You're My Rock
Brothers From Money 4
A complete and sexy BWWM romance by Shanade White of BWWM Club.
Just before billionaire Nate’s mom passes away, she drops a bombshell on him - the man who raised him isn’t actually his father!
So Nate takes off to Colorado to find the family’s he’s never known, the Terrell’s, a family just as well off as his.
Little did he know he’d also find the woman of his dreams staying with them.
Allison is a beautiful young woman, but she’s lost her memory, and has no idea how she got to Denver.
Nate and Allison share a tender bond as she regains her memory and he comes to terms with his new family.
They become each other's rocks, and soon they’re falling in love.
But with a flood threatening to wipe out the whole family business, and a man who wants to eliminate Allison showing up on their doorstep, will their tender new love be able to bloom?
Or will it all fall apart before it’s even properly begun?
Find out in this gripping yet heartfelt romance by Shanade White of BWWM Club.
Suitable for over 18s only due to sex scenes so hot, you’ll be looking for your own handsome stranger.
Tip: Search BWWM Club on Amazon to see more of our great books.
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Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
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Prologue
Nate crept into the room and sat down in the chair next to his mother’s bed not wanting to wake her. The nurse had told him on the way in that she’d just fallen asleep, these days sleep was a difficult thing to come by for his mother who was in the last stages of pancreatic cancer. The doctors had warned him the end would be especially hard to watch, but he’d been here every day since she’d been moved to hospice.
As he watched her, he thought about how much the disease had stolen from her. Her strength was only a part of what he missed, she rarely smiled these days. The pain, so intense at times he didn’t know she stood it, but she hated the pain medication, said that it made her dopey. He hated to see her in so much pain, as much as he would miss her when she was gone, he would be relieved to know that she was finally at peace.
Settling back in the chair to wait, he thought about all the wonderful times he and his parents had shared over the years. He’d found thinking about the good times made it easier to keep a positive attitude around his mother. But looking at her now, her skin so pale he could almost see through it, and her body so wasted by the cancer it barely made a dent under the blankets, he knew it was only a matter of days before he’d be an orphan.
It was a strange way to look at himself since he was a 41 year old man, but none the less, once his mother was gone he’d be alone. His father had died almost five years ago and other than a few cousins he barely knew, there was no one else. He’d been married once, but that hadn’t lasted long, she’d wanted a different life than he had, so they’d parted ways.
Since then he’d been involved with a few women, but those relationships had never felt quite right. He’d almost decided that he was ready to give up on romance completely, but there was a small part of him that still wanted to find the one woman who was perfect for him. She’d yet to appear, but then again he’d stopped looking for her, he’d just have to trust that fate would bring her to him.
His mother stirring in her bed interrupted his brooding thoughts, she opened her eyes and smiled when she saw him sitting there. “Hi.” She said.
“Hi, Mom. You look good today.” He said, smiling at her.
“That’s a lie and you know it. But I love you for saying it.”
“I love you too. Can I get you anything?”
“As a matter of fact there is something you can get me.” She said, her voice breaking a little.
“Of course. What is it?”
“There’s a photo album in the closet on the top shelf. Get it and bring it to me please.” She said, pushing herself up a little in the bed.
Nate walked over to the closet and felt around on the top shelf. His hand brushed the album and he pulled it down. He’d never seen it before, but could tell that it was something his mother would have had. Taking it over to her, he gently set it on her lap then pulled up a chair, suddenly very curious about its contents.
“You’ve never seen this album before, it’s one I kept only for myself, but it’s time you saw it.” She said, trying to pick it up and hand it back to him.
Nate grabbed the album before it hit the floor, picked it up and opened it. There on the front page was a wedding picture of two people he didn’t recognize. Curious, he looked at his mother, waiting for an explanation. She gestured to him to keep looking, so he turned the page, then another and another, until he’d reached the end.
“Well?” She asked. “Do you recognize anyone?”
“Not really, but some of the men look familiar. Are they dad’s relatives?” He asked, wondering why she’d kept this album a secret if it was of his father’s family.
“Well, they are your father’s family, but not the way you’re thinking.” His mother answered.
Confused by her cryptic answer, he paged through the book again. Suddenly he realized that the men in the picture looked like him, not his father, which was strange because he’d never met anyone in the family that looked like him. It had always been a bit of a joke with his cousins that he had actually been adopted, looking at these pictures made him wonder if it was true.
“Mom, what's going on? Who are these people?” He asked, suddenly very worried about what her answer would be.
