by Selena Kitt
“You’re beginning to make me regret saying yes.” It was a cold, awful thing to say, and he winced—but she didn’t care. “The money doesn’t mean a damned thing, by the way. But your lack of trust in me does. What do you need a majority vote for? What’s going on?”
“Some of the board members want to move Ryker in a different direction, and Anders doesn’t approve. Neither do I, actually. Dad convinced most of these board members that their recommendations for Ryker’s extended military involvement were a little premature. But in the last couple months, well... some of them started voicing their political opinions more... loudly.”
“So you need my shares to make sure you’ve got a majority vote when you need one?”
“Not just yours, but yeah.” His shoulders drooped, like the weight of the world was on them again. “Yours is the last. And it will make the majority. But I can’t. I won’t.”
“Well, how kind of you.”
“Look, when Anders asked me to do this, he knew I hadn’t talked to you in ages. He thought I hated you—hell, I thought I hated you. It fit nicely into my little plan to... God, I’m an asshole. To take you down—to hurt you, like you hurt me. Like I... like I believed you hurt me.”
“Anders asked you?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “There have to be more shares floating out there up for grabs. Why does he need mine? Can’t he go after those, if he’s so determined?”
“No, he can’t.” Ric’s voice was hoarse, his gaze full of sorrow.
Then Annalesa remembered Ric telling her about Anders getting shafted out of his own inheritance after spending a lot of money trying to keep control on the Ryker Board.
He was out of money.
And options.
She was their last hope at getting a majority vote.
“Does he know you won’t get my shares?”
“I haven’t told him.” Ric grimaced. “He thinks he’s made his financial sacrifice and now he wants me to make mine.”
“Me. I’m the sacrifice.”
“Not anymore.” He sighed. “Look, Leesa... Anders is hurt. He half raised me, you know? Dad’s great but... he’s not around a lot. And his choices in women—at least until he met your mother, and I’m pretty sure she picked him, not the other way around—have been kind of questionable.”
Annalesa cringed at that.
“Anders has put his neck on the line for me so many times, and now he’s just trying to protect the company. And he has no idea about us, so he doesn’t understand why I’m hedging.”
She sighed and dropped down onto a rock, wondering if it might be any solution for her to go to a board meeting, but she wouldn’t have a clue which end was up with the Ryker business, and wouldn’t know one military body’s agenda from another’s. She got her board papers, sure, but she was way too busy with the gallery to—
“Ric?” Annalesa’s head came up sharply. “Tell me the truth—was the gallery a ‘gift’ to distract me from all the stuff going on with Ryker Arms?”
Again, he couldn’t look at her.
“Oh for fucksake.” She cradled her head in her hands. “How am I supposed to know what’s real and what isn’t? You did all of this supposedly so I could prove myself to you—when you’ve been lying and stringing me along the whole way!”
“I know.” He looked sick at her words. “I didn’t think you could ever forgive me—but you did. Leesa, you said yes. It was just this one last thing...”
“Straw that broke the camel’s back,” she snapped. “They have that saying for a reason.”
“The more time we started spending together, the more I realized I was in love with you.” He knelt in front of her, grabbing her hands. “I knew taking your shares would be a mistake, but my fucking ‘diabolical plan’ starting taking on a life of its own, and the further into it we got, the more in love I was, the harder it became to tell you the truth.”
He lowered his head to her knee. “I’d already put you through so much. I was afraid you’d turn and walk away forever if I told you about the shares, after Jenny and Ryan and...”
“Enough.” She put her hand on his head, taking a deep breath. She knew vulnerability when she saw it and it was all over Ric’s face. She didn’t want to see it there.
“I love you, Leesa.” Ric’s voice was strangled. “I fucked up. I know I fucked up. And I’m doing my best to make it right again.”
“Get up, Viking.” She squeezed his fingers. “Begging doesn’t suit you.”
He stood, shaking badly.
