Page 81 of Eyes Like a Hurricane

“I love you,” is all she says before she swings her legs over the edge of the couch and stands to enter the kitchen.

I hear the faucet turn on and the padding of her feet down the hall. My dresser drawer slides open and then gently shuts. Her footsteps grow louder as she re-enters the living room. The sensation is finally returning to my legs, but I still feel too uncoordinated to stand.

“You're supposed to be resting, Aislinn. That was not part of the doctor's orders,” I grumble under my breath.

She drops a towel and clean white t-shirt on my knee, then gets back on the couch, pulling the blanket up to her chest. “I’m not made of glass. Now, wasn’t that better than the movie?” she murmurs and smirks at me.

“Damn straight it was,” I whisper and proceed to clean up my mess.

Chapter 51

Aislinn

Saturday, July 1

The next week passes in a blur of resting, quiet walks with Lachlan or Ingrid, and cuddling Chloe and Finn. There was plenty of time to order Lachlan’s birthday presents. I feel like I have watched more movies than I care to confess and even daytime TV, which is more entertaining than I want to admit.

We just left the doctor. My stitches are out! Just in time, too.

The clinic opens today for our first official day. It will be a soft opening from noon to 4:00 p.m. I let all my staff know they could take the holiday weekend off, but they all thought a few hours today would give us a good idea for what we need to work on when we reopen on July 5th. Plus, if I sit around any longer, I’m going to go stir-crazy. I was willing to open today by myself just so my mind and body could be more active.

My love for Lachlan has only grown over the last week. He has been nothing short of amazing. But I’m excited for some normalcy to return to my schedule.

The truck bumps as we enter the parking lot at the clinic. Based on the cars parked in the designated employee area offto the side, Oliver, Britt, Daniella, and Freya are already here. Right in front is a luxury silver sedan.

My breath catches at the growl released from Lachlan. He pulls in right next to the new car and yanks his seatbelt off. Before my eyes can track his ire, he flings the door open and jumps down.

He rumbles, “What do you think you’re doing here?”

My eyes finally make contact with the person as they stand toe to toe. James. I quickly undo my seatbelt and slide out of the passenger side. Jogging over to the two men, I gently place my hand on Lachlan’s forearm. His fists are clenching and unclenching against his jeans.

Feeling my touch has him sucking in a deep breath, and when he turns to look down at my pleading gaze, his eyes soften. Taking a small step back from James, he softly places an arm around my shoulders, offering strength and support.

“James,” I pause to gather my thoughts. “Why are you here?”

He brings a finger up to the collar of his shirt and gently tugs at the top button, but with the tie in place, he gets no relief. Straightening his shoulders, his eyes bounce between Lachlan and me.

“I’m glad I caught you both together,” he says before readjusting his stance to look like the Seattle attorney I know he is in the courtroom. He continues, “I wanted to apologize for my behavior with Cody. I honestly didn’t know what he had planned until we left the ranch after presenting Lachlan with our initial proposal. He had asked if I wanted to go in on an investment property to set up a golf and country club in a tourist town. He was convinced if you saw him making the effort to come to you, you would want to stay with him. I truly don’t think his head is in the right place.”

I wince. “That is an understatement.”

He shakes his head. “Yeah, it is. But after the display on Monday, I took off back for Seattle and just heard about everything he did after going off the deep end. I’m so sorry you were hurt in the process. To make amends, I would like to donate ten thousand dollars to the clinic and ten thousand dollars to the equine therapy ranch. I know it won’t make up for everything that went wrong, but I want to make sure there are no hard feelings between the two of us. Aislinn, you were a bright light on nights out with Cody. I will miss your smiling face across the table.”

With that, he leans in and gives me a small hug, then swallows audibly as he reaches a hand toward Lachlan.

Lachlan looks toward me with a raised brow. I love that he gives me the choice of whether to accept this offer. The monetary sum would help the ranch, but he would turn it down if I didn’t approve of the gift. I give a small smile and a nod.

James isn’t a bad guy, just made friends with the wrong guy.

The timbre of Lachlan’s voice has me tuning into the exchange. “We appreciate the gift. It will go a long way toward helping local animals. After this trip, don’t come back. I understand you may have felt compelled to help your friend, or he tricked you too, but this mess almost cost—” his voice catches, and he clears his throat. “Almost cost Aislinn her life. I don’t want your trouble to mix with our lives again.”

James nods in response before saying, “I just wanted to try to make right for the part I played in this ordeal.”

He bows his head and makes his way over to his car with his shoulders slumped.

Lachlan and I stay in a supportive embrace until his taillights disappear around the corner.

Blowing out a breath, I break the silence, “Well, that was interesting.”

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