The words began to pour out of Niki, her mother’s affairs, the danger of the secrets the men had apparently revealed, judges, politicians, millionaires. She told him about the missing diary and her growing fear for her own safety.
“When I first met Reed and Caleb,” she said, “they were strangers. I knew people were after me, people with the resources to comb the world if they wanted. I didn’t dare use my passport, my driver’s license, my credit cards. I couldn’t board a plane or rent a car or get a hotel room. I couldn’t tell anyone, anyone, who I was.”
Her throat was aching, and her voice fell away.
“Why now?” asked Seth.
“Why now?” came a second voice overtop.
Niki glanced up to find Katrina standing in the archway.
“Why tell us now?” she repeated.
“I felt guilty,” said Niki. “I’ve felt guilty for a very long time. But when the truck washed away tonight, and I thought I might die, I knew you had to know. You have the right to know what I’ve done, who I am.”
“Who’s after you?” came Reed’s deep voice, and he emerged from the shadows.
He still looked angry, every six-feet-four, muscle-bound inch of him.
Niki had to force herself to speak. “I don’t know. I couldn’t find the diary and my mother didn’t speak about her private matters. I don’t know even know what the secrets were. If I could find the diary, at least I could narrow it down.”
“You’ve searched your mother’s house? All the obvious places?” asked Seth.
Niki nodded.
“Could someone have stolen it?”
“I don’t know,” Niki answered Seth. “Gabriella was very clever, and she was very careful. I can’t imagine she would have made that easy for anyone.”
“Why aren’t you looking for it?” asked Reed.
“I was. I did. I looked every place I could think of. But then I started to get paranoid. I imagined people were following me.”
She gave a pained laugh. With time and distance, she had to wonder if it had been only her imagination.
Katrina moved forward. “You did the right thing.”
“She lied to all of us,” Reed put in.
Katrina turned sharply to her husband. “To protect herself. Reed, if I didn’t know you so well, I’d be afraid of you myself. You can’t have expected her to bare her soul the minute she found you.”
“Baring her soul and being honest are two different things.”
“She’s your sister, Reed.”
Reed gave a derisive snort.
“It’s your responsibility to protect her.”
“If you won’t,” Seth put in staunchly, “I certainly will.”
Niki’s chest caved in with an ache, and a tear escaped from her eye. She barely knew Seth, and he was standing up for her.
“As far as I’m concerned—” Seth gazed at her “—she’s my sister-in-law. And I know Travis will see it the same way. You kick her to the curb, and we’ll—”
“Who’s kicking anyone to the curb?” Reed shouted.
Niki gasped in a breath that sounded like a sob.
“See what you’ve done?” Katrina demanded, crossing to Niki and putting an arm around her shoulder.
“What I’ve done? So, I’m the bad guy?”
“Yes, you’re the bad guy. You’re the one who’s yelling.”
“I’m not yelling, Katrina.” Reed moderated his voice. “I am not yelling. Jeez, can’t a guy argue with his younger sister?”
Niki raised a shaky hand to her mouth, tears flowing down her cheeks.
“Oh, man.” Reed moved toward her. “Come here, Nellie. I mean Niki.”
He folded her into his strong embrace. He’d hugged her before, but something was different this time. His arms held her tight to his broad chest, lifting her right off the ground.
“I love you,” he told her gruffly. “Don’t be afraid of me. You’re my family, and I’ll never hurt you.”
She managed a nod.
“But don’t lie to me anymore.”
She shook her head.
“We’ll figure this out. Between us and the Jacobs, you’ve got four brothers now, and you’re safe here.”
Niki thought her heart would burst. They didn’t hate her. They weren’t going to kick her out into the storm.
“I love you, too,” she whispered to Reed.
“That’s the spirit.”
“I don’t think we should tell anyone,” said Katrina.
“Katrina’s right,” Seth put in. “People are still out there looking for her.”
“We need to find the diary,” said Reed.
“She’s safe for now. That’s enough,” Seth argued.
“Only for now though,” said Reed.
“What do you want us to do?” Seth asked Niki.
Niki stepped away from Reed, slowly bringing herself back under control. Her chest was still tight, but it was from happiness and relief instead of dread. “I want to hide here in Lyndon Valley and forget Niki Gerard ever existed.”
Katrina smiled and reached out to hold her hand.
Reed spoke up. “You could change your name to Nellie Terrell.”
“They keep records of that,” said Seth. He considered for a moment. “The best thing to do right now is nothing.”
“That doesn’t solve anything,” said Reed. “It only postpones it.”
“I’ve been postponing it for three months,” Niki pointed out. She could do it a while longer.
“You start mentioning Niki Gerard,” said Seth. “And all of a sudden Lyndon Valley pops up on somebody’s radar.”
Reed clenched his jaw in obvious frustration.
“We do nothing,” Katrina decreed.
“I’m telling Caleb,” said Reed.
“Should I do that?” Niki felt honor bound to volunteer.
Reed smiled. “No,” he told her. “I should do that. Caleb’s temper is an acquired taste. Trust me, you’ll be happier out of range.”
