Max (7 Brides for 7 Brothers Book 5)

by Lynn Raye Harris

  She wanted to grab him and refuse to let him go. “If that’s what you feel is best.”

  Because what else was she supposed to say? Please, please, please don’t go? Please stay here and don’t leave me, not yet? But she wouldn’t say any of those things.

  His nod was curt. “I think it might be. Brice Parker isn’t going to be a threat ever again—not after the damage this is going to do to his business—and my skills are needed elsewhere.”

  She knew he was right, but disappointment still seized her. He wanted to leave. After everything. She’d thought—

  Well, it didn’t matter what she’d thought. He’d told her not to expect anything, hadn’t he? He wasn’t any different than Dave. Or her father. Men who hung around while it was convenient for them but then left when they were done. Dave had walked out, leaving her to pick up the pieces and move on. She’d done so during one of the toughest times in her life. Doing so now, compared to then, was going to be a piece of proverbial cake.

  Ellie swung the door open and stepped out. Max just stared at her. She pasted on her best smile. “I hate to see you go, but if you must, then you must. Just let me know where to send the payments, okay? I’ve been sending them to your father’s lawyer, same as always, but if you want them somewhere else, I can do that.”

  His frown was hard. “That’s fine.”

  “Okay. Well, I have work to do now. Will you be leaving today?” She was on autopilot. It was the only explanation for how she could stand there and hold such a civil conversation when her heart was breaking inside. She didn’t know why it hurt so much, but oh my heaven, it most certainly did.

  “Not today, no. I have to make some arrangements first.”

  “If those arrangements are for me, don’t bother. I’m fine. Miguel and Lacey are here, same as always. I’ve appreciated the help, but I can’t afford to pay anyone else anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

  His gaze was impenetrable. Unreadable. “Are you saying you want me to go as soon as possible?”

  “You’ve decided you’re going, so go. Don’t hang around and make me care even more than I already do. I’ve had enough disappointments in my life. I don’t need another one.”

  She slammed the door and hurried into the barn before he could reply, her eyes blurring with tears. She was so angry, damn him. How dare he come here and make her care about him, then decide he’d had enough and it was time to go? He’d come to take her farm away, but even if he wasn’t doing that anymore, she didn’t feel like she’d won a damn thing.

  She felt hollow and empty, like a used-up husk. This moment was supposed to be a triumph—he wasn’t forcing her to sell, and though he hadn’t said it, she was positive he wouldn’t sell it out from under her when September came. But all she could feel was a crushing sense of loneliness. And as if she’d just lost everything that mattered.

  Max called Ian Black and informed him he’d be in country in two days. Then he called and arranged for the dumpster to be picked up. He spent the next few hours unsticking as many windows as he could because he’d told Ellie he would.

  He ignored the pervasive ache in his chest that got worse as the day went on. He couldn’t stop thinking of Ellie’s face this morning when he’d dropped her at the barn. She’d looked tired and lonely and… disappointed. Yeah, that was the word. She looked as if he’d disappointed her, and that bothered him on a deeper level than he’d expected.

  When lunch came, she drove off with Lacey. Max watched Lacey’s Honda roll down the drive, leaving a trail of dust in her wake. Then he went back to what he was doing, which was shoving his clothes into the duffel so he could get in the truck and drive away.

  A distant part of his brain couldn’t quite believe he was doing this. It kept asking him how he’d gotten into this mess and how he’d managed to maneuver himself into such a position that he had to go. Not only go, but go today.

  Goddammit, he didn’t know. One minute, he’d been enjoying Ellie and the temporary life he was leading here on the farm, and the next, he was questioning everything. Why had Dad left him Applegate Farm? Was Colin Brannigan trying to manipulate his sons from beyond the grave?

  Luke, Gabe, Hunter, and Knox were all either married or getting married, and that was not a state of affairs to which Max aspired. He liked Ellie, but dammit, if he stayed here and kept sharing her bed… Well, she’d expect something more eventually, no matter that he’d told her he had nothing to give, and that was not fair to her. She was a good woman, and she didn’t need his brand of insanity in her life. She’d been through too much already.

