Dirty Little Secret

by Jennifer Ryan

  She spotted the white extended cab truck with Speckled Horse Ranch emblazoned on the door arching over a brown-and-white Appaloosa. Her father’s truck.

  Sometime between the moment when she first spotted the ranch house on the rise and coming down the hill, the front porch and garden lights had come on, illuminating the stone path to the entry. The house and lights looked welcoming, but her nerves kicked in, sent a battalion of butterflies fluttering in her belly, and she hesitated to get out of the car.

  “I don’t belong here.”

  This place belonged to Noah and Annabelle. John had made that clear by never inviting her to visit.

  She should have ignored Tom’s request for her to come for the reading of the will. Her father had done his part paying child support. She didn’t expect that he’d left her anything. But there was one thing she wanted. If Noah and Annabelle would allow her one small memento.

  Never one to put unpleasant things off, she stepped from the car, and with only a slight hesitation, walked to the front door.

  It wasn’t lost on her that she had to knock on her father’s door, instead of walking in like she was welcome.

  Roxy tapped the brass horse head knocker a couple of times and held her breath, not knowing what to expect.

  A petite woman answered the door wearing a black peasant skirt and sweater. She wiped her hands on a white towel, her deep brown eyes rising to Roxy’s face. “Oh my God!” The woman wrung the towel in her hands and stared with wide eyes. “Who are you? You must be family. A cousin?”

  “No, ma’am. I’m Roxy Cordero. John’s daughter.” She’d never said that to anyone. Neither had John.

  The woman gasped. All the color drained from her face.

  Roxy rushed forward and grabbed her by the arms to steady her. “I’m sorry I startled you. Tom asked me to stop by.”

  The woman pressed the towel to her chest. “He never told me, anyone, about you.”

  “I know.”

  John didn’t want anyone to know he’d fathered a child with a drugged-out hooker.

  At the time, he had an orphaned son to raise and a standing in the community that meant more to him than admitting he was a flawed man.

  “May I come in?” The butterflies swirled in her stomach with the fear that she’d be denied entry to her father’s home.

  Why didn’t she turn around and leave? If this was the reaction she got from this woman, what would John’s children do?

  “Yes, yes, come in.” The woman used the towel to wave her inside. “I’m Mary. I’ve worked for John for over thirty years. I’m the housekeeper and cook.”

  “Thirty years, sounds more like family to me.”

  A new kind of shock crossed her eyes before they softened and Mary smiled. “Thank you. I’ll show you to John’s study, where everyone has gathered, and introduce you. Ah, will you be staying here tonight? I can have one of the guest rooms ready for you in no time at all.”

  Roxy shook her head. “That’s not necessary. I’ve been staying at a hotel in town for the last few days.”

  “Then, you saw him before he passed?”

  “I did.”

  Mary’s eyes shone with relief that came out in her expressive sigh. Mary cared deeply for John. It mattered to her that they saw each other before he died.

  The house was a blur as she followed Mary through the entry toward the closed double doors. But her steps faltered when she spotted the silver framed photos on the mantel above the stone fireplace in the other room.

  John. Noah. Annabelle. Various ages. Together. Separate. The family.

  A family she’d been denied.

  He wanted them. Not her. Not really.

  “This difficult day has been made more trying with the arrival of Annabelle’s mother, Lisa.” Mary broke the awkward silence.

  “John’s second wife. His first passed away, if I’m not mistaken.” Candy fell somewhere between John’s two wives.

  “That’s right.”

  John filled their awkward silences during his visits with stories about his life and kids, unaware they made her feel less like his and more the unwanted outsider.

  Mary stopped in front of the closed solid oak double doors, her hand on the brass door handle. “I don’t know anything about your relationship with John, but Noah and Annabelle . . . they’re grieving.” Mary obviously wanted to ask about her, but held back.

  Roxy put her hand on the woman’s shoulder to stop her attempt to explain, and in a way warn Roxy not to hurt Noah and Annabelle. Two people she probably considered her children as much as John’s after thirty years in this home.

