The Owner's Secret Client

by Elana Johnson

  “We haven’t found any faults in the watering system.”

  “Then where is this coming from?” Liam looked back the way he’d come, but the water was flowing that way. “The lake?”

  Ethan nodded. “The lake.”

  “How is that possible?”

  McKenna and Ethan stood shoulder to shoulder, and Liam felt like they’d already talked this through before calling him. “Someone built a trench,” McKenna said.

  “The land directly north of this is private,” Ethan added. “We think the resident there did it, and has been diverting the water to his property.”

  Liam had no idea what to make of that. “But…why? Why dig a trench on our property?”

  “The beach doesn’t belong to him,” McKenna said. “So there are tourists there. This is our farthest piece of beach. Not many guests come up here.”

  Frustration filled Liam. “So we need to fill in the trench, drain this water, and get these trees back to health.” He looked up into the leaves. The fruit seemed to be doing okay, but it wouldn’t taste right if the conditions weren’t just right.

  “Do I need a bid?” Ethan asked. “Or can I just hire someone to come get this drained?”

  Normally, Liam wanted a bid for everything. He wanted to keep as much money for the orchards as possible, and he wanted to work with honest people. “You know someone who can do a good job?”

  “Definitely,” Ethan said.

  “Hire them,” he said. “Get this fixed.”

  “Yes, sir,” both Ethan and McKenna said, and Liam turned to go back the way he’d come.

  “Thank you,” he said over his shoulder. “Let’s talk in the morning, okay?” He turned back, not wanting to be the barking owner who demanded everything and didn’t give back.

  “Sure,” Ethan said at the same time McKenna said, “The barn?”

  “The barn,” Liam confirmed. “I’ll bring breakfast.” He smiled and waved, glad when Ethan and McKenna did too.

  After all, they didn’t know about his date with Serenity, and it certainly wasn’t their fault the orchard had been flooding. It was a huge area to monitor continually, and they’d found the problem and notified him as soon as they could.

  But now…now, he wanted to focus on his first date with Serenity. His nerves fired adrenaline through his body, and the walk back to his SUV had his heart rate higher than it should’ve been.

  “I hope this isn’t a disaster,” he muttered to himself as he drove toward the town of Forbidden Lake. His phone chimed and he glanced at the screen in the cup holder beside him.

  Georgia had texted, probably the dates she and her husband could take Kimmie.

  Liam normally dreaded his time without his daughter, but the possibility of spending the weeks expanding his relationship with Serenity had him downright giddy.

  He waited until he pulled into the parking lot at the steakhouse before he checked his phone.

  Does this weekend work? We can fly in on Saturday and leave Sunday.

  Two more days. Liam’s heart sank at the same time it tried to leap, leaving him feeling a bit out of sorts and definitely conflicted.

  Sure, he tapped out. See you Saturday.

  Now, besides praying for a good first date, he now needed to pray for a way to introduce his secret girlfriend to his in-laws.

  Chapter Ten

  Serenity rubbed her hands up and down her arms, more nervous than she wanted to admit. Liam hadn’t told her exactly what he’d disclosed to his brother, who would be arriving any minute.

  Liam still hadn’t texted that he was on his way to get their dinner, which meant she’d be facing Phoenix alone.

  She’d met him before, at a couple of the family dinners Liam’s parents hosted on Sunday evenings. But her nerves still rioted against the idea of being face-to-face with him without a buffer, especially if he was the one who knew anything about her secret relationship with Liam.

  The doorbell rang and pounding on the door immediately followed, sending her heart beat into a complete tailspin.

  “Uncle Nixon!” Kimmie yelled, jumping up from the couch against the back wall and running toward the front door. The door opened, and Serenity rose from the couch where she’d been sitting.

  Phoenix Addler walked in, just as tall, powerful, and good-looking as Liam. Well, maybe not quite as handsome, as Liam had those aquamarine eyes in such a beautiful shade where Phoenix’s were definitely more in the gray category.

