“Ashlyn, please, language,” Ben sighed.
“You know what? Fuck you, Ben,” I yelled and pointed a stiff finger at the Sheriff. “Watch my language? Your son tried to rape me, and this lapdog’s done nothing about it, and you want me to drop the charges?”
The Sheriff was about to reply when Ben held up a hand to stop him. “Be reasonable, Ashlyn,” he said. “We both know that Mr. Ridder here has become quite the acquaintance to you. The whole town’s talking about it. You have a chance to help him avoid public disgrace. And further damaged to your own reputation.”
Chance cut in before I could reply. “Trust me, your son’s lawsuit is the least of my concern. I told you, she’s not dropping the charges. Matter of fact, I’m going to make sure she’s got the support of a team of lawyers who will stop at nothing until your son is behind bars for a very long time.”
“Mr. Ridder, we both know that won’t happen,” Ben said. “You’re going to leave in your fancy car, with your fancy driver and your billion-dollar attitude, and go back to whatever life you had before you accidentally stumbled upon our town. You’ll forget all about us, my son will walk free, and the fact that Ashlyn wasn’t being reasonable today might mean she’ll have a very difficult life afterwards.”
“Are you threatening me?” I snapped. I glared at the Sheriff, who looked away.
“No, I’m just warning you,” Ben replied, no longer smiling. “Take the deal, Ashlyn, and let’s put this behind us. You have my guarantee that Earl won’t bother you ever again.”
“What use are your damn guarantee when you can’t keep your dog on a leash?”
“I think we’ve debated, Ashlyn,” Ben said, narrowing his eyes at me. “Let’s just finish this and call it a day.”
“No,” Chance stepped in front of me, “we’re just getting started. I am going to leave, and I expect to hear from your lawyer soon. And you’ll be hearing from mine.”
He gestured to Miles, who took me by the arm and began walking me out.
Chance’s voice turned to a growl as he said, “And if you ever warn Ashlyn again, I’ll come at you with everything I have. And that’s not a warning, Mr. Greene. That’s a motherfucking threat.”
Come with me.”
We were standing by the limo, the driver already behind the wheel and the trunk packed with Chance’s things. There was a slight twinge in my chest at having to see him off, something I had hoped to avoid but found myself in the middle of despite my best intentions. If there was any doubt about how I felt about him, it flew out the window the minute I heard he had been arrested.
But I was still angry at him for lying to me, and now a little bit more because he thought that I would just drop everything and leave Ludwig.
“I can’t do that,” I said. “You know I can’t.”
“Ashlyn, you heard the man. They’re going to make your life miserable from now on.”
“I can take care of myself,” I said.
The look he gave me mirrored how much he didn’t believe that, and I had never wanted to hit him as much as I did now. The contradicting emotions I was going through were starting to take their toll on me.
“You can build a greenhouse in Austin,” Chance said. “Hell, you can open your own florist. I can move everything you have here in no time. It’ll be like nothing’s different.”
“Are you listening to yourself?” I asked with a huff. “I’d be in a completely different city, a huge city, one that’s foreign to me, surrounded by people I don’t know. How is that not going to be different?”
“You’d be with me,” he said softly.
“You’re not really that tempting at the moment,” I said. “I’m still having trouble dealing with the whole lying issue.”
“Ashlyn, my doctor –”
“Chance, just stop it,” I said, holding up my hands. “I’m not leaving Ludwig. Just, think of this as a fling or something, and I’ll try and do the same. You didn’t actually believe this would go somewhere, did you?”
He looked at me with a mix of shock and disbelief, and for a minute there, I felt like I had probably made a mistake. Did he actually think we could continue whatever the hell it was we were doing while he was in a different city? Was he as delusional as I had been last night?
“That’s not fair,” Chance said. “You’re not giving me much of a chance here.”
“A chance to do what?” I asked. “Chance, please, don’t make this harder than it already is. I’m channeling all my anger for what you did just so I don’t feel anything when you go. Let’s keep it at that.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Chance argued, and I could see he was getting a little frustrated. He pressed two fingers to the center of his chest and blew out a long breath. He gazed into my eyes, pleading, making me feel like a total shit for not doing what he asked. “Come with me, spend a couple of days in Austin, and then make a decision.”
“You have a company to win back,” I said. “Meetings, press, and now a lawsuit. I don’t want to be in the middle of all that. I can’t handle that. How am I going to be able to decide anything when nothing around me is stable?”