JOSH WALKED THROUGH JBD’s design studio remembering when Rex had first asked him about looking over Riley’s portfolio. Never in a million years would he have imagined that Riley was as talented as those sketches had proven her to be. Then again, he never would have imagined himself so in love with the woman he’d spent years crushing on. He assumed that once he’d left Weston, he’d never see her again. Now he stood beside her desk, and sadness slithered around his heart once again. How could she ever feel the same about New York—or JBD—or him, after this?
He reached into his pocket to answer his ringing cell phone.
“Hi, Dad.” He tried to muster a smile.
“Son.” His father’s deep voice stirred the emotions he’d been holding back all morning, causing a fissure in his iron facade. “I hear you’re comin’ home Wednesday. That right?”
Hal Braden had a special bond with each of his children, and he handled each one different from the next. He didn’t pressure them to visit, and he didn’t pressure them to do much of anything in particular, but he was the one his children turned to when they were considering life-altering decisions, and at that moment, Josh couldn’t have wished for a better ear to bend.
“Yes. Wednesday.” He hesitated in spilling his guts to his father, though the little boy in him screamed, Dad, tell me what to do. Please tell me. Hal Braden didn’t believe in computers and didn’t really understand the enormity of the press. Josh hoped his brothers and Savannah wouldn’t worry their father with his issues, although by now, he was sure the Weston grapevine was buzzing. He bided his time, waiting to see if his father brought it up.
“Good. You talk to Dane lately?” he asked.
“Not in a while, why?”
“Just thought you might want to. I get a feelin’ he’s in need of a little time with his family. He’s coming home for Christmas, but he could probably do with a call if you can fit it in.” He heard the worry in his father’s slow drawl.
Josh furrowed his brow and sat down in Riley’s chair. “Dad, is something wrong?”
His father sighed. “No, not wrong. I just got a feelin’ about him, much like I’ve got one about you.”
Josh and his siblings were used to hearing about their father’s feelings, or rather, worries that their father claimed came to him through their dead mother. Josh wasn’t sure if this was one of those times, but he’d call Dane and make sure he was okay.
“What do you mean about me?” Josh asked, knowing exactly what his father meant. He leaned back in the chair and stretched his legs.
“I hear Riley’s back in town,” his father said. “And a little bird tells me she’s run into a devil of a nightmare out there in the big city.”
Josh righted the chair, needing the stability beneath him. “I’m handling it.”
“I’m sure you are. Son, I also hear that you and Riley are together. That right?”
Josh had hoped to tell his father in person, to see his eyes and read his expression when he told him, but he’d never lie to him. “Yes, sir. We are.”
“Well, then, you make sure you nip this nonsense in the bud. Don’t let those highfalutin city folk shame our good name, you hear?”
If only it were that easy. “Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m standing behind Riley on this, and my gut tells me I’m right, but what if…?” He couldn’t force the words to come. They made him weak, selfish, and saying them out loud again felt akin to disrespecting Riley.
“What if she’s not the woman you believe her to be?” His father cleared his throat. “Son, there’s no easy way around that question, and I can’t tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, but I can tell you what your mother would have said in this very situation.”
“Please.” Josh heard the urgency in his own voice.
“Your mama was a heart-driven woman, but she was the smartest woman I ever met. Stubborn, too. Once her heart made a decision, she’d chew on it for a bit, mull over the ins and outs of the sanity of it, and she’d come away with a big smack-eatin’ grin and she’d have her answer. She’d look me in the eye and say, ‘This one just might bite me in the arse, but darn it, my heart cannot survive without it.’ Ask yourself, son. Can your heart live without her? Once you figure that out, you’ll have your answer.”
Josh shook his head. “But Mom’s decisions wouldn’t tank her career.” Josh clenched his fists and he had to force them to relax.
“Don’t you go down that line with me, Josh Braden.” His father’s stern tone caught him off guard. Before Josh could answer, his father continued. “Your mother’s life was every bit as important as yours. Her career was her family, this ranch, me, you, and every one of your siblings. When she made decisions, she had seven other people’s lives relying on it. She held your life in her hands.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. I’m just confused. I’ve worked hard to get where I am.”
“Yes, you have, and your mother worked her rear off to get our family to be who we are. You think that was easy? You think it didn’t come with her own understanding that one mistake could turn the Braden name into a laughingstock? Heck, in this small town, one wrong move could shut down a ranch. Josh, I’m not angry at you, but darn it son, gain a bit of perspective. People matter. Family matters. The rest of that garbage—fame, cars, high-rise apartments—it’ll all mean nothing without a full heart.”
AFTER THE ABRUPTNESS of his father’s words sank in, Josh took one final look at Riley’s desk, then headed into the security room to check on Reggie.
“How’s it going?” Josh asked.
Reggie stopped the video he was watching and leaned his large body back in the chair, crossing his right ankle over his left knee. Then he clasped his hands behind his head. A wide grin spread across his lips.
“Well, if the videos I’ve watched are any indication of what’s to come, I’d say your hunch is right, and we’ll probably come up with something soon.”
“Really? What have you found?” Hope swelled in his chest.
“Not much. Just little things. Body language, the way Claudia watches the others like a hawk.” He shrugged. “Could be that she’s just a nosy woman, but I’ve got a feeling there’s more to it. She’s really focused on Riley. Lookie here.” He rewound the video and pressed play.
Josh watched Claudia eyeing Riley as she walked away, her eyes running up and down the length of Riley’s body. She narrowed her eyes, and a sneer curled her thin lips.
Reggie turned it off again and sat back. “Might be nothing, but I’ve seen women look that way before, and trust me, it’s never a good thing.”
“You must really have a solid grip on people by now, huh?” Josh asked. “What’s your take on Riley?”
“With all due respect, Josh, until we have a definite answer, I think I’ll reserve my right to pass judgment.”
Pass judgment? On Riley? That flash of anger that had surprised Josh over the last few days rose within him again. He crossed his arms to keep it reined in. Did he think Riley was up to no good? Did he see something in her Josh did not?
“Don’t get yourself all riled up,” Reggie said. “She’s your other half at the moment. I don’t want to say anything until I’m certain.”
At the moment? “Okay, fair enough,” Josh said.
“I’d like to work through the evening if you don’t mind, since the holiday’s coming up so fast. I’ve got their passwords to get into their files. You can leave me here if you have plans. Is there a security guard who can lock up?”
Josh scrubbed his face with his hand. “I’ll stick around.”
“Suit yourself. Oh, and your sister said to tell you, ‘Don’t even think about not coming home on Wednesday.’” Reggie turned back to the computer.
“Oh, I plan on it, unless this mess explodes in our faces.”