Unwrapping Holly(31)

Both concerned and irritated at being pulled away from her work, Holly rushed to the door and shoved her arms into her coat, her feet into the snow boots her father had given her several days before. Standing on the porch, she saw a group of men drilling a hole nearby on the property. What?

She dug her phone out of her pocket and tried to call her parents but received no answer. Surely they would have told her if there was something going on today before they left for the airport.

Holly stomped down the stairs and made it all of a few steps before she froze. Cole? She blinked. Surely that wasn’t Cole standing there, talking with three other men. A few steps away from them, several other guys were taking some sort of measurement. On her parents’ property. What was going on?

Her stomach lurched, and her hand pressed against it, as another truck—a familiar truck—pulled up and a moment later, Abe crossed toward Cole. She had a bad feeling about this. Really bad.

Holly launched into action, praying this gut-wrenching feeling that twisted and turned with every step was for nothing. Cole seemed to sense her approach, his gaze lifting, seeking, and settling on Holly. His handsome, chiseled features flashed with surprise a moment before his long, lean legs began eating up the distance between them.

She could barely breathe for the cold air and fear eating away at her lungs as she stopped in front of him. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Who are those men? I thought you were doing some inspection on the property you’re buying. What’s going on, Cole?”

With a grim set to his jaw, Cole stepped closer, tried to touch her. She jerked away. Her attention shifted over Cole’s shoulder to where Abe stood gaping at the two of them. The implications of him being there weren’t missed on Holly. She knew that Abe was supposed to meet Cole for the property inspection.

She ground her teeth and cast him an accusing glare. “What are you doing here? What is Abe doing here?”

“Holly,” he pleaded.

She squeezed her eyes shut, his lack of explanation the only answer she needed. “Oh God. This can’t be happening.” Slowly, she opened her eyes and forced out the question burning a fast-deepening hole in her gut. “This is the property you’re buying, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t know. I—”

It was true! “You’re buying my family home?!” She exploded with a combination of panic and anger. Her hands went to the side of her head, fingers in her hair. She was coming home to Haven, and home didn’t exist. Had her parents’ retirement put them in financial distress? Were they ashamed to ask for help? She flung her arms out to her sides. “How could you not tell me that?! How?”

He held his hands up. “I didn’t know, Holly. I didn’t know. Your last name isn’t even Reddy. How would I know?”

“My last name is Reddy!” she yelled, fully aware that the other men, Abe included, were staring at them, jaws to the ground. Well, let them stare. She hoped their eyes popped out and their ears fried. She balled her fists by her sides, and added, “It’s been Reddy every damned day of my life! ”

Helplessly, he shook his head. “Your book. I thought—”

“My God, Cole. It’s a small town. I can hardly pee without a report being sent home to my parents. You want me to believe that everyone but you, the man who has been fucking me nightly, knows my real name?”

She didn’t ever use the F-word. She didn’t. But she was hurting, panicked. Shaking.

“Get off! ” She pointed. “Get off the property, now. It’s not for sale. I’ll take care of whatever financial mess my parents are in. You won’t steal this property from them. You can’t.”

Cole jerked back as if slapped, his jaw setting in a steely hard line, a solemn expression in his dark eyes. “It’s not like that, Holly,” he said, his voice low now, as tight as a rubber band ready to pop. “And I can’t believe you’d think that of me. Your parents want to travel. They’re excited about selling.”

Of course, they said that. Who admitted having financial difficulties?! She drew in a hard-earned breath. “Leave, Cole,” she whispered. “Go away and don’t ever come back.”

She turned on her heels and raced toward the door, expecting him to follow. But she reached the stairs, reached the door, and Cole wasn’t there. She wrapped her hand around the doorknob and knew he was still standing where she’d left him and it hurt. She shoved open the door and went inside, leaned on the wooden surface and waited for the knock that didn’t come. A stinging sensation bit at the back of her eyes. She didn’t want to cry. She refused to cry over Cole Wiley, a man who’d obviously been manipulating and using her in some way.