“Are you going to eat?”
“What?” I asked as I looked over to Tripp.
“Your food, Lee. You’re just pushing it around with your fork. You need to eat.”
After taking a few bites, I set my fork down.
“What if he takes it away from me?”
“He won’t.”
I shook my head. “How can you say that? It’s a possibility.”
Tripp leaned back and gave me a hard look. “It is a possibility, yes. But if you give up before you even try, then why even bother? Where is the fight in you? This is something you have dreamed about and although we haven’t seen each other in almost ten years, I know damn well that fight is still in you. You’re not a quitter.”
Warmth spread through my entire body. He was right. I was going to fight—with Tripp by my side. I could feel it deep in my soul.
“You’re right. I’m going to win this.”
For a brief moment, staring at Tripp across the table, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to win more—the legal mess I was in or the battle for Tripp’s love.
He reached his hand across the table and I set mine in it. The instant rush of tingles sweeping through my entire body almost had me gasping out loud, but I somehow managed to keep the sound back. I could have sworn Tripp reacted the same way, judging by the way his body shuddered.
“We’re going to win this.”
We smiled at one another as my heart raced. Tripp squeezed my hand three times before letting it go and motioning with his fork.
“Eat up. The meatloaf is damn good.”
I had to bite the inside of my lip to keep my emotions from getting to me. It was becoming clearer with each passing day that Tripp Parker had indeed slipped through my fingers. I was going to have to be happy with simply being friends. Now I just had to convince my heart of that.
I picked up my fork and forced myself to eat.
This was going to be a long, hard road to navigate.
The knock on my office door had me standing up. My heart was racing and my damn hands were sweating.
Christ Almighty. Get it together, Parker.
“Come in.”
When my mother walked in, my entire body sagged.
“Clearly you were hoping for someone else.”
I rounded my desk and walked to her. Extending my arms, I pulled her in for a hug.
“Nonsense. I love seeing you anytime, anywhere.”
She gave me that look that said she wasn’t buying my bullshit. “Who were you expecting?” she asked with a sly grin.
“A client.”
One brow raised. “It’s a small town, son, and you’re the talk of it currently, courtesy of the ‘prayer chain’. I’m going to guess you were expecting Harley. The mediation is today, correct?”
A chuckle slipped from my lips. “I thought you didn’t get into all the town gossip, Mom.”
With an evil look, she replied, “I don’t participate in it, son.” She shrugged. “At least, not all the time. That doesn’t mean I don’t like to hear it.”
“You’re impossible. I don’t suppose you had anything to do with the whole damn town finding out about the real reason Harley left?”
She wore a fake surprised expression. “You mean the made-up boyfriend story because she loved you so much she didn’t want to take you away from Oak Springs? That real story?”
Now it was my turn to give her a surprised look…but mine wasn’t fake. “Wow. You really kicked up the story there, Mom.”
She gave me a wink. “I try.”
I shook my head. “You do remember Mallory, right?”
“She’s a very nice girl, but Tripp, even I can see the two of you are not serious. Unless you’ve talked about a future together?”
“No, not really. But I do care about her and Laney.”
She smiled. “I know you do. But do you love her?”
I was frozen by those five words. Did I love Mallory? Did she love me? I enjoyed spending time with her, but did I see a future with her?
“I care about her. We’ve only been dating since December.”
“Uh-huh. Well, I’m not here to talk about Mallory or Harley. I’m here on other urgent business.”
Motioning for her to sit down in a chair, I leaned against my desk.
“Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yes, everything with me is fine. It’s your brother, Trevor.”
I jerked my head back. “Trevor?”
Her lips pursed in a hard line, and she got a fiery look in her eyes. Oh, hell. My mother was on a mission and my poor baby brother was part of it. Unbeknownst to him, I was sure.
“The spring fling is this weekend, right? Well, that means my annual benefit dinner is the next evening and everyone is going to be there.”
“Yes,” I replied with a slight grin. I had a feeling I knew where this was going. After a hard day of work on the ranch, my parents always hosted a dinner party the next night. It was a benefit dinner and the one time of year my father let my mother go crazy with party planning. It was a black tie event and cost a few hundred dollars to attend, but one hundred percent of the money collected went to the American Cancer Society. My mother’s parents both died from cancer so it was a cause very close to her heart.
“Well, I’ve been begging Trevor to escort Scarlett Littlefield and he refuses to.”
“Sounds like Trevor just doesn’t want to be tied down to a date. You know how he is about that.”
“Oh, please. I know that boy has a reputation for being a ladies’ man. It’s one night, for Pete’s sake. That’s all I’m asking for. The last few years he’s brought the most dreadful girls. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he picked them up at the bar the night before.”
He probably had, but I wasn’t about to tell my mother that.
“Mom, you know what you have to do to get him to agree.”
She sighed. “I know, but I feel like that’s a low blow.”
I laughed. “Why do you want Trevor to go out with this girl so much?”
“She’s adorable and if he would entertain the thought of a girlfriend, they would be perfect for each other.”
