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

by Claire Adams

  “We are friends. Can’t I have a friend?”

  “Dad!” I yelled.

  “What, darling?”

  “What am I supposed to do with him here?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t the two of you go for a ride and see what that new guy is doing with the land he bought out by the river. Check it out for me and see if anything crazy is going on out there.”

  “I’m not riding with him.”

  “Fine, don’t then.”

  “Dad! You’re lying to me. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “Honey, I’d like it if you would go out to the river and see what that buyer is doing out there. Is that too much to ask of you?” he asked firmly.

  “Do you really want me to go out there?” I questioned.

  “Yes, I really do.”

  “Fine,” I said as I stormed off back toward the barn.

  When my mother saw me, she gave Malcolm one last hug and kissed him on the cheek before turning and leaving.

  “Are you two heading out to the river?” she asked.

  “How did you know?” I questioned.

  “Malcolm said you two were going out there.”

  “I’m only going because Dad wants to see what that new guy is doing to ruin the land. That’s it. If Malcolm wants to come with, that’s fine I guess. But I don’t see the purpose of him tagging along.”

  “Great, thanks for doing this, Malcolm. When you get back, make sure and peek your head in. I’m baking a pie and I’d love to hear all about how you’ve been.”

  “Thanks to Malcolm?” I said almost under my breath.

  “Thanks, honey, for going out there. Your father will feel better if he knows what’s been going on with the land.”

  She gave me a kiss on the cheek and then left the barn. Something was going on with my parents and when I got back from the ride, I was going to talk to the two of them together. They knew a lot more than they were letting on and I really was getting annoyed by all their secret keeping.

  “Do you still remember how to put the saddle on?” I asked Malcolm as I pulled Buckjoy’s saddle off of the shelf.

  “Yeah, I think I can manage, thanks,” he said with a big grin.

  “I don’t know why you’re smiling. I’m mad at you, in case you didn’t realize that.”

  “What? You’re mad at me?” he said mockingly with an over exaggerated face.

  It was funny and I tried my hardest not to laugh but a smile slipped through. I missed him. Garrett, or Malcolm, or whoever he was. I missed his jokes and his humor. I missed how I felt when he was around. I wanted to be mad at him, truly I did. I wanted to yell at him and scream at him, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go there.

  “All right, all right, you win. Let’s just go out to the river now so we can get back before dark.”

  “Wait, did you just say I won?” He laughed as we both went to work saddling up the horses.

  “Yes, you win. I won’t be angry or mean to you on the ride out.”

  “Yes!” He said with that same over exaggerated enthusiasm.

  “You understand that I have no idea what parts of you are the truth and which parts you made up. I don’t trust anything I remember about you.”

  “Then it’s a good thing we have a couple hours of riding to get all caught up,” he said with a big smile.

  I couldn’t figure out why he was even there or why we were riding out to the river. It was obvious that Malcolm and my parents had talked and were coordinating something. If all they wanted was to get me alone with him for a long ride, well they had accomplished that. I would endure the ride and then come back and figure out why the hell they had such an intense wish for me to spend time with Malcolm.

  I really thought my father would have hated the man. Because of Malcolm, we were no longer taking in FBI people and that was even more money that our ranch wasn’t earning. Plus, my father had been force to kill two men because of Malcolm and attend two farmhands’ funerals. I just didn’t understand why my father would have stayed in contact with the man.

  “So I hear you own an airline,” I asked Malcolm as we started toward the mountain.

  “Not anymore. Technically I’m just on the board of directors now. I sold it.”

  “Why?”

  “You know, just one of those things,” he said as we continued.

  I really didn’t know what else to talk to him about, so we rode in silence for a couple of miles until we got to the base of the mountain. He didn’t seem to want to talk and I wasn’t going to force him.

  “Remember to squeeze your thighs and hold the reins tight,” I reminded him.

  “Thanks.”

  As we made our way up the mountain, I continued to look back at him and Malcolm seemed to be doing a really good job. He was in total control of Buckjoy. Even after months away from riding, I could tell that Malcolm enjoyed it.

  “Hey, would you mind if we stopped here for a minute? I think Buckjoy needs a break,” Malcolm said just before we got to the top of the mountain.

  “You don’t think he can make it to the top?”

  “Nah, he’s breathing pretty heavy.”

  Buckjoy didn’t look like he was breathing heavy to me, but I knew that Malcolm was much more familiar with the horse than I was and I didn’t want to risk it. If they needed a break we could certainly stop for a little bit. We had made really good time getting up there and it was only a little after noon.

  “Sure,” I responded as I pulled Bambi toward a tree that he was tying Buckjoy too.

  “Can we talk?” he asked with a serious look on his face.

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  “I need you to know that all my time with you was real. I know you feel like I was lying and I tricked you, but I need you to know that everything between us was one hundred percent me and you. Yes, my real name is Malcolm. Yes, I was placed here to protect my life while I waited to testify. There were lies that I had to tell for my safety and I thought about telling you the truth on several occasions.”

