Accidental Knight: A Marriage Mistake Romance(13)

Bingo.

Jonah warned me what I’d be up against with her parents, especially her hellfire mama. Partly the reason he made me promise to help her. “What’d she do?”

“She sold it to a friend of hers before I even got a chance to lay the floors. Cash deal. A big favor she thought I totally wouldn’t mind.”

That seals it then. My neutral smile thins.

Her ma must be just as conniving as Jonah claimed, even when it came to her own daughter.

I’d planned on being cautious when it came to her parents. Now, I’m thinking facing them head-on might work better.

“I’m such an idiot,” she whispers harshly, more to herself and the world than me.

“Hey, that’s business. A whole lot of harsh damn lessons on the road to riches. Jonah would be the first to agree.”

I’m still smiling, offering her sympathy, when she looks up and the sadness on her face eases.

“Doesn’t sound like you failed at real estate, darlin’. More like the only mistake you made was letting your folks get a hand or two in your business.” I hope she already sees this. It’ll make the next part easier.

A smirk pulls on her lips. “That’s what Gramps said, too. But I’d borrowed the money to buy the first property from them, so I didn’t really have a choice.”

Technically, she had, but the money came from Jonah. He’d sent it her way through them.

Hardly my business, of course, except where the past bleeds into Jonah’s very present wishes.

I take another pull of water. Setting the bottle back on the table, I ask, “You going to buy another one?”

“No. The bungalow sold last week, and I told them to wire the money to my parents. For the exact amount I’d borrowed.” She shrugs. “Maybe some day I’ll try it again, I have a degree in design.” Looking around the kitchen, she says, “Speaking of real estate...Gramps told me he’d fixed up the place, but I didn’t expect all this. This kitchen...what gives? The cupboards, the flooring, the counters, the appliances...”

“Don’t forget the light fixtures,” I add.

She nods and grins. “Who’d he hire?”

I grin. “You’re looking at him.”

Her eyes grow wide. “What? Really?”

I nod. This could be the connection I need so she trusts me, so I stand up, taking a quick look at my handiwork.

“I did the bathrooms, too.” Jonah wanted all that done especially for her.

For the day when she returned. I’d had my doubts she ever would, but there’s no denying the evidence in front of me.

Jonah Reed never half-assed anything. He didn’t tolerate anything less than excellence. His faith in his little girl kept him going, and that’s what brought her back here. Now, I keep my end of the bargain.

I can’t fail Jonah the way I did Angie. The way I did Sherry and Terry.

They’d fucking counted on me. Never again.

Jonah Reed practically became the family I no longer had.

“Is that why Gramps hired you? Contractor skills?”

I shrug. “He hired me for whatever needed to be done. Jack of many trades, darlin’, and several more I’ve learned on the fly.”

There was more to it than that. My real skill set that interested Jonah the most was closer to security guard, and that’s the role I’ll take on with her, but she doesn’t need to know it right now.

Not even Jonah knew what I’d discovered was going on behind the scenes with North Earhart Oil.

“Are your parents coming out here to the ranch?”

“I don’t know,” she says. “Not today, I’m sure.”

I stand, walking over to the counter, to the stack of papers ready and waiting.

“Did you sign all the papers Sheridan had for you?” I ask before picking up my stack. The marriage stuff is buried deep in the mundane.

“Yes.” She sees what I’m holding. “He said there’d be more here.”

Right on cue, Sheridan.

“Ready and waiting,” I tell her with a friendly grin. “Quite a stack. Proxy papers for the utility companies to transfer, mostly. You know, electricity, phone, natural gas, all the crap that needs to be changed from Jonah’s name to yours.”

She lets out a heavy sigh and looks down at the table.

I pick up the stack and a pen. Wanting it to sound like nothing more than the world’s most tedious bull, I ask, “Feel like signing now? Should only take ten or twenty minutes.”

“Might as well.” She shrugs. “Sheridan said you’d be helping me with this entire process. Thanks for taking care of all that. I never thought of the utilities, but yeah, let’s just get it done.”

I carry them over, set them down in front of her, and hand her a pen.

A twinge of guilt strikes.

No question, this is pretty fucked up.

I’ve never purposefully duped someone like this before, and my conscience has been clashing with it since I’d agreed to the marriage piece.

But it’s for her safety, isn’t it?

That’s the justification, all right. Jonah’s elaborate plan involves more than money and some land.

It could mean lives, including the one belonging to the pretty young thing in front of me.

There are no good words for that.