Page 120 of Dirty Rival
“Oh God. I don’t know. Pick my punishment for me.”
“The worst first then. Why they hate each other. You won’t like this, Carrie.”
“Just tell me. Did my father tell you?”
“No. I called my father and told him I needed to know. He decided that considering what I now know, which means, considering I read my mother’s letter, there was no reason not to tell me.”
“What does your mother’s letter have to do with this?”
“Our fathers were friends. My father fucked your mother.”
“What?” she gasps.
“That’s right and your father told my mother. And so the war began.”
She presses her hands to her face and then looks at me. “How can we be together?”
“We’re not them, baby. We have nothing to do with this and it’s not like we’re going to have family events with my father. He won’t be invited ever again.”
“You’re right. It just feels weird. I want to blame your father for her leaving us, but I can’t. She made her choices. She cheated. She left and never looked back.” She swallows hard. “What else? I need it all now. Montana. Tell me about Montana.”
“Montana,” I repeat. “He knows I’ll tell you what I’m about to tell you. That’s why I know he’ll call you tomorrow and tell you I tried to convince him, or threatened him most likely, to lie to you. I need to know you aren’t going to believe him.”
“I’m here. I’m with you. I trust you.” She shifts more fully toward me. “What is he doing?”
“Fucking a young pretty widow who owns a horse ranch she won’t give up.”
Her brow furrows. “He wants to buy a horse ranch? Is there money in a horse ranch?”
“There’s oil under the land. He wants that. She wants to protect the horses. I think he might go so far as to marry her. He didn’t say that, but that’s my gut instinct.” I think of his comment about cash stashed away and the realization hits me. “I’m speculating, but something he said makes me think that he looks at that land as a retirement plan.”
“And he’s using my money for this? Surely he knows I won’t think that’s acceptable. He wants me to go there.”
“I’m sure he planned to convince you the horse ranch was a good long-term investment. He wants you to fall in love with it.”
“But now you know and so I know.”
“Yes. I’m sure he’ll have a backup plan and tell you I’m full of shit. Royce found out about the oil.”
“My money is basically gone.”
“No. We’re going to make a fortune with Grayson, both of us. You. Your own money and, Carrie, it’s enough to never need another dime.”
“We are far from closing this deal.”
“We will. I feel it, but I need to know that when he calls you, you’re ready for what he’ll say.”
She lays back on the bed. “I can’t do this anymore.”
I lower myself to her side, resting on my elbow. “Carrie—”
“Not us.” Her hand goes to my face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean us or you. I meant everyone going at each other and me being in the middle. So I choose to trust you and what I feel with you, until you, not someone else, gives me a reason not to. But please don’t make me sorry.”
Relief washes over me. “I’m not going to make you sorry.”
She rolls to face me, propping herself up on her elbow. “Be honest with me no matter how bad it is, because I get it. There was stuff that happened before we knew each other. I’m not stupid. Just be honest like you were tonight. No secrets. No lies. Promise me.”
“I promise,” I say, and I mean those words despite the fact that I have a secret and therefore I just told a lie.