  He certainly had the mountain man look down, with his big beard and plaid shirt. She didn’t even know they made those in short sleeves, but they either did, or Phoenix had made his own.

  “Hey, Serenity,” he said, barely glancing at her. So Liam hadn’t told him much. “Is Liam here?”

  “He got called to the orchard for an emergency,” she said, folding her arms to keep the tremors in her hands contained.

  “Of course he did,” Phoenix said, rolling his eyes. “I’m disinclined to believe that.”

  Serenity had no idea what to say, so she just lifted her eyebrows.

  Phoenix set Kimmie back on her feet and said, “Take your backpack out to the truck, girlfriend.” He waited until she’d skipped away before turning back to Serenity. “He just doesn’t want to tell me who he’s going out with.”

  His words struck Serenity mute, and she blinked at him.

  “Ah, he hasn’t told you either.” Phoenix chuckled and shook his head. “Liam does always play things close to the vest.” He saluted her with two fingers. “Tell him I’ve got Kimmie until nine tomorrow and to have fun with whoever he’s dating.” He started to back out of the house.

  Serenity practically lunged at him. “He said he’s dating someone?”

  “I don’t know what he said,” Phoenix said. “I think this might actually be their first date. He just didn’t want anyone in the family to know yet, even Kimmie.” He grinned and left, bringing the door closed behind him.

  Serenity sank back onto the couch, her first date with Liam ready to begin—if only he were here. She didn’t like being alone with her thoughts, as they went straight to her mother and how she couldn’t go see her tomorrow. Tell her about the date, even if she was asleep and couldn’t even hear Serenity.

  Her meeting that morning with her siblings had gone fine, and there weren’t any surprises in the will. Kyler had money from their mother’s estate to clean up the house and get it ready to sell, but both Audrey and Serenity had said they wanted to go through it first.

  Audrey wanted to wait until after the funeral, which was on Monday, and that had been fine with Serenity. She’d slept through lunch, and then she and Kimmie had set up their paints in the extra bedroom with all the light.

  Serenity wrapped the blanket around her legs, thinking she probably shouldn’t be so cold in the middle of summer. She’d painted a version of her mother in light, washed out colors. And she’d cried, which made Kimmie sad. So she’d come upstairs just before Liam had rushed off.

  Her brother’s words from that morning had been haunting her all day. You both should get tested early.

  He’d been talking to her and Audrey, talking about getting tested for cancer. Audrey had immediately said she’d already called for a mammogram, and Serenity had sat there, stunned.

  She hadn’t even thought that she’d need to worry about breast cancer for another decade at least, even with her family history. But Liam’s wife had died of the same disease in her early thirties.

  She should’ve made an appointment that day too, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to do it.

  Her phone snapped at her, and she glanced down at it to see that Liam had sent a picture. She picked it up and swiped it open to see it—their to-go containers from Rotovellas.

  Be there soon, he’d typed, and Serenity smiled at her phone, her eyes burning with unshed tears.

  She appreciated him so much, and suddenly the risk to be with him was worth it. She let her mind wander down a previously forbidden path—one
where she didn’t need another job. She and Liam were married and she lived here with Kimmie all the time—not in the basement—as her step-mother.

  Serenity had always wanted kids, and she was still young. Liam wasn’t that old either, though her mother would probably roll over in her grave if she knew Serenity was dating someone seven years older than her.

  But her mother was gone now.

  Tears leaked out of her eyes, and she made no move to wipe them. Liam could talk about his wife without breaking down, and Serenity knew her loss would always hurt but that it wouldn’t be quite this painful forever.

  She’d calmed by the time Liam entered the house, bringing the tantalizing smell of steak and butter with her. Serenity got up and joined him in the kitchen, wrapping her arms around him the moment he set the to-go containers on the counter.

  “Hey,” he said, chuckling as he held her close. Tight. Right where she wanted to be. “You okay?”

  “Fine.” She tiled her face up to kiss him, that thrill of doing something dangerous and forbidden really lighting her blood on fire. Or maybe that was the passionate way Liam kissed her.

