Page 111 of If I Didn’t Have You

“John Callahan.”

“Clara…I don’t understand. Why are you so upset about this?”

The huff of laughter that left her lips confused me even more. “Why? His son tried to poison me. That’s why!”

I clenched my hands into fists, holding my anger as best I could. “You told me you wanted peace. You wanted me to forgive him,” I bit out.

“Yes, forgive him. Not partner with him and tie his family to ours for the rest of our lives!”

“Clara, this is a good business move. This will help the town and our family. Liam and Jeff⁠—”

“Liam and Jeff should have never agreed to this,” she snapped. “I wanted us to be happy. I wanted to move beyond the hate and the constant fighting. But this…” She huffed out a laugh, spinning away from me. “Did you already sign the paperwork?”

“No.” The words felt like they were ripped from my throat. As much as I understood her anger, I couldn’t wrap my head around how quickly her stance on the family had changed.

“Then you can tell him you’ve changed your mind.”

Her words hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest. For the first time in five years, I was actually excited about something, eager to get back to work and see the ranch profit instead fall into decline.

And she was telling me I had to turn it down, to end what could be a phenomenal arrangement.

“No.”

“Excuse me?” Her words were nothing more than a whisper, and the devastation on her face couldn’t be misunderstood.

“I won’t do it.”

“Why?”

“Because I already agreed to the arrangement. Because it’s good for all of us.”

“His son tried to kill me!” she shouted, tears filling her eyes.

“And I made sure that Austin would never be allowed on the property or anywhere near the business.”

“And you think that’s enough? Do you really think I’d just forget about all the other crimes he’s committed?”

“No. Of course not, but as you said, John is not his son.”

“No, but they’ll always be family. John won’t walk away from him!”

“I fucking know that! Do you think it was easy for me to go to John after all that we’ve been through? Do you think I just shoved all the past hurt aside and forgot about the vendetta he held for our family? Over something Jeff didn’t even do?”

“It sure as hell seems like it!”

I strode forward and grabbed her tightly, pleading with her to understand. “I swore I would never let anyone hurt you or my family. Then Jeff was involved in that accident, and our world turned upside down. Our son nearly lost the love of his life because of Austin. He nearly died himself. Nearly every fucking person in this family has paid some price for what happened all those years ago. If you think I don’t understand that, then you really don’t get me at all.”

“What I don’t get is why you would go into business with him, knowing that after everything, you’re shoving us right back into a situation that could get one or all of us killed!”

“I would never do that,” I hissed.

“You already did! Going into business with John will end badly for us, and I swear to God, if you don’t end this, I will walk away.”

Her words were a slap to the face, a knife to the chest. Never in my life had I felt betrayal more than I did in this moment. She was willing to end it all because she didn’t trust my instincts, or for me to take care of my family. And if she didn’t have faith in me, what was the point of all this?

I took a step back, and then another, trying to wrap my head around the words that left her mouth. It was the business or our marriage. It should be an easy choice, but what would be left of our marriage if there was no trust?

“You don’t mean that,” I croaked out.