“NOW, IF YOUR boy doesn’t like those boots, you bring him in and we’ll find something that works,” Alice assured Matteo as he paid for not only the boots he found for Gino but also for a pair he bought himself. He hadn’t planned to get them—however, seeing as there would be more activities where boots would be far more practical to wear, he surrendered.
He’d found a pair of boots almost identical to ones he remembered seeing when he was a kid. A pair he’d longed to be able to afford in the little town near where he’d been raised. A pair that, at the time, had cost an unimaginable amount of money. They were tan with intricate stitching that reminded him of lines on a map or compass, all leading somewhere and nowhere at the same time.
It was funny, he thought, as he stuffed his sneakers into the bag Alice provided, how he’d assumed being back on a ranch would break him. Instead, he’d found a new strength he hadn’t known he possessed. A strength he felt fairly certain came from two sources: his son and Peyton.
Peyton. He blew out a breath. What was he going to do about Peyton? He knew what was behind that kiss. Gratitude, pent-up frustration and...affection...attraction. This was so bad, he thought. Did a woman who outsourced her marital possibilities even believe in love? It didn’t matter, couldn’t matter, how he felt about her. They were from two vastly different worlds, both in their upbringing and their lifestyles.
Not that he knew what the future held, but if he landed that promotion at work, he could find himself at one of the home offices either in New York or Los Angeles. He’d go wherever the top work would take him; he’d have to, in order to give Gino the best chance he could. Wherever he could put down some roots for him and his son and make a life for both of them. But a life that could include Peyton...
“Afternoon.” Frank greeted the man behind Matteo.
“Sorry.” Matteo shifted to put his credit card away. “I’m causing a traffic jam.”
“No problem. Just these, please.” The man placed a backpack, a few bottles of water, a pair of trail boots and a map of the area onto the counter.
“Nice time of year for hiking,” Matteo said, admiring the man’s watch. He liked antiques, especially ones that looked as if they might have been passed down from family members. Probably because he’d never had anything like that. What would he hand down to Gino? he wondered.
“Should be,” the man agreed. His hair was long, unkempt, almost overgrown to the point of obscuring his features, which were hidden behind a dark beard. His clothes were clean but wrinkled, and he looked as if he’d been traveling a lot of miles. He kept his head low as he paid for his purchase and turned away from Matteo without waiting for a bag. Matteo frowned. Something about the guy seemed familiar.
“Have a good day,” Alice called after him.
“Seen him in here before?” Matteo asked.
“First time,” Frank replied. “Little jittery if you ask me, you know?”
Matteo agreed. He knew. Peyton headed toward him carrying another armload of candy. There was enough to open her own sweetshop. But it was the look on her face that had him moving forward to help. “You all right?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “Just felt something weird. Like I was being watched. Probably just my mind playing tricks on me.”
Matteo wasn’t so sure. “I’ll be right back.” He left his things with Peyton and headed outside just as the man pulled away in a small red pickup. Matteo yanked out his phone and snapped a picture of the model and license plate, but he didn’t hold out much hope when he noticed most of the plate was covered—perhaps purposely—in a thick layer of mud. The exhaust spewing from the tailpipes was a shocking contrast to the fresh air he’d been inhaling in recent days.
“Truck like that is on its last legs,” an old man sitting on the porch observed. “I’m Pop. You see a sketchy-looking feline around here, that’ll be Whiskers.” He held out his hand, motioned for Matteo to join him for a game of chess.
“Nice to meet you, Pop.” Recognizing a valuable asset when he saw one, he joined him, made an instinctive move with a pawn to queen’s knight four. “Have you seen that truck around before?”
“Couple of times over the last day or so. First was early yesterday morning. I remember because I’d just finished my first cup of coffee.” He examined the board, looked up at Matteo, made a move. “You staying at the Blackwell Ranch?”
“Yes, sir.” Matteo sat forward, countered on the board and earned a look of approval. “Thought we’d come in and pick up some books and stuff for my son. He stayed back to hang out with a friend he’s made.”
“Let me guess. That’d be little Miss Rosie Blackwell. Girl is full of charm.” Pop cackled as Whiskers wandered over and examined Matteo’s boots before rubbing its head against his leg. Matteo gave the cat a scratch behind the ears, earning a healthy, grateful purr. “They must be gearing up for that Halloween bash they’ve got planned.”