“Swear to me.” She looked up at him. He towered over her. “There’s nothing else you’re not telling me.”
“I swear. No more secrets.” The rigid lines of his face softened. “Is this you saying you’ll still marry me?”
“Yes.” Tears welled over and he looked pained as he leaned in to wipe them from her cheeks. “Just burn those papers before—”
Ric grabbed her, pressing his lips down on hers, kissing her hard, pulling her against his front. His kiss was urgent, almost frenzied. She let him get his relief out of his system, losing herself in the way his hands travelled up her back and laced into her hair at the nape of her neck. He stroked her as his lips and tongue gradually became less forceful. She looped her arms around his waist, stroking the tip of her tongue over the surface of his. Eventually, she rested her face against his chest and kissed it before pulling away.
“Burn those goddamned papers.”
“Don’t need to be told twice.” He reached down and grabbed the balled contract, flinging it into the fire. They sat down as the flame roared, and he kissed her temple. “Thank you.”
“For forgiving you?”
“For loving me.”
She laid her arms over his as he wrapped them around her front. “Anders is going to be pissed.”
“I hope not.” Ric hesitated. “I have a plan.”
She groaned. “The world could use less of your plans. I know I could.”
“This is a good plan.” He laughed. “For getting control of the board without having to worry about your shares.”
“I’m not sure I want to hear this plan.” That wasn’t entirely true. She wanted to know, but not this minute. “Tell you what—fill me in on the way home. For now, no more plans. Just me and you and this.”
Ric nuzzled his face against hers. “It’s like you read my mind.”
Chapter 18
Ric led her out of the cave the next morning and the first thing that struck her, other than the intense cold after the heat of the cavern, was the distant sound of droning and thumping.
Ric’s fingers closed around hers and she followed his gaze up into the sky. She saw the Chinook to the south, but it was still moving towards them. It looked like it would land close to them, rather than at the base where they’d disembarked a few days ago.
She frowned up at Ric. “I’m glad we don’t have that two-day walk back to Henrik, but how did the helicopter know where to find us?”
“Not sure.” Ric was also frowning. “I’ll ask Henrik. We might be needed home early for some reason?”
Annalesa heard crunching and turned to see Henrik marching towards them up the coastal path, weighed down by huge bags. He waved as he got closer, dispelling any suspicions that he might have been trying to sneak up on them.
Ric walked towards him and they had a talk about two hundred yards away. Ric initially looked annoyed, his shoulders stiff, hands raking through his hair. But he clearly wasn’t annoyed at Henrik specifically, because he clapped him on his shoulder.
They made their way towards her together, Ric shrugging.
“Dad’s going to Maine tomorrow and needs to see us first.”
Annalesa felt restless and kept her voice low so Henrik couldn’t hear as he passed them. She had the feeling he was going out of his way to avoid eye contact. He strode over to the site where the Chinook would land.
“Brad knows I’m here with you?” she asked Ric softly.
“Sure.”
/>
“Well... won’t he think it’s strange we spent the whole weekend alone in the caves?” She kept her gaze on Henrik who stood with his back to them, arms folded. “For that matter—didn’t Henrik think it was strange?”
“Don’t worry.” Ric winked. “They both think I brought you here for your own rite of passage so you’ll stop mocking my ancestry.”
She rolled her eyes at that.
Following behind him after he’d grabbed all their stuff, she used the cover of his broad back to move her ring from her left hand to her right.
As the chopper landed, they ran over to the door, bent low against the violent gusting from above. He threw their gear in and helped her up. He took the seat opposite her as she settled, then yanked a crumpled paperback from the depths of his bag and stared at it, although she was sure he wasn’t really reading. He was just putting on an act for Henrik, so he wouldn’t suspect anything.
They took off and neither of them spoke. When it became clear that he was fully committed to his sullen-brother act—thanks, Henrik, she thought bitterly—she closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep.
He was only sitting a few feet from her, but she felt suddenly very lonely.
