Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
He clicked his fingers to which one of his goons closed the door to the shop and flicked the lock into place.
She finally looked at Lily-May, and she had a sick feeling in her gut. “What did you do?”
“I’m so sorry.”
All their lives, their parents had told her to trust Lily-May, that her sister would have all the answers, that she knew what she was doing. All Lily-May had done was make her dread seeing her sister. Every single time she did, it ended in disaster. It was never good. Lily-May had cheated, stolen, and nearly destroyed this business many times. Peyton was tired of cleaning up her messes.
“Sorry? You’re sorry? What is it now?” Peyton asked.
Lily-May looked at her and then stared at the floor.
“Leave us,” Shae said.
Peyton looked toward the formidable rancher, and she felt her stomach twist. There were times she thought he evoked a fear in the town that was completely unnecessary. Her parents had always told her to steer clear of Shae Marino and keep away from any trouble within Fort. She did that. Lily-May, however, did not.
She had never really been close to her big sister, not that it came as a surprise. Lily-May had always been the most popular girl in school. She partied hard and never studied, while Peyton always had her head in a book. She did study hard and went to bakery school, but she had to work her ass off at the same time. They had lost their parents when Peyton was just twenty years old. Her sister had been twenty-two.
Peyton didn’t have a choice when it came to her sister selling the house, but she sure as shit didn’t let her sell the bakery. Although, there was no way Lily-May would have been able to turn a profit. Peyton didn’t have a clue how her parents survived. They went from red to black within the year, and she didn’t even know if there was a darker color than black and red for the debt that seemed to be mounting up. Peyton had decided to give herself a year to see if she could turn it all around. She’d been able to do exactly that.
They were making a profit, all the debts were paid, and she worked her ass off to make it that way. Of course, once she started to do well, Lily-May came around, stole, and nearly broke her many times over.
Shae’s ranchers left. “Go,” he said to Lily-May.
All too soon, she was alone in her shop, the one place that had given her comfort in the last few years. She wished her parents had told her how bad it had gotten, and not kept trying to keep the business afloat.
The door closed, and Shae didn’t go and flick the lock on the door. No one would come in now that Shae’s goons were on the front door. She wondered if this was going to be bad for business.
“I will break your sister’s legs many times over, unless you agree to fuck me,” Shae said.
Peyton couldn’t believe what she had just heard. “Are you insane?”
“I am quite serious. Your sister has a gambling problem and is an addict. She has managed to build up quite an extensive debt.”
“How extensive?” she asked. Maybe if it was a little, she could buy her sister out of it.
“Fifty thousand dollars, and trust me, it’s going up every second she doesn’t settle her account.”
Peyton gasped. “Fifty thousand? On what?”
“Horses, dogs, you name it. Your sister likes to bet the odds, and she is shit at it.”
There was no way she could afford fifty thousand. The shop was only just turning a profit, and Petyon was able to survive, but she couldn’t even afford a staff member. She refused to offer anyone a job for fear of not being able to support them.
Tears filled her eyes. This was ... a nightmare. Once again, Lily-May was here to cause trouble, and she had to bail her ass out, only money wasn’t going to do it.
“Can I come up with some kind of agreement?” she asked.
“Your pussy is all I want. I don’t want your money.”
In all her life, she had never been spoken to like that. Lily-May had often told her no man would look at her because they don’t want a fat chick in their bed. She didn’t have a boyfriend, and since she was twenty years old, she had been fighting with this business. There was no time for dates. The only proposal she had was as a joke by Hank and Lucy. No one wanted her, and she was happy with that.
And now, Shae Marino wanted to use her to pay her sister’s debt. She looked toward Lily-May, and her sister wasn’t even looking through the door. She believed Peyton was going to have sex to get her out of trouble. Then what would it be? Who would be next? Her sister was just going to keep causing trouble. Peyton was tired of dealing with her shit.