a man, not a title. A real man. A man who saw me as more than a trophy. More than a brood mare who gave him the heir and the spare, while he’d have a whole string of mistresses. My pussy would grow cobwebs and that was not going to happen. Besides, I would bet Perry’s dick was as limp as his handshake. He might be loaded, but not where it counted.
My cell rang, the distinctive ring tone of I Will Survive that was set for my mother. Completely apt since I felt like all I’d done was survive until I walked away. My mother though, she’d never walk. She was so under my father’s sway I actually felt sorry for her. She had the means to divorce him, but she wouldn’t. It only made me feel sorry for her. And that was why I pulled over to the side of the road and answered the call.
“Hi, Mother.”
“Avaleigh, your father has been trying to reach you for days. Weeks, even.”
“Yes, I know.” I rubbed my eyes with my free hand.
He’d taken to call or text lately. Daily. I guessed he was pissed, even after all these months since I moved away he hadn’t caught on that I wasn’t interested in Perry. He’d been pretty quiet for a while, especially since he figured cutting me off would have had me running right back into the cushy lifestyle. But lately, he’d started in again. I’d blocked his number. What was the point of talking with him if all he wanted to do was talk about himself and about how I was being a terrible daughter? He kept getting my new cell numbers. My third since I moved to Montana. Being a billionaire made it easy to get info out of a phone company.
Now he tried another tactic. My mother.
“He could have been dead and you wouldn’t have known,” she replied, her voice going shrill. It wasn’t five o’clock yet, but no doubt she had a Manhattan, extra dry, in her hand. It was cocktail hour somewhere.
“His demise would have been all over the news,” I countered. Having your photo on the cover of Forbes a few times put him in the famous category, at least in the business world. And if he’d died, then there would be a shakeup in one of the biggest wealth management companies, so… yeah.
“Avaleigh Marie Carter. I raised you to be more respectful than that.”
Calling me by my full name used to make me feel shamed. Now, I just rolled my eyes.
“He’s the one who said I was cut off, no longer his daughter, Mother. I’m just respecting his wishes.”
She sighed. “Call him.”
I sighed, already tired of this conversation. She didn’t ask how I was. What I’d been doing these past few months. If I had a job, a boyfriend, been abducted by space aliens. She didn’t ask because she didn’t care. All she cared about was keeping my father happy.
“Why?” I glanced out at the prairie, the tall grass waving in the soft breeze. It was so pretty here, so quiet and peaceful, but my mother’s shrill voice was ruining it.
“I don’t know exactly, but he wants to talk with you about something.”
I sighed again. “Yes, I figured that. If this is about Perry—”
“He’s a perfect match for you. Handsome, attentive, smart.”
I thought of Perry, then my mind shifted to Colton and Tucker. They were handsome. Attentive too. Smart as well, but our conversations had been limited. I wanted to talk with them, to learn more. As for Perry, I was all done talking with him. All he talked about was himself, how he’d be an asset to me.
As fucking if.
“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested in Perry?”
“You don’t have to be interested to marry the man,” she replied.
I pulled my cell from my ear and stared at it. I couldn’t believe my mother’s words and wondered once again if I’d been adopted. There was no love in my parents’ marriage, but there sure as shit would be in mine.
“I have to go. I’ve got work. Goodbye, Mother.”
I hung up on her, tossed the phone onto the other seat.
It instantly chimed with a text. I picked it up, saw a number with a Colorado area code, knew immediately it was my father. He must have been sitting right beside her the whole time, probably listening in. All it said was Call me.
“Asshole,” I muttered, annoyed, tossing the phone again. A song I hated came on the radio and I pushed the button to switch it with a little more force than necessary, then steered the huge-ass pickup back onto the road. I’d gotten pretty good about mentally shoving my father in a drawer, but it took a few minutes to calm down from my father’s side-attack through my mother. It was a waste of time to let them rile me. I had what I wanted. A business of my own. Friends. A paycheck I earned from hard work. And now, I had better—taller, broader, sexier—things to think about. Tucker Duke and Colton Ridge.
And they were why I was doing this delivery. After spending an hour debating—and making sure I’d shaved and buffed and that my hair and makeup were just right—I was headed to the Duke ranch. Technically, the load in back was a piece of equipment that I was dropping off, but it was more myself. I was delivering myself to Tucker and Colton.
I licked my lips, thought of the duo. Squirmed on the bench seat. A woman had needs. Serious needs that Perry would never be able to fulfill. Needs the likes of Colton Ridge and Tucker Duke could certainly handle.
We know what you need.