Their pity, though, wasn’t much better than scorn.
And, while her heart hurt so bad it was all she could do to get out of bed in the morning, nothing else really changed at all. A meeting with the Senator in his study the day after Ethan confronted her had start ed off pretty uncomfortably, but he’d proved far more understanding—and forgiving—than his grandson. She still had her job, and everything had gone right back to the way it was.
Everything minus Ethan.
Well…almost, she thought as she let Goose drink from the river and looked out at the mountains. The contentment she’d found here before Ethan was missing now. That hurt too. But no one would be able to tell that just by looking at her.
She turned Goose back toward the stable and nudged him into a trot. As she got closer, Ray waved her over. He held Goose’s halter as she dismounted.
Ray’s eyebrows drew together. “You really should have told us, Lily.”
Her heart squeezed painfully. Maybe she’d been to tally wrong. “What’s up?”
Ray wrapped one arm around her shoulders and hugged her. “Happy Birthday.”
Confusion reigned. “It’s not—”
“I’ve got a surprise for you.” His grin spread across his ruddy face. “I’ll take Goose—you just go right on over there into the stable.”
Several of the other hands were standing around, with equally big smiles on their faces, and they burst into a very off-key version of “Happy Birthday.” She could hear Ray’s deep bass join in behind her.
Where had they all gotten the idea it was her birth day? And how to tell them they were wrong?
“Surprise, Lily!” someone called as she looked care fully around the door.
Her blood roared in her ears and she felt dizzy. It can’t be. She closed her eyes, sure it had to be a hallucination, but when she opened them and he was still there she felt her stomach lurch and adrenaline pump through her veins.
Pop.
Here.
Holding balloons and a brightly wrapped box.
How had he found her? And how had he gotten onto the estate? She was supposed to be safe here. Questions and denials of the reality slammed into her, and the world got a little fuzzy around the edges.
Ray appeared at her side. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she lied. “Just really surprised to see Pop.” That much was true. She smiled to reassure Ray, and the crease between his brows smoothed out.
Pop strode forward, looking every inch the proud daddy, his smile probably fooling everyone except her.
“Happy Birthday, little girl,” he said loudly, wrapping her in a hug that made her skin crawl and her breakfast rise. Dropping his voice so only she could hear it, he added, “Smile, damn it.”
Lily tried, but it felt wobbly.
“Go spend some time with your dad,” Ray called. “We can handle this place for an hour or so.”
Pop hauled her up against his side in what would look like a one-armed hug. His fingers dug painfully into her arm, but she kept that weak smile on her face. She’d have bruises tomorrow, but it wouldn’t be the first time. At least she could be sure he wouldn’t risk looking like anything other than a doting father in front of these people, so he’d probably keep his voice and fists under control.
Probably. Good Lord, she had to get Pop out of here. Now.
“What are you doing here?” she managed to choke out.
His reply was sharp, with no chance she’d misunderstand. “You owe me, girl, and I’m here to collect.”
CHAPTER NINE
ETHAN wasn’t sure if his headache was caused by Finn’s attempt to drink him under the table last night, or by the amount of thinking he’d had to do afterwards. He took comfort, though, in the fact Finn had been feeling even more fragile than him as he left for the airport this morning, and that all that thinking had Ethan headed to Hill Chase this morning, to see if he could salvage anything with Lily.
He wasn’t totally clear on what he was going to say, or how he was going to say it, but he had resigned himself to some groveling. There really wasn’t a way to escape that, but he was man enough to admit it when he’d not only reacted badly but also let his temper lead him in stead of his brain.
He scanned the paddocks as he passed, but Lily wasn’t in any of them. He didn’t see her as he entered the stable, either, and a look in the office produced only Ray.
“Where’s Lily?”
“She’s with her dad. He came to surprise her for her birthday.”
The wrongness of that statement hit him from several directions. It wasn’t Lily’s birthday. And she didn’t like her father. Or so she claimed, a little nasty voice said. He fought to keep his voice calm. “Do you know where they went? I’d like to meet him.”
“They were headed for her apartment, last I saw.”
Ethan nodded and closed the office door behind him. Outside, he climbed the steps to Lily’s apartment and paused near the top. The door was closed, but the window next to the landing was open, and he could hear voices from inside: Lily’s and a gravelly male one. The sound of his name stopped him in his tracks, and though he felt ridiculous doing it, he stepped closer to the window.
“But I’m not seeing Ethan anymore. He dumped me when he found out.” Lily’s voice sounded strained and on the edge of breaking.
“Get him back.”
“It’s not that simple, Pop.”
“Any chance you’re pregnant?”
Ethan’s blood froze.
“No! God, no.”
“Does he know that?”
“Pop, stop. I’ll get you the money, okay?”
“You know the tabloids won’t pay as much as his family would.”
Good Lord. She wouldn’t…
“But it will have to be enough. It’s the best I can do.”
“You could do better, girl. You know how.”
“I’ll think about it—work on it and see what I can come up with.”
