“You shouldn’t have to win anyone’s love, Skyler,” Beth continued. “You shouldn’t have to prove your worth to people who don’t care about you. Every woman deserves a man who will love her with all of his heart. And if you find that, don’t let it go.”
I didn’t speak right away, though I recognized now that Beth hadn’t manipulated me over the ranch out of spite as much as jealousy. It made it more palatable how she’d known that Dad would humiliate me at dinner by appointing Sam to babysit my decisions. “Why do you stay with him if you feel that way?”
Beth shrank back from the question, her shoulders folding in. “I’ve never loved myself enough to leave. And I keep thinking that he’ll change.” She nods at the oil painting of my grandfather hanging over the mantle. “Your grandfather really put Charles through the wringer on his inheritance, too. I’ve heard so many stories about how he almost lost the ranch and wasted millions searching for oil while Charles couldn’t really object.”
“Trust me. I’ve heard that particular tangent my whole life.” I looked at my grandfather, frowning slightly at the painter from behind his desk in the library. He was holding a leather ledger with Black Gold Creek branded on it. As in, literally branded.
“Men do silly things for pride,” Beth said. “He should’ve stopped before he wasted so much, but that would have
been admitting defeat.”
It was impossible to think about my grandfather without also thinking of the feud between the Wentworths and the Blythes. What had originally started it? The way I’d heard it was that my grandparents and Will’s grandparents were couples of modest means who’d become friends after moving to Texas. They’d partnered on some deals and grown their wealth over time until Will’s grandfather cheated mine out of his fair share.
Will had laughed himself half to death when I’d told him that as kids. He’d been taught the same story except that it was my grandfather who’d cheated his grandfather. Our families might have been able to recover from that as the rumors lost their potency.
But no one was going to get over the fact that Will’s grandfather had killed my great-uncle. There was no forgetting that.
“With your father and the Blythes employing half the town, you know there’s no such thing as a secret.” Beth gave me a stern look. “Your father is obviously out of the loop at the moment, but he won’t be for long. If you can’t stay away from Will, maybe it’s time for you to go back to New York before people start talking.”
I blinked at her, trying to reconcile our little heart-to-heart with the fact that she was trying to get me to leave. I’d just managed to win over some of the cowboys. Even Gus had been nicer to me. I wasn’t going anywhere. Gossip be damned.
“Let your father sell the ranch, and then you can love whoever you want to love. But if he finds out that you’ve been running around with Will, all you’re doing is jeopardizing your future. You know it’s all up to him.”
I was so tired of hearing about how I needed my father or some imaginary husband to run my life. “I should get some sleep. Goodnight, Beth.”
Chapter 13
With Crystal and my father on their way to recovering, however slowly, I found that I suddenly had extra time to myself. I could let my shields down a bit with Dad still in the hospital without having to worry that he was spying on me.
Sam had kept his distance, too, either because he felt awkward about our conversation or because he was trying to give me space. That hurt more than I thought it would. We hadn’t stayed close friends throughout the years, but the possibility of losing him altogether was a different story. I still wanted him to be a part of my life, especially after everything we’d been through rescuing Crystal.
But if I really wanted to be honest with myself, the person I was most worried about was Will. He hadn’t called or texted, likely waiting on me to reflect on our night together and what it meant. Part of me was curious about whether he had mixed feelings, too. Is he conflicted? Did our night together even mean anything?
He’d been honest about his plan to go to Wyoming. Maybe that was his line in the sand. If he told me that he’d never intended to reconsider anything serious with me, it wouldn’t be fair to be upset. He’d warned me that his future was taking him out of Texas.
Ever since I’d flown home, Hailey had kept sending pictures of the kids, which was her way of keeping the line of conversation open in case I needed her. She never seemed bothered if I didn’t write back until later. I was lucky to have such consideration.
I walked through the joint backyard that the new mansion shared with my childhood home. Beth and Dad had expanded the sunflower patch into a veritable field. It stretched down the rear slope of the house, the massive flowers swaying slightly in the breeze. I’d always adored springtime. There was just something magical about seeing the wildflowers return.
