by B. J Daniels
He let his gaze take in the fraternal twins, Harper and Cassidy, and smiled. They were blonde, blue-eyed and adorable. He still thought of them as his babies since they’d only been a few months old when they’d lost their mother. They were both still in college and only home for their sister’s engagement party.
As he found Bo in the crowd below, he realized she was the daughter who worried him even more than Kat. Kat was defiant and obstinate. Bo was the secretive one. She had been five when Sarah died. Even back then, Bo was the quiet one who seemed to move through the house like a ghost. Green-eyed with sandy-blond hair and freckles, she was also the smart one.
To his surprise, it had been Bo who’d wanted to take over the charity he’d started in their mother’s name. The Sarah Hamilton Foundation had been a sentimental gesture he’d regretted the moment he’d found out the truth about Sarah’s accident the night she died.
With concern, he now watched Bo down a glass of champagne as if it were water. He could tell it was far from her first. Something was going on with her. This wasn’t the first time he’d noticed. He didn’t know what it was and he’d been afraid to ask. Maybe he’d ask Ainsley, but not tonight.
He looked through the crowd for Olivia, his blue-eyed brunette, but didn’t see her. Sarah had been a lot like Olivia—headstrong, spoiled rotten and too beautiful for her own good. Cooper, he feared, was too much like he’d been, stubborn and uncompromising. He and Sarah had been so young, and Olivia was only twenty-five...
At the thought of history repeating itself—
He washed away that terrifying thought with a gulp of Scotch. Behind him, he heard the balcony door open.
“I thought you might be here,” his wife of fifteen years said. Angelina Broadwater Hamilton glanced at the glass in his hand. “People are asking about you downstairs.”
Influential people in their political circle, people who had made him one of the youngest senators ever elected from Montana. People who could make him president, something he knew Angelina yearned for even more than he did.
Now, it appeared that there was a very good chance the presidency was his for the taking. He had an excellent voting record and, while a conservative, he was moderate enough to gain respect from both parties. He’d made a lot of friends on both sides of the fence. All the work that Angelina had done had paid off.
While he had always been ambitious, Buckmaster believed in his heart that he could help the country. He would be a good president. He would make Montana proud.
Below him, he saw his brother-in-law, Lane Broadwater, working the crowd at the party. In his midthirties, Lane was blond like his sister with the same blue eyes. Although he was eleven years younger, the two looked more like fraternal twins. Angelina had talked him into hiring her brother to handle the campaign when he’d run for senator. He’d been skeptical at first about Lane’s abilities, but he’d proven himself to be good at the job. Also he was enough like his sister that he went after whatever it was he wanted. Lane and Angelina wanted to put him in the White House. They’d proven to be very good at what they did.
He drained his glass and smiled as he turned to her. “Then we should get downstairs at once.”
Angelina eyed him, clearly unsure if he was being sarcastic. She’d never been able to tell, but it didn’t matter. He hadn’t married her for her astuteness. While she was a beautiful blonde, tall, willowy, with a face that could have been carved from porcelain, he’d married her for her name. The Broadwater connection had definitely helped put him in the Senate and made him even richer. It would put him in the White House.
He could laugh about it now, but fifteen years ago some people were under the misconception that he’d married her so she could help raise his six daughters. Angelina wasn’t mother material.
Fifteen years ago, he also hadn’t particularly needed a wife—not in the practical sense—when he’d met Angelina. Which was good because there was also nothing domestic about her. He’d hired a staff to run the house and take care of his children since he spent a great deal of his time in Washington.
Angelina, though, was queen of her realm when it came to throwing parties. She attracted the right people, the kind who had made Buckmaster Hamilton one of the most powerful men in Montana.
Now, Angelina took the empty glass from his hand, smiling as she laid it aside for the staff to take care of later. Then looping her arm through his, she said, “You look very handsome tonight, Mr. Hamilton. Ready for our grand entrance?”
“Why not?” He smiled, though most women would have seen through it. Angelina never looked past the surface. Because of that, she didn’t know about the dark shadows he sensed at the edge of their lives. She couldn’t imagine any problems that Buckmaster Hamilton couldn’t fix. But then again, she didn’t really know him.
* * *
COOPER BARNETT WALKED along the side of the house to the ballroom floor that had been built for the occasion. Everyone who was anyone was here, which meant he didn’t know most of the guests.
But he had to admit, it was some party from the tiny sparkling lights to the bubbly champagne and the imported caviar Buckmaster had flown in just that morning. No expense had been spared. It was the Hamilton way. Whatever it cost, money was never an issue.
He caught his reflection in a mirror as he passed through the house, and he straightened his tie. Wouldn’t his family be surprised to see him now? He looked nothing like the old Cooper Barnett; he still felt a lot like the old one—except in nicer clothes. It was that old one who worried him.
