“What, with him? With Farmer Dan?” Grant smirks, pulling out his pocket square and dabbing at his nose. “You belong with me, and you know it.”
“You cheated on me. I’ll never trust you again,” I say. “You don’t do that to someone you love, Grant. You stopped loving me somewhere along the line … and I stopped loving you too.”
“Bullshit. You act like we can’t fix this. We can,” he says. “Come home. We’ll talk this through. We’ll make it right. I refuse to believe it’s over.”
“Believe it.” River breaks from my hold and squares his shoulders against Grant’s, towering over him. “She doesn’t want to be with you.”
“I didn’t come all this way to go home empty-handed,” Grant pushes past River, coming after me. “You’re mine, Leighton.”
“I don’t belong to you.” My hands cross tight across my chest, and I step back. “You need to leave. You’re making an ass of yourself, and you’re trespassing.”
I glance around, but River’s nowhere in sight. Grant hooks his hand into my arm, leading me to the Cadillac, my heels dragging in the yard.
“I suggest you let her go right now.” River’s voice is smooth and steady, unwavering, and as Grant’s grip tightens on my arm, I realize he’s staring down the barrel of a shotgun.
Grant chuckles. “What are you going to do? Shoot me?”
“When I tell the sheriff that some man crossed state lines with the intention of kidnapping a young lady, I’m sure their sympathies are going to lie with me,” River says, keeping the shotgun pointed at Grant. “You’re going to let her go, and you’re going to get the hell off my property.”
He racks the gun.
Grant’s grip loosens.
He lingers for a moment, like he’s going to call River’s bluff.
But then he turns to leave, stopping and pointing at me. “This isn’t over.”
“Damn right it is,” River answers for me, repositioning his gun.
An endless minute passes, and Grant takes his time getting into his SUV. When he’s finally gone and out of sight, River lowers his gun and wraps his arm around me.
“You all right?” he asks.
I nod, resting my cheek against his chest. I expect his heart to be thrumming like crazy, but he’s calm. His breathing is normal. And he isn’t shaking.
He would’ve shot Grant for me, and he would’ve had no problems doing it.
“He won’t be back,” River says as he leads me back to the house.
“How do you know?”
“I saw weakness in his eyes.” River gets the door for me. “Man’s nothing but chicken shit dressed in fancy clothes.”
“He had a lot of balls to come out here though, thinking he could get me to go back with him.”
“Some people have the illusion of power until they come face to face with the real thing.” River closes the door, cupping my face in his hands. “I’d have never let him take you. I’ll never let anyone take you. You’re safe here.”
I close my eyes, and he kisses the top of my head. Slipping my hands around his waist, I breathe him in and let my feet anchor the floor.
“I love your heart,” I whisper.
He holds me tighter.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
River
“I’ve marked the bunkhouse as a total loss,” the insurance claims adjuster hands me a clipboard. “Everything else can be fixed. Bunkhouse wasn’t worth much, but we should be able to give you enough to get it bulldozed and cleared out. Just need you to sign here and I’ll submit it as soon as I get back to the office.”
“No,” I say, adjusting my hat. “The bunkhouse has to be saved.”
He laughs. “From the looks of it, no one has used it in years. There’s nothing worth saving about that thing.”
“It’s a part of this property,” he says. “It’s staying, and we’re fixing it.”
“What do you expect me to do? It’s a total loss. I can’t lie.” He scratches his temple, staring at the roofless dwelling no bigger than a small machine shed. “I suppose you could allocate the money you get for the bulldozer and use some of that to fix it up? But you’re going to have to do the work yourself. American Farm and Casualty isn’t going to pay for the restoration.”
Scratching my five o’clock shadow, I take a look at the old building. I can’t tear it down … I can’t do that to Leighton. If I have to spend my nights and weekends fixing it up, I will.
Signing the forms, I send the adjuster on his way just in time for Leighton to emerge with two mugs of coffee.
“Everything good?” she asks, blowing cooled breath across the top of hers.
“Just making sure we can save the bunkhouse. I know how much it means to you.”
Her eyes widen. “You’re going to save it?”
“Of course.”
Her expression lightens, and the joy on her face fills me with lightness and warmth. “Thank you, River. You have no idea how much this would’ve meant to my dad. He worked so hard building this. Did it all on his own.”
“Anyway, I’m about to head into town to the New Holland dealership to order a new disc. You want to come?”
“You look bored.” I chuckle as I watch Leighton study the various implements spread across the showroom floor.
She turns to me. “I’m testing myself.”
“Testing yourself?”
“Seeing if I remember what these do.” She moves around a tiller. “This one tills. That one rakes. The one in the corner is a field cultivator. So far I’m three for three.”
“Not bad.”
The salesman flags me down, waving his pen, and I head to his office to sign on the dotted line for my new disc harrow. When I’m finished, I take Leighton by Tanglewood Tack to get her a pair of riding boots to go with the horse I bought her last week at the auction.
She doesn’t know the horse is hers, but after hearing about the palomino mare she had and loved as a young girl and how she hadn’t seen it since her family moved, I thought it’d be nice if she could get a do-over. I’d be happy to keep this one here as long as she likes, and my mares could use a little company anyway.
“What are we doing here?” Leighton asks as I park outside the tack shop.
“You need some riding boots.”
“For what? I don’t have a horse.”
“That palomino I bought the other week? It’s yours.” I lock the truck and head for the front door.
“River …” she follows, her jaw hanging. “You didn’t. It’s your horse.”
“I don’t need another horse. Mine does just fine.” I get the door. “I’d be happy to take care of it as long as you need. We’re picking it up on the way home.”
Her hand cups her mouth before she throws her arms around my shoulders, hanging from me as she bounces on her toes.
“You’re amazing.” She pulls her body from mine before gifting me with a kiss, and I take her hand, leading her inside the air-conditioned, leather-scented store. “Oh.”
Leighton freezes and the bells on the door jingle as it glides to a close. Standing five feet ahead of us, swiping his card at the cash register, is the devil himself.