Chapter 12 Less Lonely at the Top
A very felt like weeping as Ella was led away by her faithful hounds. Even though she was getting big pieces of her daughter back, there were times she felt she was losing her again. Like tonight.
Creston Bolander rolled his shoulders, as if needing to work out the stiffness. “Since there’s only the three of us left, I’ll serve the crème br?lée myself.”
Silence settled over the room after he walked out. As easy as it had been to scrap with him, she found herself tongue-tied now that she was alone with his son. She wished Raleigh was sitting across from her, anywhere else than beside her. There was something about him that had always gotten under her skin, maybe because he looked so much like Mick. The three of them were about the same age.
Raleigh didn’t seem to be in any terrible hurry to break the silence. He scooted his chair back a little, stretching out his long legs as he sipped on his sparkling water.
She finally thought of something to say. “Would it really have killed you to let go of those dilapidated silos? ”
“No.” There was no hesitation in his answer. “But they might’ve killed the muscle-bound bull rider trying to take them off my hands. I wasn’t kidding when I said they’re falling in. I would’ve had our staff tear them down a long time ago if someone hadn’t started the rumor that they’re haunted.”
“Haunted!” A trill of laughter escaped her. “You’re kidding.” She’d been expecting him to bring up the whole sabotaged silos argument again. The fact that he hadn’t felt like a deliberately kind move on his part. It should’ve raised her hackles, but it didn’t. Maybe she was losing her edge now that she was getting older.
“Not kidding.” Raleigh crinkled his eyes at her in a way that twisted her heart. It reminded her so much of Mick that it was suddenly harder to breathe. “It’s nice to hear you laugh again. It’s been a while.”
“Almost thirty years,” she bit out. The laughter died in her mouth.
“Too long,” he agreed. “Listen, I didn’t say anything at Mick’s funeral, because you were understandably not in the mood to chat. I’ll say it now. I’m sorry you lost him. I’m sorry for how you lost him, too. He was a good man.” He spoke into his sparkling glass of water that he was swirling a little more energetically than before.
A good man? A strangled sound ripped out of her. Her hand shot out, slapping the glass clean out of his hand. It banged into the back of the empty chair next to him. Then it crashed to the floor and shattered.
His father popped his head back into the room, but Raleigh waved him away. Moments later, a woman moved into the room with a broom, dustpan, and mop.
“A good man?” Avery choked as she watched the woman clean up the broken glass. “That’s all you have to say about him? A good man? He was your brother, Raleigh!” Red-hot anger burned inside her, leaving the taste of ashes in her mouth. “Say it,” she demanded shrilly.
Raleigh straightened in his seat and swiveled her way so quickly that one of her bodyguards whipped out his weapon and trained it on him.
“Whoa!” Raleigh held up his hands, as if to prove to them he had no interest in harming her. “Call off your dogs, Avery, and I’ll do it.”
Tears burned in her eyes as she gave the signal for her bodyguard to reholster his weapon. She wasn’t even sure what his name was. Joe maybe? Did it make her an awful person that she couldn’t remember it?
Raleigh immediately lowered his hands. “He was my brother, Avery. Mick Lawton was my half-brother by birth, but he was more my brother than Billy Bob has ever been. There. Are you happy now?”
“Happy? How can I be happy when my husband is dead?” Tears stung and swelled over her eyes, threatening to spill down her face. Normally, she would’ve hated showing emotion in front of someone so despicable, but she was too distraught at the moment to care.
“Your ex-husband,” he reminded testily.
“I loved him.” Her voice shook. “I never stopped.”
“Really, Avery?” Raleigh’s eyebrows rose. “My marriage might’ve been short, but yours was even shorter, my dear.”
She gave him a dirty look, kind of liking and kind of hating the endearment he and his father seemed so fond of. “I thought your wife was on a cruise.”
“Ex-wife,” he corrected, “and, yes. She’s on a cruise. I’m not sure how you know that, neither do I care. She’s always off gallivanting in some corner of the world without me. I’ve long since lost track of the number of boyfriends she brings along to keep her company, while I keep my nose to the grindstone, running Bolander & Sons.”
“I didn’t know you were divorced.” For some reason, she felt guilty that she didn’t know. “How did I not know that?”
“We kept it out of the press.” He shrugged. “You know how my father is about maintaining the corporate image.”