Niki’s stomach clenched all over again.
“Don’t scare her like that,” Katrina warned.
“You think she should tell him herself?” Reed challenged.
Katrina’s expression faltered. “Okay. You do it.” Then she smiled at Niki. “It’ll be fine.”
Niki tried to convince herself it was true.
* * *
Having made up his mind to romance the information out of Niki, and after telling his uncle of the plan in order to keep Charles off his back awhile longer, Sawyer approached Niki. She was sitting with Katrina in the third row of bleachers, cheering for Travis who was halfway through his eight seconds on the back of Terminator Too, rumored to be the rangiest bull at the event. The crowd roared its appreciation as Travis hung on tight, his back arched, legs straight, hat flying to the ground while the bull sprang from the deep dirt, swerving right then switchbacking left.
The horn sounded, and the crowd went wild, whoops and cheers coming up from every quarter.
Niki hugged Katrina, grinning from ear to ear. Her laugh was relaxed, her entire posture completely different than last night. To be fair, they’d been battling against a natural disaster last night. But it still seemed like more than that.
As he approached the pair, he couldn’t take his eyes off Niki. Her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes were shining. And her fresh, windblown look made her even more beautiful than when she’d been dressed to the nines.
He reminded himself of his thought processes last night. Romancing her was a perfectly reasonable course of action. Nobody had to get hurt. Men and women dated all the time. They started new relationships. Those relationships ended. People moved on from there. It wasn’t the end of the world.
If he played his cards right, he could get the information he needed from Niki, gently break it off and get out of her life forever, maybe tell her he’d decided to move back to Montana. She’d be none the wiser, never knowing who he was or that he’d manipulated her for his own en
ds.
He’d work hard to make sure that was the outcome.
“Nice ride,” he commented to the women, sparing a glance for Travis who’d been plucked off the bull by a cowboy on horseback and lowered to the ground.
Travis punched his fist in the air in celebration, while the rodeo clowns and cowboys corralled Terminator Too.
“I bet he wins,” said Katrina excitedly, holding up crossed fingers. “Oh, there’s Reed. See you later.” She stood and skipped down the bleachers to the ground, rushing toward her husband who had just taken first place in the steer wrestling competition.
Sawyer swung up to the third row, setting himself down next to Niki and propping his boot on the rough, bench seat in front.
“Hey,” he offered by way of an easy greeting.
“Eight-point-nine!” cried the announcer. “Travis Jacobs ends the day with a phenomenal eight-point-nine score on the back of Terminator Too.”
“Woo hoo!” Travis yelled from the rodeo ring, while the crowd cheered him on.
Niki clapped long and loud.
“How’re you doing?” Sawyer asked Niki.
“I’m fine. Good show.” But she kept her gaze squarely forward, watching Travis.
Sawyer fought a spurt of jealousy. Travis winning the most macho event of the day wasn’t at all helpful to his cause. Now that Sawyer had decided romance was his best avenue, he was going to have to get noticed amongst her crowd of admirers.
“Ever been to a rodeo before?” he asked.
“First one. You?”
“In Montana,” he replied, neglecting to mention that he’d only been to three of them. He now saw the error in his plan. He was out of his comfort zone, not in a position to show himself in the best light.
“Do you compete?” she asked.
He shook his head, wishing the admission didn’t make him feel inadequate. It was a new experience, feeling as though he wasn’t accomplished enough to get the girl.
“Too busy fighting in the navy, I guess.”
When he saw the expression on her face, he could have kicked himself. His words had sounded defensive. So, he didn’t ride bucking bulls? Who cared? There were other measures of success in life and, by any benchmark, he’d achieved quite a few of them.
Travis suddenly appeared, stepping up on the fence in front of them.
“Hey, pretty lady,” he called to Niki.
He took two more rails, then vaulted over the top, landing on the dirt in front of her.
“Well done,” she called, rising from her seat to hop down to meet him.
He pulled her into a hug, and swung her around. It was all Sawyer could do not to yank her out of his arms.
She gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Thank goodness it wasn’t on the mouth.
“How much did you win?” she asked.
“Two-thousand. You want to help me spend it?”
“Katrina told me you were using the money to buy new boots.”
“It’s a tradition,” he admitted. “Catch you later?”
“You bet.”
With a final grin for Niki and a wave to Sawyer, Travis walked off.
It belatedly occurred to Sawyer that he should have offered his congratulations to Travis. But he’d been too busy controlling his jealousy. He doubted he could have shaken the man’s hand while Travis was holding Niki.
He moved to her side. “Tradition?”
She gave a pretty shrug. “Apparently, rodeo winnings are spent on custom-designed boots.”
“Ought to be some pretty nice boots,” Sawyer mused.
Niki stuck out a running shoe. “I could get into two-thousand-dollar boots.”
“Yeah?” His mind went off on a dangerous tangent, picturing something high and leather, with a spike heel and a mini skirt.
She put a hand on his arm to balance herself. “A little something from Saks.”
He’d buy the woman anything she wanted, from Saks Fifth Avenue or anywhere else on the planet.
