Guilt clawed at her. She’d done this. By marrying Jace. But in spite of the evidence, she couldn’t convince herself she’d done anything wrong.
“Daddy?”
“Can you forgive an old man his temper?” He held out his arms, begging her for forgiveness.
Danielle didn’t hesitate. She rushed into his warm embrace, her heart filling with joy when she realized she hadn’t lost him.
She pulled away. “Let me make some coffee and then we can talk.” She was eager to play hostess in her new home.
But he shook his head. “My blood pressure won’t allow me to have caffeine anymore.”
He sighed and Danielle felt the guilt grow. This was the only man who had ever loved her simply for being who she was. She took his arm and led him into the family room. “Sit down. Let’s talk.”
He squirmed on the leather seat and she almost smiled. Tyrone Simmons had never found it easy to apologize. Usually, she would simply forgive, but this time, she needed to hear the words. Only his saying them would start to heal the wound he’d left on her heart with his thoughtless rejection.
His gaze traced her necklace. “I’m glad to see you still wear our necklace. I was afraid Farrell would make you take it off.”
She clutched at the golden chain, unwilling to admit how close she’d been to doing just that. But it wouldn’t have been for Jace. It would have been because she thought she’d lost her father’s love.
“Honey.” Tyrone took her hand in his. “There are things here you don’t understand.”
She squeezed his fingers. “Then tell me, Daddy. Help me understand. I really want to.”
He cleared his throat and surveyed the room. “My doctors have been advising me to retire for the past six months.”
Her skin grew cold as the blood rushed from her face. “Are you sick?” Fear clutched at her. She would never forgive herself if she’d made his condition worse by her actions.
“Not sick, just worn out. That’s why I wanted the marriage with Raymond so badly. Yes, we needed the money, but we also needed a man to step in and take over at the helm. Raymond was ideal for the job.”
Disappointment washed through her. In spite of all her hard work, he’d never considered letting her into the company. All her efforts had been for nothing. She dropped her gaze to the floor, trying not to let him see her disillusionment.
“And since I didn’t have to worry about your falling in love with Raymond, I knew I wouldn’t be losing my little girl.”
Danielle opened her mouth to question that statement, but her father quickly went on.
“After that little fiasco at your engagement party, I started thinking.”
The seesaw of emotions wasn’t over yet as a brief flare of hope filled her. Maybe he would reconsider.
“You can take over the company. You have the education, the experience, and I know you’ve wanted to work there for years.” He nudged her chin upward with a finger. “What do you say, honey? Want to come and work for the old man?”
Her questions faded away and the joy couldn’t be contained. Life couldn’t be more perfect if she’d planned it. She loved her husband, had the love and support of her father once again and would be taking over a job she’d coveted for so many years. The gods were smiling on her.
Danielle threw her arms around her father’s neck. “Oh, Daddy, it’s perfect. I would love to work for you.”
He patted her back and murmured unintelligible words, but all she felt was the warmth of his love. He was finally willing to acknowledge her abilities, to let her show him just how good she would be at the job.
“There’s just one condition.”
She pulled away, certain there wasn’t anything he could ask that she wouldn’t do. After all, he’d just handed her all her dreams on a silver platter.
“I want you to divorce Farrell.”
She watched his lips form the words, heard what he said, but her brain refused to accept what she was hearing. “Divorce Jace?”
Her father stood and began to pace. “Come on, Danielle. Don’t tell me you love the man. Not after what he did to you. To us.” He turned to glare at her. “He used you to get at our money.”
She forced her spine to stiffen. “He didn’t have to marry me, didn’t have to give me the money for the loan. He must care for me at least a little bit to commit his life to mine.”
“Hah! He married you to get to me, to the company. He’ll set out to ruin everything we have and then he’ll toss you aside.”
Danielle shook her head, her body numb with shock. “No,” she whispered. “He wouldn’t do that.” Her throat was raw with unshed tears, but she couldn’t let her father see just how upset she was.
He knelt in front of her and took her hand. “Honey, it’s the only way to protect what we’ve worked so hard for. As your husband, Farrell will have the power to take over. He’ll destroy the company. You don’t know this family like I do. I had dealings with his father, and the son is following the same unscrupulous path.”
“Jace wouldn’t do that.”
“It’s nice that you believe in your husband, but who was always there for you? Who held you during your nightmares?” His fingers touched her locket. “Who’s with you always?”
Needing to reassure her father, to reassure herself, she threw her arms around him and hugged him close. He had to let her go now, had to accept that she’d grown up and given her heart to another man. But he also had to realize that she had plenty of love left to give to him.
“I love you, Daddy. You know you’ll always come first in my life.” It was time to make some demands of her own. “And I would love to work for you.”
“I knew you’d see things my way.” Her father turned slightly, then bugged her tighter. “I knew you wouldn’t turn your back on your birthright for another man.”
She started to correct him, to tell him she wasn’t leaving Jace, but he squeezed her so hard she couldn’t draw breath.
