Page 88 of Out on a Limb
“He’s an ass.” I should feel a little bad about saying it to her.
But I didn’t.
“I know.” Collette’s voice cracked.
I reached across the console to grab her hand in mine.
I didn’t have to think about it.
Didn’t have to tease out what she was feeling so I could figure out how I should react.
It just happened.
Collette gave me a small smile. “Sometimes I wonder why she stayed with him.”
“The world was different when they got married. I’m sure by a certain point it was easier just to stay together.” I slowly stroked across her skin with my thumb. “And she would have lost so much if she left him.”
Collette’s brows came together. “What?”
“I’m sure your grandfather would have fought to keep all his money. Just out of spite.” I couldn’t imagine Wilfred being the kind of guy who would want to make sure his wife was taken care of.
“Hismoney?” Collette shook her head. “The majority of it was my grandmother’s.”
“What?” I pulled into the lot at the garden, driving straight to Collette’s designated space.
“Most of their money came from my great grandfather.” Collette said it like I should have already known. “His family owned all this.” She swung one hand around. “All the property that Sweet Side is built on used to be owned by my grandmother’s family.”
I stared at her. “But that’s—” I couldn’t fathom it.
Most of me didn’t want to.
She slowly nodded. “Yup.”
“No wonder he’s so fucking loud.” I shifted the Jeep into park. “Everyone knew his wife was the one with all the real power.”
Collette’s lips tipped down at the edges. “Does that really bother men?”
“Some men.” I opened the door. “But some men are smart enough to realize that powerful women are hot as hell.”
I closed my door and went around to her side. She was waiting for me when I opened the door.
“I don’t think it’s about being smart.” Collette stepped out but stayed close. “I think it’s about being confident enough that you don’t feel threatened.”
“You’re pretty threatening, Pickles.”
Collette flipped her hair back with one hand, giving me a big smile. “I know.”
It seemed like sarcasm, but I was going to treat it like God’s honest instead.
Because it was.
“Good.” I closed the passenger’s door before clicking the automatic locks with the fob. I passed the keys over. “Go scare some people.”
She grinned at me as she took the keys. “Okay.”
I watched her head across the lot toward the main building. She was still wearing my shorts and t-shirt in spite of the fact that we’d been at her house, and it made me a little too happy.
“What are you doing?”
