The Cowboy's Unexpected Love: Wade and Sierra (MacFarland Ranch Book 1) Read online

  “Do you think that’s safe?”

  “I do. He knew what I was doing – that I was running away from the wedding. Although, that didn’t take much figuring out given that I was wearing a wedding dress. He was so sweet. He squeezed my hand and wished me luck. Said he knew it was none of his business but that he hadn’t thought much of the groom when he met him.”

  Amelia giggled. “He’s a smart man.”

  Sierra’s smile faded. “Yeah. Way smarter than I am. Francis met Jared for just a few minutes and took a dislike to him. I’ve known him all this time and almost married him.”

  “Almost, that’s the important word there. You didn’t marry him. And that’s all that matters. You escaped from a fate worse than death.”

  “More than that, Amelia. I literally escaped death. I told you what he said. If I’d married him …” she shuddered.

  “Yes, but you didn’t. You had a narrow escape, but you still escaped.”

  “What if he comes after me?”

  Wade swung around to look at her, and she gave him a wan smile.

  “You think he would?” asked Amelia.

  “I hope not. It seems logical to me that since his plan was to kill me in order to inherit everything, there won’t be any point in killing me now – because we’re not married, so he wouldn’t get my money.”

  “I hope you’re right. But Sierra, I think you should stay hidden away for a while. You didn’t see him when he realized that you’d gone. That there wasn’t going to be a wedding. He looked ready to kill all right.”

  Sierra shuddered. “How did everyone else handle it? I feel so bad, letting them all down.”

  “Ugh! Don’t! What else could you have done? Your life is way more important than their travel plans.”

  “I know, but so many people went out of their way to be there for me today and … How was Barney?”

  “He was less shocked than most of them. I think he was secretly glad that you called it off.”

  Sierra let out a short laugh. “I hardly called it off. I just ran. After seeing Jared and Lori together like that and hearing what he had planned for me and those poor little children … I had no choice.”

  “I think you need to tell Barney exactly what you heard – and saw.”

  “I know. I will. I had enough to deal with just trying to keep the car on the road today.” She gave Wade a rueful smile. Amelia might not know that she hadn’t actually succeeded in keeping the car on the road, but he did. He smiled back.

  “And where exactly are you?”

  “Oh. Remember Cassidy Lane?”

  “Cassidy! I should have realized when you said Montana. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise that she couldn’t make it for the wedding then.”

  “It did.” Sierra didn’t like to lie, but technically she hadn’t. She only mentioned Cassidy, and Amelia had assumed the rest for herself.

  “What did you say to Jared before you left?”

  “I didn’t say anything. I heard him talking to Lori – and saw what they were doing, and then I came to you. And thanks, by the way. You’re the best bestie in the world. I can’t think of anyone else on Earth who would be as supportive as you were. After what I’d seen and heard, I had to run. And you didn’t even question me. You just wished me luck, told me to call and let you know I was safe, and said you’d cover for me.” She didn’t for one moment think that Amelia needed a recap of those frantic few moments, but it couldn’t hurt for Wade to hear it.

  “Aww. You know I’d do anything for you. I was as stunned as you were at what he said – and at Lori, if not him, for what they were doing. I should have gone with you, though.”

  “No. It was better that you stayed. And I really am okay.” Wade was slicing the pizza now. “I’ll call you again tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay. I hope you get some sleep. And say hi to Cassidy for me.”

  “Will do.” She ended the call and looked over at Wade, hoping that he’d ask what had happened. She wanted to talk to him, to tell him, but he just smiled and held up the pizza. “Stay there. I’ll bring it over.”

  When he served her a slice on a plate and then sat back in the armchair, she waited. But he didn’t ask. So, she didn’t tell. Between the beer and the food and the stress of the day finally taking its toll, she was yawning by the time he took her empty plate away.

  “That should set you up to be able to sleep.”

  “I hope so.”

  “I’ll leave you my number. Call me in the morning when you’re ready for some company.”

