willing me to comprehend the magnitude of their actions, right here, this second, so she could witness it.
I clamped my teeth together. Three hundred million dollars. Three guys had gotten married so I wouldn’t get a dime. It wasn’t my money, but that didn’t stop the sheer rejection coursing through me.
“Dawson’s stuck, Bristol.” Emilia’s tone was softer, but her eyes brimmed with determination. “He can’t ask you to marry him without telling you about how the rest of his family kept the money from you. And if he doesn’t ask you to marry him, it’s like he’s saying you’re not worth it.”
Her words seeped in, severing what I thought I knew about Dawson and me. “Why do you think I’d believe you?”
“Bristol, please. You’ve never played stupid in your life. Don’t start now.”
I reared back like she’d slapped me. “You don’t know me,” I hissed. “All I know of you is that you’re a liar and a cheat. You lied to my family and cheated them out of quality land and oil money.”
“Then ask Dawson yourself. Ask Aiden. Beckett.” She spoke slower as she ticked off names. “Xander. Gentry.”
Five King men. Guys I’d barbequed with. Socialized with. They’d all kept this from me? They’d had to get married to keep me from getting some mysterious payday.
“If it’s true, why did Sarah do that? Why have an option where I get the money?”
“I can’t begin to understand her reasons behind this silliness.” She aimed her disdain-filled gaze at me. “And because of you, we’ll never know.”
Anger snapped the last of my tolerance for Emilia Boyd. Emilia could heap the blame on me. She needed a target, but I didn’t have to stand still and let her aim. “Whatever. You can lord around town like you’re the queen of goddamn King’s Creek and get people to dance at your command.” Big Dick had the humility to look ashamed. “But you mean nothing to me. And I’m not going to dance for you.”
I stormed out. But her words followed me. The details of everything she’d said.
Was Dawson going to lose money if he didn’t marry me by his birthday? Was he waiting until the last minute before asking me so we’d appear in front of a judge and I’d love him so damn much I wouldn’t question it?
Was he willing to give up all the money because he wasn’t ready to settle down with me?
I stomped through the bank. The slap of my sandals only angered me more. Boots would’ve been more satisfying.
“Bristol,” Emilia called from behind me. I couldn’t believe it. I had to out power walk my boyfriend’s grandma. “Are you going to talk to Dawson?”
I ignored her. I refused to air my dirty laundry in the middle of the bank. Thankfully, no one was coming inside. I banged out the door and aimed straight for the deli.
Dawson’s truck pulled into a spot next to mine. He got out and rounded the hood, a grin on his face, his eyes squinting under the sun. His smile faded, his concerned gaze shooting down the sidewalk toward me, then behind me.
My stomach lurched. This trust bullshit had to be true, but I wouldn’t fully believe it until his soft lips crushed my world. All the ways his family had screwed mine over. Money. Land. Friendship. Support.
One hundred million rang through my mind. That was Monopoly money. Fake. That much money was absurd. How much would my grandparents have gotten if things had been different? Would our lives have changed? Would they have bought a nicer plot of land and settled into a calm life with better neighbors than the Kings? Money meant a lot to me, but the way I’d grown up had shown me what I truly treasured. People.
People who treated me decently. People who took the time to get to know me. People who were honest with me.
The Cartwrights had had enough of the Kings’ lies.
Dawson was still several feet away when he asked, “What’s wrong?”
His face was pale and anxiety rippled in his eyes, answering many of my questions. He hadn’t wanted Emilia to tell me. He’d been keeping it from me.
Damn. “I think you know.”
His jaw clenched. “Grams, what’d you tell her?”
Emilia pulled up next to us. Her face was flushed and she was breathing heavily. She shouldn’t have trucked behind me so fast. She should’ve stayed in the bank and out of my life. “The truth. Like you should’ve done.”
“It wasn’t your—” He shook his head and shoved