You don’t belong here. Worse, he feared that a lot of people at this party knew it. He shoved the thought away as he exited the house and walked among the crowd outside, anxious to find his fiancée. Stars twinkled overhead. A light breeze swayed the nearby pines and music filled the air. The Hamiltons couldn’t have ordered a more beautiful night. Even the weather did what Buckmaster wanted, he thought with a wry smile.
Then he saw his bride-to-be and forgot all about his future father-in-law and the old Cooper Barnett. His heart did a little stutter-kick in his chest. Damn but Livie Hamilton was breathtaking tonight. She wore a burgundy-red dress that accentuated her rich olive skin and contrasted perfectly with her long dark hair. He still couldn’t believe she’d fallen in love with him. How had he gotten so lucky?
Not that she wasn’t a spitfire who fought him at every turn. Also he’d done his best not to fall in love with her. He’d been warned about the Hamilton girls and he’d wanted nothing to do with her.
When he fell, though, he’d fallen hard. He wouldn’t admit it to her even at gunpoint, but her independent, mule-headed stubbornness and determination were part of her charm. But she was a Hamilton and that came with its problems.
He was headed for her when she saw him. Her face lit, making his heart take off at a dead run. The band broke into Livie’s favorite song, just as he had requested. It was sappy, but when he saw her smile of recognition, it was all worth it.
“You look...amazing,” he said, taking her in with his gaze, then his arms.
She smiled up at him, her blue eyes wide and luminous. “You don’t look so bad yourself. You clean up nice, cowboy.”
He pulled her out onto the dance floor, drawing her in closer. As he nuzzled her neck, he caught the scent of light citrus. Desire almost buckled his knees. Overhead, starlight glittered down on them from Montana’s big sky. The night really was perfect.
“I am the luckiest man alive,” he said as he drew back to look at her. He’d never understand why she’d fallen in love with him. If only she wasn’t a Hamilton, he thought, and shoved the thought away. He wouldn’t let anything ruin this night.
He’d never believed in luck. He’d gotten where he was through hard work. But he was afraid to jinx this, afraid he didn’t deserve this woman, deserve any of this—and he knew he could blame his father for t
hat.
Ralph Barnett had told him from the time he was a boy that he wasn’t worth two cents and would never amount to anything. He’s spent most of his twenty-eight years trying to prove the man wrong. But there was still that part of him that didn’t believe he deserved anything, especially happiness.
“I’m the lucky one,” Livie said.
Cooper pulled her closer, leaning down to whisper, “I love you,” against her hair. He relished the soft sweet moan she uttered in response. He ached with a need for her. The two of them had been so busy they had hardly seen each other for weeks. Once this shindig was over, he couldn’t wait to get her alone.
As the song ended, she drew back to look at him, her gaze locking with his. He lost himself in her sky-blue eyes. Her dark hair floated around her bare shoulders, making his fingers long to bury themselves in it. No woman had ever made him feel like this and he knew, after Livie, no other woman ever could.
“I love you, Coop. Remember that always.” She said it with such force that he felt a niggling of worry. She looked a little pale, he thought, and recalled that the few times he’d seen her over the past few weeks she hadn’t been herself.
He’d been busy working on the ranch, getting it ready for when she moved in after they were married. Livie had also been busy, taking care of the wedding plans. He would have been happy to elope, but Buckmaster Hamilton wasn’t having that. His first daughter to marry was going to have a huge wedding, no expense spared.
Cooper had gone along with it, knowing it was important to Livie. But he’d dug in his heels when it came to her father helping them financially, which had been a bone of contention between them, among other things.
He would also have gladly gone for a longer engagement, giving him time to finish the house he was building for them on his ranch. But Livie wasn’t good at waiting for anything. It was her impulsiveness that he loved—but it also caused him concern. She often acted without thinking of the consequences.
Like last winter when, after a fight, she’d taken off with a storm coming and ended up in a ditch. Even though she swore her injury was minor, she hadn’t been the same since, he thought now.
“Is everything all right, Livie?” he asked, his heart suddenly in his throat.
* * *
LIVIE MET HIS dark gaze. She’d loved this man almost from the first time she’d seen him in the corral working with the horses. There’d been something special about him—a tenderness, a vulnerability and yet a strength like none she’d ever seen.
At the thought of losing him... Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. Not now, she told herself. All you have to do is get through tonight. “I’m feeling a little emotional, that’s all.” She could see that he was worried and wasn’t going to leave it at that.
But fortunately, his future best man, Rylan West, cut in and whisked her away. Rylan and Cooper had been best friends since Cooper arrived in town. It was good to see him and his wife, Destry, at the party. Not long ago, Destry had lost not only her brother but also the baby she was carrying.