  She pulled away first, satisfied that Liam seemed to be having a hard time breathing and that his hair was a bit disshelved. He ran his hands through it and exhaled. “Wow.”

  “Yeah?” she asked.

  “In case I haven’t been perfectly clear,” he said, getting down two plates. “You, uh, I like you a lot.”

  Serenity stared at him. “Most people don’t just say stuff like that out loud.”

  “Yeah, well, I guess I’m not most people.” Liam moved their food from the plastic containers to the real plates and picked them both up. He moved over to the dining room table in front of those French doors and put their food down.

  “I have candles,” he said, opening a drawer and pulling them out.

  She laughed and took a spot in front of one of the plates. “When did you get those?”

  “A couple of days ago,” he said, flicking the lighter to get the candles flaming. He sat beside her, leaning over to kiss her again. “See? It’s nice.”

  “It’s still light outside,” she said against his lips, enjoying the taste of him better than anything she’d had before.

  “So we’ll come back for dessert when it’s dark,” he whispered, moving his mouth to her neck.

  “Dessert,” she said, equally as quietly. “I like the sound of that.”

  He chuckled, stopped kissing her, and picked up his fork. “Yeah, sweetheart. We have all night. Oh.” He started mixing the butter and sour cream into his baked potato. “And my in-laws are going to take Kimmie on Saturday for the rest of the month.”

  Serenity froze in her movement toward her silverware. “Your in-laws?”

  “Heather’s parents,” he said as if she didn’t understand the concept of in-laws. “They live in California. They’ll be here on Saturday and sleep in the bedroom upstairs. Then they’ll take Kimmie with them back to Sacramento.”

  “Wow,” Serenity said, sure she wasn’t ready to meet Heather’s parents. She didn’t know what to say, so she said what had been on her mind all day. “My brother thinks I should go get screened now.”

  Liam choked, and Serenity realized what she’d said way too late. “I mean, I’m sure I don’t have cancer.”

  Their eyes met, and she saw the absolute dread and panic in his expression. It was about how she felt about meeting his late wife’s parents, honestly.

  He once again searched her face, and she had no idea how to give him the reassurance he needed. Clearing his throat, he said, “I’m sure you don’t. But you should get screened anyway.” He swallowed and looked away, across the table and out the window. “I take Kimmie to get screened every year.”

  “You do?”

  “Her mother had a highly aggressive cancer that took her life at age thirty-one. So yes. At the advice of a few doctors, she gets a CT scan every year.”

  Serenity slipped her elbow through Liam’s. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you,” he said, cutting his eyes toward her, a teasing sparkle in them.

  She smiled, but it faded quickly. “Are you…worried…?” She didn’t know how to finish her question. It was premature to assume they’d get married, though she’d let her mind take that track for a few minutes this afternoon. But if it were her, she wouldn’t want to marry someone who had a high risk of dying the same way her previous spouse had.

  “I try not to worry about things until I have to,” he said.

  “How very smart of you,” she said.

  “Mm.” He cut his steak and nodded toward hers. “You’re not hungry?”

  “No, I am.” She picked up her knife and fork, ready to eat ribeye and lobster until she burst. “I will say I’m a bit nervous about meeting your in-laws.”

  He nodded as he chewed and swallowed. “I can see that.” He got up and said, “Drinks. You want…what? Lemonade? Water? I think Kimmie has some of that strawberry-orange banana punch around here.”

  “Water is fine,” she said. “Why don’t you drink wine?”

  The cupboard behind her slammed, and she twisted toward him. He didn’t seem to have done it on purpose, as he had two glasses in his hand and had likely closed the cupboard with his elbow.

  “I never liked the stuff,” he said. “Heather did, though. After she died, I don’t know.” He shrugged and turned to get ice out of the freezer. “I got rid of it. Trust me, there were plenty of times I wanted to bury my feelings at the bottom of a bottle.”