“I believe so,” Matteo confirmed. “We’ve got pumpkin carving tomorrow.” Along with a string of other activities designed to get the ranch in festive shape. “You plan on attending?”
“Son, the entire town will be there, you can count on it. That Hadley, now she can put on a party like no one’s business. And hey, you’re distracted now. Got ya.” He made another move, shaking his head.
Peyton arrived.
“Shoulda known you’d be one of Big E’s new granddaughters. Peyton, is it?”
Matteo smiled as Peyton’s cheeks flushed. “My reputation precedes me, it seems. Yes. Hi, Pop.” She grinned. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Lily warned me about you. You’re a chess shark.”
“Shark? Nah,” Pop said. He seemed entertained by the notion. “Just something to keep the time passin’. Speaking of passin’, nice of you to come out to Falcon Creek and get to know your family. Strong roots here in Montana. You Blackwells, you’ve made a good place for yourselves in the world.”
“So have the Harrisons,” Peyton corrected, not willing to abandon the name of the man who had raised her. “No disrespect intended.”
“None taken,” Pop assured her. “You play better than your man here?”
Matteo sat back in his chair, beamed up at her and reveled in her confusion. “Yeah, honey, do you play better than me?”
“I play well enough to know you left your bishop vulnerable.” She made one move that had Pop falling silent. She bent over and whispered in the older man’s ear. “Check.”
“Well, I’ll be,” Pop muttered, scrubbing a hand across his chin. “Did not see that coming.”
“We’ll be seeing you at the bash, Pop.” Matteo patted the man’s shoulder as he passed, taking both their bags from Peyton to stash in the SUV. “Next stop, library.”
“Did you talk to the young guy who just left?” she asked.
“No.” He didn’t bother pretending he didn’t know who she was talking about. Whatever she’d felt back in that store was still written all over her face. “He drove off pretty quick.” Matteo didn’t believe in coincidences, and he’d talked enough with Hadley to know they weren’t expecting a flood of guests until Halloween. Still...it couldn’t hurt to check things out.
“I WAS NOT cut out for this.” Peyton stood at the end of the hay-filled, restored historic wagon and gnawed on her lower lip. As expected, her boots had been the best purchase she’d made in she couldn’t remember how long—her brand-new footwear making the activities she, Gino and Matteo had participated in on the ranch more enjoyable, at least.
But the idea of spending the next few hours being jostled about in a wagon filled with hay...
“You got back on a horse,” Lily said from behind her. “You can do this.” She planted her hands on Peyton’s back and gave her a none-too-gentle sisterly shove. “It’s hay, Peyton. Not toxic waste.”
“Hay itches.” Peyton tugged the sleeves of her yellow sweater down over her hands and climbed up. “When I researched hayrides online, I saw wagons with benches back here.” She shuffled through the ankle-deep hay, making her way toward the front—or was it the back?—of the wagon.
“This one’s more fun,” Lily said. “And more authentic. Besides, the benches hurt your backside after a few bumps.”
Deciding to make the best of it, Peyton nestled herself into the corner, reluctantly admitting the hay did provide a nice cushion. She could feel the temperature dropping even now as the sun finished its dip in the sky, casting the ranch in an amazing haze of autumn red, orange and yellow. It was like living in a painted picture that shifted from day to day.
“Is Conner coming?” she asked her sister.
“No.” Lily hoisted herself up and plopped down into the hay next to Peyton. “His mom’s had a bad day, so he’s sticking close to home, hoping to keep her off her feet. Where are your two tagalongs?”
“Helping Hadley with the snacks.” Although personally, Peyton didn’t think she could eat another bite. One thing was for sure: no one starved on a guest ranch. Sure enough, as she stretched her neck and looked over the edge of the wagon, she saw Matteo and Gino joint-carrying a picnic basket, Ty right behind them. “Are we it for the ride?” she asked Ty as he pulled himself up onto the bench behind the horses and braced one foot on the buckboard.
“We’re it,” Ty announced.
