Page 47 of Unplanned Target

SEVENTEEN

MIRANDA

Owen climbs off me and goes to retrieve his shirt. “I’ll be back.”

I sit up, reeling at the abrupt shift in the way my morning is playing out. “Ignore him.”

Owen looks pointedly at the door as the banging continues. “Does it seem like he’s going to be ignored?”

“It seems like he’s a freaking cock block.” I slide off the bed, retying the belt at my waist. “I’m going to punch him too.”

“You’re going to have to take a rain check on that.” Owen tucks his shirt into the waistband of his pants as he steps into my path. “Eli’s worried about his recovery as it is.” Owen blows out a breath as the aggressive knocking gets louder. “And he’s probably right to be worried considering how your brother’s been acting.”

“He’s always like this.” I try to step around him, but fail when he blocks my path again. “Just let me talk to him. I’ll tell him to kiss my ass and go away.”

Owen shakes his head. “Not happening. Your brother and I have had a complicated relationship from the start. We need to hash this out, and he’s obviously not going to rest until we do.” He grabs me by the shoulders, leaning in to press a kiss against my forehead. “Get your computer set up, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

There’s no time to argue, because Owen moves pretty freaking fast for as big as he is, and manages to slip out the door without me so much as seeing a glimpse of my brother.

“I’m going to kill you, Tony,” I mumble as I stomp into the bathroom, annoyed beyond belief at my brother and his terrible timing and dramatic personality. “You are a royal pain in my ass.” I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and cringe, because Tony isn’t the only thing currently being a pain in my ass.

My hair is a wreck. It’s normally a little particular, but this morning it’s even worse than normal since it halfway dried being smashed against a pillow while I forgot about everything except Owen’s promise to lick me.

Since that fell through, I might as well try to get my life as organized as I can.

Owen doesn’t have much in the way of hair care products for me to use as damage control. It makes sense considering he keeps his blonde hair clipped short, but I could definitely benefit from a nice mousse and diffuser right now. So, after getting dressed in the pair of leggings and oversized sweatshirt we grabbed from the store near Tony’s cabin, I slip on my flats and head out in search of the stuff they sent from my house. It’s pretty easy to find, because it’s a big fucking pile stacked right inside the front doors. There’s no furniture, but just about everything from my closet and bathroom is here. Along with my standing desk and treadmill, which I probably can’t move upstairs on my own.

I still consider trying it.

But a few of Owen’s coworkers are loitering around, so I enlist their help, convincing all of them to help me transport the stack to the hall where Allie and I are staying. I even get a couple of them to maneuver the treadmill and desk into Owen’s room, situating them in a corner so I can look out the window as I work.

Once my new, temporary, office is set up, I check out the laptop Owen brought me. It’s pretty fucking impressive. Top-of-the-line, with a huge amount of memory and a high-end processor that will make it lightning fast. I have to find out how much I owe them for it. Add it to the tab I’m racking up. I’m sure helping me find my daughter didn’t happen for free, and room and board isn’t cheap. Especially this close to Nashville.

On the plus side, I now have access to my bank accounts. Hopefully there’s money left in them.

After setting up my computer, I forgo doing the same with the cell phone, because I don’t really have anyone to call, and instead focus on checking the status of my finances and business accounts.

It takes a few minutes to get my computer set to my personal information, but it’s not a complicated process, so soon I’m unlocking the device with my thumb and logging onto the Internet. I open up my bank’s website, but then remember all my usernames and passwords have been changed. Owen told me someone named Heidi would be sending me the new ones, but I don’t have any clue how I’m going to get them if I can’t log into my⁠—

A message pops up on my screen out of nowhere.

Hey, Miss Miranda.

This is Heidi. I work with Owen. Here’s a list of all your new passwords and usernames. If you have any issues or questions, open this chat window and reply to my message. It will come straight to me.

XOXO,

Heidi

P.S. Owen is the best guy I know.

P. P. S. He also really likes frosted brownies and is killer at Catan.

Catan? What the fuck is Catan?

Opening up the browser, I type in the word, surprised to discover it’s a boardgame. One that looks like it could be as easy or difficult as you want to make it, based on the number of expansion packs that are available.

Interesting.