Chapter 10
10
Braden
I feel terrible for my beautiful girl. Gracie looks more than hurt. She looks utterly shaken, like her whole world has been turned upside down.
“Did you suspect?” I growl, taking in the curvy girl’s stunned features. “Was there anything that gave it away?”
She shakes her head at first, but then nods.
“I’ve wondered about my family’s finances over the years,” she confesses in a low tone. “We don’t have much. I mean, I’m just one person minding the fields, and you saw the operation. I don’t have farming tools, or even machinery! The crops are exposed during all seasons, and we had a bad harvest come in about two years ago. But neither Jim nor Robbie seemed nervous. They acted like nothing was wrong and this must be why.”
“Yes, it’s because of the meth,” I growl, brows lowered. “Chief Roscoe suspected your family was cooking, but Fairview PD was never able come up with any concrete evidence. They never found where Rob and Jim manufactured the shit until just recently, after we rescued you. They finally forced the location out of your brother in the interrogation room. It’s way out in a trailer in the woods. No one could have found it because it was so well-hidden.”
Grace shakes her head, tears rising in her eyes again.
“Robbie and Jim are meth dealers,” she whispers. “My brother and dad literally manufacture and sell illegal drugs.”
I pause because the one-two punch is coming.
“And your family uses too,” I say in a low tone, trying to let her down slow. “Rob and Jim look like shit because they’re indulging in their own product. You saw them: the sores, the gaunt faces, the stench that surrounds them. Those are the ravages of meth use. You don’t get like that from smoking pot.”
Gracie is completely still, her lower lip trembling.
“You’re right,” she whispers. “No one gets that strung out from 420. Especially not from my pot because my varietals just aren’t that powerful. It’s definitely meth. But I still don’t get it. Why did they blow up my cabin? Why did they burn my fields? They didn’t have to torch what we had if it was legit!”
I take a deep breath because this isn’t just a one-two punch. This is a knock-out blow that’s going to break Gracie’s heart.
“Sweetheart, Jim and Rob could feel the cops drawing close. The Fairview PD isn’t going to let a meth lab go, no matter how small. So your father and brother were looking to pin the blame on you. They staged your cabin like a meth lab before blowing it up, and burning the surrounding areas. They were going to claim that you were the meth dealer, operating illegally from a hidden location halfway up the mountain. You were going to go to jail, and take the fall for them.”
“ What ?” Gracie gasps, her face going as white as a sheet. “ Me ? But everyone knows that I’m a farmer! I don’t do drugs!”
“Yes, but your brother and father were framing you,” I repeat in a low voice. “You were going to take the fall, while they stayed out of jail while continuing to indulge their habit. Hell, they’d probably continue to cook and sell, seeing that the police had a bust under their belt. You know, quotas and all.”
“ Me ?” Gracie whispers again, her eyes pooling with tears. “I can’t believe it. This is total and utter betrayal.”
Unable to help myself, I pull her soft curves into my lap while holding her tight with strong arms.
“It is an incredible betrayal by those closest to you in the world,” I murmur into her soft blonde hair. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. If I could make it better, I would. I can’t imagine how you must feel just now.”
Gracie breaks down totally then, hiding her face in my chest while her shoulders shudder with sobs. My heart squeezes painfully because I love this woman and can’t bear to see her like this. But after a few minutes, she lifts her face to me, tear-stained and delicate.
“But how did you get involved, Braden? I mean, how did you convince law enforcement to confront Rob and Jim? Why did Chief Briscoe even let you come with him on the raid? It was a police matter, so I’m surprised they didn’t have all sorts of red tape keeping civilians out.”
Oh shit. This is where the pedal hits the metal. I take a deep breath because this is my make-it-or-break-it moment. I have to tell the truth, and I’m not sure if Gracie will forgive me when she finds out that almost everything I’ve shared about my identity is a lie.
“That’s a good question,” I begin in a low voice. “The fact is that I am your neighbor.”
She blinks.
“Right, because you inherited your cabin from your grandparents a couple years ago. You’re here in Fairview relaxing because you’ve been so busy with work as a journeyman lumberjack.”
“Sort of. Well no, not exactly,” I amend.
Grace stares at me, her expression confused.
“What do you mean ‘not exactly’? That’s exactly what you told me.”
I sigh because here comes the hard part.
