Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
S he’d been so careful. So very careful. Despite everything, they tracked her down. The pit of dread in her stomach overwhelmed her. After one final wipe of tears, she sat up.
“I’ll sneak out tonight. It’s the only way.”
Stewart folded his arms across his body. “With what? You and your Birkin bag?”
“I can sell the blasted bag for a lot of money.” She halted and stared, her mouth dropping open. “You know a Birkin from other bags?”
He smiled. “I’m not always on the ranch. I go out into the world to meet with buyers. Your clothes are all high end, and I can’t even imagine how much your shoes must cost.”
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. “The sneakers from the Daily Provisions Store were my only purchase for myself. My mother always insisted on buying my clothes. I’m forced to justify every part of myself. I’m tired, so tired.” Would she ever find a safe place to just be?
Flora handed her a mug. The sip made Aurora nearly spit out the drink. “What’s in this?”
“Tea mostly, and the finest scotch.” Flora indicated she should drink. “It’ll settle your nerves.”
“Flora, I know you meant well, but I’ve never had a drink. This could make me intoxicated.” She took another sip. “People like to drink this stuff? How? It burns something fierce going down.” She returned the cup, anticipating Flora’s disapproval, but instead, Flora seemed worried.
With a final word of reassurance, “You’re in good hands,” Flora departed the room.
“She has to come back,” Aurora insisted.
“You want more Scotch?” Stewart asked.
“Of course not. I can’t be in a bedroom with you.”
Stewart laughed. “Are you pretending you’re chaste? People don’t think that way anymore.”
“It’s not funny. I think that way.” She released a sigh. “I suppose under the circumstances, you need to stay on the other side of the room.”
He gave her a long, searching look, as though he was trying to read her thoughts. It would be easier if he could discern them. Then he would know how sorry she was for what her stepfather had done to him.
She was being silly, of course. She couldn’t help it; her upbringing was instilled deep in her.
“How many trucks are out there?”
“You mean the ones with the satellite dishes? About half a dozen. People with microphones, I’d have to say, about twenty-five.”
Her hands trembled. The reporters would concoct something that would drag down the McKeegans. Everything she touched became tarnished.
“I dumped my cell over a week ago. I stopped using my credit cards at the same time. My bank card was taken by the machine and gave me a zero balance. I disabled the GPS in my car and only turned it on to find the ranch. That must be how they found me. How stupid! I disabled it after my first trip out here, but it’s all my fault.”
The silence grew so thick, she couldn’t bear the uncertainty of his thoughts for another moment.
“Like I said, I’ll sign my car over to you. You can probably sell it for a good amount.”
“A good amount? Sweetheart, that car is a Rolls Royce Droptail.”
“A what? All I know is it’s a really great car. I bet it’s worth a fair amount.”
He snorted. “I’m surprised the feds didn’t take the car. It’s worth about thirty million.”
She gasped, struggling to catch her breath. “I need to let the FBI know about the car. He hid money by giving me that car. I’m now implicated in his horrible crime.” She began to tremble. “He must have known he was going to be arrested.”
She sprang to her feet, raced to the bathroom, and threw up. Her suitcases were new, too. Of all places for her to fall, why the McKeegan ranch? Stewart clearly despised her.
After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she went back and sat on the bed.
“What should I do? My suitcases are all new, as are many of my clothes.” Hanging her head, she blinked back tears. “No way they’ll let me keep all that stuff.”
“Stewart! Where are you?” McKenna called.
He barged into the room with little hesitation. His face was mottled red, and he pointed at Aurora. “You get out of the house now! You have ruined people’s lives so you can live in luxury. More than just luxurious. Who needs a car that expensive? A criminal, I suppose.” His hand shot out and seized her arm. “Let’s go. I’m taking the trash out. The police are on their way. You make me?—”
“Let her go now!” Stewart’s voice was a growl. “She is not going anywhere. And McKenna, watch your mouth.” His jaw tightened, holding back the urge to strike his brother.
McKenna let her go. “You don’t get the final say on this, Stewart. I’m going out there and telling everyone about the two of you.”
“There isn’t a two of us,” snapped Stewart. “Aurora works for me. Don’t you dare spread lies. It’ll affect sales if you do. That’ll be on you.”
“Stewart?” Flora stood in the doorway. “Many of your family have just arrived. I can stay with Aurora if you like.”
“Flora, I’ll be all right,” Aurora said, her voice trembling.
