Demanding All Of You

by Ali Parker

  “We’re not fighting,” I reiterated. “She’s mad about something, I think, but I don’t know what. I’m assuming me, but I know I didn’t do anything.”

  “Ah, but you did. Your goal is to make it better. Flowers, chocolate and some sweet words always work for me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “And yet, you’re single.”

  He laughed. “Damn straight. I don’t want to look like you do right now. I like things on an even keel. I like not having to worry about pissing off a woman. In my situation, if I piss one off, I just move on to the next one. No harm, no foul.”

  “You might be on to something,” I muttered.

  “I’ll hang out with Oliver for a while. Why don’t you go do what you need to?”

  “I can’t do that,” I told him.

  “Why not? You’ll just get in the way with all your annoying safety lectures.”

  I laughed. “Silly me trying to keep the kid from shooting an eye out.”

  “He’ll be fine. He’s careful and smart. I’m not that reckless.”

  It was a good chance to clear things up. I didn’t necessarily want Oliver around if the two of us were really going to get into a fight about God knew what. It was better to get it done and over with. Otherwise, the two of us would only stew on the issue and make things worse.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with him for a couple of hours?”

  “Of course, I am,” he answered. “Haven’t I proven I’m responsible enough?”

  I nodded. “Yes, you have. I don’t doubt your ability, but I don’t want to keep you from doing whatever else you had planned today.”

  “I don’t have anything planned, except wasting a few hundred BBs.”

  I sighed, hating that I was bailing out on Oliver, but figured he wouldn’t even know I was gone with Justin there. Justin had a way of being a very commanding presence, which was strange because he was such an unassuming guy. “Thank you. I really do appreciate it. I’ll buy you ten six-packs.”

  He laughed. “You could just buy me a case. We don’t want your sourpuss face hanging around anyway. Oliver and I have some shooting business to attend to. I brought those targets I promised.”

  I smiled, really appreciating how much Justin had changed. “He’s going to be thrilled. He said you had some zombie ones?”

  Justin grinned. “I do. I asked if he was afraid of zombies. He told me they weren’t real, and he couldn’t be afraid of something that isn’t real. That kid is too smart for his own good.”

  “He’s logical.”

  “I bet he doesn’t believe in Santa either?”

  I laughed, shaking my head. “Nope. I screwed that up when he was about three. He knows he can’t tell anyone else though. He thinks it is just our secret.”

  “I’m ready,” Oliver said, bouncing into the room. “Did you bring them?”

  Justin nodded. “I sure did. Your dad says it’s just going to be me and you.”

  Oliver didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the idea. “Can I get my gun now?”

  I had bought him the gun last week after he fell in love with Justin’s. Justin convinced me he was old enough to have a BB gun and all the kids around town had been shooting since they were toddlers. He was probably right. I gave in after some very serious, long conversations about gun safety. Alex had given me hell for worrying so much and reminded me I had been his age with a BB gun at one time.

  “Let’s grab it,” Justin told him. They walked to the closet where the glass gun case was stashed. It was where his BB gun was kept, not the other guns I had inherited with the house.

  “You two be careful,” I warned.

  “We will, Dad!”

  I watched them walk back to Justin’s truck where he grabbed the targets he had brought along before heading out to the field Justin kept mowed. I watched for a few minutes while Justin set up the targets. Oliver had taken to him just as well as he’d taken to Alex. It was like he had found his people. He may have been born in the city, but he was a country boy at heart.

  I grabbed my things and headed out. I was going to make Alex talk to me. I wasn’t going to let her shut me out. If she wanted to end things, so be it, but she was damn well going to give me a reason. I waved as I passed the field where Justin and Oliver were set up, smiling and pretending everything was okay.

  The moment I was down the driveway, my smile faded. I hoped like hell she hadn’t left town. It seemed like if it wasn’t her running away, it was me. I had thought we were past all that nonsense but maybe not.

  I pulled up to her house and saw her truck in the driveway. Relief flood through me. I had been seriously worried she’d left me. I got out and knocked on the door, half expecting her to ignore me. Just like last time. This was all getting to be a pattern. A pattern I didn’t like. Unless the make-up sex was part of the pattern. That wouldn’t be too terrible.

  There wasn’t an answer. I knocked again, my irritation growing by the second. “Alex, I know you’re home,” I shouted through the door. “Open up.”

  To my surprise, the door did open. She glared at me. Whatever it was she was pissed about hadn’t faded. She was still pissed. “What?” she snapped.

  I sighed. “What is going on?”

  “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

  “Really? That’s how you’re going to play this? You’re going to get pissed and not tell me why? I’m not a fucking mind reader. Did I pick the wrong candy?”

  Her gaze narrowed. “It has nothing to do with candy.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me what it does have to do with so we can get back to normal.”

  She scoffed. “Like you would tell the truth anyway.”

  “I’ve always told you the truth!” I retorted.

  “Have you?”

