Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
About the Author
Western Romance from Dreamspinner Press
Copyright
Published by
Dreamspinner Press
4760 Preston Road
Suite 244-149
Frisco, TX 75034
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Signed & Sealed
Copyright © 2011 by B.A. Stretke
Cover Art by Paul Richmond http://www.paulrichmondstudio.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 4760 Preston Road, Suite 244-149, Frisco, TX 75034
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/
ISBN: 978-1-61581-931-7
Printed in the United States of America
First Edition
July 2011
eBook edition available
eBook ISBN: 978-1-61581-932-4
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this work to my mother Susan, my surrogate mother Lourdes, and dear friend Pat Marchand. Without you, none of this would be possible.
Chapter One
“William Drake?” the harsh tone of a man’s voice asked.
“Yes,” Will answered cautiously.
“Are you Katrina Drake’s brother?”
The question startled him. “Is she okay? Is there something wrong? Has she been hurt?” As much as he disliked and distrusted his sister, he couldn’t handle hearing that she had been hurt or worse.
“She’s fine,” the man cut in quickly and not too gently. “Are you aware that she plans to marry Martin Hunter?” The man sounded very upset, but Will didn’t have a clue as to why.
“No, I haven’t spoken with my sister in quite some time,” Will said cautiously. “What does it have to do with you? Who are you?”
“She doesn’t know who she’s dealing with,” he said sharply. “If she thinks she can carry out this blackmail, then she’d better think again.” He was serious and angry. His voice had taken on a deep, threatening aspect.
“What are you talking about? What blackmail? What is she doing?” Will scrambled for clarification.
“Oh, don’t be coy with me, Mr. Drake. Katrina said that it was all your idea!” He was yelling now.
“My idea?” he yelled back. He was not going to be brought into this. Whatever his sister was up to had absolutely nothing to do with him. “I haven’t spoken to my sister in almost two years. After our parents died, we went our separate ways. So don’t you dare try to make me a party to this… whatever it is! If you have a problem with Katrina, then I suggest you take it up with her.” He was furious now. This man had no right to be shouting at him.
“You, my dear, had better speak with her before she does get hurt. She will marry Martin over my dead body.”
Will tried to lighten his attack but found it impossible. He felt that this man might be telling the truth, but that didn’t lessen his desire to have him take responsibility for the situation and therefore resolve it. “I don’t know what your problem is, and I don’t really care.”
With that, Will slammed the receiver down. How dare he speak to him like that? Will had nothing to do with it. The man had left him angry and upset but also cautiously curious as to what Katrina had been up to. He didn’t sound like someone Will would want to have as an enemy. I wouldn’t want to be in Katrina’s shoes right now, he thought. Apparently, the man wasn’t happy about Katrina’s impending wedding. But what is it to me? he wondered. He found that he was still staring at the phone long after he’d hung up. It didn’t matter; it was not his affair. Katrina was a big girl, and she was well able to take care of herself. “It isn’t my place to save her,” he thought out loud. “Katrina has survived for the last two years without my involvement in her life and she can continue to do so.”
William walked out onto the beach with his dog, Todd, a beautiful but intellectually challenged Labrador retriever. He needed to get some air after the upset of that phone call. He had no idea who the man even was, and yet, he left an impression that was hard to shake.
It was the threat in his tone that had put Will on edge. Rarely did anyone speak in a manner that left you knowing without a doubt that they were serious and capable of carrying out exactly what they said. This man, Will knew even without seeing, was serious and capable. How did he get my phone number? Why is he pulling me into this? Why did he call, and what does he expect from me? These thoughts ran through his mind as he watched a freighter out in the distance. “Katrina is not my responsibility,” he said out loud. “Her business is her own, and so are her enemies.”
He decided to stop thinking about Katrina and the man on the phone, and with a sigh of resolve looked out across the large expanse of Lake Superior. Standing there, surveying his life, he realized he had a comfortable existence. At age twenty-four, he owned his own home and seven wooded acres at Whitefish Point, not far from Lake Superior.
Will had lived on his own since graduating from high school. He’d decided that the University of Michigan was the best school for him, and so lived in a dorm room for the four years it took him to complete his degree in accounting. It was a decision that had haunted him ever since the car accident that took the life of his parents. Perhaps if he had stayed closer to home in East Lansing, he would have had more time to spend with them, but those were thoughts that inevitably lead to depression, so he pushed them aside. No one could recreate their past, so going forward was a person’s only option.