  “Thanks.” She watched him write his number on the pad. She didn’t want him to go. How crazy was that?

  When he straightened up, he met her gaze. “Are you going to be okay?”

  She shook her head. “I know I shouldn’t ask, but please would you stay?”

  He froze and his eyes widened.

  Oh, Lord! She’d gone and done it now. “I don’t mean like that, I just mean here, in the cabin. I don’t want … I’m scared.”

  He nodded slowly. “Sure. If you want. I can take the second bedroom.” The lines around his eyes were etched with concern. “But only if you’re comfortable with me being here?”

  She nodded. “I feel so much safer with you than I did with the man I was supposed to marry today.”

  His lips pressed together. “I gathered as much. I didn’t want to intrude. But if you want to talk about it, I want to listen.”

  “Thank you. I’d like that.” She couldn’t hold in a huge yawn and then flushed with embarrassment when he laughed.

  “Tomorrow will be soon enough. Tonight, you need to sleep.”

  Chapter Four

  Wade pulled the cabin door closed as quietly as he could. He was hoping that Sierra would sleep for a while yet. He’d left her a note just in case. He didn’t want her to wake up and wonder where he was – didn’t want her to feel like she was all alone in a strange place. But he had to take the risk of leaving her. He wanted to talk to Ford, to tell him what she’d said last night. His brother was probably going to give him grief for having stayed the night with her, but he’d get over it when Wade told him what she’d said to her friend.

  She’d literally escaped death. His jaw clenched as he remembered the look on her face while she talked to her friend. This Jared had planned to kill her? And from what Wade had pieced together, he’d been with another woman, someone named Lori.

  He shook his head and pulled the keys to her SUV out of his pocket. He really had to hope that she didn’t wake up before he returned. He didn’t want her to panic and think that her vehicle had been stolen on top of everything else.

  Ford was standing in the kitchen, a mug of coffee gripped in his hand when Wade entered. He pursed his lips but didn’t say anything.

  Wade poured himself a mug. “Before you say anything. I only stayed because she asked me to.”

  Ford sputtered coffee as he snorted.

  “Not like that!” Wade felt bad that for a moment, when she’d asked him to stay, he’d thought she meant stay with her, too.

  “So, you stayed to comfort her?”

  “No. I stayed because she was scared.”

  Ford’s smirk disappeared. “Of what? What’s her deal?”

  “I don’t know the full story, but she called her friend last night. She said that she used cash to rent the car because she didn’t want him to be able to find her. She also said that she hoped he wouldn’t see any point in killing her now – ”

  “What the fuck?”

  “I know, right? Apparently, she overheard him talking to another woman, and I’m guessing that they were doing more than talking. Either way, she heard that he planned to kill her once they were married – so that he’d inherit all her money.”

  Ford frowned. “And that’s why she thinks there wouldn’t be any point in him killing her now? Because he wouldn’t inherit?”

  Wade nodded. “That’s what it sounded like.”

  “But she didn’t tell you any o
f this?”

  “No, like I said, she talked to her friend on the phone.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I offered to go outside and let her talk in private, but I kind of got the impression that she wanted me to overhear. That she wanted me to know but didn’t want to tell me.”

  “I can see that. So, what are we going to do?”

  Wade smiled. His brother might not have wanted to have to deal with the emotional woman they’d brought home. But now he knew that her troubles were very real, he showed no hesitation. “I haven’t figured that out yet. She’s still sleeping, and I wanted to let you know what the deal was. I doubt we’ll have an angry groom show up on the ranch, but just in case we do, I wanted to let you know.”

  “Right. I’ll let the hands know to keep an eye out for any strangers around.”

  “Thanks. Mind if I use your laptop?”

  “Go ahead. You going to look her up?”

  Wade nodded. “I figure if she has enough money to be worth killing for it, then there’s probably something online somewhere about the wedding. I want to see what I can find out about this Jared asshole.” He went and sat at the big kitchen table and flipped open Ford’s laptop.