“I’m beginning to.” And it didn’t raise either of them a single ounce in her regard.
He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I have tough skin and no interest in remarrying. What about you?”
“No! Of course not!” She pushed back her chair and stood. “I think my daughter and her friends had the right idea. I should leave.” She was no longer sure why she’d agreed to come in the first place.
“Stay,” Raleigh pleaded, standing to face her. “My father will be heartbroken if you skip dessert.” He reached out to lightly touch her hand.
It felt good. It shouldn’t have, but it did. “Why?” It was a loaded question, aimed as much at herself as him. She wanted to know why the Bolanders had invited her to dinner. She wanted to know why they weren’t ready for her to leave. And so help her, she wanted to know why she wasn’t in nearly as much of a hurry to make her exit as she should’ve been.
“Because you and Ella are our last links to Mick.” Raleigh curled one finger around hers. It felt like he was testing the waters.
“You and Mick were friends once upon a time. You used to be close.” The words burst out of her. It was something she’d grappled with for years. “What went wrong?”
“Nothing.” Raleigh glanced away from her .
“Something happened,” she insisted, giving his finger a short yank.
“Yes, something happened.” He returned his piercing blue gaze to her. “You, Avery. You happened.”
She wrinkled her forehead at him, not comprehending what he meant at first. Then it slowly came to her. “Me?” She stumbled back a step, but he was there to steady her.
“You never knew?” One strong hand enclosed her elbow, just long enough for her to regain her footing. “I think I’m offended.”
An incredulous chuckle slid out of her. “Are you serious?” It was preposterous, yet his expression said otherwise.
“About being offended?” He raised his eyebrows at her. “Yes.”
“There’s no way,” she murmured. “Our families have always hated each other.”
“Speak for yourself.” His jaw tightened. “Because I am very sure that I’ve never hated you. On the contrary, I would’ve dated you in a heartbeat if…” He shook his head, sighing.
“If Mick hadn’t asked me out first,” she finished softly.
“And that, my dear, is what came between two brothers who were once friends.” He reached up to run a hand through his hair, tousling it even further. “We stayed in touch over the years. I attended one of his promotion ceremonies, but I don’t think he wanted me around his daughter.” He cleared his throat. “Your daughter,” he corrected.
“Meaning you’re not the one who killed him.” It was a relief to finally be able to rule him out. For the past five years, he’d been on her list of potential suspects.
“Avery!” He snapped out her name. “You did not just say that! ”
“It was a fair consideration. I’m sure the police asked you the same thing.” She straightened her shoulders. “If your father had legitimized him, you and Billy Bob might’ve had to share some of the hallowed Bolander empire with him. I’ve watched enough police shows to know that’s called motive.”
“There’s nothing fair about what you just said,” he retorted angrily. “Quite frankly, it’s beneath you.”
“Prove it.” She tipped her face up to his. “Tell me anything that makes you and your father look innocent.”
“I’ll tell you the same thing we told the police.” His jaw tightened. “Mick was in my father’s will, right up to the point we laid him to rest in the family mausoleum.”
“Since when?” She was fairly sure that hadn’t been the case when she’d married Mick.
“Since the day he was born, darling.” Raleigh curled a second finger around hers. “When my mother found out, she divorced him. She said it was proof that he’d been unfaithful to her. The divorce court didn’t agree, ruling that he can legally bequeath his estate to anyone he wishes, related or unrelated.”
“Why didn’t he just own up to what had happened?” Avery was tired of all the dishonesty.
“He’s old school, Avery. Things like image and reputation meant more back then. In comparison, our generation runs through marriages like his generation ran through shirts and shoes.”
But not you. Raleigh was cut from the same cloth as his father, biting his lip no matter how many times his ex-wife publicly shamed him with her illicit exploits.
“I take it back,” she sighed. “You’re right. It was beneath me to question your integrity.” She glanced away from him, more than a little angry with herself for noticing how well his broad shoulders filled his suit. “You really cared for Mick, didn’t you?”
“I’m going to find his killer, Avery, if it’s the last thing I do.” The harshness of his tone made her gaze snap back to his.
“You really mean it.” A sob of gratitude rose to her lips. It took all of her strength to swallow it.