“You want to grab something to eat?” he asked gruffly.
“Don’t you have to head back to your ranch?”
“Not right away. I was planning to have dinner first.”
Her hand left his arm, and she craned her neck, looking around the grounds. “I wonder what Katrina and Reed are planning to do.”
“I can drive you back to the Valley,” said Sawyer. “Just give them a call and let them know you’re with me.”
There was no way he wanted to turn this into a foursome. Or worse, add Travis the champion bull rider to the mix. Dylan would understand if Sawyer left alone with Niki in their loaner truck. His ranch manager would find his own way home.
“I’ve heard great things about the Riverfront Grill,” he added.
She was still glancing around. “Probably everybody will—”
“Nellie.”
She turned.
“You and me. Dinner. What do you say?”
She looked confused. “You mean…”
He couldn’t seem to stop a grin at her confusion. “Are you usually this daft?”
“No. I mean. Not usually. I didn’t think…”
“Well, start thinking.”
She cocked her head ever so slightly. “Is this a date?”
“Give the girl a gold star.” He found himself easing in a little closer. “It’s the least I can do.”
Her teeth scraped over her lower lip, and her cheeks flushed. “After last night?”
“After I nearly drowned you,” he put in quickly.
Until she blushed, he hadn’t been thinking about their kisses. But now that was all he could think about.
“We’ve already had our first kiss,” he offered, surprised by her apparent unease. “And our second. So, that’s out of the way.”
She was a sophisticated, worldly woman. She must have dated dozens of guys a whole lot more intimidating than a Montana cowboy. Then again, maybe the problem was that she didn’t like cowboys. Maybe this whole blending in with the locals thing was going to backfire on him.
“I clean up good,” he offered.
“I saw that last night.”
“I can do it again. You won’t be stuck across the table from a smelly cowboy.”
“That’s not what worries me.”
“Then tell me what worries you.”
“You don’t smell,” she put in.
“Glad to hear it. So, what worries you, Nellie?” He couldn’t help but hope she’d own up to something, any little thing from her past that would give him a toehold into an advantageous conversation.
The silence between them stretched, while the announcer prattled on, and the crowd whooped and clapped at the awarding of the prize purses.
“Nothing,” Niki finally answered. “Okay, Sawyer. I’ll go on a date with you.”
Seven
Walking toward the river, across the trimmed lawn after dinner at the Riverfront Grill, Niki realized she hadn’t felt this relaxed in months, maybe not in years. Her brother Reed knew the truth, and he’d forgiven her. What’s more, he’d offered to help her in any way he could.
He’d called Caleb last night, and had then sworn to Niki that Caleb had taken the news well. He wasn’t upset. He understood why she’d made the decision to keep her secret. Of course, the call had taken an hour. She could only speculate that Reed had done some serious talking to bring their brother around.
“We can go have dessert on the deck,” Sawyer offered, walking beside her on the cobblestone path.
“I want to see the waterfall,” Niki responded. “Before it gets dark.”
The sun was hanging low near the western mountain peaks. It had turned the wispy clouds to pink, and the sky was going purple above them.
“The waitress said it was half a mile.”
“What’s the matter, Sawyer? You out of shape?”
His chuckle was low and warm, strumming through her. “I don’t want you tripping in the dark.”
“Don’t worry
about me.” She wasn’t worried.
For the first time in, oh, such a long time, she wasn’t worried. Her future might be uncertain, but she wasn’t alone. And she could stay in Lyndon Valley. She could stay here just as long as she liked.
She found herself breaking into a trot.
“Race you,” she called over her shoulder, heading for the packed dirt path that ran along the river. The hill fell steeply down to the water beside it, but there was a low guardrail along the edge.
Sawyer caught up almost instantly, positioning himself on the outside of the pathway, between Niki and the hillside.
“Afraid I’ll fall over?” she teased as she ran.
“I’d hate to lose you on the first date.”
“Does that mean there’ll be a second?”
Yesterday, she would have said dating Sawyer was a ridiculous dream. But everything had changed. Not that she could tell him her true identity. The family was keeping it a closely held secret. But it did mean she could continue to be Nellie Cooper. And Nellie Cooper could have a crush on her sexy, new neighbor. Especially if that sexy, new neighbor seemed to like her back.
“I hope so,” Sawyer told her.
He took her hand, bringing her knuckles to his lips to kiss her as they jogged.
Their gazes met, and she stumbled.
He swiftly grabbed her, swirling her to a halt, pulling her safely against his body, chuckling at her clumsiness.
“That was your fault,” she pointed out.
“I’ll take the blame every time,” he agreed easily. “If this is how it ends up.” He smoothly turned to face her, keeping his arms wrapped loosely around her waist. He brushed her hair back from her cheek.
The atmosphere shifted between them, awareness sizzling in the dusky light. He was an incredibly sexy man, handsome, strong, intelligent and confident.
“I want to kiss you, Nellie Cooper.”
She was taken aback by his gallant manner. “Are you asking permission?”
“I am.”
Millionaire in a Stetson Page 9
