Her Billionaire in Hiding (Texas Ranch Romance Book 3)

by Sophia Summers

  Dani backed away. “Let’s hike up to the logger’s swing they told us about.” Mary gave Peter a small backpack with lunches and drinks inside. Dani rushed ahead as they followed the road deeper into the forest. Wild raspberries lined the road. “Hey, Dani, come back!” Peter called after her.

  Dani returned looking peeved. Peter knew she didn’t like to be distracted when she was on a mission. She crossed her arms. “What is it?” When she saw the berries, she took off her hat and used it as a bowl for collecting the berries. “Come on, let’s find enough for a pie.”

  She ducked under the barbed-wire fencing and walked further into the woods, following the berries. They climbed up the mountain, going from one raspberry patch to the other. It was about 20 minutes later that they turned around with hats full of berries and realized they had no clue how to get back to the road. They tried one direction and stopped. Right in front of them was a baby bear. As soon as the bear saw them, he started hollering. That’s when they heard a large animal rushing through the woods toward them.

  Dani grabbed his hand. “Run!” They dropped their hats and ran as fast as they could, jumping over some fallen logs and tripping over others. Puffing and out of breath, Peter stopped first. “That bear is eating our berries.”

  Dani stopped next to Peter, hanging on his arm for support as she sucked in air. “She can have them. That was a close one. We could have been eaten ourselves.”

  Peter tentatively touched her arm. “I would have jumped in front of you, Dani. Then you could have gotten away.”

  Dani looked dumbfounded. “While the bear ate you? No, we could have both jumped on her back.”

  Peter started laughing. “It’s not a horse, Dani.”

  Dani slapped her hip. “Ride ‘em, cowboy!”

  They both went into hysterics and fell back into a pile of pine needles under a large Ponderosa pine. Peter looked up into the tree, searching for bits of sky. He knew he would never forget this. “What are we going to say to your parents? They will not think it’s funny one bit.”

  Peter was strictly obedient to the Dugans’ rules. He did not want to do anything that would make them sorry they knew him.

  “Well,” Dani began,” we were minding our own business, picking raspberries for my mom to make raspberry pie, my dad’s favorite, and this cute little baby bear came over and starting hollering for his mother. We knew that was bad news and started running for our lives. When we turned around, no one was chasing us.”

  Peter nodded. “That sounds good. But you left out the part where we got off the road and went into the woods.”

  Dani gave him one of those “Oh, brother!” looks.

  Peter was still looking for ways to tell Dani he loved her, but figured being lost in the forest was not a good time.

  Dani stood up and looked around. “Well, it’s not going to matter what we say if we can’t find our way back to tell the story.”

  “Let’s eat our lunch here and then find the river.” Peter took off his backpack, he was starving. They ate quickly and started walking downhill toward the sound of the river.

  “Look, I can see the river from here.” Dani pointed down the hill.

  Looking down that hill made him a little dizzy; he wasn’t good with heights. “I don’t think I can go this way, Dani.”

  “We’re not lost if we can see the road. Come on!” Dani led the way, and, as he always did in those days, Peter followed along. A large eagle swooped close over their heads and then dove toward the river. They lost sight of it behind some trees but then it rose back up, its powerful wings pumping hard to carry the weight of the large fish in its talons.

  As they watched it glide to the other side of the canyon, Peter lost his footing and started to fall. His foot caught between two rocks, twisting his knee. It hurt like nothing he had ever felt before. Peter clenched his teeth and held in a scream.

  “Peter!” Dani hurried down to him and helped him stand up. “Come on, that scared me.” She had him lean on her while they maneuvered their way down to the bottom of the rockslide.

  “Thanks, Dani, I can walk now.” The trees blocked the sun, but here and there were tiny spots of sunlight that had managed to sneak through.

  Peter remembered how grown up they felt as they opened the cabin door. They had been gone all day, avoided peril, and made it back in time for dinner. Dani’s parents barely looked up as they welcomed them back. Dani looked at Peter conspiratorially. “They will start asking questions soon. Be ready.”

  No questions came. All night while playing Monopoly, Dani and Peter kept giving each other sneaky looks with raised eyebrows. Dani had a habit of talking with her hands, so every once in a while she would raise her hand palm up in question.

  A semi whizzed past him, going at least seventy miles per hour, bringing him immediately back to the present. That driver must have a death wish.

  Peter shook his head. They gave us way too much freedom in those days. He and Dani could have gotten themselves killed a few times that month.