“I really mean it.” His expression darkened with so much pain that it was impossible not to believe him. “Avery, I have a question to ask you before my dad returns with the crème br?lée.”
As difficult as it was, she forced herself to hold his gaze. “What?” The word came out as breathy as a whisper.
“Can we finally stop being enemies?” He gently squeezed her fingers. “Now that we have Ella in our lives, it feels wrong to keep giving each other the cold shoulder.”
They’d been at odds for so long that she wasn’t sure she knew how to be anything else around him. However, he was right again. “Ella has certainly suffered enough at the hands of our two families.” A tear of regret slid free. “There are so many things I could’ve done differently. So many things I should’ve.”
He studied her enigmatically. “Someday, I’m going to ask you why you didn’t want to be a mother. Not tonight, though,” he added quickly when she started to protest. “I’m sure you had your reasons. Good ones.”
She shook her head vehemently. “No. We’re not parting on this note.”
“Who said anything about parting just yet?” Hope glinted in his gaze. “My dad should be about finished with the dessert.”
“Please hear me out, Raleigh.” Her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks. “I wear a bullet scar on my ribcage that was intended for Ella while I was carrying her.”
He muttered something harshly beneath his breath that she couldn’t understand.
“It was one of many life-threatening incidents that Mick and I endured during our short-lived marriage. It was clear that someone didn’t want us together.”
“Who?” he demanded.
“I don’t know.” Another tear slid down her cheek. “I was so young, dumb, and scared. At the time, the only solution I could see was the dissolution of our marriage. It just about killed Mick. If I had to do it again…” She shook her head.
“Don’t.” Raleigh reached for her other hand. “Beating yourself up about the past never solves anything.”
“But I’ve made so many mistakes.” Her face crumpled. “I can see that now. I should’ve stayed with Mick and fought for our marriage. Although I remained in their lives from behind the scenes, it wasn’t the same as being present. I missed out on so much. I didn’t even realize my own child’s kidneys were failing her until Mick blew into town five years ago to whisk me to the hospital.” Without realizing what she was doing, her hand crept to her midsection.
Raleigh followed her gaze. “It was you!” His voice was infused with awe. “You’re her organ donor, aren’t you?”
Avery nodded weakly. “She’s my daughter. How could I have said no to that?”
“You couldn’t.” Raleigh slowly towed her back to the table. He passed up their previous spots and pulled out the chair for her at the head. “Sit.”
Though she didn’t see him do it, he must have somehow signaled his father. Creston reappeared with two white dessert bowls of the crème br?lée. A pair of raspberries graced the top of each one, along with a tiny sprig of green garnish.
“Thank you for staying, Avery.” He cast a worried look at her tear-stained cheeks as he served them with a flourish.
“This looks amazing. Thank you.” She gave him a grateful smile for not commenting on her disheveled features. “Raleigh didn’t give me much choice.” She started to reach for her napkin, but Raleigh was already sliding a white monogrammed handkerchief into her hand. “He’s such a bully.” She wrinkled her nose playfully at him as she dried her tears with his handkerchief.
“I thought I raised you better, son,” Creston grumbled, but she could tell he was teasing.
Raleigh snorted as he claimed the seat to her left. “I’m not the one who attacked a perfectly innocent piece of crystal this evening.”
“I’m sorry.” Avery ducked her head over her dessert, breathing in its delectable scent. “I agree it was a little much.” It had been enormously satisfying, though, to vent her spleen like that. She’d kept so much bottled up inside her for so long.
Raleigh waited until his father left the room to fetch his own bowl of dessert before confessing, “I enjoyed every second of it.”
Her head came up. “Of watching me lose my temper?” It was a peculiar statement. She reached for her dessert fork.
He leaned her way. “It was nice to experience something besides your indifference.”
Her hand stilled on her fork. “Are you flirting with me, Raleigh?” She hoped not, because she couldn’t think of any worse idea than getting involved with another Bolander. The last time she’d done it couldn’t have ended more disastrously. Her stomach knotted just thinking about it.
“I want to.” He picked up his own fork and took a bite of the crème br?lée. “This is good. It always is. If running a granary hadn’t worked out for my dad, he could’ve easily opened his own restaurant.”
“I thought his chef made it.” She specifically recalled Creston saying so.
“He was only being modest. She creates most of the main courses. He creates most of the desserts, each one more divine that the last one.”
