Page 141 of True North

Bursting with hope, and so stinkin’ excited I could pass out, I walk through the accountant’s front door. The milky sunshine barely warms my cheeks, but I don’t care. After weeks of things going wrong, something finally has the potential to go right.

Now, all I need is for this deal to come through before the week’s out.

I glance up at the cold sky and the wispy clouds scudding across it. Crisp air whips at my face, sending my nose tingling.

Fingers crossed, Rosie.

ChapterThirty-Five

HARRY

The slip of paper in Louisa’s hand has me seein’ red. None the wiser, the bank manager glances between us as my glare pierces Lou’s soft expression.

“Nope.” I jolt from the seat and walk out of his office.

“Harry,” Lou pleads from behind me. She excuses herself politely, and fierce dainty steps close in behind me a heartbeat later. “Stop, please. This is how we keep Rosewood.”

I don’t stop.

I spill out onto the sidewalk and stalk my way down Main Street.

Dammit.

How does this woman always manage to send fire through my veins? Even when she’s rooting for me, she drives me fuckin’ crazy.

Now this.

A hand wraps around my bicep.

“Don’t you walk away from me, Harry Rawlins.”

I spin back so fast, I almost crash into her. “What did you do, hey?”

“I got the money we desperately needed.”

Those green eyes may as well be made of flame, the way they burn into me. I grind my jaw shut. Chest heaving, I remove the space between us. People have started lookin’.

They can get fucked.

“What the hell did you go and do that for? That wasn’t the plan. You pissin’ your dreams away for me wasnotthe fuckin’ plan, Louisa May.”

Her eyes soften, just the slightest.

She folds her arms over her chest. “I will have you know, I haven’t pissed away anything. I’m fighting for this dream.” One elegant arm breaks from its hostile hold and waves between us.

I pace a tight circle and come back to her. “And what happens when this is not enough? When you gave up everything for me. And I’m not enough?”

My throat closes over as my own words register.

Jaw feathering, I drag my hat backward before shoving it down tight.

“I didn’t give up my dreams for you, Harry. I simply chose a new dream. Those plans I made, they were from a lifetime ago. Those goals were simply waypoints to what I thought success was supposed to look like. To make sure I never ended up like my own mother. Tied to some tiny town.” A manic laugh spills through her lips. “God, I was an idiot. Dreams are just that, Harry. Dreams. They’re not concrete. They’re not unwavering devotion. They are notreality. And they most certainly are notyou.”

I jerk with her words as if she slapped my face.

Her face slips, her arms dropping to her sides as she steps closer. “You’re not gettin’ it.” She shakes her head. “I don’t want any of the other stuff if it means we don’t get the lifewewant. The dreams I had don’t come close to what I have with you.”

Eliminating the remaining distance between us, she adds, “I don’t want a moment of it if I don’t have you with me. Plans change. So do dreams. I got a new one. And it’s you and that crazy run-down ranch. With you on the horse next to me on mine.”

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