Hopefully, no one at the house will have a problem with them. They are house dogs, and even though I know it’s a terrible habit, they sleep in my bed. While I continue talking to Easton, they stay around, sniffing the place. I ask him to build an indoor and outdoor arena. He promises to send me a quote later today.
When I come out, I spot Blaire hugging Leyla.
We walk toward them and say, “It’s ready. We’re going to unload the horses first. Do you want to do it, Leyla?”
She nods, waves at Blaire, and runs away.
“Is the house ready?” I ask Blaire.
“Not just yet,” she responds. “The beds should be arriving today. Dishes, small appliances, glassware, and all that stuff should be here tomorrow. I can get you a couple of rooms at The Lodge. We can move in on Saturday.”
“That sounds good.” I turn to where Leyla is, and I say, “I’m heading to The Lodge so I can join a conference call. After that, I have to fly back to Colorado. I’m leaving the truck and taking one of the cars that we have in the garage. Could you keep her company? She’s pretty independent, but this town is new to her.”
“She’ll be fine,” Blaire says reassuringly.
Maybe she will, but it hurts leaving her until next week. It sounds stupid because I abandoned her a long time ago, but I’ve always had that need to protect her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Pierce
When I arrive in Denver, I take an Uber to the house. I want to close up the house as early as Monday so I can be in Baker’s Creek by Tuesday. My gut tells me I shouldn’t have left. Leyla doesn’t do well outside her comfort area. At least she didn’t when we were together. It feels like an entire lifetime has passed since then.
While I’m packing some of the things I want to take with me, the phone rings. It’s Leyla.
My heart stops. Something happened to her. Ally escaped and they can’t find her…who is hurt? I shouldn’t have left her.
“Is everything okay?”
“I’m not sure. You should ask your mom,” she says, and I hold my breath.
She knows. I don’t have confirmation about the adoption agencies, but she probably got ahold of someone, and she’s going to think I did this.
“What are you talking about?” I play dumb and swear this is the last time I do it, probably.
I just need to buy some time to figure out how to convince her that I have nothing to do with what happened to her applications. Not that I have any proof or…do I really need proof?
It’s pretty clear. One application lost is an accident, all of them tell me there’s someone behind this mess. Not all the agencies have a correlation with my family’s law firm. However, my family has a lot of connections, and they can fuck up everything for her.
“Let me guess, your mom told you she was supportive about the move,” she continues. “Not only that, but she’s helping you pack as we speak…while she’s fucking the rest of us.”
“What the fuck, Leyla?” No really, what is she talking about?
“Do you know that the thirty-day deadline ends tomorrow?” she asks. “Before you blame the lawyers, they provided Blaire with a copy of their call log where they can show you how many times they tried to get in touch with you. In case you are about to defend her, Mommy Dearest answered a few times.”
My heart stops. No, this can’t be real. I was so careful. All the breath is sucked out of my lungs when I remember that I had a hunch, but I was so focused on too many other things that the date discrepancy escaped me.
“Is it tonight at midnight or tomorrow at midnight?” I ask, trying to remember the dates and the discrepancy for that matter.
Fuck, I’m so thorough. How did I let this one go?
“Tomorrow, Saturday at midnight,” she confirms. “Blaire got ahold of Vance, but it seems like he’s not coming. Hayes and Henry are in Vancouver with Beacon trying to convince him and Mills.”
I let out a loud breath. “Let me get a charter to fly back. I’ve only packed part of my things. I thought I had more time. Maybe Sophia can hire a company to finish for me.”
“Why are you not surprised about what your mother did?”
“It seems like my mother doesn’t care if she has to eat her young to win,” I confess. “This is something she’d do in a heartbeat. Make sure to get a two-bedroom suite at The Lodge for us so the dogs can have the choice to sleep wherever they want.”
“There’s a no pet policy,” she announces.
“I own part of the place. They’re not staying at the barn tonight,” I state and hang up the phone.
An hour later, I’m at the airport about to board the private jet when my phone rings. It’s Henry.
“I’m on my way,” I tell him, fucking annoyed because I just had a big fight with my mother. I guess we won’t be spending any holidays together in the foreseeable future.
According to Nyx, my mother gave the order to ignore all the calls related to my father’s lawyer, his will, and Baker’s Creek. Well, she told everyone but my team. She wasn’t planning on helping me at all. If possible, she might’ve paid Parrish to screw us so we lose the money. It’s not about the fucking money. It’s about the town.
Henry growls, on the other line, “Did your family try to fuck us over?”
Yes, they did. I won’t admit it to you over the phone because I don’t have the time nor the energy to deal with more nonsense.
“Mom insists it was a mistake because they’re all busy,” I lie.
“And you believe her?”
“She doesn’t win anything if I stay or go,” I respond. Unless he counts the pleasure to fuck me over because she’s so unhappy. She fucks over everyone—including her son. “Why would I believe Mr. Parrish?”
I redirect his attention. That guy is also on my list of people I’m going to have fun suing just for breathing. According to Hayes, he made him sign a POA to take care of my father’s remains. That’s not a fucking thing. He was diseased. My brother needs a few lessons in common sense in the legal field.