“Thank you, son.” Creston reappeared with a tray bearing three more servings of the decadent chocolate custard. He motioned for Avery’s bodyguards to come indulge themselves.
They shot questioning looks at Avery, and she waved them forward. “Help yourself. You’ve more than earned it this evening.” Despite her urging for them to sit, they ate while standing up and continuing their vigil over her.
Her stomach finally unknotted enough to sample Creston Bolander’s masterpiece. “Oh, wow!” She took a second bite. “I may have to call a truce between us, Creston.”
He looked pleased. “The truce is already in place. You just needed to get some long-overdue things off your chest.”
“I did.” Her eyes grew damp again. “I’ve been so angry with you for so long...and for all the wrong reasons, it seems.”
“Please don’t.” Creston reached over to cover her hand with his. “I’m more than ready to let bygones be bygones. Besides, you’re family now.”
“Look at us.” She let out a sobbing chuckle. “It’s so lonely at the top that even arch enemies find comfort in each other’s presence.”
He patted her hand before letting it go. “I believe the word I used was family.”
“And family helps family,” Raleigh added. “Which is why I’m officially joining forces with the rest of you.”
“Really?” Though the thought of working with him made butterflies dance in her stomach, she couldn’t resist taking another bite of her crème br?lée.
Creston watched her, looking ready to burst a button off his dress shirt.
“Oh, come on!” Raleigh sounded mildly exasperated. “Both you and my niece showed up tonight with a pair of bodyguards apiece. Plus, everyone at this table is actively hunting for Mick’s killer. There’s no way I’m going to stand on the sidelines while you take all the fire. I’d like to propose an alliance.”
The moment he said the word propose , a memory slammed into her —one of Mick taking a knee in front of her with a diamond ring in hand. The memory was so potent that all she could do was nod breathlessly.
“Are you alright?” Raleigh snatched up her water glass so quickly that he nearly spilled it. He held it to her lips. “Here. Drink this.”
She sipped, allowing him to continue holding her glass until the dizziness faded. Then she shakily took it from him, brushing his fingers by accident during the handoff.
Awareness shivered through her. “It’s so nice working through some of our differences this evening, yet so hard.” She set the glass down.
“How so?” Raleigh looked so worried that she gave him the most honest answer she could.
“Being here with the two of you.” She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You both look so much like Mick that it makes my heart ache. It hurts, but it also makes him feel like he’s not so far away.” She blinked rapidly, willing herself not to cry again. “If that makes me sound crazy...”
“We feel the same way.” Creston reached for her hand. “Why else do you think we want you and Ella in our lives?”
Why else, indeed? Avery darted a quick glance at Raleigh and found him watching her with an unguarded look. A look she’d never seen him wear before —one full of longing and vulnerability.
Creston must have intercepted it, too, because he abruptly straightened. “So help me, Raleigh, quit looking at her like that.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.” Raleigh crinkled his eyes at her.
His father looked perplexed. “You swore to me you got over her a long time ago.”
“I lied,” Raleigh said simply.
“Then you’d better keep lying to the rest of the world,” Creston warned, “because after what Avery told you this evening?—”
“You were eavesdropping?” Raleigh shot his father a how-could-you look.
“In my defense, you were breaking crystal and bellowing at the top of your lungs,” Creston grumbled.
Raleigh raised his eyebrows. “The kitchen is two rooms away.”
“Fine. I turned up the intercom speakers,” his father confessed with a sly look. “All the way up.”
“Dad.” Raleigh pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You can tell me how you really feel about it later.” His father clacked his gold napkin ring against the dining room table for emphasis. “Just hear me out first, because I have a new theory. For the longest time, I feared someone in our family might be trying to elbow Mick out of my will. I had all of you investigated. Your mother, Billy Bob…”
“And me.” Raleigh looked like he was tasting something bitter.
“Not because I believed you were guilty, son,” his father assured, “but I wanted proof that you were innocent, in the event I ever had to defend any of us in court.”
Raleigh gestured for him to continue.
“Someone out there is doing everything they can to prevent a merger between Radcliffe Industries and Bolander & Sons.” Creston spread his hands grandly, waiting for his son’s reaction.
Raleigh frowned. “How so?”
