Chapter 5

Zeke

I wasn't knownto be a hot-tempered guy. The customer was always right, grannies should be helped across the street, and a long run with Daisy, my golden retriever, was enough to work out any frustrations before they came out in the form of a fistfight.

Except when it came to Rainey.

"You're engaged?" I spat the words, not even wanting them in my mouth, let alone swirling in my brain.

Rainey. Engaged. To someone else.

I'd envisioned her married before. Assumed she would be after twelve years apart, but seeing it with my own two eyes was straight torture. That douchebag last night must be her fiancé.

Rainey dropped her arms and smiled, but it was more of a wince. "Yes. Danny. I'm marrying Danny. Hopefully tomorrow if I can get all the details worked out today." She hitched a thumb over her shoulder. "Which is why I need caffeine. Bucket size if they have it."

"Don't do it." The words slipped out before I had a chance for my pride to rein them back in.

Rainey sighed. "I have to, Zeke. I need that money."

"There are other ways."

She shook her head and her gorgeous hair flicked around her shoulders and arms. "I have no time. It has to be tomorrow."

"I'll stop it." I would. I'd move that fuckin' mountain over there to stop her from making this mistake. "Do you even love that guy?"

Rainey's eyes flashed. Good. Maybe she'd feel even a fraction of the anger I felt right now. "You don't understand. Danny is harmless. He signed my prenup. It has to be him. I won't find anyone else in the next five days."

"I'll sign your prenup. Marry me instead."

Rainey's mouth dropped open, her cheeks starting to blush. Then she was rolling her shoulders back like she was seven feet tall instead of barely five feet. "You're crazy."

She whirled around, all that thick blonde hair twirling in the breeze behind her as she marched off. I opened my mouth to say something—anything—that would make her change her mind. But then I remembered the stubborn streak that ran right through her logical brain, obliterating common sense. Rainey didn't listen to reason, that much hadn't changed.

But I had.

I'd let her go once and look what that got me: a shattered heart and twelve years of wondering if she was still alive.

I wasn't going to let Rainey go so easily this time.

"You're my girl, aren't you, Daisy?" I buried my face in her neck, scratching behind her ears like she loved so much. This girl had been with me for six years now and I couldn't imagine not waking up to her horrible dog breath every morning. One wag of that tail and I found myself rolling out of bed far earlier than I planned based on how long I'd been up the night before. At least I wasn't hungover this time.

Daisy's tongue swiped across my cheek, as if to agree with me. I let her go and stood up, pulling on a pair of pajama pants and walking her outside the back door. She ran out ahead of me and did her business on the wide expanse of green lawn while I hit the button to start the coffee pot. After I'd calmed down yesterday and gone for a run with Daisy, I'd ditched the hangover and come up with a plan. I had important shit to do today and not much time to do it in.

One thing stood out during our conversation yesterday. Rainey hadn't said she loved her fiancé. The only reasons she'd listed for marrying him was the prenup and that inheritance. Had she claimed to be madly in love with him, today would look a lot different. I would walk away and let her marry the douchebag.

But she'd claimed no such thing.

I clapped my hands and Daisy came running back inside. I got her fed and cracked some eggs into the frying pan for myself. While those cooked, I poured my coffee and gulped it down so fast it burned my mouth. Daisy sat in the middle of the kitchen staring up at me while I bit back a curse.

"I know, I know. I'm just in a hurry," I told her, carrying on in conversation like we did every morning. I swore she understood me.

I plated the eggs and didn't bother to sit while I shoved them in my mouth. Of course, I dropped some and Daisy pounced before the clump of egg even hit the hardwood. Thanks to her my floors were sparkling clean. The plate clanked as I nearly threw it in the sink in my hurry and grabbed an apple, biting into it as I ran back to my bedroom. Daisy followed, barking as if we were playing a game.

My closet held exactly one suit and normally I loathed it. It was the suit I wore when all of my friends got married. Considering the whole town knew each other and invited everyone to their wedding, I'd had to wear it a lot the last few years. But today, I was wearing it for me.

I grabbed my keys and crouched down at the door to the garage. "Daisy, girl. You be good while I go get your mama." Daisy cocked her head to the side. "I know it's just been you and me, but we're making room for one more today, okay?"

Daisy licked my face and I took that as a yes. I held out my hand and Daisy bopped her paw against it, a little trick I'd taught her years ago. Another kiss on the top of the head and I was out the door and sliding into my work truck. A few stops later in town, I had what I needed.

The brick facade of Blueball's courthouse was a focal point of the town. The building was old, but it had been kept up nicely. The bronze plaque out front told the history of our town, complete with a picture of the old man who'd planted all the bluebell flowers for his late wife, mistakenly calling them blueballs. The name had stuck and the hideous logo was born.

I checked my watch, surprised to note my palms were sweating. This had to work. If my plan failed, I'd lose Rainey forever. Again. The way I saw it, I lost her twelve years ago, but fate put her back in my path for a reason. I couldn't fail this time.

A late model SUV pulled up to the courthouse and a man in an ill-fitting suit climbed out of the driver's seat. The guy tugged on his sleeves and then fumbled with his short tie. Couldn't be more douchebag if the word was stamped right on his tall forehead. Okay, the guy wasn't that bad, I just didn't care for his significance to Rainey. She was far too good for him.

And now it was showtime.

"Hey there," I called out real friendly-like. I forced a smile on my face and lifted a hand in greeting. "Are you Danny?"

