Finally Mine

Chapter One

Hawk Masters stepped out of his car and took a deep breath. He couldn’t believe he was back in his hometown. It had been seventeen years since he last came to Hope, a small, quaint tourist town that had somehow survived a hell of a lot of shit and was still standing.

This was no ghost town.

In a world full of technology, at times coming to Hope was like stepping back in time. Sure, they had all the modern conveniences and cell phones, Wi-Fi and all that, but you rarely saw anyone staring down at their cell phone.

Hope was where people came to get back to nature, to forget about all the bullshit waiting for them back home, and to just embrace life. This was why he was back here.

He never thought he would be back. It wasn’t like Hope was a bad place for him. He’d had a great childhood, and yes, he might have been a dick to a lot of people, but he had some good times.

“You’re already here,” Sarah, his sister, said, coming out of the large ranch house.

He forced a smile to his lips. Within seconds, he had to hold his stance, as his sister threw herself at him, and held him so damn tightly.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

“Okay?” Sarah asked. “Okay? Seriously. You nearly died, okay? Pushing yourself to the breaking point that you have a fucking heart attack!”

His life hadn’t been perfect. It turned out that stress was indeed .

.. deadly. Three months ago, he’d been living big.

Owning a hugely successful advertising company, brands wanted him.

His name was in high demand, and he’d turned his company into a multimillion-dollar success story.

One of his teachers, many years ago, often said if he could sell bullshit, he’d make money on it.

Turns out that became a good selling tool.

He could literally sell anything, and in less than twenty-four hours, once he got his hands on it, it would go viral and be a sellout.

He had a gift. Only, owning a large company, being responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of people had come at a cost.

That cost had been a bad heart attack—one that had the doctors looking grim, and forcing him to make some life changes.

Living a jet-setting lifestyle, working twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, every single year, had taken a toll on his health.

His heart was damaged and he was on medication.

But that would only do so much. He had to make the change of a lifetime.

His parents had gotten the call, as his father was still the next of kin.

They had been at the hospital, and it was decided he was coming back to Hope.

His father had dealt with all the necessary arrangements for the company.

Although his father had his own successful ranching business, Hawk didn’t know what his father could do.

However, the man took retirement seriously, and he knew exactly what to do to give Hawk the break he needed. Delegation. He had put someone else at the helm, someone he trusted.

None of them knew that for a short time, he had died on that table. The pain and fear had mingled into one. Hawk had known when he woke up and those memories hadn’t faded. That pain was something he would never forget. Changes needed to be made.

The horrible truth was, the only thing that defined him was his career. He didn’t have any hobbies. No lasting friendships. Everything was business. There was no wife, no kids.

He’d come back to his hometown and his family.

Sarah pulled back and sighed. “It is so good to see you.”

“How are the husband and kids?” he asked.

While he didn’t settle down, his sister married her childhood sweetheart when they were eighteen, straight out of high school. They now had three kids.

“Harry is great, and he will be stopping by later. He’s just dropping the kids off at school, and you know, doing whatever errand Dad wants him to.”

Sarah lived at another ranch, close to this one. It was one their parents had given her as a wedding present. Hawk had never been jealous. His sister loved Hope, and she loved Harry. He’d been there for the wedding.

He came to Hope for visits, for only a couple of hours, which was all the time he could spare. During holidays, he didn’t waste time. When he had a bolt of inspiration, he had no choice but to work. Work was his life.

“Great, I get to see the little devils,” Hawk said.

Sarah laughed. “Are your bags in the trunk?”

“Yep.”

She moved toward the back of his car and opened it up.

“Seriously, two suitcases?”

Hawk went to lean in to grab them, but she slapped his hands away.

“Hey, what the hell?”

“Do you seriously think I am going to let you do heavy lifting on my watch?”

“Sarah, I’m fine, okay? It has been three months, and I am quite capable of carrying my own suitcases.”

She gave him that evil glare that made him roll his eyes, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. She was the one in charge. Not him.

“Fine, fine.”

“So, two suitcases. You always brought six when you stayed a few hours.”

“Yeah, well, seeing as I’m not working, I didn’t have a whole lot of normal day clothes.”

“Seriously? Your wardrobe contained nothing but business clothes? Fancy suits?”

“You got it.”

Sarah laughed. “So, we’re going to have to add shopping to your list of activities while you’re here.”

“I don’t shop for my own clothes.”

His sister let out a mocking gasp. “You pay someone to do that? If you want, you can pay me and I’ll buy you some clothes.”