As she pulled out of her father’s arms to continue their discussion, she caught the hint of a triumphant smile on his face. The feeling of a disaster about to happen washed over her as she backed up another step, then turned slowly.
lace was standing in the doorway, hate and anger radiating from him in a potent mixture.
Paralyzed with the force of his emotions, she barely noticed her father’s solicitous pat on the shoulder, barely heard him say he’d see her at home for dinner. But as he walked into her line of vision, she saw the triumph in every step as he left the room. And she saw him stop to give Jace a measuring look.
“You lose, Farrell.”
The silence in the room was broken only by her father’s departure. Danielle noted the change in Jace, in the way he looked at her, and her heart broke into tiny pieces.
“I see you’ve made your choice.”
Tension throbbed between them as Danielle struggled for the words to explain what he had just witnessed.
“I can’t believe you’re letting your father manipulate our relationship a second time.” Jace’s shoulders slumped, the light he’d seemed to reserve just for her fading from his eyes. “I can’t fight him anymore. You can have your damned divorce. And keep the money. Consider it payment for the night we spent together.” He turned away from her, from their love. “I hope you live happily ever after with the family corporation to warm your bed.”
Each word left a gaping wound. “Jace.”
He ignored her plea. “Get out of my life.”
By the time she realized the full implications of what had just happened, Jace had headed for his office and slammed the door, walling her out.
Again.
She remembered the expression on her father’s face, the smirk of satisfaction just before he turned away from her. Horror welled up inside her, almost choking her. Her father had known Jace was standing there, had been orchestrating the conversation so Jace would hear the worst possible words coming from her. And then her father had twisted those wo
rds to his benefit.
Pressing a trembling hand against her lips, she knew she’d been carefully manipulated. Twice.
Jace had been right. Her father had set them up before, had fabricated circumstances to make Jace appear to be a fortune hunter. And Danielle had fallen for it, had walked away from the only true love in her life.
No wonder Jace hated her and her family so much.
Danielle became aware that she was still standing in the center of the room, one hand held out in a plea to Jace. But he wasn’t there. And she doubted he’d listen to her. She’d won the battle but lost the war.
As she walked by his office, the urge to pound on the door and demand he listen to her was strong. But she still had a few shreds of pride left. She wouldn’t beg for his love. At some point, he should have given her the benefit of the doubt, should have loved her enough to at least question what was happening. But each time her father had interfered, Jace had given up without a fight. Maybe he wasn’t the man she’d thought him to be.
Taking each stair as if her body was racked with pain, Danielle forced herself to return to the bedroom. The same room that just a few hours ago had held so much promise, so much hope for a future. She’d even dared to wonder which bedroom would make a good nursery.
She pulled her brand-new suitcase from the closet. It didn’t feel right to take the clothes with her, but it would be a terrible waste to leave them behind. Slowly, methodically, she folded each piece, remembering Jace’s patience, his kindness, as they’d shopped. That day had been magical.
When she came to her wedding dress, the tears started to flow. Pulling the dress into her arms, she sat on the bed and cried for what might have been between them. The day of their wedding, she’d believed it was possible for the two of them to have a good life and find a chance at happiness. But they’d lacked one vital ingredient for a good marriage.
Trust. Jace didn’t trust her enough to believe she would stand by him, no matter what.
She still wanted to stand by him. Except he’d just told her he didn’t want her at his side—had proven that he had little faith in her. And she wouldn’t force herself on a man just to satisfy her own needs. It would be too heart-wrenching to see the hate in his eyes, to deal with his suspicions every day.
Sucking in deep gulps of air, she tried to control her tears. Folding the dress carefully, she hoped Jace would have a change of heart, that he would come up those stairs and beg her to stay with him. All it would take would be one encouraging word and she would be his forever.
In all the times she’d been with Jace, he had never lied to her. And now that they were married and she had the money she needed, he had no reason to tell her lies. He was a millionaire several times over, so he didn’t need the money. He’d never once mentioned getting revenge on her family. He’d just insisted he wanted her. And no man could make love to her the way he had and be hiding ulterior motives.
Her father had been the only person to gain anything today—or on another horrible day eleven years ago.
She had struggled since she was a teenager to make her father recognize her as something other than his little girl, but he’d always treated her as if she were still twelve. Now she could see that he didn’t think she could love him as a father while she loved another man as a husband, so he had lied to her, had destroyed her chance at love, and now her life.
And Jace hadn’t.
Jace had offered her love and laughter and more happiness than she’d thought possible.
Her hands shaking so hard she could barely work the clasp, she removed the locket her father had given her on her fifth birthday. The locket was a symbol that had tied them together through the years, a talisman she had never taken off.
Until today.
Staring at the slightly worn gold heart, she realized now that it didn’t offer protection, but rather was a form of control.
She’d betrayed Jace again, tarnished the trust he’d placed in her. If she couldn’t honor their love enough to give him all her faith, maybe she didn’t deserve him. Whatever feelings might have been growing between them had been destroyed by her lack of belief in him.
