Millionaire in a Stetson (3 page)

“Come and meet my wife,” Caleb interrupted his thoughts.

They started for the front yard, with Caleb pointing out a woman in a pair of faded blue jeans and a red, plaid shirt. Her long, chestnut hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she held a tiny infant in a blue blanket in her arms.

“Your baby?” Sawyer asked, falling into step, still making conversation about things he already knew.

“Better be,” Caleb joked.

Sawyer couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Mandy,” Caleb called as they neared, fondness clear in his tone.

The woman glanced up. She smiled, green eyes shining with obvious love as the two men approached. “Hello, darling.”

Caleb kissed her mouth, then he kissed the baby on the forehead.

“This is my wife, Mandy. Sweetheart, this is Sawyer Smith. He just bought the Raklin place.”

Mandy’s smile broadened. “Welcome to Lyndon Valley. This is Asher. Our new son.”

“Congratulations,” said Sawyer, looking down at the sleeping child. “How old is he?”

“Three months.”

The baby’s eyes were closed. His skin was almost translucent, and his little, bow mouth made gentle suckling motions in his sleep. He looked delicate and vulnerable swaddled in the flannel blanket.

It never ceased to amaze Sawyer that rational people would bring something so fragile into such an uncertain world. Didn’t they worry about what could happen? How did they sleep at night, thinking about the danger?

Not that Lyndon Valley seemed dangerous. In fact, it was a million miles away from both political strife and inner city problems. And Caleb and Mandy were probably great parents, salt of the earth.

It occurred to Sawyer that a normal man would feel guilty lying to such obviously decent people. Luckily, Sawyer’s emotions had been hardened over the years. But the thought led him to wondering if Niki was cold as ice, or if she was ashamed of her own deception.

He glanced up, seeking her out again.

She was looking directly at him, and when his gaze met hers, something arced through the atmosphere between them. It was an awareness that went beyond two strangers meeting. She quickly blinked and looked away, but not before it occurred to Sawyer that she might already have his number. Was it possible that she knew exactly who he was, and that she was playing him? Could she be that good an actress? He immediately realized he couldn’t take the chance.

“He’s a beautiful baby,” he said to Caleb and Mandy. “Can you excuse me?”

He left them, making his way toward Niki.

She’d moved away from the crowd, going downhill toward the creek and a little white footbridge that crossed it.

He continued after her.

They had to have another conversation. And he needed to pay attention to more than just her beauty this time. If she even suspected he was a Layton, she’d bolt the second his back was turned.

* * *

Niki braced her palms on the rail of the footbridge, gazing toward the crystal-blue water of Flash Lake. Tiny ripples were signaling the beginnings of an evening breeze that would keep the flies at bay.

Flash Lake was surrounded by brilliant green willows and silvery aspens. Craggy mountains jutted up behind it, creating a picture-perfect setting against the vast sky. Closer in, horses grazed in the flower-dotted meadows, their black, brown and white coats, glossy in the rays from the setting sun.

Since it was midsummer, colts and fillies frolicked through the foot-tall meadow, their high-pitched whinnies carrying up the slope. Wheatgrass and clover freshened the air, while the crystal creek gurgled six feet below her, hiding water bugs and speckled trout. Though it had only been three months, there were moments when she had to struggle to remember the sights, smells and sounds of Georgetown.

But, not today. Today, D.C. was crowding out Colorado.

Niki knew the reason. Looking into Sawyer Smith’s blue eyes, feeling what she’d felt, and wanting what she’d wanted, she’d been reminded that she was a fraud. She wasn’t Nellie Cooper. She was Niki Gerard, daughter of Gabriella Gerard, the most notorious woman in the nation’s capital.

That she shared a father with Caleb and Reed was nothing but a genetic coincidence. Her real life and her real world were far removed from their lives out here.

She hadn’t given it much thought at the time, but now she knew she’d been wrong to bring her problems to their doorstep. She wished she didn’t like them so much, or that Mandy and Katrina hadn’t been so kind.

