Page 45 of Trick or Tease

SAbrINA

T he rest of the night went off without a hitch, which was both a blessing and a curse.

A blessing because everyone deserved to end the season on a high note.

A curse because it meant I had to keep smiling and pretending everything was fine when all I wanted to do was go home and scream into my pillow.

Being spooky helped get me back in the spirit of the evening. Hexing people and cackling when needed. It was fun. More fun than I should have had. It was more like a farewell performance. It didn’t matter how good or bad I did because it would be the last time.

Anytime I thought about Garrett’s asshole behavior, I got pissed.

Really pissed. There was no point in yelling at him.

He clearly didn’t have a conscience. And I refused to let him see me get upset.

He didn’t get to have the satisfaction of pissing me off or hurting my feelings.

I hoped he was gone by tomorrow morning. He could take his money and run.

Part of me worried I might be thinking about myself. Billy was going to be very wealthy, and by default, Lucy would as well. They were going to move away and have a fabulous life somewhere else. Garrett was going back to the city.

And I was going to be here living next to whatever monstrosity the new owners of the farm decided to build. Everyone got something out of the deal except me.

I was going to lose everything.

My best friends. My job. Everything.

And oh yeah, the guy I had kind of fallen for.

I threw myself into cleanup duty, figuring physical work might help burn off some of the anger still coursing through my veins. By the time the last family packed up and headed home, I was exhausted in the best possible way. It was the kind of tired that came from honest work and a job well done.

Something Garrett wouldn’t know anything about. Putting on a fancy suit and going into a courtroom wasn’t exactly labor-intensive work.

I found myself helping Granny Mae pack up her candy station, loading empty trays and leftover napkins into boxes while she counted her earnings for what had to be the tenth time that night.

“Nearly double what we made yesterday,” she announced with satisfaction. “Not bad for an old woman selling her goodies.”

“Not bad at all,” I agreed with a forced smile. Granny didn’t deserve to deal with my mood. “You were a hit. Half the kids came back for seconds.”

She beamed at me. “You know what the best part was? Seeing all those families having such a good time. That little girl in the princess costume must have told me six times that this was the best Halloween ever.”

I managed a genuine smile at that. “That’s what it’s all about.”

“You bet it is,” Granny said, then studied my face with those sharp eyes that missed nothing. “Though you don’t look like someone who just pulled off the event of the season. What’s got you looking like you swallowed a lemon?”

Before I could deflect, Lucy appeared at my elbow, practically vibrating with excitement. Her fairy wings were slightly crooked and there was hay in her hair, but she looked happier than I’d seen her all week.

“There you are!” she said, grabbing my arm. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Why?”

“Did you hear what happened with Garrett and his boss?” I wasn’t sure why she was smiling.

“Yes,” I said and shoved more stuff into the box with too much force. I was being rude. I should be happy for her. “Sounds like a great deal.”

“Deal.” She laughed. “It was incredible!”

I kept my expression carefully neutral. “I was there for part of it. I had stuff to get to and left before anyone signed anything.”

“Signed? What? No. Did you see him rip up the contract? Right in that asshole’s face!” Lucy’s eyes were shining. “And then he told him to get off the property, and Ron slipped in the horse crap! It was so funny I almost peed my pants.”

“What?” I asked with confusion. “Who? What?”

Granny Mae perked up, her eyes sparkling with interest. “Now that sounds like a story worth hearing. What’s this about a contract?”

Lucy launched into the whole tale, complete with dramatic gestures and sound effects.

She described how Garrett had stood up to his boss after he insulted Billy.

How he had torn up the sale papers and apparently how he had basically chosen the farm over his career in one spectacular moment of defiance.

And I missed it.

“And then, that cat—you know, the black one that’s always hanging around—came out of nowhere and tripped Ron right into the poop! It was like the universe was on our side!”

Granny Mae cackled with delight, slapping her knee. “Well, I’ll be damned! Sounds like that boy finally came to his senses.”

I felt their expectant gazes on me, waiting for me to share in their excitement. But all I could think about was the weeks of lies, the secret phone calls and the way Garrett had pulled away from me right when I started believing we might have a real future together.

“It’s encouraging,” I said carefully. “But it doesn’t change what he did.”

Lucy’s smile faltered slightly. “What do you mean? He chose us, Sabrina. He chose the farm. He told his boss to go to hell and ripped up a seven-million-dollar contract.”

