The Rancher's Fake Girlfriend - Leslie North Page 0,41

on her mind at the picnic was clearly still bothering her, but now wasn’t the time for that. Not when Chad needed to know whether Tripp had told him the truth about her past.

Chad took a deep breath and locked onto Hannah’s eyes. “Tell me about Amanda Hastings.”

The color immediately drained from Hannah’s face. “What … how …”

“Tripp found out.” Chad shook his head. “I remember the case—but I don’t remember your part in it. I need to hear it from you. I think I deserve to know the truth.”

Tears filled her eyes and she bowed her head. Chad couldn’t tell if the tears were from shame about what she’d done or disappointment that he’d found out. When he heard her sniffling quietly, part of him wanted to run over and take her in his arms, but he refused to let himself. She’d hidden so much of herself from him. He couldn’t trust her anymore—couldn’t even be sure if her tears were genuine or just a ploy.

Hannah looked up and caught him off guard with an expression that mixed anguish with fear.

“I had to lie,” she said softly. “To try to put it all behind me. That woman … Amanda … she’s not me anymore.”

Chad leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms. Until that moment, he hadn’t even realized that part of him had been hoping she’d deny it, say that it was just a coincidence that there was another woman out there with her face. But clearly that wasn’t going to happen. Hearing her say the name made it real. Made it her. Made everything they’d built together look fragile and false.

“Please take a seat.” She sighed and gestured to the kitchen table as she sat down. “This is going to take a while.”

He begrudgingly pulled out a chair and plopped into it, keeping his distance.

After a few moments of silence, she began talking.

“I joined Green Spaces when it was brand new. The founder—John—led a rally on my college campus when I was a senior, and I was hooked right away. I liked how positive and idealistic he was about trying to save the planet. I was getting my degree in marketing. As soon as I graduated, I went to work for Green Spaces. In the beginning it was just us, some brochures, and a card table. We were so broke, we were living in his van. But John was so charismatic, he could charm a dollar out of anyone for the cause.” Hannah shook her head and trailed off.

“Wasn’t that part of what the criminal case was about, in addition to the poisoning?”

Hannah flinched. “Yes. John was embezzling donations.” She leaned forward and stared into Chad’s eyes. “But I didn’t know a thing about that. I had no part of the money stuff, you have to believe me.”

“If you say so.” Chad felt in his heart that Hannah wasn’t a thief, but he still wasn’t sure exactly what she was capable of.

“Our relationship grew with the organization. John was always the ‘face’ of Green Spaces, but I was there at his side, handling the social media and communications. John’s background was in political science. He was all about crafting policy, reshaping the law—my job was to break it down into messages that people could understand and support.”

“So that’s why you’re so good at it,” Chad said. “It was your actual job.”

Hannah looked stricken. “It was. And occasional coding, which you saw me doing. That was mostly a side gig—something I used to keep us afloat when money was tight. I minored in computer science and had some college friends who’d throw the occasional job my way.”

“Hm.”

The more she said the less Chad liked what he was hearing. It sounded like she’d been in all of that Green Spaces mess up to her neck—a full partner in it along with her boyfriend. How much had she known? How much of the environmental disaster was she responsible for?

She continued. “We were in love though we never married. Green Spaces was growing, becoming a major voice in the political landscape. The work was important, and it was making a difference, so when John and I started having problems—when his ego became an issue, along with his need for fame—I felt like I had to stick it out with him. For the good of Green Spaces, and for Aria’s sake, so she could have a father figure in her life.” Hannah’s voice went quiet. “Not that he was much