“Methinks our little Trevor is not going to be entertaining the thought of a girlfriend any time soon, Mom.”
She brushed me off with her hand. “Nonsense. I see the restlessness in his soul. He needs a woman like Scarlett.”
“And how does Scarlett feel about Trevor?”
Fiddling with her hands, she mumbled something.
I leaned closer to her, cupping my hand around my ear like I was hard of hearing. “I’m sorry. What was that? I didn’t really hear you.”
“She doesn’t want to be fixed up with anyone. She’s stubborn like her mother and insists on going to the dinner stag. Stag! Can you believe it?”
“What’s wrong with that? I’m sure lots of people will be there without dates.”
“My son will not be one of them. I let it go in years past because he and Amelia were both younger. Now that Amelia is married, Trevor is going to have to escort a proper young lady.”
“Just tell him that, then. He can pick his own date.”
“No!” my mother nearly screamed. “It has to be Scarlett.”
“Mom, you do know if you push them together, Trevor will fight tooth and nail. What you need to do is make it seem like it was his idea. Not yours. Has he seen Scarlett since she moved back from Boston?”
“I’m not sure. Her mother did say she hadn’t been to Cord’s Place yet.”
“Trevor will be working Friday night. If you can get Scarlett there, I bet Cord and I can get Trevor interested in taking her to the dinner.”
My mother’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
I couldn’t believe I was doing this. A small part of me agreed with my mother, though. It was time both Cord and Trevor gave up the endless sleeping around.
“Yep. My sisters aren’t the only ones who know how to play matchmaker. And I have a feeling they lear
ned from the best. Their mother.”
She stood and straightened her hair before smoothing out her pencil skirt. “Why…I have no idea what you’re talking about, Tripp.”
With a wink, she reached for a hug. “I’m counting on you. Don’t let your mama down.”
Holding her close to me, I replied, “No, ma’am. I wouldn’t dream of doing that.”
“Now, you do all you can for Harley. Whatever it takes. You hear?” she stated as she messed with my tie and patted me on the chest. “I love you, Tripp.”
“Love you, too, Mom.”
Once she left the room, I started back for my desk when I heard her exclaim, “Harley! Darling! What a nice surprise seeing you here!”
I rolled my eyes and headed out of my office to save Harley from my mother. She was on a roll today.
“Melanie, it’s so great seeing you. How are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m doing amazing. I know you’ll be at the spring fling this weekend, but are you coming to the benefit dinner?”
“Well, um, actually I was asked to attend with Toby.”
I slowed my pace and stopped just shy of where my mother and Harley were standing. A heaviness traveled over my chest as I let Harley’s words sink in. Why was I so bothered by this? I had planned on taking Mallory.
“Wonderful. I’m so glad you’ll be there.”
My mother had Harley’s hand in hers. “I am, too.”
“It is so nice having you back home. I know I told you that before.” My mother pulled Harley in for a kiss and then a hug. She whispered something that made Harley’s cheeks flush.
“Good luck today!” she called out while rushing past Karen’s desk. “Bye, Karen!”
“Bye, Melanie!” Karen called out. A huge smile was on her face when she turned to me.
“Next time, a heads up it’s Mom, will ya?”
She threw me a snarky grin and sat back down.
“You ready to go?” I asked a very nervous-looking Harley.
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“Let me grab my jacket and briefcase and then we’ll head over to the courthouse.”
After rushing into my office, I headed back to the lobby where I found Mallory talking to Harley.
“Mallory?”
She flashed me a smile. A very fake smile that said she was pissed rather than happy. “Hey. I guess you forgot we were having lunch today?”
Shit.
“Mallory, I am so sorry.” I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. I caught her frown but looked at the floor for a quick second. I could feel Harley’s eyes on me, and I wished I hadn’t just done that.
Christ Almighty. I don’t know what in the hell I’m doing anymore. I feel like I’m in the middle of a love triangle but I’m not, at least I don’t think I am. I can’t even think straight with both of these women within an arm’s length from me.
I’d barely even touched Mallory in the last few weeks, and we certainly hadn’t had sex.
“This came up last minute yesterday, and I forgot to let you know.”
Her brows lifted in question. “Yesterday? I talked to you on the phone last night, Tripp. Why didn’t you mention you had a court date with Harley?”
The way she stressed date pissed me off.
Harley cleared her throat. “Um, I’m just going to meet you over there, Tripp. It was nice to see you again, Mallory.”
“You, too, Harley.” Mallory gave her a condescending smile.
Once the door shut, I asked, “Again? When did you see Harley?”
“She stopped in to the store with Paxton and the kids.”
“When was this?”
“I don’t know, Tripp. A couple of days ago. Does it really matter?”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Of course not, but why the hell did you make it seem like we were heading out on a date? We’re going to a mediation to see what can be worked out before this thing goes to court.”
Mallory forced a grin. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You stressed date, Mallory. Don’t play coy. It’s not like you.”