“Thanks, but I think I can handle it.”

Sarah laughed, and then they stepped inside their parents’ house. Hawk hated to admit it, but it felt good to be home.

****

Katie Palmer did one final look around the gift shop, and saw that nothing was out of place.

Everything was perfectly fine. She turned off the light and stepped out into the street.

It was lovely and warm. The summer had been wonderful, and with good weather, there had been a lot of tourists, which was good for business.

She loved connecting with people. Adam had been amazing at it, and he’d trusted her with their dream. She just never expected to be the one to see it through. Their store was getting more and more successful, and she knew it was because he expanded the business online.

Stepping away from her shop, she knew it was a lot easier to think about Adam now, but then it had been seven years ago when it all happened.

She turned and then jolted forward as strong arms suddenly wrapped around her, stopping her from hitting the pavement.

“Shit, I’m so sorry,” the deep voice said.

She looked up, and for a moment was taken aback. “That’s all right.”

“You’re Katie Smith,” he said.

“Uh, actually, I’m Katie Palmer now.”

“I’m Hawk.”

He still had his hands on her.

“I know who you are.” She smiled. “Thanks for saving me.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have needed saving if I didn’t barge into you. My mistake.”

“It’s fine. How are you?” she asked.

His mother had been by the shop a few months ago and suddenly burst into tears, talking about her son.

Hawk Masters used to be a grade A asshole, especially throughout high school.

He was the kind of guy that would barge into you, push your books to the ground, and was just a bully.

Of course, all the cheerleaders had loved him, and he was a jock, but he’d also been intelligent.

He’d been voted the one “most likely to succeed,” and according to Adam, he had done so.

He was some kind of multimillionaire with an advertising company. Katie didn’t really care.

“I’m good. You?”

“I’m great. I am truly sorry about what happened,” she said. Even though she didn’t care about his success, she had felt exceedingly sorry for him because she didn’t wish ill on anyone, even an old bully.

“Uh, yeah, it’s fine.”

“Your mom came into the shop and told me about it. Is everything okay?”

He chuckled. “I guess everything will have to be, but it’s not going to be the same, is it? I’m back home.”

“Yeah, you hated Hope.”

“I don’t hate it here,” Hawk said.

She smiled. There were many times growing up when he’d yell at the teacher that the town sucked and he was destined for better things.

“Well, I’ve got to get going. Nice to see you, Hawk,” she said.

He looked good, too damn good. If it hadn’t been for his mother telling her he had a heart attack a few months ago, she wouldn’t have believed it.

Also, the fact he had actually come back to town.

His black hair now had a few hints of grey, but it made him look more mature, more distinguished.

He’d always been a good-looking guy, even back in high school, and he’d known it.

She didn’t say anything else and walked past him, heading to her car. She was going to her parents’ tonight, and she knew her mother would probably already hear about her run-in with Hawk Masters.

There were so many times she would see him nudge someone in the hallway, flex his muscles, and then shout something like, “You’ve been Mastered!”

It was so corny, but people loved it. He’d also do some odd grunt or something like that. Again, he’d been a real asshole.

Sliding into her car, she closed the door and turned over the ignition, gripping the steering wheel.

She still wore her wedding band, even after the last seven years.

From time to time, she took it off, since Adam had told her to forget about him and move on.

At thirty-five, she had moved on, but that didn’t mean she wanted to forget about being married.

There was no law that said once you lost your husband, you had to take off his wedding band. There wasn’t much she had left of him.

She had done everything he had asked in the last seven years.

He’d demanded she empty the house, move out, and find somewhere new.

That all of his stuff had to be donated or given away.

The only things she could keep were the shop and her ring.

It was the first time in all her life she had felt her husband was truly cruel.

Adam hadn’t told her this in person. No, it had come in a letter, delivered to her one week after the funeral.

He’d put the plan in motion, that if she didn’t do as he requested, his lawyer would take over and handle everything.

She couldn’t stand for someone being paid to go through Adam’s stuff and pack up their house, so she had done it all.

It had hurt. The truth was, it had been one of the most painful experiences of her life. But it had helped.

She didn’t hate Adam. She loved him and she missed him.

If he’d known Hawk was back in town, she knew he would have been excited to see him. Adam had been an admirer of Hawk’s. While some of their peers wanted Hawk to fail, Adam had been the complete opposite. She, herself, didn’t care. She had been happy.

Happy, in love, and married. Other than when Adam had brought him up, she didn’t even think about Hawk Masters.