Page 38 of Forty and Fighting Dirty
“Folks, this is getting a little ugly,” David cut in, trying to defuse the tension in the room with an awkward chuckle. “Let’s take a breath, shall we?”
“I’m breathing just fine,” I replied, my eyes on my boss.
“Lungs are fully operational over here,” Rhett replied, gaze boring into mine.
In that moment, I knew I wouldn’t stay in this town. There was no way he’d keep me under his employ. I’d already lost the job that was meant to be my fresh start, and I was in the process of burning down my reputation in the town that was meant to be my new home.
It didn’t matter.
I’d take the house, sell it, and start somewhere new. My life had already been charred to cinder once—it didn’t bother me to think about rebuilding it again. It would be worth it, just to stand up for what I knew was right.
I’dwon. It was my name on that ticket. That house wasmine.
Real estate in this town was booming, and with the influx of tourists during the ski season, I wouldn’t even have to wait until summer to get a good sale price. I could move to Heart’s Cove to be near Georgia, get a job, put some money into the boys’ college funds, and finally gain some stability. Heck, depending on what kind of money I could get for it, it might even be enough for me to start my own business. Georgia had just done it; she could help me. Life and freedom were within reach.
All I had to do was fight for what was right. My and my boys’ lives depended on it.
Some arrogant jerk wouldn’t stop me. Never again.
My muscles bunched, and my whole body felt coiled tight as a spring. Blood rushed in my ears, and my legs began to tremble and shake. Adrenaline dumped into my bloodstream, and I began to wonder how good it would feel to lunge across the space and claw Rhett’s black eyes right out of his face.
His hands, which had been resting on those long, powerful legs of his, curled into fists. I saw the movement from the corner of my eye as I held his gaze, noting the jumping of the muscle in his cheek and the slight tension stealing across his shoulders.
We both exploded into movement at the same time. Instead of lunging for him, I leaped toward the desk. My flat palm landed on top of the ticket bearing my name a fraction of a second before his. The warmth of his large palm atop mine was a shock, as was the gusting breath and the heat pouring from his body.
As far as I was concerned, the two other people in the room didn’t exist. My awareness narrowed to the heat of his bodyalong my front. The press of his palm on top of my hand. The fire raging in his eyes.
“Remove yourself from my personal space,” I ordered in a low voice.
“Let me see the ticket, Darling.”
“Not on your life.”
“How do I know you haven’t made a forgery?”
“Only someone with a dishonest mind would come up with that kind of ridiculous scenario.”
His jaw hardened. To my left, David cleared his throat as Maya shifted into view. It was the lawyer who spoke. “There’s no need for this kind of animosity,” she said, tone hard. “Both of you, back away.”
For one long, tension-filled moment, nobody moved.
Then Rhett scoffed and dropped back into his chair. The instant his hand left mine, cold rushed over my skin and raised goosebumps all up my arm. He flashed a self-deprecating and entirely false smile at the two people on the other side of the desk, giving them an aw-shucks arch of his brows. He was such a fucking fraud.
I slid my ticket across the desk and clutched it like the lifeline it was. My heart hammered against my ribs, crowding out the space that was meant for my lungs. I couldn’t get a good breath in.
Maya moved around the desk and placed herself between us. “We’ll need time to sort this out. I need to consult the terms and conditions of the raffle.” She paused, glancing at each of us. “I’d advise that you both retain your own counsel.”
A legal battle. My stomach sank, and all my dreams andplans evaporated. Because even if I won, I had no doubt that Rhett Baldwin’s pockets were deep enough to drag out the fight and bleed me dry.
Judging by the tiny, victorious curl at the very edge of Rhett’s lips, he was thinking the same thing.
But before either of us could speak, there was a crash outside the door, followed by a chilling scream. Something had happened to my boys.
FIFTEEN
RHETT
I’d never seenanyone move as fast as Piper when the crash sounded from the hallway. She nearly ripped the door off its hinges as she went outside, yelling her boys’ names. I was on her heels, and peering over her shoulder, I saw two little brown-haired boys at the end of the hall, one of them sprawled on the ground, white as a sheet, the other looking wide-eyed from the other side of a tower of tumbled chairs. A few feet in front of the boy on the ground, Piper’s phone skittered to a stop. Behind the boys, more stacks of chairs remained untouched.
