by Liv Brywood
“Would you like some iced tea? It’s so hot today.”
“Sounds good.” He followed her into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. “How’s Nicole?”
“The same. I’ve got the whole church praying for her. The doctor says it’s all we can do at this point.” She set two glasses of iced tea on the table before taking the seat across from him. “I hope she’s strong enough to pull through.”
“I’ll be praying for her too.” He reached across the table and gave her hand a soft squeeze. “Is Violet here or over at the hospital?”
“Humph. Neither. She left.”
“Where did she go?” Even as he asked the question, he knew in his gut she was gone.
“Back to San Francisco. Can you believe that?”
His stomach dropped. She’d left without even saying goodbye. How could she be so cold?
“She’s so caught up in that fancy job of hers. She’s a spoiled, ungrateful child who doesn’t give a damn about her family,” she said.
The urge to defend Violet rose up before an overwhelming sense of betrayal quashed it. His bear stalked around his chest before furiously clawing at his ribcage. He rubbed his fist along his breastbone to try to calm the beast.
“Did she say why she left?” he asked.
“Some work problem. As if anything could be more important than her sister.”
“She didn’t even say goodbye,” he muttered.
“I’m not surprised.”
“What?” He looked up. “Why? Did she say something?”
“No, nothing about you specifically. The girl’s a fool for running off instead of marrying you.”
Heat flooded his cheeks. He grabbed the iced tea and took a long sip to cover his embarrassment. At least her mom liked him. It wasn’t much of a consolation, but it was something.
“I guess I can’t blame her,” he said. “She’s entitled to live her life. And if she doesn’t want to live in Texas I can’t do anything to force her to stay.”
“I know,” she said. “I wish you could tame her. Keep her in Lost Hills where she belongs.”
“She’s not a wild horse.”
The corner of her mouth twitched. “Maybe not, but she sure as heck acts like one.”
“She’s a strong woman.”
“Headstrong, yes.” She nodded vigorously. “But I don’t know how much sense she’s got in her head.”
“She’s very intelligent. She’s running a multi-million-dollar company. I wish she were running it in Texas, but it’s hard not to be proud of everything she’s accomplished,” he said.
“Pfft,” she scoffed. “She should be here watching over her sister.”
“I’m sure she’ll recover. It just takes time.”
“I hope so, because if I lose her, I’ll be losing the only person who wants to run the family business. Everything we’ve worked for will be for nothing.” She choked out the last word.
“All we can do is wait and pray,” he said. “I know that’s not much of a comfort, but if you need anything, we’re here for your family. My brothers and I are happy to help with whatever you need.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re such a good man. I hope she wises up one day and comes back to marry you.”
He sighed and turned the glass around a few times. If only things were that easy. She obviously didn’t care about him enough to tell him she was leaving, so it would be one hell of a stretch to expect her to come running back to him. The sooner he could stop dreaming about building a life with her the better.
Maybe Diesel was right. Maybe he should go over to Sweets N’ Treats to visit Dana. If nothing else, he’d end up with a double scoop of mint chocolate chip. His bear licked his lips and pranced around his chest. The beast always did love a good scoop of ice cream.
After saying goodbye to Mrs. Olsen, he couldn’t bring himself to drive into town. His heart yearned for more than just a sweet treat. And the only woman who could satisfy his craving lived thousands of miles away.
A vise of tension tightened around Violet’s forehead as she processed the email from the director of IT. They’d been hacked. She’d been back less than twenty-four hours and so far she’d had to fire Drew, the money-skimming purchasing manager, and now this.
“Ivy,” she yelled out to her assistant. “Please set up a meeting with Hanz and the rest of the IT department. I want everyone in the conference room in ten minutes.”
“Okay.”
Ten minutes later, Violet paced the length of the conference room. As the IT group took their chairs, she skewered each person with a deadly look. When the last person entered the room, she turned to Hanz, the director of IT.
“How did this happen?”
“When we upgraded the accounting software, someone forgot to install a security patch. The hacker was able to bypass the firewall and get into the servers,” Hanz said.
“What did they get?”
“Our financial reports.”
“That’s ridiculous. Those are about to become public record. Why would they go sneaking around now?” she asked.
“It’s probably a stock-trading firm looking for insider information on the IPO.”
“But we already have an estimated opening price.”
“True, but look at what happened with FaceChat. They opened for much higher than their actual value and people lost millions within a few months. Ever since their stock price fell, investors are doing whatever it takes to make sure the company’s financials reflect the opening price.”
“What steps are you taking to make sure this doesn’t happen again?” she asked.
“We’ve been working on updates ever since we detected the breach. I can assure you we won’t let this happen again,” Hanz said.
“Good. Is there anything else going on that I should know about?” she asked. Although she’d already been briefed by Brad, it never hurt to ask.
“Nothing from IT,” Hanz said.
