Exposed: Her Undercover Millionaire

by Michelle Celmer

  Ellie was a tiny thing—no more than one hundred pounds soaking wet—but what she lacked in size, she made up for in attitude. She’d been like a mother to him since he’d moved back to the ranch. And there were times when she treated him more like an adolescent than an employer, but he loved her to death.

  “What are you going to do about the men?” she asked.

  “Clint is talking to them.” He was the only other person who knew of Brandon’s plans.

  “Someone is bound to slip and call you boss.”

  “Paige thinks I’m being promoted to foreman as soon as I move back to the ranch. I can make something up about the men calling the foreman boss.”

  “But they would never do that.”

  “Yeah, but she doesn’t know that. She doesn’t know anything about ranching. As long as no one uses my last name I should be okay.”

  “I still think you’re playing with fire. Which means you must be awfully fond of this woman. You’ve known her what, a week?”

  “Not even.”

  “It took you three months to bring the hussy here.”

  A fact that was not lost on him. “She’s different than any of the women I’ve dated before. She thinks I’m an uneducated ranch hand and that doesn’t seem to matter to her. And when it comes to dysfunctional childhoods, we have a lot in common. I just…I like her. I feel good when I’m with her. And the sex…”

  “I get the point!” she shouted, and Brandon laughed. That’s what she got for being nosy.

  “I guess she’s going to be pretty surprised when she learns the truth about you.”

  “I imagine she will be.” What would be even more surprising to her was the fact that he would risk destroying her professional reputation to expose Rafe. But he didn’t have a choice. Although, despite how much he wanted to bury the son of a bitch, lately Brandon had actually begun to hope that he didn’t find anything to discredit Hannah’s Hope. There were so many people who would be hurt if his suspicions were true. Ana, who ran the foundation, and even his sister, Emma, who sat on the board. Not to mention all the volunteers whose only motivation was to help people.

  But wouldn’t they be hurt eventually, anyway? If the foundation was a fraud, the truth would come out someday. Better to expose Rafe now rather than later.

  “It’s real possible she’ll be angry with you.”

  “Yeah, it’s possible.” In fact, it was an inevitability. The question was how angry would she be?

  “If you care that much about her, is it really worth risking that?”

  “I don’t have a choice, Ellie. I have to do this. For the people of Vista del Mar.”

  “Are you sure you’re doing it for them? I know that you feel that you failed your father. Are you trying to ease your own guilt?”

  A month ago, the answer to that question had been clear. Now he wasn’t so sure.

  Eleven

  Paige knew absolutely nothing about the ranching business, but it was clear, as Brandon pulled the truck up the road to the Copper Run, that this was no small operation. Tucked into a grassy valley in the San Bernardino Mountains, the sprawling log-cabin-style home, barn and stables weren’t at all what she’d expected.

  She was ashamed to admit that not only had she expected a much smaller business, but she had pictured it as being more rustic and modest. But not only was the house practically a mansion, the stables were huge and everything looked modern and well-maintained.

  Vast pastures enclosed by white fences stretched as far as the eye could see, and roaming about were more horses than she could count. Beautiful animals in a wide range of colors and sizes. The valley itself stretched at least half a mile wide, surrounded on three sides by rocky slopes. The view as they pulled up to the house, with the sun setting over the snowy peaks, was utterly breathtaking.

  No wonder Brandon didn’t want to leave. She had been here a sum total of one minute, and already she regretted her trip would be so short. There were probably a million things to see and explore.

  Brandon rolled to a stop in front of the house, at the base of a wraparound porch. Flower beds, in full bloom with tulips, irises and daffodils, bordered the entire length, and potted trailing flowers hung from the porch roof. The effect was warm and welcoming.

  They got out of the truck and Paige filled her lungs with clean, crisp mountain air. And just like that, the stress of all the work she had waiting for her back home seemed to melt away.

  “So, what do you think?” Brandon asked.

  “It’s beautiful.” Several men dressed in cowboy gear stood by the largest of the stables, watching Brandon and Paige. They were obviously talking about them, but were too far away for Paige to hear what was being said. “How big is the ranch?”

  “Over one thousand acres.”

  “That’s a lot of land.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She glared at the ma’am reference and he grinned. “And you’ll be in charge of all of it?”

  “Yep.”

  Wow. Maybe she hadn’t given his position as foreman the respect it deserved. That was an enormous responsibility.

  Brandon pulled her case and his duffle from the back of the truck. “Let’s get you settled, then I’ll show you around.”

  As they were climbing the steps to the porch, the front door opened and an elderly woman stepped out to greet them. She was tiny. Several inches shorter than Paige and petite to the point of looking frail. Her hair was short, pure white and curled in what her mom used to call a poodle perm. She wore purple tennis shoes, pink polyester pants and a boldly patterned Hawaiian shirt.

  “Mr. Dilson,” she said with a warm smile. “It’s good to have you back.”

  “It’s good to be back.” He bent down to give her a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek, then he turned to Paige. “Ellie, this is Paige Adams. Paige, this is Ellie Williams. She’s been the housekeeper at Copper Run Ranch since before I was born.”

