“It’s late—” Knox started, but she was already on the phone.
When her dad didn’t answer, Jana sighed. “He must have his phone off.”
“And he’s probably asleep.”
They both looked at the dash clock. It was nearly midnight.
“I’ll call tomorrow morning,” Jana said, “and let you know what he says. I can tell you, he’s going to hear a piece of my mind.” She popped open the passenger-side door and slid out before Knox could reply.
“Hey, wait up.” He climbed out of the truck and reached her before she could open her SUV door.
“What?” she asked, turning.
“Did you forget something?” he said in a low voice.
Tilting her head, she said, “Like what?”
“Like… saying goodbye to me.” He leaned close, not touching her yet, just breathing in her scent of raspberries.
Jana lifted her chin, her pretty mouth curving upward. “Goodbye, Knox.”
He didn’t move, didn’t step back, but pointed to his cheek, indicating he was hoping for a kiss. But Jana one-upped that. She slid her hands about his neck, pressed against him, then kissed him on the mouth.
He hauled her closer and backed her against the SUV. She smiled against his mouth, and tugged his collar toward her. He used one hand to brace himself against the SUV while he continued to explore her mouth. He was pretty sure if there was something flammable nearby, it would have ignited. Kissing Jana was like holding heaven in his arms. But he was still holding back. This was a relationship he wanted to do right.
When their kissing slowed, Knox was even more reluctant to leave her.
She ran her hands over his shoulders and down his chest, putting some distance between them. “Is that a better goodbye?” she teased.
“Much better,” he whispered. Burying his face against the softness of her neck, he shut his eyes, holding her close, and wondering what in the world Jana Harris had done to his heart.
And eventually, he released her and climbed back into his truck. Only when she left the parking lot did he finally head back to his hotel.
The hotel room he’d checked into was too quiet, too lonely. Knox couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt this way—like he was missing a part of himself, an appendage or something. He didn’t like that there were so many unknowns between him and Jana. Something had shifted tonight, though. She’d instigated more affection, and she’d been comfortable with Evie. Those were two signs of progress.
Once he settled into bed, he sent Holt a quick text updating him on the conversation with Jana and how she was going to call her dad. Holt wouldn’t see the text until morning, but Knox knew his brother would read it early.
Knox shut his eyes, his mind going over the events of the night, and heck, the entire past week with Jana. He wasn’t sure if he was lucky, or what, but this chance to start over with Jana flooded him with gratitude. Knox almost wished that he did have a job like his brother, the kind that kept him in one place, the kind that made it easier to build a strong relationship with a woman.
The ringing of his phone woke him up way too early. But when he cracked his eyes open, the sun had already risen, and it turned out that it was later than he’d wanted to wake up. He snatched his cell to see it was Jana.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Knox rasped.
He heard a shuffling sound, then, “Knox? I’m so sorry.”
The trembling in her voice told him she was crying, or had been crying. He was fully alert now. “What’s wrong? Where are you?” He pushed off the blanket and sat on the edge of the bed.
“I’m still in San Antonio,” she said. “I just got done talking to my dad at his place.”
Knox stilled, not liking the emotion in her tone. Did that mean they’d argued? “What did he say?”
Jana sniffled. “It’s complicated, but basically, he’s recommended Prosper because…” Her voice hitched. “I shouldn’t even tell you this…”
“Jana,” Knox said in a soft tone. “Tell me, please. I need to know everything, even if it’s not pretty.”
She exhaled. “I guess our fathers had words a while back. When we were dating. And my dad apparently threatened your dad. And your dad, who was mayor back then, too, didn’t take to it kindly. He wouldn’t approve a second general store in Prosper, one that my dad wanted to open. I had no idea about any of this until this morning.” Her voice broke, and Knox hated that he wasn’t with her in person.
“Wow,” Knox said. “I had no idea, either.” His mind was reeling, and he rose and walked to the window in the hotel room and opened the drapes. Sunlight streamed in.
