Chapter 36

Azalea's point of view.

It’s been two days since I’ve been out here on the Trumann Belt. It was certainly eerie to be back here and not be myself. Today is day three of being out here on the belt and it still amazes me to see Damon and his own mother have subtle fights between the two of them, but they were fights for power and control. I was actually quite interested in what happened to his two younger siblings.

I knew that if I wanted more information, I’d have to get it from the one person who had been here the longest. The one person I’ve been kissing for two nights in a row already and something tells me that tonight might just be the exact same scenario.

I was thankful that we were both able to keep our hands to ourselves out in public because that could’ve easily exposed Lucas and me. There were no longing looks, no subtle touches, soft smiles, nothing. Lucas understood that we had to pretend not to know each other and he took that seriously.

Often enough, Damon and Laura would have him accompany us as they talked about their Belt. I knew why Lucas was there though: Damon and Laura herself barely knew anything, and if I were to ask questions, they wouldn’t be able to answer them. Lucas, on the other hand, knew this belt like the back of his hand.

Lucas, Uncle Cade, and my own Dad were the ones who kept this place afloat because they knew exactly how to keep the employees happy. Everyone was treated as family here once, but it’s clear that in their absence and in Nicholas Trumann’s absence, a lot has changed and they lost their magic touch.

I walked over to the barn and on the way, I saw Damon in his car. He was heading out, but as he drove past, his eyes were focused on me. A smirk formed on his lips as he lifted a hand to wave at me. Out of politeness, I waved back and went on, fuming on the inside. I couldn’t believe he didn’t even recognize me, and then he had the audacity to be flirty, his eyes constantly lingering on me in a creepy manner.

I thought I was over what Damon had done, but I still couldn’t forget his cowardice, how he pushed me aside and reduced me to nothing simply because his mother said so and because he believed I’d be terrible for his career. I laughed loudly at that statement, knowing that without me in his life, this is what the belt had come to. The very belt he took pride in would soon be mine, and I’ll show him how damn good I am because this place would prosper more than it ever had under his and his father’s control.

Rowan and I sat through meetings with Damon where he spoke of his current plans for the winery. Rowan and I listened attentively until the end. When the time came, we finally parted ways. Damon invited us for dinner, but Rowan and I both turned that down.

Rowan and I returned to the guest house. I locked the door behind us and turned to him. Rowan laughed, he just laughed and shook his head.

“Who the hell thought it was a good idea to leave that company to him? He’ll drag his own winery down if those are his true plans,” Rowan sank into his seat and tugged at his tie.

“I can see why many partners pulled away. This place isn’t beyond saving though,” I admitted and stared out the window.

“Not at all, it just needs the right steering which I’m sure you’ll give,” Rowan complimented. “Anyways, I need to go call my kid,” he sighed and got up again.

“Kid?” I frowned, not aware that he was a father. Did I just take away a child’s parent for a week?

“My six-year-old niece. I’m kind of in charge of her now along with her other aunt,” he explained. I could tell there was a tragic story attached to it, one he didn’t seem to want to share, so I wouldn’t probe.

“Oh! I never knew. Let me know if you want her and Lynn to meet up sometime,” I offered.

“I will, she could use some friends,” Rowan admitted, shyly scratching the back of his head.

“Lynn is great at making friends,” I promised, already making a mental note to talk to Lynn about it.

“Thanks,” Rowan smiled. His phone then started ringing, and he went to answer it.

I too went ahead and called my own daughter. Ada picked up and did the usual greetings before Lynn grabbed the phone.

“I miss you so much, Mommy, but look at Trixie and Shimmers,” she said and showed me two ponies on my screen. I was shocked by the names.

“Trixie and Shimmers? Are we set on those names?” I asked. The names reminded me a bit of the club, truthfully.

“Mhm! I saw it in a pony cartoon!” she said enthusiastically, and my worries eased up.

“Then it’s perfect. Have you been taking good care of them?” I asked sweetly.

“Extra good. Grandma will send photos,” Lynn grinned.

We continued to chat, and she showed me all her new drawings and told me about the fun treats she and Ada made. Ever since we moved, she had been the happiest little girl, and it filled me with immense joy to see that sweet smile on my girl’s face all the time. Her happiness was infectious for me.

