Divided Interests (Southern Bride 3)

My father wasn’t handling his dad’s death very well, and it broke my heart. They had been so close. They ran Foster Construction full-time together, at least up until a few years ago when Granddad finally retired.

When I walked out to the car, my mother took my hand. “Lucas, I hope you can stay a few days. Your father mentioned something about going fishing, and I know he could use some help here on the ranch.”

I smiled. “I’d like that.”

“Does that mean you’ll stay? When I talked to Bianca earlier today, she said you were leaving after your meeting.”

Anger pulsed through my veins. “Did you call her?”

“No, she called before you got here and asked if Paige was in town, which I thought was strange. She didn’t have very nice things to say about Paige, and truth be told, I told her not to speak about someone she clearly didn’t know. She didn’t appreciate my tone, I don’t think.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “They’ve not met, and they never will.”

Her brows rose. “Well, she sure doesn’t like her for someone who doesn’t know her.”

“It’s because I dated Paige, and Bianca found a ring once, thought I bought it for her and I had to explain it had been for Paige. So, yeah, she’s a bit of a sore subject.”

My mother’s eyes lit up. “You bought Paige a ring? When?”

“I was going to give it to her Christmas of our freshman year of college, but we all know how that turned out.”

“Lucas.”

“Mom, please. Not now. I’ve had a really shitty day, and I’m dealing with two very different women who are pissed off at me for two very different reasons.”

She nodded. “Please don’t let her talk you into leaving.”

I kissed her forehead. “I won’t. I’m going to tell Bianca to head back to Austin. She’ll understand my need to stay. Actually I’m not going to be giving her a choice.”

My mother smiled but attempted to hide it. “Will you be staying here after Bianca leaves?”

With a smile on my face, I shook my head. “No, I’ll be staying at Granddad’s place.”

The second I walked into the large suite at the bed and breakfast, Bianca was all over my ass.

“What is going on, Lucas? Why is Paige involved with your granddad’s house? Did you see her? Speak to her?”

“Jesus, Bianca, can I at least get in the door and make myself a drink before you hit me with a million questions?”

“Well, I need answers. I’ve been down at the pool all afternoon waiting for you to meet with the lawyer, then you don’t come back for hours.”

“I went over to my folks’ house. You knew I was going over there, remember? I asked you to come and pay your respects to them?”

She sighed and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m sorry, baby, but you know how much your mother dislikes me.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

With a purr in her voice, she said, “Let me make it up to you.”

Her hand moved down my chest and rubbed against my dick. She actually expected me to get hard after the day I’d had, and I was limp as a fucking noodle.

With a frown, she stepped back. “Okay, you’re stressed. Let’s talk about what happened.”

This was not going to be fun. “My granddad left me the house and property, but he only left me fifty percent of it.”

Her brows drew in tight. “Okay, well buy your parents out of the other half so we can sell it and be done with this place.”

“He didn’t leave it to them, and there is no we on this.”

Why it was taking her so long to put two and two together was beyond me.

“Just buy out the other person, Lucas,” she said, frustrated.

“She doesn’t want to sell.”

A fire burned in her eyes. The light bulb finally clicking on.

“He left the house to her? To your ex-girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

I walked into the bathroom and turned the shower on, pushing it all the way to hot.

“I don’t know.”

“And she is refusing to sell?”

“She’s always loved the house, and my granddad knew that. He wanted her to have it because she mentioned to him a few times about how she’d love the opportunity to restore it.”

“That little bitch. She worked her way in.”

I sighed. “Paige isn’t that way, Bianca.”

“How do you know how she is? The last time you saw her was how many years ago?”

The irony of this conversation wasn’t lost on me.

“Four years ago, her mother’s funeral. Bianca, I offered her a large sum of money to buy her out, she didn’t want it. She wants the house.”

Bianca sighed. “Okay, I’ll get my best lawyer, and we’ll contest the will. Say that you’re blood and your grandfather was clearly manipulated. We can make her look like a gold digger.”

Facing her, I laughed. “I’m not doing that.”