by Kate Pearce
She didn’t immediately reply, so he got into his truck and drove to the nearest gas station to fill up his tank. The last thing he needed was to get overconfident and run out of gas halfway across a mountain pass just when his life was getting exciting.
“I bet the Donner party said exactly the same thing,” Jackson muttered to himself as he headed down the highway. “Primary mission: get home in one piece.”
* * *
By the time he parked at the ranch, he was exhausted, hungry, and dying to lay down and get the crick out of his neck. He was also delighted to be home. The kitchen lights were on and he went in to find Cauy sitting at the table waiting for him.
“Hey.” Jackson put down his backpack and patted Grace. “What’s up?”
“Good to see you all in one piece,” Cauy replied. “Do you want some coffee or are you heading for bed?”
“I’ll take the coffee. I’ve got stuff to tell you.” Jackson yawned so hard, he cracked his jaw. “I’ll just dump my bag. Where’s Rachel?”
“She’s doing something over at Morgan Ranch with her grandma,” Cauy said. “But as it has to do with baking and cookies, I encouraged her to go.”
“Smart move, bro.”
When Jackson returned, Cauy had set a mug of black coffee on the table opposite him, which Jackson immediately dived into.
“It’s good to be home.”
“Is it?” Cauy offered him a refill. “How did it go with Mr. Perkins?”
“Well, so far, Dad’s secret stash is worth a hundred thousand dollars. It might be worth a lot more when Mr. Perkins gets back to me about the last two coins.”
“Really?” Cauy whistled. “That’s amazing.”
Jackson grinned at his brother. “The best part is that the two coins he thinks are the most valuable are Morgan coins.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Nope. Can you imagine how much Dad must have hated that?” Jackson said. “I doubt he bought them himself, but I’m surprised he didn’t sell them immediately. He must have known they were too valuable to give up, so he hid them away.” Jackson paused. “Or he inherited the box from someone in his family and didn’t know the coins were there at all.”
“So our Morgan family minted coins?” Cauy asked.
“No, these were minted in Philadelphia, but they do have a high percentage of silver in them, so maybe that came from the Morgansville mine.”
“I doubt it, but it makes a great story, and I’m good with us getting some money back,” Cauy said.
“Like fifty thousand bucks means a lot to you,” Jackson joked.
“It’s fifty thousand bucks I can put straight back into the ranch to replace all the harm Mark did by taking it out in the first place,” Cauy retorted. “And it sure is a nice nest egg for you.”
“Yeah.” Jackson held his brother’s gaze. “It really is.” He paused. “I’ve been thinking about the offer you made me.”
“The one about owning half the ranch?”
“Yeah, that one.” Jackson spread his fingers wide on the table. “I said no because I was hurt Dad hadn’t left anything to me directly in his will.”
“Understandable.” Cauy nodded.
“But the more I thought about it, the more I realized Dad wanted to divide us over the ranch even after he died. He could’ve just left the place to Mom, but he deliberately made a choice to keep us all on separate sides. It’s just the sort of petty, vindictive thing he’d do to load all the debt on you and give me nothing.”
“I came to the same conclusion.” Cauy set his mug on the table. “Which is why I wanted you to have a stake in this place.”
“I can’t afford to buy a ranch by myself, and I don’t even have the right skill set to run one yet,” Jackson confessed. “But I’d love to have some say in managing the place where I was born.” He took a deep breath. “I’d be willing to invest my fifty thousand dollars back into the ranch as well.”
Cauy sat back, and the silence lengthened until Jackson was shifting in his seat.
“Unless you’ve changed your mind about the offer, which is totally okay with me as well,” Jackson said quickly, even as his heart sank to his boots.
“I haven’t changed my mind, but there’s a complication,” Cauy said slowly.
“As in what?”
“The Gardins asked if they could leave me their place in their will.”
“Wow.” Jackson blinked at him. “Really? What did you say?”
“I said I’d have to think about it. They really want to move to town, so they’d prefer coming to some arrangement that benefits us all. I’m thinking that I might finance their move to Morgantown and help Shep keep the ranch going. When they die, the place would then come to me.”
“So they’re the other ranch that might be up for sale to the developers?” Jackson grimaced. “That’s sad. They’re good people. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.” Cauy sighed. “A lot of it depends on you.”
“How come?” Jackson regarded his brother.
“I can’t manage two ranches by myself,” Cauy said. “The question is, would you be willing to take one of them on?”
* * *
Daisy sat back and closed her eyes as Chase’s private jet took off and headed for Morgan Valley. She’d had a long intense day, and the thought of not having to deal with anyone from Silicon Valley for a while was a huge relief. She could do the talking and representing for the company, but at heart, she was still a nerdy introvert who liked her quiet space.
There were five VCs really interested in funding them, including a very enthusiastic Jake, and the team was ecstatic. Daisy had spent the morning breakfast meeting going over every detail of each possible partner, trying to decide who they could trust and who would try to screw them. Clive’s VC board had presented a formal offer, alongside Clive’s personal one. To Daisy’s immense relief, none of them had jumped on his offer to buy them out.
