“I heard her say it.” Gino sniffed. “I was s’posed to be asleep, but I heard her and Jiro talking. Don’t let them send me away. I want to stay with Daddy.”
“I know you do, little man.” She took a deep breath. “And your father’s going to do everything he can to make that happen. You know that, right?”
“I guess. Boarding school sounds scary. They put you in a room with other kids. Like all the time. I like my own room. And it’s not like home at all. I wouldn’t have any of my things, and I wouldn’t see Mama or Jiro anymore.” He’d started crying again, hiccuping to the point of coughing.
“You’re not going to go to boarding school,” Peyton whispered. It was so hard, so impossibly hard, not to cast judgment on Matteo’s ex-wife. How could she even think about sending a six-year-old off to boarding school? It seemed so...cruel. “You know how I know you’re not?”
“No.”
“Because neither your father nor I will let that happen.” It was a promise she shouldn’t make, but she couldn’t help herself. Gino’s brain, his heart, couldn’t take the constant uncertainty of his future. He needed stability. He needed a place for his roots to take shape and begin to grow. He needed his father. Just as she’d had Rudy after her own dad had left; as much as she’d missed Thomas Blackwell, as much as she may have disagreed with her mother’s choice to keep him a secret from her sisters, when all was said and done, Rudy had been the steadying force her life had needed. “Do you trust me, Gino?”
She felt him nod against her chest. “Yeah.”
“I take that very seriously, Gino. Because I know how hard it is to do.” So hard. Sometimes impossibly hard to trust. “So I want you to believe me when I tell you that I’m going to do everything I can to make certain you stay with your father.”
“And no boarding school?”
“No boarding school. You will still have to go to school, though.” She looked down at him, felt her heart flutter when he gave her a teasing grin.
“I don’t have to go to school. You’re teaching me good. So’s Daddy. I can already do my alphabet.”
“And we want you to keep getting better. So, how about we make a deal. You stop worrying about boarding school, and I’ll see what I can do about making sure you can stay with your dad.”
“And you?” Gino asked, pinching his fingers around her hand. “I wanna stay with you, too.”
She snuggled him closer. “I appreciate that, little man.” More than her heart could take. “But I’m not your mom. And you and your dad will have great adventures together on your own.” Her chest hurt, the regret pressing in on her. She wasn’t in a position to promise anything other than what she had. As much as she’d come to love Gino, care about Matteo—and she cared about him a lot—she knew a family, a husband, children, it wasn’t in the cards for her. She’d chosen her path a long time ago. She was doing what she loved to do, what she wanted to do. Asking for more, for the impossible, wasn’t fair. To anyone.
“You think you can get back to sleep now?”
“Uh-huh.” He yawned, but when she went to shift him back into bed, he grabbed hold of her. That lost-little-boy expression spoke to her. She’d known, from the moment he’d appeared with his father on her doorstep, that he was going to slide into her life, into her heart. Now she remembered worrying that Gino would be the one to get hurt when she and Matteo went their separate ways. Little did she know she’d be dealing with fallout, too.
She’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit to fantasizing about a family of her own, but it was one she’d never let herself be a part of. She was too driven. Too selfish. Too...her own person to try to be something she wasn’t. She skimmed a hand over Gino’s forehead. She couldn’t be everything he and Matteo needed. But she could do everything in her power to make sure father and son remained together.
“Would you feel better if I stayed with you until you do?”
He nodded, his fingers loosening as he scooted over to make room for her. She barely had time to stretch out before he rolled toward her again, curling into her as if she was his shelter in the storm. “I love you, Peyton.”
“I love you, too, little man.” Despite knowing it was the wrong thing, despite fearing she was only setting herself up for heartbreak, she relaxed and waited for him to fall asleep.
She then slipped from the sofa bed, retrieved her laptop and cell phone and got to work digging up contact information for Matteo’s ex-wife.
