He was a damned good businessman.
Three steps in her direction, and he could take her hand. “I didn’t say it before, but you look amazing tonight.”
Her smile was shy. “Thanks. We were both busy earlier. I can relax now that Danika’s part is over.”
“Indeed. Shall we go find our seats?” He tucked her hand in the crook of his arm.
Before they could follow Sophie and Nigel and Kellan, Vaughn saw Miranda Blackwood and Kace LeBlanc appear. Along with Darius Taylor-Pratt and Audra. Vaughn recognized Darius and Audra from pictures Sophie had sent him.
Vaughn’s stomach tightened, but he gave his new sibling a curt nod in response to Miranda’s introductions. “Hello.” Darius reciprocated with a subdued greeting.
The expression on Kace’s face stopped them all in their tracks. “I know this is a special occasion, but Miranda has some very important news. Kellan, you’ll need to get Irina. Sophie. Nigel. Vaughn. Let’s step into the other tent, since it’s empty now. Darius, you and Audra, too.”
Vaughn bristled. “Slow down a minute. If this is family business, then Brie should be there. You should all know—Brie and I are engaged.” He held up her hand to show off the ring. “And Danika is our daughter.”
After a moment of pregnant silence, Miranda spoke, smiling wryly. “I’m happy for you. And of course, Brie should join us, as well.”
Moments later, the ten adults stood inside the tent where Sophie and Nigel would become husband and wife tomorrow.
Kace LeBlanc, Miranda’s lawyer, was less brusque than normal. If anything, his quiet words were conciliatory.
“Miranda has asked me to share some news with you. When your father died, he left a convoluted will, as you know. The truth is, Buckley made Miranda the temporary caretaker of his estate—not his true heir. He died old and alone because of a series of bad choices he made, particularly in the realm of relationships. He was most insistent that the same fate not befall each of you. Miranda was charged with protecting and running the estate until such time as Buckley’s three children—Kellan, Sophie and Vaughn—showed evidence of personal growth, maturity and the ability to connect meaningfully with another human being. I’m quoting, by the way.”
Miranda nodded. “My instructions came in the form of three letters. The initial set of demands was in the first letter, just as Kace has explained.”
“And the second?” Vaughn asked sharply.
Miranda gave him a level stare. “The second letter involved finding Darius and legitimizing his claim to the estate.”
“Which Darius knew nothing about,” Kace reminded them.
Sophie was pale. “And the third letter?”
“It will be revealed in good time,” Miranda said. “But you should know that it’s the least significant of the three. The contents of the last letter won’t impact anyone in a significant way. It’s my instructions from the first one that I’m ready to put into action now.” She grimaced. “I know what you all thought of me when it looked like I’d gotten all of your father’s estate, but I didn’t want anything of Buckley’s. I still don’t. Kace and I have determined that by every benchmark, you each have met Buckley’s requirements. Vaughn, I didn’t know you were engaged, but you have certainly made a point of being supportive of Kellan and Sophie during these difficult months.”
Kace picked up the story again. “Kellan, the ranch is yours, free and clear.”
Kellan blinked and muttered a shocked curse. “What about the others?”
Kace continued. “Blackwood Bank and all its assets go to Vaughn. Sophie, you inherit several houses and a large sum of cash. You can let me know how you want the payout, since it will affect your tax status.”
“And Darius?” Sophie asked.
Miranda smiled. “He’s to receive a lump sum of cash as well, which I’m guessing he’ll invest in his business.”
Darius nodded, looking stunned.
Kace sighed. “That’s the gist of it. Any questions?”
No one moved at first. Then Sophie stepped forward and shook Miranda’s hand briefly. “Thank you for doing this impossible job. And thank you for allowing Nigel and me to get married at Blackwood Hollow in spite of the way I treated you after the will reading. That was very generous of you, under the circumstances. I hope we can all eventually be friends.”
Kellan chuckled. “Or at least not enemies.”
