Chapter 34 #2
“Good. This has been a productive meeting.” Getting up from the table, I go to the door and crook a finger to signal two of our guys waiting in the hall.
“You’ll be escorted back to the hangar where your jet is waiting.
Do the smart thing and get the hell out of Montana now before we change our minds. ”
He’s shaking with rage and probably helplessness as he stands, jamming his hat on his head. “You Bishops,” he whispers, venom in every word. “One day, you’ll go too far.”
“It’s a shame for you today’s not that day.”
He glares at me.
I glare back. “Now go before we change our minds.”
He goes, marching out of the room, almost stomping down the hall. The sound fades as he leaves until there’s nothing but the slamming of a door and silence.
“That was fun,” I declare, returning to my seat to finish off my drink. The already smooth scotch goes down smoother when chased by a sense of victory.
“We’ll keep an eye on him for a while,” Calder concludes. “Make sure he stays on the straight and narrow, but I think he will.”
“What else does he have left but his reputation?” Levi points out. “He already lost his son. His legacy’s shit.”
Legacy. The word strikes deep. For so long, I was so sure there was no place for me here. That I wouldn’t be a part of the Bishop legacy.
Now I understand. I don’t have to be one or the other. I can claim my Bishop blood and my Porter heritage if that’s what I want. Life doesn’t have to be played by Roman Bishop’s rules anymore.
“I’m heading out.” I’ve waited long enough already. I’m dying to be with her. It’s going to take time, but one day, I might get over the need to watch over her every move.
“I’ll ride over with you,” Calder suggests. “Saint should still be there, visiting. I can drive back with her.”
I know what this means. He wants to have a conversation. I’ll look like a pussy if I say no. “Sure. Let’s go.”
He doesn’t keep me waiting long. We are barely on our way before he shifts in the passenger seat with a deep sigh. “This partnership. You’re sure this is what you want?”
Am I? I don’t have to think about it for very long. When I imagine making our deal with Emma official, I feel it in my gut. It’s the right thing. There’s no second-guessing. “I’m sure. I know what I want.”
“I just want you to feel like you’re where you belong.
Don’t make that face, either,” he growls.
I didn’t know I was making a face. I guess it was a surprise—we don’t talk about feelings or what we hope for each other.
“You know damn well you’ve caused a lot of trouble for us lately.
I would be glad to know that shit is over. ”
I take a deep breath and let myself think about his words instead of brushing him off like I would have done not long ago.
It’s a brilliant day, with the sky so clear and blue it doesn’t seem real.
The sun paints the tops of the pines and the snowcapped peaks in the distance.
The kind of day that reminds a man winter doesn’t last forever. There’s always a thaw over the horizon.
“You don’t have to worry,” I state, and that’s what it is. A decision. “That’s over. I know where I need to be.”
“Thank fuck,” he mutters. I chuckle, and we spend the rest of the drive in silence punctuated by the truck’s engine. When we reach the gates of the Porter ranch—security waves me through now without checking—he says, “I’ll wait out here. Tell Allie I said hello.”
I remember running in here the night of the gala. The way Allie screamed. I remember the nights I crept around in the dark, memorizing the layout. Now I walk in like I belong here. It’s not something I’m used to, belonging anywhere.
I hear them upstairs, giggling, and the sound is a relief. She’s been understandably quiet and withdrawn since she came home yesterday after getting checked out. Of course Saint would pull her out of it.
I almost feel sorry for interrupting, tapping on the door before sticking my head in the room.
Emma sits on the foot of the bed, with Saint stretched out next to Allie.
All three of them smile at me, with Emma standing up.
“Is everything going well?” She says it so casually, as if she has no idea what we were planning to do today. We both know that’s not true.
“As planned.”
She breathes out her relief.
I look at Saint next. “Your husband’s outside. He figured he would drive back with you.” I’m not trying to kick her out, but I would like alone time with Allie.
“I’ll call you later,” she promises, giving Allie a squeeze before climbing out of bed and sliding into a pair of shoes. The look she gives me is filled with meaning, maybe gratitude, before she and Emma leave us alone.
Allie sits up in bed with a smile. The sunshine streaming through the windows turns her hair to fire and makes her eyes sparkle like emeralds. “She doesn’t seem to mind us being alone together like this.”
Yeah, funny how certain situations put everything else in a clearer light, the way all the vile shit we flung at each other before her abduction blew away like smoke the second I found out she was missing.
“We talked about a lot of things at the hospital. I think she finally figured out that I care about you as more than a sister.”
I reach down to unlace my work boots and then pull them off before climbing into bed. She moves over, giving me room, and then molds herself to me once I’ve settled in. Wrapping my arms around her loosens any lingering tension I was holding on to. She makes everything feel right.
Her lips brush my neck when she murmurs, “Do I even want to know the details of your meeting?”
“Maybe one day, I’ll tell you if you ask. But for now…” I press a kiss against the top of her head, knowing I’m the luckiest son of a bitch who ever drew breath. We took the long way, but we finally found each other. “Let’s just be here.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Good. There’s something else I hope you’ll like the sound of, too.”
The thin scratches left behind by her run through the woods tear at my soul when she looks up at me.
There are marks on her forehead and her cheeks, but they will fade like the bruises around her neck did.
They don’t destroy her perfection, either.
If anything, they highlight her beauty. Her strength and resiliency. “What is it?”
“How would you feel about the Bishops owning 49 percent of this ranch?”
She pushes herself up on one hand, staring at me with her mouth open.
Before she can get the wrong idea, I explain, “You need the money. We have it. It would mean Emma retaining majority ownership, but I would come on as a manager. We’re not trying to take over. We’re only trying to merge, in a way.”
Her mouth works silently for a while, and I wait for her to process. “When did you come up with this?” she asks, breathless.
“Maybe a few hours after you told me about the problems around here,” I admit with a laugh. “It was only a vague idea. I took it to my brothers, I took it to Emma. This way, you keep the ranch, everyone keeps their jobs, and nobody is selling you off in marriage to anyone, for any reason.”
It only hits me now that she might not be as happy about this as Emma was when I first made the suggestion. She might not see it like her mom does, as a gift.
“I don’t want you to worry,” I add. “This doesn’t mean you’re under our thumb. Roman’s way of doing business is in the past. We’re moving forward into the future.”
She touches a finger to my lips while hers curve into a smile. “All I can do is wonder how many more ways you can think of to rescue me.”
Pride swells in my chest. Relief, too. “You’re happy with the idea?”
She answers by leaning in and kissing me. Slow and soft, it’s the kind of kiss that holds a hundred promises and hope for the future. “I love the idea,” she whispers, smiling. “And I love you. I love you so much, Kade.”
I know I must be dreaming. Since when do I deserve to be happy? Since when do I feel sure of the direction I’m traveling in?
Since Allie. No matter how I tried to forget her, I never found a way to separate my soul from hers. Now, I’ll never try again. “I love you.” It feels right. True. I know who I am and where I belong. It’s my choice. My legacy is mine to build.
For the first time in a long time, I don’t hear laughter in my head anymore. My father’s hold over me has ended.
With Allie in my arms, it’s time to start a new chapter. One we’ll write together.