“I embellished. Okay, I lied,” I correct. “I’m not a lumberjack. I’m a tech CEO and I have my own company called Duality Technologies. Maybe you’ve heard of it. It’s a lot like X, or Twitter, or whatever it’s called these days.”
There’s a pregnant pause between us.
“ You’re a tech bro ?” Grace asks, her eyes squinting. “Really? But why didn’t you say so? Why the lumberjack ruse?”
I take a deep breath before fixing her with a look.
“There’s a lot of publicity that surrounds tech bros. Some dudes like it, and some dudes don’t. Some guys even welcome the attention, and pursue it at all costs. But I happen to be the kind that hates publicity, so I like to stay on the downlow.”
“Okay,” Gracie says, her expression still confused. “I kind of get it. But not really.”
I sigh.
“There are a lot of eyes on us, all the time. It’s almost impossible to have a private life, and I hate that kind of shit. So I hide, and tend to go incognito. People think I have a dark secret, but I don’t. Yeah, I like rough sex, but that’s not that fucked-up. The truth is that I fucking hate being chased by reporters, and constantly misquoted in the papers. I hate that they leap on every woman I date, and the rumors that swirl whenever I go out.”
“But you’re a CEO,” Gracie says in a slow voice. “So how do you avoid it?”
I nod.
“Well, I’m actually co-CEO of the company, along with my twin brother Mason. He acts as the public face of the firm, whereas I’m the background ops guy. The arrangement works, and provides a lot of cover.”
“You have a twin brother?” Grace demands, sparks beginning to shoot from her eyes. “You never mentioned that! What else haven’t you told me?”
A look of remorse crosses my face.
“A lot, unfortunately. But let this be my mea culpa . I came to Fairview with every intention of flying below the radar. I had no intention of talking to anyone, meeting anyone, or causing any waves whatsoever.”
“It’s a little late for that don’t you think?” Grace says in a dry tone. “That definitely didn’t happen.”
I hang my head with shame.
“Yes, because unexpected shit blew up, and I guess that’s how life is sometimes. But yes, I met you and it was amazing. But I’m not a lumberjack, as you know now. I’m a property owner. I actually do own the land bordering yours, but not just the small sliver that has my cabin on it. I own the entire hillside, Gracie, and I’m erecting a massive lodge that’s going to be equipped with all the amenities. It’s going to be a fucking wonder. But it’s under construction, so right now, I’m living in the small cottage that you know.”
Gracie thinks over this new information.
“So you’re the asshole developer that everyone hates. You’re the one that’s putting up that huge glass monstrosity with unobstructed views of the lake.”
“Yes, that’s me,” I say in a steady voice. “And the house is going to be fucking fabulous. It’s almost done now because I’ve been on site every day, overseeing shit. I’m no expert at construction because like I said, my expertise is in social media and technology. But you’d be surprised at how much faster people move when they know I’m walking the grounds.”
Grace is so stunned that her mouth hangs open in a round “O” as she blinks. Oh shit, this has been too much, too soon, and my heart sinks.
“You really thought I was a lumberjack, didn’t you?” I mutter while taking her small hand in my own and squeezing it. “You really thought I was a blue-collar guy between gigs, kicking up my feet before hitting the road again. But I’m not, Gracie, and I’m sorry for lying to you.”
“But why ?” she chokes out, still stunned. “I trusted you!”
“I know this feels like another betrayal, but once I started with the alias of Braden Rock, I didn’t want to stop. It felt good to be a normal guy. To be anonymous, without people kowtowing right and left. And it felt nice to be wanted for who I am, and not how much money I have, or how much influence I can peddle. I was just me, a simple man, and I want you to know that I adore you because of what we’ve been through together, Gracie. You love Braden Rock, the man on the mountain, and that knowledge is priceless to me.”
“But still,” she whispers, reeling from shock. “This has been all about you. But what about me , Braden? And you still haven’t answered my question. How did you get Chief Roscoe to investigate Jim and Robbie if he thought you were a simple lumberjack?”
I pause.
“Well, the chief knows the truth. He knows who’s constructing the lodge on the hillside, so my true identity wasn’t a secret to him. Plus, the construction revealed irregularities. My general contractor let me know that the water usage for the property was wonky. Someone was siphoning water from our sources, and my water bill was way out of whack as a result.”
