Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“Absolutely not!” Noah’s voice boomed through the speaker.
Leo pulled the phone from his ear with a wince. Then he sighed as he put it back. “After this, I won’t ask for anymore favors.”
“You’ve already overstepped and you know it.” Boy, Noah sounded angrier than ever before. “You said you were going to Jersey.”
Leo grimaced. He wasn’t proud that he’d lied to his cousin. Noah had done him a solid by letting him use the private plane for this particular escapade. But now there was something he had to do. And Noah was the only one with the connections to make it happen. “Please.”
“Please?” Noah barked a laugh. “You seriously think that after you hijacked my plane so you could force a meeting with one of the most prominent businessmen in my social circle that I would roll over after you say please? You’re a real piece of work, Leo.
And you’re lucky you’re family because if you weren’t I’d have the police on you faster than you could say giddyup. ”
Leo chuckled despite himself. If Noah was making statements like this one, he was already cooling off.
“You should have seen her, man. The dress she was wearing…” He pulled off his hat and tossed it to the bench behind him.
Raking a hand through his hair, he forced himself to remain calm.
“I can’t let her go out with that guy. You didn’t see the way she flinched when he touched her.
I don’t think she’s scared of him, but they’re definitely not… she doesn’t like him like that.”
“And that’s none of your business. She’s engaged to the guy.”
“Not by choice,” Leo snapped. “She’s just… I don’t know. She’s scared. I need to show her that I can be what she needs. And if her dad would just give me a chance to prove—”
“You can’t prove anything to that guy. That’s the point. He’s got too much money and too much power. He’s never going to see you as his equal.”
“Why? Because I don’t come from money?”
“Because you’re blue collar. You work with your hands.”
Leo gritted his teeth. The social hierarchy stuff that was still around irritated the heck out of him. “Look, if you can’t help me figure out where she’s going and put me on some kind of list, then…”
“Then what?” There was frustration but also mild amusement in Noah’s tone. “There’s nothing you can do to me.”
Leo frowned. Then he grinned. “Reese is on my side. And Serenity is going to marry him. How hard do you think it would be to gang up on you with both Jane and Serenity in my corner?” He wasn’t certain, but he thought he heard Noah mutter a curse.
Most of the time Jane was in Noah’s corner.
It came with the marriage territory. But there was nothing that could come between sisters. Or brothers, for that matter.
It might have been a weak threat, but Noah didn’t seem inclined to argue with his wife. Or at least that was what Leo told himself.
“Fine,” Noah gritted out. “I’ll send you the details as soon as I have them.”
“You’re the best.”
“And Leo?”
“Yeah?”
“If this doesn’t work, you’re on the next flight out of New York.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I mean it, Leo! You can’t just—”
Leo grinned as he hung up the phone and put the device into his pocket.
Soft music filled the extravagant ballroom. Tables by the dozens were placed strategically around a space intended for dancing. The DJ and the banquet table were situated at the back of the room, whereas the stage complete with a podium was at the front.
Leo didn’t know how Noah managed to get him on the list, but when he’d offered his name, the man at the front let him in.
Every person around him looked like they made more money in a day than he could make in several months of working the ranch—evidenced by their clothing choices and the ridiculous way they carried themselves.
How could people be so out of touch with reality? The amount of money they spent on those gowns could feed a small village in a third world country.
Leo shook his head, clearing it.
He wasn’t here to judge the people who chose to live their lives this way. He was here to find one city girl in particular. Leo moved toward the bar and ordered a whiskey, hoping it would be enough to numb the sharp edges of his mind.
The urgency he felt so strongly one minute, shattered in the next and the hairs on his arms lifted.
Of course he’d already seen her in the dress.
That wasn’t what caught him off guard. In fact, he couldn’t figure out what it was exactly that had his heart going haywire.
She was standing beside Chaz speaking to an older couple.
Her date was lucky he wasn’t touching her, or Leo might have lost what little control he had to steal her away by any means necessary.
The longer he watched her, the clearer it became that she was aware something was off. She fidgeted and glanced around the ballroom.
Then her eyes locked with his.
Surprise.
Longing?
Then fury.
