Hearts Don't Lie
Page 1
Books by Shirleen Davies
Historical Western Romance Series
MacLarens of Fire Mountain
Tougher than the Rest, Book One
Faster than the Rest, Book Two
Harder than the Rest, Book Three
Stronger than the Rest, Book Four
Deadlier than the Rest, Book Five
Wilder than the Rest, Book Six
Redemption Mountain
Redemption’s Edge, Book One
Wildfire Creek, Book Two
Sunrise Ridge, Book Three
Dixie Moon, Book Four, Releasing 2015
MacLarens of Boundary Mountain
Colin’s Quest, Book One
Releasing 2015
Contemporary Romance Series
MacLarens of Fire Mountain
Second Summer, Book One
Hard Landing, Book Two
One More Day, Book Three
All Your Nights, Book Four
Always Love You, Book Five
Hearts Don’t Lie, Book Six
Follow Your Heart, Book Seven, Releasing 2015
Kerrigans of Peregrine Bay
Reclaiming Love, Book One, A Novella
Our Kind of Love, Book Two, Releasing 2015
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Hearts Don’t Lie
MacLarens of Fire Mountain
Contemporary Romance Series
SHIRLEEN DAVIES
Book Six in the MacLarens of Fire Mountain
Contemporary Romance Series
Copyright © 2015 by Shirleen Davies
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
For permission requests, contact the publisher.
Avalanche Ranch Press, LLC
PO Box 12618
Prescott, AZ 86304
Hearts Don’t Lie is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used facetiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is wholly coincidental.
Book design and conversions by Joseph Murray at 3rdplanetpublishing.com
Cover design by Elle Designs
ISBN: 978-1-941786-19-2
I care about quality, so if you find something in error, please contact me via email at shirleen@shirleendavies.com.
Description
Hearts Don’t Lie – Book Six
MacLarens of Fire Mountain Contemporary Romance Series
Mitch MacLaren has reasons for avoiding relationships, and in his opinion, they’re pretty darn good. As the new president of RTC Bucking Bulls, difficult challenges occur daily. He certainly doesn’t need another one in the form of a fiery, blue-eyed, redhead.
Dana Ballard’s new job forces her to work with the one MacLaren who can’t seem to get over himself and lighten up. Their verbal sparring is second nature and entertaining until the night of Mitch’s departure when he surprises her with a dare she doesn’t refuse.
With his assignment in Fire Mountain over, Mitch is free to return to Montana and run the business his father helped start. The glitch in his enthusiasm has to do with one irreversible mistake—the dare Dana didn’t ignore. Now, for reasons that confound him, he just can’t let it go.
Working together is a circumstance neither wants, but both must accept. As their attraction grows, so do the accidents and strange illnesses of the animals RTC depends on to stay in business. Mitch’s total focus should be on finding the reasons and people behind the incidents. Instead, he finds himself torn between his unwanted desire for Dana and the business which is his life.
In his mind, a simple proposition can solve one problem. Will Dana make the smart move and walk away? Or take the gamble and expose her heart?
Hearts Don’t Lie, Book Six in the MacLarens of Fire Mountain Contemporary series.
Visit my website for a list of characters for each series.
http://www.shirleendavies.com/character-list.html
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all of my friends and family who to continue to encourage me and spread the word about my writing. Your support means more to me than you know.
Thanks so much!
Acknowledgements
Thanks also to my editor, Kelley Heckart, proofreader, Alicia Carmical, and all of my beta readers. Your insights and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
As always, many thanks to my wonderful resources, including Diane Lebow, who has been a whiz at guiding my social media endeavors, my cover designer, Elisa Calleja, and Joseph Murray who is a whiz at formatting my books for both print and electronic versions.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue
About the Author
Other Books by Shirleen Davies
Hearts Don’t Lie
Prologue
Crooked Tree, Montana
“I don’t know what you want. You dump this on me, on the entire family, and expect us to accept it without complaint. Fine.” Mitch MacLaren, Rafe MacLaren’s second oldest son, placed fisted hands on his hips, his face reflecting the anger and resentment boiling inside. “I’ll do my best, but there’ll be no open arms coming from me.” He stormed toward the door, grabbed the handle then stopped. “I’ll be in the back corrals with the stock manager.” The walls shook with the impact of the slammed door, rocking the family photos and business awards collected over many years.
Rafe would’ve followed him, except he knew Mitch better than most. Father and son were alike in many ways, some good and some bad, which often triggered their explosive interactions. This time, however, Rafe could understand Mitch’s hurt and anger. He knew firsthand how a father’s actions could impact loved ones years after the fact, changing futures and ruining relationships.
He grabbed his desk phone on the second ring. “Yeah…okay, thanks. Tell him I’ll be right down.” Lowering the phone, he wondered if any solution would satisfy all those he’d hurt.
