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“Your suite has been completely cleared out. I take it you’ve decided to live with Noah.”
“I was going to tell you, but I thought I’d wait until you got back.”
“It seems quick, Ellie.”
“It probably does, but we’ve been through a lot. I feel as if we’ve been together for ages.”
“As long as you’re happy.”
“I’ve never been happier,” she exclaimed, relieved her father had accepted her decision.
When she told Noah they’d be having dinner with her parents at the big house, he seemed pleased. But that evening when they drove through the gates she felt a rush of anxiety. Glancing across at him she suspected he did too. But the moment she saw her mother’s happy face, Ellie’s fears evaporated. When Bethany arrived, her father popped open a bottle of champagne, poured it into flutes and passed them around.
“I have some news,” he declared. “Ellie, I must warn you, it will come as a shock. Are you ready?”
“Let me guess. You’re selling this house.”
“No, and I won’t be for a while. The thing is…”
“The thing is,” her mother interrupted, “I’ve remarried.”
“Seriously? Who is he?” Ellie asked, stunned by the news. “Why isn’t he here?”
“He is,” Jeanette replied, smiling across at Tom.
“That’s why we were held up,” he declared proudly. “We were married in Vegas, and it was fantastic. So…raise your glasses to the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met. Thank you, Jeanette, for being brave enough to become my wife a second time.”
* * *
Dinner had been delivered from The Barnyard. Sitting around the table, there was a great deal of chatter, and Ellie invited Bethany out to the ranch to see the foals and meet Stetson and Candy.
“I’d love that, I’ve never been around horses,” she exclaimed excitedly.
“Come over tomorrow afternoon,” Noah suggested. “If you want, you can even sit in the saddle.”
“I’d be terrified.”
“You won’t after a few minutes,” Ellie assured her.
Tom listened to the banter and waited patiently until it was time to enjoy cheesecake and coffee, then asked for everyone’s attention.
“I have some more very important news,” he began. “That briefcase didn’t just contain a large amount of cash. Beneath those wads of bills was a priceless etching that’s been missing for over a decade.”
“You must be kidding,” Bethany sputtered. “No wonder Michael was so desperate to get his hands on it.”
“Exactly!” Tom exclaimed. “Jay Whittaker was famous—or should I say infamous—for his art collection. Michael Aiken must have known about the etching, and when it wasn’t recovered after Whittaker’s murder, he made plans to find it. But Bethany, there’s a reward for its safe return, and that money is yours.”
“But it was here, on your property.”
“Even so, you were the one who found it, and you’ll be receiving a check for $100,000. But I know you’re worried about you mother and you don’t have to wait. We’ll get her out of that house right away, and when I say we, I mean it. You won’t be doing it alone.”
* * *
The Ferrari had been towed away by the FBI, but Tom had arranged for one of his company cars to be delivered to the house for Bethany’s use. The following afternoon, she climbed into the Toyota sedan and headed to Noah’s ranch.
Driving into the courtyard, she pulled to a stop and climbed out, but not sure where to go, she looked across to the barn...and caught her breath.
A tall, wide-shouldered, square-jawed cowboy was striding towards her. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. From his dusty boots, to his faded jeans, plaid shirt and muscled arms, he looked like he belonged on the front of a western romance novel.
