Chapter Nine – Good Girl
Chapter Nine
Sadie
GOOD GIRL
Performed by Carrie Underwood
I’d spent a good portion of the last twenty-four hours on horseback, riding over countryside that almost put my home to shame. The craggy mountains were so much taller, rockier, and stoic than the hills of Tennessee. Flowers stuck out of white cliffs, and gorgeous waterfalls cascaded into clear pools where fish teemed. The Harrington Ranch was stunning.
Lauren knew every inch of it. She’d explained how she’d grown up there, sharing the story of how her family was twined with the Harringtons. A tale that felt like something you’d read about in a book or see in a show rather than having occurred in real life. A twist of fate that had turned with a flip of a card. Diamonds having been discovered on the property after the ranch had changed hands, made it all the more devastating. But she’d laughed it off as ancient history.
When I said it had righted itself now with her marrying into the family, it had caused clouds to cover her face that I’d kicked myself for. But she’d just shrugged and told me she hadn’t inherited the land on her husband’s death. The estate was in a trust managed on behalf of their daughter, Fallon.
It was a day into my visit, and I still hadn’t met Adam, who was not only the ranch manager but Lauren’s brother. He’d sent a text to Lauren this morning saying he was taking care of some things for his girlfriend, apologized for not being here to welcome me, and promised to sit down with me this evening.
While it was frustrating to not be able to talk about the jewels with him, it hadn’t been a hardship to tag along with Lauren. I’d gotten a much-needed release of endorphins riding the same delightful mare as the day before, and it eased that homesick feeling enough to bring a smile to my face.
After helping Lauren feed the animals and muck stalls and pens, we’d saddled the horses and headed out. Our first stop had been down by the waterfall, where we’d weeded a clearing near a picturesque red bridge that crossed over the river as it merged from three into one. Lauren explained that an arch and chairs would be assembled in the clearing in the next day or so. They used a local florist and wildflowers from the ranch wherever possible and used antique linens that had been in the family for generations unless a guest required a specific color they didn’t have in stock.
From the waterfalls, we’d returned closer to the main house where we’d mowed and smoothed out a large expanse of grass near the barns where the marquees for the guest tables and a dance floor would be set up. The guests would have the same majestic view of the mountains and rivers I had from my room.
After lunch, she took me out to the old homestead. It was a charming craftsman house that had been added onto over the years in a hodgepodge sort of way, decorated with a sweet, farmhouse chic. We cleaned rooms, changed sheets, and compiled a list of items that needed to be restocked in the kitchen and bar. Our final stop had been the bunkhouse done in a rustic cowhide and wagon wheel theme, where we repeated the process of freshening up the rooms and making a list of groceries.
Much of the work was familiar to me from helping on our own ranch. I’d worked the land and the resort from my earliest memories, sometimes loving it and sometimes hating it but always being proud of what we’d accomplished. I sensed that same pride in Lauren. That same sense of heritage and belonging, but her sadness seemed to hover around her like a bee, warning others away and ready to sting at any moment.
The one major difference between this ranch and ours was that Lauren worked mostly alone. Adam never showed up to schlepp the stalls or help with the animals, and her daughter wasn’t around. There didn’t even seem to be any other farmhands. When I asked about the lack of help, she said they’d had to cut most of the workers in the last year, but that her daughter was due back tonight.
I realized, with a twinge to my stomach, just how desperate things must be for them.
It was after five by the time we headed back to the main house. Once inside, Lauren told me to go on up and shower while she put the pasta dish she’d assembled before we’d left this morning in the oven. She said she’d join Adam and me in the office after she’d had a chance to clean up, and she pointed at the door as we went by it.
I showered quickly, dried my hair, and pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a loose floral tank before heading barefoot down the stairs in the direction Lauren had indicated. My leg was acting up after two long days of manual tasks and hard riding, and I had to grit my teeth and force myself not to limp as I approached the office. I knocked before opening the door and nearly stumbled across the threshold.
When she’d said office, my mind had flashed to the plain double desks crammed into a room off the barn Ryder and my dad used in managing our family’s business. But this room was more library than office. Shelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling with a rolling ladder clipped to the ledge. The floral, embossed copper tiles from the entry’s ceiling were repeated here, and another chandelier shed sparkles of light across the plush carpet. Warm woods, deep brocades, and a large fireplace made the room feel welcoming rather than intimidating.