Don’t sign without your lawyer present—ever.
“Because if she’s like my mother,” Henry says with an aggravated voice, “She’s still pissed at William and at us, his children.”
That sounds just like Sarah Bryant. Ding, ding, ding, Henry. You just hit the jackpot.
“Listen, I don’t want you to fight with your mother, but I want you to be aware that Merkel Hotels and Spas is firing them,” he states firmly, and I’m happy that I now don’t have to tell him that he has to fire them. “I don’t feel comfortable doing business with people who can’t pass on a simple message, especially one that almost makes me lose a deal. With that said, make sure you help Blaire with tomorrow’s deliveries.”
“If that’s all, I have a plane to catch,” I hang up.
Around eleven, after I’m settled in the suite and the kids are already sleeping on one of the beds, I order a bottle of Macallan.
“Are you okay?” Leyla asks me.
I shake my head. “I’ve been driving all fucking day, flew back and forth, and we don’t know if all this was worth the effort because my mother can’t let the past go.”
“Did you talk to her?”
I nod and go to the door when room service arrives.
I look at Leyla and tell her, “Come with me.”
“Where are you going?”
“Our secret spot,” I confess, making sure I have the room key before we leave. “Well, more like Hayes and Henry’s. I wasn’t allowed to go with them until I was older.”
“Okay, lead the way,” she says, sounding uncertain but following me up the dim stairs to the roof. “Is this like an all-boys kind of club?”
“No, I’m sure if we had a sister, we would’ve let her come with us,” I tell her. “I bet Hayes already brought Blaire a few times.”
“She’s nice,” she says, standing in the doorway as she looks around. “This is gorgeous.”
“You can see even more stars f
rom here than you can from home.” I set the blanket I brought with me on the floor, along with the bottle, and take a seat. “Come on, let’s drown our sorrows.”
“What’s going to happen if one of you is missing?” she asks. “Are they really going to—”
“Sell everything and destroy the town?” I nod in confirmation.
“Hayes, Henry, and I have a few ideas on how to prevent it,” I explain. “However, he stole a week from us.”
I shake my head and confess, “I fucked up too. The dates made a lot of noise. I should’ve looked closer, but with everyone pulling me into so many directions and… I trusted Mom.”
“Let’s focus on the now.” She swallows hard. “Can we buy everything?”
“No,” I remind her. “There are only a few pre-approved buyers.”
“What if you talk to them?”
“We’re trying to find them and buy them out, but if we fail tomorrow…I don’t know what we can do,” I confess. “Whoever buys can’t be heartless.”
She huffs, “People with money are too heartless.”
“Yes, but…” I can’t defend anyone because she’s met the worst kind already. “I agree, but with the right price, they might sell back to us. Hayes and I will stay to rebuild if necessary.”
“If you need money, I have plenty,” she offers, and I smile. This is the woman I married. She’d give up all of her fortune to save this place. I don’t even know how much that is though. It doesn’t matter to me at all. If I’m lucky, she might stay long enough to see this town is safe from my crazy father.
“Thank you,” I answer. “We might not need it, but if we do, I won’t hesitate to ask.”
“After walking through the town and talking to Blaire, I’ve decided that I want to open an animal hospital here,” she states.
Arching an eyebrow, I ask, “You do?”
“Why are you surprised?”
I shrug. “That means staying longer than a couple of months.”
She nods a couple of times, looking at the dark horizon. I stare at her. She seems relaxed. A lot more than she has been in a long time. A small voice whispers in my head, what if?
“When you apply for adoption, I’ll be happy to look over the applications and send a recommendation letter,” I offer. “The training you took in Colorado to foster doesn’t count, but it might help you get a certification here.”
“I’ll have to figure out where to take the classes and what’s the process, but I might need to leave town,” she informs me. “Which I wouldn’t mind, but we’re not allowed to get out of this place unless it’s to go to Happy Springs.”
“There are a few things I might be able to tweak, and going to Portland is one of them,” I assure her.
“Tell me more about the things you used to do with your brothers,” she says as she lays on the blanket, staring at the dark sky. “I bet you raised havoc during those weeks you visited.”
The next morning, Easton and his guys help me move the furniture. Hayes, Henry, Beacon, and Mills arrive when we are done, and I’m starting to hang pictures and shelves throughout the media room and the living room. When I see them, I realize I forgot one tiny little problem. Arden. When the guys enter the house, and Leyla spots him, she freezes, turns white, and her mouth opens into a perfect o.
It is as if she has seen a ghost.
“Red,” Mills greets her and grins at me. “It’s nice to see you without that big parasite next to you.”
She smiles, staring at Arden. “He’s cute, and my name is Leyla. Not Red,” she pauses and gives a rugged look at him.
I smirk and shrug. I told him never to call her that.