* * *
“I’M GOING TO need a shower just from carving pumpkins.”
Matteo glanced up from his laptop as Peyton walked in, hands and shirt covered in what he hoped was pumpkin guts. “You know where it is.” His gaze flicked back to his screen, but he kept an ear on her.
“I was only joking.” She beelined for the kitchen sink and washed up. “Gino’s having a ball helping Hadley and her staff carve pumpkins for Halloween. Definitely something for you to keep in mind next year when you have him all to yourself. What are you doing?”
“Reading up on wireless hacking and malware location programs.”
“Oh, sexy. You know, Electryone helped develop software security for programs like that. You can email Todd for the information.”
“Already did.” He managed a quick smile. “You all have that antimalware app on your phones, don’t you?”
“Sure do. We don’t endorse or work on projects we don’t take on ourselves. Why?” She came up behind him. “What’s this about?”
He hesitated. He could lie. Maybe he should, but trust worked both ways. She’d trusted him with her safety. He needed to trust her with the truth. He reached back for her hand and drew her around the table. “I’m trying to figure out how someone tracked you to Montana.”
Her eyes narrowed, suspicion almost overtaking the flash of fear. Almost. She lowered herself into the chair, dish towel clutched in her lap. “You think someone followed us out here after all?”
“I do. And I’m pretty sure they used your own security program to do it.”
“But...the only people who have access to that side of things would work...” She trailed off, her confused eyes easy to read.
“For Electryone. Yes.” He nodded. “I’ve already been in touch with Vilette, and I’m having my people take another run at all Electryone employees. In the meantime, I need you to give me access to your phone.”
“Sure.” She rose and retrieved her cell from where she’d stashed it next to Gino’s now-forgotten video game, rattled off her pass code. “It’s my sisters’ birthdays. In case you need it again.”
He tapped the screens, deactivated the security app she’d installed, then accessed her IP information to delete her locations. The damage was probably already done, but better safe than sorry. “How did you leave things with Mr. Josiah?”
“Ambiguous,” she said with a hint of venom in her voice. “That tends to happen after the topic of a lawsuit is broached.”
Considering how razor-sharp her tongue could be, he imagined Mr. Josiah carried a few wounds from the conversation. “I’m going to need you to call him, so he’ll give us access to his computer system.”
She snorted. “I don’t see that happening. He’s gone to ground.”
“Then, I’ll talk to him. I need to see your file.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“What?” he asked.
“Just wondering if this is a professional or personal inquiry.”
“As in, am I curious about potential competition?” He smiled and took inappropriate pleasure in the flush that crept up her cheeks. Unable to resist the temptation of her full mouth, Matteo stood, walked around, bent down and pressed his lips against hers. That instant heat flared up again, proving the chemistry between them wasn’t anywhere close to going dormant. He eventually broke the kiss. “I’m feeling pretty secure about myself these days in that area.”
“I’ll bet you are,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Does this whole tracking thing have something to do with you disappearing after lunch this afternoon?”
“I wanted to check on that truck I saw yesterday.” He returned to his chair. “The guy from the store. I asked around at a few of the businesses in town if they’d seen him. No luck. I even spoke with the manager at the motel just outside of town, but no one remembers seeing him or the truck after yesterday afternoon.”
“Maybe he was just passing through.”
“Maybe.” But his gut didn’t agree. Not by a long shot. “A truck like that, he can camp out in it easy. Doesn’t need to find a place to hole up.”
“Which also makes finding him more difficult.” She frowned. “You know, we still haven’t answered the question we had back in California. What is it this guy thinks I’ve done?”
“Something I plan to ask him when I track him down. From now on, I want you sticking close to the lodge, to Hadley and Ty and Katie. The more people around, the better. And just...”
“Be aware of anyone unfamiliar? Should be easy enough on a guest ranch.”
“There’s one other thing.” He hesitated to mention it, but he needed as many advantages as he could get. “We have to come clean about why you really came out here. I want to talk to the local sheriff, and then we need to tell the Blackwells.”
