Page 99 of That One Night
“Or what?”
The way he said it, like a dare, sent a warning shot through Hendrix’s brain. Trenton had a smirk on his face, like he was enjoying this way too much.
“Here’s the thing, Hartson. You’ve always thought you were better than me. Always thought your daddy being a rockstar made you king of the school.”
Hendrix sighed. “You’re a dipshit. We left school a long, long time ago.”
“Yet here you are, trying to get your revenge on me.” Trenton ran his thumb across his jaw. “Does she scream out your name like she used to scream mine?”
“Shut the hell up.”
“Why? Does it hurt, knowing I had her first?”
“You might have had her, but you didn’t keep her. You broke her.”
“Oh no. I didn’t do that.” Trenton finally stood, walking around his desk so he was in front of Hendrix. The contrastbetween them couldn’t have been anymore different. Hendrix in his dirty farm clothes, Trenton in his sharp suit. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll release the lien, but only if you do something for me.”
“What?” Hendrix asked abruptly.
“Break it off with her.”
He shook his head. “You really are delusional.”
“I’m just protecting myself. My reputation.” Trenton lifted a brow. “Of course, there’s the other problem,” he mused. “The issue of you and Emery having an affair behind my back. I’ll have to make it clear she’s the reason we split up. I don’t expect she’ll like that very much, when everybody in Hartson’s Creek finds out that you two are cheaters.”
“But we’re not. You two were split up.”
Trenton shrugged. “But nobody knows that. I know Emery. She’s been very careful to keep it quiet.” He brought his eyes up to Hendrix’s, a flash of victory in them. “Emery said something about your mom’s charity last night. I’ve been looking it up today. What a noble endeavour. She sounds so excited about it. Wouldn’t it be awful if her family had some kind of scandal right when she was launching it?”
Hendrix’s mouth went dry. “You wouldn’t do that. She’s never done anything to hurt you.”
“Of course I wouldn’t. Unless I was forced to.” He lifted his chin. “The ball’s in your court, Hartson. Either you break it off with Emery, or by the end of tomorrow everybody will think you had an affair with my fiancée.”
“You think she’ll be okay with that? With you making me do this?” Fury rushed through him.
“I don’t think we need to tell her.” Trenton gave him a pointed stare. “You break things off and I’ll sign that lien off on Saturday. Emery and her mom will be free to sell the farm. And if you don’t, then I’ll make sure the whole of Hartson’s Creek knows exactly what you’ve been doing with my fiancée. It’s yourchoice. Take it or leave it.” He grabbed a business card from the silver case on his desk, passing it to Hendrix. “Let me know your decision. I’ll do the rest.”
When Hendrix had taken the card, he leaned over his desk and pressed a button. “Catherine, Mr. Hartson will be leaving now.”
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
“If you stareat that computer for too long your eyes are going to fall out,” her mom said, folding her arms across her chest as Emery finally closed the lid of her laptop. She’d spent most of the day emailing and calling lawyers, trying to find somebody who dealt with agricultural property and debts.
Not a single one of them had replied to her messages. Even the phone calls were useless – just promises of a callback when the lawyer was available. Time moved slowly here, especially in the summer. Nobody was ever in a rush.
Except her.
“You’re right,” Emery murmured. “I’m going to head out for a walk. Clear my mind.”
“No wonder you’re all worked up,” her mom said, her voice soft. “Seeing Trenton must have reminded you of how much you miss him. But it won’t be long now. You’ll be going back home soon.”
Yeah, she would. And one way or another she’d tell her mom the truth. She’d been so ready to do it last night, before he’d arrived.
It was almost six, and there was no sign of Hendrix when she walked over to his farm, seeing Frank resting his head on the fence. He let out a bray as she stroked his wiry head.
“Why can’t life be easier?” she asked him.