Irina punched him in the arm.
Vaughn didn’t know what to think. His head was spinning. “We should get back to the party,” he said, keeping his tone cool, hoping to let Miranda know that he didn’t forgive as easily as some people in his family.
Nigel nodded. “Vaughn is right. Kace and Miranda, you are invited guests, as Sophie has told you. I hope you’ll stay and help us celebrate. This weekend is a time for looking to the future.”
Moments later, Vaughn and Brie were the only two lingering in the tent. “Are you okay?” she asked quietly. “I thought you would be happy and excited. And as it turns out, our little fictional engagement was not even necessary.”
He shook his head slowly. “I’m not sure I know what I feel. I never liked being manipulated by my father in real life. Having him do it from the grave is almost as demeaning.”
Brie shook her head disbelievingly. “You’re the only person I know who can inherit a fortune and still be miffed about it.”
“I’m not miffed,” he said, “but I don’t appreciate having to prove my worth.”
“In all fairness, Miranda and Kace were handing over the bank to you even before you told them you and I are engaged. So I’d say they definitely gave you the benefit of the doubt.”
“I suppose so.”
“Let’s go eat,” Brie said. “I’m starving.”
“Okay. But afterward, I’d like to drive around the ranch and visit old haunts.”
Brie’s eyes widened. “You mean like haylofts?”
He lifted one shoulder and let it fall, feigning innocence. “Whatever takes our fancy.”
For the next hour, Vaughn talked and ate and gave a winning performance of the man without a care in the world. He and Kellan both toasted the bride and groom.
But old words came back to haunt him. You’re probably the most like me.
Was it true? The question made his stomach queasy. On bad days, he had hated his father at times. Even on good days, he’d disdained him. How would Danika look at Vaughn one day?
The uncomfortable question tormented him.
And what about Brie? She was seated beside him, of course. But somehow he sensed a distance between them that hadn’t been there before.
Kellan and Irina were on the opposite side of the table. At one point, late in the evening, Kellan yawned and leaned back in his chair. “It’s been great having you in Royal for so long, Vaughn. When do you have to go home?”
“I’m flying out tomorrow evening...after the wedding. Business calls,” he said lightly.
Eighteen
Brie sat stunned, trying to control her facial expressions. Vaughn was leaving town tomorrow? This was the first she had heard of it. The fact that he hadn’t thought to mention it told her more loudly than words that Vaughn Blackwood hadn’t changed a bit.
He had a cash register—a calculator—where his heart should be. Sure, he might have warmed up to Danika, but he had no plans to alter his life in any meaningful way, no intent to include Brie and her daughter in his sterile, business-centered sphere.
The hurt ran deep. Anger, too. She was angry at herself for weaving dreams that had no basis in reality. What a fool she was. Not only had she blinded herself to Vaughn’s true nature, but she had fallen in love with him again.
Perhaps that last part wasn’t quite true. Maybe she had never quit loving him. Maybe she had been in denial for almost three years. Pregnant and alone. Giving birth. Rear
ing a baby with little emotional or financial support.
And all along, deep down inside, she had held out hope for the future. Wasn’t that ultimately why she had moved back to Royal? To be near his family and thus be sure she and Vaughn would eventually cross paths again?
The depths of her own self-deception were stunning.
Even recently, she’d pretended that she knew Vaughn was the proverbial rolling stone...that she had to end their physical relationship because he would be leaving.
But somewhere deep in her vulnerable woman’s heart, she had thought she could change him.
Her skin felt cold and clammy. The meal she had consumed rolled in her stomach. She wanted to go home to her baby, to the one person who loved her unconditionally.
Abruptly, she stood and made her way to Sophie and Nigel’s table. “I need to head out,” she said, feigning cheerfulness. “Danika will be up very early, and I want to make sure our day gets off to a good start in the morning, so she’ll be fresh for the wedding.”
