Read Online Deconstructing Lila (Entangled Select) by Shannon Leigh - Free Book Online Page B

held his hand out. She stared at it for a minute before accepting the shake. His fingers swallowed hers and she felt the unmistakable rasp of work-roughened calluses against her own palm.
    “Good to meet you. I’m John Casler.”
    “Nice to meet you, Mr. Casler.” Actually, she didn’t know what to think. Who was this man calling her by her married name?
    “You can leave off the mister. Call me Casler. Or Takoda.”
    She didn’t think she would be calling him anything, anytime soon. Those brown eyes bore down on her, seeming to search out her truths where she kept them buried, making her uncomfortable.
    “Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Casler?” She said, putting emphasis on the “mister.”
    “Yeah. I just needed to meet Jake’s wife in person. I didn’t think I would get invited over for a family dinner, so…” He shrugged his shoulders.
    Was he Jake’s self-appointed bodyguard?
    Like the man needed one against his own wife. Oh, hell. Was that it? Was Casler here to keep her away from Jake?
    “I wanted to find out what has him in such a pi—ah, awful mood lately,” he added finally.
    Oh. Oh. So Jake was not so indifferent to her presence, then. Lila smiled.
    “Well then, as a friend to Jake, Mr. Casler, would you be so kind as to relay a message?”
    His eyes flashed suddenly, reminding her of a dark storm building behind a mountain range.
    “Casler,” he said.
    It became a staring contest and she honestly didn’t know if she was up to winning. But before she had to back down ungracefully, Casler relented.
    “Sure, what’s the message?”
    “I bought the old Goodwin’s General Store and we need to talk about his involvement.”
    “You trying to rope Jake into something he doesn’t want to be part of?”
    “Casler.” She spoke patiently, keeping her voice even and calm. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself in the IGA. “I’m not sure what you think is going on, but my presence here is not meant to hurt Jake. Although I appreciate the bulldog routine you’ve got going. It’s his contract, and I just want to talk to him about the project.”
    He laughed outright, a sharp bark that sent her back a step into the shelves of cereal.
    “I believe you,” he said. “It’s not the intentions that worry me. It’s the damage I’m planning for. When you leave again.”
    Now she was irritated. “Look, we’re obviously on the same side. Jake’s side. But why don’t we leave the decisions to the people involved in this relationship? Like Jake and me?”
    He had her backed up against the shelves and unless she wanted to scale him like the wall he was, he would have to back off. “Do you need a command to make you heel? I’d like to get by.”
    He finally stepped back, waving her forward. His eyes never left her face, but he didn’t say a word as she passed.
    When she got to the end of the aisle, Lila turned to find him still watching her with wariness. “And the name’s Gentry. Lila Gentry, Mr. Casler.”
    She quickly finished her rounds, her blood still boiling. She hoped she didn’t miss anything on Granny’s list. If she did, it would have to wait until tomorrow.
    She tried not to think of John Casler and whether or not he still lurked somewhere in the store. It seemed that more than one person in the world wanted to protect Jake Winter.
    As if the man needed protection. Old fears tried to worm their way into her head. She forced them back, refusing to give in to former insecurities. The litany of old statements echoed in her head, nevertheless.
    Jake could do so much better than Lila Gentry. What’d she do to get him to marry her, blackmail him? She’s after his family’s money and his good name.
    She’d heard them all that summer she and Jake married. And they’d hurt to the core. It wasn’t until therapy years later that she really understood just how much they’d eaten away at her confidence and sense of self-worth. Shame, the therapist had labeled it.