Page 167 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

“You’re sorry?” She squeezed her eyes closed briefly. “How did you find me?”

“Apparently a Sienna Reid had been in the hospital overnight. I’ve had a team of detectives checking all the hospitals, making calls all around the country and...well, we got lucky. Not that Sienna being hospitalized is a good thing. But she looks fine now. What was wrong with her?”

“You mean your henchmen didn’t find out?”

“Francesca, please. I love my granddaughter.”

“She had a breathing problem due to a virus. Her throat swelled up, but she’s much better now.”

“Croup?” her father asked.

“How did you know?”

“You’re forgetting I was a single father for quite a few years. You had a bout or two of it yourself.”

Bella stared at him, stunned. She’d never related what she was going through with what he’d gone through when her mother died. Her father had always seemed larger than life to her.

He gazed at his granddaughter and smiled. “She’s a beauty. Just like you, Francesca. I want you both back in my life.”

“Things have changed for me, Father.”

“I heard you’re working here as a chef.”

“How did you—Never mind.” She didn’t want to know the nefarious ways her father found things out. “I am. I have a job and I’ve been happy here.”

“You can be happy in San Francisco, Francesca. Please consider coming home. Christmas won’t be the same without you and Sienna.”

Bella glanced at her watch. Jared was late, but he’d be returning soon. She didn’t want him to find Marco Forte here, not before she had a chance to explain the situation to him. It was time. And she’d promised Veronica she would. “Father, you have to leave. I have...duties.”

He frowned and inhaled a breath, giving her a long stare.

She was ready to ask him again but he beat her to it. “Okay... I’ll go.”

“You will?” She was astonished. Her father usually never backed down. Maybe Yvonne was a better influence on him than she’d ever given her credit for. And maybe, just maybe, that health scare softened up his heart a bit.

“Yes, as long as you promise to call me. We’ll talk some more.”

“Yes, we’ll talk some more. I do promise.”

Marco stood and put out his arms. And when she stood her ground, he walked over to her. Again, she’d triumphed. People always catered to him. She’d never seen this side of her father before.

They embraced, the three of them, Sienna breaking out in giggles.

Her father kissed them both on the cheek and then he was gone. Bella stood with Sienna in the living room, dumbfounded, watching his limo pull away. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. Had her father really capitulated? Had she just seen a big change in him? He was actually behaving like a caring father. Well, almost. Or was it all part of a grand scheme to get his way? It was hard to place her trust in him, but his tone, the sincerity in his voice and the genuine look in his eyes had swayed her.

Was her life finally turning around? Did she dare hope?

Bella needed a few minutes to absorb all that had just happened with her father. She sat next to Sienna on the floor and watched her daughter touch some of the shiny ornaments on the Christmas tree as a hard steady rain came down outside. “Careful, baby. We don’t want to break them.”

Just then the front door burst open and Cooper walked inside, bracing Jared with an arm across his shoulder. Jared’s leg was dragging behind him and blood dripped down his face. Cooper guided him toward his bedroom. They were both drenched.

“Cooper?” she called as they passed the living room.

“Jared decided to take his bike out in the rain,” Cooper said over his shoulder as he continued moving. “The roads were slick and he took a curve too fast.”

“I told you why,” Jared lashed back. Bella gasped and plucked up Sienna, taking her into the kitchen and handing her a baby cracker. “Here you go, sweetie. Play with your dollhouse and Mommy will be right back.”

Bella approached the bedroom and saw Cooper facing Jared, who was half sitting, half leaning against his pillows on the bed. “You get permission from the doctor to drive and your first decision is to hop on your bike in the middle of a storm?”