When the song ended, Livie quickly excused herself to go to the ladies’ room. As she left the party, she glanced back. She saw Cooper in deep conversation with her father. Both men were frowning. Like her and Cooper, they were probably having the same argument. Her father wanted her to live in a nice house after they were married.
Because she’d insisted on a short engagement, she and Cooper would be living in his old cabin until he finished building their house. With her father’s resources and a hired crew, the house could have been finished before the wedding if Cooper would only agree to it. But he was determined to do it all himself without his future father-in-law’s help.
The music started up again, seeming too loud. She caught scents in the crowd—perfume, aftershave, appetizers and alcohol. It all made her stomach turn. She swallowed back the nausea and made a beeline for the patio bathroom.
Rushing in, she threw up. As she finished, she leaned against the cool wall of the bathroom feeling a little better. Once she’d gotten herself together again, she stepped back outside. The party was beautiful from here—all the lights, the sound of laughter, music and voices, the tinkling of champagne glasses.
Her stepmother had done an amazing job, but then again, the woman had been throwing parties for years here on the ranch. Livie remembered the day her father and Angelina had walked into the house and announced that they’d gotten married. She’d taken an instant dislike to Angelina—just as her sisters had.
Fortunately, Angelina hadn’t wanted anything more to do with them than they did with her.
Livie often wondered what their lives would be like now if their mother hadn’t died. Had it really been twenty-two years? She’d been three when her mother had been killed after her car had crashed into the icy Yellowstone River. Sarah Hamilton hadn’t been wearing her seat belt and had been ejected into the river, her body apparently swept downstream. Like a lot of bodies that went into Montana rivers, hers was never found.
Livie had little memory of her other than a few photographs she’d seen before even those had disappeared once Angelina had shown up.
But even with her senator father gone a lot, she and her sisters had never felt deprived of anything. And no matter what anyone said, they weren’t spoiled. They just knew what they wanted, she thought, realizing Cooper would have argued the point.
Still feeling a little weak, she walked toward a stand of pines at the edge of the party to catch a breath of fresh air. Why hadn’t she called off the party? She knew the answer. The party had been planned weeks ago. Also calling it off would have the whole county talking. She told herself that if she could just get through tonight...
Another wave of nausea hit her. She sat down on one of the benches that circled the outdoor ballroom, this one in the shadow of the pines. Reaching into the small clutch, she dug for the pills the doctor had prescribed for her. Her fingers brushed the letter she’d received just that morning.
She drew it out with trembling fingers. Like the first one, her name had been typed on the blue envelope in bold black. “Olivia Hamilton.” She had stared at it, heart pounding, trying to tell herself she was wrong, until she hadn’t been able to stand it any longer and torn it open.
It was exactly like the first blackmail note, except that note had demanded only ten thousand dollars. This one demanded fifty thousand.
Stuffing it back into her clutch, she felt even more light-headed than she had moments before. She looked out at the crowd who’d come to celebrate her engagement. Another wave of nausea hit her. She stumbled to her feet, but instantly felt woozy and had to grab the back of the bench for support.
“You look as if you’re going to faint,” her sister Ainsley said, appearing from out of the darkness.
“I’m fine,” she protested even though she was far from fine.
Ainsley sat down next to her. “Talk to me, Livie.” Ainsley had been away at law school until this week. Livie had had the entire addition her father had built them away from the main house to herself but she’d missed her sister. She loved having Ainsley back home. Seven years older, Ainsley had been like a mother to her.
Livie fought to keep her stomach down while at the same time trying not to cry. Ainsley had always looked out for her. She had been the person she’d gone to when she had her first period, when she needed her first bra, when she got her heart broken the first time.
But this was something she didn’t want to trouble her big sis with. This was something she had to take care of herself.
“Does Cooper know yet?” Ainsley asked.
Livie looked up with a start. “Know what?”
“Does he know you’re pregnant?” her sister asked, lowering her voice even though the sounds from the party covered her words.
Livie shook her head as her eyes filled with unshed
tears. “How...”
“I heard you throwing up the past couple of mornings.”
“Does anyone else...”
Ainsley shook her head. “Don’t cry. You’ll ruin your makeup.” Her sister handed her a tissue. “Why haven’t you told him?” When Livie didn’t answer, she asked, “Are you worried about his reaction?”
More than her sister could know. It wasn’t just that Cooper had their lives planned for the next forty years, a baby under any circumstances would throw a wrench into those plans. This baby... All she could manage in answer was, “It’s complicated.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Ainsley put an arm around her. “This is good news, right?”
“It’s the worst thing that could happen.”
Copyright © 2015 by Barbara Heinlein
ISBN-13: 9781460390283
Lucky Shot
Copyright © 2015 by Barbara Heinlein
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
