Her Billionaire Christmas Secret (Texas Ranch Romance Book 4)
Page 10
At the ranch house, Dani stopped in the kitchen to talk with her mother. “Peter is coming again tomorrow to do some more work on our book. Is there room at the ranch house?”
Mary put down her mixer and looked at Dani speculatively. “There’s room, of course. But what do you think about that?”
“I love him, Mom. I have loved him, in some way, all my life.”
Mary came around and put her arms around Dani. “I am so happy for you, Dani. He’s a good man. I have always wanted him in our family.”
The next day, Dani decided to do the day treatment at the ranch house spa. She scheduled a hair treatment, a facial, and a manicure. She’d been helping Carson the last couple weeks with the chores, and she needed some serious help getting all the dirt out of her pores and out from under her nails. It was a luxury to have a spa day. As she came up the stairs from the spa, Sam came running into the house, yelling, “Mom, Grandma, it’s time! The new baby horse is being born!”
“Sam, that is wonderful! I will come over as soon as I shower. Peter is coming back to visit today, too.”
“Yay!” His little jump in the air made Dani’s heart skip. He shouted while he ran back to the barn, “Everyone is coming to watch, and I get to help; it’s my job, Mom. Peter can help too.”
“I’m very proud of you, Sam. I’ll hurry.”
Dani headed out the back door toward her home. She was excited to see Peter again. Sam was settling in so well here on the ranch. She hoped Peter had come to terms with whatever was troubling him. That last time she saw his face he was in agony. She hummed as she walked through the woods. It was quiet. Everyone was over at the ranch, watching a foal be born.
Maybe the book they were writing would become a best seller. She laughed. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining after a fresh rain, and life was good. Dani walked into her house, taking off her soiled clothing as she went and stepped into the shower. She had just finished washing the treatment out of her hair when she heard the door shut. “Is that you, Sam?” Unease coursed through her. Something felt off.
She put on her bathrobe and stepped out into the bedroom and froze. There stood Dr. Ryan, grinning like a wolf about to take his prey. What could she use as a weapon? The knives were in the kitchen. He was between her and the nightstand, where her revolver was located. In just a few seconds, her life flashed before her. Sam would grow up an orphan. She would never see Peter again.
Ryan started walking toward her, still grinning, his eyes full of lust. She backed away, planning to give him the fight of her life. He lunged toward her, and she kicked him to the side and ran for the door. She made it to the porch, but he came up behind her, taking a handful of her hair. She screamed as he yanked her back inside.
Peter drove to the ranch in the truck he’d rented. He figured if he was going to a ranch, he better have a truck. This trip, he brought proper ranch clothing with him and a gift for Sam and Flash.
Mostly he was anxious to share his family albums with Dani. When he got out of the truck, no one was around, so he carried his luggage to the front porch and set it down. He stepped inside. “Is anyone here?” There was no response.
Something about the stillness bothered him. His hair stood on end. “Hello?” Something was wrong, he could feel it. Seriously alarmed now, he walked to the back of the building, wary. A scream tore through the garden in front of him. Dani’s scream.
“Dani!” Peter took off running like he never had before. He raced along the path toward the house set back into the trees. He heard Dani scream again. Please keep her safe. His heart was in a panic. His breathing came in gasps as he jumped the front steps. His momentum sent him crashing through the front door. A man had Dani pinned in the corner, with his hands around her throat. He turned his head around, snarling as Peter grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him to the floor.
Dani struggled toward the nightstand, gasping for breath. She took out the revolver and fired twice out the door. Then she turned it on her assailant. Peter turned him over and pulled him to his feet. The man looked over at Dani with an insolent smirk. That did it. Peter smashed his fist into his face, effectively wiping that smirk right off and leaving him unconscious.
Peter turned to Dani and pulled her into his arms. In his mind, he was back under the pine tree, comforting her as she sobbed. This time it wasn’t a dream.
Carson was first to enter the house with a couple of ranch hands. “Take this piece of trash up to the road and wait there for the police. I don’t want him anywhere near my barn or the ranch house. He has defiled it long enough.”
Peter helped Dani sit on her bedroom bench. He started to walk away, but she reached up for his hand.
“Peter…”
“I’m not going anywhere, Dani.” He settled down next to her.
Henry arrived next and sat down with his arm protectively around her. “Dani. The lines in his face deepened. “We are going to have to do a better job screening our guests. I should have listened to Carson.”
“Where’s Sam?” The fear in Dani’s voice tore through Peter.
“I told Mary to keep Sam at the barn with his foal. He needn’t know anything about this.”
She fell back against Peter. “Thanks, Dad.”
The rest of that afternoon, Dani and Peter sat on the bench swing on her porch. They didn’t talk. They both took comfort in the silence.
Mary came down with cookies and dinner. She gave Peter a big hug. “We are so grateful you came. You saved our Dani. Can I get y’all anything?”
“Thank you, ma’am. Could someone bring my briefcase down?”
Mary nodded. “Sure, I’ll send the bellhop down right away.”
“Mom, how is Sam? Did the new foal get here okay?”
“He is fine, dear. The colt got here faster than we expected, and Sam is still over there with Henry. They’ll probably eat dinner there in the stables.”
It was hard for Dani to eat, but she took a few bites. After they ate, they moved to the sofa. Dani had stopped shaking and seemed content sitting next to Peter.