  “I only came to say goodbye to my father. Nothing more. I leave on the first flight home tomorrow morning.” John hadn’t offered her any part of this place during his life. She didn’t expect anything from him after his death. The only thing she’d ever wanted was answers. Now that he was gone, so was her chance to ask for them.

  Roxy wasn’t sure how to read Mary’s relief that turned into concerned lines on her face.

  Mary opened the door. Before Roxy stepped in, she had the overwhelming urge to run, knowing if she stepped into that room, everything in her life would change forever.

  Chapter Nine

  Roxy’s first glimpse of Noah up close confirmed two things. Her attraction to the handsome stranger hadn’t dimmed from her rodeo days. The rattle of awareness and need she always felt when she saw him was nothing compared to the jolt that shook her body now. And she still resented the hell out of him for being the son John wanted more than his own flesh and blood.

  “John’s daughter?” Noah asked Tom, who nodded toward her.

  Noah’s gaze snapped to hers and narrowed on her face, connecting with her eyes, studying them. Recognition raced through his eyes and then something like surprise and rage filled them before he turned his head to glare at Tom.

  “Hi, I’m Roxy.” She paused before spilling the rest of the surprise. “Cordero.”

  “No way,” the blonde in the chair blurted out. Annabelle’s mother, Lisa, she guessed. “John didn’t have any children of his own.”

  “You’re wrong.” To prove John did have a family, she walked to Annabelle.

  Tears spilled down the young girl’s downturned face. “You must be John’s daughter, Annabelle. From the way he spoke about you, it was clear he adored you.” Roxy held out her hand and waited.

  The girl took a second to finally look up at her. With slow deliberation, she reached out and took her hand. “Roxy?”

  “That’s right.” Roxy covered Annabelle’s cold hand with both of hers. “I’m so sorry about your dad.” Roxy had to choke back her own tears seeing the girl cry for their father.

  “Um, thank you,” she managed in her dazed state. “Are you really his daughter?”

  “Flesh and blood.”

  Noah swore behind her and she glanced sideways and caught him running a hand over his brow. “The monthly checks to Nevada.” He fell back into the sofa.

  “Yes,” she confirmed, and gave Annabelle’s hand a squeeze and placed it back in her lap.

  She turned to the man on the other sofa and took the few steps to him and held out her hand. “Noah, his son.”

  He refused her hand, so she let it drop to her side. Rejected by her father and his son. She shouldn’t be surprised, but it hurt.

  Before she stepped away, Noah grabbed her hand. The streak of heat that raced up her hand and arm startled her. From the look in his eyes, he felt it, too.

  “Why didn’t you introduce yourself at the hospital or funeral?”

  She tried to tug her hand free so she could focus on anything else but him, but he didn’t let her go. “I didn’t want to intrude on the family.”

  “I thought you were family.” Lisa bit out the words with her disbelief.

  “I’m his daughter.” She understood that distinction, even if Lisa didn’t.

  Noah’s eyes told her he understood. She caught a touch of sympathy before the anger re
turned.

  “You have his eyes.” He stared, looking for something in the depths of her gaze.

  She pulled a lock of hair from over her shoulder. “Same complexion and hair color, too.” She let her hair fall over her chest and down to her waist. A strand landed on Noah’s hand holding hers. The heat in his eyes intensified.

  She needed some space, so she slipped her hand free of his. This time, he let her. She turned to face everyone else in the room, leaving Noah on her left and just out of her line of sight.

  “Where have you been all this time?” Annabelle asked. “You’ve never come to the ranch.”

  “I was never invited.” A cold, hard truth that left a lump in her throat.

  Noah sat forward, rested his forearms on his knees, and stared up at her, his eyes narrowed. “What the hell do you mean, you weren’t invited?”

  “I haven’t seen or spoken to my father since I was eighteen. Even then, I’d only seen him a few times since I was nine. Before that, he came around several times a year.”

  “Then what the hell are you doing here now?” Lisa demanded.

  “Tom invited her.” Mary glared at Lisa.

