“I’m going to offer him his old job,” she said. It made Darling happy and sad at the same time. She wanted to be greedy. She wanted to keep Oliver in Mulligan, to stay with him and live out the rest of their lives together. But she also wanted him to be happy. Orion was a big part of that. “However, I have a feeling he won’t take it.”
Darling raised her eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t he?”
“Have you tasted this coffee?” Nikki shook her cup. “I wouldn’t want to leave this place, either.”
“The coffee is good but not that good.”
“Something tells me Oliver feels differently.” She paused, letting her double meaning sink in. Darling didn’t want to smile, but she couldn’t stop it. “On a completely unrelated note, since there is no issue with Nigel paying Orion for its services, we now have enough money to start expanding.”
“That’s great!” Darling was glad something good had come from everything that had happened.
“I’m thinking of creating a new analyst division. One that would cover finding and assessing threats, and building strategies for the more complicated cases. I wouldn’t start it right away, but I do think creating a freelance position now would only help Orion in the long run. So whoever took the job could work from home. Wherever that might be.” She winked at Darling. “It would only make sense that that someone would need to have a thorough knowledge of the group as well as an unwavering loyalty...”
“You know, I think I might know someone who fits that description,” Darling said, already picturing a certain bodyguard wrapped up in winter clothes, grumpy at the Maine temperature. The thought warmed her heart. “But don’t get your hopes up,” she said more to herself than Nikki. “This person might be fine staying with his old job.”
Nikki took a long pull from her coffee and smirked.
“I think we both know that isn’t true.”
* * *
“I CAN’T BELIEVE you crashed your rental.”
Orion Zeta team lead Jonathan Carmichael, Oliver’s closest friend, was shaking his head at Oliver. It had been a week since his surgery, and he was finally being okayed to leave the hospital. Oliver had been surprised when Jonathan had shown up instead of a certain private investigator to give him a ride. Though he wasn’t going to question his friend. He knew the man had been worried.
They all had, including Oliver.
“I’m telling you, it wasn’t my fault,” he said. “There should be a clause in those contracts that says if a crazed idiot is trying to kill you by using a stolen car, then the rental place can’t get mad at the renter.”
Jonathan laughed and helped Oliver into the car. Although no long-lasting damage had been done by Jace’s bullet, Oliver was still mighty sore.
“Nikki said the cops thought you had killed that idiot and left him on the side of the road,” Jonathan said as he got behind the wheel.
Oliver smiled. It wasn’t sweet.
“After what he had done to Darling, I would rather he rot in jail for years and years to come.” George had been released two days before with a straight shot to jail. Jace Marks was right behind him. After Jace had awoken in the hospital, he had cracked under Chief Sanderson and Deputy Derrick’s unrelenting questioning. Jace had admitted to murdering his half-sister as punishment for his father after convincing his old friend George to help. The two of them had tried to pin the murder on Nigel but hadn’t expected the millionaire to have such a great alibi. Then, when Darling started to figure out Jean Watford’s connection—which would have shown Jace had a great motive to kill her—they had panicked. George had jumped the gun and, instead of dropping Darling off next to Jean’s car with evidence showing Nigel was lying, he had tried to kill her through exposure. It had just been a happy accident the private investigator had found the car. Another accident that ended up benefiting them was Jace’s knowledge of CFO Lamar Bennington’s and executive assistant Robert Jensen’s drug addictions. Framing them was easy, especially when both businessmen were picked up under the influence of narcotics.
Now Jace and George were going away for a long, long time.
Nothing made Oliver happier.
Well, almost nothing.
“I still can’t believe that girl of yours tackled a killer to keep him from getting to you after she shot him,” Jonathan observed. “Sounds like you got a good partner in crime there.”
“I can’t complain,” Oliver responded with a smile. Right before passing out in the Slate House, what he thought would be the last thing he ever heard had been Darling saying she loved him. He had been ready to die happy at those three little words.
However, now that he wasn’t on his death bed, he was ready to make those words into something much more.
* * *
FOR THE FIRST time since Elizabeth had hired her, Darling had no trouble walking up to the front door of the Markses’ Mulligan home. Since George was no longer on the payroll, and Grant and Thomas were still doing their Orion bodyguard duty until the end of the month, the front gate was left open, and the gatehouse was kept dark. All it took was one knock on the heavy front door and a smile to be welcomed inside the mansion.
“Which Marks invited you?” Thomas greeted her. He had met Darling while Oliver slept in the hospital. Both he and Grant had made sure to check that their former partner was okay.
“Elizabeth, but I’d like to talk to Nigel for a quick second if that’s okay.”
Thomas and Grant hadn’t hidden their new respect and appreciation for Darling keeping their friend alive when she’d talked with them in the hospital. Thomas wasn’t hiding it here, either. Without a question he led her to the second-floor office and through its open door.
