Page 27 of Unyielding (Poplar Springs #3)
TWENTY-SEVEN
DECLAN
S itting outside on the porch with Shannon wasn’t helping to air out the tension between us.
I’d asked her three times if anything was wrong and she swore she was fine, but everything about her, from the way she barely pecked me on the cheek at my arrival to her short answers, made it clear she was pissed at me.
“Let’s just get it out there.” I finally sighed after another failed attempt to spark a conversation with her. “You’re upset with me.”
Shannon picked up the pace in her rocking chair. “You were doing your job. How could I be mad at you for that?”
“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking. It wasn’t like I stood you up to go party on my own. It was work, Shannon.”
“But it was Becca ,” she yelled back before I’d barely finished speaking, and I had to fight to keep from flinching. I knew Becca wasn’t her favorite person, but I hadn’t realized her dislike of the other woman was so extreme.
“She’s a client who needed me for an emergency.”
Shannon pulled a face. “And was it an emergency? Really?”
She clearly knew who she was dealing with.
“Just a sprain,” I admitted. “But it was her new prize stallion, and I guess she’s worried.”
“Hold on, Becca’s got another stallion in-house?” Shannon asked, her voice injured. “How many is that?”
I could see her running calculations in her head. “I’m not keeping score. Listen, Shannon, can we not talk about work now? I’m here, you’re here, the stars are out. Maybe we could watch for more shooting stars…”
She fell silent and I could feel the anger rolling off her in waves. It was like nothing I said would help her feel better about our postponed date. “What do you need me to say?” I asked. “What would make this better?”
“I don’t know,” she said simply.
“So you’re gonna stay mad at me?”
“I said I wasn’t mad!”
I managed a little smile. “Your words say one thing, but your tone says another.”
“Ugh!” Shannon jumped out of the rocking chair and stomped to the edge of the porch. “You just don’t get it, do you?”
My smile faded. “No, no, I get that there’s a rivalry between you and Becca. But you can’t put me in the middle of it. I’m just trying to do my job.”
“It’s more than a rivalry. From the day Becca moved to town, she has been out to get me.”
“It can’t be that bad. We were all kids when her parents bought Black Hat.”
Shannon threw up her hand, palm facing out to stop me.
“No. What Eli and my sister had in school was a rivalry. It was all in good fun and no one ever got hurt. But Becca went out of her way to make things difficult for me. She sabotaged school projects. If there was a boy I showed any interest in, she’d flirt with him until she got them to stop talking to me.
I was kicked out of school clubs because she spread rumors about me. It only got worse the older we got.”
She paced back and forth. “I’m sure it sounds like silly, harmless school yard antics, but that wasn’t how it felt. From the moment she moved to Poplar Springs, she’s gone out of her way to cause problems for me.”
She sighed and turned away from me, so I got out of the rocking chair and walked over to stand beside her.
“Listen, you’re upset, and I’m wrung out, so let’s try this instead,” I said in a low voice. “We’ll call it a night and I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”
Shannon shrugged and stared into the distance. “Whatever.”
I was starting to get a little annoyed that she wasn’t cutting me any slack, but I pressed on.
“Trust me, it’ll be good. Okay?”
Shannon finally turned to face me, but she wasn’t smiling. “Sure. That’s fine.”
I decided to ignore the fact that she was still upset, since I doubted we could reach any sort of consensus tonight. Plus, the fatigue was settling into my bones and I was desperate for my bed.
“Great, then it’s settled. I’ll get out of your hair for now and I’ll see you tomorrow when we’re both well-rested and feeling better.”
She nodded, her expression still hard. I considered leaning in for a kiss goodnight, but I didn’t want to risk getting turned down. No, screw it. I leaned toward her before she could react and kissed her forehead.
“Till tomorrow.” I smiled at Shannon, then turned to jog down the porch steps.
As I drove home, I went over everything she’d said. I was far enough ahead in school that I hadn’t been aware of the rivalry between Fiona and Eli, but given the younger Cafferty’s personality, it didn’t surprise me. But what Shannon described about the situation with Becca was troublesome.
Even though I’d thought I had a very reasonable reason for needing to reschedule, I was slowly realizing that if it had been anyone other than Becca, she would probably have been fine with it.
If she couldn’t understand why my job had to take priority, even if that meant making nice with Becca, then we were bound to have issues.
I wasn’t in a position to decline Becca’s requests when she called.
Not with the money she spent on vet care.
Was this what a relationship with Shannon would be like? Always second-guessing what she needed from me? Disappointing her and then sparring when I tried to make it right?
I’d thought I could balance working toward my goals and having a personal relationship, but maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe I’d have to choose after all.