  “You weren’t invited to this meeting,” Lisa shot back.

  “Neither were you,” Noah snapped at Lisa.

  “I’ll give you your privacy.” Mary nodded to Noah, letting him know she appreciated his support and walked out.

  Roxy turned to the man who’d brought her here. “Tom, thank you for inviting me to my father’s home. I’ve wanted to see it and meet Annabelle and Noah a long time, but I have an early flight and should get going, especially if you have family business to discuss.”

  She took one long look around the room and took in the tall windows, wall of books, the watercolor paintings, and John’s solid wood desk. Big and sturdy, just like him.

  “If it’s okay, I’d like his hat.” Everyone stared at her.

  “His hat?” Noah asked.

  “Black Stetson. He wore it every time he came to see me.”

  “She’s just playing coy. She came here for her piece of the pie.” Lisa held Roxy in her narrowed gaze.

  One side of Noah’s mouth drew back. “Why do you want it?”

  She couldn’t believe Noah begrudged her something so small. He got everything. “Why do you care? It’s just a hat. You got to live here with John. Can’t I have this one thing?” She reined in her emotions and glared at Noah.

  “Fine. Take it. I don’t care.”

  Roxy read the lie in his eyes. He cared very much and resented the fact she wanted anything of John’s.

  John lied to him. Noah couldn’t take out his hurt and anger on John, so he directed it at her.

  Finally, Tom stepped forward. “Listen, Noah, Annabelle, I know you’re surprised to find out John had a daughter.”

  “I’m not convinced she is his daughter,” Lisa interrupted. “I was married to the man for six years and he never said anything to me about her.”

  Roxy didn’t offer up an answer, even though they all stared at her waiting for one. She didn’t owe them any explanations. John didn’t want them to know about her. He didn’t feel the need to explain, why should she?

  “I only found out about her when John was admitted to the hospital,” Tom confessed. “My father handled the will. When he retired and I took over, the only business I did for John pertained to the ranch, not his personal file. She is his daughter, a DNA test proved that long ago.”

  “He actually confirmed it with a test?” Roxy asked, surprised.

  “You didn’t think he took your mother’s word for it, did you?”

  Roxy frowned. “I suppose not.”

  Tom knew the truth. That revelation and his demeanor unsettled her.

  He glared at Tom. “Why didn’t you say anything when you found out?”

  “I had to protect John’s privacy. His living will and instructions for what to do if he was incapacitated or dying included Roxy’s contact information. Only then did I take a look at John’s will.”

  “What does this mean?” Fear filled Annabelle’s words. “Do we have to leave?”

  Chapter Ten

  Annabelle’s question echoed through the silent room. Her fear became Noah’s. What if John left everything to Roxy, his biological child? The child he’d talked about on their last ride wanting to carry on his legacy here at the ranch.

  Noah had worked his ass off since he was a kid. John groomed him to take over. But what if John simply wanted him to continue to run the place for his real daughter?

  No fucking way he worked for her. He’d take Annabelle and . . .

  It hit Noah then. John would never toss him and Annabelle off the ranch. He’d never take their home from them. He loved them. He raised them like they were his own.

  So why had he treated Roxy like an outsider? If he longed for his own child, why hadn’t he ever invited Roxy to the ranch? Why tell her about them but never say a word about her? It didn’t make sense. Not when John had been honest with Annabelle about her not being his biological child, but he loved her as if she were anyway.

  “Why did John keep you a secret?”

  Tom’s smile confirmed he knew why. “There’s a story there.”

  “And not yours to tell.” Roxy held Tom’s gaze. Hers held a demand for silence.

  Tom’s smile never wavered. “Sit at the desk. We’ll get started.”

  Roxy complied and ran her hand over the wood.

  Noah fisted his hands, holding back the anger at seeing her taking John’s seat like she already owned the place.

  Tom opened his briefcase in front of Roxy on the desk. “Let’s let John answer your questions.” He pulled a stack of papers from his briefcase and handed a thick manila envelope to Roxy. “Don’t open that until I’m finished reading the will. What’s inside is separate from the ranch and John’s other assets. Okay?”