  “Then why didn’t you?”

  “To be honest, because I was selfish. I wanted that time with you and I didn’t want to ruin it. I couldn’t stand the thought of you being upset and I didn’t want to waste the short amount of time I was at the ranch by arguing.”

  “Short amount of time?” I questioned.

  Malcolm had been at the ranch for just over a year. It certainly had been plenty of time to tell me the truth, although I actually did understand why he hadn’t been able to. It still hurt though. It hurt that he had left me more than anything else.

  I could have gotten over the lying if I had gotten to see Malcolm or at least talk to him after he left. But for months and months I had heard nothing and I was left to deal with losing him just like I would if I had lost anyone else that I was close to.

  “Every day I wondered if it would be my last day here with you. I never knew when they would call your father and tell him I had to be ready. I know it’s hard to understand, but I genuinely felt like I could be pulled away at any moment.”

  “I need to tell you something too. I mean, if we are being honest with each other?”

  “Yes, lay into me. Get angry. Yell. Do whatever you need to do. I can handle it.”

  I didn’t actually want to do any of those things. For months I thought I wanted to yell at him, but I didn’t. What I wanted was for things to go back to the way they had been before. I wanted Garrett back, but I knew that would never happen. Instead, I was sitting there with Malcolm and I had a few things of my own I needed to get off my chest.

  “I loved you. I know I didn’t say it and I pretended like I was fine with having a casual fling with you. But I loved you and I should have told you that. I’m sorry.”

  “I appreciate you being honest.”

  “Another thing,” I started to say and then stopped myself.

  Malcolm moved over and sat next to me. He looked longingly into my eyes and for a moment I fel
t like everything was back the way it was supposed to be. But I knew it wasn’t. I knew he was only there for a moment and would be gone again.

  “Tell me,” he urged me.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “I can handle it. Tell me.”

  “It’s silly. I know this. But I thought you would stay here. I knew you said all the time that you were going to have to leave someday, but I honestly thought you cared enough about me that you were going to decide to stay.”

  Tears started to roll down my face and I tried to stop them. I didn’t want to cry in front of Malcolm. I didn’t want to let him see me so weak, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  “Can I tell you something?” he asked, but then didn’t wait for me to respond. “I wanted to stay.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. That night when I had to leave my heart hurt so badly. I begged them to let me say goodbye to you and they wouldn’t allow it. I was desperate to see you.”

  He wrapped his arms around me and held me close to him. It didn’t help my crying at all. My mind was spinning with the new realization that Malcolm had actually cared about me just as much as I had cared about him. My mother had tried to tell me to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I hadn’t believed her at all.

  “I have something else I need to confess,” Malcolm said as he grabbed my hand and helped me stand up. “I didn’t come here tonight. I’ve actually been in town for a few nights and I’ve had your father helping me with a project for the last month.”

  “What?” I said as I stopped crying so I could hear him better. “What are you talking about?”

  Malcolm smiled and pulled me with him as we walked the hundred feet or so to the top of the mountain. As we reached the peak, we looked out over the river area and I saw a ton of construction underway. There were cranes everywhere and it looked like they were building some sort of hotel or resort.

  “My father sold off the land; we can’t go all the way down there,” I said as we looked out.

  “I know. And yes we can go down there.”

  “No, we can’t. I don’t know who owns it. It would be trespassing.”

  “I know who owns it,” Malcolm said as he squeezed my hand and smiled.

  I looked at him and then down at the construction that was underway. My mind was still puzzled by what he was saying. Did he know the people who had purchased the land? How was my father involved? As I turned back to look at Malcolm he was down on one knee and I gasped as I saw the ring he was holding out.

  “You see, Sarah Marie Miller, I just couldn’t stay away from you. I tried. Damn, did I try. But I couldn’t live a boring life without the woman that I loved. So about a month ago I bought this land and hired your father to oversee the construction of the Edwards Corporate Ranch: a delightful corporate retreat that I hope to run with my wife someday. Sarah Marie Miller, will you marry me?”

  “You’re insane,” I said as I smiled and tried to put all the pieces together. “So you’re the one that bought this?”

  “Yep.”

  “You’re the reason my father’s been sneaking away from the ranch the last month?”

  “Yep. And I love you. I love it here and I want you to marry me.”

  I looked down at Malcolm and that cheesy grin he had on his face. It was all too much to take in at once, but there was one thing that I knew in my gut. I knew that I loved him and the fact that he had was right there in front of me, down on one knee, was absolutely a dream come true.

  “Yes,” I said as I covered my eyes and giggled a little.

  “Wait, did you say yes?”

  “Yes, you goofball. I said yes!” I screamed.

  Malcolm jumped up from the ground and pulled the huge diamond ring out of the box and slid it onto my finger. He wrapped his arms around me and dipped me dramatically as he kissed me.

  “This, my dear, is the beginning of our happily ever after.”

