Page 31

Eden felt the pressure building in her nose, her eyes watering and she sneezed, then sneezed again.

Someone shoved a white handkerchief into her hand, and she took it gratefully.

Through watering eyes, she clocked Troyden standing next to Henry.

Dressed in a sharp suit and snazzy tie, he didn’t look like he’d been anywhere near the stables, so it couldn’t be him setting her off.

She slowly turned and Jed was standing just behind her, feet apart, arms folded, his eyes on Henry.

His frosty eyes jumped from her face to Henry’s and he lifted an eyebrow. Then he moved, just a little, putting his big body between her and Henry, silently staking his claim.

Jesus. Men.

Henry, fluent in grunt, lifted his hands. ‘Message received. I didn’t know you two were together.’

‘It’s new,’ Eden said, blushing.

‘Last time we checked, we’re adults and don’t owe anyone an explanation,’ Jed spat. Right. Eden darted a glance at Jed, his eyes still locked on Henry’s face. Their animosity was not only uncomfortable but annoying.

Troyden looked from Henry to Jed and shook his head. ‘When are you two going to bury the hatchet?’ he asked, echoing Eden’s thoughts.

‘I’ve been trying,’ Henry hotly responded. ‘He’s the one who won’t move an inch or have a bloody conversation!’

‘There’s nothing to talk about,’ Jed replied. Eden looked up at the sky, waiting for the thunderbolt to refute that whopper of a lie. But Zeus had more pressing matters on his mind.

‘That’s bullshit and you know it!’ Henry replied. When Jed didn’t respond, he threw up his hands. ‘You are the most stubborn person I’ve ever met in my life.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘No guesses where you got that from, huh?’

‘Shut the fuck up, Henry,’ Jed said, his tone almost conversational, but Eden heard the menace underneath it.

Right, she was now seriously uncomfortable.

Moving to stand next to Troyden, she sneezed into the handkerchief.

She immediately checked her arms and hands, and was relieved when she didn’t see any welts erupting on her skin.

‘Have you taken your antihistamines?’ Jed demanded, his eyes not leaving Henry’s annoyed face.

‘Yes,’ Eden replied. How could he talk to her and not look at her?

‘Good. I’ll catch up with you later. Dad?’ Jed asked, still not dropping his gaze from Henry.

‘Yes?’

‘Will you take Eden to get something to drink?’ he asked, sounding a little robotic. Eden scowled at Jed, hating that he made her sound like a dog who needed a bowl of water.

‘Sure,’ Troyden replied. ‘Oh, Tara and Vincent are here. They asked me to tell you they’ll be in the champagne tent for most of the afternoon, and they’d love to see you if you have some time.’

Eden tensed as something in Troyden’s voice pulled Jed’s attention off Henry and on to his stepdad with a frown. ‘Is something wrong with them?’

Troyden grimaced. ‘I’m not sure. They are saying all the right things, being the life and soul of the party, but something is off. They seem worried.’

Eden clenched her fist and bit the inside of her lip.

Oh, she knew exactly what had her ex-bosses acting twitchy.

When she’d spoken to the detective handling the case last week, he’d told her the police were planning to search their offices and seize their records.

Eden had suggested where to look and what they would find.

The Bancrofts had to be thoroughly rattled and scared.

They’d siphoned, at least, half a million from the foundation, and if convicted, they faced serious jailtime.

She felt guilty about that, she really did– she couldn’t imagine how either of them would cope in prison– but she was also incandescently angry.

While she believed they were entitled to a salary for the work they did, they’d used, and might still be using, donor money to fund luxury holidays, designer clothes and cars.

They’d defrauded the donors and cheated the charities, and that was despicable.

Would she be as mad if Hope Harbour hadn’t been affected?

That was a question that had kept her up at night in those earlier weeks.

Had they not stolen from Hope Harbour, would she have been tempted to let their actions slide?

Eden bit down on her lip. She wished she could answer with a silent ‘hell, yes’. The best she could come up with was a ‘maybe’. And she despised herself for that.

But at the end of the day, they’d hurt Hope Harbour, raised the mums’ hopes, made them believe they were secure and encouraged them to use their emergency savings fund, assuring them that money would flow in.

It hadn’t– the Bancrofts had nicked it– and Hope Harbour was now in a worse position than they’d been before.

Eden remembered the countless nights her mum had spent trying to juggle too little income with too many expenses, looking for food and clothing bargains, and worrying about the gas bill.

The Bancrofts stealing from Hope Harbour was deeply damn personal. It felt like they’d stolen from her, from her mum. And she’d never forgive them for that.

Jed looked at his watch. ‘I have another match in an hour. I’ll find them after.’

