picked up her purse and slung the strap over her shoulder as the door opened and both Aidan and Jake stepped back into the room. She wasn’t surprised to see Aidan, but she’d assumed Jake was long gone, possibly trying to figure out an excuse to get out of his commitment to the project.
“I hope everything went well,” Aidan said.
“Couldn’t have gone better,” Carolina assured him.
“Carolina’s enthusiasm gets everyone fired up,” Sara added.
“I’d love to take you women to lunch,” Aidan said, “but I have another meeting at one.”
“What about you, Mr. Dalton?” Peg asked flirtatiously.
“I have some errands to take care of in town before I head out,” Jake said, keeping his tone businesslike. “I’ll give you directions to the ranch. When you get there, my housekeeper, Edna, will hook you up with one of the wranglers. He’ll show you around and answer any questions you have.”
“That will work out fine,” Carolina assured him, keeping her tone as cool and aloof as his had been.
Directions were simple, and she was relieved when they were finally on their way. Jake was no doubt as eager to be rid of her as she was of him. He was turning them over to a wrangler for today’s tour. She suspected that would be his modus operandi for the remainder of the training session.
With luck, she might not even have to see him again.
“I know you think Jake Dalton is a heartless cad,” Mildred said as she walked to the car with Carolina.
“Yes, I do.”
“You can’t blame him too much for not bonding with a father he never really knew. Didn’t all of R.J.’s sons feel that way at one point?”
“Yes,” she admitted reluctantly, “but that doesn’t excuse Jake’s behavior. He’s the oldest. He should feel some level of responsibility.”
“If anyone can change his mind, you will,” Mildred said.
“With luck, I won’t even have to speak to him.”
They were several yards away from her vehicle when Carolina spotted a man leaning against the front fender of her car. He was in ripped jeans and a black muscle shirt, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. A snake tattoo covered much of his right arm. A pair of aviator sunglasses hid his eyes, but his mouth was twisted into a menacing frown. An uneasy chill crept up her spine.
She glanced around. The parking lot was crowded with cars and pickup trucks, but the closest people she spotted were two men in suits, several rows down, walking in the opposite direction.
When the thuggish-looking man noticed her staring at him, he smiled and nodded as if in greeting.
Mildred grabbed Carolina’s wrist and pulled her to a stop. “What are you doing here?” Mildred demanded.
The man flicked his cigarette to the concrete and ground it out with the toe of his right boot. “Waiting on you.”
The taunting voice struck a chord and finally Carolina recognized Thad. He’d changed during his four years behind bars. Gained weight. Added a lot of muscle.
Mildred dropped Carolina’s wrist and hugged her arms about her own chest, as if protecting herself from Thad’s presence. “We no longer have anything to discuss.”
“That doesn’t sound like much of a welcome for a husband you haven’t seen in four years.”
“You are no longer her husband,” Carolina corrected.
“Stay out of this, Carolina. This is between me and Mildred,” Thad snapped.
“Please, Thad. Just go,” Mildred pleaded. “I don’t want trouble.”
“I’m not going anywhere until we talk.”
“What part of her not wanting to see you do you not understand? Either you go willingly or I call the cops,” Carolina ordered.
“I’m not breaking any laws. This is a public parking lot. So you call anybody you want to.”
He left the car and stepped closer, his gaze firmly planted on Mildred, his tone switching from arrogant to loving without missing a beat. “I know I made mistakes, sweetheart, but you can’t imagine how much I’ve missed you. We can start over now. I promise you that things will be different.”
Carolina’s stomach turned at his meaningless promises. Too little, too late. “Last chance, Thad. If you don’t leave this minute, I’m calling 911.”
“How about you let Mildred speak for herself? Or are you running her life now the way you run half of Texas?”
Mildred let her arms fall to her side. “I do speak for myself now, Thad. I hope you have changed—for your sake—but we can’t go back. I’ve moved on.”
“You know you don’t mean that, baby. You still love me. I still love you. We can work this out.”
“We can’t. It’s over between us, Thad.” Her voice trembled, but she didn’t back away.
Carolina put a steadying arm around Mildred’s waist. “There’s your answer, Thad. You can leave now unless you’re looking to go back to prison.”
“Go to hell, Carolina.”
Fury burned in his voice now, his mood turning dark and threatening. He reached out and grabbed Mildred’s arm, jerking her toward him. “Don’t make me do something I’ll be sorry for, Mildred. You know how I get when you make me crazy.”
Carolina pulled her cell phone from her handbag. Thad let go of Mildred and grabbed Carolina’s wrist with one hand while twisting the phone from her fingers with the other. She heard the clunk as it hit the concrete beneath their feet.
“Is there a problem here?”
Carolina jerked around at the sound of the strong, male voice. She gulped in a deep breath. Who’d have thought she’d ever be this thankful to see Jake Dalton?
“No problem that needs your help.” The thug dropped his hold on Carolina’s hand and backed up a step, but his eyes burned with fury. Jake sized him up. Physically fit, probably in his early thirties.
Jake figured he could still take him in a fair fight, but brawling in a parking lot wouldn’t fix anything and was definitely not his style.
He turned to Carolina. “Was this man harassing you?”
“He’s stalking Mildred.”
“Having a conversation with my wife is not stalking.”
Mildred hugged her arms around her chest, head down, looking more like a scared child facing an angry parent than a forceful woman. “I’m not your wife,