“Up you go.” Matteo hefted Gino into the wagon before jumping up himself. He pulled the gate closed behind him. “Gino...”
Gino had already deposited himself onto Peyton’s lap.
“Gino, give Peyton some space. We’ve got the entire wagon—”
“He’s fine.” Peyton wrapped her arms around the little boy and drew him closer.
Lily aimed a sly look in her direction, but Peyton purposely ignored her.
“Hadley made caramel corn and apple slices,” Gino announced. “And we have root beer and—”
“And enough sugar to keep him awake for a month,” Matteo finished as he took a seat near Peyton with enough room between them for Gino should he change his mind.
“All set?” Ty called over his shoulder. “Here we go.”
“Tell me again what the purpose of this is?” Peyton asked her sister, who had shifted into the other corner of the wagon and was already looking up at the still-darkening sky.
Lily shook her head, closed her eyes for a moment. “To enjoy yourself, Pey. When was the last time you paused to look up at the stars?”
Peyton grabbed hold of the edge of the wagon as it moved forward and answered without thinking. “With Dad. When I was Gino’s age.”
“You were seven when Dad...” Lily drew her head up. “You don’t mean Rudy, do you?”
Peyton glanced to Matteo for support, but found him staring up at the sky, seemingly uninterested in the sisters’ conversation.
“No,” Peyton said quietly. “I mean Thomas. He used to point out the constellations and planets to me. He was partial to Orion and Gemini.”
“The hunter and the twins.” Matteo’s observation told her he was paying attention after all.
“Constellations are stars, right, Dad?” Gino leaned forward and out of Peyton’s grasp, scooting closer to his father. “Can we see them now?”
“Soon,” Matteo said. “It needs to be a bit darker.”
“You’ve never seen stars like you do out here,” Ty said over his shoulder. “People who live in the city are always amazed at how dark it can get and how bright the stars are.”
Peyton pressed a hand against her chest, trying to touch her suddenly heavy heart. “He was a good man, Lily,” she whispered to her sister. “I don’t remember a lot about him, but I do remember he loved us. I can still feel that, when I let myself.”
Lily leaned her head on Peyton’s shoulder, wrapped her arms around her and squeezed. “Tell me what else you remember about him.”
Peyton’s eyes filled, at both the memories and the sound of Matteo pointing out different aspects of the sky to his son. And the look of complete wonder and trust on Gino’s face.
“Tell me, Peyton,” Lily said.
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” Lily answered without a hint of anger or resentment in her voice. “I want to know everything.”
IT WAS TOO QUIET. Yep. That’s what her problem was.
It was too darned quiet.
Peyton flopped over in bed and stared at the bedside clock. Two in the morning. She and Matteo and Gino had said good-night soon after getting back from the hayride, and yet here she still lay, hours later, waiting for her mind to stop circling so she could get to sleep.
What was it about the late-night hours that reactivated her brain? All the worry, all the concerns, the responsibilities and regrets all seemed to wake up and tap an irritating dance inside her head.
All these years she’d feared the distance the truth about their real father would create between her and her sisters, but tonight, for the first time, the subject of Thomas Blackwell had brought her and Lily together. Closer than they’d been in a while. She had the stars and the moon to thank for that. Along with a hayride and Matteo teaching his son the same lessons her own father had taught her.
Matteo. Peyton sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. He was just...everywhere. And when he wasn’t, she missed him. Missed him! How was that even possible?
At least at home she could have clicked on the television for background noise. But here? No TV in her room. She was banned from her phone and her laptop and...
It was just too darned quiet.
She grabbed a pillow and dropped it over her face, resisting the urge to scream. Matteo had been strangely quiet and reserved once they got back to the ranch. And why shouldn’t he be, considering she’d kissed him again. She’d managed to short circuit her own system doing so. Maybe she’d done the same to him. Still... She took a hot, stuffy breath in. It wasn’t exactly something she would regret. Not too much, anyway.
She sat up, shoved her hair out of her face and sighed. She needed—wanted—to be doing something, and while she’d agreed to help Hadley with the bushel of pumpkins that had arrived today for the Halloween party next week, she couldn’t very well start hacking now.
