Morrow's Horizon (The Morrow Women Series Book 1)

by Sierra Kummings

  “Well, listen to you, Ms. Porn Star. Four weeks ago, your life was more G-rated than a Mr. Rogers episode.”

  “Oh, shut up. You’re the slut.”

  “You’ve got it bad if that’s the best you can come up with.”

  Good God, yes, she did. She had it bad in the worst way.

  Sara blurted out, “I think I love the man. Sage, what am I going to do?”

  “Are you happy?”

  “More than I’ve ever been.” More than she’d ever imagined being.

  “Then enjoy it. You deserve it.” Sage ruined her serious tone with a cackle, crudely suggesting, “Or, you know, you could send him and his dick my way.”

  “Don’t you wish!” Sara might share most anything with her sisters, but Jacob was all hers. Sara ended the call, then checked her appearance one last time. And then once more for good measure. The third trip convinced her to give up and focus on packing.

  It didn’t take long for her mind to start worrying again.

  Love? Was she ready for all that?

  A knock at the door saved her from having to figure it out.

  Sara rushed to answer it, thankful for the interruption until she threw it open. The woman waiting on the other side made Bel look like a five. On the worse of days, that would be a difficult accomplishment, yet the woman standing in front of Sara made her appearance today look effortless. Sara resisted the urge to fuss with the pleats on her sundress. Barely. “Can I help you?”

  “I’m not sure. You’re not who I was expecting. Sorry, I didn’t realize housekeeping was here.”

  “I’m not housekeeping. I, uh, think you have the wrong room, ma’am.” Jeez! What was wrong with her? Sara had learned to talk before she’d turned one. Why was she bumbling now in front of a stranger?

  “This isn’t Jacob Ramírez’s suite?” The woman glanced at the placard on the wall next to the door, then back at Sara. “This is the same room he always gets when he visits. Surely this can’t be the wrong one.”

  “No, you’re right. Jacob is staying here.” Sara bit back the ‘with me’ that she wanted to shout at Jacob’s visitor and finished instead with, “But he’s at a meeting right now, so…” Would it be rude to say, ‘get the hell out’?

  “Huh. That’s strange. He was supposed to be meeting with me. Since I got tied up, I figured I’d stop by to see him.”

  Jacob’s meeting had been with a woman? This woman? The woman who currently put Sara to shame simply by existing?

  Sara glanced at Jacob’s visitor more curiously. The woman with perfectly coiffed hair was trying too hard to convince her. Most people left as soon as they found out the person they’d come to see wasn’t available, yet this chick acted like she’d stay until or unless Sara slammed the door in her face.

  Despite her bout of self-consciousness, Sara didn’t believe the claim. After their night, if Jacob had suddenly found himself with free time, he would have come back to spend it with her.

  Something didn’t add up and it had nothing to do with the way Jacob’s uninvited guest eyed her up and down with unconcealed loathing. Sara found her self-confidence again and her voice came out strong when she said, “I think you’re mistaken. This isn’t Jacob Ramírez’s room, it’s our room, and he’s been at his meeting for hours now.”

  “I’m not mistaken. You misunderstood, sweetie.” A smile faker than Pamela Anderson’s breasts flashed before the woman graced the top of Sara’s fingers with an outstretched hand in her apparent version of a handshake. “He’s meeting with my father first, of course. To finalize our wedding arrangements.”

  This had to be the ex Jacob had told Sara about two nights ago. Elise? Sara’s suspicion led her to say, “I don’t know who your father is, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that Jacob is doing no such thing. He told me about your attempt at trapping him into marriage. Seeing as how I’m the one here in his hotel suite instead of you, I think it’s a fair assumption that we both know how well that worked out.”

  “Oh, you poor thing. You have no idea how our world does things, do you?”

  The sheer audacity of the woman would have caused Sara to laugh all on its own, but mixed in with the haughty delivery, Sara’s amusement bubbled up to an uncontrollable level. She didn’t just chuckle, she laughed, and laughed, and damn near fell over from the effort. Jacob might come from money, but the idea that he would tolerate being used just because that’s the way their world did things was so far removed from the reality that was Jacob, how could she not laugh?

