Page 70 of Daddy's Little Farmer

“Who should I call?”

“I would call the person you’re running from. A million dollars is a lot of money. I can see everyone out on the street looking for you. Some are probably not so nice, so I’d like you protected. I have very little staff this weekend and no security.”

She rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know what to do. I’m scared to talk to him.”

“Is he violent?” Alex asked.

“No. He grabbed me hard last night but didn’t leave a bruise or anything.”

“He can’t hurt you over the phone.”

Alex probably wanted to get rid of her, too. He didn’t sign up for all this drama.

“Okay, I’ll call him.”

“They didn’t say who the man was. Can I know that?”

“Rafael Saunders. Do you know him?”

Alex chuckled. “Jesus. Yeah. We’ve been friends for a long time. We went to school together.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you going to get in any trouble?”

“No. I’m thinking of hurting the idiot, though. I might get arrested for that.”

She gasped and grabbed onto his arm. “No. Please. I don’t want you hurt.”

He patted her back. “Stop worrying about me. When do you want to call the butthead?”

“Can I shower first?”

“Sure. By the way. Rafael can be an idiot, but what I’ve heard about you was he’s madly in love with you.”

“Why would he be with another woman?”

“That’s a good question. I have a lot of them. I also want to know why he’s working so much. If I had to guess, he’s running scared because you make him feel things he never had. I don’t remember him ever having a relationship or liking a girl.”

Mara nodded. “He really said that about loving me?”

He smiled gently. “Yes, he did, sweetheart. Now, let’s get you into a shower, and I’ll try to find clothes you can wear outside of the house.”

She inhaled and nodded. This was one of those times she had to pull up her big girl panties and get the job done, even if it broke her heart.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Rafael rubbed his eyes and took another drink from his cup of coffee. He grabbed the phone and answered.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Saunders, this is Porter. Mara just called me.”

Rafael sprang to his feet. “She what? Where is she? What did she say?”

“She asked me if I could take care of the animals for her until she could take them home. She also talked about leaving most or all here if she had to.”

“She has to come back,” Rafael said.

“It didn’t sound like she was going to, sir.”

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