Page 37 of The Moments You Were Mine
“Let us know if you hear anything more,” Dad said.
As Kurt slammed the tailgate shut and headed for the driver’sdoor, Dad and I turned and strode toward the hotel.
“Everything okay, Ms. Harr—er, Fallon?” Chuck called out from the barn doors.
I gave him a curt nod and continued moving toward the back of the main house, where the entrance reserved for staff was located.
“That kid’s got a crush on you the size of Texas,” Dad said.
“I’m not doing anything to encourage it,”
“You don’t have to. Just being you is enough.”
I rolled my eyes, but his words hit me in the chest. I wasn’t sure how Dad could still see the good in me after all that had gone down in San Diego. I’d screwed up. I’d been a selfish coward, and in many ways, it was JJ who’d paid the price for it.
If I’d never taken him back the first time, or if I’d really been able to love him the way he’d wanted, he would never have been tempted to do all the things he’d done to try to keep me. I knew it was ridiculous to think it. I wasn’t responsible for his actions. I hadn’t asked him to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and then steal drugs to get out of debt, but I still couldn’t shake the guilt I had for leading him on, for pretending I could be someone I wasn’t.
I swallowed over the lump in my throat and focused back on the cow so I wouldn’t start crying. “We haven’t had any cougar sightings in several years.”
“I’m not sure what would have tempted one down this far. The resort activity usually keeps them away.” Dad’s jaw was tight, teeth grinding together. It was an old habit that, much like my nail-biting, I’d thought he’d put behind him.
Dad stopped me before we reached the hotel management offices we’d carved out of the old servant quarters. “Maybe I should stay a bit longer.”
His eyes were troubled when I met them. I shook my head. “No. You can’t disappoint Sadie and the kids. They’ve been looking forward to your summer in Australia, and you need to be there when you open the resort in Port Douglas.”
“It’s winter there. I think Caro and Spencey are going to be disappointed in the weather.”
I laughed and shrugged. “Maybe, but every time I talk tothem, they’ve added something new to their to-do list. You’ll be lucky to have an hour of quiet in two months.”
He chuckled, his love for my siblings evident in his face.
Dad had taken a step back from his leadership role at Marquess Enterprises, but he was still the face of the company and still had a hand in developing each project. The resort in Australia had been a colossal undertaking that he and Sadie needed to celebrate finishing.
When Dad reached out and tugged on my braid in much the way Parker used to, my heart nearly seized. His brows furrowed as he asked, “Are you sure you want this? We can still sell the ranch if you’ve found new dreams to follow.”
After my birthday dinner last night, Dad had handed me the official paperwork transferring the estate and the Harrington trust into my name. From here on out, the ranch’s success or failure was on me, and I had no intention of letting it fail. What was the saying?Failure isn’t an option. And it wasn’t.
“I did what you asked, Dad. I went to college and explored all the possible careers and futures I could have, but the simple truth is, this is where I truly belong. I need the ranch as much as it needs me. Taking care of the land and our legacy isn’t a burden. It’s a gift, and there’s nothing I want more.”
I wasn’t sure he understood my view, seeing as he’d given up his portion of the ranch for a wad of cash after my mom had betrayed him. She’d eloped with Spencer days before she was supposed to marry Dad, and it had sent him running away, even knowing she was pregnant with me. My father had taken the money and started his bar business in Las Vegas, leaving me here with Mom and Spencer. He hadn’t returned once to Rivers until after his brother had been killed.
“Spencer would be gloating if he heard you say that,” Dad said, his voice turning gravelly with emotions.
Dad drew me to him, hugging me tight, and my arms surrounded him with an ease that still surprised us both when, a decade ago, I’d thought he was the enemy for leaving me and the ranch behind. A wave of affection hit me so intensely it nearly closed my throat.
“I love you, Dad.”
His arms tightened even more, and his voice was still gruff ashe said, “I promised you’d never face anything bad on your own again.”
“And you’ve kept that promise, Dad. You were there in San Diego, and I’m not alone here. We have so many people working the ranch that I can barely blink without seeing someone.”
“You call, and I’ll be back in a flash.”
I stepped away and laughed. “Well, it’ll take a minimum of a day to get to California from Australia, and you’d have to go back through time to do it.”
He nudged my chin. “Superhero, traveling through time to get to his family.” He turned serious. “I’d do it, Ducky. Anything you need. I mean it. And if that loser JJ, or that scum Ace, even breathes around you, I want to know.”
The drugs and cash in our apartment had come back with JJ’s prints, and while Detective Harris couldn’t prove it, he highly suspected JJ was offloading the drugs through Ace and his network. If it was true, Ace had gotten out of prison in January only to immediately return to his old ways.