I paused to examine the sunflowers as I passed, some of their centers the same shade of dark brown as my hair. The sight of the golden petals cheered me as I ran leaves through my fingers and searched for the most beautiful ones. My family didn’t always agree—the understatement of the century—but we all had this in common, our love for natural beauty.
I cut a few sunflowers for a makeshift bouquet and added a few colorful poppies and primroses from the flower bed as accents. The landscaper would probably frown upon that when he found it, but they’d called to me.
The house was quiet as I returned. I checked the various closets and storage areas, eventually giving up and asking Eli where they stored Christmas decorations.
“Christmas decorations?” he asked, squinting at me. “What do you need those for, Miss Wen—Miss Sky?”
I glowered at him, the half-title not lost on me. Still, it was a slight improvement in the ongoing battle to have people call me by my name. “I’m looking for tissue paper. I thought maybe there would be some with wrapping paper.”
“Oh.” Eli frowned and sent a message on his phone. He paused, his thumb tapping against the edge of the plastic case. “Leah says that it’s in storage, and she’s going to get it for you now.”
I winced. “Don’t hate me, but which one is Leah?” I hadn’t been here long enough to learn all of the new maids’ names. It didn’t help that they deliberately avoided the family whenever they could. I wondered if that was one of Beth’s rules. My mother had never cared about that kind of so-called propriety. “I only know the older staff.”
Eli gave me a brief description, and I resolved to pay better attention to the latest additions to the household. At least I’d gotten to know Eli a bit, not that I’d had a particularly great relationship with my father’s last chauffeur, a very shy gentleman who’d waited until he turned 73 to retire.
Leah, a young girl with cropped blonde hair and a thick Texas accent, met me in the sitting room a few minutes later with armfuls of tissue paper. “I wasn’t sure what kind you wanted, Miss Wentworth.” She bustled in and set out stacks on one of the coffee tables. “I assumed you did not want the reindeer paper.”
“It would be funny,” I admitted, picking out a set of white paper with gold foil polka dots. “This is perfect. Thank you so much.” This will match the sunflowers.
She beamed at me as she collected the extra and hurried off. Judging by her age and her excitement to perform a chore that most would have found aggravating, I guessed that working here was a special opportunity for her.
That was what endeared so many of the cowboys and the staff to my father. He didn’t care about your past or your criminal record, or your bankruptcy. All that mattered was work ethic. He wasn’t above giving second chances unless those second chances were for me.
I brought the paper into the kitchen, where I’d temporarily stashed the flowers in the sink. I cleaned and dried the stems, then wrapped the bouquet in the paper, tying the ends with twine from the junk drawer. I looked around for Beth or Sam to tell them that I was leaving, but they might have beaten me out of the house already.
I went downstairs to the garage and was just about to pick up the keys to the truck when Eli appeared, already stuffing his arm through the sleeve of his Black Gold Creek jacket. “May I?” he asked, holding up his own set of keys. “At this rate, Miss Sky, I’m going to forget how to drive if you don’t let me take you anywhere.”
Smiling, I relented. “If it matters that much to you, I’d be honored.”
We didn’t talk much on the way to the hospital. I was too nervous thinking about what I’d say to Dad. The last time had been simpler because there was so much to tell him about Crystal’s disappearance. Now, it was just back to ordinary life and the power struggle between us.
Eli let me out in front of the main lobby. “If you don’t mind waiting, I won’t be too long.” Laughing, I added, “Feel free to watch a movie or something. I won’t tell Dad.”
He pretended to wipe the sweat from his brow. “That’s a relief. I’ll just be right over here whenever you’re ready, Miss Sky.”
I took the elevator upstairs and hovered outside the door to my father’s room to collect my thoughts. I hated feeling like I needed to prepare, as though I were about to undergo some kind of test. With a deep breath, I turned and walked into his room.