With a huff, she threw her hands up in the air. “Well, I’m sorry if I was a bit taken aback by the fact that you blew off our lunch date to help out your ex-girlfriend.”
“Hmm…” Karen mumbled as she swiveled in her chair. I turned to her and shot her a warning look.
Focusing on Mallory, I said, “I am not blowing you off. I took this case on yesterday afternoon and I meant to tell you. Why are you making such a big fucking deal about it? You know the second we were finished with…lunch…you’d rush out of here and back to the store.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Karen added softly.
This time both Mallory and I shot Karen a look. Turning her back to us, she started typing on her computer.
“It’s fine. I’m sorry if I got snippy about it, and I certainly didn’t mean to make Harley feel uncomfortable.”
“Well, you did and now I’m going to be late.”
She stepped out of my way. I felt like a complete ass because the only thing I could think about was getting to Harley. Even with the woman I had been dating-slash-having-sex-with standing in front of me, I couldn’t shake the image of Harley talking to my mother out of my head. She had on black dress slacks, high heels, and a tan blouse. Her brown hair was down but the sides had been pinned back. She looked beautiful.
I started to walk off when Mallory grabbed my arm. “Tripp, wait. I’m sorry for overreacting and causing a scene.”
“Good thing there wasn’t anyone else in here,” Karen added, somewhat under her breath but loud enough that her intentions didn’t escape either one of us.
“That’s enough, Karen,” I snapped.
“I better get back to the store. I’m sorry about the misunderstanding.” Mallory reached up on her toes and went to kiss me on the lips, but I pulled back. “I’ll see you later?”
I nodded. “See you later.” One quick kiss on her cheek, and I was out the door and rushing over to the courthouse.
It had taken me a few minutes to find out which room the meeting was being held in, but I got there with two minutes to spare.
Walking in, I cleared my throat and said, “I’m sorry I was held up.”
Harley stared at me, and there was no way in hell I could miss the sadness in her eyes.
Fuck, this is all such a goddamn mess.
I opened my briefcase and took out the file Pete’s office had sent early this morning, along with a notepad and two pens.
“Are you ready to begin?” the mediator asked.
“Yes,” all parties answered at once.
“Then, let’s start. Mr. Harris, please state the reasons you claim to be co-owner of the Oak Springs veterinarian clinic.”
To say I wasn’t prepared for what came next would be an understatement.
Harley and I sat on the bench in the town square and stared off into the distance.
“This is bad, isn’t it?” she finally said.
“Yeah. It’s for sure not good.”
“How could Doc not remember his brother gave him cash to buy the land that the vet clinic was on!”
“It was probably so long ago he didn’t think about it. We need to find out for sure that he never paid his brother back.”
“If he didn’t?”
“Then he owns the land the clinic is sitting on. That would explain why he’s been harassing you about it. He probably wants to develop it.”
Harley stood and started pacing. “I cannot believe this. I’m going to lose everything I’ve been working for.”
“You will not. I won’t let that happen, Lee.”
She faced me. “Tripp.” Tears flowed freely down her face. “I put every penny I had into buying that place. I can’t ask Doc for the money back!”
Burying her face in her hands, she started crying harder. Standing, I pulled her into my arms. She felt warm against me. When she grabbed at my perfectly pressed shirt, my stomach dropped. It had been a long
time since I’d held her in my arms like this. I missed it. Missed her.
“You’re not going to lose everything. You legally bought the clinic. If anything, Gerald will have to buy you out. He would have had to buy out his brother. Just probably not for the same price since he owns the land.”
“Oh, God. You heard what he said. If he was going to buy me out he would deduct the cost of the land.”
Reaching up, I pulled the piece of hair pasted on her cheek away and tucked it behind her ear. I lifted her chin so her eyes were locked on mine.
“Listen to me, Harley. You’re going to be okay. I swear to you, I won’t let him take away your dream. I’ll figure something out.”
When she buried her face into me, my chest tightened. I hated hearing her cry, but damn it if I didn’t like feeling her body against mine. My dick certainly took notice too.
Asshole. Asshole. Asshole.
I fought the urge to pull her closer. To stroke her hair and tell her everything was going to be alright. The urge to place a soft kiss on the top of her head was almost unbearable. I could have sworn I felt her rubbing my chest with her hand, but maybe that was wishful thinking.
My fogged-up mind was starting to clear up. My confusion, piece by piece, was being chipped away. I cleared my throat as I tried to regain some clarity, although the moment ended just as quickly as it began.
With an awkward step back, Harley wiped her cheeks. “I’m sorry I broke down like that.”
“Don’t be,” I answered.
Our eyes met again, and we stood in silence. Her breaths started to accelerate before she broke the intense staring contest.
“I’m going to head on home. Thank you for being there for me today.”
“We’re still going to win this thing.”
With a look that said she wasn’t as sure as I was, she forced a grin and walked away. I was rooted to my spot as I watched Harley walk to her car. She slipped in, rolled the windows down and drove off. I sat back down on the bench and scrubbed my hands down my face.