When the call ended, I went ahead and got ready for dinner. I invited Rowan to join Lucas', but he claimed he wanted to go into town and explore a bit. I left him with some good food spot recommendations, then headed to Lucas’.

We greeted each other as usual, then he led the way to the kitchen. We planned on cooking together: pasta and chicken parmesan.

“So, do you know what actually happened between Damon and his siblings?” I asked, washing the vegetables.

It felt so odd being in the kitchen with Lucas. It had a touch of domestic life, after a long day, I was dressed in a sundress while he wore jeans and a flannel. The two of us are in the kitchen, working together to prepare a tasty dinner with the faint sound of music in the background. I liked it, all that was missing was the sweet laughter of Lynn as she’d run around.

“Is it necessary?” Lucas asked, his voice bringing me back to this reality.

“Perhaps? I’m merely curious truthfully, but it would be good to know. I need to know if they have shares of the company since they were also kids of Nicholas,” I answered, not bothering to lie. I was still human, and it was in our nature to get a bit curious from time to time. Rowan also mentioned he noticed how they spoke about the younger siblings in a rushed manner like they had been hiding something.

“Fair enough, it was a dramatic day,” Lucas sighed and went to put the lid on the pot of water. “I was off from work and decided to head to the grape vineyard, sit back, and enjoy the view as I basked in the sun,” he said, leaning against the counter.

“That’s your idea of a fun day?” I asked, unable to stifle my laughter.

“It was too early to Cattleman Cantina, so perhaps lay off the judging,” he rolled his eyes playfully.

“Ok, ok, go on with your story.”

“So I was basically sitting very close to their house, and the office windows were kept open. I normally wouldn’t hear a thing, but they had been talking so damn loud, it was hard not to listen to them,” Lucas said and began to help with cutting the onions. “Debora and Declan received word that they had each gotten 10% shares of the company, but that was all they had gotten. The rest of their inheritance was basically to be managed by their mother until the two would be twenty-five, and Laura could do what she wanted with their money to keep it ‘safe,’” he continued, and I had a bad feeling about this story.

“You seem to know an awful lot,” I pointed out.

“Debora confided in me, and also they were screaming loudly,” he shrugged off, but that made me freeze for a second.

“You uh, you and Debora?” I asked. I rarely saw the two younger siblings, they had always been going abroad to study and such. I still saw some photos of them, especially Debora, who was stunning.

“Heavens no! She was at the bar and drank her soul away, then started telling me everything. She didn’t know I worked at the farm and thought I was a stranger,” he explained, and that made more sense. Debora was rarely on the belt, and I don’t think Lucas would start lying to me now.

“Oh god, go back to the story,” I waved the knife around, then focused on the tomatoes yet again.

“Apparently, she and her brother still had two years of college each, and they went to some prestigious college, but they had to pay tuition, which was a lot, and also their lifestyle cost a lot of money. Laura very clearly favored Damon because she forced the hand of the two youngest. She’d put their inheritance into the company unless they signed over their share of the company to Damon. So the younger two did sign everything to him and were given their money,” Lucas continued, and I was stunned for a moment. By the actions of Laura but also by Lucas' skillful maneuvering of the knife. “That was the last time anyone ever saw them,” he shrugged.

“So the company is entirely Damon’s to deal with?” I

asked, watching him. He was so attentive as he cut everything with precision. His focus didn’t waver at that moment.

“Yep, Laura had 30% and had signed that over too, she just still acts very busy to my surprise,” he informed me. Just perfect, everything lay in Damon’s hand.

“Well, I think two more days, then we’re gonna make the offer,” I informed him. It was clear he could be trusted. “Now I know it’s only Damon who we have to appeal to, but just for safety measures, I’ll be sure the mother too falls in love with the proposal,” I rubbed my chin.

Whilst I was deep in thought, Lucas finished draining the pasta and turned the stove off.

“Enough about that,” Lucas walked over to me as he wiped his hands. He stared at me with a slight smile, tipping my chin up. I stared into his eyes, my hands going around his neck as he lowered himself.

Lucas kissed me passionately, his hands going over my curves as respectfully as he could. I could tell that he had been restraining himself. The desire in his kiss was evident with each searing moment that passed us. He wanted more, I wanted so much more. I could tell I was grating his self-restraint with each kiss of mine, each stroke of my fingers on the nape of his neck. Finally, I pressed myself closer against him, knowing what I was doing and being up for it. Screw my own damn rules.