I turned around to see the girl from the game store standing there. Gwen, her name was. Who was she talking to?
“Don’t forget,” Preston said once more before walking toward her. He grabbed her arm in an aggressive way and leaned into her ear, surely scolding her.
Babe?Preston had a wife, and it sure wasn’t her. What the hell?
I shook the interaction off and headed back to the stand. My head was a mess, but I owed it to Brooks to keep it together.
When I returned, he immediately took me in his arms. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? If you’re not used to it, these events can be a lot.”
“Yeah. I think you’re right; I’m just not used to it.”
He kissed me on my forehead in his sweet way. “It’ll be over soon, and we’ll head on home.”
“That would be nice.”
I relaxed into him with a new thought in mind. I was going to get Brooks out of this, even if I wasn’t able to save myself.
When we got back that night, I finished up my report. I technically had a few samples to take, but what I collected should be enough. Once I was finished, I asked Brooks if I could take his truck to town. He handed over the keys willingly, not asking any questions, and I was off to the post.
I pulled out in front of Griffin Post, printed all the pages of the report, wrapped up the samples, and overnight-shipped everything. The cost was enormous, which I expected, but it was worth it.
I had another week to set things right, and I would do it.
Chapter twenty
Sydney
The following days werea blur. The last samples were collected, there was more mind-blowing sex, and more dead ends. Nothing I came up with had me getting out of this unscathed while saving their farm.
Though Preston was an ass, he was a smart one and covered his tracks. I had no real evidence of his blackmail, but I was sure he had evidence of what I’d done, and there was no way for me to go to his house and steal it. I was supposed to be done by the end of the week, and I was still at a loss.
Even the car had been returned a few days ago. When it was, Brooks seemed as sad about it as I felt, until I insisted he would still have to drive me around because I didn’t know where I was going. To be honest, it was because I liked it.
I’d never met anyone who cared about what they did the way he did. Even though he spent most of his time with me, there was almost always someone who needed something from town or needed his help doing something. He always seemed to be working during the day, and there’d even been a few nights where he’d been called away. He was determined to see everyone here succeed, and he was willing to run himself into the ground over it.
Even so, he always made sure to let me know he was paying attention to me, that he was thinking about me. I’d never had a partner—or anyone really—who made me feel like I was this important. It was something I thought I’d never tire of.
I was curled up on the couch with my laptop when Brooks came and slammed himself down next to me. Chicken was in his bed in the corner, sleeping soundly, not being a menace for once. He really was like a cat sometimes.
“What are you doing now?”
“You act like I’m the workaholic here,” I said playfully.
“Well, you are always working.”
“No. I came here on a work trip, and I feel like I spend more time just watching you help everyone than actually doing my job.”
His cheeks pinked at my words. I’d noticed they did that every time I gave him a compliment, especially about work. It seemed he wasn’t used to it, which made me want to do it even more.
“I’m just editing some photos. Would you like to see?”
He looked surprised. “I’m allowed to?”
“I think these are just about done. They aren’t perfect. I took them with my phone at the festival, but with some touch-ups, I think they really came together.”
I turned my screen and watched him flip through the images. There were some of the different products and produce. Some of Bailey talking with one of her customers. Even some of Blake and Beau laughing hysterically at something.
He didn’t say anything, just continued to flip through until the album was over.
