Page 17 of Haystacks and Hoaxes

His nephew, Troy Bentley, was the sole heir to Chester Farm and all of its assets. It was a name Rock recognized all too well, since Troy’s family owned the biggest car dealership in town, Bentley Auto. Troy also happened to be Mila’s ex-fiancé, a creep who’d clearly done something to send her running from the altar.

It didn’t feel like a coincidence that Mila had innocently sketched a field of decaying haystacks that had once been part of a beloved entertainment spot for the entire town.

A spot that had been inherited by a man she’d refused to marry.

And now her life was in danger.

Chapter 4: Princess Treatment

Mila splashed warm water on her face, knowing she was obliterating what remained of her makeup. She was finally blubbered out, and the water felt good on her puffy eyelids and cheeks. A shower would’ve felt even better, but it would have to wait. Decker was busy assembling an emergency meeting of Lonestar Security personnel in the great room, and she’d been told they would be expecting her to join them. She’d also been informed that her new boss, Rock Burning Hunk of Hotness Hefner, would be among those gathered. She’d hightailed it from the room to gather her shattered nerves before facing him again.

He’d seen her at her best this afternoon — professional, hungry for a job, and eager to make a good impression. Maybe it was cowardly of her to feel this way, but she wasn’t near as interested in showing him this side of her — the raw and vulnerable, mildly depressed offspring of a young widow who’d been left with an infant to raise alone.

Mila was messed up in ways that nobody could see. Though she’d never known her biological father, she’d gonethrough various stages of grief and anger over not having a father figure in her life, and those feelings had only gotten worse once she’d become a teenager. Adding to her frustration was her mother’s grave misconception that providing her with a stepfather would magically solve those things. It hadn’t. Relationships were things that took time. That kind of intimacy was something a person had to earn. For years, Mila had coped with the disconnect in her family by keeping a certain amount of emotional distance from them. However, that was going to be a lot harder to do now that she’d accepted Deck and Chanel’s invitation to stay in their guest room. Indefinitely.

It was better than returning to her apartment tonight, though. The very thought of being there alone in the dark made her shudder. She lifted her drenched face to peer at herself in the tallest, most ornate bathroom mirror she’d ever laid eyes on. Like everything else in her stepbrother and sister-in-law’s house, their hall bathroom was a statement in luxury. She wasn’t even sure if it qualified as a bathroom. Surely, there was a better name to describe the upholstered bench to her left, gold accents embedded in the floor tiles, and professionally painted murals on the walls. A powder room, maybe? Or a lounge? It was decorated like an Italian courtyard. Green vines peeked between painted clusters of brick and stone. The ceiling boasted copper tiles, and the vanity was covered in black marble.

A light knock sounded on the door.

Mila tensed. “Yes?”

“It’s Chanel, with a few necessities I tossed together for you.”

Seriously?Mila cautiously cracked open the door, a little mortified about being seen by anybody in her current state. “You really didn’t have to—oh!” She caught her breath atthe unzipped toiletry bag her sister-in-law shoved through the narrow opening. It was brimming with every feel-good item imaginable — makeup, tissues, a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, floss, body spray, lotion, a bar of sea salt soap, cotton balls, and a nail file.Yes, please!

Old irritations and biases crumbled as she accepted it. “This is seriously…wow!” She pulled the door open wider, averting her splotchy features from her sister-in-law. “I’m just gonna say it. I may have been wrong about you.”

“Oh, there’s no maybe about it, sister!”

Mila watched out of the corner of her eye as Chanel struck a comical pose with her hands on her hips while jutting her chin at a sassy angle. “Decker has very high standards, you know. He wouldn’t have married anyone short of amazing.” The fact that she was clowning around in a beaded pantsuit that probably cost more than one of Mila’s rent payments made her antics all the more amusing.

Mila burst into helpless laughter. “Yeah, Deck is a good guy.” She wrinkled her nose. “Even when he’s being a condescending rear end of an older brother.”

Chanel’s perfectly manicured eyebrows rose. “Is that why you campaigned so hard for him while he was running for town council?”

Mila’s laughter became stuck in her throat. “How did you find out about that?” First Rock and now her sister-in-law! It felt like all of her biggest, darkest secrets were being exposed in a single day.

Chanel’s gaze sparkled merrily. “Oh, honey! You don’t get elected to the town council without connections. I had the support of the founding families, while he had you and the Cowboys for Kingston crowd.”

Mila couldn’t have been moreflabbergasted. “Do you really think my group made much of a difference?” Her only goal had been to minimize the runaway bride memes and stories.

“Are you kidding?” Chanel gave a disbelieving laugh. “Only after your posts started going viral did Decker achieve the traction he needed to get elected. You upped his game.”

Hope burgeoned in Mila’s heart. “Does Deck know about the Cowboys for Kingston?” Though the group wasn’t percolating with as much activity as it had during his election campaign, she’d kept it going. It had enough members nowadays commenting on Heart Lake news and policies that she only had to post in it once or twice per month.

“He does.”

“For how long?” Mila set the toiletry bag on the vanity and pulled out a bottle of foundation. She uncapped it and began the painstaking process of dabbing it on her splotchy cheeks and the puffy skin beneath her eyes.

“Ever since your second car was totaled.” Chanel lounged against the doorway, looking like she was in no hurry to take off. “Your mother was…” she paused to delicately clear her throat, “understandably a little emotional about the situation.”

Mila snorted. “If by emotional, you mean loudly bemoaning the fact that she’d been cursed with a rebellious daughter she’s never been able to control…”

“Something like that.” Chanel’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Anyhow, while Deck’s dad was expressing his concern about your concussion and whiplash, your mom jumped back into the conversation. She insisted your injuries couldn’t be as bad as you were making them out to be, since you still had the time and energy to waste on someonline group of cowboy activists. She apologized profusely to Decker for your alleged campaign interference and promised she would do whatever she could to rein in her wild-haired offspring.”

“Wild-haired,” Mila sighed, scraping a strand of damp hair back from her forehead. “I definitely resemble that remark right now.”

“Not even.” Chanel’s voice grew firm. “Deck couldn’t replace your vehicle fast enough then, and he’s every bit as anxious to protect you now. His biggest fear is that you may have accidentally stepped into the crossfire of one of their ongoing investigations at Lonestar Security, in which case he’ll blame himself for the rest of his days.”

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