“What I meant to say is, it’s not safe foryouif I remain here,” she corrected with a weary sigh. “Not for you or your boys.”
“Why? What’s changed since the last time we saw each other?” He moved across the room to position himself between her and the door, holding his pistol behind his back. He didn’t want the sight of it to spook her any more than she already was. “Please answer me, Halle. You owe me that much.”
Her cheeks were damp and splotchy from weeping, and she was having trouble holding his gaze. “I received a phone call a few minutes ago.” Her voice cracked. She had to clear her throat before continuing. “From my ex.”
Okay.That wasn’t good, but Owen needed more detailsthan that. “What’s going on?” He ducked his head a little to get a better look at her face.
“He says he wants me back.” Her voice shook. “And that he never meant to sell the chicken farm.”
“Baloney!” Anger burned in his chest. “Putting a piece of property up for sale with a realty company is a very intentional process. Lots of paperwork and lots of signatures. In his case, it took a great deal offorgedsignatures.”
“I know, but he claims he was pressured into it by some very dangerous people, and?—”
“That’s his problem,” Owen interrupted. “Not yours.”
“Actually, it is.” She sounded so defeated that it twisted his heart. “Because whoever was doing the pressuring apparently had a very different buyer in mind than you.”
Her story was getting crazier by the second. “Who?”
“I don’t know.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “His story got a little murky at that point. It sounds like whatever was advertised to the public about the unauthorized sale of my farm wasn’t supposed to happen. Either that, or it was supposed to happen so quickly that no one other than the crooked, pre-arranged buyer was supposed to put a contract on the place.” She shook her head in bafflement. “James sounded rushed and scared. Then he said he had to go and hung up on me.”
Owen ran a hand through his hair, trying to make sense of the strange tale. Like her, he was in sweatpants. “My realtor had been combing every home listing website for weeks when she ran across the writeup about Garrett Farm. It was the first listing that matched everything I wanted in the way of square footage, number of bedrooms, and enough acreage to raise the two orneriest boys in Texas.” His mouth quirked at the memory. “She called me the moment she laid eyes on the listing, and I had her work upa purchase contract on the spot. Since I was at my desk, she sent me the link within a few minutes. I signed it virtually, and it was a done deal.”
“You said minutes,” she repeated breathlessly. “How many minutes is a few minutes?” Her red-rimmed eyes tore at him. She seriously couldn’t catch a break.
“From start to finish?” He wasn’t sure why she needed to know, but he threw out his best estimate. “Maybe five minutes. Ten minutes tops.”
“Thatwasfast.” She frowned thoughtfully. “I guess he wasn’t kidding about that part.”
“Yep, my realtor had a contract pre-filled out for me, and I was pre-approved for a mortgage.” They’d deliberately positioned themselves to move fast. He’d already accepted the job offer from Lonestar Security and only wanted to relocate his family one time. Piddling around with hotels and apartments might’ve affected which of the two elementary schools his boys would’ve been eligible to enroll in. “She said it was the only way to shop for real estate in Heart Lake. What few listings there are apparently get snapped up quickly.” His recent experience seemed to support that claim.
“It’s always been that way.” Halle’s voice grew wistful. “Heart Lake was built around a gorgeous lake, which just so happens to be tucked between some postcard-worthy mountain ranges. There aren’t many places in the world that can compete with these views.” She let go of her suitcase handles. “If you add in all the wildlife and the creek that runs through my property...” She paused awkwardly and amended her statement. “I meanyourproperty.”
“Don’t go,” he begged quietly. “Whatever you’re facing, let’s face it together. Good nannies aren’t easy to come by.”Nannies that were certified kindergarten teachers were an even rarer breed.
Her eyes widened. “I’m not even a real nanny.”
“Doesn’t matter.” His jaw tightened. “You hit the ground running with my boys and have our home life running as smoothly as the Polar Express. There’s no price tag you can put on something like that.”
She drew a shaky breath. “James made it sound like whoever is coming after me might already be on their way. He said I need to leave now.”
“Who’s coming after you?” Owen had zero patience for her ex and his shenanigans, past or present.
“I don’t know, but he’s insisting the only way to convince them I had nothing to do with selling the farm to you is by presenting a unified front.” She pressed a hand to her chest as if it were hurting. “As in a full and immediate reconciliation with him. He’s going to post an announcement of our engagement in the morning.”
Owen’s jaw dropped. “That’s the biggest load of bull I’ve ever heard!” It was the worst sort of gaslighting. Even someone as trusting as she was couldn’t bethatnaïve! “You can’t possibly believe?—”
“Oh, please! I’m not going back to him,” she snapped, looking indignant, “but I’m also not going to stay here and serve as the bait that brings goodness only knows what amount of danger into your home. Something bad is about to go down that I refuse to drag your amazing family into.”
Her impassioned declaration ignited something warm and wonderful inside him, which underscored his determination to change her mind about leaving. “As much as I appreciate what you’re doing, what kind of employer would I be if I let you go out there alone?” He swung his head toward the door. “It’s the middle of the night, and youdon’t even know what you’re up against yet.” She deserved to be protected as much as anyone else.
She bit her lower lip, looking distressed. “Like it or not, I seem to have some sort of bullseye on my forehead. If anything my ex claims is true, I’ll be a target every time I buckle your boys into seatbelts and get behind the wheel of my car. I’ll be a target every time I sit in the bleachers, waiting for them to finish baseball practice. I’ll?—”
“I get it,” he interrupted. “Believe me, I do.” It was a real problem, one he wasn’t trying to make light of. Running still wasn’t the answer. It rarely was.
“There’s no way you want the kind of life I just described for your boys,” she protested.
“I don’t want it foryou, either,” he growled. At her surprised look, he added, “or any other innocent person. Listen,” he cajoled, “your ex isn’t exactly the textbook definition of honest. You have no way of knowing if anything he told you is true.”