  They were too different. She knew what her life was supposed to be, where she wanted to be, and what she was doing. Applegate Farm was her life. His life was mud and blood and conflict. Even if he opened his protection firm, he’d still be traveling to hot spots and putting himself in danger on a regular basis.

  That distant part of him asked why he couldn’t open a personal-security firm here in Kentucky. While he’d been here, he’d learned a lot about the area. Lexington was filled with wealthy people who came to buy horses or who lived here and raised racehorses. He’d been told that when the sales happened at Keeneland or the Breeders’ Cup was going on, the number of private jets sitting at the airport rivaled the traffic at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on any given day. Many of them were foreign too.

  And all those people needed some sort of personal-security arrangements. They probably brought security with them—but if they could hire someone in the local area, someone with a firm that had an excellent reputation and the highest recommendations?

  Max shook his head. Personal security for billionaires at the races wasn’t his deal. His skills were more lethal than that, more specialized. He’d miss the excitement of the life he’d built during and after the Navy. He was a former SEAL, not a bodyguard. And yeah, there was a difference even with the high-end protection firm he visualized. He and his people weren’t going to be bodyguards in the conventional sense.

  But what’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with a quieter existence? What’s wrong with life beyond Special Ops?

  Max stiffened as that thought crossed his mind. It’s what Dad wanted for him, not what he wanted. And he wasn’t going to do what Dad wanted just because Dad wanted to manipulate him into it. If his father had been concerned about what Max chose to do with his life, maybe he should have been around more when Max and his brothers were kids.

  He shouldered the duffel and took one last look around. Then he went outside and threw his bag in the truck. Miguel’s truck was at the barn. Max hesitated for a moment, then went down to say good-bye. He found Miguel bringing in a load of shavings for a freshly mucked stall, and his guilty conscience pricked him. Hard.

  Miguel didn’t turn off the tractor, but he did throttle it down to idle speed. His expression wasn’t friendly like it usually was. Still, he stuck his hand out and shook Max’s when Max offered.

  “It was nice to meet you, Max.”

  “You too, Miguel. Thanks for all the help.”

  “Yes.” Miguel started to drive away, then lowered the throttle back to idle. “I think you are different. I meet you and I think, this man, he the one to help Ellie. But now you go, and I think how can I be so wrong.”

  Max put his hands in his jeans pockets. “I’m going to help her, Miguel. But I don’t have to stay to do it. I have my own life— And, well, it’s best I go.”

  “She upset. I can see it.”

  “Brice Parker shot one of her horses. Of course she’s upset.”

  “It’s more than Brice. It’s you. She like you. I thought you like her.”

  Max’s chest ached. “I do like her. But I can’t stay. We’re too different, and I’ll only screw things up if I stay. She needs to concentrate on Champ and the farm. And she deserves a guy who likes all the same things she does.”

  Miguel snorted. “My wife likes knitting. I know nothing of this. I don’t care to know anything. We seem fine in s
pite of my inability to love yarn.”

  “You’re a good guy, Miguel. I won’t forget you.”

  Miguel’s expression fell. “Fine. You go. Maybe you change your mind when you see how much you miss us here.”

  Max grinned. “Maybe I will.”

  He went and got in the truck, letting his gaze slide over the fields and fences one last time. The horses were grazing, the sunlight streaming down on glossy coats, and babies romped in the grass. Thank God Brice Parker wasn’t a great shot. He wouldn’t try again, that’s for sure. His ass was about to be embroiled in litigation for the foreseeable future. Still, Max would put in a call, make sure that Brice knew the consequences of ever attempting to harm Ellie or anyone, person or animal, that she loved ever again.

  Max knew some bad motherfuckers. He had no problem calling in a favor or two if it protected Ellie.

