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“What are you going to do?” Her tears were running freely.
“I’ve agreed to run the company since Ben’s given me sole authority, and I’m going to try and right my father’s mistakes.” His mouth twisted into a line of disgust. “I don’t know if it’s possible. That’s why I started with you. Ben tried to cheat you out of the winery rather than just continue to share the profits with you. It’s all yours now. Wilder Investments is out of it.”
He watched her reaction, gauged her response. “You don’t understand, do you?” she whispered. “Nothing . . . not the winery . . . not my father’s reputation . . . none of it means anything unless you’re with me.”
“You were the one who left.”
“But only because I didn’t understand.” His arms tightened around her.
His voice caught. “Dear God, Sheila, if only you knew how much I love you . . . if only you could feel the emptiness I’ve had to deal with.”
“I do,” she vowed, “every night that I’m alone.”
“Never again,” he promised, “you’ll never be alone again. Promise me that you’ll marry me.”
Sobs of joy racked her body. “Oh, Noah, I’ve been such a fool. I love you so dearly and I tried to convince myself that I could forget you. . . . I thought I wanted to.”
“Shhh . . . it’s all right. We’re together now, and we will be forever. And we’re going to have our own family—Sean, Emily and as many more children as you want.”
“Do you mean it?”
“Of course I do, love. More than anything I’ve ever said. Will you marry me?”
“Do you have to ask?” she sighed, tipping her head to look at him through the shimmer of unshed tears. A slow, satisfied smile curved his lips, and his eyes caressed hers.
“I love you, Sheila,” he vowed. “I promise that I always will.”
“But what about the winery?”
“We’ll work that out later. If you want, I’ll move the headquarters of Wilder Investments to Cascade Valley. It doesn’t matter where we live, just as long as we’re together.”
“Noah . . .”
“Shhh . . . don’t worry about anything. Just love me.”
“Forever,” she vowed against his chest before his lips claimed hers in a kiss filled with the promise of a blissful future they would share.
DEVIL’SGAMBIT
Chapter One
Tiffany heard the back door creak open and then shut with a bone-rattling thud.It’s over,she thought and fought against the tears of despair that threatened her eyes.
Hoping to appear as calm as was possible under the circumstances, she set her pen on the letter she had been writing and placed her elbows on the desk. Cold dread slowly crept up her spine.
Mac’s brisk, familiar footsteps slowed a bit as he approached the den, and involuntarily Tiffany’s spine stiffened as she braced herself for the news. Mac paused in the doorway. Tonight he appeared older than his sixty-seven years. His plaid shirt was rumpled and the lines near his sharp eyes were deeper than usual.
Tiffany knew what he was going to say before Mac had a chance to deliver his somber message.
“He didn’t make it, did he?” she asked as her slate blue eyes held those of the weathered ex-jockey.
There was a terse shake of Mac’s head. His lips tightened over his teeth and he removed his worn hat. “He was a good-lookin’ colt, that one.”
“They all were,” Tiffany muttered, seemingly to herself. “Every last one of them.” The suppressed rage of three sleepless nights began to pound in her veins, and for a moment she lost the tight rein on her self-control. “Damn!” Her fist crashed against the desk before the weighty sadness hit and her shoulders slumped in defeat. A numb feeling took hold of her and she wondered if what was happening was real. Once again her eyes pierced those of the trainer and he read the disbelief in her gaze.
“Charlatan is dead,”he said quietly, as if to settle the doubts in her mind. “It weren’t nobody’s fault. The vet, well, he did all he could.”
“I know.”
