“Nah, I’m good.” He walks over to one of the chairs and sits down, so I move to the couch.
“You haven’t been around much,” he says after a minute of silence.
“I’ve been busy.”
Prairie grunts. “That’s an excuse, and we both know it.”
“It’s hard being around all of you and wondering if you knew what he had planned.”
Prairie shakes his head. “Sweetheart, your father kept shit close to his chest. Now, don’t get me wrong, we all knew that he wanted you with Ridge at some point, but that’s where it stopped. He always thought there was chemistry between you two and thought Ridge was the perfect man for you. I heard that Ridge knew, but thought it was a joke, but other than him, I can assure you, none of us knew.”
“I didn’t know,” I mutter.
Prairie chuckles. “Because he didn’t talk to you about it. When I said all of us, I meant the brothers and me.”
“Would you have talked him out of it?” I ask without thinking.
Prairie laughs. “Girlie, we both know that once your dad had his mind made up, there was no going back. He wanted to know you would be protected when he was gone, and he did that in the only way he knew how, even if his methods were a little unconventional.”
I scoff. “Unconventional? That’s putting it mildly.”
“You went along with it, though, didn’t you? You could have said fuck you and walked away.”
“Not wrong,” I mutter as I look down at the couch.
I run my hand over the worn fabric and sigh.
“He backed me into a corner intentionally. Hell, I can’t even do anything with this place. Not really, not until Ridge and I have been married for the amount of time he demanded.”
“What do you mean?” he frowns.
I fill him in on what the lawyer said and how I can’t get rid of anything worth anything value-wise without going through the trust.
“So this house is just going to sit here like a freaking time capsule for a while.”
Prairie shakes his head. “That’s not true. The lawyer didn’t say anything about you not being able to move shit out and putting it in storage. As long as you don’t get rid of it or prove what you got for it, you’re fine. Then you can move in here and start making any of the changes you want.”
I think about it for a moment.
“I didn’t even think of that,” I murmur.
“That’s what I’m here for.” He winks, making me smile.
“Don’t wink at me like that. My husband might take it the wrong way,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.
“Speaking of your husband, how’s that going?” he asks, making himself comfortable.
“Fine, I guess. I’m supposed to move some more stuff over to his place later.”
I was only planning to grab the essentials when I moved in, but coming back here every time I need something seems silly.
I need to accept the fact that this is my new life.
“Do you need help?”
I shake my head. “No. Thank you, though.”
“Of course.” His phone pings, and he sighs. “That’s my reminder to head out. I have a doctor’s appointment I need to get to.”
