by Kate Pearce
“Like those Facebook guys?”
“A bit like that, but no one came along and decided to compensate us afterward.” She sighed. “All that work gone, all those long hours, and making do, and stress. It almost destroyed me.”
“Is that why you came home?”
She nodded. “I came back when my obligation to help the new company ended.”
“You mean you had to keep on working there even when you’d got nothing out of it?” Jackson whistled. “That must have sucked.”
“It did.” She scuffed her boot against the cobbled floor.
“It almost broke me.”
He reached out and cupped her chin. “Then you made a good decision to come home, didn’t you?”
She smiled up at him and rubbed her cheek against his palm. “It certainly improved my life for the better. Just being around people with a different set of values—who care about one another and not just about money—made a huge difference to my life.”
“I bet.”
He wanted to ask her what had drawn her back to tech, but she turned away as one of Grace’s puppies came galloping up to her.
“Hey, little buddy.” She picked up the puppy. “Are you ready to go back inside? Where’s your momma?”
Jackson made sure all the stalls were secure and the horses were okay before helping Daisy gather up Grace’s family and take them into the kitchen. Once they’d settled the dogs, he washed up, took her hand, and walked her down the hallway to his bedroom.
“Do you want to use the bathroom?” Jackson murmured, aware that Cauy’s door was at the end of the hallway.
“Sure.”
He went inside and slowly took off his clothes, placing them neatly on the chair. One of the things Cauy had done since taking over the ranch was replace the heating system, and Jackson was really grateful for that. He lay on his bed, his gaze fixed on the door until Daisy came in and locked it behind her.
Holding his gaze, she stepped out of her clothes and joined him on the bed, her long hair tickling his skin as she crawled all over him.
“I missed you,” Jackson murmured.
“When I was in the bathroom?” She gently nibbled his nose. “Or just generally?”
“And you say I’m the one who asks silly questions.” He sat up against the headboard as she straddled his lap. “I think about you a lot.” He cupped her breast. “I wish—”
He stopped talking before he said something that would make her skittish. Just because she’d confided in him didn’t mean the rules of their relationship had changed.
“You wish what?” Daisy placed her hands on his shoulders, bringing her nipples right up against his chest. He forgot how to pronounce words, which was probably a good thing.
He curved a hand over her hip, making her tremble, and cupped her mound. “Kiss me?”
She obliged, rocking into his touch as she opened to his questing fingers like a sultry flower. He was a very visual guy and he liked being underneath Daisy in all her naked beauty. She breathed his name against his lips, and he blindly reached into the drawer beside his bed for protection. She was here, she was still talking to him, and they were about to have fantastic sex. If he were a clever man, he’d shut his mouth and enjoy it.
* * *
Brimming with sexual satisfaction, Daisy tiptoed into the kitchen at home, only to discover Adam sitting at the table, watching the door. As he was sitting in total darkness, she almost didn’t see him until it was too late.
“Oh my gawd!” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I wasn’t expecting a welcome-home party.”
He didn’t smile, and she walked over to him.
“Is something wrong?” He shook his head as she studied him. “Are you okay?”
“Will you sit down a moment?” Adam gestured at the seat opposite him.
Daisy sat. “If this is about me and Jackson—”
“It’s not.” He shoved a hand through his dark, cropped hair. “I just wanted to ask you something.”
A thousand guilty thoughts immediately clouded her brain, and she tried to look innocent. Had he found out about her new job? Was he going to call her out on it?
Adam looked down at the table, spreading his fingers wide over the knotted pine surface. “Do you have the money to buy out the Cortez ranch?”
His question was so unexpected, she gaped at him. “What?”
“You were in tech. You created a successful business. I wondered if you could somehow lend me the money to buy the ranch. I’d pay you back as soon as I could make it profitable. With interest of course,” Adam said.
“Hang on.” Daisy frantically tried to gather her thoughts. “Number one, how would Dad manage if you left this ranch to take over the Cortez place?”
“He has five sons, Daisy. He’d be fine, you know he would.”
“But you love this place.”
He shrugged. “Moving down the road wouldn’t stop me loving it or the people inside it.”
“So they really are planning on selling?” Daisy asked.
“Yeah. I went and asked them. Don’t tell anyone else. They don’t want to deal with all the bad vibes.”
“I think most people are going to work it out soon,” Daisy said. “There aren’t that many ranches in this valley.”
“They said they’d sell it to me right now if I could find the money,” Adam said. “They’d rather it was kept in the family.”
“They could leave it to you in their will,” Daisy suggested.
“They already have, but Carlos has cancer and they need the money now.” Adam grimaced. “It’s treatable, but they want to move somewhere close to a big hospital so he can get the best treatment possible. That’s way more important than me inheriting the place.”
“Oh God. I’m so sorry.” Daisy reached out and covered his hand with her own. “Poor Carlos.”
“So is there any way you can help me out here, sis?” Adam asked gently, curling his fingers around hers.
Daisy stared blindly down at their joined hands. All the money she’d salvaged from the first fiasco had gone into financing the new start-up. . . . Guilt hit her hard.
