"Do you work for Jo?" Sawyer asks.
"I do." I nod at the surrounding land. "I'm helping Jo make sense of the ranch and what needs to be done."
Sawyer rocks back on his heels. "Do you have special knowledge in that area?"
His question strikes me as odd, but if he's thinking of sinking money into this place then maybe it makes sense. "I grew up on a cattle ranch." I don't throw around my last name, mostly because in this town everyone already knows, but I never do it when I get the chance. It's obnoxious.
"Gotcha." Sawyer looks at Jo. "I like what I see, Miss Shelton—"
"Jo, please, Mr. Bennett."
Sawyer's lips curve into a polite smile. "If you're Jo, then I'm Sawyer."
Jo nods. Her hands curl into fists at her sides, a sure sign she's excited for his next words.
"Jo, I'm going to talk with my lawyers and we'll get a contract over to your lawyer. Send me their contact info?"
Jo's face falls. "I, uh…"
"We'll get you the info," I assure him.
Jo's worried gaze meets mine and I wink at her. She walks Sawyer around the side of the house. He looks back and I raise a hand in goodbye, then go into the house.
Jo finds me in the master bath. I'm stretching a tape measure across the floor when she walks in. She's grinning like a fool, like she has just won the lottery. Which, in a way, she has.
"Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh." Her voice is high-pitched, her hands running through her hair. Her smile falls. "Is this going to work? I don't have a lawyer."
"You do now," I say, stepping on the measuring tape to keep it in place, then stretching it out a little more.
"What are you talking about?" She gathers her hair and moves it to one shoulder. Fidgets with her bracelet. Rubs her lips together. She's too excited to stop moving.
I press my thumb to the extended measuring tape to keep it in line and jot down the measurements. My thumb lifts and the tape snaps back into the holder. I stand and clip the tape to my tool belt. "You can borrow the Hayden family lawyer."
She frowns and leans her lower back against the bathroom counter. "Does it work that way?"
"As long as Chelsea's making three fifty an hour, I don't think she cares what documents she looks at."
Jo's eyes widen. "Three hundred and fifty dollars an hour? I'm in the wrong business."
"Same."
Jo rolls her eyes. "Oh, please. You're from the largest cattle ranch in Arizona. I don't want to hear it."
"That doesn't make me rich."
"It sure doesn't make you poor."
Her comment strikes a nerve. The Hayden name precedes me, always. It creates an image, an expectation, and I've spent so much of my life feeling like I don't fit the mold. The assumption that I'm so much like my family rankles me simply because of how much I feel like I don't fit in with them.
I shove the piece of paper with the measurements into my pocket. "Things aren't always what they seem."
"No shit," Jo murmurs. She taps her fingers on the countertop, her expression thoughtful. "Maybe I should find my own lawyer."
I raise my eyebrows and tip my chin up slightly, waiting for her to explain why.
She looks flustered. Her mouth opens and closes a couple times. She says, "I don't want to be indebted to you."
Indebted? She wouldn't be. And also… why the fuck not? What is it about me she dislikes so much that she can't stand feeling like she owes me something?