It had been hard not to beg them not to listen to Clive, but they’d all shared their disgust and shuddered at the prospect of being beholden to him for two years. Daisy was almost ashamed of having doubted them. Her paranoia reminded her of the deceit and corruption beneath the surface of the entrepreneur community, sometimes poisoned by vast amounts of money. There were good people there like Chase, but there were also a lot of sharks.
She couldn’t live there full-time again, but she wasn’t sure she could completely give up that tech part of her either.
“Are you okay to talk about your company, Daisy?”
Daisy refocused her attention on Chase. “Officially or unofficially?”
He smiled. “That’s up to you.”
“How about you run it by me now and then put it in writing, so I can share it with my team?”
“Sounds good.” Chase opened his laptop. “I’ve already set up the term sheet, but here’s what we’d like to offer you. We’d prefer to be your lead investor, which means either Jake or I would take a seat on your board—probably Jake, because of our personal connection.”
“Okay.” Daisy nodded.
“We calculated a price of ten dollars per share and we’d like to take thirty percent of the company, meaning we’d invest thirty million dollars in you.”
Daisy slowly closed her mouth. “And?”
“That’s it.” He shrugged. “And we’d like you guys to keep running it just the way you’ve been doing it.”
“That sounds . . . great,” Daisy babbled, and then caught herself. “I mean, I’d have to talk to the guys, but—”
“Yeah?” Chase smiled. “Cool. I’ll send you the term sheet so you can present it to your team, and we can take it from there.”
He typed away on his keyboard as Daisy tried to make sense of the more-than-generous offer. Sure, they’d dilute the number of their shares by only having 70 percent of the company between the five of them, but the value of each share would significantly increase. They’d keep control of their company and w
ork with an ethical and involved investor who truly seemed to care about the product.
She closed her eyes in a silent prayer. It wasn’t as good as the cash offer Clive had made them, and they wouldn’t be able to take money out for a few more years, but the future suddenly looked glorious.
Daisy opened her eyes as the truth hit her.
She wanted to be like Chase and have a foot in both worlds. If he could do it, why couldn’t she? She wanted a home in Morgan Valley, a family who loved and accepted her just the way she was, and a man who . . .
“How do you do it, Chase?”
At her hasty question, her companion looked up from his laptop.
“Do what?”
“Compartmentalize your life so successfully?” Daisy asked.
“I’m not sure I do.” He grimaced. “I hate not being around January and the baby. I miss stuff.”
“You seem happy in both places,” Daisy pointed out.
“That’s because I am.” He hesitated. “But it’s a constantly changing balancing act. I tend to get hyperfocused on certain things. I rely on January to tell me when I’m not getting it right and I’m acting like an ass.”
Jackson would do that for her. He’d tell her when she was out of line without any prompting at all.
As if reading her mind, Chase smiled at her. “I suspect Jackson would be great at sharing the hard truths with you, too.”
“He would,” Daisy had to agree.
She had a hard truth to face herself. If Jackson weren’t around, period, everything else wouldn’t work. She’d survive, sure, but he made sense of things for her, didn’t mind telling her when she was wrong, and yet was always there when she needed him.
“I think I’m in love with him,” Daisy blurted out.
“With Jackson?” Chase nodded. “I can totally see that. He’s a good guy.” He returned his gaze to his laptop, a smile lingering on his lips. “Just a thought: Maybe you should be telling him that, not me.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“But I need to talk to you guys,” Daisy said plaintively as she followed her father and Adam out into the boot room, where they put on their outside coats. She’d gotten back too late to talk to everyone the night before and then missed them at breakfast because she’d slept in.
“That’s great, sweetheart, but we’re going to the meeting in town first, so you can tell us anything you like when we get back.” Her father patted her shoulder. “I’m sure it can keep. Chase has news.”
Daisy resigned herself to another wait. She’d kept the secret for years, so another few hours wouldn’t make much difference. She’d decided to tell them what she was up to in Silicon Valley and ask for their support. With Auntie Rae at her side, she hoped things would go as smoothly as possible. They all loved and wanted the best for her. It was time for her to tell them what that meant, not allow them to impose their concerns on her.
“I’ll come with you.” Daisy grabbed her coat.
“Keen to see lover boy, eh?” Adam winked at her. “I hear he’s back in town as well.”
“Is he?” Daisy prevaricated, although she knew he’d been coming back because he’d sent her a text the previous day.
“Weird how you two always seem to end up in the same town.” Kaiden nudged her side. “Almost like it’s fated or something.”
“You watch way too many soaps,” Daisy muttered. “You big romantic dope.”
Kaiden laughed and linked arms with her as they all crowded into their dad’s big SUV. “The Korean ones are best. So dramatic.”
“You don’t speak Korean.”
“Doesn’t matter.” He moved along, squishing her up against the door as Ben joined them. “I understand the language of lurve.”
Adam and her dad were in the front and Auntie Rae was already in town visiting Maureen. She’d be leaving at the end of the week and Daisy was going to miss her dreadfully.
“What’s Chase got to say that’s so important?” Daisy asked her dad as they drove into town.
“How should I know?”
“Didn’t he even give you a hint?” Daisy raised her eyebrows. “You’re not usually that keen on dropping everything and going to Morgantown.”