Rafe took the stairs to the ground level slower than normal, forcing calm to replace the agitation his conversation with Mitch caused. He almost laughed at the absurdity of the thought. Calm had eluded him ever since he’d stormed into the old homestead, the MacLaren ranch house in Fire Mountain, Arizona, demanding his estranged brothers back off from their acquisition of his bucking bull rodeo stock business. The room had been full of family, relations he’d never met and cared nothing about. Not only had Heath and Jace refused to withdraw their offer, but a man he’d never met had the nerve to confront him, tell him he was a fool if he didn’t take what amounted to a once in a lifetime deal to secure the business for his family.
He could still feel the shock and pain in his gut when he learned the man’s identity—a son he’d never met, didn’t know existed until that minute.
Kade Santiag
o Taylor MacLaren now waited for him downstairs, not interested in taking his place as the oldest son in Rafe’s family, but at least willing to meet his father partway. It was more than Mitch could offer.
“Kade.” He held out his hand. Pulling him into a hug seemed inappropriate. Perhaps someday.
“Hello, Rafe.” Kade clasped his hand, not moving from where he stood near a large picture window opening toward the stockyard.
“How was the trip?”
“Uneventful, except for this.” He held up the cane he’d been forced to use since his accident a few months before.
Rafe turned to the receptionist. “Call Mitch and the others. Let them know Kade’s here. Are you okay with stairs?”
Kade nodded, following Rafe to his office.
As with the lobby area, full length windows provided a view to the stockyards as well as the rolling hills beyond. Rafe pointed to a picture on the wall, then faced Kade.
“This was taken a couple of years ago. Mitch, Sean, and Rhett, who you will meet in a minute, and Skye and Samantha.” He pointed to his three other sons and two daughters. “The girls will be at dinner tonight.”
“Heath said you’re getting divorced.” Kade looked at the image of the woman Rafe had married, the mother of the brothers and sisters he had yet to meet.
“It’s been coming for a long time. She lives in San Diego now. She never did care much for this way of life.” He shrugged, not indicating how he felt about the breakup of his marriage. “It should be final within a couple months.”
“Hey, Pop.” Rhett walked in followed by Sean and Mitch.
Rafe shot a wary glance at Kade, noting his total lack of emotion at the sight of his half-brothers.
“There’s no easy way to do this. I’ve already explained as best I can. Now it’s time the four of you met.”
Rafe introduced the sons he’d raised to Kade, the oldest of the four, who’d never shared their life.
All went well until Mitch stepped forward. He eyed Kade, his gaze not wavering while he took in his older brother, measuring him against the image he’d developed. Their father had taken his other kids aside earlier that week, explaining what happened almost thirty years ago, and in no way apologizing for dropping a bombshell on his family. Kade was now the oldest MacLaren son, changing the dynamics of the family in a heartbeat.
Rafe watched Mitch openly evaluate Kade, deciding how he’d react and if he’d accept him. What Mitch did or didn’t do would have a huge impact on whether the others brought Kade into the fold.
Mitch held out his hand, not in welcome, but in acceptance of a fact he couldn’t change.
“Kade.” One word, that’s all Mitch offered as the two shook hands. Kade was an outsider, an interloper, no matter what his father said. This measure of civility was all Kade would get until he proved himself worthy to be called a MacLaren.
Chapter One
Fire Mountain, Arizona
Six months later…
Mitch packed the last of his personal belongings into the box and looked around. He didn’t bring much with him from Montana when he arrived six months ago. He hadn’t expected his assignment at the MacLaren Enterprise’s headquarters to last this long, thinking he’d be back in Crooked Creek within weeks. None of the company leadership—Heath, Jace, or his father, Rafe MacLaren, agreed.
Not until the last two weeks, as he prepared to leave, did he understand and appreciate what he’d learned over his stint at the corporate headquarters. Mitch thought he knew most of what there was to know about running a company. He’d been dead wrong.
Unlike RTC Bucking Bull Stock, the company his father and two partners started, MacLaren Enterprises included multiple companies in various states. Businesses ranging from cattle ranching to land acquisition and development to bucking horse stock and specialized horse breeding. In six months he’d learned not nearly enough, but the time had come for him to take his place beside his father until Rafe fulfilled his promise to relocate to Fire Mountain as one of the key executives—at least for two years. Heath and Jace wanted their brother beside them, fulfilling their father’s dream of having all of his sons run the dynasty he’d begun.
“Need any help?”
Mitch looked up to see Eric Sinclair, a relative by marriage and good friend, assess the state of the office.
“Nah, there’s not much to pack. I’ve already sent a box of files north. Guess I’m old school as I prefer to hold paper than read everything on a computer screen.”
“I hear you. When do you start back?”
“Tomorrow morning. Figured I’d get you and Kade to help me load the Harley in the back of my truck tonight after dinner.”
