Trouble Maker: A MacKenzie Family Novel (The MacKenzie Family) (19 page)

Two mornings after he’d last seen her, he got into his truck and headed to the house on the river to see her and get some answers. But when he got there, she was already gone for the day. So he turned around and drove the twenty-minute drive into town instead.

His cell phone rang about halfway there. “Hamilton,” he said.

“Beckett, this is Mrs. Baker. There was an older gentleman in here early this morning. He checked in last night at the B&B and then came in for breakfast. He ordered a bran muffin and a black coffee. What people order says a lot about them, I always say.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. Beckett waited patiently for her to get to the point. He knew the cadence of conversation in Surrender. It was never fast and often meandering.

“Anyway, the reason I call is that this man was looking for Marnie. I know she doesn’t open the shop until nine, so I told him he was a little early. But he was asking where she lived and where he could find her. I didn’t say anything of course. Marnie’s one of ours, you know. But I thought I should call and let you know. He seemed slimy to me, and I know Marnie will be at the studio any minute. He’s been sitting in his car over at the B&B waiting for her.”

A tightness settled in Beckett’s stomach and his jaw clenched. “Thank you, Mrs. Baker. I appreciate the call. I’m almost to town myself.”

“Oh, good. It’s been a while since something exciting has happened down here. I’ll let the customers know.”

He had a feeling who the bran muffin was, and it just so happened Beckett was itching for a good fight. Reputation and propriety be damned. If the people wanted something to talk about, he was going to give it to them.

Marnie had already put in a good two hours of work before she drove into the studio that morning. A couple had scheduled their engagement pictures at sunrise. Since that was a very small window of time, she’d been up and dressed with her equipment before dawn, out in the middle of nowhere in pristine snow with nothing but the mountains and the sunrise as her backdrop.

She was dog tired, and it hadn’t helped that she’d had two sleepless nights. She missed Beckett beside her. She’d bungled everything. Both the way she’d reacted when he’d told her he loved her, and by not telling him about Clive’s phone call. But God, she was ashamed. How was it that someone who had the ability to see other people’s futures couldn’t see a man like Clive for what he was?

She needed to see Beckett, to explain to him. She didn’t have another appointment until later than morning and Jenny, her receptionist, would be there to answer the phones. So she turned in the direction of Hamilton House, hoping to find Beckett out in the barn. But when she got there the foreman had told her he’d left early that morning to run some errands, so she turned around and headed to town.

There was an open parking spot near the library, and thoughts of hot tea and a short nap in her office were prevalent in her mind. She stayed to the sidewalk and was past the sheriff’s office before she saw him standing a few feet down from her studio.

“You’re late,” Clive said, straightening. “How are you supposed to run a successful business if you can’t show up on time?”

She froze and fear crept up inside her. She hadn’t recognized him. Months apart had put his image out of her mind, and now that she was face to face with him again, she wondered why she’d never really stopped to look at him before.

He was slick and smooth—like a politician—and you could see the breeding and money in the way he talked and carried himself. He wasn’t her type. Maybe that’s why she’d let him sweet talk her. Or maybe he’d been that good of an actor.

“I manage somehow,” she forced out. She saw Jenny sitting at the reception desk in the studio, her eyes wide with questions and curiosity. “What are you doing here, Clive?”

“I told you I’ve come to take you home.”

“I am home.”

“Then I’ve come to drag you back where you belong and claim the artwork that belongs to me.”

“I’m not interested. Have a nice life.”

He took a step closer and grasped her wrist, squeezing tight enough that she gasped. “You don’t want to fuck with me right now, Marnie. I fucking
own
you. And I don’t give a shit what you want or where this smart-ass attitude has come from. I don’t care if I have to walk in there and rip every picture off the wall. They’re
mine
.”

Black dots danced in front of Marnie’s eyes as he squeezed her wrist harder. It had been a long time since she’d felt pain like that, and her knees started to buckle.

“You’re going to want to let her go,” Beckett said from somewhere behind her. “And you’re going to want to do it right now.”

She would’ve cried out in relief if she hadn’t hurt so bad.

