Chapter 77: Austin

The hair on the back of my neck stood before she had even entered the room. Other than the occasional encounter at the ranch, which I made certain were painful for her, I'd avoided her like the plague. If I could have gotten out of this room without having Sarah attack me, I wouldn't be sitting here now. This was a family matter. They needed to decide what they wanted to do, how they intended to do it, and how they planned to pay for it. I was merely a hired hand in the scheme of things.

Yet when she knocked on the door and then entered, it wasn't me who played the part of the outsider. We were all on edge, and none of us knew what to expect. I assumed Jack would have some sort of reunion with the daughter he hadn't seen in six years, but he didn't so much as make a fuss over her. They didn't hug. They didn't even shake hands.

"Randi." Jack's icy demeanor left me uncomfortable when only half an hour ago he'd demanded to see her.