Or so she had always thought.
The irony was she’d spent months planning to ruin the Browards, but her “victory” had imploded in a matter of minutes.
The clapping had stopped, but she wasn’t sure when. Suddenly, she realized that the entire ballroom was silent, seemingly waiting for her next move, her next line.
Perhaps they believed this was part of the ball, some hokey on-the-spot drama she’d dreamed up for ratings. But no, she wasn’t acting and she wasn’t playing games anymore.
She regarded the rest of the Broward family, and thought how perfectly they represented all that she’d ever wanted, but never had. Who was she kidding? She would never fit in with them. At that moment, a knot of emotion welled in her throat and she burst into tears and fled from the room.
* * *
Jameson and Wes looked at each other in disbelief. They actually had a half sister! Both of them could hardly believe it.
“Do you think she’s gone for good?” Jameson asked, not caring if his tone sounded harsh.
“Honey! I’m surprised at you,” Brooke exclaimed. “Even though it’s obvious she was playing to the cameras.”
Steven trudged back to the table. “Everything Samara said was true,” he said ruefully.
Wes guffawed. “Dad, you can’t really believe that Samara Lionne is your daughter? I mean, no offense, but she looks nothing like you.”
Lydia elbowed her fiancé. “That’s not nice.”
Even though she knew that Wes and his father joked around all the time, Samara was her old boss. Despite her quirkiness, Lydia did care about her.
“But Samara did have the necklace that her mother gave her,” Brooke pointed out.
“It’s probably a fake,” Jameson said, not ready to believe that it wasn’t.
Steven sat down. “Like I said earlier, I can assure you it’s not a fake, son. It’s the same one that I gave her all those years ago.”
He rubbed his hand along his temple. “Lord, if I had only known!”
Laney came around and put her hands on her mother’s shoulders. “If you had known about Samara, would you still have married Mom?”
His eyes lifted and sank into Gwen’s. The private knowing look they shared was the result of years of love and mutual respect.
He touched her hand and when he spoke, his voice was choked with emotion. “Yes, I would have married you. In fact, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Gwen leaned over and kissed her husband gently on the lips. “Let’s go home and talk this through over a plate of my cookies. I made your favorite this afternoon—chocolate chip!”
“That sounds wonderful,” he said as they both stood. “Why don’t you all join us?”
“But don’t you want to talk about it alone?” Jameson asked.
Gwen shook her head. “Remember our pact. No more secrets. We’ll discuss it with all of us together.”
Everyone else got up and started to walk away, all except Laney, who hung back.
Gwen turned abruptly. “Are you coming with us?”
“I’ll be along soon. I have something I need to discuss with Austin.”
Gwen nodded and gave Laney and Austin a knowing smile. “We’ll keep the cookies warm. For both of you.”
She linked hands with Steven and walked out of the ballroom with her head held high. True, her heart was bruised, but it was still intact, strengthened from years of faithfully loving one man.
A secret can destroy a family, Gwen thought, but it can also bring one closer together, and she knew that no matter what, the Browards would prevail.
* * *
Laney plopped down in a chair next to Austin, suddenly exhausted.
“Are you okay?” Austin asked.
She blew out a breath and nodded. “Just overwhelmed by everything that happened tonight.”
He leaned one elbow on the table and regarded her. “You were amazing with Samara. After everything she said about your father, you still found it in your heart to reach out. How did you do it?”
Laney turned to him. “All I had to do was think about how our child would feel if she never knew her father. I would never want our baby to experience that kind of pain.”
He reached for her hand and kissed it gently. “It took a lot for you to admit I was the father of your baby in public. What made you do it?”
“Other than fifty thousand bucks?” she asked and they both erupted in laughter.
She giggled when Austin pulled her onto his lap. And when the laughter had ended, her tone became serious, and she’d never felt more confident in her life.
“The truth is...I love you, Austin. I love you and I love that you are the father of my baby.”
Austin placed one hand on her cheek and tilted her chin up. “I love you, too, Laney Broward.”
He kissed her fully and deeply, and she squirmed in his lap with delight.
When the kiss ended, he reached into an inside pocket of his tuxedo and pulled out a small velvet box.
Laney’s heart beat faster when he put it in her hand.
“Go ahead,” he urged. “Open it.”
She took the box and slowly cracked it open. Inside was the most ridiculously large and incredibly beautiful diamond ring she’d ever seen.
Her eyes were glued on the huge gem. “Oh, my goodness, this must have cost you a fortune,” she blurted out, before she realized that was one of the most unromantic things she could say.
“Let’s just call it a return on your investment,” Austin chuckled. “Laney, will you marry me?”
Tears of happiness sprang to her eyes and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I was just waiting for you to ask.”
Austin looked deeply into her eyes as he gently ran his hand over her round belly, then he found her lips and gave her his heart.
Epilogue
A few days later, the entire Broward clan was sitting in the kitchen at the BWB Ranch. While the mood was happy, it was also slightly subdued because of the fact that Samara was there, too.
She had been invited by Gwen, who, to the amazement of everyone, had shown an incredible amount of compassion to the movie star that many didn’t think she deserved.
Earlier that hour, Samara had confessed that she was the sole cause of the recent trouble in Granger, including all the land that was being mysteriously bought. She’d acted as “The Cobra,” the blackmailer who’d taken money from Laney and had leaked her pregnancy to the tabloids. To top it off, she’d even orchestrated the accusations of Austin manipulating Laney’s athletic achievements.
“Thank you for not pressing charges,” Samara said in a stunned voice. She looked down at the floor and picked at her long nails. “I know you have more than enough grounds to sue me.” She lifted her head and said in an unsteady voice, “But as we agreed, I promise I’ll get counseling so I can finally get my life and my emotions under control.”
