by Sara Orwig
She looked up at him and he brushed her hair from her face to gaze into her eyes.
He stepped back and reached into his jeans pocket, struggling to pull something out. “That’s why I was going to town. I wanted to find you and tell you that I don’t want the damn divorce. I love you with all my heart and I need you in my life.”
Tears of joy filled her eyes as she hugged him. “I love you. We can get through life together. Tom, I love you so.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her again and this time her heart pounded with joy. He leaned away.
“You were always so strong,” he said. “Too strong. I didn’t think you needed me anymore.”
“Yes, I do. I need you desperately. I’m unhappy without you. And I’m complete when we’re together. Tom, there will be problems, but we can work through them. I love you. I need you.” She looked into his hazel eyes that she loved, eyes that could melt her and at other times give her strength. “There will always be problems. That’s life, but we’re better at handling them when we’re together. I love you and I need you.”
“I love you more than you’ll ever know and I want to spend my life trying to show you.” He released her and held out his hand. “I got this for you after we saw the Nash family.”
Surprised, she examined the small velvet box. She couldn’t imagine what he was giving her. She looked up at him and he smiled.
“Are you going to see what your present is?”
“Yes,” she said, taking the box to open it. Inside was a tangle of a piece of jewelry. She picked it up and gasped as a necklace shook out in her hand. It was a golden heart pendant on a thin gold chain that was covered with diamonds.
“Oh, my heavens, Tom. It’s beautiful.”
“It’s because of Ryan giving life with his heart to little Polly Nash. That holds meaning for both of us. It’s a locket.”
“Let me see. This is gorgeous—” She gasped when she opened the locket. “Tom, this is wonderful. I’ll treasure this always,” she said, hugging him again and kissing him longer this time while he held her tightly in his embrace.
She leaned away and held the locket up so they could both look inside at the picture of Ryan smiling into the camera. “You selected this locket for me. You must have changed your mind right after you told me we should go ahead with the divorce.”
“It didn’t take long. I’ve spent a year living in the guesthouse alone and then we’ve had this fantastic time together. No matter what we go through, I want you with me. I thought about it and I’ve loved you always. You’re the only woman for me for the rest of my life. I love you. I’d give my life for you. I’ve loved you since you ran into my car when we were sixteen. And, Em, you worry so about having my child—”
“We can adopt. You’re right. I watched you with the Valentine kids and I played with them and if we adopt, we’ll love them like our own. We both would love any child we raised. Whatever you want to do. We can go without kids. There are loads of kids we can help without raising them—through reading programs, starting a ranch camp for kids, playing ball, you know, things you can help with and so can I.”
He studied her. “You’ve got this all figured out, haven’t you?”
“I’m desperate. I don’t want to lose you, because I love you with all my heart. And you have never failed me, Tom. Never. You couldn’t save Ryan. I couldn’t save Ryan. The doctors couldn’t save him. But you didn’t fail me. You tried all you could.”
“You’re sure?” he asked.
“With all my heart. Please put my locket on me.” She handed him the necklace and turned so he could fasten it at the back of her neck. “You really got this since we saw the Nashes?”
“I have a jeweler in Dallas. I sent a text, he sent me pictures of what he had. I picked out this one and told him I wanted it delivered yesterday.”
“Oh, my word. Someone from the jewelry store drove this to you?”
“That’s right. I didn’t want to wait. We’ve been separated way too long, my love.”
She turned to face him. “This is wonderful, Tom, but most of all is knowing you’ll be in my life.”
“Baby, you’re all that I need, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making that clear to you. Em, I’ve thought all this time that you were angry because I failed you—”
“Never. We’ve both made big mistakes, but we’ve survived them and some of them we’re able to let go and try to forget. They’re not part of our lives any longer.” She slipped her arms around him. “I’m so happy. I love you with all my heart. I know we’ll be all right.”
“I know we will. But how the hell do you undo a divorce?”
“I’m leaving that one to you. Oh, how I love you. I’ll show you, too. It’s time to leave here and go home. Oh, my heavens, we don’t have a home,” she said, frowning as she looked up at him. “You can’t be a rancher and live in Uncle Woody’s house in Royal. Neither of us wants to live in the mansion. We’re not both living in the guesthouse.”
Tom held her with his arms around her waist as he smiled at her. “It’s just another problem we’ll work out. What do you think about finishing your Royal house? Then that will be our town house and you can still work in town part of the week if you want. And maybe it’s time for a redo of ranch house. Or we can demolish it if you want and start over.”
