Page 61 of Eyes Like a Hurricane

I shout, “We said ‘I love you’ to each other!”

A shrill scream comes over my Bluetooth, “O. M. G.!”

Leo’s muffled voice comes through. “What’s the matter, Paisley? Is there a spider? Grab the Windex and spray the heck out of it. I’m not getting within five feet of it, so keep it in yourarea! If it moves this way, I’m grabbing the Swiffer and hitting the crap out of it.”

Paisley’s voice turns serious as she commands, “Leo, there is no spider. Put the Windex down and walk away from my counter. If you spray these plans and ruin them, I will hide your body. Kieran will never know you existed!”

“Then what are you screaming about?” he replies on the verge of hysteria. “Wait, are you on the phone?”

The speaker phone clicks on. “Aislinn is on the line. She and Lachlan exchanged ‘I love yous!’”

“That is not even the biggest part of this morning,” I growl. “Just the highlight.”

Leo gasps, “Oh no, are you pregnant?”

Paisley chuckles. “Leo, she and Lachlan can't be pregnant yet. They only slept together for the first time like, four days ago. We won’t know for at least another week or two.”

I sigh. “You guys, no, I’m not pregnant. Yes, we are using protection, plus I’m on the pill. But the craziest thing about the morning is, that I walked out of Lachlan’s house, and guess who was standing in front of the ranch office.”

Leo gets excited and screams, “Oh, I have a good guess, Luke Combs. He heard about Luke Warm Night and wanted to meet Lachlan.”

“What?” Paisley asks in disbelief.

At least it seems we’re on the same page here. How did Leo come up with that? Actually, I don’t want to know. His mind works in mysterious ways sometimes.

But she continues, “If it was going to be a Luke stopping by after Luke Warm Night, then it’s going to be Luke Bryan. He just did a concert in Denver, so he is fairly close to Montana.”

Uh, come again?

“You guys, come back to planet Earth. No one named Luke stopped by the ranch. I came out and saw Cody and James. They were offering to buy Lachlan’s property to open a resort and golf course in Topaz Falls,” I say, rubbing my forehead. “Cody grabbed me, in what was maybe supposed to be a hug? I ended up elbowing him in the chest, kneeing him in the crotch, then shoving him down to the ground. Before leaving, he threatened Lachlan and me.”

Leo gasps. “You didn’t! Oh, good job, girl. He deserved it.”

Paisley hums her agreement before sucking in a sharp breath. “You guys, how did he know where you lived?”

“That’s the thing! I have no idea. James and Cody were shocked to see me on Lachlan’s ranch, but James claimed it was Cody’s idea to make some grand gesture,” I mutter.

Paisley growls. “You need a restraining order against that creep. Leo and I have our lawyer here in Kalispell. Want his number? Oh wait, Leo, he is a corporate attorney, right? We used him to set up our LLC and put together our Operating Agreement and Business License? Can any attorney do a restraining order?”

“Honey, I don’t have the slightest idea. I just know you have to use a blue pen when signing official documents. Or maybe you don’t have to, but you should. I did,” Leo claims triumphantly.

“Okay, well, I’m going to let you both go. I just arrived at the clinic. I will see if there is a local attorney to talk to,” I say.

We tell each other goodbye, and I hang up.

As I stride up to the door, I notice a black Mercedes turning the corner at the end of the street. Was he following me? I don’t remember seeing the car, but I was distracted talking to Paisley and Leo. I quickly lock my car and race inside. I will feel better when I’m surrounded by Oliver and Britt.

“Hello? You guys in yet?” I call out.

Britt comes running down the hall in a pair of purple pumps. Her blonde hair bounces every which way, and her face is contorted in a combination of disgust and concern. Suppressed anxiety is splashed across her angelic face.

“Thank goodness you’re here. Two men just stopped by. I told Oliver they had to be Men in Black or with some government agency. They asked if this was your clinic,” she says with a hitch in her voice.

Oliver strides up behind her, running his hand through his cropped russet hair. “Lord, Britt, they weren’t MIB. One was in a navy suit, the other in gray. If they were MIB, they would be wearing all black.”

Britt scoffs, “Well, their sunglasses were black, so explain that.”

I groan and allow my head to fall back as I close my eyes. “Were their names Cody and James, by chance?” I ask in a quiet voice.

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