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She dreamed of the rose garden in the winter. The flowers were dead and the greenhouse was smashed. Inside was one perfect red rose. Frost decorated its petals like a shroud.
“My boys,” Lily’s voice echoed across the frozen grounds. “My boys.”
Lacy had done something to her sons. Cadence wasn’t sure what, but the cold stillness of the garden hinted at some dark deed.
She woke with a start, seeing that she was still on the couch where she’d fallen asleep. The soft rays of dawn filtered through the curtains near the balcony. Porter hadn’t left her, though he looked horribly uncomfortable with his feet on the ottoman and his head wedged up against the arm of the couch.
Guilt consumed her at how much she was still inconveniencing him. He’d get a crick in his neck, poor guy. But he’d turned into her gallant protector, even from the monsters crouching in her own mind. Every time she brought up any new worry, he’d swat down the beast like a fly.
She lifted her head from his ribcage where she’d practically pinned him down. Porter stirred and rolled to the side. Cadence sat up. She couldn’t help the soft smile that hovered over her lips as she stared down at the creases of laugh lines against his eyes and cheeks, some of it hidden in the days of growth against his rough jaw. Everything about him was becoming so dear to her. His dark golden lashes dripped like honey against his cheeks.
He said that her baby would be his. What would that be like, to have a family with him? And yet, the memories of her nightmare still wouldn’t leave her. Her heart wouldn’t settle down. She edged off the couch to give him more room. She’d tormented him enough. The least she could do was find him a blanket.
Lily’s quilt from the Fourth of July still lay on top of the box within reach. She pulled it out. The manila envelope that Porter had thrust at her when they’d fought fell onto the floor. Cadence must’ve set the work papers on top of what she’d packed.
She stared at the papers that lay scattered across Emily’s blue-and-yellow flowered rug. Every deal that WhiteBoulder was working on was in there. Kneeling in front of the papers, she gathered them up, seeing Funches’s name, and a few she didn’t recognize, until she stumbled on the Slades near the bottom half of the stack.
Jase Slade’s name was written on it with big bold writing. Oh no, just as Cadence had feared, but already? He was selling off at least nine hundred acres of their land. Lily must have no idea how much trouble her family had landed in, though she must’ve suspected something. Her lips had seemed so resolute when they’d talked about the future.
Perhaps her husband meant to lease the land, so that they could do their ranching, but Lacy would be merciless. He’d rent the land to someone else or pave it into a parking lot just to see her squirm.
Nash and West might already suspect what kind of hold Lacy had over their family. After all, Nash had been in Lacy’s office talking oversomeprivate business; perhaps it was why West was working so closely with Lacy in the first place. And poor Porter back at home, had no idea!
Lacy reallydidown his family. No wonder he was bursting with confidence when he’d mistaken Porter for Nash.
Her fingers trembled. She snatched at the quilt, wanting to do something, anything to keep her hands busy. She dropped the quilt over Porter’s shoulders. His eyes slit open under the breaking light. He smiled up at her. He extended his arms out to her next. “Come here. I need my pregnant lady back.”
Not knowing what to say, she dropped next to his side, flustered. He sat up, gathering her next to him with a sigh. “Were you cold?”
“A little.” She let him hold her. His chest and arms felt as solid as a rock, but how would he handle the storm that was about to hit? “You were in the weirdest position,” she said. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
He grinned. She felt his cheek tickle her ear. “Of course. I can fall asleep herding cattle on the range, not to say that being with you isn’t more fun.” His arms tightened over her, and he rested his chin against her head. She listened to the steady rhythm of his heart, though this time it did nothing to reassure her.
The leather of his bracelet slid up his forearm.Lily.The dangers of his mother’s fragile state haunted them, even here. Losing that land would finish her off.
Cadence stared straight ahead at the papers strewn across the floor, listening to his breathing turn deeper as he fell asleep while sitting up, crazily enough. Hereallycould fall asleep anywhere! She reached for her phone and unblocked Lacy’s number.
The shadows grew shorter across the floor as the heat of the July morning claimed another day as its own. Her phone flashed with a message from Lacy. It was his usual routine to be up so early and working, even on a Saturday morning. “I always knew you were my good luck charm, my angel. Every deal is going through. What do you think? Should I sell this land to foreign investors? Or I could own these deeds for my own amusement? I’ve always wanted to try my hand at ranching, or… how about this? I put a hold on buying up Harvest Ranch property if you come home with me?”
She couldn’t keep in her gasp.
Another message flashed over the screen. “What do you say? I’m a sentimental man. I want you back in my life.”
She dropped her phone. The offer couldn’t be unseen. She never should’ve unblocked his number. Everything she’d feared was happening.
Porter moved her closer. She must’ve woken him up with the noise. He nuzzled her cheek with a kiss. His warm breath felt like a caress. “Are you one of those early risers?” he asked. “We’re really going to have to change that. Getting up at the crack of dawn is only for work days.”
Her hand went to his strong neck and she tugged on the collar of his white T-shirt to bring him closer. Instead of kissing him, she met his suddenly alert eyes. “Remember how you wanted to know every passing thought that goes through my mind?”
He nodded.
She handed him her phone.
His fingers cradled over hers as he read Lacy’s text for himself. She felt him stiffen the further he got through it. She was shaking again, not from fear this time, but rage and helplessness.
“And that’s not all,” she said, once she was sure that he’d read it. Cadence reached over his legs resting against the ottoman to find the deed belonging to his family’s place. She dropped the paper into his lap.
He picked it up. Staring at the first few lines, he turned back to her with a ferocious scowl. “Don’t even think about it,” he growled out. “We’re stopping this bug-eyed creep.”