If she’d found her mother’s diary, she might never have come here. If she had the diary, if she could read the entries, she’d know who to fear and how to fight back. But she’d searched every square inch of the penthouse, tracked down every safe-deposit box, checked every nook, cranny and corner. She’d even had a professional search through Gabriella’s computer and email accounts, thinking the diary might have been electronic. But, no luck.

“Nice view,” came a deep voice that sent an instant quiver up her spine. His footsteps sounded on the little bridge.

It took Niki a moment to find her own voice and respond. “It’s beautiful,” she agreed, praying Sawyer would keep right on walking.

But he didn’t. He came to a halt and copied her stance, bracing his own hands on the painted white rail, gazing out at the lake.

“You’re not hungry?” he asked pleasantly.

The aroma of grilling burgers was beginning to fill the air. Niki’s empty stomach reacted to the enticing scent. She’d learned there was nothing like fresh air and physical work to heighten an appetite.

“Getting there,” she admitted.

He was silent for a minute. “So, this is going to be Reed’s house?”

Niki nodded, her attention going back to the two-story building.

“It’s a big house for two people,” Sawyer observed.

“Reed wants four children.”

“Four?” Sawyer sounded surprised.

“I think he’d go for more if Katrina would agree.” Niki had been present for some of their good-natured arguments. She couldn’t help thinking about the way Reed looked at Katrina. He was head over heels in love, and Niki was sure he’d agree to anything she asked.

“What about you?” Sawyer asked.

The odd question surprised her. “I’m a long way from thinking about children.”

Even if it did become safe for her to go back to her real life, she didn’t think she was motherhood material. She certainly hadn’t had any kind of a role model in her own mother. Gabriella was only eighteen when she’d given birth to Niki. They’d been more like friends than mother and daughter. And while Niki’s childhood and teenage years had held more than their share of excitement, they’d also been chaotic and confusing.

“I was wondering if you might live here when the house is finished,” Sawyer clarified. “You seem to be working hard on it.”

Niki reframed her thoughts, coming back to the present, shaking her head. “That’s not in the plan.”

“You’ll stay in the main house, then?”

Niki turned slightly to take in his expression, unsure of his point. Then again, maybe she was simply paranoid and uncomfortable thinking about her future.

Why on earth did Sawyer have to show up today? She’d been perfectly happy living in this cocoon. It might not have been ideal, but at least it was safe.

“Nellie?” he prompted.

She struggled to remember the original question. But then she met his eyes, and her mind went completely blank. Another shot of desire raced through her system. He was a fantasy man come to life, all strength and purpose, silhouetted by the mountains and the smooth blue sky. She suddenly wished with all her heart that the life she had here was real.

Two

T
he ingenuous, puzzled expression on Niki’s face told Sawyer two things. One, she hadn’t the first clue who he was. And two, there was a reason his Uncle Charles had risked everything for an affair with Gabriella.

Niki’s eyes were large, dark fringed, beautiful, clear green beneath perfectly arched brows. Her cheeks were pink, her face heart-shaped, and her mouth was a lush bow of red that telegraphed a lethal combination of eroticism and innocence. If Gabriella had even a fraction of Niki’s enticing sensuality, Charles could be forgiven absolutely.

“Reed said you all grew up on the ranch.” Sawyer changed the topic, intent on learning as much as he could about her cover story.

“Reed and Caleb grew up here,” Niki responded, her attention going back to the view. “I’m their half sister.”

“You grew up somewhere else?”

“Boston.”

Boston, not D.C. It was only a slight alteration, and the tactic earned his respect. Deception 101—keep your story as close to the truth as possible.

While they conversed, random shouts and the squeals of children crossed from the crowd of people around the house.

“A remarriage?” Sawyer pressed.

Niki shook her head. “Just me and my mom.”

Another true statement. “Did you visit here in summers?”

“I never knew my father.”

“Interesting story?”

“Not really,” she said. “My mother passed away a few months ago. That’s when it came to light.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” On a human level, Sawyer couldn’t help but be sorry that she’d lost her mother. His own mother had died when he was in his early twenties. Though the Laytons were never the most loving or attentive of parents, he still missed her.

“Thank you,” said Niki.

They both fell silent.

“Do you wonder why she kept it secret?” he asked.