“Guess the whole tribe will be at Mom and Heath’s tonight for your farewell meal.” Eric’s mother, Annie Sinclair, had married Heath MacLaren several years before, creating a dynamic and tight-knit family.
Mitch snorted. “Hell, it’s not like I’m dying or going away forever.”
“Although there are days I bet you wished you could leave us behind and never look back.”
“Damn straight. Seems I’m not the people person the rest of the MacLaren-Sinclair clan is.”
“Maybe not, but you do pretty well.” Eric picked up a framed picture sitting on the top of the box and looked at each of the faces. Taken at his and Amber’s wedding, it showed all the MacLarens and Sinclairs, including spouses and close friends. The wedding occurred a few weeks before, yet it had taken the two of them a long time to find their way back to each other after years apart. He held it up.
“This has to be the best picture ever.”
“That it is, bro.”
Eric laid it back in the box. “Drinks at The Tavern before we all head over to the ranch house.”
“I’ll be there.”
Mitch watched the door close, a strange sense of melancholy gripping him. He’d never been the sentimental type, and if anyone accused him of being torn about leaving Fire Mountain, he’d have called them a liar. He couldn’t deny he’d miss the place and the way everyone huddled together at the sign of trouble.
******
Kade walked into the bar, the place he and his buddies hung after work or for sport events when they weren’t congregating at one of the houses or cabins. He glanced at the bartender who nodded toward the corner where Mitch, Eric, and Cameron, Eric’s older brother and president of the MacLarens’ bucking horse business, already huddled around a table.
“About time,” Eric said as Kade stopped next to Mitch.
“What’ll it be, Kade?” The waitress let her gaze wander over Mitch as she waited for Kade’s order.
“Beer. Actually, bring another round for the table.”
“Will do.” She shot a smile at Mitch before sashaying toward the bar.
“Isn’t that the girl you met at the wedding?” Cam asked Mitch.
“Yeah. She came with a friend.” He glanced around the bar, seeing a number of people he recognized.
“Amber mentioned you took her out a couple times.” Eric watched as the waitress set Kade’s beer on the table.
“No big deal.” Mitch shrugged, watching as she left the group to themselves. Drinks, dinner, and bed—what they had both wanted.
“Dana seemed to think it was a big deal.” Kade sipped his beer, keeping his expression blank. He and Mitch had come a long way in the last few months, forging at least somewhat of a bond if not quite the relationship the rest of the family had hoped.
“Dana can keep her thoughts to herself. She’s got a big mouth and is nothing but trouble.” Mitch downed his whiskey, signaling the waitress for another. “I heard Heath may offer her a job. Don’t know why when they get her services cheap as a contractor.”
“Loyalty, Mitch. The brothers put a lot of stock on loyalty and surrounding themselves with those they can count on.”
“The brothers? Is that what we’re calling Heath, Jace, and Rafe?” Mitch scoffed.
“It’s what Mom calls them—to their fa
ces,” Eric answered as the waitress set down another round.
“I get the loyalty thing. It’s just, I wonder what she can offer as an employee that she isn’t already providing as a contractor.” Mitch tilted his glass up, taking a long swallow.
Kade narrowed his eyes at Mitch, not understanding why the situation irritated him so much. Amber’s friend, Dana Ballard, had lost her job in Denver and relocated to Fire Mountain for a new start. She worked three jobs to make ends meet, never complained, and did excellent work. Plus, she’d shown her mettle during some tough times involving Kade’s former job as a DEA Special Agent.
“What’s your problem with Dana anyway? Seems you’ve been on her since she arrived from Denver.” Kade kept his voice neutral, even though Mitch’s surly attitude got to all of them at times.
“I’ve been on her?” Mitch snorted. “That woman’s been a pain in my ass since she arrived. Bossy with a smart mouth and never stops asking questions. Drives me nuts.”
The others shot amused looks at each other. They’d heard his grumblings about Dana before and not one believed it rose to the level Mitch wanted them to believe. In fact, they’d lay odds on the opposite. Funny and upbeat, Dana’s personality couldn’t be more opposite Mitch’s brooding, stoical nature.
“I sure hope you can keep your opinions of her to yourself tonight.” Kade set his empty glass on the table, then leaned an arm on the edge.
“Why is that?”
“Because Annie and Heath invited her to dinner,” Kade answered.
“Ah hell. She’s not family. There’s no reason she should be there.” Mitch signaled for the check.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it. My guess is she’s going to be as glad to see your taillights as you’ll be to pass Fire Mountain city limits. Perfect solution.” Cam tossed back the rest of his drink and grabbed the check. “Now, let’s go get some food so we can say goodbye to your sorry ass.” He slapped Mitch on the back, not nearly as ready to see him depart for Montana as his words implied.
******