Page 53 of Not Over You (Prosperity Ranch 3)

“What’s going on?” Knox asked, his tone gentle.

“A lot,” Jana said. “I have to go, but I didn’t want you to think I dropped off the planet.”

She could hear Knox’s smile in his voice when he said, “Thanks for calling. Holt and I have a backup plan, so don’t worry about giving in to your dad for any reason.”

Jana closed her eyes. She wasn’t surprised Knox would have a backup plan. Her heart soared with affection for this man who had unexpectedly returned to her life again. She didn’t know what the next hour would bring, let alone the next week. “I need to go,” Jana said.

“Okay,” he replied, but neither of them hung up.

Finally, Jana said, “I’ll call you as soon as I can, but I don’t want you guys making drastic plans. It’s not fair… And I’m going to set this right.” Before Knox could reply, she hung up. She didn’t want her sister and parents having a conversation about all of this without her.

Climbing out of the car, she walked to the front door of her parents’ place, her heart weighted down. Who knew that a single event in her youth could throw so much of her world off-kilter?

She didn’t knock, and walked in to find Natalie standing at the front window, her arms folded. Her parents were sitting on opposite ends of the couch. It was clear her mom had been crying, and her dad looked worn out. His faded red hair was cropped short, and his normally shaved face had a few days’ growth.

Her mother was immaculately put together, like usual. She was waif thin and clasped her manicured hands together.

“Jana,” her mom immediately said. “How could you disrupt everything like this?”

“Hi, Mom.” Jana continued into the room and took her place in the overstuffed leather chair. She leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, and focused on her dad’s hazel eyes that were nearly the same color as her own. “I’m here to talk to Dad, so I’d appreciate no interruptions.”

She was sure her mom would only parrot what her dad would say, anyway.

Her dad’s jaw was already set, and Jana wondered what Natalie had told him so far.

“Catch me up, Natalie,” she said.

Natalie nodded. “I was just telling Dad that the things he’s done to undermine Prosperity Ranch could be deemed libel. In other words, he could technically be sued if Mayor Prosper was so inclined.”