Wicked Need (The Wicked Horse Series Book 3)(29)
Kevin leans his head toward me, puts his lips near my ear, and in a low but deadly serious voice, he says, “You do not f*ck around with me, Catherine. You can either walk away intact or in pieces. Your choice. But I seriously suggest you forget about that will.”
He pulls his head back so he can look down at me, his eyes flicking back and forth to see if what he’s said has sank in. I don’t respond, but I don’t break eye contact either, gritting my teeth together in anger and some fear.
“I can see you understand me,” he says confidently, releasing his hold. I take two stumbling steps back.
Kevin merely tucks his hands into the lightweight jacket he’s wearing and says, “I’ll make these two offers, and then I’m done with you. I’ll give you five thousand in cash and you move on with your life. Stay away from my brother and me. Or move back into the Jackson house—I’ll give you a monthly allowance and you’ll be at my beck and call when I come to visit.”
Straightening up to my full five-foot-seven—thank you, Fendi—I stiffen my spine and lock my knees in figurative battle. I forget about the fact that not only does Kevin disgust me, but he also slightly scares me too. But I don’t get caught up in that. Instead, I tell him with as much sarcasm as I can muster, “As tempting as those two offers are, I’m going to decline.”
Kevin’s eyes harden, his lids lowering until I see just tiny slits of brown irises peeking out at me. He inclines his head at me in acknowledgment of my position and says in what can only be taken as a clear threat, “So be it. But don’t say you weren’t warned.”
He takes away my ability to walk away from him, making a casual turn on the sidewalk and meandering off in a carefree saunter. I can tell by the set to his shoulders and the almost jaunty step that he’s not worried about me at all.
But he should be.
Because I just learned something very important.
There is no new will where Samuel cuts me out. If there were, Kevin would have offered up the signed copy to me without hesitation. Instead, he tried to buy me off, relying on his faulty instinct that I am still a woman who can be owned.
It’s a mistake to underestimate me, and I know exactly what I need to do.
Chapter 11
Rand
“I can’t believe we essentially live in the same house and I only get to see you when you have a few minutes to pop into my place of business,” Jake says as he walks into the back breakroom of his ski shop.
I’ve been here for almost two hours waiting for Cat to finish up her job hunting visits, shooting the shit with some of Jake’s employees or other locals who stop by for some sporting equipment needs. Although his shop is named Teton Ski and Snowboarding, it’s actually morphed over time into a sort of one-stop shop for all of your Wyoming outdoor needs. He runs guided fishing trips in the summer, hunting trips in the fall and winter for big game such as elk and moose, as well as black bear in the spring. He even has guides who will just drive you around and show you where you can see all the wildlife. Jake sells everything from skis to guns to fishing lures to sporting apparel, and he’s been quite successful at it.
I don’t respond directly but throw a teasing jab while looking at my watch. “Must be nice to have a job you can roll in at close to lunch time. Wish I had as easy a life as you.”
Jake laughs. As well he should, because he’s one of the hardest-working men I know, and he knows I’m joking. He’s normally in the shop at least an hour before it opens, and while he may go home so he can have dinner with his family, I know he works in the evenings too to stay on top of things.
“Lorelei had an ultrasound this morning,” he explains as he walks over to the coffee pot on the counter and pours himself a cup.
“And how is the little niblet?” I ask, leaning back in my chair so the front legs come off the ground a bit.
“Looking like a chip off the old block,” he says before taking a chair at the table opposite of me. “He’s got the look of a snowboarder for sure.”
“It could be a girl,” I point out since it’s still too early for the ultrasound to show that.
“Nope. Gonna be a snowboarding boy. Amber’s going to be the skier.”
I laugh and shake my head, but, secretly, I’m a little envious of him. Beautiful wife, gorgeous kid with another on the way, and leading a spectacularly full life. Once I figure out what I want to do with my own, I’m hoping things shake out for me like they have for Jake.
“So what’s up with you?” Jake asks. “Jimmy said you’ve been here a while.”
Jimmy is one of his employees who is manning the store today. He also doubles as a fishing guide, but the trip he had set this morning got cancelled. It rained like hell last night and the rivers are too muddied to make it worthwhile.
“Just waiting for a friend who is doing some errands around town; thought we’d go get some lunch after she’s done.”
“She?” Jake asks, an eyebrow cocked and with a quick lick to his lips.
“Yes, a she,” I affirm. “I’ve been known to like the opposite sex, you know.”
It’s no wonder Jake has a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to me making any type of plans that sound like a date with a woman. He’s the one person who knows firsthand how turbulent my relationship was with Tarryn. He also knows that when it ended, I sort of swore off relationships for a while. While he has no clue about The Silo and what I do there, he’s also observed me for the past four years and hasn’t seen me date anyone. I’ve been to dinner at their table, gone out with him and Lorelei on many a weekend, but they’ve never seen me with a date.