She could go next door to the cabin and wake Lily up. Her sister was more than used to Peyton’s midnight strolls and need for distraction, but they’d had enough family bonding for one night, and she didn’t want to interfere in anyone getting a good night’s sleep.
She caught her lower lip in her teeth, glanced longingly at the door. It wouldn’t be difficult to creep out and sneak her laptop into her room, then put it back before Matteo got up. Okay, sure, she was reneging on their bet, but it was either that or go mad. Of course, she could have solved the problem today at the library and added books for herself when she’d been gathering up a bunch for Gino. But Gino had been her primary focus. She hadn’t even thought about herself.
“A few hours won’t hurt,” she whispered to herself and slid out of bed. “He’ll never know.” Her door creaked as she pulled it open. She froze, waiting for Matteo to respond. The man had ears like bat sonar. But when his door remained closed, she breathed easier. With the moonlight streaming in through the windows, she tiptoed around the sofa bed where Gino slept and approached the kitchenette table. She clicked on the small desk lamp she’d brought in from her bedroom.
She’d just unplugged her computer when she heard what sounded like crying coming from behind her. Instinct had her abandoning her laptop. Gino’s breathing wasn’t quite so even now, and he was thrashing about as if he’d gotten caught up in a nightmare. “No. No, Mama. I don’t wanna go. Don’t make me go. I wanna stay with Daddy.”
“Gino?” Peyton sat on the springy mattress and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Gino, wake up, sweetheart. It’s just a dream.”
“No, Mama, no.” His gut-wrenching sob struck Peyton right in her heart.
“Gino, wake up. Come on.” She took hold of his hand, rested her other on his cheek as he blinked awake. “Hey. It’s all right, Gino. You’re fine. You’re safe here with your father.”
“Peyton?” He didn’t sound convinced she was real. He scrubbed his hands into his eyes, down his damp cheeks. “It’s really you?”
“It is, baby.” She tucked him onto her lap the way she used to with Fiona when she had bad dreams. She rocked him, smoothing his hair as he curled into her. Clung to her. “Bad dreams are the worst, aren’t they?” Especially when they feature people who are supposed to do what’s best for us. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
“I don’t want to go to boarding school.”
“All right.” She nodded.
“Mama and Jiro argued about it. Really loud. Mama said that she made up her mind and that I’d be going. Because she doesn’t want me anymore. She’s having a new baby.”
Peyton squeezed her eyes shut, clinging to Gino as much as he continued to hold on to her. “Just because she’s having a new baby doesn’t mean she doesn’t want you, Gino.” She pressed her lips against his temple. “It just means things are going to change.”
“I heard her say it.” Gino sniffed. “I was s’posed to be asleep, but I heard her and Jiro talking. Don’t let them send me away. I want to stay with Daddy.”
“I know you do, little man.” She took a deep breath. “And your father’s going to do everything he can to make that happen. You know that, right?”
“I guess. Boarding school sounds scary. They put you in a room with other kids. Like all the time. I like my own room. And it’s not like home at all. I wouldn’t have any of my things, and I wouldn’t see Mama or Jiro anymore.” He’d started crying again, hiccuping to the point of coughing.
“You’re not going to go to boarding school,” Peyton whispered. It was so hard, so impossibly hard, not to cast judgment on Matteo’s ex-wife. How could she even think about sending a six-year-old off to boarding school? It seemed so...cruel. “You know how I know you’re not?”
“No.”
“Because neither your father nor I will let that happen.” It was a promise she shouldn’t make, but she couldn’t help herself. Gino’s brain, his heart, couldn’t take the constant uncertainty of his future. He needed stability. He needed a place for his roots to take shape and begin to grow. He needed his father. Just as she’d had Rudy after her own dad had left; as much as she’d missed Thomas Blackwell, as much as she may have disagreed with her mother’s choice to keep him a secret from her sisters, when all was said and done, Rudy had been the steadying force her life had needed. “Do you trust me, Gino?”
She felt him nod against her chest. “Yeah.”
“I take that very seriously, Gino. Because I know how hard it is to do.” So hard. Sometimes impossibly hard to trust. “So I want you to believe me when I tell you that I’m going to do everything I can to make certain you stay with your father.”
“And no boarding school?”
