Rory’s stomach swooped and warmth spread through her at Drew's words. He thought she deserved better and he was going to make sure it happened. That right there was why women watched romantic movies. That was the kind of stuff she thought guys only said when it was scripted.
“Oh, feeling a little protective, are we?” Roger's eyes narrowed.
Well, crap. Rory recognized that look. That was his calculating look. He was somehow going to use this against Drew.
She doubted the farmer from Iowa had had many dealings with soulless con men like Roger, who would happily use his own daughter to literally steal toys from kids at Christmas.
“Yeah, I'm feeling protective. Rory is mine to take care of now and you are the major threat to her. Of course I'm going to keep you away from her.”
Mine. The word bounced around in her mind. And her heart.
Rory should not like that possessive term quite so much. But she really did. Drew Ryan was staking a claim and all she really felt was…proud. If he thought she was worth claiming, in spite of everything he knew, that was amazing. He knew things she didn't even let her closest friends know. And now he was faced with one of those things and was still saying that he wanted her. Out loud. To someone else.
“What's it worth to you?” Roger asked.
Drew's jaw clenched and for just a moment Rory thought he was going to punch Roger.
Instead, he pulled air in through his nose and then pushed back from Roger.
“What do you mean?”
“Let's make a deal. What is it worth to you for me to leave Rory alone?”
“You leave her alone, no contact at all, and I won't beat the shit out of you.”
Roger laughed. “I've had the shit beat out of me by bigger and better men than you. Bruises and cracked ribs can heal. And then I’m still poor on the other side of it. You’ll have to do better than that.”
“What do you want?”
“I know Oliver Caprinelli, the CEO of Fluke Inc. is a close, personal friend of yours.”
Drew narrowed his eyes. “So?”
Roger looked over at the sleigh full of wrapped boxes, then back to Drew. “So I know you were able to replace the controllers I stole. And I want the new ones too.”
Rory could practically hear Drew growl from where she stood.
But she wasn’t one bit surprised by Roger’s statement.
This was exactly what she’d expected.
She’d known when they did the photoshoot with the sleigh and the gifts and talked about the generous donation from Fluke, Inc. online and to the reporter, that Roger would somehow see the story and would assume they’d replaced the controllers.
She’d known he’d come back. And she’d planned to be here when he did.
She’d intended to record Roger stealing the boxes and then send the video to Zander anonymously.
She hadn’t quite worked out how to do that without any kind of traceable information on the video or email. Or what Zander would be able to do since the boxes were empty. It had been a work in progress. But now…
Drew was going to ruin her plan.
No way was he going to let Roger near those boxes, empty or not.
It made her stomach turn, however, to know that Roger had looked into Drew and had figured out who he was. She was aware that Roger knew people who knew how to do all kinds of shady things. Finding out who Drew was, where he was from, and who his friends were had probably not been that difficult. Drew wouldn’t have anything to hide. There was no way she’d ever believe that Roger had checked into Drew out of any kind of concern for her though. It had been strictly to try to get dirt or at least leverage.
And it looked like it had paid off.
Drew glanced over toward the sleigh that still held fifty empty wrapped boxes, then back to Roger. “Yeah, I guess it’s your lucky day.”
Roger nodded. “So you'll trade? The controllers in exchange for me leaving Rory alone?”
“I'm willing to do anything to keep you out of Rory's life for good.”
Roger shook his head. “Oh, not for good. It's not like you’re giving me a million bucks, or a private island. You get me those controllers and I'll stay away for a year.”
“A year is not enough,” Drew snarled.
“Well, tell you what, next year when I come back around, I'll call you first. You can be my Santa next year and we can leave Rory out of it.”
Drew stepped closer again and glowered down at the man. He had a couple of inches on Roger and he looked like he was barely holding himself in check. “I'll be here. And you know what? You're free to talk to Rory next year.”
Wait, what? Rory frowned and straightened slightly.
“Because right now, your relationship with her is built on the fact that you can manipulate her,” Drew went on. “She doesn't want anybody to know who you are or about your connection with her. Because she's embarrassed by you. She would be devastated if the people that she cares about, and respects knew that she was connected to a scumbag like you.”
Drew’s eyes narrowed. “But I promise you that a year from now, after she's been loved by me for a year, after she's been loved by these people for a year, after she's been welcomed into their family and their town and she understands that they respect her and will lift her up and support her, no matter what, no matter who she comes from, no matter what has happened in the past, you're not going to be able to manipulate her anymore. You won’t have any power over her anymore, Roger. So, yeah, you come back to town next year. You try to pull your bullshit with me and Rory. I promise you, it will not go well. So enjoy this year with your fucking game controllers. This is the last time you’re going to feel lucky around here.”
Rory's heart was pounding so hard in her chest she was certain that Roger and Drew could hear it where they were standing. Her mouth was dry and she actually pressed her hands to her chest trying to keep all of the emotions from bursting out of her. She couldn't believe what Drew had just said. He’d just confessed his love for her to her father. He'd not just staked a claim but had promised to be here next year, to be here for the next twelve months, loving her, supporting her. He'd put her father in his place and he'd said the most amazing things anyone had ever said about her.
Roger ran his hands down the front of his now wrinkled shirt. “So you’ll bring the controllers?”
That was his only response.
Again, Drew's jaw clenched and he just shook his head for a moment as if trying to tamp down the urge to pummel Roger. “Yeah. I'll bring them. I assume since you know what Rory's been doing for the past few days that you're staying locally.”
“Don't you worry about where I'm staying. I'm selling the controllers tonight. You meet me with the new ones and I’ll take them all at once.”
Drew nodded. “Just name the place.”
Dammit.
This was definitely ruining her plan. If Drew took the controllers from the barn, she wouldn’t be able to catch Roger on camera.
What was Drew’s plan here exactly? The boxes were still empty. They did have replacement toys, but they weren’t game controllers and weren’t worth nearly as much.
She knew Drew had arranged for the replacement gifts, but she hadn't asked how. It didn't matter. She knew it was important to Drew that he had stepped up to help and had fixed that problem for her, so she’d just hugged him and said thank you. Because in the end, that was the important thing. It had been fixed and it gave him satisfaction to have been the one to do it. She understood that and she was happy to give that to him.