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steering wheel.

Angelina

    Jackson was standing beside my car, looking at me expectantly. The man had been plaguing me all night, staring at me, challenging me, making the odd, provoking comment. And then he'd made it all worse by being nice of all things. That niceness, combined with the wine I'd drank over the course of the evening, was making me feel more than a little bit off balance.
    What the hell did he want now?
    Dinner had been fun, surprisingly so. Even with the tension between the eldest Delancey brother and myself, which practically crackled in the air. I'd liked everyone else, especially Francesca and Elle.
    Casey had been in her glory, charming everyone as usual. She'd even offered to sketch some of the horses next week.  
    When Jackson heard that, he'd been intrigued about having portraits done for the animals. He'd even offered to pay her for her services. Casey had been thrilled. It had been so long since she could earn money. I could have kissed him in that moment for making my sister feel useful again. She loved all animals. It was one of the reasons we had moved out here.
    New York City was a hard place to have a dog. Even if our landlord had allowed it, which she did not. But here, it made sense. I reminded myself to find an animal shelter as soon as we were settled. No purebreds for us. All we wanted was to give a needy dog a good home. Maybe a cat too.
    I made a mental note to look up if cats ate spiders.
    It would be good for Casey to have a companion or two when I couldn't be around twenty-four seven.
    After all, I was going to have a farm to look after as well. It was funny, but I'd always loved growing things. My small NYC apartment had been full of plants. Even with limited sunlight, I'd made it work.
    Thankfully, they had all made the journey just fine. I'd packed most of them in the car with us, but the bigger plants had gone in the moving truck, wrapped in a blanket with an upside down wine bottle full of water in each. That was a trick I'd picked up a few years ago when traveling took me away from my precious plants.
    And now I had a whole farm to plant and care for.
    I would start small with a vegetable garden for our own use, and then hire people to work the land as I got a feel for what I was doing.
    Jackson cleared his throat, bringing me back to the present. I titled my head back to look at him. The man was taller than a skyscraper! What a strange thing to think... I realized I must've been more drunk than I thought. He was looking at me quizzically, patiently holding his hand out.
    "Your keys. I'm driving you home."
    "But I thought Elle-"
    "Elle is following us with Casey. I'm going to drive you home, and then she's going to drive me home."
    "Oh."
    "Well?"
    He was grinning at me while I stared at him stupidly. Finally I realized he was still waiting for my keys. I blushed and reached into my pocket, fishing them out.
    "Thanks."
    I detected a hint of sarcasm in his tone. But when I looked carefully at his face, he looked blandly disinterested. He unlocked the door for me and watched me climb in. I noticed he was grinning as he walked around the front of the car. He climbed in and adjusted the seat, then he turned to look at me.
    His smiled faded. Probably because I was glaring at him, trying to figure out what he was up to.
    He was up to something, that much was clear.
    He cleared his throat and turned the car on. Then he pulled out and turned right, driving into the darkness. I sat up straight, looking back over my shoulder.
    My house was to the left.
    "Where are you going?"
    "Scenic route."
    "I can't leave Casey-"
    "Elle is with her. She said she wanted to see some of her sketches."
    "That might only take five minutes."
    He glanced at me, his eyes looking strangely intense.
    "We will be back soon enough."
    I had the sudden thought that Jackson Delancey was very high handed. Then the equally sudden thought that he was kidnapping me. I wasn't scared though. I didn't think he was going to