  “So nice to meet you, Miss Adams,” Ellie said, shaking her hand, and her firm grip said there was nothing frail about her. “Can I fix you two something to eat? We have stew leftover from supper.”

  “We picked up dinner before we left,” Brandon said.

  And he had refused to let Paige chip in half again. He always seemed intent on paying for everything, which she chocked up to male pride. And because of that she’d let him without argument. Besides, who was she to tell him how he should spend his money? It was actually kind of nice that someone wanted to do things for her for a change.

  “Why don’t I get you something to drink while you get your guest settled?” Ellie said.

  “A beer would go down real well,” Brandon said. “How about you, Paige? I’m sure Ellie could scrounge up a bottle of Chardonnay from the wine cellar.”

  His boss was kind enough to let them use the house. She didn’t want to take advantage of his generosity by raiding the wine cellar, too. “Actually, water would be fine.”

  “Sure thing.” Ellie pulled the door open. “You’re in the guest room next to the master.”

  They stepped inside an enormous great room. The walls were built from richly stained wood and a wide stone fireplace rose up to kiss the peak of a vaulted, exposed beam ceiling. The decor was Southwestern-style with comfortable-looking furnishings in deep hues of primary colors, and thick, braided rugs covered the deeply polished wood floor. It was stylish, yet warm and welcoming. And spotless. As Brandon led her across the room to the staircase, she couldn’t see as much as a speck of dust on any surface.

  At the opposite end of the room was a set of double doors that Paige assumed led to the kitchen, because that’s where Ellie headed.

  “The house is amazing,” Paige said as they reached the upstairs hallway that overlooked the great room below. “Your boss must be very wealthy.”

  “He does okay, I guess.” He led her down the hall, pointing out the bathroom, then gesturing her inside one of the bedrooms. “Here it is.”

  It was large for a gu
est room, and decorated similarly as the main floor, only the furniture itself was a bit more rustic, and looked as though it could possibly be antique. The bed was only a full-size, but since they usually slept wrapped up in each other’s arms, the lack of space wasn’t a problem. On the nightstand sat a vase overflowing with flowers that Paige was guessing came from the beds out front.

  Brandon set her case and his duffle on the bed. “This room doesn’t have a private bath so we’ll have to use the one in the hall.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “You know,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her to him, “we were in such a rush to leave, we didn’t get any alone time today.”

  She grinned. “You’re right, we didn’t.”

  His arms slipped around her and he dipped his head to press a kiss to the side of her neck. She sighed and closed her eyes. “Maybe we should save that tour for tomorrow and turn in early, instead.”

  She slid her hands up his chest and looped them around his neck. “I am feeling awfully sleepy.”

  “Then I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, but I don’t plan to let you get much sleep tonight.”

  She had suspected as much. And hoped. And prepared. Since Brandon seemed to appreciate sexy lingerie, she went shopping during lunch and found a sexy, electric blue, lace bra and matching thong on the clearance rack at Victoria’s Secret. She’d changed into them when she got home from work.

  Brandon kissed his way up her throat, along her jaw, but just as his lips brushed hers, there was a soft knock at the door.

  Paige looked up to see a man standing in the open doorway. He was big like Brandon and dressed like a cowboy in dusty jeans, boots and a brown cowboy hat, and a long-sleeved Western shirt.

  “Hey, Bo—Brandon.”

  Brandon let go of her and said, “Paige, this is Clint Andersen, one of the men. Clint this is Paige Adams.”

  “Ma’am,” Clint said, tipping his hat in greeting. He was kind of cute, in a rugged way. And he looked embarrassed to have caught them kissing. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I was putting together the paperwork for tomorrow morning and I thought you should come down to the office and take a look at it before I print everything out. You know how I feel about computers. And the mares are ready if you want to take a look at them.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  He nodded. “Nice to have met you, ma’am,” he told Paige, then disappeared down the hall.

  “I guess that tour will have to wait, anyway,” Brandon said.

  “That’s okay. Business first.” It had to be a source of pride that he now had the skills to read the paperwork required for the job. And she was proud of him for all that he’d accomplished.

  “This shouldn’t take long,” he said.

  “No hurry. This will give me a chance to unpack.”

  He gave her a soft, lingering kiss, then headed out the door, closing it behind him. She heard the thump of his boots as he walked down the stairs.

  She turned to the bed and unzipped her case. There was no closet or chest of drawers, but there was a large pine armoire against the far wall. She pulled it open, the doors creaking on old hinges, and peeked inside. Empty hangers and a few spare blankets. She unpacked her clothes and hung them inside. Brandon’s duffle sat there beside her case and she considered unpacking it for him, too, but she was afraid that would be too much like snooping. For all she knew he could have something private in there, not intended for her eyes. Which, of course, made her all the more curious. But after having had her belongings ransacked by her mom’s boyfriends—not to mention money and jewelry taken—she appreciated the concept of privacy more than most. She wouldn’t even go in Cheryl’s desk for a pen without her express consent.

  There was another rap at the door. Firmer this time. Then Ellie called out, “You decent?”

  “Come in!”