“I don’t have that kind of money right now, Adam.” She forced herself to meet his gaze. “If I did, I’d give it to you in a heartbeat.”
“It’s okay.” A shudder ran through him, but he nodded and attempted a smile. “I just hope you don’t hold it against me that I asked.”
“How could I possibly do that?” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “You’re my brother.”
“And you’re my little sister.” He brought up their joined hands and kissed her knuckles. “It’s all good.” He released her and got to his feet. “Night, sis. Sleep tight.”
She remained at the table as he left the kitchen, his broad shoulders bowed like an old man’s. There was a lot she wanted to say to him, but she felt too guilty to attempt it right now. Could she get a loan against her current income? But if she did that, she’d have to tell her family she’d been deceiving them for months, and explain where her savings had really gone.
If the new start-up paid off, she might be in a position to help him enormously and would have no hesitation in doing so, but that wasn’t happening right now. By the time she accumulated some excess income, the Cortez ranch might be covered in houses, and Adam would’ve lost his last link with his wife’s family.
Chapter Ten
So you can come out on the Wednesday?
Ian typed the question while Daisy mentally cursed. With all the worry about the Cortez ranch, she’d forgotten all about her promise to go to Silicon Valley and meet with the venture capitalists.
I’ll get back to you about that in an hour, okay? Daisy responded, grabbing her purse and setting off at a run toward Yvonne’s before Ian could reply. She had a feeling her vague answer wouldn’t fill him with confidence.
Nancy was waiting for her in the coffee shop and waved from the table she’d already occupied.
“Hey.”
Daisy smiled at her. “Did you order already?”
“Nope, I waited for you.” Nancy’s hair was green today, with yellow stripes. “You’re only five minutes late.”
Lizzie came up with her notepad at the ready and looked expectantly at them. “Hey, ladies. What are you having?”
“Iced tea and something fattening, please,” Daisy answered.
“Care to be more specific?” Lizzie waited, her pencil poised over the pad.
“Cheese,” Daisy said. “Melting everywhere.”
“I can get you a tuna melt and fries, or grilled cheese, or—”
“Tuna melt,” Daisy agreed. “That sounds awesome.”
“I’ll have the same,” Nancy said. “Including the iced tea.”
“Got it.” Lizzie half-turned away and then paused. “Is it true the Cortez family are selling their ranch?”
Daisy tried to look noncommittal as Nancy answered Lizzie. “I’ve no idea, but if it is them, I suppose it would make sense.”
Lizzie grimaced. “Is Adam okay about it, Daisy?”
Surprised by her friend’s concern for her brother, Daisy attempted an answer. “I don’t think he’d be pleased if it was true.”
“He wouldn’t be.” Lizzie sighed. “I can’t imagine the Cortez family not being around anymore. They’ve been so kind to me and Roman.”
She nodded and headed off toward the kitchen as Nancy set her cell phone on the table. “Jay said he might need some help if the delivery arrives early, so I promised to keep an eye on my messages.”
“No wonder you win employee of the year every time.” Daisy grinned at her friend.
“Yeah, that’s me. An asset to any business.” Nancy paused. “Or is that just an ass? I can never remember which one makes me prouder.” She checked her texts. “So how’s it going with lover boy?”
“Good. I think,” Daisy said.
“You think?” Nancy frowned at her. “Girl, I turned him down for you. I hope you’re getting value for money out of him.”
“You would never have gone out with him in the first place,” Daisy protested, laughing. “He’s not your type.”
“I don’t have a type,” Nancy said. “That would require me making an effort to get to know a guy well enough to work out what I didn’t like.”
“True,” Daisy acknowledged. “But you don’t pick guys who intend to hang around in Morgantown, do you?”
“Because I’m not interested in settling down yet,” Nancy said firmly. “I’m enjoying my life far too much.”
As Nancy had started life after high school delving into drugs, Daisy wasn’t going to argue with her optimistic outlook now. She knew how hard it had been for her friend to get her life back together and was immensely proud of her.
“Anyway, is Jackson treating you right?” Nancy winked at Daisy. “In all departments?”
“Yes, he is.” Daisy knew she was blushing. “He’s very . . . competent.”
“And nice and upfront.”
“He certainly likes to speak his mind,” Daisy agreed.
“Sometimes too much, but I’m used to dealing with nerds, so I know all about lack of social skills.”
Lizzie brought their drinks. Daisy stuck a straw in her glass, and stirred in some sugar and a slice of lemon.
“Nancy, if I asked you to keep a secret for me, would you do it?”
Her friend blinked at the sudden change of subject but nodded anyway. “Sure. What’s up?”
“I’ve been doing some IT work in Silicon Valley. I need someone to cover my shop for me for a few days next week while I go out there.”
Nancy studied her. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you do have quite a few brothers who could possibly step in for you.”
“I want them to know as little as possible about this whole trip,” Daisy said firmly. “Because if I start involving them, they’ll have questions.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because they don’t know I’m still working in the field where I ended up with massive burnout and came home in pieces. I promised them I’d never go back.”
“Ah, I hear you.” Nancy frowned. “I don’t have a lot of free time, but I’m sure between me, Sonali, and Bella, we could keep the doors of the florist’s open.”