  The very next day, they packed up their lunches and said they were going out exploring. They waited for some kind of response or advice or even a concerned look from her parents as they stepped out into the wild woods. But they just gave a slight wave and said, “Have a nice day.”

  As they walked back up the road, this time determined to make it to the logger’s swing, Dani said, “Did you see my parents? I mean they could have at least warned us, like, ‘Be careful, you could get eaten by a bear.’ That would have been appropriate. Or maybe, ‘Don’t get lost in the woods. You could fall down a cliff!’ ”

  “I guess they trust us.” Peter knew not to say too much when Dani got on one of her rants.

  “I don’t want them to trust us; it’s too much responsibility. They are supposed to know if it’s safe here or not. They’re parents. Now, I am going to have to get the travel guide out and waste my vacation reading up on this place. We could be dead right now, or worse—we could be bear poop.”

  Peter followed, listening to her gripe. She was funny, and he needed to concentrate on something to avoid thinking about the pain in his knee. So he just nodded his head and agreed with everything she said as he silently dealt with the pain.

  Now, all these years later driving through the snow, his knee only ached now and then. Peter slowed down as his jaguar slid a little to the side, going around a corner. A sports car was not the best idea for snow driving. The road curved through a tunnel of trees. The snow-covered branches looked like a winter wonderland in the reflection of his headlights. It brought him back to the tunnel of trees they’d hiked through on their way to the logger’s swing. It had been magical to a boy from the city. The smells were wonderful, and the fresh mountain air was invigorating. They found the logger’s swing at the top of a hillside. A rope was connected to a swing that was hanging out over the canyon. They had to pull the swing back to the hill so they could get on and sail out over the tops of the trees.

  He remembered Dani encouraging him to get on the swing. “You be first, Peter.” Dani held the swing firm while he climbed on and then pushed him out over the canyon. The swing was attached high in the branches of a pine tree. He flew over the ravine, over the tops of other trees, and for the first time, he felt grateful for the pain in his knee—it kept his mind off of his terror from being up so high. “Get off after the first swing, or you will be stuck out there,” Dani called.

  His knee had been killing him, but he dared not mention it the whole trip in case the Dugans felt he had to go home. They played for hours and ate their lunch, looking out over the valley.

  “What is your favorite part of our trip so far, Peter?”

  “I loved seeing the eagle. I didn’t know if he would make it with that huge fish. What was your favorite?”

  “I like the swing. Help me get on, I want to go one more time.” This time she lay on her stomach as she sailed out over the tops of the trees. “I am Superwoman!” she screamed, the sound echoing
over the canyon.

  On their way home, they passed another cabin. “I’m thirsty. Let’s get some water at the river. They walked toward the water, where children were playing on rocks at the river’s edge. Peter looked around for any adults as he bent down to fill his canteen.

  Dani walked over to the kids. “Hi there, we’re in the cabin down the way.” The children waved and continued jumping from one rock to the other. Peter was just going to tell them to be careful when a little boy slipped, fell into the river, and was swept away. Peter dove in right behind him, reaching out to grab him. Dani ran as fast as she could downriver to an outcropping of rocks. Finally Peter got ahold of the boy, who was about four years old. He was choking and struggling to climb higher up Peter’s body. “I’ve got you. Hold still.”

  He saw Dani wading out from the shore. She had her hand stretched out toward him. He kicked off one of the rocks and grabbed her hand. She pulled while he got a foothold, and they carried the boy to shore.

  As soon as they put him down he ran to his cabin. Peter looked at Dani. They were both soaking wet. Her teeth were chattering. “Dani, you saved my life.” He tried to show how sincere he was, how much he meant what he was about to say. “I love you.”

  Dani smiled. “I know you do, Peter. I love you too.”

  Peter would always love Dani. His windshield wipers whipped as fast as they could, brushing snow aside so he could see. That summer he had had no idea how much his life was about to change.

  Soon after that trip, his father was admitted to the hospital and died of liver failure. His mother just seemed to give up after that. It wasn’t even a week later when she collapsed at work from a stroke. Peter stayed with the Dugans until his family from Connecticut sent someone to pick him up. The day he was to leave, the whole household seemed depressed. Henry told him he would have better advantages in life with his aunt but that they would miss him.

  The day before he was to leave, Dani and Peter rode their bikes to the park for the last time, to say their goodbyes in private. Dani put her arms around him, sobbing. She stepped away and then kissed him for the first time. It was the first kiss of a teenage love, but it awakened passions he knew nothing about. He desperately held her tight, never wanting to let her go. She broke away and ran to her bike. He cried out “bye” and watched her ride down the hill and out of his life.

