Page 30 of Won't Back Down
“I’ll be sure to mention it to my wife.” That was as much as I’d promise him. I wouldn’t speak for her without knowing where she stood.
“Wonderful. I look forward to seeing you both.”
Sure you do.
Humming a noncommittal note, I continued on my way. I’d have to be mindful of how I behaved toward people, now that Willa was linked to me. Not that I routinely went around being an asshole, but anything I said or did would reflect on her. I didn’t want her impacted by my losing my temper or sticking my foot in it with somebody. I guess that meant that, for a while at least, I was also partly responsible for upholding the Sutter legacy. The weight of that felt odd on my shoulders. I wasn’t accustomed to living up to something. It made me wonder how Willa had survived the expectations of not one, but two different family names.
At the hardware store, I collected more congratulations, along with the light bulbs, faucet seals, and WD-40 I’d come for. There were even a few “Thank you for your service” remarks thrown in that I didn’t know what to do with, and at least one overheard, “I can’t believe she married him,” that was more in line with what I’d expected. All in all, I just felt… weird. I’d been confused enough about my place here before I’d added Willa into the mix. Now I wondered what the long-term consequences of our marriage would be. Would I become the de facto bad guy once we split? That was how divorce worked, right? People took sides, whether they knew the whys or not. I didn’t relish the thought, but I was no stranger to judgment. Better I be the target than Willa.
The idea of it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t want to think about the end of things. And that was just bone stupid on my part. I’d known what this was going into it. Just because she was temptation personified didn’t change all the reasons we couldn’t work for real. I was effectively her bodyguard, and I’d do well to remember that, for her sake as well as my own.
At least a half dozen more people stopped to congratulate me on my way back to the ferry offices, slowing me enough that I spotted Willa waiting just outside the doors by the time I got loose. She wasn’t alone. Some middle-aged guy in a suit was stepping closer to her than he had any business being. I picked up my pace just as Roy neatly inserted himself between them, conveniently expanding her personal space bubble by swinging that massive head toward the guy’s crotch.
Good boy.
“—Anthony Strand of Albemarle Development Group. I had intended to wait to approach you, but here you are. It’s kismet. I’d like to set up a meeting.”
I recognized that slick salesman’s smile. Judging by the frown Willa shot him, so did she.
“About what?” Her hand automatically reached for mine as I joined them, but Strand paid no attention to me.
“About investment opportunities, Miss Sutter. The development of your property.”
Well, that clinched it. He wasn’t a local. Didn’t know about our marriage, and didn’t know a damned thing about Willa as a person.
I watched the shutters come down. Her shoulders straightened and her jaw firmed.
Stubborn streak activated. I’d seen this look off and on her whole life. Willa didn’t dig in about much, but when she did, nothing could budge her.
“I have zero interest in selling or developing anything. And even if I did, it’s all going to be in probate for a while.”
Strand’s smile turned a little brittle around the edges. “I understand it’s too soon for you to have decided anything. My apologies for jumping the gun, as it were. Maybe you’ll change your mind.” He extended a business card that she pointedly didn’t take.
Nothing in his expression outwardly changed, but something in his scent or posture must have. Roy rose from his seated position, stepping toward Strand with a low growl. Willa didn’t correct him.
Evidently recognizing he’d get no further, he withdrew the card and took a cautious step back. “Another time then. Good day, Miss Sutter.”
We both watched him stride away.
“I’ll sell that land when hell freezes over,” Willa muttered.
I drew her in, rubbing at the tension that had lodged in her nape and shoulders. “What would you like to do with the land? I mean, not that you have to do anything with it. I know you said you’d like it to stay pristine.”
“Actually, I’d really like to create a protected wildlife sanctuary for the horses. It was something I wanted to talk to Granddaddy about for the last year, but there just wasn’t a good opportunity with Grandma’s failing health and then his own grief. But I guess there’s not really anything stopping me from pursuing that now. At least once things are settled around my parents.”
At the reminder, her shoulders tensed up again. We were still waiting for the other shoe to drop in terms of whatever legal attacks they were planning to make. Better to get her focused on the future, on the potential there. I brushed a kiss to her temple. “I think that’s a great plan for it. And very you.” Easing back, I studied her face. “How did the meeting go?”
She looped her arms around my waist and smiled up at me, those changeable hazel eyes brightening like sunlight glinting off water. “How ’bout I tell you over lunch? Then we can swing by Mr. O’Shea’s office to tell him officially about us, even though he’s probably already heard.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
CHAPTER 15
WILLA
Ihesitated outside the door of the island clinic. Making the appointment had been an impulse. Part hope, part practicality. I knew this marriage with Sawyer was supposed to be public-facing only, but in the event that he changed his mind, I figured it was better to be ready. And maybe a more optimistic part of me was hoping I’d manifest that mind change by coming here today.
Committed, I tugged open the door and stepped inside. Since it was a medical clinic, I was sans Roy. Sawyer had taken him for a jog down on the beach, and I really hoped that didn’t backfire before I met them at the cottage for some more packing.