She slept through most of the flight back to Trondheim but felt like she’d only napped for a few minutes when they landed at the helipad at the Ryker Arms site. They were picked up by a car Brad had sent and she was in the shower in Brad’s apartment a half-hour after landing, trying and failing to feel any buzz from the espresso she’d gulped down in the kitchen.
Ric’s room was on the other side of the apartment from her own, which was both a bummer and a relief at the same time. It moved him out of reach of temptation, but there was nothing she wanted to do more than sink down on a soft bed and get some decent sleep—spooned against him.
Annalesa massaged the conditioning treatment from her hair and tucked a towel around her before stepping out of the bathroom to see if she still had any decent clean clothes left in her bag. If not, she might have to pull on jeans and a coat while she ransacked Elsa’s ‘emergency supplies’ for a sweatshirt or blouse to wear.
She passed the bed, seeing a pair of Levi jeans and a top she recognized, then backed up to see a note on top of the garments.
You left these behind when you were maybe fifteen, but you’re so small now, they might fit again. -R
She screwed the note up and stuck it in her backpack. The note was innocent enough—no little kisses or affectionate tones—but the fact he’d gotten into her room while she was having a shower... a little inappropriate.
Well, from their parents’ point of view, anyway.
She heard Brad moving around downstairs. It had to be him—his tread was way heavier than Ric’s.
She pulled on the top, which was bottle green and a little faded, but serviceable. It was a wrap-over, made of soft jersey material. Ric was right, it still fit. If anything, it was a little loose around the waist. She tugged on the jeans and they fit too.
Annalesa towel-dried her hair and headed barefoot downstairs to the den, where Brad was setting out an informal dinner. It looked like soup, cheese and bread, which was exactly what she was in the mood for. Pure comfort food.
Brad opened his arms wide as she approached and walked right into his hug, gasping a little as he squeezed. No question where his son got his strength from!
He kissed the top of her head and let go. “I’m still overdoing those bear hugs, huh?”
“Just a little. But don’t stop doing them. They’re great.”
“Girl, you’ve shrunk. You’re not turning into a health nut like your brother, are you?”
She grinned as Brad’s thick eyebrow raised in concern. “I’m healthier, but not a ‘nut’ yet, I don’t think.”
“Well, thank God for that. I’m through with him looking at my plate like he’s about to hurl it out the window for my own good. Don’t need two of you doing that. Your mother’s bad enough.”
Brad nodded toward the table. “Sit down, hon. Ric should be here soon. Hope he doesn’t have one of his eternal showers. I can’t keep the soup simmering forever, and I’ve got a surprise for the two of you.”
“Oh?” She brightened. “What is it?”
“Surprise, Annalesa!” he admonished with a wag of his finger.
“Sorry. I’ll wait.” She laughed in embarrassment as she sat down at the dinner table, unable to help herself from nabbing a little appetizer.
After the exercise of the last few days and the lean wilderness diet, she was happy to hit the carbs and the cheese. She cut off a large slice of Jarlsberg from the wedge, peeled off the wax and slotted it into a whole-wheat roll, mumbling with happiness at how good this really basic little snack tasted.
She had her mouth full as Ric jogged down the steps from his room, and was really glad she was in no position to show the effect that his appearance had on her.
He was in new black jeans and a plain white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, the top two buttons of his shirt undone. His hair was clean and dry, tumbling down around his shoulders.
He grunted at his dad as he approached, rolling a band off his wrist and catching his hair up in a loose half-knot at the back. The simple action showed every muscle in his shoulders and arms clenching and rising beneath his shirt. Annalesa made a show of studying the cheese selection instead of him as he rounded the table and took a seat next to her.
“Hey, Dad.” Ric raised his voice to reach the kitchenette. “You cut our return a little short. Something urgent come up?”
“Nice to see you too, Ric. I thought it might be nice to make a little small talk before discussing business. Spend five minutes together as a family, maybe?”
“Sorry. Yeah.”