“Okay. We’re so close to going public. We can’t screw this up. Every single one of you has a responsibility to the company and to yourselves to make sure we get through this IPO. I’m counting on you. Everyone in this company is counting on you. Are we clear?”
“Yes,” came a chorus of voices.
After dismissing the team, she glanced at the clock. She’d been awake for over twenty-four hours. Sharp pain in the base of her skull along with light sensitivity signaled an impending migraine. If she didn’t get home soon, she’d be incapacitated for hours.
She left the conference room. After grabbing her laptop and purse, she stopped at Ivy’s desk.
“I’m heading home for a few hours. If anything happens, please call me. I don’t care how minor the issue, I want to know what’s going on.”
“I will,” Ivy said.
“Thank you.”
“Everything’s going to be okay,” Ivy said. “The entire team is working their butts off to make sure we’re successful.”
“I know, but there’s so much riding on the IPO.”
“We’ve got this,” Ivy said. “Go home and rest a bit. You look exhausted.”
She left the office and headed home. Her apartment overlooked a busy street filled with early evening traffic. Horns honked. Sirens blazed. The scent of car exhaust and burnt Chinese takeout wafted in through the windows.
She groaned and walked around, closing all the windows. After changing into her favorite pair of lavender pajamas, she crawled into bed. She’d already popped two migraine pills, but they hadn’t kicked in yet.
As she lay waiting for them to work, an overwhelming sense of loneliness tugged at her heart. She’d spoken with her father a few hours earlier. Nicole’s condition hadn’t changed. She rolled toward the window only to be greeted by the brick wall of another apartment building. What she wouldn’t give to be able to breathe fresh air and gaze out at the bayou behind her parents’ house.
She glanced at her phone. Even though her mom refused to speak with her, Violet missed her fami
ly. Maybe she should have stayed in Texas. She didn’t have any real friends in San Francisco. She spent all of her free time working. The bar scene wasn’t her style and she didn’t have time for social clubs. Although she was surrounded by people every day, she felt completely alone.
Several weeks passed. Although her sister’s condition hadn’t changed, she still called daily as soon as she got home.
“Hi Dad,” she said.
“Hey honey.”
“How’s Nicole doing?” she asked as she kicked off her high heels.
“The same. But at least she’s not getting worse.”
“True.” She sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her aching feet.
“Are you going to be able to come back and visit soon?”
“I’ll see if I can find an open weekend. I haven’t been feeling well.”
“Stress isn’t good for you,” he said. “You need to take care of yourself. Your mom is beside herself with worry.”
“She’s not worrying about me.”
“I know you think she’s mad at you, and maybe she is, but she still loves you,” he said.
“I love her too. I wish she’d at least speak to me. The last time I tried to talk to her, she told me she had nothing to say to me unless I come home.”
“She’s being stubborn.”
“I miss you, Dad.”
“You should come home for a visit. Even if it’s only a day,” he said.
“I’ll see what I can do. It might be a few days though, because I think I’m coming down with something.”
“You need to go to the doctor if you’re getting sick.”
“No,” she said. “I think it’s a low-grade virus, nothing the doctor can help me with. I need to take some aspirin and I’ll be fine. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Let me know if you can make it out. Even though Nicole’s unconscious, I think she still knows when we’re there,” he said.
“I will.”
She hung up and padded to the medicine cabinet. The bottle of aspirin was empty. She groaned as she bent to look under the sink. Her stomach rolled. All of the stress at work had been getting to her the last few weeks. She hadn’t felt right in a while.
As she pushed aside a box of Epsom salts, she knocked over a plastic basket filled with tampons. A chill raced up her spine. She plopped onto her butt in front of the cabinet and stared at the tampons. When had she used them last?
She struggled to remember the last time, so she jumped up to check her wall calendar in the kitchen. She’d been tracking her cycle since she’d had an irregular pap two years ago. Everything turned out okay, but her doctor had told her to keep track so they could test her immediately if anything changed.
As she flipped back two months, her heart raced. She found the row of tiny red X’s two weeks before she’d left for Lost Hills.
“Oh my God.”
She stepped back so fast she jarred her hip against the kitchen counter. A flash of pain sizzled into her leg. Her knees went weak. She stumbled into a chair and gripped its wooden arms. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t be pregnant.
On shaky legs, she wobbled to get her purse. She walked to the corner drugstore and returned with a pregnancy test. Back in her bathroom, she eyed the stick warily. She set a timer on her phone and waited. A minute later, a pink plus sign appeared.
Chapter 9
Aaron carried a basket through a row of pea vines. Long, bright-green strings swayed in the summer breeze. Lush green leaves brushed his arms while a curious butterfly danced alongside him. A bee buzzed around his head before flying off.
After stopping to pull one of the vines free from the chicken wire they’d used to fence off the garden, he continued to search for the ripest peas. He reached for one of the pods and snapped it off the vine. With a dirt-crusted fingernail, he sliced it open to inspect the bright green pea. He popped it into his mouth and chewed the sweet treat. Perfection.
