Chapter 54 A FLIGHT TO BRENTMERE 2
She slammed the bathroom door so hard it nearly shook the house.
What was wrong with her lately? And these anger issues—where were they even coming from? She was always angry about something these days, always tense, always on edge.
When I saw Mr. Lennox’s assistant outside, my first thought was that they had discovered my lie about not having any health issues. But then it didn’t make sense—if that were the case, they would have called me instead of showing up in person.
So it had to be about the ranch.
Mum had been wanting to meet Mr. Lennox for weeks now, but getting an appointment with him had been nearly impossible. Yet Nancy—who always seemed to have him around—couldn’t even make time to set up a meeting for Mum.
Until when would she learn to stop worrying about everything? She worried so much that it left her constantly agitated, and that agitation always turned into anger—an anger she wore like armor.
Well, if she wasn’t going to talk to me, then I would talk to Mr. Lennox myself.
He always seemed to come around whenever Mum and Dad weren’t home anyway. I would tell him about meeting them—personally.
I stepped outside and found Renna still running around in circles with the fluffy white dog, laughter spilling from her lips as the dog chased after her. The sight softened me for a moment before I made my way toward the two men standing not too far from the gate.
I needed to speak to them.
As I approached, my steps slowed—not because of fear, but because I suddenly couldn’t find my words.
Oh my God.
They were both handsome. Distractingly so. Breath-taking in a way that made me forget why I had walked over in the first place.
“Miss Carter?” Mr. Lennox’s assistant was the first to speak, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“I’m sorry, I—” I cleared my throat. “I needed to ask about the dog. I was told to look after him until tomorrow morning, so I wanted to know a few things. His breed, what to feed him, what not to give him—things like that.”
Even as I spoke, Mr. Lennox didn’t look at me once.
His attention was entirely on Renna. I watched as a soft smile appeared on his face every now and then, something almost… fond in his expression.
“Alba is a Samoyed,” his assistant replied. “He’s friendly and well-trained. Just keep him away from dirt, and you’ll have a great time with him. His food will be delivered within the next hour.”
I nodded in response.
“Mr. Lennox?” I finally called, drawing his attention away from Renna. “Can I speak with you about something?”
He turned to me and nodded.
“I wanted to ask if you could make time to meet my parents,” I said carefully. “They really want to know who they’re selling the ranch to.”
His brows furrowed slightly.
“Your parents want to meet me?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“When?”
“This weekend, if you’re available,” I replied, almost holding my breath as I waited for him to turn me down.
But instead, he nodded and said—
“I’ll let you know once I check my schedule,” he said.
“Thank you,” I replied with a smile. He returned it briefly before his attention drifted back to Renna and Alba, still running around the yard in carefree circles.
Almost immediately, Nancy reappeared. I watched as she approached Renna, bent down to say a few quiet words, then pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.
“Let’s go,” she said simply before turning away.
“Bye, Uncle Jaxon!” Renna called out, waving enthusiastically. “I’ll take care of Alba, I promise.”
“Bye, Renna,” Jaxon replied.
Jaxon’s POV
The way her small hand waved back at me—so eager, so full of light—made my chest tighten. That wide smile, that laugh… I kept seeing Emmy in her. The same joy. The same warmth. Everything about her reminded me of memories I didn’t want to touch.
I turned toward Nancy’s sister and gave her a polite nod before heading outside. We were already cutting it close for our flight.
Nancy took the seat beside Troy in the front, her expression still tight with irritation. If we were going to do this together, we would both have to learn how to tolerate each other. Not that I had a problem with her—but she clearly had one with me, and my gut told me it had nothing to do with the ranch.
I was willing to bet Miss Angry Bird hadn’t told anyone about our deal. Typical.
Her mother wanting to meet me confirmed it.
On top of that, I still needed to meet with Mr. Randy. For some reason, I never seemed to run into him during my visits here. I couldn’t tell if it was coincidence or if he was deliberately avoiding me—running, just like he always had.
Not long after, we pulled into the airport. We went through passport checks and boarding with minimal conversation before finally taking off.
The flight was painfully quiet. My seat was separated from Nancy’s and Troy’s, leaving me alone with my thoughts—thoughts I couldn’t escape.
How had Ravyn Vale entered the country without my knowledge? How had he shown up at my hotel without raising any alarms? And who had erased the CCTV footage of him?
Every question led back to one person.
But I refused to believe it.
I refused to believe he would betray me—especially knowing everything I had gone through because of Ravyn Vale and his pathetic boss.
I took a deep breath, then another, trying to steady my nerves. Without hesitation, I reached for my pill container, slipped out two pills, and swallowed them down with a bottle of water, hoping they would calm the storm raging inside me.
Just then, a message popped up on my screen.
"Are you still going to make it? The party just started and I want you here"
"I’ll be there in an hour or two. Carry on without me until I arrive,"
I typed back.
Moments later, the announcement of our flight landing echoed through the cabin. I shut my laptop and leaned back, waiting as the plane descended.
It wasn’t long before we landed. Troy and Nancy were already waiting outside by the time I stepped off the plane—they must have exited earlier.
“About the arrangements, the car will be here shortly,” Troy said. “I’ll head to the parking lot and bring it around. I’ll be back in a minute.”
With that, he walked off, leaving Nancy and me alone.
I turned to face her, but she refused to look at me. Her gaze was fixed anywhere but my direction. I let out a heavy sigh and shook my head before stepping closer. Without warning, I reached out and pulled her hoodie further over her head.
That earned me a sharp glare.
“We’re going to need more than pretending if we’re going to pull this off,” I said calmly. “And that means setting our differences aside. If you keep looking at me like that, how exactly do you plan on convincing them that we’re a loving couple—deeply in love?”
Her eyes twisted with confusion.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“You’re about to step into my world,” I replied, my voice steady but firm. “And you’re going to do that as my girlfriend.”