‘Ask what’s bugging them,’ Troyden replied. ‘They were there for you and your mum, and we need to be there for them if they need help.’

To be honest, this was the perfect time to jump into the conversation, to chime in to say that she knew the Bancrofts, that she’d worked for them for years. She could also casually mention she was at odds with them.

She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t form any words. She was terrified of their reaction, especially since she wasn’t able to explain why she’d resigned. They’d assume she was in the wrong and that she’d done something to make them fire her.

If she confessed to knowing the Bancrofts, it would, she was certain, change the dynamic between her and Jed.

They were having fun, enjoying each other, keeping things light and surface-based, but that would evaporate like water on a sizzling hot iron if she spoke up.

He would be angry and upset, and he’d choose his relationship with the Bancrofts over her.

And she’d be left behind.

Jed’s long, low ‘hmmm’ pulled her attention back to the present. ‘I’ll chat with them,’ he agreed. His eyes swivelling back to Henry. ‘Where do you think you are going? We need to talk.’

Henry, who’d been edging away from them, stopped suddenly, and Eden caught hope flaring in his eyes. Why? God, she didn’t understand the dynamic between these two. At all. ‘Okay.’ Henry nodded, sliding his hands into his pockets. ‘Good.’

Jed turned to look at her, and she hauled in her breath at the bolt of lust she saw in his eyes, wanting to melt at the passion in his eyes. ‘Be careful in the sun, you’ll burn. And take some more antihistamines if you need to. This isn’t the ideal environment for you.’

No, it wasn’t, but Jed was here, and because she was– temporarily, she hoped– addicted to him, she wanted to be wherever he was. That meant being around horses. Oh, well. She’d either develop some antibodies or she’d be popping pills for as long as she was at Elmsleigh.

Troyden briefly touched Eden’s back. ‘Let’s head over to the refreshments tent. I can introduce you to Tara and Vincent. You’d like them, I think.’

Just a few months ago she’d loved and respected them; they’d been her favourite people. Now she couldn’t think beyond loathing what they did. And there was no way she could exchange small talk with them.

‘Eden?’ Troyden asked. ‘Are you okay?’

She pulled herself back to the present and touched her fingertips to her cheek. ‘Actually, I have a cracking headache.’

‘You’re probably dehydrated,’ Jed snapped. He did that when he felt out of control. ‘You need to get in the shade, and I’ll text Mick to bring you a rehydration sachet.’

He was a fine-looking man, but he could also be a bossy arse on occasion. And she didn’t have a headache because she was a redhead and too stupid to stay out of the sun.

‘I’m perfectly capable of sorting myself out, Jed.’ She stepped away from the group and dredged up a smile for Troyden. She adored her uncle and loved spending time with him. He seemed to enjoy her just as much and they’d settled in to an easy friendship.

But she didn’t want to be around Troyden today. Today she needed to be alone.

‘I’m going to the ladies’ room,’ she told her uncle. ‘I’ll find you when I am done.’

She didn’t like lying but this time it was necessary. She wasn’t going to the ladies’ room; she was heading straight for the parking lot and driving home. She’d text Troyden with an excuse after she left.

Troyden nodded. ‘Okay.’

Jed folded his arms, his expression hard and unhappy. ‘You need to rehydra?—’

‘Will you stop fussing, Harris?’ Eden replied, irritated.

She needed to leave, to get away from the people from her past, and she wanted to do it now.

She couldn’t risk meeting the Bancrofts because she’d face a million questions from them and the extended Castle clan.

They were in a legal fight for their lives, and she knew them well enough to know they wouldn’t hesitate to bad-mouth her to Troyden and his family.

And because the bond between them was strong and decades long, Troyden and Jed, and everyone connected to Elmsleigh House, would believe them.

At the risk of sounding pathetic, she’d yet to experience someone taking her side, standing with her in a crisis.

She’d always stood alone, and this time the situation wouldn’t prove any different.

Eden walked away from the players’ tent.

There was no chance of avoiding the Bancrofts forever.

At some point, sometime soon, she’d be outed, and she’d lose this family, which, despite the short time they’d spent together, she’d come to love.

She’d be labelled, at best, a bitch, at worst, a thief, an embezzler and a troublemaker, disloyal and deceitful.

Jed, Troyden and the rest of the family would believe them.

She was the outsider, and the Bancrofts were part of the inner circle.

They had a history together; she had a few weeks. She was fighting a lifetime spent together, loyalty forged by walking through the halls of death, stumbling through the thick mists of grief. She couldn’t compete, and losing them all, Jed, Troyden and Mick, was guaranteed.