Set before a large window seat was an oversized, formal desk where a man sat working on a laptop. He looked up as I entered, and the frown on his face turned to a smile. He shut the computer, dragged a pair of square-framed glasses from his face, and left them on the desk before striding over to me.
He wore black dress pants, a long-sleeve white button-down, and a blue patterned tie. Tall and lanky with the same wavy, blond hair as his sister, he greeted me with a smile that reached eyes several shades darker than hers. Eyes that were red in a way that matched the tip of his nose, as if he was battling a cold. Or maybe allergies. Maybe that was why he hadn’t been out in the fields with us.
“Sadie, it’s a pleasure. I’m sorry I haven’t been around much since you got here. I had several things come up that needed to be handled immediately.”
I shook the hand he extended. “I’m just glad to be here, and I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with Lauren.”
His smile disappeared, worry replacing it. “She’s had a hard go of it since Spencer died.”
“I’m so sorry for your family’s loss.”
He headed to a cabinet in the corner, opening the doors to reveal a shelf of crystal bottles. “Can I fix you a drink?”
“Honestly, just water if you have it. The heat wore me out today.” I’d spent so many of my days at the bar in the last eighteen months that my body wasn’t quite used to the long hours spent in the sun.
Adam poured water from a larger bottle, added a lemon slice, and fixed a shot of whiskey for himself before joining me where I stood staring up at a large painting hanging over the fireplace. The woman was dark-haired with chocolate-brown eyes and a smile that seemed all mischief. She wore an elegant evening gown, and a layered necklace sparkling with diamonds hung around her neck.
It wasn’t exactly the necklace from Great-grandma’s trunk, but it had the same yellow diamonds mixed in with the standard white. The gems were large and square cut, and the setting was a similar, almost gaudy, Art Deco style.
“Beatrice Harrington,” he said with a wave. “She married the man who won the ranch from my idiotic great-grandfather. She was quite a bit younger than him, an up-and-coming actress who he snatched from Hollywood’s grips and then wilted away here.”
His voice held a calm that contrasted with his words. Unlike Lauren, who’d simply stated the facts of how their family had lost the land, Adam didn’t seem to feel quite the same way. And yet, there wasn’t bitterness in his tone as much as a sense of wonder at the stupidity of those who’d come before them.
“She’s beautiful,” I said. “The diamonds on the necklace are from here?”
He nodded, turning to assess me. “Lauren will be here any second, and I’d prefer not to talk about the jewelry with her. If it turns out the set you have is truly the jewelry stolen from the Harringtons in the forties, it could mean everything or nothing.”
My heart skipped a beat, my stomach plummeted, and my palms instantly turned sweaty. “So there were some actually stolen?”
“Yes. A set had been loaned to a movie studio and then disappeared. That’s all I know so far. I need to dig through more paperwork to see if I can figure it out in detail. The truth is, we could use the money if the jewels you’ve found belong to the family. They’ve already sold most of the last remaining diamonds—that necklace in the painting included—but the ranch is still struggling.
“I’ve been trying for a year to get Spence and Lauren to consider some drastic changes like the ones your family made in turning your farm into a resort. The wedding business, while nice, barely helps cover the maintenance of the equipment. In order to really be a successful resort, we’d need to renovate more of the buildings and hire back staff we’ve let go, and that all requires a cash flow we just don’t have. The bank won’t lend us more money as we’re already struggling to meet the payments on a sizeable loan Spence took out a few years ago, so cashing in on the diamonds would likely save the ranch.”
The sick feeling in my stomach grew, my plans whisking away like a dandelion blown in the wind. I wasn’t sure who the jewels belonged to, but knowing the Harringtons needed the money made me want to hand them over now. Except, my family didn’t even know they were real yet. I needed to discuss something this important with them, so we could all come to the same conclusion. It made me sadder than I’d imagined to know my great-grandma really was a thief. But then again, we didn’t have the full story. I could hold out hope for a different answer until all the facts were in front of me.
“Did you bring them with you?” Adam asked. “I’d love to see them in person.”
I shook my head and swallowed over the lump that had grown in my throat. “After I found out how much they were worth, I locked them up in the safe at my bar.”
“After all Lauren has been through this year, I don’t want to get her hopes up until I’m sure the jewelry is really ours.” His tone was sad and hopeful all at the same time.
Did he realize, even if they were the ones taken from the family, they might not be able to keep them? “If the jewelry was stolen, an insurance company might have more right to them than either of our families. You’d need to find out if a claim was filed back then. If there was one, you’d have to buy them back if you wanted to keep them.”