“After weeks of lying about it,” I pointed out. “After letting us all think he was here to help while secretly planning to sell everything out from under us. One grand gesture doesn’t erase all of that.”

Granny Mae was watching our exchange with interest, her head tilted like a bird studying something fascinating.

“But it shows he changed his mind,” Lucy pressed. “It shows that being here, working with us, meant something to him. Billy thinks he’s going to stay, maybe help run the farm?—”

“And then what?” I interrupted, more sharply than I intended. “He stays for a few months until he gets bored or finds another job opportunity? He can’t practice law here, Lucy. His whole career is in the city. You think he’s going to give all that up to play farmer?”

“Maybe he will,” Lucy said quietly. “Maybe this place, maybe we , are worth more to him than his old life.”

I wanted to believe that. God, I wanted to believe it so badly it made my chest ache. But I’d been burned too badly to trust in maybes.

“Even if he stays, how am I supposed to trust him after this? He kept secrets from me, Lucy. Big ones. He made me think we were building something together while he was planning to tear it all down. That’s not the kind of man I can be with.”

Granny Mae cleared her throat, drawing our attention. “People make mistakes. What matters is what they do once they figure out they did make a mistake.”

“This wasn’t just a mistake, Granny,” I said. “This was a betrayal.”

“Was it, though?” She looked at me in that way that said there was some wisdom heading my way. “Or was it a man getting pulled in two different directions, trying to figure out where he belonged? Sometimes people make bad choices when they’re scared or confused. Doesn’t mean they’re bad people.”

I felt my defenses rising. “So, I’m supposed to just forgive him? Pretend like none of this happened?”

“I’m saying maybe you should give him a chance to explain himself before you write him off completely,” Granny said gently.

“I haven’t seen him or talked to him. I made it pretty clear I wasn’t interested. I’m sure he got the message.”

“He kept looking around during cleanup, like he was searching for you,” Lucy said. “Billy told me he asked where you went at least three times.”

My heart did a traitorous little flutter at that, but I squashed it down. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t be with someone who keeps secrets like that. Someone who doesn’t trust me enough to be honest about what’s going on.”

“Even if he made a mistake?” Granny asked. “Even if he realized it and tried to make it right?”

“Too little, too late,” I said firmly, even though the words tasted bitter in my mouth.

Granny Mae studied me for a long moment, then shook her head with a knowing smile. “You are one stubborn young lady, Sabrina Lamb. Stubborn as your granny, and twice as proud.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having self-respect,” I said, lifting my chin.

“No, there isn’t,” she agreed. “But there’s a difference between self-respect and cutting off your nose to spite your face. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is have a conversation you’re afraid to have.”

I finished loading the last of her supplies into my truck, not trusting myself to respond. Granny Mae meant well, but she didn’t understand. She hadn’t been the one lied to, manipulated, and made to feel like a fool for believing in something that was never real.

“Come on, Granny,” I said, helping her into the passenger seat. “Let’s get you home.”

As I started the engine, I caught sight of Garrett in my rearview mirror. He was standing near the barn. When he spotted my truck, he took a few steps toward us, raising his hand like he wanted me to stop.

I gunned the engine and drove past him without slowing down. In a moment of pure spite, I rolled down my window and flipped him off as we passed.

Granny Mae let out a delighted cackle from the passenger seat. “Lord almighty, child. You really are your mother’s daughter. Full of piss and vinegar.”

I kept my eyes on the road ahead, refusing to look back. Whatever Garrett wanted to say to me, I wasn’t ready to hear it. Maybe I never would be.

“Stubborn as the day is long,” Granny Mae muttered, still chuckling to herself. “That boy has got his work cut out for him if he wants to win you back.”

“He’s not going to win me back,” I said firmly. “Because I’m not for sale.”

Granny Mae just smiled and patted my arm. “We’ll see about that, honey. We’ll see about that.”

I snorted because there was no way I was going to wait around for that man to apologize. I didn’t trust him, and I never would. He was a jerk. Just because he didn’t sell the farm today didn’t mean he wouldn’t do it tomorrow or when he figured out he didn’t like working for a living.

I helped Granny inside and promised to be by the following day. Then I went home and cleaned off the witch makeup. It had been an exhausting day. An exhausting month.

I was going to sleep for at least twelve hours. Garrett was a problem for tomorrow.