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“You heard what he said about being my boss,” Ryder insisted, hating that he sounded like a petulant schoolboy or maybe a big brother short on patience. Old habits were hard to break.
“I’m not sure he knows how to relate to you differently.” She tapped a finger on her chin. “Is it possible you’re dealing with a similar issue?”
Yes, and Esme Fortune was smart to realize it. It was also distinctly probable he was falling for her. Ryder knew he could figure out how to deal with his brother. However, his feelings for Esme were a different story.
Chapter Nine
“Are you sure you don’t want to hold one of them?” Esme asked Freya, who looked as shocked as if she’d been asked to hold a venomous snake.
Esme had finally convinced Ryder to end the workweek with a day at the office and made plans to meet Freya and Wendell Fortune at the small café situated inside GreatStore after she and great-uncle’s widow finished their latest shopping trip.
Freya might not feel comfortable with either of Esme’s babies, but she certainly liked spending money on them. She’d bought several new toys and some clothes for Noah and Chase, reasoning that it would be cute to dress them in matching outfits for Valentine’s Day, which was fast approaching.
The whole town was decked out in pink and red decorations. Many of the displays in GreatStore featured Valentine-themed merchandise, and a pop-up flower shop took center stage near the big-box store’s front entrance.
Pushing the double stroller through the automatic doors, Esme remembered that it was around this time last year that she’d found out she was pregnant. When she’d first shared the news with Seth, he’d seemed overwhelmed but excited and committed to her and their unborn child. She refused to compare his behavior with Ryder’s, reminding herself that Ryder hadn’t done anything to warrant her mistrust. But she’d been betrayed, and it was difficult not to worry that she might be taken advantage of again if she let down her guard.
It had been Seth’s idea to get married quickly. The Dallas courthouse where they’d exchanged vows had been filled with leftover Valentine’s decorations, even though the holiday had fallen a couple of weeks before their official ceremony.
Was it any wonder the displays of love and romance made her feel a little queasy? She hadn’t even been able to muster any eagerness for the new shipment of romance novels that had arrived on her doorstep a few days prior, instead borrowing one of Ryder’s thrillers for their evenings on the couch.
She’d been satisfied living in the make-believe world of books for so long. But being deserted by her husband, then finding out he hadn’t been faithful for even a brief time, had soured her on the belief in happily-ever-afters.
She had been dealing just fine with the lack of romance in her life until Ryder Hayes came along, embodying everything she wanted in a hero.
The kiss they’d shared had rocked her to her core, but it had been a mistake. Her body didn’t agree, but her heart was already so lost to Ryder—how could she take the risk of complicating their partnership even more?
Besides, he didn’t seem the least bit interested in repeating the kiss. Although she couldn’t seem to help finding excuses to take his hand or brush up against him, she noticed that he pulled away as soon as possible.
Forcing her attention back to the present, she smiled as Wendell Fortune cooed at Noah, who sat contentedly in the older man’s arms.
“I’m gonna leave the baby holding to this guy.” Freya murmured, hitching a polished nail in Wendell’s direction. “I’m not a baby person.”
“Turns out I’ve got a way with the little ones.” Wendell scrunched up his face and then stuck out his tongue at Noah, whose blue eyes widened as he flashed a gummy grin. “I’m glad to have a chance to know the offspring of my brothers. It gives an old man a heap of pleasure to know that, despite everything, you and your siblings and cousins turned out good. Your grandfather and great-uncle would have been proud.”
It was silly to be grateful for the approval of a relative she’d only recently met, but Wendell’s words delighted Esme. She wasn’t sure of his actual age, but he seemed quite a bit older than Freya, and Esme knew he was dealing with some heart health issues. In contrast, her great-aunt was trim and spry, her hair curled in a becoming shorter style that framed her face.
She wore jeans and a soft sweater that looked more on trend with current fashion than most of the clothes Esme owned. On the other hand, Wendell appeared weathered and walked slowly, his shoulders slightly stooped.
Esme knew he was worth millions even after bequeathing much of his fortune to his grandchildren, but he didn’t look wealthy or act snobbish like some of the people she’d seen during her lunch with Ryder and Brandon at the LC Club.
“Wendell is right,” Freya confirmed. “Your generation of the Fortunes is more deserving of the family’s legacy in this state and this town than your great-uncle or grandfather were.” She fiddled with one of her delicate hoop earrings and spoke in a hushed tone as she added, “You’re good kids.”
Her voice broke on the last word, like the fact that she might be coming to care for her late husband’s family truly surprised her. “I wish things would have turned out differently, especially for those fifty families who lost loved ones in the mining tragedy.”
“Or perhaps fifty-one families,” Esme said as Chase finished off the bottle she was feeding him. She lifted the boy onto her shoulder and patted his back. “Asa told me that last summer, they found a note near the castle where the number fifty is etched into the concrete to honor the miners.”
“There were fifty-one,” Freya said tightly, repeating the phrasing of the note. “I heard about that, but it’s ridiculous.”
“I’m not sure the rumors have merit,” Wendell acknowledged. “But I’m checking it out. In fact, Devin Street called me the other day to ask for an on-record comment about this new development to an old story.”
“The owner of the Chatelaine Daily News is interested in the note?” Esme let out a low whistle. “Does that mean there’s an official investigation?”
“I hope not,” Freya snapped, then offered an apologetic smile when Esme and Wendell looked at her in surprise. “It feels like a waste of time. Why would an additional death be brought up after all this time?”
Wendell pointed a finger at her like she’d hit the nail on the head. “Devin told me it got his attention. I think he believes where there’s smoke, there must be fire.”
“But who would the mystery missing person be?” Freya asked. “It doesn’t make sense. Everyone in the mine shaft was accounted for that day. I knew those men and—” She cleared her throat. “Not personally, of course, and Elias didn’t like to speak of the tragedy. But I read up on it, so I felt like I knew the men.”