Dani looked over at Peter. “I feel safe with you here. It’s funny, Peter, all those years, all our time apart, I have always felt you were close, like you had my back.”
“Just like you had my back growing up,” Peter replied. “You have never been far from my thoughts.” He got up and stretched, then looked down at Dani. His heart filled with joy. Here was the woman he had loved his whole life. He would never let her go again.
Dani sat up with a very determined and annoyed look on her face. “You never answered my letters! You shut me out.”
Peter brought over his briefcase and then put his arm around her again and pulled her closer to him. He pulled out two beautifully bound, leather photo albums. As he turned the pages, he recreated his life through the lens of these new truths. When he was done, he set them down again and looked over at Dani with a look of tender love.
“Dani, I have loved you all my life. You have never been far from my thoughts or dreams. I cherished your letters, but as I said I didn’t feel worthy of your love. Last week, my aunt gave me the history of my parents. I’d always worried that I would turn out to be an alcoholic like my father, but my father’s difficulties were not inherited but war given. I was finally free—free to love you.”
Dani snuggled closer to him and wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye. “Peter, we could have handled any problem, war given or not.”
Mary stopped by then with Sam in tow. Peter stood up to greet him. “Sam, could I have a word with you in the other room?”
Peter and Sam walked to the back of the house to Sam’s room. “Wow, this is a great room,” Peter said. “You even have your own wooden horse.”
“Yep, and now I have real horses to train.” Sam climbed up on his horse chair.
“Sam, you are going to grow up to be a wonderful man like your father. I am proud to know you. You know your mom and I have been friends since we were younger than you.�
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Sam nodded and smiled.
“I love your mom. I was wondering if it would be okay with you if I married her and we became a family.
Sam considered what Peter said. “What about Flash?”
“Flash will be your horse as long as you want him.”
“Okay, that is good.” Sam gave Peter a hug and ran out and asked his grandma to take him over for night time cookies.
Peter found Dani in her office. “I’ve asked Sam for permission to marry you.”
Dani’s eyes lit and then clouded, searching his face.
He took her hand and knelt beside her on the bear rug. He looked down at the snarling bear head. “How appropriate.” They both laughed.
“With his permission, I kneel here. Dani, would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
She rested a hand at the side of his face and knelt in front of him, bringing his lips to her own. “Yes, I can’t think of anything better.” Their kiss was full of promises, of hope and plans for happy things to come. When they at last pulled away, Dani raised an eyebrow, “Finally!”
Epilogue
Two years later
Peter and Dani were married in the little chapel on the Connecticut estate.
They had a daughter they named Adelaide after the grandmother she would only know from the stories her great-aunt Meredith shared with her.
Sam turned ten and mastered the art of sliding down the mansion’s two-story banister without falling off once.
Aunt Meredith spent Sunday afternoons with Dani helping her with her photo book project of Mitch. When they finished, Dani insisted they make another one of Meredith.
They published a new children’s book entitled, “The Categorically Exciting Adventures of the Skykomish Forest.”
The time for the planned Christmas trip to the ranch resort arrived. Peter had booked the entire resort for their visit. It was Christmas Eve day. They flew into the nearest airport and hired a limo to drive them the rest of the way to the ranch.
The white board fencing along the winding driveway was decorated with garlands and Christmas lights. The wrap-around porch was adorned with six decorated Christmas trees, and lights shimmered all over the ranch buildings. The pecan trees out front were sparkling with tiny white lights on every branch.
Dani whistled. “Wow, I had no idea my parents made such an elaborate effort to decorate for Christmas.”
Peter leaned over to get a better look. “It’s beautiful. Look at the lights, Sam.”
The car stopped, and Sam leaped out and ran to the stables. “Carson, I’m back!”
Mary and Henry walked out to the front porch as Dani rushed up into the arms of her parents. “This place looks wonderful, Mom. Dad, you look great.”
Mary gently cradled Adelaide in her arms as Dani handed her over.
“I hope we arrived early enough to help with Christmas Eve dinner?” Dani looked over to the stables and waved at Carson.
“Well, it was the strangest thing. We came out onto the porch this morning to find three Christmas geese wrapped up and ready to cook.” Her mother raised her shoulders in question. “Our staff has had them slow cooking all day.”
Dani looked over at Peter. He raised his hands palm up as if he knew nothing about it.
The lobby was beautiful. Four extravagantly decorated Christmas trees graced each corner of the room. But in the small private lounge off to the side, the Dugan’s had their own family tree. It was decorated with children-made ornaments from Dani, Peter, and Sam over the years. Strung popcorn made up the garland. Gingerbread men and frosted snowflake sugar cookies hung around simple colored lights. As was their tradition, one gift was opened on Christmas Eve.
Everyone crowded into the room and sat around on the leather sofas surrounding the tree. Sam was excited to show Adelaide the ornaments that he had made and sent to their grandparents. Dani walked over and picked up a large package sitting behind the tree. It was from her parents to Peter. She gently placed it in his lap like she had done so many times before. Peter took his time removing the ribbon and bows and wrapping paper until finally Dani and Sam helped him tear the rest of the paper off and open the box. He leaned back in his chair and smiled as all the Christmases of his youth passed before his eyes. And then he pulled out a brand new pair of Ariat cowboy boots.
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