Chapter 38

Brittany and I made our way into one of our clients’ houses together, quickly falling into our usual steady routine. We worked vigorously side by side to clean from top to bottom, starting in Mrs. Harris’s primary bedroom and working our way out.

“Make sure you hit every surface,” I reminded Brittany and myself as we strode into her bathroom. “Remember that time she said she saw a speck of dust on the window after we left?”

Brittany giggled and rolled her eyes. “Good old Mrs. Harris. I love her, but heaven knows, she goes over this place with a fine-tooth comb after we’ve been here.”

“Yeah, except that there was no speck of dust when we left,” I said, smiling as I thought back to how hard she’d tried to get a discount from us after. “Either way, let’s just make sure that we’re extra thorough. Otherwise, we’ll have to give her twenty bucks off again.”

“You got it,” Brit called from the shower cubicle as she climbed into it. “Open the windows for now, would you? She desperately needs some fresh air in here, and even if she doesn’t, I do.”

I chuckled, inhaling the musty air and wondering why the old lady never seemed to open any windows or doors. Then again, she lived here by herself, and even though she was just down the road from Scott’s house and knew she could call him any time if she needed help, I supposed I couldn’t blame her for being cautious.

It made me wonder about my own future. Would I be a lonely old woman one day who hated fresh air? I couldn’t imagine it, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen.

I sighed as I gathered my supplies and went down on my knees to scrub the porcelain throne. Pulling on my gloves, I reflected on my morning with Landon and decided that I would not, in fact, become a lonely old woman.

Obviously, I wasn’t going to be growing old with him, but there had to be at least one more where he’d come from, right? Sooner or later, I would meet the other-Landon. The one who wanted a simple, small-town life and perhaps already had one in a neighboring town or something.

The difference between Mrs. Harris and me was that she said she’d already had the love of her life. Her late husband, Harold, had married her at twenty-one and he’d spent every day of the rest of his life with her. I wanted that kind of love too. The kind where you committed to someone and stuck by them for as long as you were on this earth. Through thick and thin, for richer or poorer, and all that stuff. I wanted it so bad and I honestly thought Mrs. Harris could have another shot at it, but she wasn’t interested.

She said a person only got one love like that and she was content enough on her own, knowing she’d been one of the lucky ones to have had it at all. Memories of my night with Landon flickered through my mind again, but not the sex this time. The talking.

Opening up to him and feeling safe enough to bare my soul. To tell him about all the bad that had happened in my life and to trust that he wasn’t going to take off running because of it. That had been huge for me, but I couldn’t afford to start thinking about him as my one.

While it still hurt to think about Landon leaving someday soon, I had realized this morning that he was as intent on making the best of our time together as I was. Six weeks was better than nothing and I was determined to make this the best summer ever, and then after, I would move on.

I’d been thinking about what Brittany had said about going into this with my eyes wide open, and since there was no avoiding my attraction to him or our connection any longer, I figured I’d go with Brit’s advice. Have some fun, let my hair down, and don’t worry too much about the after.

The after that I knew would suck but hopefully only for a little while. Whatever happened in the after though, I couldn’t let it steal this opportunity to be with him. In whichever capacity was possible.

With my thoughts to distract me, the morning flew by in a blur of hard work and cleaning products. Lemon scented and with freshly scrubbed hands, Brittany and I left Mrs. Harris’s when we were done and I turned to her when she climbed into Scott’s truck.

“We’ve got a few minutes before we need to be at the next client’s place. Do you just want to eat in the truck?”

We were both a sweaty mess and I knew what she was going to say before she’d even said it. “Sure. Lunch break in Scott’s truck. Why not? Or we could go swimming.”

“We can’t go swimming. We’re not done for the day yet.”

“Maybe we can stop on our way to Ms. Pam’s?” she suggested. “Just a quick dip?—”

She was cut off when my phone rang and I smiled when I saw my brother’s name. “We’re not done yet, if that’s why you’re calling, but yes. We’d love to go out on the boat with you later.”

“I wish that was why I’m calling, but it’s not.” My heart stuttered at the serious tone of his voice. Scott was almost never serious, but when he was, it was never good news. “Did you hear about the fender bender on Main Street today?”

I frowned deeply. “No. What happened?”

Scott sighed. “Dallas rear-ended Landon.”

My stomach flipped over. “Are they okay? Was Colten in the truck too?”

“Yeah, he was, but it sounds like they’re all okay. A little bit shaken up, I’d assume, but no injuries.” He paused for a beat. “Well, actually, Dallas might not be okay. From the sounds of things, he got his panties twisted up in a pretty tight knot and the cops even cuffed him before they took him away.”

“They cuffed him?” Disbelief made my brain feel disconnected from my body for a minute. “The police department here, in June Lake, arrested Dallas Styles?”

“Yep,” Scott said, some of the seriousness finally easing out of his tone now that he’d broken the news to me. “It looks like it might’ve been a DUI.”

“A DUI?” My blood ran cold. “You’re absolutely sure that Landon and Colten are both okay?”

“That’s what I heard, but maybe you should give him a call later? I’m sure he’d appreciate it. I spoke to Don, who was at the scene this morning, and he told me Dallas really tore into Landon.”

“And Landon?” I asked curiously. “Did he lose his cool?”

“Not according to Don. He said Landon just kept telling Dallas to calm down and wait for the cops, but you should really talk to him about it. I wasn’t there.”