When Adam looked up at me, there was no longer any hope in his expression, and it made me feel horrible all over again. “We definitely couldn’t afford to do that. I guess you can see why it’s important to keep this between the two of us until we know all the details.”
I absolutely understood. Seeing the raw pain surrounding Lauren all day had made me feel protective of her, and I wasn’t even her family.
“Shall we have a seat, and you can tell me more about how you went about making the changes to your ranch and how long it took to be profitable again?” He waved toward the love seat and two armchairs in front of the fireplace. Made of worn leather and aged tapestry, the furniture appeared to have been on the estate for decades.
I’d just headed for a chair when a cold, dark voice halted my steps. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing here?”
The sound of the gritty, sexy voice that had almost undone me this weekend caused me to nearly trip. It was only Adam’s hand on my elbow that stopped me from falling face-first into a coffee table.
Panic filled me at the same time goosebumps littered my skin. My head swiveled to the door of the library and met eyes shooting lightning bolts at me just as they had yesterday morning. The electricity that zapped through the air was as much chemistry-riddled attraction as it was confusion. Mine and his. My mind whirled with the same exact question that had spun from his lips. What the hell is Rafe doing here?
As he stalked toward us, the simmering anger he’d briefly shown disappeared behind the stoic wall he was so good at assembling, and I couldn’t help the instant craving for the Rafe who wasn’t in control. The one who had shown his real emotions as he’d devoured me.
When he reached us, he leaned in, snarling, “It doesn’t matter. Whatever excuse you used to get in these doors, you can take with you. I want you off my property. Now.”
“Jesus, Rafe,” Adam said, stepping in between us. “Stop threatening our guest.”
“She’s not a guest. She’s a liar. Probably a blackmailer or maybe a simple thief. Have you checked the silverware?” His tone was as icy as it had been when he’d found me with Lorenzo, and it cut me just as sharply. I swallowed hard, guilt sifting through me because we’d just been talking about stolen jewels that were now, in all likelihood, in my possession.
Rafe saw my guilt and misread it, taking it as a sign I’d personally done something wrong. Before I could defend myself, he cut in, “I knew it.” Disappointment bled through every syllable. “What exactly did he send you for? And what did he promise you for delivering it?”
“Dad?” A bewildered voice reached us from the doorway.
Rafe’s daughter had been a bodyless voice the other night, but as I took her in, I could clearly see him in the shape of her eyes—a deep, warm chocolate set below dark brows that furrowed just like his. But it wasn’t the way she looked like him that hit me with a sudden shock, but how much the teenager looked like Lauren. She was clearly the girl in the photograph with Lauren and Spencer from the Harrington Ranch website.
I’d thought the girl was Lauren and Spence’s child. How could she be Rafe’s? How did Rafe even belong here? He’d said my property , hadn’t he?
My mind spun with so many questions I couldn’t keep track.
“Go to your room, Fallon,” Rafe commanded. As a teenager, I never would have disobeyed an order said in such a steely tone from my father. Even when I’d rebelled and gotten into mischief, if Dad had spoken to me like that, I would have turned tail and run.
Not Fallon. She stepped into the library instead, scrutinizing the way Rafe and Adam were hovering around me like men fighting over a prize. “What’s going on? Who is she?”
“No one,” Rafe said just as Adam said, “A friend.”
A scoff erupted from Rafe. “She is most definitely not a friend.”
“I-I don’t understand,” I choked out, heart hammering inside my chest.
“Like hell you don’t,” Rafe said, and when he looked down at me, I was amazed by the hurt I saw. It was as if I’d stabbed him in the back. “How much did you think you could get? How much is he paying you?”
My cheeks flushed because it was the same insinuation he’d let drop the day before. My shock and confusion turned to anger. I stepped to the side, attempting to put distance between me and him and the wave of mixed emotions he was searing me with. “I’m not being paid by anyone. I’m only here to help.”
He snorted in disbelief. “If you’re here to help anyone, it’s Puzo, and I’m not going to let you.”
“Puzo?” Adam’s voice was as confused as mine. “Lorenzo Puzo?”
Rafe’s gaze settled on Adam with the same intense scrutiny he’d shot at me. Adam cleared his throat and also gave Rafe a wider berth. I took a tiny step toward the door, and Rafe’s cold look landed on me again. “Care to come clean, Sadie? Care to tell us all the truth? Or do you just want to take it as a loss and run back to your employer?”