“That’s what People magazine and the entire world says. Kind of. They call me the hottest man alive. I’ll take cute just for you,” Beacon breaks the ice and walks to her extending his hand. “I’m Beacon, and whatever he told you about me is a lie. That’s Mills, and the kid is Arden. Now tell me about all these farm animals you have because I want to meet them. Maybe we can sing Old McPierce had a Farm with real chicken effects.”
“I’ll take you to the barn later,” she offers, then looks at the toddler again. “Can I hold him?”
Mills hands Arden over to her, and the way her face lights up almost knocks me off my feet. I’ve never seen her with a kid before, but she radiates so much love. The way she speaks to him is adorable.
She introduces everyone to Daisy and Buster. Then she says, “Sit, guys.” Getting closer to them she squats, places Arden on her leg, and explains. “This is Arden. We need to keep an eye on him. We’re here to protect him, okay?”
Both bark in agreement and Arden barks back. She doesn’t let him go until it’s time to choose the bedrooms, and surprise, surprise, my brothers are insistent that we have to follow the will—that includes Leyla and me sharing the same room. They should at least give us the bigger room. Blaire called it hers.
I call that bullshit. My brother is going to end up sleeping with her all night. Either they give Leyla and me a room each or we get the bigger one. I don’t voice it, instead I play them.
“The stipulation says that you two must stay in the same room,” Hayes reminds us as I’m trying to shove him and Blaire in the same room.
“You are crazy if you think I’m going to share a room with him,” Leyla argues, her voice is so loud I’m almost sure they can hear her all the way to California. You’re playing it a little too thick, sweetheart. I told you to stick with me and support me, but they’re going to think that you’re high maintenance. “I need my space, and if you want me to stay, you have to accommodate the one thing I’m requesting.”
“Listen, I wouldn’t mind sending him to the barn with the animals,” Hayes explains, and Leyla bites her lower lip trying to contain the laughter. “However, Dad specified that you two need to share a room.”
I shrug as if trying to say I’ll manage when I’m really trying to tell her, we lost.
She huffs. I look at her and offer a solution, “You can sign the divorce papers.”
“The master bedroom is big enough for the two of you, and there’s a sitting room where we can fit a bed,” Blaire offers, taking our hands. “See, this room is almost as big as an apartment.”
“When can we order the bed?” Leyla asks.
“I’ll do it today,” Blaire answers.
Once we move our things into the bedroom, I close the door and she high-fives me. “I feel so bad because Blaire is so nice, but this room is so much better, and we’re two,” she whispers.
“You almost laughed and lost us this room, but well played, Ley,” I compliment her.
For the rest of the day, she spends a lot of time with Arden, and I want to tell her to stop. That she’s going to get too attached, and he’s not hers, but I don’t because that sounds cruel. Not only that, it sounds almost like what my grandmother used to say every year before I left for Baker’s Creek.
Everyone from my grandfather, grandmother, and mother cautioned me about feelings, letting people in, or getting too attached. It’s sad to realize it. I’ve lost too many relationships because of that—including my marriage. At least I have the comfort that I have another chance with my brothers. But does it have to be only with them?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Leyla
Yesterday was a strange day, to say the least.
It was almost like moving day in college but with steroids. Instead of dealing with a drunk freshman, we had to deal with an injured Vance, who came from a mission and had a bullet in the leg. Pierce was concerned because people bleeding used to make me anxious. I already told him that I found a great therapist who has helped me immensely with my PTSD. I guess he didn’t believe me.
I was fine and able to help Blaire and Hayes since I know first aid and got my EMT certification during college. Sure, what they do is not the same as tending to pets, but I can assist them if they ever need help with their practice. Pierce and I are going to start looking for a lot where I can build
an animal hospital.
Hopefully it’s a place not owned by the Aldridges, because I don’t want to worry about these guys leaving town and losing my business. I’m sure that deep down they are friendly people. However, the young ones don’t seem too sold with the whole, let’s stay here for almost two years.
Today we’re organizing the household chores.
Everyone is going to have to pull their weight in the house and the companies. I hope that doesn’t include working at The Lodge for me because I’m still not fond of people. As we’re trying to decide how we’re going to split everything, the guys begin to complain.
“I refuse to clean the toilets,” Beacon says.
“I don’t know how to cook,” Pierce grumbles.
“You know how to grill,” I amend.
He glares at me. I grin and shrug.
We’re an alliance, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let him get away with stuff. Now, what kind of almost ex-wife would I be if I didn't put him in his place?
“You know what we need?” Beacon asks.
“A maid?” Hayes answers.
“Well, yes, we need that too,” Beacon agrees.
Pierce sighs and says, “We can’t hire anyone to help us with house chores.”
“You’re just making shit up,” Mills complains. “After you almost ducked this up by missing a date, I don’t believe the shit you say. How hard is it to count to thirty? Even Arden could do it. From now on, I need someone to verify your work.”
All the brothers laugh. Blaire and I roll our eyes. Arden can say five words, but these men are just trying to see who taunts the other one better.
“Ducked?” Henry glares at Mills.
“We have to be cautious about the words we use around Arden,” Mills explains, giving a warning glare to everyone in the room.
Defying Our Forever (The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers Book 3) Page 15