Dad didn’t seem any different, though he did open his eyes long enough to see that I was there. He could barely move otherwise. I sat in the chair beside his bed, attempting to reconcile his frailness with the mental picture I’d had of him since childhood. He never needed anyone else before. Never had to ask for help. “How’re you feeling?” I asked, moving closer and placing my hand over the bracelet on his wrist.
He didn’t answer. I showed him the sunflowers. “Look what I brought you.” Since his eyes were closed, I named off the flowers in the bouquet for him. “I’ll just put them here for when you’re feeling more rested. I picked them myself.”
The room was overflowing with floral arrangements, stuffed animals, and cards. I emptied the nearest vase and refilled it at the sink, throwing away the withering daisies that one of the cowboys had sent the first day of Dad’s hospitalization. I set the sunflowers within his line of sight, hoping that they’d brighten his day at least a little bit. “The sunflowers remind me of Mom. I’m glad you decided to keep them when you built the new house.”
As usual, Dad stayed asleep, so I tidied up the area and made sure that he looked comfortable. The window gave him an amazing view of the mountains, and sun streamed in as I pulled back the curtains. His color looked stronger in the natural light compared to the effect of the fluorescent bulbs above our heads.
“Hailey sent me some pictures this morning,” I told Dad, flipping through the various photos and telling him what each depicted. “Zane and Daniel send their love, too.” But after I reached the end of those easy topics, I wasn’t sure what else to say.
Doctors and even an administrator or two stopped in after word had spread that Dad had a visitor. I wasn’t naïve enough to think that every patient warranted personal visits from hospital leaders and physicians. He was famous enough that our opinion of his care would reflect back on the hospital. I think a lot of them also wanted to meet who would be controlling the Wentworth purse strings in the future. I took it as a vote of confidence; I wasn’t so sure it would be me.
At least they’d waited a respectful amount of time before swarming me. They hadn’t made a peep when Dad had first been admitted, and no one dared approach after Crystal’s arrival. The person I was most interested in meeting was the doctor overseeing my father’s treatment. She stood at the foot of his bed, her hands on the railing. “I think it’s safe to say that he’s past the point where there could be life-threatening complications.”
As a statement, it sounded awfully measured. “I’m taking it that there’s a caveat?”
“Several,” she admitted. I couldn’t tell if she was always this nervous or if our status in the community was affecting her bedside manner. She flashed me a strained smile. “Your father can’t continue to work. We told him that the first time he was in the hospital, but it doesn’t look like that sank in.”
“He’s been trying.” At a minimum, he hadn’t insisted on coming to brand the new cattle. “Though he did collapse after… We’d been arguing.”
“Stress of any kind is going to exacerbate his condition. He needs to focus on his rehabilitation and find healthy coping mechanisms.” The doctor’s face softened as she noticed me staring at him, a tear sliding down my cheek. “The most important thing is that you’re here to support him. Family can make such an enormous difference.”
I thanked her, and she left shortly after. Before anyone else could wander in to offer advice or introduce themselves, I shut the door to the hallway.
I wasn’t the doting daughter they presumed me to be. How could I keep stress out of Dad’s life when I couldn’t stay away from Will? At this rate, he’d be back in the hospital again, and it would be all my fault. Eventually, Daniel and Zane would come to realize it, too.
Although I loved having Hailey as a member of the family, it also complicated things. If Zane came to blame me for our father’s health, would Hailey be trapped in the middle? I already felt like I needed to filter certain things since I knew that she’d tell Zane.
Maybe Beth was right, and it was time to go back to New York. I’d be turning my back on my promise to Mom, but I couldn’t keep tearing myself into pieces. If I left, maybe I could convince Will to forget about Wyoming and come with me instead. He’d been willing to follow me once before.
Still, we weren’t idealistic teenagers anymore. We were adults with new lives and new hopes. I still felt like I knew Will so intimately, but the truth was that we hadn’t seen each other in so long. It didn’t make sense to give up everything on the chance that we could rediscover the love we’d once shared. But nothing about my feelings for Will had ever been logical.
