Randall Wedding (11 page)

“I told you you were getting a good family for Angel—and you.”

“Yes, and you were right. You’re very lucky.”

He stared at her lips again. “I’m beginning to think so.”

When they reached the ranch, moving at a purposely slow speed so the family and guests could arrive ahead of them, everything was ready. The limo pulled up beside the arena, and Russ escorted his beautiful bride into it. They’d built a temporary stage in the corral and they had tables lined up along the wall behind the stadiumlike seats.

The wonderful food aromas had Isabella staring at the tables with longing as they walked past.

“Not yet,” Russ told her with a laugh. “First we have to greet our guests. Then we’ll lead the way down the tables. Since you get to go first, you’ll have first choice.”

“I can’t wait.”

He led her up the couple of steps to a microphone standing on the deck. “Good afternoon. Thank you all for finding your way through the snow to help
us celebrate today. The blizzard brought me the best present I could ever ask for. Isabella and Angel.”

His mother stepped forward and handed Angel to him. He took the baby in one arm, the other around Isabella. “The two most beautiful females in the world. If you haven’t met them, you will. They’re going to be a fine addition to Rawhide.

“Now, Red and Mildred have been doing a lot of cooking, so I suggest you follow us to the buffet.” They stopped by the baby bed they’d brought down for Angel. Once Russ had her tucked in, he took Isabella’s hand and led her to the food.

Several hours later he stood leaning against the wall when Nick joined him. “I can see Sarah is having a good time. We’ve got too many bachelors in Rawhide.”

“You’re right about that. And I’m not into sharing when it comes to my wife,” Nick grumbled.

“I know. Me, neither. You’ll let me know when you talk to Izzy’s dad? And what he says?”

“Of course. Hopefully we’ll handle everything civilly. Tori says it’s a strong company. She said Isabella could sell out and have a lot of money.”

“I know. I’m going to try to talk to her about that.”

“Good idea. Might be a good idea if the two of you went on a honeymoon now, after her dad learns he’s lost controlling interest of the company. It would give him time to cool off.”

Russ looked at Isabella, doing a polka with one
of the ranch hands. “I don’t think she’d agree to go. Besides, running away doesn’t sit well with me.”

“There are lots of Randalls available to fight for you.”

“I’m not a coward, Nick, but thanks for offering.”

The music ended and both men stepped forward to claim their women. Russ slid his arms around Isabella just as another cowboy stepped forward to claim her. “Sorry, pal, but she belongs to me,” he said with a smile, but his voice was firm.

“Yeah, lucky you.”

“You bet,” Russ assured the man. Then he dropped a quick kiss on Isabella’s lips and started moving to the waltz being played. “Good thing you had a big meal. Otherwise you’d waste away with all the exercise,” he teased Isabella.

“You’re right. We have to go cut the wedding cake Mildred made. Have you seen it? It’s beautiful.”

“How do you know we need to cut the cake?”

“Mom is signaling to me over your shoulder.”

Russ swung her around to see his mother waving to them. “You’re right.” He stopped dancing and took her hand. “Then, after we eat some cake, we can go home. Will you be ready?”

“Yes, I will. Those are wonderful words. I’ll be ready to go home with my husband and child.”

“So will I, Mrs. Randall.”

After the events of the past two weeks, the rest of the weekend was extraordinarily calm. Russ settled into one of the spare bedrooms in Isabella’s new house. Together the two of them took care of Angel, shared the meals and the chores.

Russ trained himself to accept what he was given—Isabella’s company and the presence of Angel. He wanted more, but he was going to have to work for it.

On Monday morning he offered to stay home with Isabella, but she assured him it wasn’t necessary. She told him she was going to do some more sorting of Great-aunt Maria’s belongings. And she asked him to bring home some groceries.

Russ went to the office, opened it and had settled down to work when Nick walked in.

“Russ? Got a minute?”