  I shook my head, running my hand through my hair. “Alex, I’ve never thought you were crazy, but I’m beginning to wonder if I missed something big. I bought candy for my son—that you suggested. I don’t know what I could have possibly done to piss you off this badly. Be a grownup and just fucking tell me! I don’t want to play games.”

  I knew the moment the words left my mouth it had been the very wrong thing to say. I hadn’t meant to lose my cool, but the woman had a way of making me feel crazy. My crazy matched her crazy. Maybe we made each other crazy.

  “I don’t like games either, but you seem to like playing them.”

  “Oh my god, for Pete’s sake, just tell me!”

  There was a cold calm that settled over the moment. It was a deep sense of foreboding. A silent warning to turn and run away.

  “I know about the money,” she said, her voice devoid of all emotion. Her gaze had locked onto mine. I couldn’t look away. I was trapped.

  Chapter 64

  Alex

  I stared at him, trying to see him for the man I now knew him to be. He still looked like the same old Damion, but I knew he wasn’t. Everything I thought I knew about him was a lie. It had been him pretending to be someone else. I felt duped. I hated being duped. The casual shorts and T-shirt that were well worn was all part of his act. He was trying to sell himself as a casual, normal man living the country life.

  In reality, he was a filthy rich guy playing farmer. I wondered if he secretly looked down at all of us. He was used to his high-rise apartment in the city and having gourmet meals delivered to his door. He was the kind of man who had his dry cleaning taken out for him. He was only playing a part. Nothing about him was real, which made me question everything. All night long, I had replayed almost every moment we spent together.

  The thing that bothered me the most was that initial first impression I got of him. That had been the real Damion. That was the guy he really was. It was likely my reaction to his arrogant attitude that alerted him his charade wasn’t working. I gave him the tools he needed to be successful in fooling everyone, including myself.

  I waited for him to say something. He said nothing. He looked like a rat caught in a trap, which only fueled my ang
er. “Gee, cat got your tongue?” I snapped.

  “Alex,” he said and then stopped.

  I arched a brow. “That would be me.”

  “Can we talk?”

  “We’re talking.”

  He let out a sigh. “I want to explain. Can I please come in?”

  He was certainly changing his tune. The offended, wrongfully accused routine vanished the moment I told him I knew. “Why? I have nothing more to say.”

  “I have a lot to say,” he said, stepping forward. He stared down at me. “Let me in. Hear me out and then you can decide what to do. I’m not leaving until you let me explain.”

  When the man wanted to be forceful, he really could be. I knew he would never hurt me, but damn if he didn’t intimidate me at times. It wasn’t violent intimidation. It was a look he got in his eye that promised more pleasure than I could handle.

  “Fine,” I growled, stepping back inside.

  He walked in and took a seat on my couch, obviously waiting for me to sit down as well. I sat on the edge of the couch as far from him as possible, which wasn’t nearly far enough.

  “How did you know?” he asked.

  “That’s not really the point, is it?”

  He looked properly admonished. “No, I don’t suppose it is.”

  “I get it now,” I told him. “I don’t know why you had to go through the trouble of making up some big story. I know why you showed up in the very beginning and now I understand why you came back. It was pretty smooth of you to try and tell me it was all about me. It wasn’t. You didn’t care about me. You cared about the money.”

  “That isn’t entirely true,” he replied.

  I wanted him to tell me none of it was true. I wanted him to tell me I was wrong. Wayne was wrong. He didn’t. He essentially admitted to what I had suspected. “I guess that’s all I need to know,” I whispered.

  “Alex, it isn’t what you think.”

  “You didn’t inherit a billion dollars?”

  He winced. “Yes, I did.”

  “And you didn’t want me to know because?” I asked, waiting to see what his excuse would be.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I have no real good reason. I wanted to tell you, but I wanted to do it at the right time.”

  “When would that right time be?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I had a feeling you would react like this. I was putting it off because I liked what we had. I liked how things were going between us. I didn’t want to ruin it.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Why wouldn’t things be good between us if I knew you were filthy, stinking rich?”

  He looked down at his feet, his hands clasped together. He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Bullshit. I think you didn’t tell me because there is a lot more to it. You didn’t just get a fat check when Oliver died, did you?”

  “No.”

  I growled, growing more frustrated with his lack of information. “Making me drag this out of you, word by word, isn’t making this any easier. It’s only serving to piss me off more. You didn’t get the money right away. You had a lot riding on making the farm work is what Harvey said. What did that mean exactly? Was there some kind of stipulation to you inheriting the money? The farm? Was the farm even really yours?”

  He wiped what I assumed were sweaty palms on his khaki shorts before turning to look at me. “Yes, there was a stipulation.”

  “What was it?”

  “I would inherit the farm and the money if I lived in Geraldine for six months and kept the farm up and running.”

  I slowly nodded. “I see. How do I fit into all this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Did Oliver also demand you and I get together? Were you supposed to woo me and make an honest woman out of me? Oliver was always very worried about me being alone. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and push us together.”

  “No! Goddammit, Alex. I’m not like that. I’m not with you for money.”

  “You’re not with me at all,” I snapped.