  Serenity understood that. Instead, tonight, she was going to eat too much and hopefully kiss Liam for too long.

  He returned with their water, and she decided to turn the conversation to something lighter. “So, what are we going to do while Kimmie’s gone?”

  “I can think of a few things,” Liam said, his voice throaty and deep and hitting all the right notes in Serenity’s heart.

  “I’ll have to report her absence to Heartland,” she said.

  “Sure,” he said. “Let’s play by the book as much as possible.”

  She wanted to laugh, because this dinner was about as far from the book as they could get. Still, it didn’t stop her from leaning into him and kissing him when he turned toward her. If this was the only date she got with him, she decided that would be okay.

  Just one date with him was worth the risk.

  Chapter Eleven

  Liam didn’t need to tell Georgia and Wayne about Serenity. Kimmie talked about her new au pair non-stop, and they didn’t seem to mind. Georgia especially asked her questions about what she’d been doing that summer and if she still loved the beach.

  Wayne took her and Curly outside, and Kimmie’s laughter filled Liam’s soul with a sense of love and wonder.

  “So where is Serenity today?” Georgia asked him as Liam started thinking about dinner. He always took the Reynolds out to eat when they came to Forbidden Lake, and then they went to the cemetery and to visit his parents. He hadn’t made specific plans with Georgia and Wayne, but he couldn’t imagine they’d deviate from their routine.

  “She’s off today,” he said. “Her mother passed recently, and she’s working with her siblings on the preparations for the funeral.”

  “Oh, my goodness,” Georgia said, pressing one hand against her heart. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I’ll let her know.” Liam smiled. He had always liked Heather’s parents, but it was a bit awkward talking about his new girlfriend with Georgia. Of course, she hadn’t assumed Liam would be dating his au pair.

  “Liam.” Georgia put her hand on his arm. “Are you seeing anyone new?”

  His heartbeat leapt around in his chest, and alarms started going off in his head. This was a new conversation topic, and he didn’t know how to navigate it. He usually talked about Heather, or Kimmie, or the weather in California. Wayne’s job was often discussed, and Georgia’s online yoga advice column.

  But not his love life.

  “
I can see that’s a no,” Georgia said with a small smile. “I know you loved Heather, but honey, you don’t have to be alone for the rest of your life.”

  He flipped a page in the spiral book he’d bought from the high school booster club. Coupons for all the best places around Forbidden Lake. He couldn’t focus on them as he asked, “You’d be okay with that?”

  “Of course,” Georgia said. “You’re young still.”

  Liam had no idea what age had to do with any of it, but he pressed his lips together and nodded. “I don’t meet many women at work,” he said. “And I don’t get off the orchard much.”

  “There are online ways now,” Georgia said, as if she could start naming the dating apps he should try.

  “I’ll think about it,” he said, giving her a look he knew she’d be able to understand. I’m fine. I’m a grown man. I can handle this.

  Georgia nodded and looked down at the coupon book too. “Oh, Pine Grove. Let’s go there. I haven’t been in so long.”

  Of course she hadn’t, as she didn’t live in Forbidden Lake and only ate one meal a year here.

  Pine Grove was fine with him. They had real cloth tablecloths on the tables for lunch and dinner and a very short menu filled with semi-fancy dishes. Fortunately, they had a three-cheese pasta dish that Kimmie loved, or Liam never would’ve gone there.

  Dinner was enjoyable, but Liam could admit that Georgia and Kimmie carried the conversation. A blip of guilt pinged through him with every pulse of his heart, but he didn’t know what to do about it. He wasn’t feeling particularly chatty, and all he could think about was when he’d have to introduce Serenity to his in-laws.

  The cemetery sat on the outskirts of town in the opposite direction of the orchard, but Liam didn’t mind. He often came here alone, and he only brought Kimmie twice a year. Once, on the anniversary of her mother’s death. And again on Heather’s birthday. He didn’t think it wise to have her dwell on things that made her sad, and one day, he hoped their trips to the cemetery would be more celebratory than anything else.