Page 5

“You are too kind,” I quipped sarcastically.
I didn’t like the way he was rattling off information like a census bureau official. To piss him off, I deliberately called him by his first name, “Listen, Mark.”
“Mr. Williams,” he bit off gruffly.
“Mark,” I insisted, my back ramrod straight. “You need to work on your bedside manner. You cannot just walk into a girl’s life and rip it all to pieces. Shit, who tells someone that their daddy is dead and in the same breath insists that they call themMr. Williamsin the same statement? Why did you come anyway? If my father didn’t want me in his life, surely he doesn’t want me involved in his death.”
Mr. William’s jaw clenched. “Your father didn’t know you existed until the very end. He was a good man.”
I scoffed. This time he had really pissed me off.
“Right,” I said. “He was such a good man that he slept with a woman, impregnated her, and then left them both in poverty. Yep, you are right, he sounds like a real winner to me. Perhaps things worked out how they were supposed to.”
I pushed the chair back to stand, but Mr. Williams reached out and grabbed my wrist again.
“I’m not finished.” His slate gray eyes blazed silver for the briefest of moments.
It unsettled me. I couldn’t figure out what it was about this man that had me feeling so off kilter. Despite my intention to leave, I found myself settling back into my seat.
“You have two minutes,” I bit out.
He growled at me. I felt it low in my belly.
“You, Sutton Landry, are going to listen to me. Your father wanted better for you. When he learned of your existence, he was too ill to travel. His dying wish was for me to collect you personally. I am a very busy, influential man, Miss Landry. I do not run errands for just anyone. You will hear what I have to tell you.”
I could see the raw masculinity in his features as he barked out his orders. It’s obvious that I had riled the beast.
A part of me felt a shiver of sadness that I had disappointed him. But I didn’t want to dwell on that. Who was he to make me feel this way?
“‘Collect me personally.’ Just what is that supposed to mean?” I retorted hotly.
His gray eyes bore into mine as he said, “To bring you home, Miss Landry.”
A small breath escaped my lips. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cry and laugh. “Home? Mr. Williams, really? My home is the old single trailer that I’ve lived in my entire life. My home is Otterville Falls, and even this shitty bar where I work. Wherever you came from with your fancy suit and Italian shoes, that’s not my home.”
“This town isn’t fit for anyone.” He said it so softly that I just barely heard the words.
I felt heat suffuse my cheeks and knew that I was seconds away from ripping his head off or bursting into tears.
“It might look like nothing to you, but it’s everything I have. I am not throwing it away because some smooth-talking city slicker walked into my bar and offered me the moon. Good day, Mr. Williams.”
He didn’t stop me as I rose this time, but his eyes could have burned holes in my back for how intently he was staring at me.
Mr. Williams stayed at that rickety table in the bar for my entire shift. He saw all the regulars, the drunken brawl that was a nightly occurrence, and not once did he leave his seat nor speak to anyone else.
When it finally hit closing time, I approached the table. “I’m gonna need you to move along now, Mr. Williams.”
I was tired, my feet hurt, and after all that work, I had only made one hundred and twelve dollars, part of which I shared with Joe, our short order cook.
“You do not appear to be leaving.” His frosty tones were grating on my nerves. Who in the hell did this asshat think he was?
“Well, Mr. Williams, for those of us who actually work here, we still need to mop the floors, wipe tables, and clean the bathrooms. It will be a while yet until I can leave. So why don’t you run along back to Neverland, or wherever it was that you came from?”
Once again, I could have sworn I heard a low growl. My belly flipped and I felt a strong desire to try and ruffle his perfectly impassive expression.
“Very well,” he said at last. “I will wait until you are finished.”
What the hell?