Billionaire In Hiding: The Complete Series (Alpha Billionaire Romance Western Love Story)

by Claire Adams

  “Man, it’s a good thing my wife is a great mother. I was left alone with my daughter one night and I honest didn’t know what to do with her. I sang Aerosmith songs to her until she fell asleep and I forgot to change her diaper the whole time.”

  It was the truth; I firmly believed that Casey and his wife were amazing parents. It didn’t matter that he had forgotten to change his daughter, he could learn all of that as time went on. The important part of being a parent was loving your spouse and your children and Casey had that down. There was no question in my mind. Casey was a kind-hearted man who worked his ass off and never cut corners. The whole reason my company was still standing was because he had been in charge while I was away.

  “Well, we’re already practicing for the next one, if you know what I mean,” Casey joked as he jabbed his elbow into my side.

  “I can’t wait to be Uncle Malcolm again,” I laughed.

  I wasn’t much of a drinker, but sitting there drinking beers with Casey did feel good. It was nice to have someone I trusted looking out for the company and I needed a night out to clear my head a bit. One thing that I never worried about while I had been away was my company. Sure, I occasionally thought of ideas and things that needed to be taken care of and I wanted to call or get in touch to tell Casey. But none of that mattered in the end. He had run the company with a profit that year and certainly had done a very respectable job of it.

  “I heard you bought some houses for a couple guys you knew while you were away. That’s pretty good stuff right there,” Casey said.

  “It was for the families of two men who were murdered. I also settled the lawsuit with Thomas Randal’s family for what they were asking: eight million.”

  “Ouch; I don’t think Thomas would have been happy about his family suing you.”

  “It’s all right. They are hurt by what happened and I want them to be able to move on. I met with his wife and we hashed things out. The settlement was the least I could do for her. I wished her all the best and she even hugged me when we signed the papers. I guess I can’t expect that she’ll forgive me for letting Thomas get involved, but hopefully her and her kids can move on now.”

  “You didn’t force Thomas to get involved. He was an adult and made his own choices. You know you would have won that lawsuit if you had let it go to court? You should have taken them to court and kept your damn money.”

  “I know. But it wouldn’t have felt like a win.”

  “Well it was good of you to help those other two guys out. That was pretty messed up what happened to them at the ranch. Probably a pretty damn scary night.”

  “It was. And they were good men. I made sure their families were taken care of too.”

  “Man, you’re just throwing your money away lately. Better be careful, you’ll end up poor and working on that ranch again,” Casey said as he started to laugh.

  The funny thing was that I didn’t think of it as a bad thing if I was poor and working at the ranch again. I knew it would never happen, but my time at the ranch had been filled with positive memories. I wasn’t going to let the end of my stay there define my entire time on the ranch.

  “I’m just trying to make up for being such a jackass before.”

  “You’re not happy, I get it. But giving away all your money isn’t likely to make you happy. You’ve got to go after what you want and make it happen. Stop moping around and get after it. That’s the Malcolm I know.”

  Casey was right; I was trying to make myself feel better by giving away my money but it wasn’t really working. Sure, I felt better for a few minutes, but then I went right back to wondering what the hell I was doing with my life.

  I did hope that the money I was giving away was helping the people that worked for me and others that I had given it to. I hadn’t been the best of men before I had gone away and there was no way to change that. But I could be a better man moving forward and I hoped I was making better choices and doing a better job of showing people that I cared about them.

  “Thanks, man,” I said as we ordered another round. “I think I need to make some changes, I’m just not sure what they are yet.”

  “Well I’m here for ya. Just let me know what you need and I’ll make it happen. We can’t have a disenchanted head of our company if we are going to take over the world,” he laughed.

  “You still think international is where we need to be?”

  “Hell yeah. The few flights that we do internationally are huge money makers. I think we need to do a membership type program and allow everyday people to get in on the private jet world. We can have different tiers and they can buy in from a single flight up to unlimited flying. We have to be innovative and exciting if we are going to continue to grow.”

  The excitement in Casey’s voice reminded me so much of myself when I had first started the company. I had so many ideas for it back then, so many things I was going to do once I hit it big. But when the company got big, I got wrapped up in the money and stopped getting excited about the potential. The innovation and change of the company was going to be how we stayed ahead of the competition and I was sure glad I had Casey on my team to help drive us to where we needed to be.

  “Thanks, Casey; I needed to hear that,” I said.

  “Let’s drink to it,” he said as he raised his glass and I followed. “To innovation and change.”

  “To innovation and change,” I repeated as we banged our glasses together.

  My mind spent the rest of the evening going over every possible scenario for my future and I started coming up with my own plans that were getting me excited. It wasn’t anything that people would expect me to do, but I was excited about it so that was all that mattered. My life had changed forever because of the time I had spent on the ranch. There was nothing I could do to take that time back and I didn’t want to. What I wanted was to find a way to merge my old life and my new one so I could feel happy again.