  Once she composed herself, she swiped the mirth from her eyes and straightened to her full height.

  “Are you finished?” Disdain at Sara’s outburst came off Elise in waves.

  Sara didn’t give a good goddamn. She looked the woman square in the eye and said, “You don’t know Jacob very well if you actually believe the lies you just tried to sell me.”

  Elise, every bit as sure as Sara, retorted, “You don’t know Jacob well if you don’t know he wants out of the family business. His loyalty never allowed him to leave until now. The deal’s done. Daddy’s buying the bank, and Jacob’s marrying me.”

  What? All traces of humor left Sara.

  If Jacob had never mentioned, even briefly like he had, that he wanted to do more of the kind of work they’d done for the Gallos, Sara would have dismissed Elise and her crazy claim like she had the first time, but how would the woman have known he wanted out of the family business if she hadn’t talked to him recently? He’d acted like he’d just figured it out himself a short time ago.

  Elise pushed her way into the room, and Chanel °5 trailed after her on her uninvited glide to the sitting area.

  Yeah, she’d actually glided. “Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, but whatever it is, you’re failing at it. Why don’t you take your dignity and leave?”

  “Are you sure you want me to before I show you proof?”

  “I’m sure.” What kind of proof could she have for her fictional lies, anyway? “But I will tell Jacob you stopped by.” And no doubt they’d both laugh at the woman’s audacity.

  “You don’t get it yet, do you? Here, let me make it easy for you. Did Jacob disappear a few weeks ago and not tell you where he’d gone either before he left or after he’d returned?”

  Sure he had, the day after their first night together when he’d run away scared because she’d seen his flashback. But that didn’t mean anything.

  “Seeing as how you two are so close, I would’ve thought he’d tell you about the wedding of the son of one of his men. Or maybe he didn’t tell you because he’d invited me. Want to see a picture of us? His friends were kind enough to send it to me.” The woman pulled up a photo on her phone, all too happily holding it out for Sara to see.

  “This proves nothing. This photo could have been taken last year for all I know.” Yet it did hurt that he’d yet to share anything about his time in the Marines with her. Sara had assumed he didn’t talk about it with anyone.

  She’d assumed wrong.

  “I thought you might say that. But the internet is a wonderful thing, is it not?”

  A few taps of Elise’s fingertip brought up a wedding announcement from a newspaper in Iowa dated two weeks ago and featuring a picture of the same couple. Elise switched back to the previous photo no doubt to ensure Sara didn’t miss that fact.

  Sara shook her head in denial, but remembrances of how they’d met flooded her with uncertainty. He’d hit on her while he’d been dating Elise, he’d had an encounter with a woman at a bonfire during a time he’d sworn he’d only been thinking about her, and he’d gone on a trip with his ex the day after he’d slept with her. Sure, he’d had plausible excuses for each one, but didn’t every cheater? Wasn’t that how they got away with their behavior for years right under their unsuspecting lover’s noses?

  Proof lay right in front of her. In the photograph, Jacob stood in his dress whites with a smile on his face and that woman on his arm.

  A d
ifferent kind of smile distorted the woman’s features now, so malicious Sara pictured mutilated puppies in Elise’s wake. “Go. Please.”

  “Fine. But do tell Jacob I’ll be by later so he and I can go shopping for a proper engagement ring. I can’t have people thinking we’re not legitimate.”

  Heaven forbid anyone think that.

  Tears wet Sara’s cheeks as the woman sashayed out of the room, crushing Sara’s dreams in the process.

  36

  Jacob stepped on the gas, speeding away from the exclusive country club in his rental car. Damn Sorenson for making them meet in person, especially for an offer as ridiculous as selling BCF outright. He’d mentioned some plan he’d been working on to buy out Mrs. Everett’s shares, saying that’s why he’d agreed with Elise when she’d said she wanted to marry Jacob. He’d had no knowledge of her scheme, according to him, but what did it all matter now? His father wouldn’t sell even if Jacob wanted to.