Grace tilts her head to the side with confusion.
“Okay, but what does that mean?”
I nod.
“Water theft is a big deal in California. The state’s hit by drought all the time, and thieves will do anything to tap into this valuable resource. A lot of the stolen water is used to irrigate illegal farm operations, and yours was one such case. Your marijuana plot was being watered by water belonging to me. We found out because I hired a builder to install private fire hydrants along my property line. Before the installation began, they did a survey of the current water usage and systems, and discovered the diversion to your farm.”
“ What ?” Gracie gasps, two spots of color burning in her cheeks. “No one told me this! We always sourced our water from the pipes on our property! No one said a word about stealing water, or that water belonging to someone else.”
“I know, because we never would have uncovered it, had I not been fire-proofing my property. Hell, we wouldn’t have uncovered it if I hadn’t been taking special precautions to protect my investment, seeing how California’s been ravaged by fire recently. That’s how we know.”
“But who did it?” she asks. “I swear, it wasn’t me.”
I nod.
“Sweetheart, I would never think it’s you, and the fact is that we’re not sure who diverted the water at this time. I’d like to say Robbie and Jim, but I don’t think your father and brother are smart enough to even dream up water theft. They’re idiots,” I say with disgust.
“They are because they were sniffing up the wrong tree the whole time,” Gracie says in a soft voice. “They told me you were a homeless guy who was squatting on the property. They told me that you were pretending to be a gainfully-employed lumberjack, when really you were an illegal squatter trying to get into my pants.”
“Well, they wouldn’t be wrong about the getting into your pants part,” I rumble while squeezing her waist with a big hand. “But yeah. It seems that Robbie and Jim realized that I was using a fake identity. They just got the wrong fake identity,” I growl in an amused tone. “Who would have thought?”
But Gracie’s still trying to process the slew of new revelations.
“So you’re not Braden Rock, lumberjack. You’re Braden Rockwell, CEO,” Gracie says in a slow tone.
“I am, sweetheart,” I confirm. “The “well” at the end of “Rockwell” makes all the difference. Google it, and you’ll see.”
She bites her lip, still computing.
“And you’re building the big house on the lake.”
“I am,” I confirm again, squeezing her waist. “And I want you to come live there with me, Gracie, because it would be a dream come true. I’d love for us to be together, with no more secrets and no more lies.”
Gracie pauses.
“Yes, but I’ve never lied to you , Braden. Everything I told you was to the best of my knowledge. I have never knowingly fabricated anything about who I am, where I come from, or what I do for a living. The truth is important to me.”
My heart hangs in the balance.
“As it does to me, Grace, and I love you because of that. Not despite of it, but because you have never been anything but honest, sweet, and truthful when we’re together. You have never doubted my story, nor did you look down on me for being a seasonally-employed lumberjack. You didn’t care about how much money I had, or when my next paycheck was coming, or how big my bank balance is. What mattered is that I was Braden, and you are Gracie, and that we love one another.”
She pauses for a moment because I’ve essentially put words in the curvy girl’s mouth. Grace hasn’t told me that she loves me, although I’ve already declared myself multiple times in this conversation alone. But then she nods, and the ice surrounding my heart begins to thaw. It melts, actually, and when a smile breaks out across her delicate features, I know that we’ve surmounted the hump.
“I do love you, Braden,” she acknowledges in a soft tone. “And I’m going to forgive you because you saved me from my brother and father. They literally kidnaped me and would have kept me in that godforsaken cell for who knows how long, if it hadn’t been for you. So I appreciate that, and I love you,” she repeats. “But I need time to process these developments because it’s been a tsunami, Braden, and I’m not sure what to think quite yet.”
Those words are enough for me, and I nod feverishly while pulling her in for a kiss.
“That’s fine, sweetheart,” I murmur against her lips. “Take all the time you want because I’m not in a rush. We’re not in a rush, and besides, you already know the true Braden Rockwell. It’s me. I’m right here, and I adore you.”
Our lips meet on that statement because for once, I’m speaking the truth. I adore Grace Treadwell, and I want her to be happy. I want her to be safe, to laugh, cry, and love without any restrictions, and I know I can make that happen for her. After all, she’s the curvy girl from the mountain ... and I’m the mountain man who will make her dreams come true.