  By morning I had sent off an email to my new assistant on all the things I needed her to take care of and I had a meeting scheduled for noon with the man that could make it all happen. Life favored the bold and I was about to be as bold as could be. I had sent a private jet out to gather the person I was meeting and hoped that he had actually gotten on the plane and would be waiting for me in the restaurant. Sometimes I came up with wild and crazy ideas that others didn’t really understand; other times I came up with ideas that others loved. I couldn’t wait to see what his opinion was on the plans I had for my future.

  As I walked into my lunch meeting, I had expected to feel some sort of regret or concern for the decision I was about to make, but I didn’t. Instead, I felt excited for my new plans and excited to see Sid Miller sitting in the restaurant waiting for me. His response to what I had to propose to him was going to make or break my future and I was extremely nervous as I made eye contact with him from across the restaurant.

  “Now don’t you clean up nice,” Sid said as he got up and shook my hand.

  “Thanks for coming,” I said as I sat down with him. “You look good too, Sid. How is Meredith? Is she still handing out those hugs to everyone?”

  “Well, a man sends a private jet for you and it’s rude not to get on it. And yes, Meredith told me to give you a great big hug when I got here, so don’t tell her I didn’t do it.”

  “I appreciate you coming. I know you’re busy back home.”

  “That’s certainly true; spring is always a little exciting on the ranch. So how are you doing? Have you settled back into your life out here? I heard the news about the man you were going to testify against; that’s pretty amazing stuff. Really excited for you that it’s all over with.”

  It was weird to be sitting with Sid and talking to him as equals. In all my time on the ranch I had always looked at him as my boss, yet in that restaurant we were just two men having a lunch together. He looked at me with more respect than I remembered getting from him at the ranch, but I chalked that up to my fancy suit I had on that day. I knew
Sid respected me and had done all that he could do to ensure I had been safe while on his watch.

  “Things haven’t gone as well as I had hoped, but that’s why you’re here. I’m hoping you can help me out.”

  “You know she’s still in love with you,” Sid said without me even asking about Sarah. “She pretends like she’s over you, but I know the truth. I can see it in her eyes.”

  His words hit me like a sledgehammer and I didn’t know what to say. I had hoped that at some point during our conversation he would have told me how Sarah was, but I certainly couldn’t have expected to hear the words he was saying right then and there.

  “She’s doing well?” I managed to ask.

  “Yes, she’s working with the new ranch hands and has taken over managing most of the day to day details. Her mother and I are just getting old,” Sid said with a deep chuckle.

  “That’s good. Well, I brought you out here because I noticed your land was still for sale and I’m interested in making an offer.”

  I had thought long and hard about it and that land was close to my heart. No matter what I ended up doing with it, I had to own that land and I wanted to make the deal in person with Sid.

  “Well, sure you can have it if you’d like. I’d just give it to you. You’re a good man and would make a great neighbor,” Sid said.

  “Sid, what would Sarah say to you?” I joked. “I’ve actually had an offer drawn up and I’ve got it here for you to look over. I sent a copy to your realtor too.”

  The offer I had for Sid was double his asking price, but not because I wanted to give him a handout; I knew he wouldn’t accept such a thing. I needed Sid for my plan to work and that was why I had brought him all the way out to Los Angeles to give him the offer in person.

  “Holy hell!” Sid exclaimed loudly in the restaurant before realizing just how loud he had been.

  “I need your help, Sid. I’ve got a plan and it’s not going to work unless you’re on board with me. Take a look at the offer, I’ve spelled everything out. Hopefully you agree that it’s reasonable and we can partner together on this.”

  Sid took a moment to read through the documentation and then looked up at me with a huge smile. It felt good to see him approving of my plan. I had drawn it up so hastily that I hadn’t been totally sure that Sid would approve.

  “This is good. This is really good.”

  “I’ll send a guy out your way this week to get things started. Does that sound all right to you?”

  “Can I tell Sarah?”

  “Let’s just keep this between the two of us for now. If that’s all right with you?”

  “It’s all right for right now, but eventually she’s going to find out,” Sid said reluctantly.

  “I know. I’m going to come out there next month after I get all the loose ends figured out here. I’ll visit with her about it all. Deal?”

  “That’s a deal, son; I look forward to it.”

  It was nice to see Sid’s enthusiasm for my idea and it was great to see him too. We ended up spending the whole afternoon talking about the ranch and what had been going on there since I had left. He told me about Buckjoy and how much he thought the horse missed me. Sid told me about Meredith and her projects about the farm and he even updated me a little bit on Sarah. It was a great afternoon, and by the time we said our goodbyes, I was more excited than ever for the plans I had ahead of me.

  Chapter 16

  Sarah

  “Mom, you don’t think he’s having an affair, do you?” I asked my mother when I realized my father had left the ranch again for the whole day.

  “No, darling, he’s not having an affair.”

  “For the last four weeks he’s been taking off for hours at a time without any explanation at all. You can’t tell me you’re not a little suspicious of this?”

  “Honey, I trust your father and he says he’s working. So why don’t you try trusting him too? Are you heading out to take some more photos today?”

  “Maybe, I don’t know. I was thinking about going out to the old barn and trying some photos from there at sunset.”