“I still don’t understand why you did all those things,” Wes said. “Why were you so hell-bent on hurting us?”
Samara paused and gestured toward them. “I wanted what you all have, and what you probably take for granted every day.” Her voice was raw and choked with emotion. “I wanted a family to love me. It’s all I ever cared about. I’m just sorry I went about getting it in the wrong way.”
Steven walked over and embraced Samara, and his heart welled up in his chest when this time she did not pull away. “I’m sorry about everything. I promise I’ll make it up to you. At least I can try. If you’ll let me,” he added.
Samara nodded, threw her arms around his neck and the tears began to flow again. “I’d like that very much.”
“You’re always welcome here at the ranch,” Gwen said, watching her husband. She knew it would continue to be difficult to accept
Samara’s existence, but she had to try, for the sake of her family. All the Browards agreed: Samara had suffered enough. It was time to move on.
“What’s going to happen with all the land you bought up around Granger?” Jameson asked.
“Most of it I’m going to return, except for the ranch I bought from Wes,” she said, turning in his direction. “If it’s okay, I’d like to turn that into a summer camp and retreat for children who have lost their parents.”
“It’s your land now,” Wes grunted. “You can do whatever you’d like with it.” Steven and Gwen nodded in agreement.
“That’s a wonderful idea!” Brooke exclaimed.
Samara smiled shyly. “I hear you are a wonderful artist. Perhaps you would consider teaching a pottery class there someday?”
Brooke grinned. She’d always wanted to share her love for art with others. “I’d love to.”
Samara turned to Jameson. “And I’ve decided to back out of the deal to purchase Meredith’s half of the Palmer Ranch. Besides, I hear you love ranching a whole lot more than I do.”
Jameson nodded gravely in appreciation, as he breathed an inward sigh of relief that the land would become part of the Browards’ vast empire. He couldn’t wait to sit down with his father and plan how to best utilize it.
“Well, good,” Grandpa Charles said. “Maybe now things will get back to normal around here.” He reached for a cookie. “Be even better if we saw more of Wes in jeans working the land, rather than in a suit and tie playing on that high-tech phone.”
Everyone laughed.
“No can do, Grandpa,” Wes said, draping an arm over his fiancée’s shoulder. “Lydia and I are heading to Los Angeles permanently. We’ve decided to launch our own entertainment company.”
“Yes, thanks to the contacts I have from when I was working with Samara, we’re confident we can build our client base fairly quickly,” said Lydia.
Steven felt immediate sadness at the news, but refused to allow disappointment to well up inside him. He quickly released Samara and went over to Wes and shook his hand.
“So you’ve finally decided to chase Hollywood sharks instead of Granger cattle. I’m sorry to see you go, but I wish you both much luck and success.”
With an equally heavy heart, Gwen drifted over and hugged her firstborn son. She was happy that he’d finally discovered his dreams and had the courage to pursue them, but she wished it wasn’t so hard to let go.
Wes hugged his parents back. “Look on the bright side, L.A. is beautiful year-round.”
“We expect you all to come visit,” Lydia added.
“Where do I sign up?” said Grandpa Charles. “I love Montana, but the winter is brutal on these old bones.”
“Nobody better go anywhere for the next few months,” Laney commanded.
“Why, are you going to hold us hostage?” Wes taunted.
“If that’s what it takes to get you to come to a wedding, then yes!” She laughed.
“Whose wedding?” Grandpa Charles demanded in a light tone.
Austin squeezed Laney’s hand. “Ours. Laney and I are getting married, as soon as possible.”
Lydia and Brooke squealed with delight, and even Samara looked pleased.
Gwen released Wes so she could hug her daughter. “That’s wonderful, Laney. I’m so happy for you both.”
Austin took turns shaking hands and exchanging high fives with Steven, Wes and Jameson.
“Now you can show your family the ring you’ve been hiding,” Austin said.
Laney twisted the huge rock from where it had been nestled against her palm and flashed it in front of everyone.
“Woot, woot!” she cried, to the oohs and aahs of the women.
“What about me?” Grandpa Charles asked in a playfully brusque tone. “I’m getting married, too! I may not have a huge rock on my hand, but don’t I deserve some attention around here?”
Wes and Jameson did a double take. “Grandpa! Get out of here,” said Jameson. “Who is she?”
“Miss Polly Ann Wier, if you must know.” He scratched his chin. “She’s taken quite a shine to me these past few months and, well, I decided I’m not too old to get hitched.”
Steven laughed and shook his head in amusement. His father had met Polly Ann as a result of a cowboy auction held a few months ago. His mother had passed away three years earlier and he knew the kind woman had been a much-needed ray of sunshine in his dad’s life. “Why, you old devil!” he remarked, a smile of pure happiness on his face.
Grandpa Charles spread his arms wide and pumped out his chest. “Son, if you’ve still got it, you can still flaunt it,” he cackled. “Now, where’re my hugs?”
All the women in the room flocked to the Broward patriarch in a group embrace.
“Wow! Two weddings, a baby on the way and a new sister,” Laney exclaimed. “Whoever said life in Granger was boring?”
* * * * *
We hope you enjoyed meeting the Broward family. Next month, don’t miss Harmony Evans’s new book, WHEN MORNING COMES, coming from Harlequin Kimani Romance, and available at your local bookstore or e-tailer!
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ISBN-13: 9781460333396
LOVING LANEY
Copyright © 2014 by Jennifer Jackson
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Loving Laney Page 18