“No boarding school. You will still have to go to school, though.” She looked down at him, felt her heart flutter when he gave her a teasing grin.
“I don’t have to go to school. You’re teaching me good. So’s Daddy. I can already do my alphabet.”
“And we want you to keep getting better. So, how about we make a deal. You stop worrying about boarding school, and I’ll see what I can do about making sure you can stay with your dad.”
“And you?” Gino asked, pinching his fingers around her hand. “I wanna stay with you, too.”
She snuggled him closer. “I appreciate that, little man.” More than her heart could take. “But I’m not your mom. And you and your dad will have great adventures together on your own.” Her chest hurt, the regret pressing in on her. She wasn’t in a position to promise anything other than what she had. As much as she’d come to love Gino, care about Matteo—and she cared about him a lot—she knew a family, a husband, children, it wasn’t in the cards for her. She’d chosen her path a long time ago. She was doing what she loved to do, what she wanted to do. Asking for more, for the impossible, wasn’t fair. To anyone.
“You think you can get back to sleep now?”
“Uh-huh.” He yawned, but when she went to shift him back into bed, he grabbed hold of her. That lost-little-boy expression spoke to her. She’d known, from the moment he’d appeared with his father on her doorstep, that he was going to slide into her life, into her heart. Now she remembered worrying that Gino would be the one to get hurt when she and Matteo went their separate ways. Little did she know she’d be dealing with fallout, too.
She’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit to fantasizing about a family of her own, but it was one she’d never let herself be a part of. She was too driven. Too selfish. Too...her own person to try to be something she wasn’t. She skimmed a hand over Gino’s forehead. She couldn’t be everything he and Matteo needed. But she could do everything in her power to make sure father and son remained together.
“Would you feel better if I stayed with you until you do?”
He nodded, his fingers loosening as he scooted over to make room for her. She barely had time to stretch out before he rolled toward her again, curling into her as if she was his shelter in the storm. “I love you, Peyton.”
“I love you, too, little man.” Despite knowing it was the wrong thing, despite fearing she was only setting herself up for heartbreak, she relaxed and waited for him to fall asleep.
She then slipped from the sofa bed, retrieved her laptop and cell phone and got to work digging up contact information for Matteo’s ex-wife.
“I’M GOING TO need a shower just from carving pumpkins.”
Matteo glanced up from his laptop as Peyton walked in, hands and shirt covered in what he hoped was pumpkin guts. “You know where it is.” His gaze flicked back to his screen, but he kept an ear on her.
“I was only joking.” She beelined for the kitchen sink and washed up. “Gino’s having a ball helping Hadley and her staff carve pumpkins for Halloween. Definitely something for you to keep in mind next year when you have him all to yourself. What are you doing?”
“Reading up on wireless hacking and malware location programs.”
“Oh, sexy. You know, Electryone helped develop software security for programs like that. You can email Todd for the information.”
“Already did.” He managed a quick smile. “You all have that antimalware app on your phones, don’t you?”
“Sure do. We don’t endorse or work on projects we don’t take on ourselves. Why?” She came up behind him. “What’s this about?”
He hesitated. He could lie. Maybe he should, but trust worked both ways. She’d trusted him with her safety. He needed to trust her with the truth. He reached back for her hand and drew her around the table. “I’m trying to figure out how someone tracked you to Montana.”
Her eyes narrowed, suspicion almost overtaking the flash of fear. Almost. She lowered herself into the chair, dish towel clutched in her lap. “You think someone followed us out here after all?”
“I do. And I’m pretty sure they used your own security program to do it.”
“But...the only people who have access to that side of things would work...” She trailed off, her confused eyes easy to read.
“For Electryone. Yes.” He nodded. “I’ve already been in touch with Vilette, and I’m having my people take another run at all Electryone employees. In the meantime, I need you to give me access to your phone.”
“Sure.” She rose and retrieved her cell from where she’d stashed it next to Gino’s now-forgotten video game, rattled off her pass code. “It’s my sisters’ birthdays. In case you need it again.”
He tapped the screens, deactivated the security app she’d installed, then accessed her IP information to delete her locations. The damage was probably already done, but better safe than sorry. “How did you leave things with Mr. Josiah?”