  “And what you can learn about her, too?”

  “Yeah.” There was no point in denying it. Especially not to Ford. He hadn’t slept well. He’d been too busy alternating between thinking about and trying not to think about the woman lying just a few feet away from him. He’d wanted to get on his own laptop to see what he could learn about her, but that had felt wrong somehow. Up here at the house with Ford, it seemed more reasonable. He wasn’t stalking the woman he was attracted to; he was researching her background to figure out how they could help her.

  “Want me to call Jane and ask her to come over now?”

  “No!” He answered too quickly, and he knew it.

  Ford just laughed. “You’ve got it bad. All right. You can keep her to yourself this morning, but I think you should bring her up here for lunch with everyone. Then afterwards she can decide for herself if she’d rather stay here and hang out with Jane for girl talk or let you whisk her back to your cabin.”

  Wade just made a face at him while he waited for the search results to load. “Holy shit!”

  “What?” Ford came to stand behind him. “Damn! That’s not just any old runaway bride you’ve got stashed away in your cabin, little brother. She’s a real-life billionaire heiress.”

  Wade nodded slowly as he read over the article. Her father, Sebastian Hartford was one of those rich old men who showed up on the TV whenever there was big news in the financial markets. At least, he had been. The article reported that he’d died almost three years ago. Wade frowned as he read on. His son, Sebastian Hartford II, had taken over Hartford Enterprises. Wade clicked the link to read more about him. Damn. It led to an obituary. He’d died just over a year ago, in a boating accident.

  “That poor girl’s been through hell,” Ford muttered, still reading over Wade’s shoulder.

  “Yeah. She lost her dad, then her brother in such a short time. Makes me think that this Jared saw her as an easy mark.”

  “No, look.” Ford pointed at the screen. “I bet that’s him. Barney Hollinsworth appointed Jared Hanson second-in-command at Hartford Enterprises.”

  “Great. So, he’s into her business as well.”

  “As her pants?” Ford smirked.

  But Wade wasn’t laughing. “I meant as well as her life. If he works for the family company then it’s not going to be so easy for her to just get him out of her life, is it? I’m sure she mentioned someone called Barney last night. Hopefully, he’s a good guy.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I should get back to the cabin before she wakes up.”

  “Sure. You should probably ask her if she knows Hope.”

  “Hope?”

  Ford rolled his eyes. “Hope Davenport, well, Malone now. Chance’s wife. Think about it, her dad, Seymour, was into all that high finance stuff, too. There can’t be that many billionaires around. They probably know each other.”

  “Yeah. Right. I will.”

  “You need to find out exactly what she heard. We need to know how likely it is that this Jared is going to come after her and what we need to do to keep her safe.”

  Wade smiled at him. “Thanks.”

  “Hmph! I’m saying it for the sake of keeping her safe, not for your sake or the sake of … whatever it is you’re thinking about you and her.”

  “No! I’m not! I mean. I do … she is …”

  Ford laughed. “You like her. I get it. But I think this is a bit bigger than you getting laid.”

  Wade scowled at him. “Yes. I find her attractive. But no, I’m not that much of an asshole that I’d …” He blew out a sigh. “This time yesterday she still thought she was getting married. Now she’s scared her jilted groom might want to kill her. And even apart from all of that, we now know that she’s way out of my league. So, no matter how attractive I find her, I can assure you, this isn’t about me hoping to get laid.”

  “Yeah. Sorry. For what it’s worth, she seemed kind of taken with you, too, yesterday.”

  Wade’s heart leaped in his chest. There had been a few moments when he’d wondered if she’d felt the same attraction between them that he did. “You think so?” he asked a little too eagerly.

  Ford smiled through pursed lips. “For what it’s worth, I do. But for all the reasons you just listed, I don’t think it matters, does it?”

  Wade’s heart sank. “No. You’re right. It doesn’t. The only thing that matters is making sure that she stays safe.”