She shot him a curious look, and he realized it was time to back off.

“You must be hungry,” he said, nodding toward the barbecue.

But instead of picking up on the topic change, her voice took on a faraway tone. “I came as quite a shock to them.”

“Reed and Caleb?”

“Yes.”

Sawyer quickly readjusted. “It must happen a lot these days. Strangers showing up, claiming to be relatives. You know, what with all the new social media and technology.”

“And DNA doesn’t lie.”

“You took a DNA test?” Sawyer couldn’t quite keep the astonishment from his voice.

“Of course. How else could we be certain? And, yes, I am hungry.” She abruptly pulled back from the rail and started toward the crowd of people.

It took Sawyer a moment to recover. Niki was actually a Terrell? In addition to a dozen or so judges, politicians and captains of industry, Gabriella had slept with a rancher from Colorado.

It didn’t fit her pattern. And, unfortunately, it meant Sawyer had just lost some of his leverage. He couldn’t threaten to out Niki with Reed and Caleb if they were truly her brothers. That got him wondering if they knew who she was. Were they playing along with the ruse to protect her, or had she kept her true identity a secret from them?

If they knew the truth, then he was working against the entire Terrell clan, not just Niki. He scrambled to wrap his mind around that possibility. If they were all on alert, then a single misstep on his part would be a disaster.

He quickly caught up to her as she climbed the small rise toward the house. “You must have been excited to find them,” he probed.

When she answered, there was a tightness to her tone.

“You mean because I went from being all alone in the world to having two of the greatest brothers in existence? Yes, I was excited to find them.”

He tried to decipher her meaning. Were they great brothers because they were protecting her secret? “So, no other siblings?”

“None,” she answered briskly, skipping into a jog.

She paused by a blue-and-white cooler, flipping the lid, dipping in to pull out a soft drink.

Sawyer hung back, pausing at the edge of the crowd.

“Travis Jacobs.” Another cowboy stepped up and offered his hand.

“Sawyer Smith.” Sawyer shook, forcing himself to regroup. More than ever, he knew he had to take his time with this. Finding the diary was going to be a marathon, not a sprint.

“I hear we’re neighbors,” said Travis.

“Word gets around fast.”

“I’m Mandy and Katrina’s brother. We have the spread that borders southeast of the Terrells.”

“Mandy and Katrina are sisters?” Sawyer’s research had told him as much, but the two women certainly didn’t look anything alike.

“Jacobs, both of them.”

And both married to Niki’s brothers, which tied Travis to Niki, as well. If the Terrells and the Jacobs were anything like the Laytons, family was family, and they’d protect their own.

“Beer?” Travis asked, filling the temporary gap in conversation.

“Sure.”

Travis crossed to the nearest cooler and extracted two cans of Budweiser, returning to pass one to Sawyer.

“The Raklin place?” Travis asked.

“That’s the one.”

“Good graze in the high country. Water issues in late September, but I expect you’ve looked into that.”

Sawyer popped the top of his beer, letting his gaze focus on Niki as she spread mayonnaise on a hamburger bun then layered on slices of pickles. Katrina was beside her, laughing and chatting one moment, then talking low into her ear the next. He hadn’t expected this much of a shield around Niki. In fact, he hadn’t expected anyone to be close to her at all.

“I hear the water-license issue is going to be resolved soon,” he said to Travis.

Travis laughed. “Anybody define ‘soon’ for you?”

Sawyer couldn’t help but smile at Travis’s skepticism. Truth was, the long-term viability of the Raklin place as a working ranch was the least of Sawyer’s worries. He only expected to own it for a few months. Dylan Bennett, the ranch manager’s son from the Layton family’s Montana ranch had agreed to come out and run the spread in the short term to keep up appearances.

But as soon as Sawyer was done with Niki, his lawyers would put it back on the market. And, if the water license proved a stumbling block to selling, Sawyer could solve it with a single phone call. Charles might be the senator from Maryland, but he golfed with the senator from Colorado, and he had a whole lot of D.C. markers he could call in.

Assuming, of course, Gabriella’s diary didn’t get him kicked out of office and thrown in jail first.