“I will. Thanks for letting me know. And Dallas? What’s going to happen to him?”

I could practically hear the shrug in his voice. “Don’t know, don’t really care. Except that it’s about time they slapped a pair of cuffs on that man. I just hope he doesn’t pay his way out of it. It’ll be real nice if they toss him in jail for a bit too, keep him off the streets and out of our hair for as long as they legally can.”

I hummed my agreement, but my heart and limbs felt heavy with worry. I needed to know that Landon and Colten were okay before I’d be able to think about anything else.

Scott hung up the phone and I navigated to Landon’s number. I also filled Brittany in quickly, seeing the concern for them clouding her eyes as well. “Check in with them, but Jewel? Physical injury isn’t the only thing you have to worry about. I’m willing to bet Dallas is going to try to blame the accident on Landon.”

“I’m sure he already has, but it was still Dallas who got arrested. Let’s hope that means they didn’t believe him.”

The call connected and my heart stammered in my chest. “Landon? Are you there? Are you okay? I just heard about the accident.”

“I’m here,” he said.

The relief that ran through me at the sound of his voice, as even and reassuring as ever, nearly brought me to tears. On the other end of the line, he let out a soft chuckle. “It really wasn’t that serious at all. Just a fender bender. We’re fine. I’m kind of surprised it even made it to the town’s gossip line.”

“Everything makes it to the town’s gossip line.” I chewed my cheek for a moment before I lowered my voice, needing him to know how much I wanted him to be honest with me. “You’re sure you’re both okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. Dallas just got a bit aggressive and he spooked Colten. We actually just sat down to talk it all over. Can I fill you in on everything later?”

“Of course. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Say hi to Colten for me and tell him I said Dallas is more bark than bite. He doesn’t need to be afraid of him.”

“I will, but it might help him to hear it directly from you later. I’ll call you, okay?”

“Okay. Also call if either of you need anything at all. I’m here for you.” I said goodbye then, relieved to have heard that they hadn’t been injured, but it was still difficult for me to finish the workday.

I was distracted with thoughts of how bad it could’ve been and worried about poor Colten. I’d seen Dallas mad a few times before and it wasn’t pretty. He probably scared the kid witless and made a huge scene, even if it sounded like the accident had been his fault.

Drifting around Ms. Pam’s house, cleaning but not really focusing on what I was doing, I nearly knocked over a lamp and Brittany arched an eyebrow at me. “Okay, so I know the answer to this should be obvious since you weren’t actually in the accident, but are you okay? You don’t look like you are.”

“Yeah. No. I mean, I’m fine.” I exhaled heavily, licking my lips as I tried to put my thoughts into some kind of order. “I guess I’m just hoping that Dallas gets more than a slap on the wrist this time around.”

“What are the chances of that happening?” she asked, resignation in her eyes as she shrugged. “That’s just how the world works, Jewel. Rich people have connections and those people they’re connected to help keep them out of trouble.”

“Yeah, but it’s not right. He’s really going to hurt someone one of these days. He’s been getting worse and worse, and I can’t stand the thought of us all just watching and waiting to see how bad it has to get before the police department realize that their buddy poses a genuine threat.”

“I know. Let’s just hope they charge him today, okay? Usually, they just let him go, so if they keep him locked up this time, it means they’ve finally come to their senses.”

I wasn’t hanging onto much hope that it would happen, or so I thought until I saw Dallas leaving the police station. On my way home, I drove past it and it was only as all that hope crashed and burned that I realized I’d really put my faith in the department to do the right thing this time.

Frustration bubbled through me. As always, they were just letting him go because of who he was, his wealth, and his connections. Being a Styles in this town had always bought him a certain amount of leeway, but after he’d taken over the family estate and everything from his parents, who had been Robert and Lucille’s children, he’d really been getting out of control.

I knew he donated a lot of money to the police, to town hall, and to local charities, which redeemed him in the eyes of some, but not as far as I was concerned. It wasn’t like he had decided to make those donations. He was simply keeping them up now that his parents weren’t around anymore.

As I drove past him, he saw me, whistling and even blowing me a disgusting kiss. That’s it. I’ve had enough.

Flipping him the bird out the window, I wished there had been a puddle on the side of the road I could’ve driven through to splash him with some dirty water, but for now, giving him the middle finger would have to do. He laughed it off though, probably telling himself that I was still just playing hard to get, but at this point, I didn’t know how I could make it any clearer.

He was the most revolting, vile creature I’d ever had the misfortune of coming across and I’d rather move across the country than go on so much as one date with him. Eventually, I hoped he’d realize it.

Leaving him behind me, I drove home and packed an overnight bag. Then I headed to Scott’s house to drop off his truck. Landon and Colten would be picking me up from there later and I couldn’t wait to see them.

Just the thought of what might’ve happened if it was true that Dallas had been driving under the influence made my heart cave in on itself. They could’ve been seriously injured. Or worse—and the way that made my chest feel like it’d been turned inside out was the first clue I got that it might not just be a casual relationship to me.

Despite what I kept telling myself, I was developing real feelings for this man and I truly cared about his son. But that didn’t scare me. It just meant I was going to have to really work at making the time I had with them worth it.

And then move in with Mrs. Harris once they were gone. Just two lonely women, one of whom had had the love of her life already and the other having only known hers for a summer.