Sweet Heart (The Hearts of Sawyers Bend #2) - Ivy Layne Page 0,18

to switch allegiance to Ford when he’d exiled Griffen from Sawyers Bend.

Vanessa had been more than happy to trade Griffen's ring for Ford’s. As long as she got to marry the Sawyer heir, Vanessa was happy. Or as close as Vanessa got to happy.

Tenn came to stand beside me, crossing his arms over his chest. “We heard about your visit to Griffen and Hope. You’re not going to have better luck with us.”

Vanessa drew in a shuddering breath, but I wasn't buying it. I doubted she was capable of genuine tears. Though, to be fair, if anything could push her there it was her current situation.

“You know with Ford in jail and not working there isn't any alimony. I know I should've saved, but I… I just didn't. And now my car payment is due, and my mortgage, and I don't know—”

I looked over my shoulder at Tenn. My brother was always a sucker for a damsel in distress, even one as soulless and conniving as Vanessa.

“Why don't you head downstairs,” I suggested. “I can handle this.”

Tenn was out the door a second later, Vanessa staring after him with longing. She knew her best chance at walking away with a check had just left.

“Vanessa, I don't have anything for you. I'm not going to give you any money. The Sawyer family has paid out enough over the last decade. We’re done. If you need cash, sell your car and the house and downsize. That should get you by until you find a new cash cow. Or—I can hardly believe I'm suggesting this—get a job. That seems to be my mantra for the day. You want money? Get a fucking job. You want a handout? Try somewhere else. I have enough mooches under my roof right now. The last thing I need is another.”

Vanessa sniffed. “You have no compassion, Royal Sawyer.”

I told Vanessa the truth. “I have plenty of compassion, Vanessa. And if I believed for a second that you’d ever loved Ford, that you wanted anything from him other than a direct line to his wallet, I might feel bad for you. I might even help you out. But I know you didn't love Ford any more than you loved Griffen. You're only here to see what you can squeeze out of us now that the alimony well has run dry.”

Vanessa went stiff, her jaw hard. “If you were smart, you’d write me a check to get rid of me. That would be the easy way. Fifty grand, and I'll leave Sawyers Bend. You’ll never see me again.”

I didn't bother to hide my laugh. Fifty grand? I wouldn't have given her fifty dollars. Not after everything she’d put my brothers through.

“Not a chance. The rest of the family knows what you're up to, so I wouldn't bother working your way down the list. The Sawyers are done with you.”

Vanessa glared at me, furious tears brimming in her blue eyes. “You're going to regret this, Royal Sawyer. You think you're done with me? You think you can treat me like trash and throw me away? You're wrong.”

“Is that supposed to be a threat? Because I'm only going to warn you once. If you come after us, Vanessa, we will bury you. And that's not a threat. That's a promise.”

She whirled on her spike heel and stormed out, leaving a smothering cloud of perfume behind her. Her departure left me strangely deflated, sorry, and sad at what my brother’s marriage had come to.

Ford sat in jail for murdering our father, a crime none of us believed he’d committed, and the wife he never should have married was still hanging around, hoping for something from us.

Everyone had a hand out.

Everyone wanted something.

Trying to shake off my mood, I stopped in my office to grab my bag before heading to Heartstone Manor for the second half of my day. Pink and navy ribbons caught my eye. One of Daisy's brownies.

And just like that, my bad mood washed away.

Daisy.

I wished I had time to stop by the bakery, to see her smile and have her tell me once more how she wouldn't go out with me.

She would, eventually.

Daisy liked me, no matter how much she said she didn't.

I wasn't going to give up.

Lately, I was surrounded by people who wanted things from me they hadn’t earned.

Not Daisy. Daisy put herself at risk to protect The Inn, to protect me, and all she'd gotten out of it was a business deal I would have agreed to