She sighed, sat back in her chair and, for a second, looked as if she was going to pout. “There’s really no way to keep this to ourselves?”
“There is. But I don’t think you’d forgive yourself if this guy came after you, and Lily or Rosie or someone else on the ranch got hurt somehow. Especially if you could have done something as minor as coming clean to prevent it.”
“Not to mention Gino,” Peyton said, and he nodded. “All right. We’ll tell them. And while you’re at it, you might want to think about giving Big E a call and filling him in. Just one thing.” She held up her index finger. “Let me tell Lily? She’s going to be ticked enough to hear I’ve lied to her again. I’d rather you stay out of that crossfire. I’ll speak to her first thing in the morning.”
“Deal.”
* * *
“THERE YOU GO. Here’s another one, Goldie.” Peyton shifted another apple free of her jacket pocket and held it out for the horse to gobble. She stroked Goldie’s nose, offering a smile of comfort as the animal shifted and tried to nuzzle closer.
“Never thought I’d see the day you surrendered your laptop for a saddle.”
Peyton flinched at Lily’s comment. They’d reformed a bond the other night on the hayride. She hated the idea of damaging that now. “I haven’t. Not permanently.” She gave the horse another pat and stepped back. “I lost a bet with Matteo, so I’m technology-free for the rest of my stay.” For the most part. Not that Matteo needed to know she’d spent over an hour on the phone this morning with his ex-wife. He would. Soon enough. It wasn’t something she’d be able to keep secret.
“So, I’m a distraction? That’s why you had Hadley call me to come over this morning?”
“Yep.” She walked over to Matteo’s rescue horse and set the last apple she’d taken from breakfast on the ledge of the stall door. “Hadley didn’t come down with you?”
“No. She’s checking in a last-minute guest.”
“Gino and I are going on a shorter trail walk this morning with some of the day guests. But before we do...” Peyton hedged. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something I probably should have told you from the start but...”
“Finally.” Lily crossed her arms and leaned against the wood-paneled wall. “I knew you were keeping something from me. Let me guess. Matteo’s not your assistant.”
Peyton’s face flushed before she turned around and saw her sister waggling her eyebrows. “No, he’s not.”
“Note my shocked face.” Lily rolled her eyes. “Like anyone believes that. No one has an assistant who looks like that. So, why all the secrecy? Is this about Dad bugging us to get married? You’re using Matteo as a decoy? Oh! Did you meet Matteo through that matchmaker dude you’ve been working with?”
“No, I did not!” The very idea of Matteo joining up with a matchmaking service... She had to struggle not to laugh. “Matteo’s my...well, he’s my—”
“Spit it out already! The sooner you admit it, the better off we’ll all be. He’s your boyfriend.”
“Bodyguard,” Peyton said it at the same time. “Matteo is my bodyguard. See, there’s been this thing going on at work...” And from there, the entire story spilled out like the floodgates had opened. “I know I promised when I got here that I wouldn’t lie to you anymore, and I probably shouldn’t have.” She moved closer until she was standing nose to nose with her little sister. “But I didn’t want you, any of you, to worry, but now Matteo thinks—”
“Stop, Peyton.” Lily rested her hands on Peyton’s shoulders and squeezed. “Just stop and breathe.”
“Right.” She was normally so controlled, so utterly and completely, that she came across as robotic at times. But around her sisters and those she cared about the most, it was as if her emotions surged to the surface and broke free on their own. “Okay. Breathing.” She inhaled slowly. “I guess I thought the faster I got it out the less you’d be ticked at me for lying to you again.”
“Well, there is a slight difference between not wanting to tell us there’s some scary guy out there looking for you and keeping our paternity a secret.” Lily looked amused enough to be joking. Almost. “But just so we’re clear.” She leaned closer and frowned. “Are you all right? How dangerous is this guy?”