McKenna strode out the door.
“I might need you to keep the peace, Flora,” Stewart told her.
“I’ll be back up after.”
Aurora nodded. She looked terrified.
A fleeting sense of sympathy arose when he saw her crushed expression, but he hardened his heart immediately. She couldn’t be trusted.
Leaving the bedroom, he paused briefly. A deep breath filled his lungs, which he released slowly. Staying calm was crucial.
Just as he expected, Katie, Laughlin, Montgomery, Dolan, Hamilton, Cassidy, Buchanan and McKenna were sitting at the dining table.
The door opened and Maquire stepped in. “Sorry I’m late.”
Flora was busy pouring coffee.
Stewart took his seat at the head of the table. Everyone except McKenna looked at him expectantly.
“The news trucks are here because of Paul Stingster. The woman I hired to help with the fundraiser happens to be his stepdaughter.” His hand went up. “Wait, I’ll explain.”
McKenna demanded, “Explain to me how she’s your girlfriend.”
Flora set out pastry and plates for everyone. “Now just a minute, McKenna. You’re completely mistaken. Hear what your brother has to say.” She strode back into the kitchen.
“I met her at the diner. She had just started working there. I talked to her a bit longer than I should have, and Ruby Lou wasn’t happy. She fired Aurora. I felt bad. She was working to get enough gas money to continue on her journey.” He shrugged.
For once, no one said anything to interrupt his story.
“I offered her a job putting together the fundraiser and gave her a couple hundred dollars to pay rent and fill up her car. She heard her stepfather’s name and tried to go, but I insisted on her working off the two hundred she owed me. She agreed to work it off and then leave.”
“Did she explain why she wanted to walk away?” Dolan asked.
“She mentioned that her stepfather had taken a large sum of money from others. It was this sentence that drew me. What if everything you thought to be true was a lie? I knew the pain of being lied to and betrayed in business, but this was different because it was her family. I couldn’t fathom it.” He met each of their gazes in turn. “We all know where we came from. We all know it’s the truth. But stolen funds bankrolled her entire existence.”
“When is her last day?” Hamilton asked.
“Today. She confessed who her father was. I won’t lie. It hit me like a ton of bricks. She wanted to leave, but I insisted she owed us a huge sum and couldn’t go until she paid it all back.”
“No, Stewart, it’s not her debt,” Katie said in a gentle tone.
“I was livid when I said it. She agreed to it. It surprised me. The next thing I knew, Flora saw the news trucks. When Aurora found out, she crumpled to the floor. I put her in the guest room.”
“The guest room is right opposite his,” McKenna observed dryly.
“That’s it!” Flora interrupted. “She is the sweetest girl. I put her in that room. I just finished cleaning it. McKenna, not everything is driven by a hidden purpose. Aurora has done nothing wrong. She confessed to Stewart about who she was. She grew up in boarding schools. She had no idea where her stepfather made his money.”
Aurora gracefully walked down the stairs, catching Stewart’s eye. She carried herself with a regal air that was captivating.
“Good afternoon. I apologize for the commotion happening outside. I’m sorry they found me. I also apologize for what my stepfather did to all of you. I will leave as soon as possible. I just ask?—”
“You ask?” McKenna snarled.
“I just ask for the chance to walk out of here with my dignity intact.” She seemed to stand taller. “I’d rather not talk to the press so they can drag your family into a tawdry story involving me. I understand your dislike of me, and I only wish we could have met under different circumstances. Stewart was a stranger to me, and I was unaware of my stepfather’s treachery. I should be able to leave tonight.” She turned away.
“Wait!” Katie instructed. “Where do you plan to go?”
“Sell your car and you’ll be set for life,” Cassidy said with a snicker.
“The car was bought with stolen money. I’m turning it over to the FBI. I plan to take a bus after I get my things.”
“I find your statement hard to believe,” McKenna declared, glaring at her.
“I understand why you would feel that way. I wouldn’t believe me either. I know you have decisions to make.” Turning again, she walked gracefully up the stairs.
Maquire, the most reasonable of the group, got up. “This is a personal matter. We should act as a united front and keep quiet. That woman is devastated, and I can’t in good conscience expect her to leave right away. If we’re through, I’ll take the back exit.”
No one said a word as Maquire left.
The others left almost immediately after that.
Katie stopped and gave him a hug. “I like her.”
Standing with a huff, McKenna turned and left.
Drained, Stewart sunk back in the chair.