it rains on these dirt roads than your sedan.”

“My car is perfectly safe, Sawyer….”

“Just in case, Baby Girl. It’ll make me feel better.” Her car is perfectly maintained, and I looked it over recently. She just needs something with better traction on these roads. “Can you stay here and care for Ranger while I’m gone? He’ll do better with the extra space, and it’s easier to let him out.”

She looks around, holding her hands out likereally. “If you insist. I kinda love the ranch. It’s so beautiful here.”

I lean down and kiss her temple. “Thank you.”

Walkingbackinsidefromthe main house, I find the door to the security office wide open and Rosalie handing out slices of cheesecake to the other bodyguards. When Keaton’s hand deliberately touches Rosalie’s, I start to see red.

He’s a brand new hire, and I can’t wait to fucking get rid of him. I can’t prove anything yet, but I don’t like how Ranger acts around him, and Ranger likes everybody. I’d checked his references before hiring him, and he’d put on a good show during his interview. But something about him sends my senses on red alert. He’s the reason I don’t want Rosalie in the office. Well, the main reason. I don’t like that he was able to get past my spidey senses. It worries me even more. I’d have already fired him, but with Taylee’s fondness for keeping the same people around her, I’ll need strong justifiable reasons for letting him go. If I didn’t, Taylee would likely only hire him to work (and report) directly to her. No, I’ll need to wait if I want him gone for good.

“Rosalie, kitchen,” I bark at her more loudly than I’d intended.

She blinks rapidly at me before angry eyes scan me up and down. Bringing a slice of cheesecake with her, she saunters into the main part of the house. I close and lock it behind us.

Her arms are crossed, her nostrils flaring, and her eyes shoot daggers at me. “You just embarrassed the devil out of me.”

I rub my eyes with the palm of my hands. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.”

Placing the cheesecake on the counter behind her, she raises a proud chin at me and straightens her backbone to its full length. “No, you shouldn’t have.”

I gesture back towards the office. “Look, it’s that guy.”

“No,” she snaps back, pointing an angry finger my way.

I set my shoulders proudly. “What do you mean NO?” I ask.

“I mean, Mr. Benson, that youdo notembarrass me like that. Not in front of anyone. If you don’t like the guy and don’t want me around him, fine. Just tell me. Don’t yell at me and make excuses.”

“Baby Girl…” I start to say. “You need to stay out of the office unless I’m alone.”

“Nope, don’tBaby Girlme, Sawyer! And don’t tell me that I can’t go into a freaking office. I was trying to be nice.”

She grabs her slice of cheesecake and starts to stomp up the stairs. “You’re sleeping alone tonight, Sawyer.”

“What? No. We don’t sleep apart. Ever,” I remind her as I stand over her with my hands on my hips.

“Looks like it’s happening tonight,” she says before she flounces up the stairs.

I listen from downstairs in the office as she walks into the master bedroom and showers before there’s loud thumps on the upstairs floor, and she bounds down the stairs.

“Charlie? Wednesday, come see Mama,” I hear her say from the office.

I open the door to the office to walk to her to try to make things right, but angry eyes greet me. She has both kittens in her hands when she goes upstairs and slams the guest bedroom door behind herself.

Keaton has an elbow on the desk, his fist supporting his chin when he dares to snicker at the sound of the door slamming. I narrow my eyes at him and then look up at the ceiling, where Rosalie can still be heard stomping across the floor from time to time. Around ten pm, the stomping stops, and it’s evident she’s asleep in the guest room.

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