The chill in his veins was quickly warmed by growing anger at hearing Lily matter-of-factly discuss how best to sell him out for a quick buck. The lying little…
She’d been using him. Possibly all along. She’d said her family’s “business” was grifting and cons; maybe that was why she’d come to Hill Chase in the first place. And he’d delivered exactly what she needed.
All her talk about turning over a new leaf and starting over had been just hot air. And he’d bought it. She’d looked him in the eye and lied, and he, in his stupidity, believed her.
Finn was right; he was an idiot.
“Ethan!” Ray called from the stable doors. “Did you find her?”
The voices inside fell silent, and Ethan hurried down the stairs. A moment later Lily’s door opened and a middle-aged man with Lily’s dark hair stepped out. Lily followed on his heels, her face pale and eyes wide. She stopped at the top of the stairs, watching her father. Although the sun was warm, she wrapped her arms around herself like she was cold, one hand rubbing the bicep of the other arm.
The man nodded and smiled as he passed them, and made his way to a beat-up pickup truck with Georgia plates. “Good to meet y’all. Take care of my girl,” he called, and he got in and closed the door.
Once her father was halfway down the drive, Ethan heard a door slam and looked up to see that Lily had gone back inside. A second later, the window slammed shut as well.
Too late, Lily.
“That was a short visit,” Ray mumbled.
Long enough, Ethan thought bitterly.
Part of him wanted to storm up those stairs and shake Lily senseless, but that would only give her more ammunition for whatever attack she was planning.
“I’ll see you later, Ray. I need to go see Granddad.”
Ray looked at him strangely, but nodded.
Damn it, he’d have to tell Granddad what was going on; he might not be so forgiving of Lily’s past now. They should fire Lily immediately. But she was after money, and firing her might only
give her grounds for a real lawsuit.
The number of ways this could go bad swam through his head. But it was good to have something to focus on beyond his own hurt and anger.
Their hands were rather tied when it came to managing and mitigating this. About the only thing he could really do was give Brady a heads-up to get the counter-spin machine warmed up and ready to go.
And the lawyers, too, he thought grimly.
Lily’s hands were shaking so badly her toiletries kept slipping out of her grasp. She finally got them all in the bag and zipped it closed before setting it next to the door. She didn’t own much, so packing went quickly. The three drawers’ worth of clothes were easily scooped up and thrown into another duffle bag. She grabbed her boots out of the closet, but left the two beautiful dresses from Ethan hanging there.
Her breakfast still rolled around dangerously in her stomach, and she clenched her jaw against it. She didn’t have the time to be sick. She had to get away from here. Far away. Now.
Exactly how Pop had found her was a puzzle for another day. All that mattered was Pop had found her. God, Lily felt seventeen again.
She’d sworn she’d never feel seventeen again.
Just then, the how hit her hard—and she wanted to smack herself for the stupidity. Hiding out at the Marshall estate had been a great idea; getting involved with one of their notorious grandsons…not so much. All it would have taken was one person to recognize her in a picture on some blog somewhere and… Why hadn’t she thought that through?
Because I was too caught up in Ethan.
She didn’t have time for self-flagellation right now. That could come later. The fact Pop knew she was here was enough to get her feet moving; him expecting her to use her relationship with Ethan to make money simply added speed.
She’d have said anything to Pop to get him to leave. Agreed to anything he wanted just to get him off the estate. But Pop would expect her to follow through. She’d seen the dollar signs in his eyes as he’d looked around. Pop recognized what a big opportunity had landed in front of him, and he wouldn’t let that opportunity pass.
Which meant Pop would never leave her alone now. This wasn’t about her. It wasn’t even about the money she’d taken from him anymore—even if she paid that back in full it wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him. Not after he’d realized what a goldmine the Marshalls might be.
And Ethan probably knew. The look on his face… Dear God.
No. She couldn’t think about Ethan at the moment. This wasn’t about him anymore.
She couldn’t stay here. Not now.
Lily looked around. That was pretty much everything. She grabbed the notepad off the fridge and wrote a quick note to Ray, thanking him for everything and quitting her job. That hurt, too, and tears pricked at her eyes as she took the key to the apartment off her keyring and sat it with the office keys on top of the note. Damn Pop. Why’d they let him out of jail?
Sliding a hand under the mattress, she retrieved the envelope containing her savings. It wasn’t much, but it would get her away from Virginia. She’d figure out later where she was going.
She hoisted her bags over her shoulders and took one last look around the apartment. She’d been so happy here.
Lily eased her head out the door, looking to see if anyone was around. It would be safer to wait until tonight, but she just couldn’t. For now, the coast was clear, and she bolted down the stairs, jumping the last three and running to the back of the stable where her car was parked.
Another minute and she was on the drive to the massive gates, and it was all she could do not to berate the guard at the gate for letting some stranger through simply because he claimed to be her father on a surprise birthday visit. Instead, she waved in a casual way and turned onto the highway like she was headed to town.
Several miles down the road, she pulled over to the shoulder and gave in to the tears she’d been holding back. When the sobs finally subsided there was no feeling of catharsis, only emptiness.
