back when he tried to move away, and I clasped the back of his neck, drawing him in for a real kiss.
It was sweet and short and interrupted by a giggling eight-year-old who started singing the kissing song.
“East and Lachlan sittin’ in a tree…”
“See what you started,” I said against Lachlan’s mouth.
He chuckled. “Have a good night, East. I’ll call you.”
I watched Lachlan drive away, a small knot of worry still nagging at me. I’d jumped in with both feet, but it didn’t change the fact that he lived over four hours away and that the likelihood of this working out was slim.
Plus, no matter what he said, I didn’t see Lachlan as a family guy. Marriage and kids weren’t on his radar.
“East, can we go for a ride later?”
I refocused on Percy, who was climbing the fence, broken arm and all. “I don’t know. Isn’t one broken bone enough for you?”
“I ain’t gonna fall off a horse.” He wobbled on the fence as he lifted his leg over.
I cringed. “We’ll see. Maybe you can ride with me on Bella instead of on your own. Holdin’ on might be tricky with that arm in a cast.”
“Aww.”
“C’mon. Let’s go see what my dad made for dinner.”
“Ice cream!” Percy launched himself off the fence and high tailed it for the front door, Logan hot on his heels.
I laughed and followed them both.
Chapter Nineteen
Lachlan
Overwhelmed best described the feelings stirring inside me. Also, terrified, uncertain, and nervous. For over an hour, I’d sat on the end of my bed in my rented room, phone in hand, staring a hole in the ground. I didn’t know what to do.
I’d explored every possible outcome for conversations I could have with my father, and none of them ended well. He would not own the Campbell lands. Never. But it was my job to tell him. The last thing I wanted was to go home and live in the shunned corner of the office for another month or more, hearing every despicable insult he could come up with launched at me when he felt the need to express his discontent. He was definitely no Erwin Campbell.
For that reason, I’d considered lying. If I had more time…
“Then what? What’s that going to change?”
If I told him the truth, he’d insist I return to Edmonton. If I lied, it would buy me more time with Easton.
I didn’t want to leave. Not yet.
Being with Easton lit a fire in me. Being without him caused an ache in my chest. I’d felt it since I’d dropped him and Percy off yesterday. Everything we’d been through and shared over the past few days ran on repeat in my head. The panic, the passion, the stolen glances, and innocent smiles.
These feelings were so foreign to me.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and connected a call to my father’s personal line at the office.
“What?” he barked in greeting.
How pleasant.
“Hi, Dad, it’s me.”
“With good news, I hope.” A keyboard clacked in the background, so I knew I only had half his attention.
“No deal yet. But I’m working on it. I just wanted you to know it would take a lot longer than you anticipated.”
“How much longer?”
“A few weeks.”
“A few weeks! That’s unacceptable. In what universe do you need that much time to convince some fool he’d be better off with a wallet full of money than a failing farm? Are you incompetent? I didn’t raise a pushover, Lachlan. Grow a fucking backbone and get this done.”
I gritted my teeth but held my ground. “I need a few weeks.”
“Useless, feeble-minded idiot,” he mumbled with every intention I hear him. “Waste of my time sending you there. You couldn’t convince a drowning man to take a life preserver. One goddamn week. Not a day more.” He slammed the phone in my ear, ending our conversation.
My whole body flushed under his insults. I set my phone aside with a shaking hand, a lump in my throat. So much for being the golden boy. It went as expected, but no matter how much I anticipated the outcome, I was never quite prepared for the way his insults made me feel.
I’d bought myself time.
I shot off a quick text to Andy, letting him know I wouldn’t be home any time soon and turned off my phone so I wouldn’t have to deal with the kickback of my decision. He wouldn’t understand.
It took another ten minutes before I was able to pull myself together and consider what my day entailed.