“Sure, Nick. Have a seat.” He studied his cousin’s face. “It’s about Isabella?”

“Yeah. Her father called first thing this morning
to ask when I would be sending Maria’s belongings. I had to tell him that I’d been in contact with Isabella. He wanted to know where to find her.”

“Did you tell him?”

“No. I told him that I would have her in my office tomorrow morning if he wanted to call and talk to the two of us together.”

“I’ll be there, too. What did you think of him?”

“I think he has a nasty temper.”

“Did he ask about the shares?”

“Oh, yeah. He even threatened her via me. I told him it was illegal. He told me I shouldn’t interfere between a man and his child.”

“I will definitely come with Isabella tomorrow.”

“Do you want me to call her or will you tell her?”

“I’ll tell her. We’ll have to arrange for a babysitter.”

“Not necessary. Sarah would love to keep an eye on her upstairs while we take care of business. Would that work for Isabella?”

“Of course. And tell Sarah we appreciate it.”

Russ sat for several minutes after Nick left before he reached for the phone. So much for the peace they’d enjoyed over the weekend.

“Izzy, Nick just came over. Your father called. He wanted to know where you were. Nick told him he’d have you at his office tomorrow if he wanted to call and talk to you.”

“Oh. I guess I don’t have a choice.”

“You could put it off, but I think it would be better to get it over with. I’ll come with you.”

“But Angel—”

“Sarah volunteered to keep her upstairs while we take care of business.”

“That’s so nice of her. I met her sister, Jennifer, and the twins. Oh, and I met Nick’s twin, Gabe. They seem very happy.”

“Yes, they are. So tomorrow morning’s okay with you?”

“Yes, of course.”

“All right. I’m going to get to work. Oh, the garage called and your car is ready. Why don’t I come pick you up for lunch? After we eat, I’ll take you to the garage and you and Angel can take the car back home.”

“You don’t mind? Where would we eat?”

“The café across the street. The food’s pretty good. I’ll come get you at eleven-thirty.”

“Okay.”

Russ hung up the phone, but he had difficulty concentrating on his work. He didn’t think Isabella was strong enough to deal with her father. They needed to talk with Nick to determine what she should say or do. It wasn’t going to be easy.

I
SABELLA WAS NERVOUS
the next morning. She was glad Russ was going to be with her. He suggested they leave early to talk things over with Nick.

She needed to make some decisions. Was she willing to stand aside as her aunt had done? To be
ignored, to take what he gave her? No, she wasn’t. So what options did that leave her?

She wasn’t sure.

At breakfast, Russ watched her.

“Why are you staring at me?” she asked.

“I’m worried how you feel about this morning.”

“I hate it. I don’t want to talk to him.”

Russ reached across the small breakfast table and took her hand in his. “He’s going to be difficult.”

She gave a dry laugh. “I know. I’ve seen him in action. I need to decide what to do.”

“Nick said the annual stockholders meeting is in a month. He’ll have to have a decision before then.”

“Yes.”

When they got to Nick’s office, Sarah was waiting to take Angel upstairs. But Tori was also waiting. Russ asked her why she was there.

“Nick thought I might be able to offer some suggestions to Isabella before the conversation. We both think she’ll need to know what she wants to do before she talks to him.”

“Well, I know I could give him power of attorney, like my aunt did, but I don’t want to do that,” Isabella said. “It seems wrong to reward a bully. What options do I have?”

“You could attend the stockholders meeting and unseat him. You would need to find someone to put in charge, someone powerful. If you left, your father could cause difficulties. He probably will even if you’re there.”

“Other options?”

“The best one, in my opinion, assuming you don’t want to be involved in prolonged fights or to live in New York, is to start selling the stock, a little at a time so you don’t flood the market and cause the price to drop, until it’s all sold. Staying connected to this man or this company is sure to cause difficulties for you.”

Nick added, “You would have plenty of money if you did that, and Tori can reinvest it for you.”