“Think about it.” Creston warmed to the topic. “It’s the one thing that sabotaging Mick and Avery’s marriage ultimately accomplished. That, and the fact that she went to a lot of effort to make it look like she’d miscarried. No merger. Problem solved. Things got quiet for the next twenty-four years. Until…” He held up a finger. Then he slowly pointed it at Avery.
“Until the organ transplant,” she interjected softly, “which revealed that I had not, in fact, miscarried.”
“It also proved your many sacrifices over the years had not been in vain,” Raleigh pointed out with a tender smile. “You kept the demons at bay for over twenty years, my dear.”
She gave him a wobbly smile. “If you’re trying to make me feel better about my sordid past, it’s working.”
“I’m not finished.” Creston tapped his napkin ring on the table to regain their attention. “Once Ella’s true identity was uncovered, she provided that same link to the Radcliffes and Bolanders.”
Mercy! Fear chilled Avery’s insides, making her tremble. “Because I’ve never had another child, which makes her my direct heir.”
“And neither Billy Bob nor I have born any children.” Raleigh’s voice grew hushed as the truth hit home with him. “Leaving her alone in the line of succession on our end, as well.”
“My precious baby,” Avery moaned, leaning her elbows on the table and covering her face with her hands. Where are you, God? “I don’t know what else I can do to help her.” Bodyguards could only do so much. If someone truly wanted to kill another person, they would find a way. Like flipping rapidly through a deck of cards, her mind conjured up one gruesome news headline after another — death by poisoning, death by letter bomb through the mail, death by lethal inhalation of toxic fumes… Oh, and death by unknown causes. It was heart-wrenchingly unfair how some people were allowed to lead such normal lives, oblivious to the predators hiding in the shadows, while there was no safe place on earth for others.
Like Ella, who’d already born more than her share of misfortune and misery.
“We’ll think of something,” Creston declared firmly. “Now that we’re working together, three heads are better than one.”
“I wouldn’t be able to bear it if anything bad happened to her.” Avery spoke between her fingers. “Honestly? I’d rather die.” It was a morbid thing to say, but it was true. “If only there was a way for me to take her place.” But she was fresh out of ideas. Unless God intervened, this was the end of the road for her daughter .
“There may be a way,” Raleigh declared suddenly.
“I’m not looking for false hope.” She spoke through her fingers, flailing through waves of utter despair. Whatever is coming, Lord, please let it happen quickly. Don’t let her suffer.
“You could marry me.” His words were low and quiet, falling like handfuls of rain in the midst of her burning chaos.
Her fingers parted spasmodically. “Did you just?—?”
“I did.” His color was heightened beneath his tan, and his eyes were burning into hers. The man who had the world by its horns was gone, along with his leisurely movements and bored demeanor. Though he remained seated, she could sense a new level of energy surging through him. And the kind of passion she hadn’t known he was capable of.
“Son,” Creston warned. “What are you doing?”
“The right thing.” Raleigh’s gaze begged her to hear him out. “What I’m proposing will put the company merger back at our level, mine and yours, Avery.”
Her overwrought brain cautiously explored the one option that would’ve never entered her mind. Was he right? Was there even a sliver of a chance of finding their way through the current darkness? She lowered her hands from her face, but they were trembling so badly that she hid them in her lap under the table.
“We would replace Ella in the crosshairs of whoever is working so hard to prevent the merger of our two companies.” He angled his head expressively at her. “As long as your father doesn’t immediately disinherit you for allying yourself with a hated Bolander.”
“He didn’t do it the first time,” she reminded in a thready voice, “and he can’t do it now. Not even if he wanted to.” It was a relief to finally unburden herself of the final secret that she’d been keeping to herself. “He’s terminally ill.” Needing to do something, she reached up unsteadily to tuck a non-existent loose strand of hair behind her left ear. “He has an advanced form of heart disease. He’s already started the process of transferring the corporation to me.” She swallowed hard. “Quietly, so I can maintain my psychiatry practice for as long as possible.” Since she was an only child, there would be no one else to bear the burden of running Radcliffe Industries after her father was gone.
Correction. She would have her father’s trusted administrative assistant, Blain, helping her navigate the waters of transition into leadership. It wasn’t the same as having a sibling to serve alongside her as a co-executive, but having Blain in her court was better than having no one at all. He was six or seven years her senior. And since he’d started out as an hourly worker in the granary, he held the rare distinction of having been with the firm his entire career. Her father had made it clear that Blain was a permanent fixture there, one who’d be bequeathed to her when she was crowned president and CEO.