“I’m going to ask Dell because he actually knows how to arrange flowers, but he can’t do everything. It will only be for four days, and I can deal with the online orders. Dell only has to make up the flowers,” Daisy reassured her friend. “The shop is closed on Sunday.”
“How are you going to explain your absence to your family if you aren’t going to tell them the truth?”
“I’ll tell them I have to go to a craft convention or speak to my suppliers.”
“Do you think they’ll buy it?” Nancy looked skeptical.
“I’m not sure,” Daisy confessed. “I’m not a good liar, and I hate having to do it.”
“That’s why I asked.” Nancy paused as Lizzie delivered their food. “Why don’t you get Jackson to take you on a romantic weekend away? Then you could fit your meetings in around that.”
Daisy considered that notion. “I don’t want to give Jackson ideas, though.”
“Ideas about what?”
“That our relationship is the real thing.”
Nancy rolled her eyes. “Are you still in that mode? I thought you would’ve gotten over yourself by now.”
“I don’t want to raise unrealistic expectations,” Daisy repeated.
“Why not, Daiz?” Nancy held her gaze. “I know there was that thing with Brody when you were in college, but you can’t let it hold you back forever.”
“That is the thing, though,” Daisy said. “What I had was so perfect, I want that again, and I’m not prepared to settle for anything less.”
“I don’t think the world works like that, Daisy,” Nancy said gently. “And you aren’t the same person.”
“I get that.” Daisy smiled at her friend. “But I’m not going to fake anything with Jackson.”
Not that he’d let her. He’d call her out in a second. But asking him to go with her to San Francisco and telling him why she needed his help wasn’t a bad idea at all . . .
* * *
“Hey.” Jackson walked over to where Blue Morgan had parked his truck in front of the house. It was another bright, clear morning, when the air was so cold it almost hurt to breathe. “What brings you out here, BB?”
“I came to do a final check on our horses before we work out how to get them back to our new barn.” Blue got out his phone. “If that’s okay with you.”
“Cauy’s in town, but I don’t think he’d have a problem with it.” Jackson walked with Blue over to the barn. “We’ll miss having your horses here.”
“But you’ll be able to get some more of your own,” Blue quipped back. “I bet you’re short now that you’ve gotten the ranch back on its feet.”
“We’ve got to get some more cattle in first.” Jackson grinned. “Nothing for the hands to chase otherwise.”
“Talk to Roy. He knows all the best places to find good stock,” Blue advised as he took a count and then a more detailed note about each horse.
Jackson followed along behind, answering BB’s rapid-fire questions. He’d gotten to know all the horses over the past few months, and he really would miss them.
When BB finished up, Jackson politely asked him in for some coffee, and was surprised when BB agreed. The retired marine wasn’t known for his sociability, but for his ability to get things done in the most efficient manner possible.
“Nice place,” BB said as he walked into the kitchen and bent to pat Grace. “Takes me right back to the eighties.”
“Yeah. It definitely needs a bit of work.” Jackson refilled the coffeepot and set the filter working. Cauy preferred the fancy one-cup machine, but Jackson liked to go back for a refill without all the fussing around.
BB sat at the table, his back to the wall and his sharp gaze taking in every detail.
Having been around military personnel for ten years and knowing them intimately, Jackson didn’t take his guest’s steely alertness personally.
“Are you busy this evening?” BB asked as he sipped his coffee. He took it black, just like Jackson did.
“I don’t think I’ve got anything planned; why?” Jackson sat opposite him.
“I’d like to talk to you and Jay Williams about an idea of mine.”
“You can’t tell me right now?”
“I could, but then I’d just have to repeat myself to Jay. I’d rather do it over a beer, if that’s okay with you.” BB held his gaze.
“Sure. What time?”
“Eight?”
“Sounds good.” Jackson sipped his coffee. “Now, tell me when you plan to ship the horses out, because I’ll need to make sure we have all hands on deck.”
* * *
“Dad . . .” Daisy turned to her father, who was still muttering away to himself. “Dr. Tio didn’t tell you to give up everything, just to moderate your drinking and watch your cholesterol.”
“Young whippersnapper.”
She’d taken her dad to the new doctor for his yearly physical because his old physician had retired, and he wasn’t too happy. He was rarely happy, so Daisy wasn’t too concerned.
“Is that the new pizza place Kaiden was talking about?”
Daisy stopped again and walked back to where her father had come to a complete standstill.
“Pizza? Dad, did you listen to anything Dr. Tio just said?”
“I listened. I just don’t happen to agree with him. The way I see it, these fools keep changing their minds about what’s good for you, so I’m going to carry on eating what I like.” Her dad nodded. “You’re going to die of something, Daisy. You might as well enjoy it while you can.”
She sighed, but the siren smells of pizza sauce and bubbling cheese were calling to her as well, and she had just put in a very trying morning with her father . . .
“Okay, we’ll have lunch here if you like. Do you want to sit outside? It’s such a nice day.”
“Sure.” He handed over his wallet. “I’m buying.”
Daisy grinned at him. “I could run off now and leave you destitute.”