  “You know what I mean. I love you. That is real. My grandfather never said a word about you. It wasn’t until later I found out you would have inherited the farm. I don’t know where exactly the money would have gone. It was to be donated to different charities.”

  I didn’t know if I believed him. “So, the six months. You haven’t been here for six months.”

  He shrugged. “No, I haven’t.”

  “But you have the money.”

  He didn’t confirm or deny the money issue, which told me he definitely had the money. “Alex, none of this is about money.”

  “Yes, it is. You only showed up here to collect on what you must have felt you were owed. You never wanted the farm. You never wanted this life. I don’t understand why you came back. You had it all.”

  “Sometimes, you don’t know what you want until it is staring you right in the face,” he answered. “And even then, you can’t always see it.”

  “You sound like a politician.”

  “Alex this isn’t about money. Why are you making it about the money?”

  I shook my head. I was so frustrated. “When Wayne mentioned your grandfather’s investments, you damn near choked. I couldn’t understand why you practically ran away from the table. You knew about his investments and how well they paid off and you said nothing. You made it seem like Wayne was a crazy old man. You had a chance to mention it then, and you didn’t.”

  “It didn’t seem appropriate,” he mumbled.

  “You have everything you could possibly want,” I said aloud. I didn’t expect him to say anything. He made it clear he wasn’t going to divulge much information. Guilty people rarely did. I imagined he worried he would dig himself into a deeper hole. His hole was plenty deep.

  “Does the money bother you?” he asked.

  “The lying bothers me.”

  “I didn’t lie.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You didn’t tell me the whole truth. I guess you didn’t want me to know the real reason you came back because that would interfere with you getting laid. I suppose you think I’ll continue sleeping with you for the next few months until you’ve fulfilled your obligations and can run back to New York.”

  “That isn’t true. Not in the least. I’m not using you, nor would I ever use you or anyone for that matter. You can say what you want, but dammit, Alex, I’m not like that. Don’t insult me or yourself by trying to cheapen what this is.”

  I scoffed. “I can’t believe you kept it from me. Honestly, I can’t believe Oliver kept it from me either. Did he think I was a gold digger?”

  “Absolutely not. No one knew about the money. I didn’t know until the lawyer showed up at my office. He told me about my grandfather’s investments and how they paid off. When he told me it was all mine if I could live on the farm for six months, I didn’t jump at the chance.”

  His words confirmed what I suspected. “Exactly. You didn’t know. You couldn’t even be bothered to attend his funeral, but when you found out there was a windfall waiting for you, you hightailed it right out here.”

  “No, I didn’t. I weighed the decision. I wasn’t exactly a pauper. The money wasn’t the sole motivator.”

  “I’m guessing it was a huge motivating factor to get you out here. I’m sure you sat in that house at night dreaming of the many ways you were going to spend your money.”

  “I’m not going to deny why I came out to Montana. I did come to collect the inheritance. It would change my life. It would change Oliver’s life. He would never want or need for anything. The money meant I could send him to whatever school he desired without him worrying about trying to hold down a job. He would have enough money to live a comfortable life. I wouldn’t have to work so much. I could spend time with him. You cannot tell me you would turn down that kind of money.”

  I gave a sardonic laugh. “Lucky for me, I never have to worry about making that kind of decision. No one will be leaving me any money, st
ipulations or not.”

  “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t do anything wrong. He wanted me to have the farm.”

  “And he had to pay you a shitload of money to take something he took a great deal of pride in. It’s pretty shitty that you would have let the farm be sold off or given away rather than uphold his legacy.”

  He shook his head. “It wasn’t like that. I wasn’t a farmer. I didn’t want to destroy his legacy by coming back here and trying to run something I didn’t know how to run.”

  “But once those dollar signs got in your eyes, you did it anyway.”

  He threw up his hands. “I don’t know what to say. I’m trying. I’m trying to do right by him. I’m trying to keep the farm running. Some of the money will go into updating the house and making improvements to the farm.”

  I groaned. “Of course, because that tired old farmhouse isn’t good enough for a man of your status.”

  He put a hand to his forehead, rubbing it and shaking his head. “I’m not going to be able to say anything right here, am I?”

  I got up. “No, I don’t think you can. Don’t say anything. There is nothing more for you to say. I don’t want to hear it.”

  “Will you stop and think about what you’re doing?” he said. “We have something good between us. Don’t throw it away because you’re pissed off I didn’t tell you about my inheritance. I didn’t do it to piss you off.”

  “I’ve thought about it. Now you think about this—go.”

  “What?” he said, getting to his feet.

  “Go. Take your money and go somewhere it matters. It doesn’t matter here. I’m not your whore. I’m not your fill in while you wait for your ship to come in. Just leave.”

  He stared at me for several long seconds. “Okay,” he breathed the word. “Goodbye, Alex. Again. That seems to be our thing.”

  “It isn’t a thing,” I snapped.

  He walked out the front door, quietly shutting it behind him. I went to the window to watch him leave. He didn’t look back. He got in his new ride and drove away. The shoulders I had thrown back in an attempt to look strong slumped forward.