A nasty snort came from Scott’s mouth.“Oh, her mothermarried Jack and Sam when they were already multimillionaires.She knew exactlyhow much those cowboys were worth or I’m sure she wouldn’t have looked at themtwice.”
He very much doubted that.“If you can say that, then youdon’t know a damn thing about Olivia’s family.She can’t meet with you today.She has other problems.”
“I’ll hear that from her mouth.”Scott looked up at thebuilding.“She’s probably lost a lot of records.”
“I’m sure she has backups.”
Scott seemed to think about that for a moment.“Well, I hopeso since these are the business offices.I told her I thought it was a bad ideato keep records out here when she could easily have done the work in Dallas.”
“The ranch is here.”He wasn’t sure why he was arguing withthis asswipe.At least it kept the man from bothering Olivia.
Who had stood in front of her closest friends this morningand cuddled up next to him.She hadn’t stayed away from him or lookedembarrassed she’d spent the night with him.She’d acted like she was happy.
She was happy this morning.
He was going to make damn sure she stayed that way.
“The ranch might be here, but this is a big business now.Noone wants to come out to Willow Fork.There’s no real security, and honestly,everyone hates her family.These rubes believe she’s the daughter of the devil.That’s probably why this happened.I’ve told her for years she needed to getout of this town.”
“Her family is here, and I find it interesting that thishappened when not one, but two of the men she used to date decide to try toweasel their way back into her life.”
Scott stepped back.“Two?Who the hell are you talkingabout?”
“You’re not the only one who apparently needs some cash.Herhigh school boyfriend is sniffing around again.I need you to understand thatyou’re an idiot.She is the fucking sun in the sky, and she would be if shedidn’t have a dime to her name.So you will do your job and you won’t bother mysu…girlfriend or we’ll have a problem.”
“Oh, will we?”Scott’s handsome face took on a snideexpression.“Somehow I’m not afraid of you.You should know I lived here for acouple of years.I made some friends.A whole bunch of them are on the forcehere.So I wouldn’t threaten me.”
“I’m not threatening.I’m promising.I might be nothing buta cowboy, but I know how to protect what I care about.”He should have learnedthis lesson.Protecting someone had cost him years before, but he wasn’t aboutto allow Olivia to deal with this man.When they were working, he trustedGarrett to deal with him.Hell, he was pretty sure Miranda and Gigi couldhandle this guy since they were young women who backed their friends up.But hewouldn’t leave her alone with him.
“Scott, is this guy bothering you?”
Keane turned, and the deputy who Olivia’s friend had sentaway was back with two coffees in his big hands.
Scott smiled.“Hey, Gil.I had a great time last night withyou and Lisa.Good to see you this morning.As for this guy, he’s nothing but acowboy with no manners.Although I worry he’s got some bad intentions.Ifanything happens to me while I’m here, you should look to him.”
“Nothing’s going to happen as long as you stop harassing mygirl,” Keane replied.It looked like he might have to have that talk withOlivia sooner rather than later.The deputy was studying him like he’d berunning a check real soon.
The deputy frowned.“Olivia ain’t dating no one.If she is,it’s real early, and she and Scott nearly got married.”
“Nearlybeing the right word to use,” Garrett saidas he stepped back in.He gave Scott a bland smile.“Mr.Whittiker, I’ll beserving as counsel for Barnes-Fleetwood during the negotiations.I’m afraidwe’ve run into a small problem.We’ll need to take the day to secure the officeand find another suitable place to meet.”
“Your friend was threatening Scott,” the deputy said.
“Did you hear the threat?”Garrett asked in what Keanethought of as his lawyer voice.“Are we going to bring my client in forquestioning?What are the charges?Could I have the name of your supervisor?Ilike to go straight to the main source.Saves us time.I’m going to need thereport, and I’d also like a full breakdown of what you heard and when you heardit.Are there security cameras?If so, I would like to see the footage.”
The deputy’s eyes went wide, and he took a step back asthough completely overwhelmed.“I…I…didn’t hear it.He seems like a guy whowould threaten someone.I heard he scared the crap out of Jason Hart lastnight.”
Garrett’s head shook.“No, that was me, and I merelyexplained the way the world would work if he kept going after my girlfriend.Doyou want me to put it on the record?I would like you to cite the particularlaws you believe we’ve violated.”
“Gil, what’s going on?”Deputy Morgan stepped out of thebuilding with Olivia following her.
Gil sighed.“Honestly, I’m not sure.I was just bringing thecoffee.”
Poor guy.Garrett could tie a person up.
Maybe he should tie Garrett up.It might be fun to see howhe would react since he’d seemed happy to kneel beside Olivia the night before.
“Olivia.”Scott dropped his expensive bag to the ground andrushed over to her with what seemed like well-feigned concern.“Are you okay?You weren’t in there when the fire started?I can’t stand to think about whatcould have happened to you.”