The guy looked at me with suspicion, but then stretched his arm out anyway. We shook hands and I wanted to laugh over the limp grip. This guy was all wrong for Rainey. She'd steamroll right over him.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm Danny. And you are…?"

"I'm an old friend of the family. Rainey's, that is." I put my arm on his back and steered him closer to the large tree that cast a decent shadow on the west side of the courthouse in summertime. Just in case Rainey showed up early, I didn't want her to see me talking to her fuckin' fiancé.

Danny swiped at his damp forehead, drawing attention to his nervousness. I took heart in the fact that I was about to help this poor guy out of a situation he wasn't sure he wanted to be in. Pulling my hand back, I reached into the inner pocket of my suit jacket and pulled out one of those little envelopes the bank gives you when you withdraw a significant amount of cash. Danny's eyes widened on the thick white envelope.

"I've got a deal for you, Danny, one I know you won't be able to resist." I clapped him again on the shoulder and the guy winced before shrugging off my hand.

"I, uh, actually don't like a lot of touching," he mumbled. "Too many germs."

"Sorry." I could respect that. But I also wondered how that was working out for Rainey. I could clearly remember an endless string of evenings when she'd snuggle with me in the dirt at our place under the bridge. Germs were the last thing on her mind.

"I'll keep this short." I waved the envelope between us. "I have ten thousand in cash right here. It's all yours if you just get back in that car and leave Blueball."

Danny's wide-eyed gaze bounced between the envelope and my face, trying to gauge my sincerity. I flipped my thumb through the edge of the bills so he could see it was all there. My savings account had taken a serious hit, but it would be worth it if this worked.

"Ten thousand? To leave Rainette? Like, forever?"

For a quick second I worried the poor guy really did love Rainey. Why else would he balk at the cash? When he tugged at the hideous red-and-gold tie around his neck, I figured I'd better give him more reason to leave.

"Don't worry, Rainey will still inherit her money from her father. I'll make sure of that. Believe me, this is more than you'll get if you marry her. You signed the prenup, right?"

Danny nodded, still staring at the cash. "Uh-huh."

"So, do we have a deal, Danny?" I didn't want to rush the guy but I wanted to be done here before Rainey showed up.

His head lifted and I could practically see the dollar signs in his eyes. "Do you need me to sign something?"

I shook my head. "I trust you, Danny. Just take the money and head on out. Leave Rainey behind."

"Done." The guy plucked the envelope out of my hand and hurried back to the curb where he left the car waiting. With one foot inside, he swiveled back. "Can you, uh, tell her I'm sorry?"

"Absolutely," I assured him. lying through my teeth. I lifted my hand goodbye and he was off. I would do no such thing. Mostly because Rainey was going to be so pissed off I wouldn't be able to get a word in during her tirade. I watched until his brake lights turned a corner and were out of sight. "Phase one done."

I didn't have to wait long before another car pulled up to the curb in front of the courthouse. This one was a rideshare blasting country music. I bent down to see the driver. Yep, it was Jaxson. That kid made more money than most college graduates just driving people to and from the airport.

The back door opened and Rainey climbed out. Time slowed down as Rainey swirled to wave goodbye to Jaxson. Her blonde hair was curled, hanging down her back except for two little braids on each side that tied at the back of her head with a pale pink flower. Her white sundress flared out as she spun, showing off her gorgeous legs ending in a pair of wedge sandals that made my mouth water. She looked amazing. More beautiful than prom our senior year when I'd almost had heart failure at her blood-red dress with the high slit up one leg.

Jaxson peeled away from the curb and I felt the exact moment Rainey's gaze fell on me. I could always feel her presence, like the cells in my body functioned differently when she was in my atmosphere. Her broad smile slowly fell as she looked around the empty sidewalk.

"Zeke?" she asked, walking closer. "What are you doing here? Where's Danny?"

Up close I could see how she'd taken time with her makeup this morning. Unlike yesterday morning when she hadn't had a lick of makeup on, her skin had a range of colors on it now. Black eyelashes and some sort of color on the lids made her eyes look even more doe-like. Her bare shoulders were kissed with just a hint of pink, as if she'd been out in the sun longer than she should have been yesterday.

I dreaded the next few minutes, knowing I'd be crushing her plans, but I knew it was for the best. She'd still inherit her money and she'd eventually get over being mad at me. Fairly certain she'd get over it.

"He's gone."

Rainey simply blinked up at me, her thick lashes fluttering. "Excuse me?"

"Danny," I said helpfully. "He's gone."

Her hands came to her hips. "What do you mean, he's gone?"

Time to come clean and face the firing squad. "I know you said he was perfect for you, but the man didn't even pretend to protest when I offered him money to leave Blueball."

Rainey's mouth opened but no words came out. Her eyes had gone stormy and that red splotch on her neck didn't bode well for my longevity.

"You. Did. What?" she snapped.

I leaned in, wanting her to understand what a terrible choice he was. "I offered him money, Rain. And he took it. What kind of douchebag?—"

Her hand came out of nowhere and struck my cheek. My fuckin' molars shook with the force of the slap. Shit. I shook my head a bit to see if that would clear the fire ants marching across half my face. Rainey didn't wait for me to explain further, she just turned on her heels and made a run for it. She was surprisingly fast for the tall footwear she sported.

"Rainey!" I called after her.

This time, she didn't look back or even bother to flip me off. The bride was just gone.