“We had no idea your father was ill.” Raleigh’s firm and steadying voice strummed across the strings of her uncertainty, striking just the right chord. “Words feel cheap at times like these, but we are truly sorry for what you’re going through.”
His father nodded sorrowfully. “If there’s anything we can do to help. Anything at all, Avery, just let us know.” The kindness in his voice and the worry lining his features were everything that was genuine.
“Like marrying another one of your sons?” She gave a shaky laugh, wondering if she was dreaming the entire conversation. Any moment now, she could wake up at her office with her head on her desk. There would be crease lines on her cheeks from the edges of the folders she’d been using as a pillow.
Creston leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “I’ll admit Raleigh has caught me off guard with his latest brainstorm. Not that I disapprove, mind you, but…” He blew out a breath, looking nearly as flabbergasted as she was.
“If we go through with it, we’d be kicking the hornets’ nest pretty hard.” She couldn’t believe she was even considering it.
Creston grew wide-eyed. “More like cracking it wide open and yanking every last angry hornet into the sunlight.”
“Which might not be a bad thing.” Raleigh wagged a finger solemnly at him. “For the past five years, all we’ve done is bang our heads against a brick wall, trying to figure out who’s behind the evil that’s been poisoning our lives. This is our chance to finally do something. Something meaningful.”
Avery normally considered herself a level-headed person, but not today. Her emotions tripped and stumbled as she struggled to analyze her options, but she could only zero in on one that stood a chance at keeping them alive. “I assume you’re proposing a marriage of convenience, complete with all the usual prenuptial agreements?”
I can do this. It’ll be like any other business transaction. And if she was anything, she was an astute businesswoman.
“Not this time.” Raleigh spoke quietly, but with the same self-assuredness he always wore like a second skin. “Nothing short of a full merger will pull the crosshairs off of Ella.” He waved his hands to invite her and his father out of the shocked silence that had fallen over them. “Feel free to chime in if you think I’ve lost my mind.”
“You’re not wrong.” Creston slowly shook his head. “And at the risk of looking like an old soldier retreating to the rear of the battle, I’m going to leave the rest of this conversation up to the two of you.” He stood and lifted his empty dessert bowl. “Goodnight, Avery.” His voice was extraordinarily gentle.
“Goodnight, Creston.” Her voice was so thick with emotion that she had to give a delicate cough to clear her throat. “Thank you for dessert.” She’d only taken a few bites of it, but those few bites had been spectacular.
“You’re welcome. I hope you’ll take the rest of it home,” he offered kindly. “Raleigh can have one of the staff members box it up for you.”
After he left the dining room, Raleigh stood and held out his hand to her. “Would you like to go for a walk?”
She placed her hand in his and allowed him to tug her to her feet. Her bodyguards trailed them silently as they strolled from the room together.
Raleigh glanced over his shoulder at them. “Is there any chance we can have the rest of this conversation alone? Bolander & Sons is one of the safest places on earth.”
“I, er…” She’d been employing bodyguards for so long that she couldn’t picture going anywhere without them. It would feel foolish and unwise, like stepping into a blizzard with bare feet.
“Never mind.” He lifted her hand to his arm and curled his other hand around it. “How about I get back to earning your trust first?”
She gave him a tremulous smile, grateful that he seemed to understand the turmoil inside her head.
He led her to the back veranda that overlooked the vast Bolander & Sons compound. The families that lived in the employee cabins had barbecue grills smoking, children kicking soccer balls, and an outdoor speaker system rocking out a country western tune.
“You’ve built your own community here.” Amazement coursed through her. It was a happy place. The atmosphere was so much more inviting than the rigid rules of Radcliffe Industries. Nobody had ever lived on site during her father’s tenure as president and CEO. Instead, they had a skeleton crew on the night shift — men and women who lived like moles and rarely spent much time in the sunlight.
No one except Blain, that is. After her father had fallen ill, Blain’s duties had extended to that of a live-in valet, chauffeur, and nurse. He was, quite simply, whatever her father needed. She couldn’t have been more grateful to have such a dedicated employee on staff.