Peyton shrugged. “Not sure. My boss was convinced it wasn’t something to ignore, then Big E stuck his nose in, and Matteo chimed in, so...” She waved her arms in the air. “Here I am.”
“While I don’t like the idea of anyone coming after you, I’m grateful you came here. I like having you around. You seem different. More relaxed since you got here. Must be that lack of computer time, or...” She arched a brow. “Are you sure Matteo isn’t anything more than your bodyguard?”
Peyton’s face flushed, negating any protest she might have made.
“I knew it.” Lily’s face split into a huge grin. “Oh, this is going to make a great video chat tonight when I call Amanda.” She tucked her arms around Peyton and led her out of Ethan’s clinic and into the fresh air. “Let’s back up, start at the beginning. And don’t leave a single detail out.”
* * *
“SO, YOU’RE TELLING us that our grandfather’s solution to Peyton being stalked was to send her out here to us?” Ben Blackwell leaned back in his desk chair at his law office and aimed a particularly irritated gaze at Matteo. “Without telling us the real reason she’s here.”
“Pretty much.” Matteo wondered if Ben Blackwell had any idea how similar he was to Big E, with maybe a bit haughtier edge than the old man. Matteo had to give the brothers credit, though. When he’d talked to Ty yesterday and asked to meet with Peyton’s cousins—three of whom had yet to even meet her—he’d put it together pretty darn quick. Then again, Matteo got the impression mentioning Big E’s involvement moved things into top speed.
Ethan and Ty sat on the sofa, silent as ghosts as Jon and Chance stood nearby, tension wafting off them in waves. It was odd, Matteo thought, to see Chance Blackwell, award-winning, bestselling music artist standing in a wood-paneled lawyer’s office in the middle of a tiny town in Montana. About as odd as Matteo felt standing there himself.
Theirs was a family history further disrupted by the reveal of Thomas Blackwell and his five grown daughters. Family dynamics, Matteo thought. Both intriguing and...confusing.
“And now you’re saying you’re pretty sure whoever has been targeting her followed her to Montana?” Jon said in a slow, deliberate manner.
“I can’t prove it. Yet,” Matteo admitted. He
also had to admit the five brothers together felt a bit intimidating. And for a man who had seen combat duty and protected various high-status clients, he was impressed. “But I’ve been in the protection business long enough to know not to ignore my gut. It’s just by chance we saw him in town the other day. I’ve given a description to your local sheriff, but I’m not sure what good that’ll do.”
“Was Louise manning the station’s front desk?” Ty asked.
“Yeah.” He’d met the middle-aged, silver-haired woman just a few hours ago.
“Then, you did the right thing,” Ethan said with a humorless laugh. “By now everyone in Falcon Creek knows what’s going on and who to be on the lookout for. He can’t keep hidden for long if that’s what he’s trying to do. Man either has no idea about small towns, or—”
“Or he doesn’t care,” Ben finished. “The police back in California don’t have any idea why Peyton’s been targeted?”
“No.” And that only added to Matteo’s frustration. His call to the detectives this morning had only left everyone with more questions. “Look, I don’t want any of you to think I was purposely putting any of you or your families in danger.”
“We don’t,” Ty said. “But this situation does explain a whole lot. Like why you wanted the tour of the property.”
“Just wanted to be aware of access points and how the property lines were secured.”
“We might want to have the ranch hands do a check to be safe,” Ben suggested to Ty, who was already pulling out his cell phone. “Tell them to watch for the truck. The more eyes we have on—”
“Watch.” The word turned Matteo’s blood to ice. “Watch. That was it. That’s what I remember seeing.”
“What’s he talking about?” Chance asked as Matteo grabbed his case and hauled out his laptop.
“I knew there was something I couldn’t connect,” Matteo muttered as he powered up and waited to access the file for the security footage from Electryone. “The guy who delivered the flowers to Peyton’s office.”
Montana Dreams Page 19