“Ambiguous,” she said with a hint of venom in her voice. “That tends to happen after the topic of a lawsuit is broached.”
Considering how razor-sharp her tongue could be, he imagined Mr. Josiah carried a few wounds from the conversation. “I’m going to need you to call him, so he’ll give us access to his computer system.”
She snorted. “I don’t see that happening. He’s gone to ground.”
“Then, I’ll talk to him. I need to see your file.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“What?” he asked.
“Just wondering if this is a professional or personal inquiry.”
“As in, am I curious about potential competition?” He smiled and took inappropriate pleasure in the flush that crept up her cheeks. Unable to resist the temptation of her full mouth, Matteo stood, walked around, bent down and pressed his lips against hers. That instant heat flared up again, proving the chemistry between them wasn’t anywhere close to going dormant. He eventually broke the kiss. “I’m feeling pretty secure about myself these days in that area.”
“I’ll bet you are,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Does this whole tracking thing have something to do with you disappearing after lunch this afternoon?”
“I wanted to check on that truck I saw yesterday.” He returned to his chair. “The guy from the store. I asked around at a few of the businesses in town if they’d seen him. No luck. I even spoke with the manager at the motel just outside of town, but no one remembers seeing him or the truck after yesterday afternoon.”
“Maybe he was just passing through.”
“Maybe.” But his gut didn’t agree. Not by a long shot. “A truck like that, he can camp out in it easy. Doesn’t need to find a place to hole up.”
“Which also makes finding him more difficult.” She frowned. “You know, we still haven’t answered the question we had back in California. What is it this guy thinks I’ve done?”
“Something I plan to ask him when I track him down. From now on, I want you sticking close to the lodge, to Hadley and Ty and Katie. The more people around, the better. And just...”
“Be aware of anyone unfamiliar? Should be easy enough on a guest ranch.”
“There’s one other thing.” He hesitated to mention it, but he needed as many advantages as he could get. “We have to come clean about why you really came out here. I want to talk to the local sheriff, and then we need to tell the Blackwells.”
She sighed, sat back in her chair and, for a second, looked as if she was going to pout. “There’s really no way to keep this to ourselves?”
“There is. But I don’t think you’d forgive yourself if this guy came after you, and Lily or Rosie or someone else on the ranch got hurt somehow. Especially if you could have done something as minor as coming clean to prevent it.”
“Not to mention Gino,” Peyton said, and he nodded. “All right. We’ll tell them. And while you’re at it, you might want to think about giving Big E a call and filling him in. Just one thing.” She held up her index finger. “Let me tell Lily? She’s going to be ticked enough to hear I’ve lied to her again. I’d rather you stay out of that crossfire. I’ll speak to her first thing in the morning.”
“Deal.”
“THERE YOU GO. Here’s another one, Goldie.” Peyton shifted another apple free of her jacket pocket and held it out for the horse to gobble. She stroked Goldie’s nose, offering a smile of comfort as the animal shifted and tried to nuzzle closer.
“Never thought I’d see the day you surrendered your laptop for a saddle.”
Peyton flinched at Lily’s comment. They’d reformed a bond the other night on the hayride. She hated the idea of damaging that now. “I haven’t. Not permanently.” She gave the horse another pat and stepped back. “I lost a bet with Matteo, so I’m technology-free for the rest of my stay.” For the most part. Not that Matteo needed to know she’d spent over an hour on the phone this morning with his ex-wife. He would. Soon enough. It wasn’t something she’d be able to keep secret.
“So, I’m a distraction? That’s why you had Hadley call me to come over this morning?”
“Yep.” She walked over to Matteo’s rescue horse and set the last apple she’d taken from breakfast on the ledge of the stall door. “Hadley didn’t come down with you?”
“No. She’s checking in a last-minute guest.”
“Gino and I are going on a shorter trail walk this morning with some of the day guests. But before we do...” Peyton hedged. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something I probably should have told you from the start but...”
“Finally.” Lily crossed her arms and leaned against the wood-paneled wall. “I knew you were keeping something from me. Let me guess. Matteo’s not your assistant.”
Peyton’s face flushed before she turned around and saw her sister waggling her eyebrows. “No, he’s not.”