“What is going on here?” Lauren’s voice was sharp and concerned as she entered the library and stood behind Fallon. “Are you okay?” The question was addressed to me, but it was her daughter who answered.
“I’m fine, Mom, thanks for asking.” Fallon whirled around and flew out the door. Her booted feet were loud on the wood as she stomped down the hallway and up the stairs.
Lauren’s eyes followed her daughter, more pain slashing through them before she turned them back to the three of us standing in a wide huddle. “Rafe? Adam? What’s going on?”
“Why the hell is she here?” Rafe demanded, looking between the siblings.
Adam cleared his throat. “Not that it’s really any of your business, but her family is part of the Eastern Dude Ranchers’ Association. We’re exchanging ideas. She’s here to see our wedding business and give us ideas on how to convert the estate into a resort.”
For two seconds, I thought Rafe might believe Adam, but then his expression darkened. “Even if that were true, it wouldn’t matter. I’ve already told you we’re not spending another dime on this godforsaken place.”
Lauren came closer, saying, “We have options, Rafe. Just listen to Sadie. If we invest and do this right, we’d likely be profitable again in four years at most.”
“Invest with what? No bank is going to lend you a penny. So I suppose you want me to use my money? You think I should steal from my business to try to save a dinosaur that should have gone extinct a decade ago? No. Absolutely not.” He said it with a finality that brought tears to Lauren’s eyes.
“Goddamn you. He’d never sell! He’d be looking for any way to save the ranch. Any. Way.” She pushed the heels of her palms into her lids.
“And what makes you think I actually care what he’d want?” Rafe’s voice was harder than I’d ever heard it, devoid of any emotion. Once again, I’d stepped into the middle of something ugly. This time, whatever was going on with these three people felt deeper, larger, and darker than whatever existed between Rafe and Lorenzo. Pain and betrayal practically flashed like a neon sign between them.
I was confused and intimidated and pissed all at the same time. I took another step farther away from Rafe, darting a look toward the door and wondering how long it would take me to pack up and leave.
I could talk to Adam over email. I didn’t need to be here to finish these discussions any more than I needed to be in Vegas for the ones with Lorenzo. I’d wanted to come and discover for myself the truth of what had happened. I’d hoped to clear my conscience enough to move forward with my plans for the jewels, but now, all I wanted was to escape the nastiness zipping between these people.
As I passed Lauren, she reached out and touched my shoulder. “Please. Please don’t leave. Let me talk to Rafe and Adam. Give us a night. I’m sorry we put you in the middle of this. We don’t normally behave like animals.”
Rafe’s grunt of disapproval contradicted her, and she glared at him.
“Please,” she said, addressing it solely to me.
“She’s not staying.” Rafe’s voice was glacial and so damn certain that it spiked the contrary, dig-my-heels-in-and-stay-the-course side of me. The one that had me walking without a cane even though the doctors hadn’t been sure I would. It made me want to stay just to prove Rafe couldn’t send me away like he’d tried to send his teenaged daughter. Prove that whatever he thought about me wasn’t true. That the only truth that existed was the attraction zipping between us even with his cold disdain and my irritation shimmering between us.
Lauren raised her chin. “Regardless of what you think, Rafe, this is still Fallon’s home. My home. You don’t get to say who stays and leaves. It isn’t yours! You exchanged it for a few million dollars that buried us in debt. You were the one who left and started us on this downward spiral. So the last thing you get to do is kick a guest out of this house.”
I risked looking at Rafe and saw her words had struck some inner wound. Pain lanced through his expression before he covered it, the same raw pain I’d seen in Lauren all day, and my heart lurched at the sight of it. A stupid need to soothe them all filled me, to ease the pain, to smooth the angry waves that swam between them.
It wasn’t my place, but my entire life I’d played that role. Teasing Ryder or Maddox or both when they were ready to punch each other into the ground. Laughing at Gemma’s primness in order to smooth the sting of her tattling on them. At the bar, I was the one who stepped up to ease customer arguments before they turned into a brawl rather than Ted, the bartender.
But one look at the scowl on Rafe Marquess’s face, and I couldn’t imagine him ever wanting me to play that role for him. He didn’t need anyone in that role because he made rash judgments and stuck to them like dung beetles to a cow patty, regardless if it made him into an ass.
An ass who still made my skin flicker with the heat of desire.
And maybe it was that as much as the desperation in Lauren’s face that had me making a decision I knew I might regret.