Isabella stared at Nick and Tori without saying anything. Then she looked at Russ. “What do you think?”

“I like the last option. You wouldn’t be intentionally trying to hurt your father, but you would remove a monopoly of power from his hands.”

“Yes. All right, that’s what I’ll do. When can you begin, Tori? The sooner, the better.”

“I can start—”

She stopped when the phone rang. Nick’s secretary answered it. “Yes, Mr. Paloni. One moment, please.”

Nick put the phone on speaker and said, “Good morning, Mr. Paloni.”

“Mr. McMillan. Is my daughter there?”

“Yes, I’m here, Dad. My husband is here with me.”

“Your what?”

“My husband, Russ Randall.”

“Are you going to give me power of attorney?” he asked gruffly, ignoring Russ.

“No, I’m not.”

“The stockholders meeting is in a month. I need it by then. What do you want for it?”

“I’m not going to give you power of attorney, Dad.”

“You want to make me sweat? You know me better than that. You’ll get hurt if you try to play that game with me.”

Russ put a hand on Isabella’s arm. “Mr. Paloni, I’m Russ Randall, Isabella’s husband. Don’t threaten her.”

“This is between me and my daughter. Stay out of it.”

“No, I won’t.”

“What? Is she offering you money? You hoping to cash in? Well, think again. I won’t let that happen.”

Nick leaned forward. “Mr. Paloni, you have no control over your daughter’s decision. I’m sure she’ll let you know her decision before the meeting.”

“She’ll damn well let me know sooner than that or I’ll—” Nick leaned forward and ended the call.

Russ put an arm around Isabella. “He can’t hurt you, honey. He’s a long way away.”

“Of course.” She looked at Tori. “How soon can you start selling off the stock?”

“Today. I don’t think your father will expect such fast action. If he doesn’t realize it’s what you will do, he won’t watch for it. So at least some of
it will be bought by others before he can buy any of it.”

“Good. Please start at once. Will we be able to sell all of the shares in a month?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

Isabella felt a shiver run over her. She had a feeling there would be some problems.

T
HAT NIGHT AFTER DINNER
, Russ asked Isabella to come into the den and sit down with him. She complied, but she was worried about what he wanted. If he started trying to seduce her, they’d have a fight. She wasn’t ready yet.

She sat down beside him, but she left almost a foot between them. “What is it, Russ?”

He grimaced, apparently recognizing her standoffishness. “I want you to explain the problem between you and your father. He sounded absolutely vicious on the phone this morning. It bothered me.”

“It bothered me, too.” She sat there, but she couldn’t think what to say. It was only fair that he understand, but what if he wound up believing her father was right? Russ, and all the Randall men for that matter, seemed different from her father, but she wasn’t sure she could trust her judgment.

“Isabella? I know it must be hard for you to talk about it, but…how else can I understand?”

“But what if you don’t?” she asked, upset that
her voice shook. She didn’t want him to know how weak she was.

“You think I’m stupid?”

“It’s not a question of stupidity. It’s the way some men think.”

“Tell me.”

After a deep sigh, she began. “I told you my mother died when I was very small. I think I was about two. I only have faint memories of a beautiful woman who smelled good, who was gentle. After that, I only had my father. I adored him. He took me everywhere with him, sometimes even to the office. He taught me things about the business. At night, he read to me. Sometimes it was just the newspaper, but I didn’t care because my daddy was sharing with me.”

“So far, so good,” Russ murmured.

“Yes. Then he met a woman he was attracted to. She took some of my time. I resented it, but I still was my father’s pet, so I didn’t protest too much. Then my stepmother got pregnant. She wasn’t a bad woman. She let me feel the baby kick and talked about me having a playmate. When I turned ten, she threw me a birthday party. I overheard her tell my father it was important that I feel loved right now. I thought that was a funny thing to say. Of course I felt loved. My daddy loved me.