“Note my shocked face.” Lily rolled her eyes. “Like anyone believes that. No one has an assistant who looks like that. So, why all the secrecy? Is this about Dad bugging us to get married? You’re using Matteo as a decoy? Oh! Did you meet Matteo through that matchmaker dude you’ve been working with?”
“No, I did not!” The very idea of Matteo joining up with a matchmaking service... She had to struggle not to laugh. “Matteo’s my...well, he’s my—”
“Spit it out already! The sooner you admit it, the better off we’ll all be. He’s your boyfriend.”
“Bodyguard,” Peyton said it at the same time. “Matteo is my bodyguard. See, there’s been this thing going on at work...” And from there, the entire story spilled out like the floodgates had opened. “I know I promised when I got here that I wouldn’t lie to you anymore, and I probably shouldn’t have.” She moved closer until she was standing nose to nose with her little sister. “But I didn’t want you, any of you, to worry, but now Matteo thinks—”
“Stop, Peyton.” Lily rested her hands on Peyton’s shoulders and squeezed. “Just stop and breathe.”
“Right.” She was normally so controlled, so utterly and completely, that she came across as robotic at times. But around her sisters and those she cared about the most, it was as if her emotions surged to the surface and broke free on their own. “Okay. Breathing.” She inhaled slowly. “I guess I thought the faster I got it out the less you’d be ticked at me for lying to you again.”
“Well, there is a slight difference between not wanting to tell us there’s some scary guy out there looking for you and keeping our paternity a secret.” Lily looked amused enough to be joking. Almost. “But just so we’re clear.” She leaned closer and frowned. “Are you all right? How dangerous is this guy?”
Peyton shrugged. “Not sure. My boss was convinced it wasn’t something to ignore, then Big E stuck his nose in, and Matteo chimed in, so...” She waved her arms in the air. “Here I am.”
“While I don’t like the idea of anyone coming after you, I’m grateful you came here. I like having you around. You seem different. More relaxed since you got here. Must be that lack of computer time, or...” She arched a brow. “Are you sure Matteo isn’t anything more than your bodyguard?”
Peyton’s face flushed, negating any protest she might have made.
“I knew it.” Lily’s face split into a huge grin. “Oh, this is going to make a great video chat tonight when I call Amanda.” She tucked her arms around Peyton and led her out of Ethan’s clinic and into the fresh air. “Let’s back up, start at the beginning. And don’t leave a single detail out.”
“SO, YOU’RE TELLING us that our grandfather’s solution to Peyton being stalked was to send her out here to us?” Ben Blackwell leaned back in his desk chair at his law office and aimed a particularly irritated gaze at Matteo. “Without telling us the real reason she’s here.”
“Pretty much.” Matteo wondered if Ben Blackwell had any idea how similar he was to Big E, with maybe a bit haughtier edge than the old man. Matteo had to give the brothers credit, though. When he’d talked to Ty yesterday and asked to meet with Peyton’s cousins—three of whom had yet to even meet her—he’d put it together pretty darn quick. Then again, Matteo got the impression mentioning Big E’s involvement moved things into top speed.
Ethan and Ty sat on the sofa, silent as ghosts as Jon and Chance stood nearby, tension wafting off them in waves. It was odd, Matteo thought, to see Chance Blackwell, award-winning, bestselling music artist standing in a wood-paneled lawyer’s office in the middle of a tiny town in Montana. About as odd as Matteo felt standing there himself.
Theirs was a family history further disrupted by the reveal of Thomas Blackwell and his five grown daughters. Family dynamics, Matteo thought. Both intriguing and...confusing.
“And now you’re saying you’re pretty sure whoever has been targeting her followed her to Montana?” Jon said in a slow, deliberate manner.
“I can’t prove it. Yet,” Matteo admitted. He also had to admit the five brothers together felt a bit intimidating. And for a man who had seen combat duty and protected various high-status clients, he was impressed. “But I’ve been in the protection business long enough to know not to ignore my gut. It’s just by chance we saw him in town the other day. I’ve given a description to your local sheriff, but I’m not sure what good that’ll do.”
“Was Louise manning the station’s front desk?” Ty asked.
“Yeah.” He’d met the middle-aged, silver-haired woman just a few hours ago.