“I’m sorry, Knox,” she whispered.
“Hey, none of this is your fault,” he said. “I’m just trying to figure all of this out and get to the root of it. Maybe bridges can be mended. What did your dad threaten my dad about?”
Jana sniffled again. “You. I mean, my dad told your dad to keep you away from me.”
The breath left Knox’s chest. “Because…” He was pretty sure he knew the reason, but he needed to hear it confirmed. He needed to know exactly what he was dealing with here.
“Your reputation,” Jana said. “You know how parents can be. Things are so extreme for them.”
Knox rubbed a hand over his face. His past continued to rear its ugly head. And the stuff that happened in high school was just teenage drama, but still… “I wish my dad would have told me. I don’t know why he didn’t.” Did his mom know? Did Holt?
“It’s in the past, Knox,” Jana said. “And it should be water under the bridge, but apparently, my dad still has strong feelings.”
“I’ll say…”
“There’s more.”
Knox closed his eyes, his heart hammering.
“I told him we’re dating.”
He exhaled. “Good.”
She was crying again.
“Jana?”
When she didn’t answer, he said, “Where are you? I can come to wherever you are. I hate that you’re feeling like this. You know your dad’s actions are his, not yours.”
She seemed more calm when she spoke. “I told him to cancel the grant request. He has the power to do it, but he told me he would on one condition.”
Knox knew it was coming before she continued. “Please tell me you didn’t.”
“I did,” Jana whispered. “I told him I’d break things off with you if he’d break things off on his end.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t care about the grant, Jana. You’re more important. Holt and I will find another solution.”
“Don’t you see, Knox?” Jana said. “I can’t be the cause of your family’s livelihood being compromised. I already promised my dad, so I think it’s best for everyone and everything to call us quits. It was probably too good to be true, anyway. We can’t go back and pretend nothing happened.”
“I’m not trying to pretend nothing happened during those years we didn’t speak,” Knox said, his shock and disbelief turning to anger and desperation. “And things aren’t too good to be true. They’re real, Jana.” He took a steadying breath. “At least on my end. I’m not dating you for a fling. I’m all in, sweetheart, and I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that to you.”
“I don’t need proof,” Jana said. “I know you believe we can make it through all of this, but our fathers apparently hate each other. I just found all of this out, and I’m reeling over it, but I can see one thing clearly.”
Knox wanted to break something. Punch a hole through the hotel wall. Anything that would stop the pain of his heart tearing in half.
“Knox, I’m really sorry,” she said softly. “I do care for you, and maybe there was a tiny chance things would work out between us, and we’d survive the weight of our pasts, but—”
“You mean the weight of my past,” Knox said. “Your dad wanted me to stay away from you back then, and he still wants that now. Why is he the one who gets his way? What about you, what about me? It’s our liv
es now, not his.”
“We’re talking about your family’s livelihood, Knox,” she said in a near whisper. “I can’t have this on my conscience. If I don’t agree to my dad’s demands, then what do you think our future will be? Full of fighting and guilt. That’s no way to have a relationship. You should know.”
She’d just described his marriage to Macie, and they both knew it.
Knox’s throat hurt, and his eyes burned. “Jana… I love you. Does that count for anything?”
A heartbeat passed, then two.
“I love you, too, Knox,” she whispered. “But this has to be goodbye.”
Jana kept driving past the road that would take her back to Prosper, and instead turned toward her sister’s place. Natalie might have already left for work, but Jana had texted her that she needed an urgent meeting. So whether that was at Natalie’s condo or her office, it didn’t matter to Jana.
Yes, Jana might have called things off with Knox, and it still hadn’t fully hit her. None of this had. And she was sure once she processed it, she’d be curled into a ball. But right now, she was furious. Things had happened years ago that she had no knowledge of, and now, it had destroyed what she and Knox had so recently and fragilely began to build together.