His cell phone rang. He swiped his hands across his jeans before grabbing it. He glanced at the caller ID and froze. Violet.
“Hello?”
“It’s me,” she said. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No.” He glanced around to see where his brothers were and then took off in the opposite direction. “What’s up?”
“How have you been?”
Hesitation stilted her tone, as if she were afraid of his response. His bear chuffed as his spine stiffened. She’d been gone for two months and now she thought she could call and everything would be okay?
“Fine,” he said.
“Has everything been okay at the ranch?” she asked.
“It’s the same boring place you fled. Nothing changes here.” He hadn’t intended to sound so bitter, but he couldn’t control his bear. The beast was still furious she’d left without saying goodbye.
“Aaron… I’m sorry I left without saying anything. There was trouble at work and—”
“No need to explain,” he said. “I know you’re busy with your very important job.”
“Great. Now you sound like my mother.”
He sighed. Part of him was happy to finally hear from her, but another part couldn’t get over the fact that she’d walked out on him. Talking to her wouldn’t do anything to mend his heart, so the sooner he could get her off the phone, the better.
“What can I do for you? Do you need me to look in on your parents?” he asked.
“No,” she whispered so softly that he had to strain to hear her.
“What do you need?”
“I have to tell you something…but…maybe I should have flown there…”
“Is it about work?” he asked.
“No. Maybe…maybe you should be sitting down.”
“I’m in the middle of harvesting peas. Spit it out.”
“I’m pregnant.”
He dropped the basket of pea pods. They spilled across the earth.
“What?”
“I’m two months pregnant.”
He quickly did the math. They’d made love two months ago. His heart swelled with a mixture of pride, confusion, and fear. How on earth could they have a baby together?
As he fought to still his rushing heart, his bear pranced around in his chest, elated that his mate was pregnant with his child. He, on the other hand, was ready to throw up.
“Mine?” he asked softly.
“Yes, yours,” she snapped. “I don’t make it a habit to sleep with every man who crosses my path.”
“How would I know?” he growled. “You’re thousands of miles away and I don’t know a damn thing about who you’re seeing.”
“I’m haven’t been with anyone else in years.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. He trusted her enough to believe her. She’d never lie about something this life-changing.
“How long have you known?” he asked.
“An hour.”
“Okay.” He sat down hard on the earth. “Everything’s going to be okay. You can move in with me and I’ll help you take care of the baby. We’ll figure everything out together.”
“But I don’t want to move.”
“I guess I could go to San Francisco instead. I don’t think raising a baby in a huge city is the best idea, but I’ll find a way to make it work.”
“You don’t have to move,” she said. “I can hire a nanny to help take care of her.”
“Are you kidding me?” He jumped up and started walking through the field toward the bayou. “You can’t be serious. I don’t want a stranger raising my child. If you can’t be bothered with a baby I’ll take her. You might not want to be a mother, but I want to be a father. I won’t have my child growing up in home without love.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you serious? Of course I’ll love our baby,” she yelled. “CEOs hire nannies all the time. It’s not like I won’t see our baby every night and on weekends. She’ll know I love her.”
“Not good enough.” His jaw clenched.
&n
bsp; “You’re being unreasonable. I can’t leave my life, and you’ve made it well known that you have no desire to leave Lost Hills. I’ll bring the baby to visit and when she gets older and you can spend summers with her.”
“I can’t…I have to go.” If he didn’t hang up now, he’d end up saying things he’d regret later.
“We’ll talk about it later. I know this is a huge shock, but I needed to call you right away. I’d never keep this from you. I don’t want us to ever have secrets.”
Icy dread froze the muscles in his back.
Secrets.
He’d been holding onto a secret his entire life. She didn’t know about his bear, but he’d have to find a way to tell her. She was the mother of his child and she deserved to know the truth. He couldn’t tell her over the phone. He needed to tell her in person.
“I need to see you,” he said. “I need you to fly home.”
“I might be able to get away this weekend, but only for a couple of days,” she said.
“Is your job really more important than this?” he snapped.
“No, it’s not. But you have to understand, we’re a few weeks away from the IPO and I can’t be gone for long.”
“I won’t need more than a day,” he said.
“I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I got carried away. I should have stopped you. I should have stopped myself. I’m sorry.”
“You were on the pill, right?”
“Yes. The damn thing failed.”
“Then don’t be sorry. It wasn’t your fault,” he said. “We’re going to figure this out. I promise.”
“Okay,” she sniffed.
He wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and never let her go. Aside from her obsession with work, she was an amazing woman. Years ago before she’d left Texas, he’d dreamed of asking her to marry him one day. He’d never found a woman who could match her passion and intelligence, and after a few years he’d given up on ever finding love. But this baby would change everything. He had to find a way to convince her they belonged together. The thought of moving to San Francisco made his blood run cold, but he’d do it for her. All she had to do was ask.
The sound of boots through grass caught his attention. He turned to find Diesel strolling toward him.