Clive looked over her shoulder and said, “This is none of your concern, cowboy. This is between me and my fiancé.”

“I don’t care who you say she is. You’re not treating any woman like that. Now let her go or I’ll make you.”

Clive let go of her wrist and she sucked in a deep breath, cradling her hand to her stomach. She leaned against the wall and waited for the nausea to pass. Doors to the shops had started to open and people were gathering on the sidewalks to watch.

“What’s going on, Beckett?” Cooper asked, coming out of the sheriff’s office.

“I’ve got it under control. Mr. Wallace was just leaving.”

“Know who I am, do you, cowboy?” Clive asked. “Then you know I’m nobody to fuck with. Especially not when it comes to my property. And this bitch is my property. Signed, sealed, and delivered in the contract. Marnie Whitlock is a household name in the world of photography. People pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for an original Marnie Whitlock. But everyone knows that artists are terrible at managing their money and their brand. Every picture hanging on that wall in that studio belongs to me. Hell, technically the studio should belong to me too because that’s a business interest, and it says in our contract that I’m the sole executor of all of her business interests.”

“Why don’t you tell them how you drew the papers up without my knowledge and forced your secretary to sign my name, and then had one of your golfing buddy’s file the paperwork?”

“Prove it,” he said smugly. “Who’s going to believe a piece of trash from the wrong side of the tracks? You can’t fight a battle with me and win, Marnie.”

“She might not be able to fight it by herself,” Beckett said. “But there are plenty of people to help her. Do you want this fixed, Marnie? Just say the word.”

“Yes,” she said. It was time to stop running. To stop hiding. Someone like Clive would never go away for long. And she was stronger than she’d once been. She’d made her life and her career, and what she chose to do with it was her decision alone. “I want my life back. He’s not going to have power over me anymore.”

Clive laughed and looked at her with malice in his eyes. “Now, sweetheart. We’re going to get married. That’ll seal everything up nice and tight. You know there’s no use in resisting. I’m a man who always gets what he wants.”

“Not this time,” Beckett said.

“Listen, cowboy. I don’t know who the hell you are, but if you want to keep your job so you can keep a roof over your head, I suggest you move along.”

“I’m the head cowboy, and the ranch, the house, and a good part of the land you see belongs to me. You don’t intimidate me.”

Clive took a step forward. And then another. Until he was nose to nose with Beckett. But Beckett stood his ground. “Then maybe you should worry about being able to do business in any of the fifty states again. I’m a powerful man with powerful friends. In fact, the governor of your state happens to be one. I will crush you like a bug.”

Clive kept his eye on Beckett, but he spoke to Marnie. “Start getting your things together. We’re leaving tonight.”

“You’re out of your damned mind. What didn’t you understand about no?” Marnie asked. “No, no, no. I’m not going. You don’t own me. And I am going to fight you every step of the way, so unless you resort to kidnapping, I suggest you be the one to move along.”

Clive spun around and his arm reached out to grab her, but Beckett had him on his knees with his arm pulled high behind his back in an instant.

“Lord, you must be hard of hearing,” Beckett said. He pulled out his cell phone and made a call, and when the voice on the other end of the phone answered he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Uncle Jack,” Beckett said. “I’ve got a man here who says he’s a good friend of yours. Clive Wallace. Say hi, Clive.”

Beckett put the phone up to Clive’s ear and then pulled the arm behind his back up higher, making him squeal into the phone. Beckett took the phone back and then proceeded to explain everything that had transpired, mentioned forged signatures, fraud, and threats. Since Uncle Jack and the governor of Montana were one and the same, it helped to get as much of the story out as possible.

“You hear that, Clive? Jack’s getting on the phone right now to
his
good friends, who are going to look into your business practices. He doesn’t like the fact that you hurt the woman I love and plan on marrying.”

Beckett paused as his uncle said something. “No, Uncle Jack. I haven’t asked her yet. She’s a prickly thing and stubborn too.” He paused again. “Yep, just like Mama and Aunt Sarah. She’ll fit right in.”

Marnie sank down to the sidewalk and put her head between her knees. Everyone’s emotions were hitting her at once, and she was hurting and too tired to block them. Marriage. Beckett wanted to marry her.