  The town butcher witnessed the scene and walked his dog over to Peter. “You will never be good enough for a girl like that.”

  Peter looked down, not willing to look the man in the face.

  The tall man pulled back his small, snarling Shih Tzu. “You have bad blood.” As he walked away, he looked back. “Sooner or later, you’ll end up just like your father.”

  Peter could feel the truth of those devastating words. He’d always imagined himself coming back for Dani, but what if being with him, she ended up like his mother? It crushed his heart. He determined he would never do anything to harm Dani, the only person he loved in the world.

  When he got home from the park, there was a limo in front of his house. “Peter Jacobs, I am here on behalf of your aunt Meredith. My name is James. I already have your luggage, please get in.” The Dugans were still at work. He had said goodbye the night before. He got in and felt the door close on what he thought would be the only happy time of his life.

  James handed him a copy of the obituaries of his parents. They were simple. “Derrek Jacobs passed away due to complications associated with his illness.” His mother’s was even shorter. “Adelaide Walker Jacobs died of a brain aneurysm.” As he rode hours on end to his new home, he wondered what his aunt would be like. His mother’s sister was being forced to take him in. He hated to impose on yet another family.

  Then James told him that his aunt was a very busy woman and was in Europe at present. She had made arrangements for his education. “You are a very fortunate young man. Your schooling will be the best this country has to offer.” As the limo drove up to a military academy, he was relieved. He wouldn’t be a problem to her directly after all.

  The campus was stately. The large red brick buildings reminded him of pictures he had seen of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The sidewalks were lined with large, old maple trees. He liked the looks of the place. Uniformed boys were rushing along the sidewalks. As they got out of the limo, the tower clock began to chime. He followed the driver up the stairs to the head office. At the door, James shook his hand. “I will probably see you again for holidays and summer breaks—if that is what your aunt decides.”

  The school headmaster showed Peter into a room with uniforms that had been purchased for his use. When the headmaster looked at what was in his suitcase, he made a sour face. “Would you like me to throw these away for you?”

  “Can I get a few keepsakes out first?”

  “May I. And, yes, you may.”

  Dani had given him an arrowhead her father found in Montana on a hunting trip. She said it would be a reminder of their love. He also took out a small wedding picture of his parents. It was the only remembrance of his mother that he had. In the bottom of his bag, tucked away almost as if he wanted to hide it from his memory was an eagle-embossed coin.

  But the coin brought back the memory it was meant to. Dani had always come bouncing over to his back door on Christmas morning to get Peter and bring him over to her house. On this particular morning, he woke up to hear his father screaming. He slowly crept down the hall toward the living room. His father was throwing furniture around, yelling over and over, “We killed them. We had to kill them!” His mother was trying to hold him back, but he threw her away, and she crashed into the wall and collapsed.

  Peter ran over to her. “Mother, Mother!” She opened her eyes, and he helped her stand up. She walked over to his father, who had fallen back onto the sofa. “Derrek, it will be okay.” She wiped his forehead and the drool that was hanging from his chin.

  His father picked up a coin from the table and threw it toward Peter. “I never want to see this again.” He then grabbed a bottle of whiskey and took a long drink.

  Peter picked up the coin just as he heard Dani knock on the back door.

  His mother nodded toward Peter. “You go ahead. I’m fine, and your dad feels better now. He’s sick and suffering, Peter. It’s okay.” Peter looked at the coin and put it in his pocket. All he could see was the sorrow in his mother’s eyes and the bleeding scratch on her forehead. She was the one that was sick and suffering, and it wasn’t okay.

  Peter remembered looking over at the school master and hiding the coin in his pocket. His mother’s suffering was over now. His father was dead, but Peter carried the poison of that moment in his blood and the coin as a reminder.

  “Let me show you to your room.”

  This was the beginning of his thirst for knowledge. He discovered he could gain recognition for doing well at school. The years passed quickly, and he graduated with honors. His aunt warmed to him as she saw him excel. He’d started to receive more holiday invitations home.

  Letters came from Dani. He saved them but never responded. She was better off without him. He had looked up alcoholism, and the research was there. He did have bad blood.

  It seemed his memories always ended with bad blood, the butcher and his snarling dog. Peter pulled himself back to the present. He’d kept his word. Dani never knew him as a secret benefactor. She was as far away from his poison as she could be. He turned off the interstate, humming along with the Christmas music for the last few miles to the airport where his pilot waited.

 

 

 
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