My face went hot. Of course Declan didn’t have a clue about the bad blood between me and Becca, but why would he even imply in front of someone who he knew was a competitor that the Lost Valley program was in some kind of trouble? And why was he so quick to backpedal about being on a date with me?
Becca giggled. “Oh my God, IwishI had time to brainstorm! We’re so busy working that I barely have time to think. But I remember those days, before things took off.” She gave me an insincere smile. “Good for you. I know you guys have been around forsolong, and it’s probably easier to just keep doing things the same old way, even when it’s holding you back fromrealsuccess. Lucky you, to have someone like Dr. Morris to help out.”
I tried to fight through my fluster and growing anger to answer Becca, but it was too late. She picked up her drink, gave Declan a wink, and sauntered back to the bar. Declan watched her walk away.
“She’s been a great client for Ruth. They’ve got quite the booming operation over there.”
“I need a real drink,” I said, ignoring the comment and craning my neck to look for a server. When I finally caught his attention, I beckoned him over.
“I was checking out the menu and the appetizers look great,” Declan said to me as the server hovered, waiting for us to place our orders. “Want to split a few?”
I frowned at the menu. We weren’t on a date—as he had just made abundantly clear—so why would we share food?
“I’m just going to have an IPA. Whatever you’ve got on tap,” I said to the server. “No food for me.”
“Oh, okay,” Declan said quietly. “Uh, me too, then. Just a beer for now.”
I tried to tell myself that the brief, unpleasant interaction with Becca was like medicine that I needed to swallow. Unpleasant, but necessary because now I knew that there was absolutely nothing going on between me and Declan. At the same time, Becca had lit a new fire inside of me to grow my business. I was going to do whatever Declan suggested, as long as it didn’t go against what I believed was best for Lost Valley. We’d entered into a business partnership for a reason, and I was going to use it to get exactly what I needed.
So there was absolutely no reason to feel sad about the fact that Declan seemed way more into Becca than he was me. It didn’t matter. Declan was still going to do what we’d agreed to, so everything was fine. I pulled a notebook and pen out of my bag.
“You were starting to say something about apps?” I held the pen above the page.
A shadow crossed Declan’s face. “Right. Uh, okay, I think you should start off with a pedigree tracker. It’s an easy way to ease into adding more tech to your operation.”
“Pedigree tracker,” I repeated back to him, writing it down. I flicked my eyes up at him. “We’ve got a lot to cover, and I hate to take up too much of your time. Seems like you’re a busy guy.”
Declan cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair, frowning at me. “Thanks. Appreciate it.”
I kept my eyes focused on my paper and tried to ignore the way the chill in the air had nothing to do with the setting sun. “Okay, what’s next?”
EIGHT
SHANNON
Icould understand Zoe’s reluctance to go into town when she’d first arrived back. For her, it had felt as if all eyes were on her, judging her for being different. For me, there was only one person I would be happy to avoid, but damn if she didn’t seem to turn up at the worst time. For someone who claimed to be so damn busy, she sure spent a lot of time around town.
I’d popped into Hastings General Store to grab some groceries while I waited for Mr. Martin to get my order together at the supply store. I breezed through the store, grabbing items for salads and sandwich makings. I’d just rounded the aisle into the butcher section when I heard Becca talking.
“Oh my gosh, it’s like I’m printing money with how well everything is going out at Black Hat,” she declared. I rolled my eyes as I ducked into the frozen section. I didn’t know who she was talking to and the murmured response was so low, I couldn’t even tell if the other person was male or female. “For real. I’m set to blow past all my original projections for this year and it’s not even over. If you have any questions about building your program up to where it should be, we should get together to talk.I mean. I know we’re competitors, but this is Poplar Springs. We help each other out, right?”
I snorted at that. Becca was only ever out for Becca. If she was offering help, there was something in it for her.
It took me a moment to realize I was shiveringandhiding. Nope. I wasn’t going to let her get to me. I pushed my cart out of the frozen foods aisle and rounded the corner into the bakery section only to see that it was Jake Thorne talking to Becca. Was she serious talking to Jake like he was some greenhorn who needed her advice? Her back was to me but I caught Jake’s eye and noted that he didn’t look happy to be there. Becca had her hand on his sleeve and I watched as he shifted his weight, moving his arm out of her reach. Not to be deterred, she stepped closer to him until Jake was almost backed up against the bread shelves.
“So, what do you say? We could meet in town for dinner to talk or you could come to my place. I could show you my operation and make you dinner. My cacciatore is delicious. You’ll love it,” Becca said. She was reaching her hand up to place on his arm when Jake’s eyes snapped to mine.
“There you are,” I said loud enough for half the store to hear. “I was just over at the supply store and Mr. Martin said—and I’ll do my best to get it right—‘If you see Thorne in town, tell him to come get his order before I sell it to someone else.’” I grinned at Jake, completely ignoring Becca and watched him sidestep and move around her with a deeply relieved look on his face.
“Damn, I was supposed to be there thirty minutes ago. I’m probably blocking the loading dock. If you’re excuse me.” He tipped his hat toward me. “Thanks for passing along themessage, Shannon. Send your family my regards.” Then he headed in the opposite direction toward the registers.
I followed him at a slower pace so Becca wouldn’t think I was running away. As I walked past her, I leaned toward her and paused. “Uh, you’re blocking the shelf.” The growl she gave me made it hard not to smile. I reached across her, grabbed the closest loaf of bread, not bothering to see what type it was, and continued my slow walk to the checkout feeling way too happy about what just happened. Was I being petty? Yes. One hundred percent. Did it feel good to see a good-looking, single man noticeably not interested in Becca? Absolutely. It was great to see that not every male was easily ensnared by her manipulations.
I paid for my groceries, smiling the entire time, then loaded everything up into my truck before driving over to Martin’s Ranch Supply to pick up my order. I backed up to the loading dock and found Jake sitting on the tailgate of his truck drinking what looked like a cup of coffee.
“Howdy, Cafferty. Thanks for the assist in the store.” Jake tipped his hat to me again and I chuckled as I got out of my truck to hand the supply store helper my order number.
“Yeah, I know from experience that Becca can be a bit much,” I said.