“We’ll talk about that one—I vote for the redo because we have good memories there. I’ll live on the ranch with you and maybe drive into town and keep the studio open by appointment only. But come home with me now,” she said. “I’ve got two new loaves of bread for you in the car. How’s that? And maybe some fun in the bedroom?”
“You’ve got a deal.” Laughing, he pulled her into his embrace. “But I don’t want to wait to show you how much I’ve missed you. We’re not driving to Royal now. We’re going to live in the guesthouse for a little while. I’ll tell Gus we’re going to Royal and he’s in charge, but today, I don’t want to drive any farther than our guesthouse. I have plans for us and that bread.”
She laughed, looking into his eyes and seeing the happiness mirrored there that she felt.
“Tom, I’m not sure I felt this excited on our wedding day.”
“It’s a bigger deal now, Em. We know what we lost, what we almost lost and what we have. Our love is the essential part of our lives and we have our memories of Ryan to share. I want to spend every day of the rest of my life trying to show you how much I love you.”
His words thrilled her as much as the look in his eyes. She stood on tiptoe and he leaned closer to kiss her while he embraced her.
Joy poured into her that there wouldn’t be any divorce. She loved him—always had and always would. As she returned his kiss, she thought their future was filled with promise and hope.
* * * * *
Don’t miss a single installment of the TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB: BLACKMAIL.
No secret—or heart—is safe in Royal, Texas...
THE TYCOON’S SECRET CHILD
by USA TODAY bestselling author Maureen Child.
TWO-WEEK TEXAS SEDUCTION
by Cat Schield.
REUNITED WITH THE RANCHER
by USA TODAY bestselling author Sara Orwig.
April 2017: EXPECTING THE BILLIONAIRE’S BABY
by Andrea Laurence.
May 2017: TRIPLETS FOR THE TEXAN
by USA TODAY bestselling author Janice Maynard.
June 2017: A TEXAS-SIZED SECRET
by USA TODAY bestselling author Maureen Child.
July 2017: LONE STAR BABY SCANDAL
by Golden Heart® winner Lauren Canan.
August 2017: TEMPTED BY THE WRONG TWIN
by USA TODAY bestselling author Rachel Bailey.
September 2017: TAKING HOME THE TYCOON
by USA TODAY bestsellin
g author Catherine Mann.
October 2017: BILLIONAIRE’S BABY BIND
by USA TODAY bestselling author Katherine Garbera.
November 2017: THE TEXAN TAKES A WIFE
by USA TODAY bestselling author Charlene Sands.
December 2017: BEST MAN UNDER THE MISTLETOE
by USA TODAY bestselling author Kathie DeNosky.
* * *
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Keep reading for an excerpt from BILLIONAIRE’S BABY PROMISE by Sarah M. Anderson.
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Billionaire’s Baby Promise
by Sarah M. Anderson
One
As always, he answered the phone on the first ring. “This is Daniel.”
The number was not one he recognized. The voice, on the other hand, was. “Lee! I knew I’d track your sorry butt down somehow.”
“Brian,” Daniel said, trying to keep the cringe out of his voice.
Brian White had plucked Daniel straight out of a political rally on the campus of Northwestern and taught him everything he knew. They had worked together for almost fourteen years on various political campaigns. Brian was a man without morals, scruples or ethics. As a result, he had an amazing track record in getting questionable candidates elected to public office.
“How have you been?” Daniel asked, stalling for time.
If Brian was calling him now, that only meant one thing. The man had been hired to run yet another political campaign and he wanted his right-hand man by his side. Never mind that Daniel Lee had walked away from politics and made it clear that he was never going back.
“I’ve got a job for you,” Brian said, sounding sure of himself.
It was hard to surprise Daniel Lee. He made secrets his business. So he wasn’t all that surprised that Brian was reaching out to him. What did surprise him was his own physical response. Daniel—a man who was rumored by his political enemies to not even have a soul—felt an anxious coiling in his stomach that was only dimly recognizable as guilt. “I have a job, Brian.”
“Doing what? Running a marketing department for a beer company? Come on, Lee. We both know you’re wasting your talents.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. Brian didn’t know the first thing about business—or loyalty. Daniel wasn’t just running a marketing firm for a beer company—he was running a family business. His last name might not be Beaumont, but he was one all the same.
Every time he thought of his position here at the Beaumont Brewery—second-in-command to his half brother, Zeb Richards—he almost wished his grandfather, Lee Dae-Won, could have lived long enough to see Daniel take his rightful place in a family business—even if it wasn’t Dae-Won’s business. “I told you I was out.”
As he spoke, he started searching. Who was Brian working for now?
“Yeah, yeah—that’s what you said. But you and I both know you didn’t mean it. This one’s going to be fun—carte blanche.” There was a pause. “You find it yet?”