Will was left with only this piece of property from his parents’ estate. They had used it as a vacation getaway. Will would often escape to Whitefish Point and spend weekends and holidays here alone, which brought back depressing memories of time away from his parents, so again he pushed them away. Will considered himself an expert on pushing away anything that was uncomfortable or painful to think about. There were days when he had to nearly shut down emotionally in order to function; guilt and bitterness could be very crippling.
The rest of the estate, in its entirety, went to his younger sister, Katrina. She had inherited more than one million dollars along with all the other property. At the time, the obvious slight had made it tense and unsettling, but over the past two years, he had tried to understand his parents’ reasoning. His parents never fully accepted his sexuality and therefore chose Katrina over him. Will and his sister were never close, so after the funeral, they parted ways and hadn’t seen or spoken to each other since.
As he entered the back door, the telephone began to ring.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Will!” To his shocked surprise came the shrill tones of his sister, Katrina. “Guess what?”
“What?” he answered, his voice sounding dry and wary.
“I’m getting married!” she squealed.
“Married?” Will sat down. “To whom?” He decided to play dumb and see what Katrina would tell
him.
“Oh, Will, you’re not going to believe this.”
“Oh, I would believe almost anything where you are concerned,” Will cut in.
Hearing from Katrina after all this time and after all of their bitter fights, it just didn’t make much sense. Katrina was after something. She was never this nice unless she had to be.
“He’s rich.” Katrina began to squeal again and giggle uncontrollably.
“Who is he?” Obvious question since Will believed he already knew his name.
“His name is Martin Hunter. He owns a huge ranch here in Montana. He has horses, cattle, sheep, and a string of businesses. He’s the wealthiest man I’ve ever known. We’re talking millions here, Will. Millions!” She screamed so loud that Will had to take the receiver away from his ear.
“I’m very happy for you,” he responded curtly. “Do you really need millions? I thought Mother and Father had left you plenty of money.” His bitterness was evident, but Katrina chose to ignore it.
“You can never have enough money,” Katrina stated coldly. “The reason I’m calling,” she added—Time to cut to the chase, Will thought bitterly—“is I’d like to have you at the wedding.” Silence ensued as Will tried to figure out why Katrina wanted him there. It wasn’t sibling love, he knew that for certain. He figured it had to have something to do with that angry man who called earlier. Will wanted to ask questions but really didn’t want to get any more involved than he already was.
“What’s the use of marrying a millionaire if you can’t show off to someone,” Katrina said, and Will started to laugh. Now that sounded more like the sister he knew and loathed.
“That’s a valid concern,” Will said sarcastically. “If one is going to the trouble of marrying someone for strictly monetary reasons, then they should have their friends and family close at hand to witness the event.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Katrina whined. “I just want you here. You’re the only family I have.”
“Okay, sure,” Will said. “I’ll try to be there.” He had no intention whatsoever of attending that wedding. If Katrina was trying to blackmail some Montana rancher, there was no telling what would happen. Those people had the tendency to settle disputes the old-fashioned way: with fists and firearms.
“Thank you.” Katrina’s tone had softened considerably. “I’ll call you and let you know the exact date on Friday.” It might as well be the twelfth of never, Will thought, because I won’t be there.
Will had just gotten home from work on the following day and was about to relax in front of the television, when his telephone started ringing. He never received this many calls, so he assumed it must be Katrina calling with the date of her wedding.
“Will?” It sounded like Katrina, but she sounded very different.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, although he was pretty sure he already knew.
“I’ve changed my mind, I don’t want to marry Martin Hunter,” Katrina blurted.
“Okay,” Will said and waited for her to continue. There were things he would like to have asked, but he decided that, for the sake of his own sanity, he really didn’t want to go there.
“Will, I need your help.” Katrina’s voice picked up a grave seriousness that grabbed Will’s attention. “They won’t let me go.”
“Who won’t?” He knew better than to get involved, but there was something about that man on the phone that he couldn’t get out of his mind. He was so furious at Will and Katrina. Could he possibly be carrying out some of the threats he had made on the phone? Will really didn’t want to be a part of any of this, but he also couldn’t just stand by and let Katrina be hurt or mistreated. Katrina was an awful person, self-centered and shallow, but the way that man exploded during their conversation, Will was naturally concerned as to how severe his retribution would be. He held very little regard for Katrina, but she was his little sister, and he couldn’t turn his back on her if she were truly in danger.