Leo smirked, choosing to lean against the bar where the drinks were being served rather than going to her. The whiskey was pushed across the counter and he picked it up, lifting it in a toast to Kat.
Her face flushed and she turned her attention once more to the couple before her.
The next hour was torturous. That was the only way to describe it.
Leo itched to stride up to the woman he loved and pull her against him so he could show her what she meant to him.
But he didn’t. Right now, he needed her to know that he was here for her.
He wanted her to start paying attention to the fact that she was miserable in the city and she actually wanted to return home—home to Rocky Ridge.
One way or another, he’d get her back there because that was where they belonged.
Surrounded by rolling hills, snow-capped mountains, horses, and cattle.
One of these days, he’d have her clad in jeans, boots, and a hat again.
The way she moved through the room was just as impressive as it had always been, but this side of her wasn’t the Kat he knew. Her soul was being torn in two directions. At some point couples had started dancing.
Memories of the wedding they’d attended at Twisted Rivers Ranch accosted him and without realizing what he was doing, Leo found himself striding across the room to where she sat at a table.
Chaz had slipped away somewhere, leaving her vulnerable. He wasn’t sure if Chaz even knew that Leo was present, but right now, it didn’t matter.
Let him see.
“Princess.” Leo held out his hand toward Kat and she startled, her eyes lifting to meet his eyes.
“Leo,” she whispered.
“Dance with me.”
Her attention darted around the room.
“I don’t care about him.”
“He’s my fiancé,” she hissed.
“And he was dumb enough to leave you unattended.”
Kat rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to dance with you.”
“One dance. One conversation.”
“Then you’ll leave?”
He considered her question. Leave this event? Leave the state? At this point, he couldn’t promise her either. Slowly, he shook his head.
She huffed out in exasperation. “Leo, you can’t be here.”
“One dance,” he repeated.
Kat’s eyes darted to his hand then back to his face. She must have seen something in his eyes to indicate he wasn’t going to back down, because she got to her feet. “One dance.”
His arms fit around her perfectly, just like he’d remembered. If he wasn’t mistaken, she leaned into him. Her soft form pressed against him, making it hard to concentrate on what he knew he needed to say to her.
“What did you want to say?” she whispered.
“Come home.”
“I am home, Leo,” she murmured. There was less bite in her tone than he’d expected. “This is where I’m supposed to be.”
“You don’t believe that.” He leaned in close, his ears nearly nipping at her ear. “You know as well as I do that you belong with me. In Montana.”
She sighed. “Leo, we can’t do this.”
“So don’t, Princess. Come home with me.”
Her body stiffened and he could sense her desire to flee, so he held her tighter.
“Don’t,” he pleaded. “Don’t do that.”
“Leo.” This time her voice was a whimper. “You’re breaking my heart.”
“You broke mine first.”
Her shoulders shook. Was she crying? No. He couldn’t be the cause of her tears.
He jerked backward and stared at her, pain lacing his body as he saw the evidence of her sorrow. With trembling hands, he palmed her cheeks and brushed at the tears. “Leave this place. Leave all of it. We’ll figure it out. Together.”
“My father…” Her brows pulled down and she looked away. Then she opened her mouth and for a brief moment, he thought he might have made some progress with her.
He was wrong.
Someone yanked back on his collar and dragged him from her. His shoes skidded across the floor.
“Leo!” Kat’s surprised voice drew even more attention to the two of them.
He whirled out of the tight hold of two security guards and wasn’t surprised to see Chaz hovering. The guy’s eyes were dark, hooded, and promised destruction. Kat ran to him, her expression mirroring his own.
Leo was vaguely aware of her attempts to have the guards release him, but they didn’t answer to her. The next several seconds occurred in a blur and Leo found himself being shoved out onto the sidewalk in front of the grand building.
He watched the guards return to the entrance then he let his eyes sweep over the building again. Tonight hadn’t exactly been successful. But he’d managed to talk to her. Hold her.
And he’d noticed something incredibly important.
Kat wasn’t happy here. Her drive was crumbling. Eventually, she was going to realize what he’d figured out months ago.
She belonged with him. And they belonged in Rocky Ridge.