Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Don’t make me get involved.”
“And don’t force me to rethink your employment and housing. You’ve gotten a great deal. Good pay, free cottage. We even pay healthcare, don’t we? God, what a nice little life, and you seem to enjoy it.”
I grip my gloves in both hands and tug at them anxiously. “This isn’t going to work.”
“Sure it will. What was Kellen talking about with his mom?”
“I don’t know, okay? All I know is they spent time together, then he came out here and helped me work. I think he was upset about her condition and doing some physical labor helped him forget.”
“Very quaint, but if you think Kellen gives a damn about his mother, you’re insane. That man doesn’t care about anything in this world except money, power, and himself, so don’t fall for his bullshit. Remember, he left for years, and he’s only back now because he’s a shark and he smells blood in the water.”
“I don’t want to get involved either way.”
He nods, still smiling. “Understood, but unfortunately Kellen seems to have involved you regardless. From now on, I want you to tell me what he says as soon as he says it. If you want to keep this job and you want to stay in your cottage and live this comfortable life, you’ll need to prove that you’re a loyal member of this family. No more free rides.”
I clench my jaw. A thousand responses flit through my mind, most of them starting with fuck you, you stupid— but instead I only nod once and glare at him, not trusting myself to speak.
“Good,” he says and turns away. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. I’ll be back and I hope you have something interesting to tell me when I am.” He waves and walks off, whistling to himself.
I watch him go, seething.
I want to scream at him. I want to hunt down Kellen and scream at him too. No part of me wanted to be involved in this stupid farce of a power struggle but now I’ve been pulled into both camps, and I don’t even know what to do. On the one hand, I can back Kellen, marry him, and hope he wins—even if that’s a long shot. Or I can back Hugh, spy for him, and keep the life I’ve built over the last seven years. I won’t own the gardens, but I’ll get to work them, and that’s been enough to keep me content and sober all this time.
Both are a risk, but one’s less of a risk than the other.
“Did you have a nice chat with Hugh?”
This time, I jump up and yelp. I whirl around and there’s Finn standing at the other end of the cactus patch, smiling and poking at a saguaro cactus, one of those iconic tall tubular monstrosities.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Just listening to your chat.”
“Jesus fucking hell, are you seriously spying on me?”
He shakes his head. “Nah, not spying on you. I’m spying on him.” He nods toward where Hugh just left.
“You’re insane. You’re all absolutely insane.” I groan and tug at my hair.
He shrugs like, yeah, probably and waves a hand in the air. “The status of my mind is unimportant. I think we need to have a quick talk.”
“I’m not doing this. I don’t want to do any of this.”
“And yet it seems like you don’t have a choice.” He steps closer. Finn’s a strange man, closed off and guarded. I don’t think I’ve heard him speak more than a couple dozen words since he came here with Kellen, but he’s clearly the second-in-command and Kellen’s close friend. He’s handsome, but he scares me, and not in a way I kind of like. Just an actual terrifying person.
“If you were listening then you know that asshole’s blackmailing me. If I don’t spy for him, I’m done with this place.”
“And if you don’t help Kellen, you’re equally done.”
“Please don’t do this to me. It just isn’t fair.”
“Nothing’s ever fair.” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “But I’ll be honest. I empathize with your situation, I really do. Only I’m extremely biased and I think you’d be crazy to go with Hugh. That man’s a soft, spoiled little pony compared to Kellen.”
I look at Finn carefully and he’s staring at the plants, a far-off look in his eye. It’s strange that Kellen keeps company with a man like Finn, and I have to wonder what Kellen did to earn this guy’s loyalty. It must be impressive, because I get the sense that Finn is extremely competent and not the sort of person to follow just anyone.
“Do you really think Kellen can do this? I mean, do you really think it matters if I marry him?”
Finn nods slowly. “Yes and yes. You don’t know him like I do.”