“Then, you did the right thing,” Ethan said with a humorless laugh. “By now everyone in Falcon Creek knows what’s going on and who to be on the lookout for. He can’t keep hidden for long if that’s what he’s trying to do. Man either has no idea about small towns, or—”
“Or he doesn’t care,” Ben finished. “The police back in California don’t have any idea why Peyton’s been targeted?”
“No.” And that only added to Matteo’s frustration. His call to the detectives this morning had only left everyone with more questions. “Look, I don’t want any of you to think I was purposely putting any of you or your families in danger.”
“We don’t,” Ty said. “But this situation does explain a whole lot. Like why you wanted the tour of the property.”
“Just wanted to be aware of access points and how the property lines were secured.”
“We might want to have the ranch hands do a check to be safe,” Ben suggested to Ty, who was already pulling out his cell phone. “Tell them to watch for the truck. The more eyes we have on—”
“Watch.” The word turned Matteo’s blood to ice. “Watch. That was it. That’s what I remember seeing.”
“What’s he talking about?” Chance asked as Matteo grabbed his case and hauled out his laptop.
“I knew there was something I couldn’t connect,” Matteo muttered as he powered up and waited to access the file for the security footage from Electryone. “The guy who delivered the flowers to Peyton’s office.”
“The guy whose face you couldn’t see?”
“Yes.” Matteo clicked to fast-forward through the tape. Then stopped it, zoomed in. His heart picked up speed as the pieces began to fall into place. “There.” He tapped the screen. “Right there. His watch. That’s an antique. A distinctive one. And the guy at Brewster’s was wearing one just like it.”
“Wearing something like that tells me it has sentimental value,” Chance said.
“I don’t know many stalkers who suffer from sentimentality,” Ben chimed in.
“Know that many of them, do you?” Jon asked innocently.
Ben glared. “Still don’t have a face to go with the watch, though, do you?”
“No,” Matteo agreed. “But it’s something else to add to the list.”
“You should call Peyton. See if maybe she recognizes it.”
“She and Gino went out trail riding a few hours ago,” Ty said before Matteo could. He glanced at his watch. “They aren’t scheduled to be at the ranch for another hour or so.”
“Besides,” Matteo added. “She doesn’t have her cell phone.” And that could be Matteo’s one miscalculation in all this. How could he have slipped so badly? Separating her from her phone could put her in direct danger.
“Still couldn’t hurt to call someone,” Ben suggested.
“I’ll phone Hadley,” Ty said. “Chance, you call Katie. Find out for sure where Peyton is. And fill them in on the rest. We’ll make sure Peyton isn’t alone.”
“Right.” Chance pulled out his cell.
“I should have said something sooner,” Matteo confessed. “I could have used all your help.”
“You did what you thought was right at the time,” Ben told him. “Look, if you want to beat yourself up about it, no skin off my nose, but keep in mind, Big E didn’t let on to any of us. And he would have if he thought she was in trouble up here.” He pulled out his cell when it rang, turned his back on them to answer it.
“True. Our grandfather’s many things,” Jon said, “but he’d never put his family in jeopardy. He sent you guys here because he thought it was the safest place for Peyton to be.” Jon rested a hand on Matteo’s shoulder. “If she wasn’t safe before, she definitely is now. You tell us what we need to do to keep her safe, and we’re with you.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“You thought we’d say otherwise?” Ethan’s arched brow noted irritation. “She’s family, Matteo. She’s ours. Family you’ve taken it upon yourself to protect. That goes a long way with us.”
“Heads up.” Chance held his phone against his chest. “Katie got a call from the trail guide. Gino has an upset stomach, so Peyton and he headed back to the ranch a little over a half hour ago.”
“Another reason for me to head over there now,” Matteo said, but before he logged off, he sent a screenshot of the video to Peyton via email. “I’ll try calling her on the way.”
“Hold up.” Ben held up his hand as Matteo packed up his laptop, finished talking to whomever had called him. “We’re coming, too. That was the sheriff. He just got a call from Ship Haply, who was driving into town earlier. He spotted the guy’s truck this morning.” He grabbed his jacket and stopped long enough to add, “It was on the way to the ranch.”