What now? Instead of replying, I call him.
“What the hell, Campbell?” he answers.
“Excuse me?” I’m off the clock, and I don’t need to take his attitude.
“We’re supposed to have riding lessons.”
“Not today.” I put him on speaker and pull up my calendar. Nothing for today.
“I messaged you.”
He did? I check, and yep, some texts came in midmorning when I was fishing with Durban. “I didn’t have a signal this morning.”
“Where the fuck were you?”
“Excuse me?” I say again.
January’s voice sounds in the background and a horse whinnies in the distance. They must be at the barn. How does his bride feel about him raging to his ex that she stood him up? Except I didn’t.
“Gimme a minute,” he snaps at her. “Campbell, we have three days to get this ride down correctly.”
Normally, I’d get all flustered when Stanford gets bossy like this. He reminds me of Daddy and how I felt like I was always letting him down. “If you’re using two horses, it won’t take long and we have times scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
Hailstorm would get treats and wouldn’t have to listen to January and Stanford snap at each other. The other trail horse, Clyde, will be good for January.
January’s voice rises in the background, but I can’t make out what she says.
“I said gimme a minute.” He’s speaking through gritted teeth. I don’t have to see him to know.
He’s going to have a runaway bride before he knows it, and as much as I’d love to sit around and laugh at their fate, I have stakes in this wedding too. There’s no way I’m going to let my ex rob me of another five days of sneaking around with Durban.
Oh, and the land deal.
“Stanford, do you mind putting me on speaker?” I can feel his argument coming. He’s wound up and he lashes out like a snapping turtle. “Then you don’t have to explain it again to your bride.”
I purposely use the moniker to remind him that if he’s going to walk down the aisle in front of his family and not look like the loser who cheated on his ex, then he needs someone at the end of the aisle waiting for him.
“Fine. You’re on speaker.” God, he sounds like a spoiled kid.
What was I thinking when I ignored every red flag he waved? “How about I call Grady and see if he can spare someone to take you two riding? You know Hailstorm. Clyde is his brother. Just as mellow. Just as treat driven. January will enjoy the ride and maybe you two can have some me time before the festivities this week really kick off.”
He huffs but I hear a murmur of approval from my cousin. It’s not just Stanford’s reputation on the line, or mine as a professional. January needs to prove to her family that she’s not impulsive like me.
“If there’s no problem with that, I’ll go ahead and call Grady.” The foreman is fed up with the bride and groom, and I won’t be there to buffer. I’ll owe him one. “Once I get the okay, I’ll send you a message. And if for some reason it doesn’t work out, then might I recommend a romantic walk down to the pond?”
“Ooh, that sounds nice,” January says. “Let’s do that instead.”
Stanford did that walk with me when I first brought him home. It’s when he told me he loved me. Now I can see that he was manipulating me because he’d been an ass earlier that day and I’d told him to go back to Washington if he didn’t like my home. I’d fully planned to break up with him when I returned to Seattle.
I can’t see his face, but the base of his neck is probably pulsing. There’s likely a subtle flare in his nostrils. I smile smugly. He can’t manipulate me when the love of his life is hoping for a romantic walk.
“Go have some one-on-one time,” I say with an exorbitant amount of cheer.
“Thanks, Campbell,” January says a moment before the line disconnects.
Either she hung up on me, or he did, but it doesn’t matter. I was able to avert an argument that could prevent them from getting to the altar, and I thwarted Stanford’s controlling ways. I have five more days with Durban.
I never thought I’d look forward to this week, but here I am.