  “Um. Fine.” Fear and uncertainty washed over Roxy’s face and flashed in her eyes before she pulled herself together again.

  Tom walked over and handed him an envelope. “That’s for Mary and Robby. I thought you might like to tell them John left each a fifty-thousand-dollar bonus and the small bungalow property they live in.”

  “I will.” Noah smiled, happy John did right by them, rewarding them for their hard work and years of loyalty. It made him wonder if he’d do the same for all the years Noah worked side by side with him.

  Tom leaned back against the desk and addressed everyone in the room. “We don’t need to read the entire will. Noah, Annabelle, I’ll leave a copy for you. Roxy, you’ve got a copy in the envelope.”

  His gaze went to Roxy, who sat quietly taking in everything and everyone in the room. Unlike Lisa, she didn’t have a predatory, expectant look in her eyes as she waited for Tom to read the rest of the will.

  Did she expect her due?

  If she got it, would she kick him and Annabelle out of their home? Or simply make it unbearable to stay?

  Noah’s earlier fatigue turned to tense anxiety and dread. He anticipated the inevitable changes when John died, but he never expected things to be this unknown and complicated. It unsettled him in a way that shook the foundation of everything he believed about John and his place in John’s life and his future on the ranch.

  “‘To my three children,’” Tom read. Like Annabelle’s, Noah’s gaze shot to Roxy. John considered her one of them. Noah held his breath as Tom continued. “‘I leave you all my assets, including Speckled Horse Ranch. Annabelle, you will receive twenty percent.’”

  “What! That’s not fair,” Lisa protested.

  Tom didn’t acknowledge her outburst, but read on. “‘Noah, I’m sorry if this disappoints you, but I think you’ll understand. You receive thirty percent.’”

  “No fucking way.” He fell back into the sofa and rubbed his hands over his face.

  “‘Roxy, you’ll receive the remaining fifty percent.’”

  Tom’s words, John’s really, echoed through his
head.

  “‘But there’s a catch.’”

  Noah sat forward again. “What catch?”

  Tom turned to Roxy and read on. “‘I’m going to ask you to do something, I have no right to ask at all. I let you down. I had my reasons, but what do they matter when you suffered because of them. Given time, I hope you’ll understand, and maybe find a way to forgive me. In order for you to keep your share in Speckled Horse Ranch, you have to move into the house and stay until Annabelle graduates high school and turns eighteen.’”

  “Are you kidding me?” Noah raged. “He never says one word about her to us, and now he wants her to live here?”

  Tom sighed. “Noah, let me finish.” Tom turned back to Roxy, who sat there with nothing to say. “‘You’ve taken care of your mother all these years. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to stay and help take care of my daughter, Annabelle.’”

  Tom turned back to him. “‘Noah, you and I have tried to raise Annabelle the best we knew how. Annabelle is a teenager, and I feel she needs a woman’s hand in guiding her through the next few years of her life.’”

  Noah pinned Roxy in his gaze. “We didn’t need any help then. I don’t need your help raising my sister now.”

  Lisa pointed her finger at him. “That’s because she’s coming home with me.”

  “No way in hell I let you take her.”

  Tom interrupted whatever comeback Lisa clamped her jaw down on when he ordered, “Let me finish.” Tom eyed both of them and continued. “‘I’m confident Roxy can guide her with a young woman’s perspective and, with Roxy’s background, the experience and wisdom she’s gained in her own life. For these reasons, I’ve named Roxy and Noah as Annabelle’s legal guardians.’” Tom locked eyes with him. “‘You will both oversee her care and inheritance.’”

  “He can’t do that.” Lisa lashed out. “She’s my daughter. It’s up to me to oversee her inheritance.” Lisa really meant she wanted her share.

  “You signed over sole custody to John as part of the divorce,” Tom pointed out.

  “Yes, but now he’s gone. It’s up to me to make sure everything he left her is taken care of properly.”