Page 93 of With This Ring
Layla stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Shane while he sat in the driver’s seat of his truck. Then he closed the door, started the engine, and backed down the driveway toward the road. Layla waved goodbye to him and then spun to face her brother.
“Layla,” Hud said.
“I’m not a little girl anymore.” She marched over to him. “If I want to buy a house with my fiancé, then I will, and you can’t stop me.”
“I can get you a bigger house that will give you and Shane room to grow.”
“But I wantmyhouse, the one Shane and I chosetogether. Why can’t you understand that?”
“But if I can help you—”
“Stop trying to help me!” Her cheeks reddened. “This ismylife, Hud.”
Hudson stuck his hands in his pockets as aggravation surged in his chest. “I only want what’s best for you, Layla. That’s all. I don’t understand what’s wrong with that.”
“Why are you so insistent on rejecting every single thing Shane and I do?”
“I’m not.”
She touched her forehead. “You’re always trying to force us to do things your way.”
“That’s not true.”
She sighed. “Forget it.”
As she turned and started toward their aunt’s house, Hudsonthought back to his conversations with Dakota and realized she’d said the same things to him.
Irritation flooded him. He just couldn’t deal with it now. They were both wrong. He wasn’t trying to control his sister; he was only taking care of her. Surely she’d come around to that truth eventually.
Chapter 21
Dakota sat at her office desk in the store Tuesday midmorning. She stared down at the stack of bills she couldn’t pay, then scrutinized her meager bank account on her laptop screen. When she thought she heard a strange noise, her eyes scanned her office.
Pushing the thought aside, she turned her attention back to her financials. She had considered calling her father and asking for help. Then a memory of Hudson offering her a loan filled her mind, and she growled out her exasperation. She couldn’t even think about him right now. She had tostopthinking about him.
She heard the odd noise again.Was that a drip?
Her stomach dropped.Oh no.
Dakota jumped up and scanned her office. Sure enough, drops of water were falling from the ceiling.
“Not again!” She ran to the supply closet, found two buckets, and hightailed it back to her office. She placed the buckets underwhere the water had started leaking from the ceiling, then yanked her phone from her pocket. She scrolled until she found the name of the plumber who had fixed the pipes last time. Then she stopped. Could she trust him again or not? Perhaps it was time to get her landlord involved and insist she take care of the issues with the building, despite what the lease stated. She pulled up her landlord’s number and poised her finger over the phone.
The bell at the front of the store rang, and Dakota rested her hand on her collarbone. She had to help her customer, and then she would deal with this disaster. But how would she pay a plumber? And how would she find someone she could trust? And would her landlord do the right thing this time?
She plastered a smile on her face before marching out front, where she found a scowling Layla. “Hi, Dakota. I’m here for my last fitting.”
Worry sliced through her. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d ever seen Hudson’s younger sister looking so glum. “Layla, are you okay?”
“I’m just over my brother.” She started toward the dressing rooms.
“I’ll grab your gown.” Dakota retrieved the wardrobe bag and brought it to Layla.
Layla donned the gown and stood on the platform, and Dakota gasped as Layla moved back and forth, studying her reflection in the mirror.
“Oh my goodness, Layla.” Her eyes stung. “You are stunning.”
Layla met her gaze in the reflection, and her lips turned up in a smile. “I love it, Dakota. Do you have that photo of my parents?”