  Max thought of James’s advice to put the farm on the market regardless of what Ellie thought. Of course there’d been no way he would have ever done that.

  But there was something else he could do. He couldn’t stay here with Ellie, couldn’t be what she needed in the long term—but he could do something even better. Something that would ensure her happiness forever.

  18

  Ellie answered her phone when she saw it was Janet calling. She was giving a lesson, but the kid was still saddling the horse, and she had a few moments before she had to instruct. She’d been keeping busy since Max left, but she knew every single moment that had passed between then and now no matter how hard she tried not to think about it. He’d been gone for a week, and she’d heard nothing from him. Not that she’d expected to.

  Still, it didn’t stop her from snatching up her phone the second it buzzed or dinged, hoping it was him.

  Disappointment gnawed at her. “Hi, Janet. What’s up?”

  “Ellie—I need you to come into the office today. Can you do that?”

  Ellie frowned. “I can—but not for another couple of hours. Why?”

  “It’s better if we talk in person.”

  “Does this have anything to do with Brice?” Because, God help her, if he ever showed his ass anywhere near her farm again, she was unloading both barrels on him. He was out on bail, but things were not looking so good for him according to Janet. Unless something had changed, which made Ellie’s insides clench tight.

  “No, it’s not Brice. He’s still in a heap of trouble and keeping himself squeaky clean while his lawyer tries to cop a plea deal with the DA’s office. He will definitely not bother you ever again, especially once he writes a check for damages.”

  “You mean for Lily’s pain and suffering.” Janet had suggested she sue Brice in the first place. She was grateful for it, and she meant to carry on with the suit, if for no other reason than to make sure Brice never messed with her or her loved ones ever again.

  “I know, honey. The law looks at it like damages to property though.”

  Ellie sighed. “Can you give me a hint?”

  “Bring your checkbook.”

  With that cryptic phrase, they ended the call and Ellie gave a lesson. Then she did a few things around the barn before climbing into her truck and driving the short distance into town. Janet was waiting and stood excitedly when her secretary showed Ellie in.

  Ellie couldn’t imagine what was going on as she went over and sat down in front of Janet. Janet took her seat again, opened a folder, and turned it toward Ellie.

  Ellie looked at the contract sitting there and frowned. “What is this?”

  “It’s a contract to sell Applegate Farm. To you, Ellie. The Brannigan lawyers sent it over this morning.”

  Ellie’s breath stopped in her throat. She flipped the pages of the contract to the very end. There was a place for her signature. Max’s signature hadn’t been filled in yet.

  “How much?” She had to force the words out. Her temples throbbed and her heart raced.

  Janet’s smile was positively gleeful. “One dollar.”

  Ellie reared back in her chair as her stomach dropped and her heart soared at the same time. “Did you say… one dollar?”

  Janet nodded. “That’s what I said. Max Brannigan wants to sell Applegate Farm to you for a dollar. All you have to do is write a check and sign the paperwork. He’ll cosign, the deed will be recorded, and you own your farm again, Ellie.”

  If she were a weaker person, she’d be sobbing right now. As it was, she barely prevented it from happening. Her throat hurt and her eyes stung. Max, what have you done?

  “You won’t have to sell Champ if you don’t want to. You won’t have to do anything but build Applegate Farm into the powerhouse it used to be. Ellie, this is good news.”

  “I know it is.” She felt like she was talking around razor blades in her throat.

  “Then why do you look like he sold the farm to someone else? Ellie, this is your dream come true! It’s better than your dream.”

  Possibilities whirled in her head. Applegate Farm, free and clear. Champ wouldn’t need to be sold. He’d stay hers to show and breed. More clients, more horses, more help. A vibrant and self-sustaining working farm. Because they could get there, she knew they could. No, this wasn’t a magic pill—but it was the beginning of everything.

  It was also the end of Max’s dream, at least for the next five years. How could he do it? Why did he do it?

  Ellie sat there, staring at the contract and asking herself a million questions. More than anything, she wanted to know why. She missed him so much that it hurt, but she was working on getting over that.