Annalesa pretended not to see Ric’s cheeks flush as Brad rolled his eyes before turning back to the stove to serve up the soup. He put the bowls on a tray but before he could bring them over to the table, heels clicked down the stairs and Elsa appeared in the corridor. As she approached and locked eyes with Annalesa, a smile spread across her face and she ran forwards, arms out.
“Hey, both our kids here!”
“The reunion’s a surprise for your mom, too. She was only expecting Ric.”
Brad looked pleased with himself as Annalesa, and then Ric, were smothered in Elsa-hugs and kisses.
Elsa took her seat at the table as Brad brought the soup over and handed out bowls. Brad poured a bottle of something red into all four of their glasses, its vintage obscured by his huge hand over the label.
He beamed around at them. “Since we’re both needed over in Maine, I invited Elsa to hang out here first while the racing season’s quieter. No point in us flying separately if I’ve got the jet ready.”
“Not a first class ticket to be seen for miles,” Elsa added. “And Berkshire’s horrid at this time of year.”
Brad grimaced. “Constant rain.”
“Not like Norway’s wintry majesty.”
Annalesa just smiled and took a sip of her soup, feeling the atmosphere in the room oddly artificial all of a sudden. It seemed odd that they felt the need to explain Elsa’s presence in Brad’s apartment, considering they were still good friends.
“It’s just nice to see you,” Annalesa said.
Brad looked around brightly. “Seems a damned age since we all sat down like this together.”
“There was graduation,” Ric muttered.
“Yeah, during which we spent a whole five minutes together at the podium for your gifts before we all scattered to the winds again. Hell, even breakfast was an individual thing. I was lucky to catch Annalesa before she headed home, and as for you, kiddo—no private jet moves fast enough.”
Elsa nudged him. “You can hardly bash him for being your clone.”
“I wasn’t ‘bashing’ him!”
“Good. Then don’t start, sweetheart. Tuck in everyone!” Elsa tilted sideways and laid a light kiss on Brad’s cheek.
Annalesa noted t
he slide of her mother’s body and the flush in her cheeks as she pulled back into her seat. She couldn’t miss the matching flush in Brad’s cheeks as Elsa’s hand moved to the small of Brad’s back. The attraction between them was marked. Current. Strong. Stronger than it’d been for many years.
A tide of panic took over which she swallowed back because she was so ashamed of it. What if their parents got back together again? Oh my God, it was every kid’s dream—and her nightmare.
It would make for one painfully long, secret engagement for her and Ric.
Oh, don’t be so selfish.
Her appetite suddenly gone, Annalesa picked at the dry end of her cheese-stuffed roll. She finally made the mistake of looking up at Ric sitting beside her. Their eyes met and his were troubled. He nudged her with his knee beneath the table in a silent promise that they’d talk later. She looked back to her mother and Brad to find them staring at her and Ric, their heads cocked at the same curious angle.
“You kids okay?” Brad gave a bad impression of a laugh. “You’re very quiet.”
“This is delicious.” Annalesa shoveled the spoon of soup into her mouth—some kind of minestrone-like mulch—and forced a bright smile. “Did you make it, Brad?”
“Uh... I ‘made it’ to the Rema 1000 in time to buy it. It’s decent enough, I guess.”
“You know how he is in the kitchen, darling.” Elsa chuckled. “Brad’s no Gordon Ramsey.”
“Hey! I defrost like a pro. I’m king of the microwave, just like my son.”
Annalesa linked her arm with Ric’s. “Actually, he’s shown himself to be extremely good with raw—and frankly, unpromising—ingredients.”
“Ah, the cave diet.” Brad chuckled. “Yeah, I gotta admit, when Anders and I were done with the whole rebirth ritual, I was right back on the chopper, heading to the nearest burger joint. I’m kinda surprised Ric kept you in that cavern the whole weekend. What the hell did you kids do? Swimming races? Play hide and seek with the local wildlife?”