I just knew more and more that I couldn’t stay in limbo. If Dad found out about us a second time, I wasn’t sure that he’d survive it. And Will deserved better than being reduced to a dirty secret. No matter what I chose, I’d lose. Maybe there was some peace in that.
“I’ll see you later, Dad.” I bent forward to kiss his forehead. “I love you.” As I gathered my things, I couldn’t shake the shame that I’d been thinking of Dad’s enemy while visiting him. Was I a horrible child for wanting to choose Will? Or was Dad a horrible parent for asking me to choose at all? I didn’t know.
I just didn’t know.
Before I left, I swung by to see how Crystal was doing. While visiting, Dad had only left me confused and frustrated. I knew that seeing Crystal would put things in perspective. Even if my situation seemed convoluted, at least my friend was on the mend. It could have been so much worse.
When I got downstairs, Crystal was sitting up in bed with a ham steak and a gigantic pile of scrambled eggs on the tray in front of her. She spotted me and waved, splattering the coverlet with eggs. “Oops.” She set down her fork, laughing. “Making a mess.”
“You’re looking lively,” I said. “Unlike your dad.” I nodded at Remy, who was folded up in the recliner in the corner.
He stood when he noticed me and trudged over to hug me. I wasn’t used to seeing him off the ranch, as though being covered in mud from the knee down was a permanent part of his wardrobe. “I didn’t know you were stopping by.”
“I came to see Dad.”
“Yeah, because she goes home at night.” Crystal groaned and stuck out her tongue at Remy. “Sky, help me talk some sense into this man. He won’t even go home to take a damn nap.”
Remy reached over to refill her cup with the pitcher from the counter. “What if I left and you needed something?”
“I can pour water out of a pitcher, Daddy.”
“You’re not supposed to walk yet.”
Crystal held up the remote attached to the wall and pointed to the red button that paged the nurses. “It’s not like I’m by myself. I’ve got hands.”
My smile
broadened as I watched them bicker until they both noticed my amusement and gave up pleading their respective cases with me.
“How are you feeling?” I asked as I took the other seat and dragged it closer to the head of Crystal’s bed. “Sorry, you must be so sick of people asking that.”
“You can ask me whatever you want.” She stared at her hands and clicked her thumbnails together. “You know I don’t do all this mushy stuff.”
I visibly frowned as the awkwardness settled over us. “You don’t have to.”
“Hell yes, I do.” Crystal took a deep breath. “You saved my life, Skyler Wentworth. Without you, I’d be a shriveled-up sack of bones by now.”
“You would have figured something out.” I thought about the ten thousand things that had led to us finding Crystal. One small change, and she would have died. If I’d been too proud to ask for Jessie’s help... If Sam hadn’t been able to put Robert at ease... “You were doing fine before we got there. Made it all the way across the gap and everything.”
“Yeah,” she said, somewhat bitterly, “it’s amazing how many risks you’re willing to take when the alternative is getting murdered. But thank you. Truly. I’ll never forget it.”
“Me either,” Remy vowed.
“You would have done the same for me. Both of you.”
“I don’t know how I could have gone on without you,” Remy said to Crystal, his voice hoarse. He held up a fist. “Those monsters are lucky they’re behind bars.”
“No kidding. The cowboys would tear them apart.” My mind strayed a bit to the case itself. I hadn’t yet found the mental fortitude to research the suspects in Crystal’s abduction or the subsequent charges. I knew how the legal system treated attempted rape and violence against women. Black Gold Creek wasn’t the only place where we weren’t equal.
It occurred to me then that I might have to testify, to talk about everything we’d seen that day. The court would likely want to hear from the others as well. I had no illusions that Will’s involvement would be kept a secret. The cowboys loved to insult the Blythes too much for that. That would potentially put all of us in the same courtroom.
The Cowboy's Promise: Love Triangle Billionaire Romance (The Wentworth Cowboy Billionaire Series) Page 11