“Our work crew is like one big family.” Raleigh sounded pleased that she’d noticed. “Our non-compete clause isn’t the only reason for our low turnover rate. We believe that the most productive work environment is one where employees are happy, in good health, and well provided for. We offer in-house daycare, a gym with a community pool, and recently started our own recreational softball league.” They strolled away from the hubbub of activity and voices, striking out across the east pasture.
“This is incredible.” She was surprised her neck wasn’t getting tired from all her twisting, turning, and gawking. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m taking mental notes.” It occurred to her that she would soon have the choice to run Radcliffe Industries differently than her father had. Very differently. It was a heady thought.
“Don’t get me wrong.” Raleigh rubbed his thumb lightly across the top of her hand. “We’ve had our setbacks.”
The likelihood that he was including the sabotaged silos in his statement made her wince.
His voice grew silkier as he dipped his head closer to hers. “I mostly just try not to make the same mistakes twice.”
She tipped her face up to his, no longer caring that her vulnerabilities had been stripped clean for all to see. Her bodyguards wouldn’t talk about it. They never did. “Are we really doing this, Raleigh?”
“If you’re willing.” Like her, he’d let down his shield. The fact that he’d been harboring a secret crush on her for so long was an added bonus to his slightly insane proposal. It wasn’t a bad foundation on which to build a new relationship.
The awareness between them was so potent by now that she had to break eye contact with him to sort through her emotions. Unless a bolt of lightning shot from the skies, she already knew what her answer was going to be. While she debated how to tell him, she scanned the field beyond them, idly wondering if she’d get a glimpse of the silver silos Johnny Cuba had seemed so interested in earlier.
Raleigh’s hand tightened over hers. “All current dangers aside, there’s nothing that would make me happier than to get a yes from you.”
She felt a blush heat her cheeks as she returned her gaze to his. “It sounds like you’re describing more than a business transaction.”
“You’re right. I don’t want a paper marriage.” He stopped in the middle of the field to face her, taking her hands in his again. “I want the only kind worth having. A real one. But only after you’ve taken the time to grieve the way you need to.”
She swayed closer to him. “When did you become so understanding?”
His lips twisted. “Only after life beat me down to size and humbled me.”
Humor curved her lips upward. “You’ve never struck me as a humble man, Raleigh.”
“Maybe not.” He winked at her. “But I’ve come a long way since my wayward teens and early twenties.” A shadow momentarily crossed his handsome features. It was a reminder to her that he’d entered into his flawed marriage around that same time.
“Haven’t we all?” Regret coursed through about the mistakes she’d made with Mick. There were so many, many, many things she would’ve done differently if she could do them again.
“If nothing else, Avery, we understand each other better than most people.” He used her hands to tug her closer.
They did. “Like how lonely it is at the top?” Most people were so busy wishing they were where she and Raleigh were that they failed to consider the cost.
“It’ll be less lonely if we do it together.” His voice was husky and pleading.
“I’m not working my way up to a no here,” she declared softly. It was a monumental decision, though, not one she wanted to rush into.
A chuckle rumbled deep inside his chest. “Would it kill you to say yes to me?”
“It might,” she teased. She was enjoying dragging out her response. To have a man like him within her power filled her with a breath-stealing kind of awe. They were equals and surprisingly compatible. She fully intended to savor and enjoy every step of the journey they were embarking on together. She was going to take things slow this time. To grieve like he’d so graciously given her permission to continue doing. To explore their newfound friendship and let it lead naturally to a deeper, more satisfying intimacy. To?—
A shot rang out.
Avery’s bodyguards converged on them. “Get down,” they shouted, using their bodies as shields as they shoved her out of Raleigh’s grasp to the ground. Her knees bit into the dirt and found a bruising pebble or two.
Raleigh’s tall frame thudded down beside her. His face was pale, and he seemed to be having trouble breathing.
Her blood turned icy. “Raleigh?” She reached for his hand. “Are you?—?”
“I’ve been hit,” he wheezed.
All she could do was hold his hand and weep silently as one of her bodyguards shouted into his phone for backup. It felt like a million years before the wail of a siren met her ears.
“Hold on, Raleigh,” she sobbed again and again. She’d been through this before. She couldn’t bear to go through it again. “Please don’t leave me.”
“I’m…here.” His finger briefly grasped hers. Then his eyes closed, and his body went limp.