Sophie and Nigel stood to hug her and extend their thanks. Then Brie turned and fled, only to run into the solid bulk of her faux fiancé. “What are you doing?” he asked, frowning. Did the man ever do anything but frown?
She couldn’t meet his eyes. She kept walking quickly toward the tent exit, forcing him to follow. “I have to relieve Tabitha so she can go home.”
Outside, he took her arm. “You told me she was prepared to stay until midnight. It’s only ten o’clock. What’s your rush, Brie?”
Tears burned her eyelids. She blinked them back, determined not to reveal her weakness, her incredibly hopeless yearning.
She sucked in a deep breath of the air that was far cooler here than that in the tent and exhaled slowly. “I’m tired,” she said simply. “Today was a long day, and tomorrow will be the same. Good night, Vaughn.”
He shackled her wrist with one big hand and drew her close. “You’re upset. I know you that well. Tell me what’s wrong. Did I do something?”
It was impossible to answer without incriminating herself. “No,” she lied. “It’s not you.”
He stroked her hair, gentling her as he would a spooked filly. Brie knew the drill. She had done the same thing a hundred times on this very ranch.
His voice was low and rough when he spoke. “You wanted to know how I felt about being back here. I should ask you the same question. Is that what’s bothering you, Brie? Does being here bring back too many memories?”
Gradually, she let the cool night air and Vaughn’s steady touch settle her. “Yes,” she said simply. “Being here reminds me of all my mistakes. I was young and not ambitious enough. I knew I wanted my own vet practice, but I let Buckley take advantage of me.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “Because I loved the ranch and the horses...” And you.
He was silent for a moment. “Will you get in the car with me? I won’t keep you long. We both need some closure. Perhaps exorcising a few ghosts will help you sleep tonight.”
Brie knew he wasn’t talking about their relationship. But on a deeper level, she could hear his question in those terms. Vaughn was flying home tomorrow. Tonight would be her last chance to make love to him.
Was that what she wanted?
“Okay,” she said, feeling the noose of inevitability tighten around her throat. “Sure. Let’s drive.”
Vaughn’s car was parked nearby. He helped her in and shut the door, careful not to catch her skirt.
The night was perfect for a convertible. He put the top down so they could enjoy the stars. Gravel crunched beneath the tires. In the distance, the ranch house loomed. Not a single light shone. With Buckley dead and Miranda at the party, there was no one left to walk the halls.
Vaughn passed the house and drove on to the collection of barns and outbuildings where Brie had worked so many long, hard hours. Despite the drawbacks, it had been good experience for her. She knew that now. But letting the old man’s son seduce her had been a mistake.
Still, Brie had gotten her beloved Danika out of the bargain, so even that long-ago mistake wasn’t so bad in retrospect.
The convertible rolled to a halt in the shadow of the largest and fanciest of the barns, the one with an entire double row of stalls. The one where Brie had honed her talents and enthusiasm for horses into the skills that made her such a good vet. She loved their beauty and spirit, loved keeping them healthy and productive.
Both adults got out of the car. Far in the distance, Brie could hear that the music had started for dancing. Not the orchestra anymore, but a rowdy country band. Who knew how Nigel’s family would take to that? Perhaps his grandmother would learn how to line dance.
Vaughn strode toward the barn, not waiting to see if Brie was following. When he hauled back the heavy wooden door and turned on a track of diffused light, a host of smells and sounds wafted out. Simple. Familiar. Evocative.
Hay and feed. Old wood and new leather. The soft whicker of a mare. The deeper snorting of an alpha stallion.
It was like stepping back in time.
Until this very moment, Brie honestly hadn’t realized how much she missed this place. Buckley might have been a difficult man, but he had built an impressive empire. He’d also helped raise three adult children who were each outstanding in their own right.
Vaughn had walked on ahead, stopping under the center pitch of the roof. As he looked up, Brie saw him in profile. His shoulders stretched the tailored seams of his charcoal-gray suit. His features were classic, masculine.