“Sir, Darling Smith would like a moment,” he said to the millionaire. His tone had gone almost stern, as if warning Nigel that declining her presence wasn’t a good idea.
Nigel looked up from the papers on his desk and nodded. Darling bet the man hadn’t slept well in days. Everything about him sagged. Only his eyes remained strong, no doubt holding the confidence he had garnered over a lifetime of experience.
“Thank you, Thomas,” he said. The bodyguard left but didn’t go far, standing on the other side of the open door. Darling wasn’t afraid of any more attacks, but she was grateful for the watchful eye. “I’m sorry it’s taken so long for us to meet, Ms. Smith. Life has been...” He ran his hand through his hair and let out a long sigh.
“I hadn’t expected you to want to meet with me in the first place,” she said honestly. From the brief phone conversation she had had with Elizabeth earlier that day, she knew the millionaire’s wife had admitted to her husband that she had hired Darling to prove his infidelity. Beyond that, Darling didn’t know where that left the couple. What was more, if Darling hadn’t kept digging, his son wouldn’t be in jail.
“I admit, at first I was angry, but then I realized it was at myself,” he said, guilt ringing clear in his words. “I could list the things I should have done differently in my life, but there’s no point now. My son killed my daughter, and the simple truth of it all is that it was because of me.”
“When did you find out about Jean, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“A year ago she approached me at a business convention in Miami. Her mother was a good friend of mine in college. Our paths crossed one night while she was on business. It was only a one-time thing, though I know that doesn’t make it right—I was with Elizabeth—but I didn’t see her again after that. She passed away a few years ago, and Jean decided to start looking for me. Her mother never told her who I was, and she certainly never told me who Jean was.” His brow furrowed. “I would have been there for her growing up if she had.” Darling had just met the man, but she felt in her heart he was telling the truth. Finding out he had a daughter had seemed to soften a big part of him. “When we met, I thought maybe she
only wanted money, but the more time I spent with her, I realized she just wanted family.”
“You tried to set her up with a job in Charisma?”
He nodded. “Her mother was sick for a while, and that drained almost all the money they had. Jean dropped out of school to take care of her but couldn’t afford to go back. She was smart—very smart—and I told her that if she did well at her job, after a year the company would pay for her to get a degree. It was the only way she’d let me help. A lot of good it did in the end.” Nigel averted his gaze, and Darling pretended not to notice his eyes rimmed with red. He was a strong man but, like everyone else, had a breaking point.
Darling cleared her throat. “I should go talk to Elizabeth now, but I wanted to stop by and give you this.” She handed him the folder she had been carrying and stood. “I did a little more digging the past few days and found something that you should know about.” Confused, Nigel held up the picture of a little girl that was attached to the file. “Her name is Isabella, she’s five and I’ve been told she is a ball of energy.” Darling smiled. “She’s your granddaughter.”
Nigel’s mouth opened to say something but words never formed. He looked back at the picture of the red-haired girl.
“But Jean never said...”
“According to Jean’s best friend—who is taking care of Isabella right now—Jean was going to use this trip to tell you about her. She wanted to get to know you a bit before she included her. Just in case.”
“She looks just like Jean,” he whispered. Nigel’s reddened eyes were now shining.
“I can’t stand here and tell you that everything is going to be okay. That the little girl’s existence is going to help make everything that has happened better,” Darling said. “But maybe someday it will help.”
Darling left Nigel with his new revelation without another word. There wasn’t anything more to say.
* * *
LESS THAN AN hour later, Darling walked into Acuity in a much better mood. It only intensified when she saw Oliver lounging on the lobby’s couch. She hadn’t seen him since the night before, having visited him every day since he had been admitted. Though they had talked, neither had brought up the topic of their future.
“Well, don’t you look better,” Darling said as she sat down next to him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t the one to pick you up, but Jonathan insisted he could handle you.”
Oliver laughed. “That’s funny, because he insisted that I couldn’t handle you,” he said. “He told me any woman with that much fire would just burn me up.”
Darling smirked. “That doesn’t sound too unpleasant, if you ask me.”
Oliver’s eyes widened. His smile grew.
“So, how did your meeting with Elizabeth go?” he asked, slightly defusing an escalating moment. A part of her didn’t want to answer. Telling him about the last interaction she’d had with Elizabeth in a professional capacity, officially ending her case with the woman, cut the last thread that had in some way attached them while Oliver was in Mulligan. She wouldn’t need his help anymore. There would be no shoptalk left to hide behind to avoid talking about their future.