  Epilogue

  Malcolm

  It took a long time before Sarah started to trust me again. We had to get acquainted with each other and I had to share the real stories of how I had grown up. Sharing my truth with her was the best way for us to move forward though, and soon she started to see that I really was that man she had fallen in love with.

  “When are they going to get here?” Sarah asked with anticipation.

  “Soon, stop being so anxious. You are a confident owner of a fabulous corporate retreat. They will love you.”

  “They love you already; I’m not sure if they will love me nearly as much.”

  It had been a year since I had proposed to Sarah and six months since our wedding. Our first corporate retreat guests were about to arrive and we were excited to test out all the different events and programs that we wanted to incorporate.

  The group of forty people arriving were all Edwards Aviation managers and executives. They were coming to be our beta test group on the urging of me and I couldn’t wait to see everyone and introduce them all to Sarah.

  Casey was now the CEO of Edwards Aviation and I had stepped down to simply be a member of the board of directors. It allowed me to still be involved in the big decisions, but I didn’t have to worry about the day to day tasks.

  “Is that them?” Sarah asked as we looked up into the sky and saw the first helicopter landing.

  It had been Sid’s idea to have a helicopter pick up guests and bring them out to the ranch. Sarah and I had been skeptical about it at first, but it was pretty cool to see the excitement on everyone’s faces as they got off the helicopter and saw the resort.

  A down side to helicopter transportation was that only six people could arrive at a time, but we would figure something out for the remaining people to keep busy with while at the airport. The helicopter was fast and provided an exciting opportunity for our guests that they wouldn’t soon forget.

  “I love you,” I said into Sarah’s ear as everyone made their way toward us.

  “I love you too.”

  Jennifer and Casey were at the front of the group as they walked up the steps toward us and I was so excited to see them. Jennifer had moved into Casey’s old job when he took over my duties. I was proud to have such a capable woman leading my company and felt like it set a really good example for the other women that worked for me.

  “Malcolm, it’s so great to see you,” Jennifer said as she hugged me.

  Casey tried to reach his hand out to shake with mine, but I wasn’t having any of that. I grabbed a hold of him and gave him a big bear hug like Meredith had taught me. It made him super uncomfortable and I loved every moment of it.

  “This is my beautiful wife, Sarah,” I said as I introduced them all. “She’s basically the reason I’m alive and breathing today.”

  “He’s exaggerating.”

  “Seriously, if I hadn’t been making love to her in the—”

  “Shhh, enough with that story,” Sarah stopped me as she hugged both Jennifer and Casey.

  We all laughed and I introduced Sarah to the rest of the executives that had come in on the first helicopter. Before we knew it, the rest of the managers and executives had arrived and we got started on the welcome mixer that we had planned out by the pool area.

  The resort had turned out better than both of us had expected. It was one thing to see the plans drawn up and make decisions about tiles, carpet, etc. But it was an entirely different thing to see everything come to life in front of us.

  Our resort wasn’t just classy and elegant, it was made with natural products almost completely from Montana businesses. We had searched far and wide to ensure the entire building was as authentic as possible to the area.

  We still had two more phases of construction to finish, but the main building was done and we were ready to start our testing of the programs we wanted to do. Sarah had been amazing at calling potential new clients and she even convinced me to buy this really cool robot that people could use to take tours right from the comfort of their own offices.

&nbs
p; When phase two started, it was going to bring the ski lift area to life and then phase three was going to be trails and some backwoods cabins. We didn’t just want our resort to be one of those places that high level executives came to. Our resort was going to have something for artists, non-profits, and small businesses. It was exciting to plan things with Sarah and even more exciting to see our dreams coming true.

  “Man, Malcolm, this place is amazing. And you look so relaxed. It really suits you,” Casey said as we sat in the corner trying to catch up.

  “I know. I love it out here. I’m away from the rat race, but I still feel very connected with what’s going on in the world. It’s the best of both worlds.”

  One of the aspects of our ranch that I had insisted on was the high level of technology. It had been the only thing that Sarah and I hadn’t really agreed on while we were planning the building. I believed that using technology would benefit the resort and make people see that we were innovators. Sarah believed that technology would hinder our appearance as being authentic. But when she found that cool robot that people could control from home, she was sold. It was the perfect way to show off our facilities without executive team planners needing to take a flight up to see us. She was convinced that robot was going to sell more events than she would.

  “Your wife is beautiful. I can see why you were willing to give up everything to come be with her.”

  It was a statement I had heard more than once from my male friends. They naturally believed I had given up my life in order to be part of Sarah’s. I understood where they were coming from, but what they didn’t understand was that I hadn’t given up anything. I had simply made choices in my life to pursue the things that mattered most to me and Sarah was one of the top priorities I had.

  “She is pretty damn amazing.”

  “So what’s next for you guys? More resorts? Are you going to build overseas too?”

  “No, just this one. We are going to stay right here and enjoy running this place together. Maybe even have a couple little ones.”