Page 51 of The Back Forty
“Did he hit on you?” he asks quietly, eyes still on me like he can’t look away.
I shake my head. “No, of course not.”
He nods, runs a hand along the edge of his jaw like he’s thinking hard. Debating something. For a moment, I consider offering to show him Luca's resume to reassure him, but I stop myself. Because he said he trusts me. And I want to believe that means something.
“Alright then,” Lawson says after a beat. “You two have fun. Let me know if you need anything from me.”
Then he turns and walks out, his boots quiet against the old wood floor, not offering me another glance.
And somehow, the confusing tension between us feels even worse.
Chapter 20 – Lawson
It’s late by the time Dani gets home from dinner with her new hire, nearly midnight, and the stillness of the night has settled thick over my home tucked away in the dense trees.
I’m on the couch, nursing a half-finished glass of whiskey, the kind that burns all the way down but still doesn’t reach the ache in my chest. Every light in the place is off. No TV. No music. Just the steady tap of autumn rain against the windowpanes and the occasional groan of my old house creaking with the wind.
It’s too damn quiet in here. The stillness is forcing me to sit with my thoughts whether I want to or not and that's what I've been doing for the last three hours.
Sitting.
Thinking.
Wondering about how I got here falling for my employee. Waiting for a woman to come home to a place that isn't hers but feels like it should be. Something I never thought I'd do.
I’m not drunk, but if there were ever a reason to get drunk, it might be tonight. Instead, I’ve just been stuck in this loop—replaying every second of the weekend that Dani and I spent together in Texas.
The way Dani walked into that boardroom like she owned it, spine straight, eyes sharp, voice smooth as silk. Her presence had every one of those tight-ass suits practically salivating. Half in awe, half in confusion, because they’d clearly underestimated her pretty face, something a lot of people do when they see her round eyes and the way her full lips tilts up at the corner when she smiles.
And then later, when all that confidence cracked. When it was just her and me in that hotel room and she unraveled in my arms like thread pulled too tight. The sound of her panic still echoes in my ears. The way she gasped for air like the world was closing in. And how I held her through it, got her through it despite being scared myself. Fed her, brushed her teeth, tucked her in like she was mine.
She told me it was a one-off. Just a blip because she drank too much coffee. And maybe it was.But it’s Dani,and that night did something to me. Changed something inside me. Altered pieces of my soul that I'll never be able to get back.
Now I can’t stop wondering if she’s still scared. If she’s been carrying that fear alone ever since. If she’s been holding it together for a lot longer than I’ve realized. And maybe the worst part is knowing how little I can do to take that weight from her. Wanting to fix it, to fix her, even though I know that’s not how this works.
The front door creaks open finally, and I don’t move. Don’t call out. Just listen for her familiar movements and the smell of her to reach me.
Her bag hits the floor with a soft thud. She kicks off her boots, mutters something to herself that I can’t make out, then the house falls quiet again. My eyes flick to the clock on the wall—12:03. She’s been out with Luca for hours. Probably having dinner and drinks. Laughing as she tells him all about how they'll be working together.
I didn’t expect it to drag this long, and I sure as hell didn’t expect it to bother me this much given the fact that I was the one who told her to hire him. But it does and I can't stop it.
That jealous feeling, it’s a slow, creeping thing. A wildfire beneath the surface. I gave her the green light; told her I trusted her judgment, and I do. But that doesn’t mean I like the thought of her sitting across from some other guy, laughing at his jokes, giving him her time because he doesn't know just how valuable it is.
How fucked up is that?
Was this always going to happen? Was it inevitable? Spend enough time around a woman like Dani who’s funny, brilliant, tough with a heart that could bring a grown man to his knees, and of course I was going to fall for her. Or maybe it’s been happening for months now, and I’ve just been too careful, too disciplined, too afraidto name thatI might be in love with the woman who works for me.
Because this ain't some fleeting thing. It’s a deep ache in my chest. A need. A knowing. I want her in my life in every damn way that a man can want a woman and I want so much more than what we have.
She steps into the living room and freezes when she catches sight of me in the dark.
“Shit, Lawson,” she whispers, clutching her chest. “You scared me. What are you doing sitting in here like some kind of cowboy ghost?”
I rattle the ice in my glass and flick my eyes to her. She’s still in that tiny black skirt she was wearing earlier for the interviews, the hem wrinkled now. Her combat boots are unlaced and scuffed. A black hoodie’s been thrown on over it all, sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Her hair’s twisted up in a messy bun, like she barely had time to think before running out the door and she looks fucking beautiful. Effortless and warm and so herself. Like coming home and yet here she is. In my home. Where my son and I live. Like she belongs here with us.
“Sorry if I scared you,” I say, voice low. “How’d it go tonight with pretty boy?”
She lets out a snort and crosses the room, dropping onto the couch beside me like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Our thighs nudge and she doesn’t move away. And God help me I love that she's always been comfortable being close to me.