Her heart aching, she crossed the room and hung the locket on the eternally intertwined hands of the two carved lovers. Maybe he would see her offering. Maybe he would understand.
She’d lost her husband, lost her father, and lost her career.
All she could do was hope that Jace would receive her message and find it in his heart to forgive her.
Chapter Ten
He loved her.
The ache in his chest built to unbearable proportions. He hadn’t thought it would be possible to overcome the bitterness of the past. But it had taken losing her again to make him realize that for all his denials, he had never stopped loving her. And he never would.
Jace stood by the window of his office, staring at the Grand Tetons in the distance, feeling as cold and barren as the rugged, snow-covered peaks. This time, their beauty failed to stir him.
He’d lost her. Again.
She’d proven that she would always believe her father first. And Jace refused to come second to any man, ever.
He heard her hesitant step as she came down the stairs. She was leaving him.
The urge was strong to go to her, to beg her to stay. But Jace Farrell had never begged before. He wasn’t about to start now.
She still didn’t trust him, never would.
For a moment, he heard nothing, then the kitchen door opened and closed. Once again, he was alone, the house ringing with emptiness.
The fading evening sun flashed on the red car as it made a sharp turn in the driveway. Feeling as if he held the few remaining pieces of his heart in his hands, Jace watched the only woman he would ever love drive away.
This time, it was forever.
The house grew dark, but he didn’t move from the window. He simply stared at the path her car had taken as it left the ranch. His mind was a blank, his heart leaden.
Finally, he sucked a deep breath into his lungs. Life went on. He would go on. Without Danielle Simmons Farrell.
Without his wife.
The papers on his desk beckoned, demanding to be dealt with, but Jace knew he would only shuffle things around. Yet he also knew he wouldn’t sleep in spite of the fact that his body ached with exhaustion. He’d felt much the same the first time she’d walked out on him.
The only solution then had been work. Danielle’s desertion all those years ago had made him a wealthy man. But he could see now that all his efforts were meaningless. Without Danielle’s love, his life was meaningless. He’d even tried to buy her love, but that hadn’t worked, either.
A bitter chuckle tore from him when he thought about the check he’d written out that morning. The amount would have bought and sold the Farrell ranch when he’d first been starting out Now he would barely notice the loss. What he would notice was the loss of Danielle’s warmth.
Unable to bear his office a minute longer, Jace prowled the house. But every room he entered held memories of Danielle. In desperation, he went to the bedroom. That room held his fantasies, too many years of dreams where he held Danielle all night long. At least she hadn’t yet shared the bed with him, hadn’t left her scent on the pillows.
It was the one room he might be safe from her memory.
As soon as he opened the door, he knew that he’d been fooling himself. He could picture her that first night, terrified, uncertain, and so breathtakingly beautiful he could barely draw breath.
Jace scrubbed his hands over his face, knowing this was not the safe haven he sought, either. That left the barn. Maybe the horses would appreciate his company.
As he turned to go, he caught a gleam of unfamiliar light. He’d slept in this room for a long time, knew every shadow intimately. Curiosity dragged him forward as he used the pale moonlight shining through the window to guide him. When he halted in front of the dresser, his heart seemed to freeze in his chest.
Dan
ielle’s locket.
Inch by painful inch, his hand crept out until he finally touched the cool metal of the necklace. Curling his fingers tightly around the treasure, he jerked it, breaking the fine chain. Staring at the gold glowing in the moonlight, he wondered at the implications of her offering.
Even when they’d made love, the locket stood between them. For more than a decade, it had been an unwitting symbol of everything that was wrong with their relationship. She had refused to remove it on their wedding night and he knew then that her father would always come first in her life.
And now, the locket was here. And she was gone.
Danielle had removed her father’s necklace, giving Jace tangible proof of her love—and her dreams.
She loved him.
The knowledge burst through him like the warmth of a spring day, washing away the agony of the past few hours. What they shared was worth fighting for, worth any battle. All he had to do was go get her and bring her home.
And once he got her back to the ranch, he never intended to let her go.
Fear touched the edges of his triumph. If she would have him, if she could ever forgive him for not believing in her, for not trusting enough.
Determination filled him. He would find her. If he had to spend the entire night tearing through Jackson, he would find her. And if she’d left the area, he would follow. He wasn’t about to lose her again.
His pickup truck seemed as eager to reach the Jackson city limits as Jace was. First, he went by the Simmons house, remembering the comment about being home for dinner. But Danielle’s car was nowhere in sight.
Jace felt his hopes climb a little higher. If she hadn’t run home to Daddy, she must be waiting for her husband. Waiting for him.
Beginning with the first hotel he passed, he searched the parking lots. It took several hours before he struck pay dirt—several hours in which he analyzed and dissected every moment of their days together.
It had been magical, better than any time with Danielle he had ever fantasized. And some of his fantasies had been bordering on ecstasy.
The Cowboy Proposes... Marriage? Page 13