Forbidden Fling (Wildwood 1)

“Of all the times for her to come back and take an interest in that shithole after ten goddamned years, she chooses now.” He huffed out a caustic laugh and shook his head. “And you know the worst of it? I can’t even be angry with her. She’s doing everything right. And she’s doing it all for the right reasons. It’s my family that’s the problem. It’s my family that’s held me back. It’s my family that created this issue in the first place.

“I’m the one that’s been trying to live so far inside the box for so long, I’ve trapped myself there.”

And now Pops was trapped there with him.

Ethan propped his elbow on the window ledge and rested his forehead in his hand. “Just perfect.”

The thought unintentionally came out as words, making Ethan realize he hadn’t heard a word from Pops since they’d gotten in the truck.

He glanced over and found his grandfather asleep. Arms crossed, head angled against the headrest, lips parted in a soft snore. The man was dead on his feet. Barely able to walk. And he planned on getting back on that damn tractor to

day.

A boulder of guilt slammed the bottom of Ethan’s stomach. Harlan was alone on that farm with no help, because when it came down to choosing sides over where to place blame over Ian’s death, Pops had ditched the party line and told his daughters exactly where the blame belonged—on Ian, not Ethan.

Taking Ethan’s side had cost Pops his entire family—everyone but Ethan. His daughters, his sons-in-law, and his two remaining grandsons, Austin and Adam, all but deserted him.

Now Pops’s retirement was threatened, because Ethan had gone and invested it in a stupid dream—a dream of letting Pops hang up that goddamned hoe and put his backbreaking lifestyle behind him. A dream of supporting the only man who’d ever supported Ethan in his life.

Time to face reality. Outside the bedroom, Delaney wasn’t into him. The bottom line now was that Ethan had to do whatever he had to do to make sure Pops was secure when that knee finally went out. Ethan had to put Pops first now, the way Pops always put Ethan first when he’d needed it most.

And while the forty-minute drive back to town had given Ethan time to accept the disappointing situation with Delaney, he still hadn’t come to terms with his discomfort over her loss leading to his gain. By the time he’d gotten Pops settled at home and convinced him to leave the unfinished work for tomorrow, Ethan barely made it back to the office in time for his four o’clock appointment.

He pushed through the door to his office, expecting to see a woman sitting in the reception area across from Jodi’s desk, but the waiting area was empty.

Jodi looked up from her computer screen. “Hey. I was starting to think you weren’t going to make it.”

“Me, too.” He reached up and unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt on the way into his office. “I have to look over the Peterson application again. I don’t—”

“Ethan?” Jodi called standing from her desk. “About Mrs. Peterson—”

“Give me a minute,” he said passing through his doorway, focused on his desk, where Jodi always laid the file of his next appointment for him. “I just want to—”

He stopped at the sight of someone looking out the window in his office. In split-second intervals, he took in her height, her build, her long auburn hair spiraling down her back.

And he broke into a sweat.

“Delaney?”

When she turned, settled those big blue eyes on him, and smiled, he swore he felt a breeze sweep through his body and drag some of the tension away.

“That’s what I wanted to tell you,” Jodi said behind him. He glanced back at his secretary, who wore a wry grin. “Delaney is your four o’clock. She scheduled the appointment under a different name.”

All his tension rushed back. Along with dread. And fear. And guilt.

Fuck.

Me.

Any glimmer of hope for the future drained out his feet. “I see.” He swallowed the disappointment and pulled on his big-boy armor. “Thanks, Jodi. You can go early if you want.”

“Really?” Her face brightened. “Thanks. Have a good night. Good to see you, Delaney. Are you going to be at Black Jack’s opening? I’d love to catch up.”

“Absolutely.” Delaney’s smile was warm and genuine. “Would love to hear what you’ve been up to.”

“Great,” Jodi said, her grin bright. “See you tomorrow.”

Jodi closed the door, and the office fell silent.