Page 6 of Handling Skylar (Hope Parish #5)

“Why are you asking me that? Because I talk to her like a gentleman? We’re friends and had been friends before we were going out.”

Her voice low and furious, she shot back. “I don’t like it.”

“Don’t push me, Anna Kate.” God, I was sick of being pushed and pulled. Shoved into a corner, I stepped back and said, “I don’t answer to you or to anyone. I’m not seeing her and your jealousy is ugly.”

Her mouth dropped open and she just stared at me. “Don’t you dare talk to me like that.”

My jaw hardened. “Talk to you?” I said through gritted teeth. “How can I talk to you about anything that has to do with me when you’re never interested? You have a better relationship with your phone.”

“I’m not going to stand here and listen to this,” she snapped, indignation in every line of her pinched face.

“Fine, but I’m not leaving.”

She huffed a breath, turned on her heel and left without another word. She marched up to one of the guys who’d been eyeing her all evening, smiled, fluttered her lashes and they walked out together. All I felt was relief.

“Trouble in paradise?” I turned to look at my sister and sighed.

River’s expression softened, and she took my hand in hers, her tone chiding. “She’s not the right person for you. She’s a bitch.”

“River. No name calling.” I pulled her close and placed a kiss on her temple.

“She thinks she’s better than anyone in this town,” she sniffed, her tone as dry as a good martini. “She’s only interested in you because she thinks she has power over you. She likes that. Please tell me you see that?”

I wasn’t an idiot. I knew Anna Kate’s little cold, mercenary heart. “She’s necessary.”

“No, she’s not,” River sniffed once more. “We don’t need her to prop up our reputation. We’re already making strides on our own, and Chase just took us up a notch.”

“Chase again.” I was sick of being compared to him, a flush of anger burned up my neck.

“Jake, please,” River pleaded, my sister genuine and caring. “We need to work together to be a family again. Anna Kate will never make you happy. She’s already making you miserable. Don’t you think we see that?”

“You think you know every damn thing because you’re so blissfully happy.”

Her face and tone softened. “I don’t know everything, but I do know when you’re unhappy, especially since you’ve never really introduced us to anyone you’ve been seeing.”

“I’ve been busy. Going to school, working,” I said, not inviting her to ask more questions about my love life.

She nodded and wrapped her arm around my waist. “Jake, I love you to pieces, but sometimes you can be so thick,” she said in exasperation.

“Open your eyes to the possibilities, and try to find some way to let go of things, especially the past.” She nudged me and looked toward Sky as she eyed the pie table.

“Sometimes your future is just a few steps away.”

She kissed me on the cheek and walked away.

Before I could stop myself, I headed toward Sky. She and I weren’t meant to be no matter what my sister said. By necessity, to keep us in the right circles, I needed a high-profile woman. Didn’t mean I couldn’t talk to Sky. We could be friends. Right?

I leaned in and said, “Go ahead. You know you want to.”

She spun around and smiled, slapping my arm. “I had almost decided not to indulge. Don’t give me permission.”

“What will that be? Like your third piece?” I chided.

She rolled her eyes and smacked me again. “Are you judging me?”

“I wouldn’t dare. How about this? How about a few dances, then you can justify a piece of pie?”

Her brows rose, and she looked around. “Where’s Anna Kate? I’m not sure she would like that.”

I slipped my hand over her elbow, loving the feel of her beneath my fingers, finally. It was like a boon to my restlessness. “This is just between us friends, right, sugar?”

I led her out under the twinkly lights, and she slipped into my arms like we’d been doing this slow dance for some time. “Really? Her idea or yours?”

“Mine,” I whispered, breathing deep of her scent.

“I see. I’ve never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

That made me laugh. “Are you referring to me as a horse?”

“If the horseshoe fits,” she said.

I chuckled again. “I’ve been wondering. Did you rope and ride out there in Wyoming?”

Her mouth flicked up in wry amusement. “You get points for actually remembering what state I came from and yes. I roped, rode, branded, mended fences, mucked out stalls. All of that.”

“You miss it?”

“Sometimes. But I so enjoy cutting hair and all that beauty stuff, too. You seem to have me pegged, but I bet when you were at Harvard, you…rowed or I think the correct upper-crust term is crewed. Debate club, I think. Maybe even some golf?”

“Yes, on crewing and debate.” Genuinely surprised at how well she’d guessed. It was more than Anna Kate had even attempted. “Emphatically no on the golf. Too sedate for me.”

“Of course. What was I thinking, Varsity? You and your sports car are too busy roaring around. I’ve often seen you heading out of town.”

There was a glint in his eye, probably his reaction to her nickname. “I was heading out of town mostly to go to Baton Rouge,” he said, huskily.

“What’s in Baton Rouge?”

“My master’s classes.”

“You got your graduate degree?”

“Yes, in a year and a half.”

Her eyes sparked with admiration. “Wow, that’s fast.”

I shrugged. “I don’t like to waste time, and I get bored easily. I’m thinking about going for my Ph.D.”

“Really, in what?”

“Crop physiology. I want to expand on my knowledge to help with the business. Our groves are our business.”

She glanced at my cuts. “Is that how you got your hands all scratched up?”

“Yeah, should have worn gloves. There’s this old grove that somehow got left behind for faster growing pecans, but the Elliott, that’s the name of this particular variety of nut, is sweeter and worth the effort of clearing out the orchard, assessing the trees and thinking about harvesting them next fall. ”

“If you ever need a second pair of hands, I could pitch in.” I smiled and nodded, thinking that Anna Kate wouldn’t be caught dead in my grove for any reason.

“Now, tell me more about harvesting pecans,” she said, her eyes directly on mine.

Her phone chimed, but when I expected her to answer it, she didn’t.

She just waited for me to talk. And, out of everything I’d experienced with her, this…

her attention was the most dangerous of all.