  Before he’d left the country club, Jacob had asked him what interest BCF held for him in the first place. They were small news compared to some of Sorenson’s other corporations. If he wanted to branch out into banking, there were far more lucrative organizations than BCF. The man had given a self-assured smile and said, “I can get BCF and another bank like it for pennies on the dollar, instead of the fortune I’d have to pay for a bigger bank. Why wouldn’t I?”

  Jacob had to give the man credit. It was a good play if one had the capital, which he did, but it took a lot of audacity to make it. Even if it came with an above-market purchase offer like the one Sorenson proposed.

  Though Jacob had turned the man down without hesitation, damn if he hadn’t found himself actually wanting to consider it. The pull to do something else, something that gave him purpose again, had been a strong force to ignore.

  Jacob swung into the wide arched driveway of the hotel and pulled up to the curb. At least the entire trip hadn’t been wasted. Last night with Sara had been amazing. Tonight, he’d tell her everything he hadn’t been able to then.

  He stepped from the rental car, so lost in thought that he almost missed the familiar platinum blonde woman wiggling her fingers toward him in a flirty wave. Hijo de puta. Hadn’t he put up with enough bullshit for one day?

  Jacob handed his keys to the valet and moved around her.

  She didn’t let him go far. “You don’t look happy to see me.”

  You think? “I thought you were crazy before, but this sure does confirm it. For someone about to be thrown out into the street, you don’t seem concerned you just threw an annual income of a half a million dollars away. I’ll make you a deal, you leave now and I won’t tell your father we met. But this deal is only good for the next thirty seconds.” Jacob stood at ease, feet shoulder width apart, his hands clasped behind his back in a silent plea to the universe she’d see the wisdom of his offer and leave.

  As if there was a chance.

  She cocked her head to the side and laughed. “You’re not a very good businessman if you didn’t read the contract. The one I signed said very clearly that it was only good if you met with my father yesterday. It had a date and time on it and everything. Since you rescheduled, you forfeited the deal, and Daddy will pay me regardless.”

  “Perhaps you should leave the business dealings to the men in your life. Did your lawyer not point out the small print? Underneath that date and time that you remember so well was a provision, giving me a window of fourteen days to reschedule should the need arise.” He laughed at her stupidity. “I didn’t forfeit. You just did. And your thirty seconds is up.”

  Jacob moved to pass her, but she stopped him with one word. “Moorhouse.”

  Hearing his comrade’s name on her lips froze him in place.

  An ugly red tainted her porcelain cheeks. “The video I have of you losing your shit on your bathroom floor a few months ago guarantees you’ll give me another chance, so you might as well go up and say goodbye to your plaything now. Or would you rather I tell her the truth of who you are before I go?”

  Elise hadn’t stuttered, but it took Jacob a second to process what she’d said. Once he did, his blood turned cold.

  Nothing could’ve prepared him for that landmine.

  She pressed closer for maximum damage. “I knew that night would come in handy one day. I’d thought about using it when you first kicked me out, but, well, I was truly hoping I’d end up pregnant. When that didn’t pan out, I did a little digging into your life. You’d be amazed what one can find on the internet these days. Especially when one has as much money as my father does. A few phone calls and all the gaps in information fell into place. It explained so much, really. Why you’re so fucked up. Why you push people away. The whole truth of it is rather pathetic, don’t you think?”

  Jacob shook his head in denial.

  Elise couldn’t possibly know the truth.

  His parents, friends—they only knew what the military had told them—a routine supply run had been ambushed and Jacob was the sole survivor. No one knew he could have stopped it if he’d been paying attention instead of looking at the picture of Moorhouse’s daughter. The only people with that information were now dead.

  Except Jacob.

  Guilt flooded him as it always did at the truth.

  It didn’t matter that it’d only been for a split second, or that all the guys had passed around the same picture. They’d been under his command, his responsibility. And they were all dead now because he’d failed.