“You all right, Marnie?” Beckett asked. “Just take nice slow breaths. Do you think your wrist is broken?”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m more shocked that you actually want to marry me.”

“Can y’all speak up?” someone yelled from across the street. “It’s real hard to hear all the way over here.”

“Of course I want to marry you,” Beckett said. “I told you I love you. I want to spend my life with you. I’ve always wanted that. You’re the only woman for me. You just needed to find your way back home. And look, here you are.”

Clive struggled again and Beckett put the phone back to his ear when he remembered his uncle. “Sorry about that, Uncle Jack. I’m going to let you go now. Thanks for the help.” He hung up the phone and bent down to whisper to Clive. “I have to tell you, I’m pretty sure you’re going to owe Marnie a lot of money by the time they finish going through all your financial records. And I think Uncle Jack mentioned something about the IRS as well. That’s going to be a bummer.”

“You son of a bitch,” Clive said, trying to twist out of his grasp.

“Nope, my mama’s a real nice woman. Though she’d chew you up and spit you out. You’re nothing but a chicken shit, preying on others you deem weaker and taking advantage of them. You picked the wrong person this time. Marnie had the strength to leave you in the first place, and you didn’t bother to get to know her at all if you think she could’ve been persuaded to stay by the promise of money and fame. And you really don’t know her at all if you think threats are going to work any better. She’s survived a lot worse than you.”

He pulled Clive to his feet but didn’t let go of him. “Cooper, if you wouldn’t mind taking him off my hands I need to go say a few words to the love of my life.”

“What he’d say?” someone across the street yelled. “Toil and strife?”

“I’ll take it from here,” Cooper said, getting a good grip on Clive’s arm. “Why don’t we head to my office and have a chat about how to treat women?”

Beckett went to Marnie and knelt down beside her, gathering her gingerly in his arms.

“Let me love you, Marnie,” he whispered against her hair. “You’re so worth it.”

A sob caught in her throat and she tightened her arms around his neck. He didn’t care that they were in public or that an audience had gathered. As far as he was concerned it was just the two of them.

“I’ve loved you for so long,” she said. “I never thought I deserved someone like you. Never expected you’d be mine when I finally came home. I’ve wanted to say it for so long, but I was afraid. I couldn’t see our future when I tried to look. I could see everyone else’s. But not ours. It terrified me to think of what that meant.”

“Look in my eyes and you can see all the future you need, baby. I will never stop loving you.”

When she finally met his gaze he saw his reflection in her eyes. “From this point forward,” he said, “our future is the only thing that matters. The past is the past. The hurt and anger. Everything you survived, it made you who you are today. That’s the woman I love. The woman I want to spend eternity with. Marry me, Marnie. Let me love you.”

Her fingers twined in his hair and hope filled her eyes. “Be my future, Beckett. I love you too.”

Epilogue

Five Months Later…

The MacKenzies knew how to throw a wedding. They’d had plenty of practice.

And Mary MacKenzie couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day for the daughter of her heart to marry the man she loved. May in Montana was beautiful. The air was crisp and clear and everything was green.

Beckett and Marnie were married down by the water, standing beneath an arch of white flowers as they pledged to love and honor each other for eternity. Her dark hair shone against the lacy veil and her voice was clear as she said her vows.

It wasn’t often the whole family was together in one place, but when they were, Mary’s heart filled so much she thought it would burst. Even Shane had put on his suit and sat at the end of the row in his wheelchair, his pants leg pinned below the knee.

Shane’s time was coming. If he didn’t have faith in himself then she’d just have to have enough for the both of them. And she wasn’t the only one who had faith in Shane. Doctor Lacy Shaw wasn’t going to let him quit. That girl had a lot of fight in her. And Shane might not realize it, but even Mary could see the sparks between them.

He so reminded her of her first husband. But though she’d lost him young, she had no regrets. Because her love for Shane had been the love of youth. What she had with James was so much richer—deeper. They’d shared children, heartache, struggle, good times, and grandchildren. And she looked forward to waking next to him every morning and seeing what adventures were still in store for them.