***

Callum had driven down from Missouri, and the Suttons had stuck him in my guesthouse. So, I had a very unwanted roommate for the weekend.

The night I drew Evangeline was a game changer. There was no way I was able to tolerate the idea of this guy so much as touching her, let alone marrying her.

The alone time with Callum, though, was my opportunity to play dumb and get as much information about Evangeline’s plans as possible.

We were outside working on rebuilding the shed that was damaged during the storm. It was a clear afternoon, and the sun was beating down on us. Elle and Evangeline went to town to the farmer’s market to buy produce for dinner. Lance and Olga had gone to a church function with Emily. So, aside from Imogene, it was just Callum and me on the property.

What started out as a routine afternoon of work turned out to be anything but ordinary.

I banged down with my hammer onto a piece of plywood and removed the nail that I’d been holding between my teeth. “So…Evangeline says she’s now planning to move to Missouri?”

“Yeah…it was her idea.”

“What’s the rush all of a sudden?”

“I have my theories.”

“Oh, yeah? What are those?”

“Well, you know. This environment here isn’t exactly conducive to having a relationship. My parents aren’t nearly as strict as the Suttons. They believe in traditional roles and all, but their courtship rules are different.”

“So, you think Evangeline wants to move to Missouri so she can fuck around with you?”

“Partly, yes.”

“And when you say, ‘traditional roles,’ what exactly are you talking about?”

“That means multiple things. For one, once we get married, Evangeline will stay home and raise our kids while I work outside of the home.”

“I thought part of the reason she’s supposedly moving is to work for your parents’ company.”

“Well, that’ll be okay for a while, but Evangeline’s not gonna be able to have a career once we have babies.”

“Does she know that?”

“It’s understood.”

“So, you’ve discussed it...”

“Yes.”

“Bullshit. No you haven’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“Evangeline would never go for that. She’s way too ambitious.”

“That’s nice and all, but once we’re married, she’s going to do what’s best for our family and therefore best for her. That’s how it works.”

“What’s best for her is whatever makes her happy.”

“So, you’re telling me that Elle is going to continue working once you have kids?”

“Elle can do whatever the hell she wants to do, whether that’s staying home with her children or working. It’s not my place to tell her how to live her life.”

“Sorry, but that’s not how I was raised. A wife doesn’t have a choice in the matter.”

“I didn’t realize you were raised by a tribe of fucking hyenas.”

He lifted his arms up. “Dude, what the fuck is your problem?”

“My problem is your archaic thinking and the fact that you don’t know diddly squat about the woman you’re supposedly marrying.”

“And you do?”

“A heck of a lot better than you, apparently.”

“What is it with you and Evangeline anyway? Why are you always in our business? You wish you were marrying her instead? Why don’t you stick to worrying about Elle. Go fuck her or something. Stay out of Evangeline’s and my affairs.”

“Evangeline is my family, just as much as Elle. She is my business.”

“Well, not for long.”

“If you think she’s gonna marry you and agree to lose her identity, you have another thing coming.”

“She’s gonna do whatever the fuck I tell her to do as her husband.”

“I suppose you think she also should fuck you whenever you tell her to, right?”

“Actually, yes. As my wife, whether she wants to or not, she will submit to me wherever and whenever I tell her to.”

I really didn’t mean to practically knock out his teeth. But as soon as that sentence exited his mouth, my arm took on a mind of its own. The next thing I knew, Callum was on the ground, and his mouth was a bloody mess. It all happened so fast.

There were no witnesses in sight—or so I thought. It would be his word against mine as to how the fight happened.

“You nearly fucking knocked out my tooth, you bastard!”

“You say shit like that about people I care about again, and I will make sure you don’t have one single tooth left next time.”

I didn’t know how I was going to explain this to the Suttons. Callum would definitely make me out to be the bad guy.

As if this shit show couldn’t have gotten any worse, Callum and I looked up into the window above at the same exact time. It seemed we had a witness to our fight. Imogene was standing there smiling down on us with her toothless grin. She’d been watching us like a spectator sport. I hadn’t seen her in weeks, since the Suttons did such a good job of keeping the poor thing hidden.

Pervert that she was, she must have been ogling Callum and me as we both worked shirtless in the sun. That wasn’t the worst part. When she noticed that we spotted her, she lifted up her shirt, exposing her long saggy tits. She started shaking them around.