“Surprisingly well,” she said almost reluctantly. “She started by telling me she didn’t blame me for what happened to Jace. She understood he needed to be punished for what he’d done. Though you could tell she was hurt by it all. Who wouldn’t be? She also paid me because, in the end, I proved that Nigel had an affair and I discovered the identity of Jane Doe.” Darling left out the part where she had refused Elizabeth’s money the first two times it had been offered.
“Is she going to file for divorce?”
Darling shrugged. “She wasn’t too clear about that, and I certainly didn’t push it. If she does decide to do it, I don’t think it’ll be for a while. They have a lot to talk about.” Elizabeth had been upset—obviously—at what had happened but, as with her husband, there was strength holding her up. Darling was confident that no matter what happened in the future, Elizabeth Marks would be fine.
“So, it’s all done, then?”
Darling didn’t want to, but she nodded. Fear that she had misjudged their reconnection filled her. But it was only fear that he didn’t feel the same.
Darling knew without a doubt that she loved Oliver. She hadn’t stopped loving him, no matter how many years had gone by.
“Well, I guess it’s time to get to work, then.” He got up from the couch and walked to the lobby’s lone desk.
Darling looked on, confused. “Work?”
Oliver grinned. “You’re looking at Orion’s first freelance strategy-and-threat analyst,” he paused. “Well, I don’t know if that’s my official title, and technically it won’t be live for a few weeks, but I figured I’d go ahead and check out the available office.” He made a show of inspecting the desk.
Darling’s heart filled with happiness.
“You’re staying?” She stood, unable to contain the mounting joy.
Oliver’s grin widened.
“Why would I leave?” He closed the space between them. Taking her chin in his hand, he tilted her head up so their eyes met. “Unless that’s a problem.”
“Not on my end,” she whispered.
“Good, because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than by your side.”
Before Oliver had a chance to say any more, Darling pressed her lips against his.
In that one moment, all of the pain from their past turned into beautiful hope for their future.
* * * * *
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WHAT
HAPPENS
ON THE RANCH
USA TODAY Bestselling Author
Delores Fossen
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter One
ANNA MCCORD FIGURED she had committed a couple of sins, maybe even broken a few laws, just by looking at the guy in the bed. He was naked, so it was hard not to have dirty thoughts about him.
Drool, too.
Mercy, he was hot.
Thick blond hair all tousled and bedroomy. Lean and muscled. At least what she could see of him was muscled anyway. He was sprawled out on his stomach, his face cocooned in the fluffy feather pillows of the guest bed. He reminded her of a Viking just back from a good pillaging, minus the bed and feather pillows, of course.
But who was he?
Even though she should have bolted out of there the moment she opened the guest room door and saw a partially exposed butt cheek, Anna stayed put. Someone had obviously glued her feet to the floor. Glued her eyeballs to the hot guy, too.
She glanced around the room and spotted a clue as to who he was. There was a military uniform draped over the back of a chair and a duffel bag on the floor near the bed.
Anna didn’t actually need more clues to know he was an Air Force officer and likely a friend that her brother Riley had brought home. But she also saw the dog tags. The ball chain holding them was still around the hot guy’s neck, but the tags themselves were lying askew on the bed like smashed nickels.
Maybe he sensed she was there, because he opened an eye, and the seconds trickled by before it must have registered in his mind that he had a woman ogling him.
; He made a grunting sound mixed with some profanity and rolled over, no doubt because that was the fastest way he could reach the sheet to cover himself. However, the rolling over gave her a view of his front side.
Definitely more dirty thoughts.
“Sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here,” Anna said, as if that explained the gawking. The drool. The long, heated look that she was giving him.
But both the heated stuff and the drool came to a quick halt when Anna got a better look at his face. “Heath?”
He blinked. “Anna?”
Good gravy. It was Heath Moore, all right. Well, a grown-up Heath anyway. The last time she’d seen him had been nine and a half years ago when he was barely eighteen, but he had filled out a lot since then.
Oh, the memories she had of him came flooding back.
He’d been naked then, too—for part of those memories anyway, since she’d lost her virginity to him. Though she certainly hadn’t seen as much of him during that encounter in the hayloft as she’d just witnessed. He had filled out everywhere.
He sat up, dragging the sheet over his filled-out parts, and still blinking, he yawned and scrubbed his hand over his face. More memories came. Of his memorable mouth. The equally memorable way he’d kissed her.
She fanned herself like a menopausal woman with hot flashes.
“Why are you here?” she asked at the same moment that Heath asked, “Why are you here?”
Anna figured he was going to have a lot better explanation than she did. “I thought I might have left a book in here,” she told him.
A total lie. She had been in search of a book that the housekeeper, Della, had said she’d left in her room on the nightstand. But when Anna had seen the guest room door slightly ajar, she’d opened it and had a look.
She made a show of glancing around for a book that had zero chance of being there since it was all the way at the end of the hall.
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