“Son, I don’t think there’s any easy way to tell you this. I’ve been waiting for the right time and I’m afraid there isn’t one.” She said, then motioned for her water.
Nate helped her drink some water, his brain working overtime trying to figure out what she could have to tell him. Once he’d helped her settle back onto the pillow, he said. “Mom, what is it?”
“You know that you’re father loved you more than anything in the world, but the truth is that he wasn’t your biological father. I made a mistake many years ago, although seeing you sitting there, I question the use of the word mistake.” She said, pausing to rest.
Nate stared at his mother, hardly believing what he’d heard. Looking down at the album again, then back up at his mother, he said, “Are you telling me that the man I knew as my father wasn’t?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. I know this must be a shock to you, but I thought it was important you know. Once I’m gone you’ll be alone in life and everyone needs a family. The
se people are your family, you have three brothers as well as a bunch of cousins.” She said, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Where are these people?” He asked.
“They have a ranch in Colorado. Your father’s name is Jonathan Terrell, and you have three brothers, Garrett, Donovan, and Sebastian.”
Chapter 1
Allison closed the door on the last stall happy to be finished with the chore, cleaning stalls was never anyone’s idea of fun, but she had to admit there was a feeling of satisfaction in seeing all the horses happy in their clean stalls. The truth was she didn’t mind it all that much, it got her away from the house and the Terrell men, who were all home this weekend.
She found herself avoiding them whenever she possibly could, their mere presence making her nervous. But a lot of things made her nervous these days, which the doctors told her was only to be expected since she’d lost her memory. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that what had happened to her had involved a man, probably one who looked a lot like the Terrell brothers.
It had been three weeks since she’d woken up in the hospital with no idea how she’d gotten there. As she’d laid there, trying to remember the events of the last few days, she realized she couldn’t remember anything about her life. Panic had set in quickly and before she knew it she was having a full blown panic attack.
She must have cried out because the nurse had rushed in, at first relieved to see she was awake then concerned when she saw Allison’s face. “What’s wrong? Are you hurting somewhere?”
Allison tried to calm her breathing, this woman would know who she was. “I....I can’t remember who I am or why I’m here.” She said, her voice shaking.
The nurse looked at her for a second, then said, “You’ve had a head injury, it’s not uncommon for your memory to be a little fuzzy. It should come back soon, just try to relax. I’ll get the doctor since you’re awake.” She said, turning to leave the room.
“Where am I?” Allison begged before the nurse could leave.
“You’re in Colorado, honey. I’ll be right back, I promise.”
The nurse returned before Allison could work herself into a panic again. “Well, it’s good to see you awake. That’s quite the nasty bump you had on your head. The nurse tells me your memory is a little fuzzy but I don’t want you to worry, it’s not uncommon with the kind of head injury you have.”
Although that made her feel a little better she was still confused. “Do you know who I am? I must have had my purse or something with me.”
“Well, when you were found there was no identification or cell phone with you. But the name Allison was engraved on your watch band so we’re assuming that’s your name.”
“Something bad happened to me, but I can’t remember anything.” Allison said, suddenly panicking.
“You were hit over the head with a blunt object, it didn’t puncture the skin, but you’ve sustained a minor brain injury. We’ve been able to figure out that you boarded a plane in Kentucky headed for Las Vegas, but you got off the plane in Denver. Airport security found you slumped over in a chair in baggage claim and called an ambulance which brought you here.”
“How long ago?” She asked, not even sure what the date or the day of the week it was.
“You’ve been asleep for two days.” The doctor said, as he cautiously began to examine her.
Allison fought down the panic, calming herself, trying to remember anything about her life. All that was there was a big blank and a feeling of impending doom. Somewhere deep down she knew she was in danger, but without her memory she had no idea from whom or what she’d been running.
With a gasp, she realized she’d been fleeing from someone when she’d gotten on that plane. “I was running from someone.” She said, feeling a bit of hope that more would come back.
“Good, you’re already getting memories back.” The doctor said, writing in her chart. “But I want you to try and relax, physically you’re in good shape but you still need to take it easy. I’m going to give you a light sedative to help you sleep.”
Allison realized she was tired, sleep sounded like a good idea, the effort of trying to remember was draining her strength. She simply nodded and watched as the nurse injected the sedative into her IV line. Between the drug and her exhaustion, she was asleep in minutes, but before oblivion over took her, she saw a brief flash of green pastures with horses grazing in them. The memory left her feeling good, like she was seeing home.
