Page 22 of Promise You Forever

I can’t keep it professional with her. It’s as ludicrous to think I could do that as it was to think I could keep my feelings for her casual years ago. There’s no way she and I can be in each other’s orbit without being pulled closer and closer together.

I dry off quickly and pull on a pair of gray sweatpants and a white tee, ignoring the pit in my stomach. There’s no way to know how Eli is going to react to finding out that I’ve been floating her family’s ranch for a while now. Any feeling she might have will be valid, I’ll just have to weather the storm of theconsequences. It’s not like I don’t think I did the right thing. I’d do it all over again.

She’s still sitting on the couch when I come back down, but as I suspected Jasmine and Paul are nowhere to be seen. She looks up, her eyes running up my body to my face, but her face is a mask of indifference. I hate that she’s guarded like this now, even more than that I hate that she’s like this because of me.

My words were sharp and meant to kill. I’ve never regretted anything more in life, even letting Amy leave the hospital without a thorough check after her accident. It’s on me to fix what I’ve broken now.

“I ordered pizza,” she says as I sit down on the other end of the couch. “Figured you’d be hungry after working all day.”

“That’s perfect.” I reach over and grab everything off the table I left them on. “Here’s everything I’ve got for the ranch. All the bills and payroll are current, but there’s something you should know.”

Her eyes meet mine as she takes everything from me with uncertainty glistening in their stormy depths. “Yeah?”

“The ranch is barely breaking even half of the time. I’ve had to get creative with the budget.” I open the laptop and unlock it with my fingerprint. “I’ll set you up with a login, so you can take over if you want.”

She takes it from me and tells Charlie to get off the couch, patting the cushion beside her for me to scoot closer. I watch as she scans through page after page of financial records. Her brows moving slower and slower together with each realization.

“I recognize these account numbers.” She points at the ones belonging to the ranch. “But I haven’t seen this one before. Where is this much money coming from?” she mumbles the question under her breath.

“It’s my account.”

Her gaze snaps to me again. “Come again?”

“I’ve used my own money to fill in when necessary.”

“There are at least a dozen deposits here.” She looks back at the computer. “This has to be nearly half a million dollars over the past couple years.”

“Sounds about right.” I lean back against the cushions and relax. She’s taking this better than I expected.

“Did Grams know about this? Does Gramps?”

“No. I’ve been doing it quietly.”

“How do you even have the money for this? Have you even been collecting a paycheck? I’m so confused.”

“I haven’t been paying myself, I don’t need to. The money I’ve been using is from a settlement I received from the hospital after Amy’s death.”

“Oh.” She stiffens immediately at the mention of Amy. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.” She closes the laptop and pushes to her feet quickly. “I’m going to get a drink, do you want anything?”

She doesn’t even wait for my answer as she hauls ass into the kitchen. I’m halfway to following her when I hear the doorbell.

“That’s the pizza, can you answer the door?” she calls from the kitchen. “I already paid and tipped.”

I grab the pizzas and chat with the delivery kid for a minute because he’s Janey’s neighbor. He was just a toddler when I bought the house. It’s crazy to see him out driving and working now.

I set the boxes down on the coffee table as Eli brings out a beer for me and diet soda for herself along with two plates. The last thing I was expecting to see when I opened one of the boxes was a pepperoni, sausage, and mushroom pizza. I look over at her as she pulls a slice of cheese pizza out of the smaller box and sets it on the plate.

“What?” she asks when she notices I’m staring at her.

“You remembered my pizza order.”

She shrugs like it’s no big deal. “I have a good memory. Besides, don’t think I didn’t notice a pint of cookie dough ice cream appearing out of nowhere yesterday.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I lean back and take a bite of the pizza giving her my best attempt at an innocent expression. The truth is I was at the store and wanted to make sure she had some of her favorite things to be comfortable. Especially now that I know she’ll be here for a while.

“I’ll be starting back working remotely next week, but I should be able to help you with anything you need. You can stop using your money to keep the ranch afloat. I’ll pay you back once I decide what I’m going to do.”

“Don’t worry about paying me back. Paul and Jo were there for me when I wouldn’t let anyone in. They never charged me rent for the land I built my cabin on. It honestly all evens out.”

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