“Elijah Hunter won’t let me out of the contract I signed.”
“You signed a contract?” Will asked in disbelief. He couldn’t believe that Katrina would be that stupid.
“I have to marry Martin Hunter or pay them $500,000 for breach of contract.” Her voice quivered slightly as she finished.
“Who is Elijah Hunter?”
“Elijah is Martin’s older brother.” Will was fairly sure that he now knew the identity of the irate caller.
“Why don’t you want to marry Martin? I thought he was the catch of a lifetime. What changed your mind?” Will asked, confused. Yesterday, Katrina was practically squealing with excitement over her pending marriage.
“He’s not a millionaire. He’s wealthy but not as wealthy as I thought. All the money, the ranch, everything belongs to his brother. He just works for him, basically.” She sounded disappointed. “I’m not interested in a ranch hand. I will not marry a simple laborer,” she stated emphatically.
Will brought her back to the point of her call. “You said you needed my help. What is it you want me to do for you? You got the entire estate, remember? I hope you’re not asking me for a loan, because I don’t have it.”
“I need you to come here and talk to Elijah. You’re intelligent and levelheaded, he’ll talk to you.” She was whining again.
“I think I already had a talk with Elijah,” Will explained. “He called here yesterday. He blamed me for your behavior.” He paused, hoping that Katrina would admit to implicating him, but that was way too much to hope for. “I doubt that he would be interested in anything I have to say on the subject.”
“I know he called you,” Katrina stated. “He said that if I could convince you to come here, he would consider letting me out of the contract.”
“He told me that you would marry Martin over his dead body. So why is he now holding you to a contract that forces you to marry him? I don’t get it. This isn’t making any sense.” Will immediately sensed big trouble. “Mr. Hunter said that you were blackmailing them, is that true?”
“Sort of, I guess,” she hedged. “He wasn’t going to propose, even though I’d given him everything, if you know what I mean. He wasn’t going to marry me. So I pretended to be pregnant. That’s all I did.” She was minimizing, of course, but was sure she’d included enough of the truth to be believed. Martin wasn’t the first man she’d given everything to, but he was the first millionaire she’d been with. Or at least she thought he was a millionaire when she slept with him. As it turned out, she should have gone after Elijah and not his brother, but who knew?
“I can’t believe that old pregnancy ploy is still being used. I thought you considered yourself a modern woman?” Will was appalled, but didn’t want it to show.
“Don’t be sarcastic with me. I need your help, Will.”
“Why does he want me to go there? Does he still believe I’m involved?” He paused and then added, “Does he still think this was all my idea?”
“He wants to have it out with you in person, I guess. I don’t know what he will do to me if you don’t come.” Katrina tried to be as pathetic as possible, saying Elijah had been adamant that she get her brother there or else. “Please, Will, do this for me. I need your help.”
Will relented. “I’ll see what I can do.” He hung up, wondering what on earth he was getting himself into as he went to bed.
Elijah’s obviously still blaming me for her stunt, he thought, as he lay in bed unable to sleep. If I go there and speak to him about it, he might let her out of the contract, or he might call the authorities and have us both hauled away in handcuffs. It definitely felt like a very bad idea, but he couldn’t just leave her there. She really sounded scared this time, and Katrina didn’t scare easily. If it got Katrina off his back and out of his life once and for all, then it might well be worth the trip. He laughed out loud at himself, and Todd jumped.
He patted his head. “It’s okay, boy, go back to sleep. I’m just losing my mind.”
“Katrina a
lways gets what she wants,” he muttered and fell into a restless sleep.
It was early morning when Will boarded the small plane in Billings that would take him to a remote airfield near the Hunter estate. There were only five people on board: three older women together, an older man by himself, and a young man, also alone. The older gentleman seated across from him attempted to engage him in conversation almost immediately after they boarded the plane.
“Where you headed?” he asked.
“To visit my sister.” Will didn’t maintain eye contact and hoped the man wouldn’t pursue it any further. He wasn’t in the mood to discuss this matter with a planeload of strangers. But, unfortunately, that wasn’t meant to be.
“She lives pretty far off the beaten track, doesn’t she?” The man smiled as he continued his idle questioning.
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