  “That sounds great, honey; just let me know so I don’t worry,” my mother said as she walked toward the main house.

  It frustrated me that she wasn’t more concerned about my father. He was acting strange and I knew it. I was happy that they had sold the property to the north of the river and my mom was shopping around for a new RV for them to start taking some time off. It was an exciting time for them and I certainly didn’t want to put a damper on it by thinking such horrible things about my father.

  The fact of the matter was that he was gone a lot. My father was working away from the farm more than he had been at the farm lately and that was totally unusual. He had refused to tell me what the final price had been on the land sale, but I knew it was more than he had hoped for. His excitement over the sale and insistence that my mother choose whatever RV she wanted was a tell-tale sign that he had gotten a lot of money.

  When I asked who had purchased the land he insisted that it was some corporation and he didn’t really know who it was. It didn’t matter to me who he had sold it to, but the secrecy was driving me nuts. Something was going on with my father and I wished he would just tell me what it was.

  I went into the horse barn and fed the horses some apples and checked on them to see how they were all doing. It was my favorite place to be and no matter how much work I had going on for the day, I always had to stop by and see them.

  “Buckjoy, how you doing, baby boy?” I said as I stroked his face.

  He hadn’t been as full of life as he was when Garrett was there, but I tried to take him out for rides every now and then. I knew he missed Garrett, but there was nothing I could do about it.

  “You know, sooner or later you’re going to have to get over him; he just wasn’t the right one for you.”

  “How do you know?” I heard a man’s voice say from behind me.

  My heart flipped with excitement as I turned around and saw Garrett, or Malcolm, standing right there in front of me. I wanted to run over to him and wrap my arms around him, but I stopped myself. The man standing in front of me wasn’t the same person I knew and I wasn’t about to show him how excited I was.

  “Well, the man he’s missing just up and left without even saying goodbye to him. He lied and pretended to be someone that he wasn’t. That’s how we know he’s not the right one.”

  “What if that man wasn’t allowed to tell the truth? What if he wanted to but it would have made life dangerous for Buckjoy?”

  “Malcolm? That’s your name right?” I asked, although I already knew the answer.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, Malcolm, you could have told me the truth. Telling me wouldn’t have made life any more dangerous than it was already. You lied to me.”

  “I know,” he said without arguing any further.

  “I don’t like being lied to.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Malcolm stood in front of me without putting up an argument at all. I had dreamt about that moment. I had imagined all the things I would say to him, but actually having him there in front of me was totally different.

  He had on a pair of dark jeans, a white cowboy shirt, and some fancy, dark-brown boots. The hat he was wearing looked oddly familiar and I could have sworn it was my fathers. He looked good. Damn him. Malcolm looked so good that I had to hold onto the horse stall to prevent myself from running over to him.

  I wasn’t going to give in to him though. He was probably there to appease his conscience and make himself feel better. So be it. I wasn’t going to give in to him. I’d let him say his peace and then he could leave and go back to the life of his that he had in Los Angeles.

  “So is that all you wanted? You could have just called.”

  “Actually, there’s something else,” Malcolm said as he walked toward Buckjoy. “I’d like to take Buckjoy out for a ride, if that’s all right with you?”

  �
��Sure, whatever you want.”

  “Do you and Bambi want to come with us? I was thinking of riding out to the river.”

  I had to laugh at his assumption I would want to go anywhere with him. After leaving me without a word and then showing up months later, he actually thought I would want to ride with him all the way out to the river? He had lost his mind.

  “Nope, but enjoy,” I said as I turned to walk away.

  Just as I was almost out of the barn, my mother showed up with a huge smile on her face and open arms for Malcolm.

  “Malcolm,” she said eagerly as she walked into the barn. “Sid said you were here.”

  I looked at my mother and then over her shoulder to my father who was standing near his office with a big grin on his face. So at least I knew where he had been on that day, but it didn’t explain all the other days that he had been missing from the ranch.

  “Dad picked you up?” I asked loudly.

  Malcolm just shrugged his shoulders and smiled as he and my mother hugged and started to talk. I needed to get to the bottom of all this. My father had obviously known that Malcolm was coming if he had gone into town to pick him up; why wouldn’t he have told me?

  I stomped on over toward his office to talk to him. He had a lot of explaining to do and I wasn’t going to leave until he told me everything.

  “So you knew he was coming?” I asked.

  “Who? Malcolm? Sure, I knew, why?” my father said nonchalantly.

  “And you didn’t think you should have told me?”

  “Why? You said you didn’t like the guy. I wasn’t going to get you upset by telling you he was coming. He just wanted to take Buckjoy out for a ride and I told him it was all right.”

  “So let me get this straight. You’ve been talking to Malcolm and you told him he could fly all the way out here just to see the damn horse?”

  I was so confused. My father was acting like he didn’t know I had feelings for Malcolm. Of course I hadn’t come straight out and said how much I was missing him, but my father knew the reason I had struggled so much when Malcolm, or Garrett, had left. He was pretending like he believed all the lies I had told him about not caring at all about Malcolm.