  “Yup. And she’s probably not going to feel too safe if she wakes up alone in that cabin and wonders where her knight in shining armor has taken off to in her SUV. You should get back. Bring her up here when you’re ready. Tyler said he’ll do lunch for one-thirty. Jane should be back from visiting the old man by then.”

  “Okay.” He held his brother’s gaze. Just the mention of the old man was a downer. “We’re going to have to go and see him sometime, you know.”

  “Hmph.” Ford shook his head. “It’s not like he gives a shit. How the hell Janey keeps going week after week is beyond me.”

  Wade shrugged. “I guess it’s a girl thing.”

  “I don’t know about that. Laney’s not been back to see him once since the last surgery, and she swears she won’t come again until he’s in the ground.”

  “Well, Laney’s a different story. And maybe it’s a Jane thing rather than a girl thing. But it’s probably good that at least one of us has a big enough heart to go and sit with the old bastard every once in a while.”

  “Yeah. She’s too kind for her own good, our Janey. I bet she’ll take Sierra under her wing, too.”

  “Probably.” Wade knew it’d make more sense to let his sister step up and become Sierra’s point of contact and comfort. He should back out. But he didn’t want to. As he drove back to the cabin, he tried telling himself that it was only because he was concerned for her safety. But it wasn’t.

  He opened the cabin door quietly and peeked around it.

  “Morning!” She was standing in the kitchen, pouring herself a mug of coffee. “Thanks for leaving the pot all ready to go. I have a Keurig at home. I’m not sure I would have figured this thing out by myself.”

  He was aware that she was talking, saying something about the coffee pot, but his brain was incapable of deciphering her words. It had frozen at the sight of her. She was wearing his shirt – making him wish he’d given her a shorter one – and from what he could see, nothing else.

  Her feet were bare. Her long, tan legs seemed to go on forever. At least, until they met the curve of her butt cheek, which he could see just enough of to render him speechless. She turned to face him, and he had to guess that between her bare ass cheek and the way her nipples greeted him through his shirt, she really wasn’t wearing anything else.

  “Are you okay? Do you need coffee?”

  He nodded dumbly,
hoping that she’d assume that his muteness was due to a lack of caffeine rather than a rush of desire. Lust – that was the word. His whole body was on high alert. His heart was pounding, his palms were sweating, and his dick was wide awake and pressing uncomfortably against his zipper. Shit!

  “Yes, please, to a coffee. I’ll be right back.” He turned and fled back out through the door. He needed the cold morning air and possibly a slap upside the head to bring him back to his senses. He stuck his hands in his pockets and adjusted his jeans. Baseball stats – nope, not a chance in hell of conjuring any of those. The thought of that asshole plotting to kill Sierra for her money? Yeah, that sent a cold rush of anger through him, and brought out all his protective instincts. That might not be ideal since Sierra wasn’t his to protect, but it was a step in the right direction. Since she most definitely wasn’t his for what his little head had been thinking.

  He took a few deep breaths before going back inside.

  “Is everything okay?” Sierra looked worried.

  He forced himself to smile, though it was no great hardship while he was looking at her. “Everything’s fine. Did you sleep okay?”

  “I did. I lay there for maybe five minutes with my brain swirling, convinced that I’d never be able to sleep and the next thing I knew I was waking up and it was morning. How about you, did you do okay in that smaller room?”

  “I was fine.” His breath caught in his chest again when she came closer. She looked like she hadn’t been awake long, her eyes were still puffy, and her hair was a mess. It was brown with honey blonde streaks through it. It looked like she’d spent the summer on the beach. Her lips were … curved up in a smile.

  “Do you want this?” She was holding a mug of coffee out to him.

  “Oh. Sorry. Thanks.” He took it, and she went to sit on the sofa. He wanted to go and sit beside her, so he took the armchair instead. His brain was obviously fried, and his body was overheating again. He needed to keep his distance.