When she’d been in trouble before she’d always felt she had nothing really to lose. Now her chance at a normal life—at happiness—had been stripped away from her.
This was what hitting rock-bottom felt like.
Ethan was still in Granddad’s study, divulging most of the sordid details and formulating a plan, when Ray knocked at the French doors leading to the patio a couple of hours later.
“Lily’s gone,” he said without preamble.
“What?”
“When she didn’t come back to work I went to check on her. I found this note and her keys on the table. Her car is gone and the apartment is pretty much cleaned out.”
Ethan took the note. It was very short—“thanks” and “I quit”—and it wasn’t even signed. He flipped it over like there might be more on the back.
Ray looked at him accusingly. “Did you say something to her?”
“I never spoke a word to her.”
Granddad took the note and read it. “I have a feeling it has something to do with her father’s visit.”
That was the understatement of the year. Ethan hadn’t expected the repercussions of that visit to hit quite so quickly—and certainly not like this.
Granddad rubbed a hand over his face. “Maybe you misunderstood the situation, son.”
“I know what I heard.” What it meant was up for grabs, though.
Ray looked puzzled. “If there’s a situation…”
“I don’t think it’s going to involve us, Ray,” Granddad said. “Sorry you’ll be short-handed for a while, but I’ll see about getting someone to replace Lily as soon as I can.”
“I’m sorry she left.” Ray shot Ethan a look, clearly blaming him for whatever had just happened. “Lily’s a good kid and a hard worker. She’s come a long way.”
That got Ethan’s attention. “What did she tell you?”
“Nothing specific. Just a feeling I got.” He shook his head. “Maybe it was her father. She got a really strange look on her face when she first saw him, but she seemed happy enough after that.”
“You said the apartment is pretty much cleaned out?” Granddad interrupted. “What did she leave behind?”
“A couple of things hanging in the closet. And her birthday present.”
“It’s not her birthday,” Ethan gritted out. “Her father used that as an excuse to get on the estate.”
Granddad put his hand on Ethan’s arm. “Go see.”
The red haze of anger and betrayal was rapidly giving way to something bordering on confusion. Lily’s apartment looked much the same as it had when she’d lived there. Until this moment he hadn’t realized how few personal touches Lily had put on the place.
As he’d expected, the things in the closet were the dresses he’d given her, but seeing them there felt like a slap. Why he felt that way, he had no idea.
Nothing about Lily—or his reactions to her, for that matter—made any damn sense at all.
A present sat on the bed, tethering two helium-filled balloons. Ray picked it up and handed it to him. “Look—she didn’t even open it.”
The package was light—too light—but he opened it anyway, confirming his suspicions. “It’s empty.”
Ray frowned. “Do you have any idea what the hell is going on?”
“I have a couple of theories.” None of them made much sense, but he wasn’t going to admit that.
“Maybe she’ll call in a couple of days. At least to let us know where to send her last paycheck.”
“I doubt it.” Lily was on the run from something.
Just to test his theory, he pulled out his phone and stepped onto the porch. He scrolled to Lily’s number and hit “call.”
It rolled immediately to voicemail—a generic one, meaning she’d already deleted her personal greeting.
Lily not only wanted to run, she wanted to disappear.
Four days later, the phone he’d given Lily arrived back at his office, postmarked from a small town in southern Mar
yland.
There was no return address.
CHAPTER TEN
IT TOOK less than a week for Lily to drop off the face of the earth entirely. Three weeks after that, Ethan still had no idea where she’d gone. Lily had no credit cards, no bank accounts, no utilities listed in her name… Her driver’s license and registration traced back only to her last known address and employer: Hill Chase.
And he knew for sure she wasn’t there.
Wherever she was living, she was staying under the radar. He’d even had the investigator they kept on retainer quietly run her Social Security number, but no current employer popped up. If Lily was working, she was getting paid under the table.
And he was starting to worry.
While Brady had battened down the hatches in preparation for Lily selling some squalid and exaggerated story to the tabloids, all was quiet. Brady was still waiting and vigilant, but even he was now willing to admit the possibility that nothing would happen—after all, the longer Lily waited, the less interesting her story would be.
Ethan, though, was sure nothing would happen. But no matter how many times he told Brady that, Brady was still choosing caution. He’d given up trying to convince him.
It had taken a bit of thinking—once he was no longer fogged by anger—to realize the look on Lily’s face that day had been fear. He remembered the strain in her voice the night she’d told him her father wasn’t a nice man and was part of the reason she’d left Mississippi. That was why she’d bolted from Hill Chase and disappeared. She was running from her father again.
Ethan was fully ready to admit he’d been wrong. That he’d overreacted and said ridiculous and horrible things. He was prepared to grovel, if necessary. But it was very hard to apologize when the intended recipient of the apology was nowhere to be found.
And, much to the frustration of their investigator, who said Lily was torpedoing his success rate, they had no idea where to start looking.
He scrolled through his email and returned a few phone calls, basically killing time until Brady finished up with the lobbyist meetings and was ready to grab some dinner. When Joyce buzzed him a little while later, he welcomed the interruption.
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