No broken nose or shaggy haircut to mar his physical perfection and make him seem more human. Everything about him was crisp and professional and...unreachable.
Maybe Vaughn didn’t need a woman in his life at all.
She closed the gap between them, assailed by memories that wrapped around her heart and squeezed. There were no more poignant words in the English language than if only...
Leaning her head against his shoulder, she gave herself permission to let him go. Vaughn represented a time in her life when she was footloose and free. Nothing to tie her down but the need for a paycheck.
Brie was a different woman now. Motherhood had changed her priorities. Unfortunately, the only part of her that remained the same was the hunger for Vaughn’s touch.
He slid an arm around her waist, his gaze still fixed on the high point of the vaulted ceiling with the open rafters. “I walked the roofline of this barn once,” he said. “Did I ever tell you that?” He pointed over his head. “Had to shimmy out that small window right there and drag myself on up to the top.”
“No. You never told me. Sounds dangerous.”
“Oh yeah,” he chuckled. “It was. I was fifteen and dumb as a bag of rocks. My father had made me angry about something, and in my convoluted adolescent brain, I decided that literally looking down on him and his stupid ranch would give me the advantage.”
“Did it?”
He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand and gave her a rueful grin. “Not that I can remember. What I do remember is sitting up there for more than three hours, because I couldn’t figure out how to get down without killing myself.”
“What did your father do?”
“Not a damn thing. He never knew. Actually, he took the truck into town that afternoon. While he was gone, Sophie and Kellan got an extension ladder to help rescue me. Soph cried the entire time. I felt like a jackass.”
“Are you jealous that Kellan inherited Blackwood Hollow and not you?”
He hesitated. “It gave me a twinge to hear it wouldn’t be mine,” he admitted. “But Kellan deserves it. Besides, my life is in Fort Worth. What would I do with the ranch other than get someone else to run it for me? It’s all for the best.”
“I suppose.”
He turned her to face him and kissed her softly. “What do you say, Brie
? Are you up for climbing the ladder?”
The hayloft didn’t run the length of the barn. It barely covered one corner. The majority of the ranch’s hay was stored in a separate facility, but a couple dozen bales were kept nearby for convenience’s sake.
Vaughn and Brie had found them very convenient indeed.
She kicked off her shoes. “I am.”
His gaze flared with heat. She saw the muscles in his throat ripple.
While he shrugged out of his jacket and loosened his tie, she told herself she needed one last walk on the wild side before she settled down to be a typical middle-class mom with bills and a kid in school and dreams of what might have been.
The truth was even simpler. She loved Vaughn and didn’t want to say goodbye.
He pulled her toward the ladder. “You first,” he said. “I’ll catch you if you fall.”
She put one bare foot on the bottom rung and quickly scooted up the ladder, feeling self-conscious about her bare legs and other parts. Vaughn was right behind her. He had more upper-body strength and was taller, so he wasn’t breathing hard at all when they stepped out onto the solid platform.
Nothing much had changed. Even the old, faded quilt was still there, shoved over in a corner.
Brie wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sitting down on that.”
Vaughn laughed, looking remarkably carefree for once. “I’ll be the one sitting. Wouldn’t want to damage that beautiful dress.” He caught her wrist and reeled her in. “Kiss me, Brie.”
The mood shifted in a heartbeat. Up to this point, they both had been dealing with nostalgia and perhaps regret. Now, deeper emotions surfaced.
His lips were firm and warm and coaxing, as if he knew she was conflicted. Strong arms encircled her waist. Big hands cupped her bottom and lifted her against his chest.
She felt dizzy and breathless. His skin smelled warm and male. It seemed like they were the only people in the world. No one knew they were here. Everyone else was occupied.
Her heart thumped in her chest. She wound her legs around his hips, nipping his chin with a sharp, quick nibble. “I could never say no to you,” she complained. “You dazzled me.”
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