“Thanks. I’ll see what I can learn. I can’t stop him from buying something someone else wants to sell.” Even as I said it, I scoffed at myself. Hadn’t I just done that with Frank? I’d put my own financial security on the line to save his place. And I was fucking myself over with how I was treating Brooke. If she left, I’d have to mortgage my place to repay the money to the trust.
Jesus, I was an idiot.
“I know. But some people might feel pressured, you know. That’s not right,” Ryder said.
“No, it’s not. Is he pressuring Mr. Coffey?”
“No, I don’t think so, but we both know how Stark works. I’m not a violent man, but I’d have punched his lights out if I’d been there when he sent the goons that threatened Sinclair and Alyssa.”
I frowned. “When did that happen?”
“Back when she first married Wyatt. They went to the farm to pressure them to sell. Wyatt about near made mincemeat out of them.”
Speaking of Sinclair and Wyatt, I wondered how that marriage was going. I was so certain she’d married him as a ploy to stop Stark. But then they remarried, and she seemed happy. But what the hell did I know about people? “She and Wyatt are good?”
He nodded and studied me like he was curious about my interest. “Very.”
I held my hand up. “I don’t have an interest. Not anymore.” No, my interest was now with the twenty-two-year-old daughter of my oldest friend. Heaven help me.
I pulled out my wallet and tossed a few bills on the counter. “Thanks for the drinks.”
“No problem, Mayor.”
I stood and left, breathing in the cool night air. I walked for a bit to clear my head. The last thing I needed was to get pulled over for a DUI.
When I arrived home, the house was dark. Brooke must have still been at her father’s. I wondered if she was ever going to come home. A wave of sadness overtook me. Sadness at what an asshole I’d been to her. Sadness that her bright smile wasn’t there to greet me. We’d been married only a couple of weeks, and yet, seeing her face in my house was so normal. So natural.
I shook my head as I made my way to my bedroom. I had a year of this. If I lasted that long, it would be a miracle.
18
Brooke
Today was the day Tucker was arriving in town, and I refused to let the shitstorm in my life mess up my happiness about that. The other night, after Mo fucked me senseless against the door of my father’s study, then once again withdrew both physically and emotionally, I acted like everything was okay while I had dinner with my father. Because I didn’t want to go home and listen to Mo go over again why he and I couldn’t be together, I decided to stay the night at my father’s.
When Dad asked where Mo had gone off to, I told him that Mo had gotten a call about city business and had to leave. I enjoyed having time with my father. At least he appreciated the dinner and could hold a conversation. He gushed over Mo’s generosity and their plans to make the ranch run better.
“I can’t tell you, Brooke, how lucky we are to have a friend like Mo on our side,” he said.
I nodded but looked down.
“You, too, honey. I know it must be weird to be married to a friend. I owe you big time.”
“It’s fine, Dad.”
He frowned. “Are you sure? Because if you’re unhappy, if he’s not treating you well—”
I mustered a smile. “I’m not unhappy. It’s fine. Different, but fine.”
He seemed to accept that and then yammered on about his plans. I was glad to see him so happy. As I climbed into my childhood bed, I wondered if Mo would be relieved that I wasn’t coming home. The fact that he didn’t check on me suggested he was.
The next morning, I was able to dress in a skirt and shirt that I’d left in my room at home, so I didn’t have to return to Mo’s house to get ready for work. As I got in my car to head to City Hall, I got a text from Tucker saying he was about an hour from town and had a reservation at a small inn.
I texted back to meet me at City Hall when he got into town. I headed to work, focused on pushing all the angst and drama in my life out and, instead, looking forward to seeing Tucker. When I arrived in the mayor’s office, Trina was her usual grumpy self, and Sinclair was holed up in her office. Mo was out at breakfast at the senior center. I started on my work until I got a text from Tucker that he was parking near City Hall.
Excitement bubbled up. Clearly, I needed a trusted friend in my life. I rushed out, ignoring Trina’s question about where I was going. I burst through the doubled doors to the building and down the steps just as Tucker walked up. I launched myself into his arms.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said, lifting me and twirling me around, making me squeal in delight. I’m sure it was unbecoming of a city worker, but I didn’t care. Tucker was here. It was crazy how happy I was about this. How much I needed him right now.