  “Is that why little Miss Mother Teresa likes you? Did you tell her you were a hero?”

  No, he’d never do that. Others made that claim.

  Whenever people found out about his service, they called him a hero. Those people lied. He was a fraud. Unworthy of the title Marine. He didn’t attend veteran’s events, didn’t maintain contact with former buddies. He refused to shame them like that. He offered money to his victim’s families at every opportunity, for any situation, but it’d never be enough to make up for what he’d done.

  Elise cackled gleefully. “Imagine how much damage that video of you screaming that you killed your men could do to you, to your bank, if released to the media? How much of a field day they’d have once they realized that every single man who’d relied on you died because of you?” She cocked her head to the side, disgust evident in the way she looked him up and down. “Hero? Please. You’re nothing but vomit and tears, a sobbing excuse of a man. Marry me, Jacob, and no one ever has to know.”

  One hundred…

  Ninety-nine…

  Ninety-eight…

  Jacob kept his eyes tightly closed while he counted, trying to stop his world from spinning out of control. If Elise sent that footage to the media, it’d only be a matter of time before Sara found out.

  Sara. What would she say? What would she think?

  He dug his nails into his palms hoping for something, anything, to ground him.

  Sara’s face, loving and accepting, flashed in his mind, the way it’d been the night before when she’d asked him to trust her.

  The remembrance of the touch of her hand as he’d feared the worst centered him more than any technique ever could.

  He unclenched his fists, opening his eyes to the truth.

  If Elise released the video, it’d be hard on Jacob and he’d have a lot to account for afterwards. But with Sara by his side, he’d see his way through it. How could he not? Her lightness could outshine the darkest of nightmares.

  Elise could do her worst. It wouldn’t matter. He’d never allow her to make him her pawn.

  He waited until she met his gaze before speaking with conviction. “I almost wish you would go ahead and try it. Even your worst attempt would leave you on your knees begging for mercy, not me. Your father will be done with you the second he learns you broke our contract, and no man you’d want would touch your ass after I’m through. I’ll slap a lawsuit on you so quickly you’ll be forced to call some ugly rich guy old enough to be your great-grandfather daddy
for the rest of your life to pay it off.” Jacob could deal with whatever fallout occurred, but Elise would never be able to tolerate sharing her bed with someone who didn’t meet her standards. Nor would she tolerate being destitute.

  The first few steps he took away from her freed him. Not even her shouted, “Mark my words, she’ll drop you. No one wants damaged goods,” had any affect.

  He left her yelling at him from the curb and walked back to the woman he hoped was his future.

  Long strides ate up the distance between him and Sara, bringing him to their door, the words he hadn’t said last night fighting their way onto his tongue. He began his impromptu speech as soon as he opened it. “Sara, I’ve made mistakes.”

  As he’d expected, she’d been waiting for him.

  What he hadn’t expected was her packed bags to be between them. Or the anger he saw on her face.

  “I know.”

  “You know what?”

  “I know all about your mistakes.”

  Impossible. “No, you don’t. I—”

  “Save your excuses. I don’t have it in me to listen to them anymore.”

  Jacob took in the defiant tilt to her chin and emotionless eyes without understanding their cause. “I don’t understand.” But right as he said the words, he began to fear he did. Elise hadn’t just been waiting for him.

  “There’s nothing more you can say. I called a cab. I’m leaving in a few minutes.”

  “Elise was here, wasn’t she?”

  “At least you’re not denying it.”

  How could he? Sara had seen enough of his flashbacks to give credence to whatever Elise had said. But damned if he’d expected this reaction. “You’re not even going to let me explain?”

  “Why? What does it matter now? You did what you did.”

  But he hadn’t meant to. He hadn’t meant for his men to die. He hadn’t meant—

  “No explanation changes the facts, Jacob. And there’s no way I’ll ever be okay with it.” Sara pushed past him, stopping at the door for one last look. Then with no more than that, she left, taking his heart with her.