  And then he went and did this, and her heart cracked wide open again. She loved who he was as a person even while she didn’t understand him. She pressed a hand to her mouth as she took that thought a step further.

  She loved him. She loved Max Brannigan. Somehow, some way, he’d gotten under her skin and she’d fallen for him. She hadn’t meant to, but she had. It was too late to change it.

  But she could change this. She could refuse to accept his gift, because if she took it, if she accepted her dream at the expense of his… Well, what did that say about her? About what kind of person she was?

  She pushed the contract back and stood. “I’m not signing that, Janet.”

  Her friend looked stunned. “What do you mean, you aren’t signing it? It’s everything you wanted, Ellie!”

  She drew herself up, shaking from head to toe, her heart throbbing with love and misery all at once. “No, it’s really not. Tell them no deal. I’ll keep paying the way I always have.”

  Janet was on her feet as Ellie turned to the door. “If you don’t take this deal— Ellie, he can sell the farm in September and you’ll have nothing.”

  Ellie put her hand on the door knob. “I know he can. But he won’t.”

  She left Janet staring at her like she was crazy and went outside to climb into her truck. She had a show to get ready for and no time to worry about the what-ifs.

  Max was pissed. He’d been in Acamar for four days, and now he was on the way out again.

  A week ago he’d driven back to DC, boarded the plane for Acamar, and then spent the next fifteen hours or so brooding about life. He’d sat on the plane missing Ellie and the horses—missing horses?—for hours. He’d thought of everything they’d said and done together, and then he’d thought of everything they’d said to each other that final time. She’d had those two splotches of color in her cheeks as she’d told him he needed to go if he was going, and he’d stubbornly done just that.

  Before he’d gone, however, he’d made the decision to return the farm to her. The contract his father had left stipulated that the price at which he sold it to her, if he sold it to her, was up to him. So he sold it for a dollar. Trent Harper, his dad’s attorney, had nearly gone apeshit. Max hated to think what James would have said, so he didn’t call his eldest brother at all.

  In fact, he’d called no one other than Trent when he’d decided to do it. It was between him and Ellie. He didn’t want her to w
orry anymore, and he didn’t want her to have to sell Champ to the highest bidder. He’d seen how much she loved her horses. If he hadn’t known it before, the way she’d gone all momma bear over Lily would have told him that. She cared about their welfare, and if she were forced to hand Champ over to the highest bidder to keep her farm going… Well, who knows what kind of a person he could end up with?

  Yeah, you’d think someone who paid a lot of money for a horse would take care of it—but would he be loved and pampered the way he was at Applegate Farm? Those were the kinds of things Ellie would worry about, no doubt.

  So Max had gotten to Acamar and gone to work. He knew it would take time for the contract to be drawn up, but he’d had no doubt she’d sign it. He’d been embedded with a unit deep in the desert when he’d gotten a call from Ian Black. He had a special cell phone for the mission, not his personal one, so Ian was the only one who could call.

  “Your attorney keeps calling me and won’t let up. He says, and I quote, ‘She didn’t take the deal. Please advise.’”

  Max had spent about six hours telling himself it didn’t matter before he called Ian back and said he had to get back to the States. There’d been little action in Acamar, and they were basically sitting around with their thumbs up their asses anyway. The action they’d expected hadn’t happened. Not that it wouldn’t, but so far it was a lot of sitting and waiting. And thinking, because Max couldn’t stop thinking if he wasn’t immediately fighting for his life or rescuing hostages.

  “I suspected that. You didn’t seem to have your heart in it this time anyway.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that I know when an operator is in it for the love of what he’s doing, or for the adrenaline rush, or even just the money. And I know when he’s not. Whatever your reasons before, they aren’t there right now.”

  No, they weren’t. He didn’t know what the hell was happening to him, but right now all he could think about was Ellie and why she didn’t take his gift to her. What the fuck was she thinking?