Was there still a future for her and Knox? Jana sincerely doubted it. There had just been too much turmoil between them. Too many misunderstandings. Too many silent years. And Jana was fully entrenched in her family’s business, and she couldn’t support herself on her column. So what choice did she have but to be loyal to her parents?
And Knox had to be loyal to his family, even though he was willing to overlook all of that. Jana wouldn’t let him break apart his family once again. The aftermath of the first time was still haunting every step in their relationship.
A return text from Natalie buzzed Jana’s phone. She read it at the next stoplight. Good. Natalie was heading back to her condo to meet. Maybe she’d already talked to their parents and knew what was coming.
Jana just hoped that her sister wouldn’t put on her lawyer poker face and would instead be the sister she should be.
It took only a minute to find a parking place, since most of the residents were likely at work. Jana had been to Natalie’s condo a handful of times, which spoke volumes as to their sibling relationship. All business.
Jana turned off the car, and another text chimed in. Her heart thumped when she saw it was from Knox. She closed her eyes and exhaled. She didn’t even want to read it, because then she’d start bawling, and she really needed to be levelheaded. Still… she opened the text.
Talked to Holt and my dad. Please call me when you can.
“I can’t,” Jana whispered to herself. She’d barely made it through that first phone call with him, and even if somehow things could be smoothed out with the Prosper family, she’d seen the deep-seated hatred her dad had for them. It wasn’t a good foundation to build any relationship upon.
Because with Knox, she knew things were real, too. Like, marriage real. And how would that be? Having fighting in-laws when she was raising their grandkids?
Jana should at least hear Knox out, right?
She stared at his text, her thoughts warring against each other. In the end, she decided not to reply yet. If she did, he’d just text again with something else, and she had to focus on her meeting with Natalie.
Climbing out of the SUV, Jana hurried to the condo. She found the spare key that her sister had told her about, and she let herself in. Natalie’s place was so immaculate that it was almost sterile. She didn’t have any plants or flowers, or anything of that sort. Black and white photographs of bridges decorated the living room wall, paired with a black leather couch and otherwise white furniture.
Jana was too antsy to sit down, though, and had paced the room a dozen times before Natalie showed up.
“Hi,” Natalie said, coming into the living room, her light green eyes wary. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled back in a smooth ponytail, and she was dressed in a power suit—navy with a white blouse beneath.
Jana always felt dowdy next to her sister, and that made her angry, too. Why did she allow herself to feel less than others in her family? Now that she’d found out the deceit and greed going on, she was even more mad at herself for never questioning anything.
“Want something to drink?” Natalie asked, heading to the kitchen. “We can sit and talk in here.” No hug, nothing friendly.
Not that Jana was in the mood… “I’m fine.” She was probably hungry, but her body wasn’t focused on any of that.
A few moments later, the two sisters were sitting across from each other in an equally sterile kitchen. There was literally nothing on the kitchen counters, save for a complicated looking cappuccino maker.
“So…” Natalie said with a brief smile. “What’s up?”
“Did you talk to Dad yet?”
The flicker in Natalie’s eyes answered the question. “Look, Jana—”
“Answer me this question,” Jana cut in. “Why did Dad threaten Rex Prosper? I know it was about Knox, but I want to know when, how, and why exactly. And why did you know and not me? He was my boyfriend, so I don’t know why I’m the last to know.”
Natalie looked away, her neck staining red.
Jana waited, and she’d wait as long as necessary to get the answers she wanted.
When Natalie met her gaze again, Jana was surprised to see tears in her sister’s eyes.
“I found a pregnancy test in the garbage, and I told Dad,” Natalie said. “I knew it had to be yours.”
Heat rushed into Jana’s chest, then pooled into her belly. She stood from the table, unable to sit any longer. “Why didn’t you come to me?” She might be asking her sister that question, but she was berating herself for throwing it away where her sister could find it… which brought up other questions of how Natalie really found it.