When she’d woken the next time, the nurse was taking her vital signs, this time when she realized that her memory was blank the panic wasn’t quite so bad. Seeing that she was awake, the nurse explained that a detective was waiting to talk to her if she felt up to it. Hoping that the detective might have more information, she gladly agreed.
But as it turned out, he didn’t know much more than what the doctor had told her. “You got off the plane in Denver so there was no luggage we could match you to. They looked in Las Vegas and didn’t find any there either. The airline employees who remembered you said that you seemed subdued but didn’t seem debilitated in any other way. They had no idea that you were hurt.”
“So, you have no idea who I am?” She asked, her stomach falling.
“I’m sorry but we don’t. I’ll keep working on your case but in the mean time we’ll have to keep you safe because someone tried to hurt you.” He said, patting her hand.
Allison wanted to burst into tears, she was stranded in Denver, no idea who she was and someone was trying to hurt her. “What am I going to do?” She said, barely containing her tears.
“I’ve been thinking about that and I think I have a solution that might be perfect for you. I have some friends that run a ranch in the mountains, they’d be happy to have you come stay with them for a while until you can get your memory back.”
“They would take me in, knowing that I might be in danger?” She asked, wondering who these people were.
“When you meet them you’ll understand why I want you there with them until we can get to the bottom of who you are and what happened to you. I know you don’t know me, but trust me, the Terrell’s will be able to help you and keep you safe at the same time.”
Closing the door to the barn she had to admit that the doctor had been right, in the two weeks she’d been here they’d gone out of their way to help her. It seemed that each had a talent for helping and healing the wounded who seemed to find their way to the ranch high in the Colorado Mountains. The only thing no one had been able to help her with so far, had been her memory.
She’d had flashes of people and places that must be a part of her past, but nothing that was coherent enough to help her in any way. The bits and pieces only made her more frustrated, especially the ones that came with a flash of emotion. It was like putting together a thousand piece puzzle without the box.
Scrunching down in her coat, she hurried across the yard to the house. Colorado in winter could be a harsh place, especially now in January when the snow was deep and the days short. But the lights were shining brightly in the main house, a sign that everyone was gathered together there again tonight. With a sigh, she braced herself for the commotion that would be found behind the door, it wasn’t that she didn’t like the Terrell’s but when they were all together it could be overwhelming.
The first week she’d been here hadn’t been that bad, Garrett and Sabrina had welcomed her with open arms, giving her a bedroom in the east wing of the house so she’d have plenty of privacy. But they’d also made sure she felt welcomed, Sabrina had invited her to help her with the therapy riders she had out to the ranch every day and Allison had found that she felt perfectly at home in the barn.
She’d instinctively known what to do with the horses and when Sabrina had suggested that she ride, it became obvious that horses had been a part of her past. By the end of the week it was clear that her life involved horses in some way, she’d become much too knowledgeable in a short time f
or it all to be new to her. Allison was relieved to be able to put some kind of story with a few of those flashes of memory, the pastures and horses she was constantly seeing made sense.
But now a week later, there had been nothing new, the same flashes that made little sense along with an overwhelming sense of doom, still plagued her. Now she’d have to deal with the entire Terrell clan who were all meeting here to go over the plans for Garrett and Sabrina’s wedding which was only a few weeks away. She understood how important the occasion was for the family, but it was going to be a crazy few weeks, the house would be full of people, all of them new to Allison.
Luckily, Donovan and Sebastian had their own little cabins on the property so the nights would be quiet, at least until the wedding guests started arriving. Still she knew she was lucky to have found such a wonderful place to recover, and while overwhelming, everyone had been wonderful to her. Someday she’d find a way to pay them all back for their kindness, but that wasn’t going to happen until she got her memory back.
When she walked into the kitchen, the entire family was gathered around Donovan and Elizabeth’s little girl. Only six months old, she was already spoiled by everyone in the family. Allison had been given a brief description of her conception during a tumultuous time for the family when the former mayor of their town had tried to take Donovan and Terrell industries down.
She’d been told the story by Cinthia Terrell, proud mother of the three brothers. She and her husband Jonathan, had spent a quiet evening with her during her first week there when Garrett and Sabrina had been gone. Cinthia had spent the evening telling Allison about her son’s wives and the peril they’d all gone through to find the love of their lives.
“It seems that the men of the family always have a way of finding their perfect mate, but it’s never easy.” Cinthia had said, a smile on her face. “It’s all so romantic, don’t you think?”
“I thought things like that only happened in books.” Allison had said, laughing.
You're My Rock (Brothers From Money #4) Page 1