  The door opened and Ellie stepped inside. A bottle of water in one hand, a glass of wine in the other. “I thought I’d bring the wine, too, just in case you changed your mind.”

  She really didn’t have to do that. “Are you sure it’s okay?”

  Ellie’s brows rose. “You’re not underage, are you?”

  Paige laughed. “No, definitely not. It’s just that it was very generous of your boss to let us stay in the house. I don’t want to take advantage.”

  “I assure you, he won’t mind a bit. He likes having guests in the house.”

  “Did Brandon ever have Ashleigh stay here?” Paige asked, realizing when she saw Ellie’s frown, that it was none of her business who Brandon brought here. The question just sort of jumped out. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, that was nosy of me. I don’t even know why I asked. Forget I mentioned it.”

  “It’s okay, I’m just surprised he told you about her. He doesn’t talk about it much.”

  “He told me about her and the foreman.”

  “That woman broke his heart. For a while there I was worried he would never recover. This is the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time. And I’m sure that has a lot to do with you.”

  “I care about him a great deal,” she said. More than she should, that was for sure.

  “I can see that. But you should know, even though he doesn’t let it show, and he sure wouldn’t admit it, Brandon is still vulnerable. I don’t want to see him hurt again.”

  Ellie clearly cared a great deal about him, too. But what she obviously didn’t realize was that Brandon wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship any more than Paige was. No one would be hurting anyone. She hoped.

  The past few days, when she thought about not being close to Brandon, not seeing his sweet grin or feeling those big arms around her, there was an empty space inside her that made it hard to breathe.

  But she would get over him. She didn’t have a choice.

  “I never had a boy of my own, but I’ve come to think of Brandon like a son.”

  “He’s lucky to have you.” When she lost her dad, none of the men her mother brought home had ever been able to replace him. Nor had they ever tried, or even wanted to. “And just so you know, hurting Brandon is the last thing I would ever want to do.”

  “Sometimes we hurt people whether we mean to or not.”

  Paige had learned that one the hard way. She was sure her mother hadn’t intentionally hurt her, but still she had. And Ellie was obviously very protective of Brandon. But she must have seen something in Paige’s eyes, heard something in her voice that made her believe what she said, because she smiled and said, “While Brandon finishes his business, why don’t I give you a tour of the house?”

  “I’d like that. And thank you for the flowers. Are they from the gardens out front?”

  “Sure are,” she said, pride beaming in her eyes. “It’s always been a hobby for me. Although, I’m getting up in years, so it’s harder for me to keep up. My knees are getting bad.”

  “They’re so beautiful,” Paige said. “Some of the flowers are in colors I’ve never seen before.”

  “I special order them.” Ellie slipped an arm through hers. “Let’s go have a look.”

  Paige wasn’t sure why, but Ellie’s acceptance was important to her. Which was a little silly since, after this weekend, chances were good that she would never see her again.

  Brandon and Clint didn’t finish up in the office, which was located in the main stable, until after nine-thirty.

  “Sorry to take you away from your date,” Clint said as Brandon shut down his computer.

  He stacked the paperwork he’d just printed in his outbox and rose from his chair. “The ranch comes first. You know that.”

  “Well, it sure will be nice to have you back for good.”

  It hadn’t been easy for Clint the past few months. He’d been with the ranch for over five years, yet he’d had no real experience as a foreman. But the night Brandon caught Mack, the former foreman, with Ashleigh, he’d told him to pack his things and get lost, and Clint seemed the logical repla
cement. Then, after only a few weeks on the job, Brandon had left for Vista del Mar and left Clint in charge. So not only had he taken on Mack’s duties several days a week, but many of Brandon’s several days a week, as well.

  “I know I put a lot of pressure on you, and I want you to know that you’ve done one hell of a job.”

  “What Mack did to you…” He shook his head. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but the night you fired him, a bunch of the guys followed him into town and taught him a lesson.”

  Brandon grimaced. A few of the men were rehabilitated excons—a fact that would have given his father a coronary—who stood to lose a lot if they stepped even a hair outside of the law. But they were a loyal bunch of guys, and though Brandon didn’t condone violence, he wasn’t surprised they’d done it. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

  “They only did it because they respect you. Besides, everyone sort of suspected something was going on between Ashleigh and Mack. We all felt pretty bad that no one told you.”

  “If it’s any consolation, I wouldn’t have believed you. She had me snowed.”

  “Paige, now she’s a looker.”

  Brandon couldn’t suppress a grin. “Yeah.”

  And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he didn’t want their relationship to end after the gala. The two-hour commute would be a bitch, especially with Paige’s crazy work schedule, but he was sure they could work something out. Take turns traveling on alternate weekends maybe. Nothing too serious. Just a let’s-see-how-things-go situation.

  If she forgave him for lying to her, that is.

  “I was surprised when you told me you were bringing her up,” Clint said. “We talk at least every other day and you never mentioned you were even seeing someone.”

  “That’s because I just met her last Friday.”

  His brows rose. “In the five and a half years I’ve worked here, including Ashleigh, you’ve brought home a grand total of three women. Paige must be pretty special.”