Damn. Of course Brian knew him well enough to know Daniel was already looking. “You could tell me,” he said as he found it.
Missouri Senator Resigns In Disgrace; Male Escort Tells All.
Missouri? The hairs on the back of Daniel’s neck stood up. Brian couldn’t seriously mean...
“Clarence Murray wants to hire you to work on his campaign for a special election for the Missouri Senate seat recently vacated by the disgraced Senator Struthers.” Somehow, Brian managed to sound enthusiastic.
It took a lot to surprise Daniel but for a moment, he was truly stunned.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” It hadn’t even been two years since Daniel had destroyed Clarence Murray in a bid for the Missouri governor’s office. “Murray is insane.”
“However true that may or may not be, he has a lot of well-funded campaign donors.” Brian’s voice had leveled out, which was not a good sign.
“After what we did to him two years ago, you still think he’s electable?” But even as he asked, Daniel knew how Brian would respond.
“It’s not my job to decide if he’s electable or not. He and his donors think he’s electable, so it’s my job to assemble a team and get him elected. That’s where you come in.”
Daniel kept searching. Murray, it seemed, had spent the better part of the last two years lying low and rebuilding his supporter base. Clarence Murray was a fire-and-brimstone preacher. He played well across the Bible Belt and had a solid evangelical base. But his beliefs were extreme and would never have a crossover appeal.
“No,” he told Brian.
“Come on, Lee—it’ll be fun. I’m already hearing whispers that Democrats think they can win this seat.”
And then, there she was—halfway down the list of search results. Daniel recognized that headline—he had written it himself. He had chosen the picture of her because the angle was horrible and she looked like she had three extra chins. Seeing it again hit him like a punch to the gut.
Murray’s Daughter Pregnant—Who Is The Baby Daddy?
Clarence Murray might have delusions of grandeur about being God’s chosen politician. But in the end, it had been his pregnant daughter who had cost him the election. His pregnant, unmarried daughter.
Christine Murray.
Because Daniel was the one who had made her a campaign issue.
All was fair in love and war—and politics. For years, Daniel had played the game as well as anyone. Sometimes his candidates lost. More often than not, they won. Each time Daniel had worked a campaign, he’d gotten better at ferreting out secrets. And if candidates had few secrets, then Daniel had...well, not invented them. But he had always found some kernel of truth that could be stretched into something resembling a scandal. Nobody was completely clean.
Not even Daniel.
He read about Christine Murray, that anxious pit in his stomach coiling more tightly, a snake getting ready to strike. It didn’t seem possible that he felt bad about what he had done. He never had before. But as he looked at the images of her online—and the headlines that he had not written about her—he had to face the fact that he had done a terrible thing to an innocent bystander.
“You know they’re going to come after his daughter again.”
As odd as it seemed
now, it appeared that, at the advanced age of thirty-four, Daniel Lee had developed a conscience.
Christine Murray had been twenty-four years old when her father had run for governor. From what Daniel had been able to dig up, she hadn’t lived at home since she’d gone to college at the age of eighteen. She’d had a wild youth after the death of her mother—the stereotypical preacher’s daughter—but by all appearances she had quickly settled down. She’d gotten a degree in finance. By all accounts, she had very little to do with Clarence Murray. Instead, she had gotten engaged and then gotten pregnant. By itself, there really wasn’t anything scandalous about that.
Except that her father was running on a faith-and-family-values platform and having an unwed, pregnant daughter was exactly the sort of ammunition Daniel had needed to knock Clarence Murray out of the race.
Daniel had dragged that woman through the mud. When her fiancé had dumped her, Daniel had made hay while the sun still shone.
“I wouldn’t worry about her,” Brian said, sounding smug. “I have a plan. But I need you by my side. What do you say to one more—for old time’s sake?”
Consciences were messy things. Daniel’s stomach turned. No wonder he hadn’t had one for so long.
Christine Murray stared at him from dozens of photos on his computer screen. Blonde, petite, curvy, with huge blue eyes—absolutely beautiful, except that, in all of the pictures, she looked like a wild deer that had been cornered by a pack of hungry wolves.
“Can’t help you,” Daniel told Brian. Because he couldn’t. He hadn’t felt bad about working to defeat Clarence Murray. The man was not fit to govern.
But Christine Murray?
“Lee, quit joking around. It’s going to be a bloodbath and I need you by my side. No one can uncover secrets like you.”
“Good luck with your candidate,” he said. “But I’m out.”
Brian hesitated. “Is it just because of Murray?”
“No. I’m out for good. Don’t call me again.”