Jana strode to the kitchen window, shaking with disbelief. She couldn’t even look at her sister.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Natalie said. “I was shocked and scared, I guess. More scared. And I know that we haven’t ever really been the best of friends, Jana. But I do love you, and I guess I was petrified for you. Remember Maggie—my friend in high school who had to drop out when she got pregnant?”
Jana didn’t move, didn’t answer.
She heard Natalie rise and shift a chair. “I should have asked you. Been a better big sister and warned you about getting too close to a boy. About having a boyfriend. How to have a healthy relationship that wouldn’t result in a teen pregnancy.”
Jana closed her eyes. Her parents had never talked to her about that stuff. It wasn’t their fault she’d fallen so hard for Knox, but he’d been the first person she’d ever felt truly knew her and listened to her and cared about her. Sure, she knew her family loved her—because they had to. And maybe that had messed with her psyche, but that didn’t mean Natalie should have done what she did.
Natalie moved closer. “Dad told me he’d take care of it and not to say a word to you or Mom.”
“Why did you tell Dad, not Mom?” Jana asked, her voice raw. But she knew. Mom couldn’t handle conflict. Family fights sent her to her room for days. Dad was the enforcer. Dad was the disciplinarian. Dad set down the rules.
“Dad would have found out anyway if I told Mom,” Natalie said, her tone subdued. “I didn’t know it would… go so far.”
Jana turned then and eyed her sister. “What do you mean?”
“I was still awake the night Dad came home from talking to Rex Prosper.” Natalie folded her arms, blinking back new tears. “Dad was banging things around in the kitchen, and I’m surprised he didn’t wake the entire household. He told me that Rex Prosper was just as much of a bastard as his son, and no one in our family was ever to have anything to do with any member of the Prosper family.”
Jana swallowed against the painful lump in her throat.
Natalie lowered her gaze. “He said that payback would be
hell. Dad didn’t know how or what yet, but it would happen.”
“So it’s come down to the grant thing for the rehabilitation project?”
Natalie’s hesitation put Jana on alert.
“What?” Jana demanded. “What else has Dad done?”
Natalie moved back to the table and sat down with a heavy sigh. Panic shot through Jana when her sister dropped her head in her hands. “There’s more.”
Jana froze. She’d never seen her brilliant, smart sister look so defeated. “Tell me, Natalie.”
“Dad has thwarted other things with Prosperity Ranch,” Natalie said.
Jana wanted to run from the condo screaming. Instead, she held very still and listened.
“Dad put in some calls that resulted in lost training opportunities for Prosperity Ranch,” Natalie said. “You know how things in the ranching world can be word of mouth. People recommending each other’s services.”
Yes, Jana did know.
“It didn’t take much to tarnish the reputation of Prosperity Ranch to the larger equestrian world out there.”
“Wow” was an understatement. “Wasn’t one thing enough? Why does Dad have to continue holding this grudge? I was a dumb teenager, and so was Knox. It’s not like we were the first teenagers in the world to make poor decisions.”
Natalie rubbed the back of her neck. “I agree. And I see that now. Back then, it was about me proving to Dad that I was the good daughter, the smart sister. I got a weird trip out of it, and that was wrong of me. I’ve felt guilty about it for years, and that guilt has stopped me from reaching out to you. Because if you’d learned what I’d done, I thought you’d hate me forever.”
Jana stared at Natalie. This all explained so much, but it was also completely dysfunctional. “I do hate you, but I also love you. I mean, I hate what you did.” She sighed. “You were a teenager, too, so I don’t totally blame it on you. Dad’s reaction was completely out of line.”
Natalie nodded. “That’s what I told him on the drive over here.”
“You did?” Jana couldn’t explain the relief that filled her. Out of this entire mess, she and her sister finally saw eye-to-eye on something.
Not Over You (Prosperity Ranch Book 3) Page 12