“This is important,” her dad said with great finality. “I know it in my bones.”
“Right . . .” Beside her, Kaiden snorted, and Daisy buried her face against his arm and inhaled the scent of fresh wood shavings that always hung around him. Kaiden spent less time at the ranch than Adam and Ben, so she always appreciated spending time with him.
She got out of the truck and went into the community hall, where half the town was already assembled. Whatever Chase had to say, Daisy hoped it was good.
“Hey.”
She turned to find Jackson right behind her and felt her face heat up like a teenager’s. He wore a green check shirt over a blue T-shirt and looked good enough to eat.
“Oh! Hey! How are you?”
“I’m good actually.” He studied her carefully. “You look a bit flushed. Are you sick or something, because if so, you’d better not stay here and give it to the whole community.”
“I’m fine, thanks.” She smiled at him. “Did the rest of your trip go okay?”
“Yeah, great actually; in fact—” He pulled himself up short. “How did yours go? Are you going to work for the moron?”
“No, we all decided we didn’t want to do that,” Daisy explained.
“Awesome.” He paused. “What would you have done if they’d all said yes?”
“But they didn’t.” She blinked at him.
“But what if they had? Would you really have stayed there and worked for Clive for two years?”
“No, I don’t think I would’ve been able to do that.” She slowly exhaled. “Sometimes you have to make a stand, right? Just like you said.”
“Yeah?” He kept on looking at her, his blue gaze intent as his smile broadened. “You do.”
Oh God, was he still interested in her? Was there still hope? She kept talking. “So I won’t be based in Palo Alto for two years. I’ll be right here. Chase’s company made us an awesome offer, which I think we’ll probably accept.”
His smile intensified, making her sway slightly toward him. “Good to know.”
Behind her, someone cleared his throat. “Hey, can you two lovebirds, move it along? Some of us need coffee to get through this meeting.”
She turned to find BB Morgan grinning down at her.
“Sorry, was I in your way?” Daisy eased past Jackson, who put a hand on her arm and drew her close against his side as BB hit the coffee. The heat from his skin and his mere presence made her feel so much better.
“Hey, Jackson, will you come up to see me at the ranch sometime this week?” BB asked. “I’ve got some formal documentation I want you to look at for the formation of the survival tours company.”
“Sure, I’d love to.” Jackson nodded.
“I’ve got Jay, Sam, and my two Marine buddies onboard, and Ben Miller; you know him, right? He’s the best trail guide in the valley.”
“Sounds awesome.” Jackson shook BB’s hand. “Thanks for including me.”
Daisy looked up at Jackson as he steered her toward a seat near the back of the hall, well away from both their families. “I think you’ll be great at the survival thing.”
“I’m really interested, and while I lack actual ground experience, I’m fantastic at risk assessment and planning out missions.” He took the seat beside her, his expression wry. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over my guilt about not being in the forefront of every battle, though.”
“You did your assigned job, and you probably saved countless lives you aren’t even aware of,” Daisy reminded him, her hand catching hold of his and squeezing it tight. Despite all the people milling about, she felt like she and Jackson were alone in their own little bubble.
He sighed. “I went to see my friend Tide’s wife after he died, and she didn’t feel that way. She screamed at me to
get out, that it was all my fault.”
Daisy cupped his cheek. “She was grief-stricken. She probably didn’t even know what she was saying. Have you spoken to her since?”
“Nope.” He swallowed hard. “I haven’t been able to find the courage.”
“You will.” She stared into his eyes. “I’ll come with you if you like.”
* * *
Up front, Chase banged on the table and started the meeting by assuring everyone he’d be as quick as he could as they all probably wanted to get back to the baseball game.
Aware Daisy was still holding his hand, and unwilling to draw attention to it, Jackson sat quietly beside her. What was happening? She seemed different—more open to him, more his? Whatever it was, he was all for it. He and Cauy had thrashed out a few things between them during the day, but he was hoping to ask Daisy what she thought before he made a final commitment. Somehow, that was the most important thing of all . . .
Chase mentioned the application for the traffic changes was progressing toward Sacramento, and then turned to the piece that was of interest to Jackson.
“I’m pleased to tell you one of the ranches that was in danger of being bought out by developers has decided to sell privately instead.”
“Awesome!” BB gave a piercing whistle that made his grandma Ruth, who was sitting beside him, wince and slap his arm. “Which one of you rich guys bought it?”
“Me.” Cauy stood up. “The Gardins wanted to keep it in the family.”
Jackson braced himself as the whole town turned to look at him and his brother.
“The family?” Daisy’s father asked. He obviously hadn’t been paying attention when they’d been branding cattle up at the Gardin ranch. “What’s the connection?”
Cauy held his ground. “Ben Gardin was my father.”
“Well, that makes a lot of sense, seeing as Mark treated you worse than dirt.” Daisy’s dad nodded. “Good for you, then, son.”
“What about the Cortez place?” Adam stood and addressed Chase. “Why can’t your charitable arm buy that?”
“We’re still looking into it, Adam,” Chase said. “But we certainly don’t want to lose it if we don’t have to.”