“Then the baby was born. A little boy. Suddenly Daddy didn’t have time for me. He hung over the side of the crib. He carried the new baby around,
talking to him. I never went anywhere with my daddy anymore. I begged him to take me with him, but he said women belonged at home, and I should spend time in the kitchen learning to cook. So I did. Anything to please my daddy. When I brought him a plate of misshapen cookies I’d made, he said he wasn’t hungry. I pleaded with him. I’d made them for him. He wasn’t interested.

“Things got worse, the older the baby grew. Soon he was going everywhere with Dad. I was left at home. I didn’t understand. It seemed there was something wrong with me.

“I started sitting outside his office to pretend that he was including me. One night one of his friends asked about me because he hadn’t seen me in a while. Daddy laughed. He said he didn’t need me anymore. He had a son now. I was relegated to female things such as cooking and cleaning. He didn’t have to pretend that he adored me. He said it was like when he was courting my stepmother. He had to pretend he loved her, couldn’t get enough of her. Once he’d married her and got her pregnant, he didn’t need her anymore.

“From that day on, I hated him. I tried to tell my stepmother what he’d said, but she refused to listen to me. I kept my distance from then on, but I tried to learn everything I could about business. I was determined to make my father pay for his words.”

Russ scooted closer and put his arm around her. “Honey, your father is a stupid man. He gave up
the sweetest things in life for his greed and his hunger for power. I don’t blame you for hating him or for running away with Angel. You can have a dozen boys, but none of them would be Angel. Every child is precious, each with different talents. I would love them all.”

“I hope so.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I’ve learned it’s best to wait and see. Besides, we won’t have any boys. We won’t have any babies at all because we’re not going to…to, you know.”

“The words are ‘to make love,’ sweetheart. Did you love your last husband?”

“No. Once Daddy worked on him, I hated him for his weakness. He betrayed me as much as my father did.”

Russ pulled her chin around so she faced him. “I will not betray your trust, Izzy. I promise.”

She wanted to believe him. She wanted so badly to believe him. She even wanted to make more babies with him. To lie in his arms and feel surrounded with safety and love. But she didn’t have that kind of trust. “We’ll see.”

I
T WAS ONLY
a week until Christmas. So much had changed in the first three weeks of December that Isabella could hardly believe the holiday was approaching. She’d given up on Christmas along with everything else in her life years ago. But Janie in
sisted she go shopping with her. They took Angel with them and drove to Buffalo.

“Are the shops better in Buffalo?” Isabella asked.

“Some. Although the general store in Rawhide has some surprising things. And Megan’s store, where some of Maria’s things are for sale, has some nice things.”

“Would Mildred be offended if I gave her and Red that painting she liked?”

“How sweet of you, Izzy. She’d be thrilled. I heard her telling Red about it. But I think the painter is famous now. You could probably get a lot of money for it.”

Isabella rolled her eyes. “The money doesn’t matter.”

“You’re such a wonderful person. Russ really got lucky.”

“Mom, I took advantage of him.”

Janie squeezed her hand and switched the topic back to shopping.

In the days following that shopping trip, Isabella visited the stores in Rawhide, looking for special presents. At night she wrapped the gifts and hid them. One day she bought a small tree and ornaments. That night she asked Russ to help her decorate it. She figured he’d refuse, but instead, he showed a real enthusiasm and talent for decorating.

“You like doing this?” she asked in disbelief.

“Sure. At the ranch, we don’t do the tree until
Christmas Eve, but it seems a shame to me to wait so late. This way we’ll get to enjoy it longer.”

“We might not next year. Angel will be able to walk by then. She’s liable to pull it over on top of her.”

“We’ll keep an eye on her. That will be fun, won’t it?” He hung a blue ball on the tree. “I noticed you bought a lot of blue. I think you favor that color.”

“Oh! I hadn’t even noticed. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t bother apologizing. Since I met you, I’m a little partial to blue, also,” he assured her, grinning.