Billionaire Bachelors 3 ; The Billionaire Falls(29)

Chad changed quickly and headed down to the bunkhouses where the ranch foreman was. He was alert to everything around him. He noticed the men working on the fence off to his right and the guy to his left feeding the horses. He wasn't an easy man to sneak around. He would catch this stalker in a matter of days if not hours.

He wasn't a cocky man, he was just incredibly confident. He'd been in the military for almost twenty years and those years had taught him well. There were few people in his life he would drop everything for. Mark happened to be one of those select men.

If it hadn't been for Mark and his family, his life would have turned out significantly different. They had believed in him and helped him get out of the horrible circumstances he'd been in, to make a success out of his life.

Chad shook off the distracting thoughts and stepped through the bunk house's doors. He spotted the foreman right away, along with a couple of other ranch hands sitting down at a table.

He walked up to the men with his usual confidence and introduced himself.

"Hi I'm Chad, Mark hired me and said to come on down here to get set up," Chad said, while sticking out his hand.

The men eyed him warily, as if sizing up a new cow. The foreman finally stood and Chad was impressed with the man's acting skills. A normal observer would never know they knew each other.

"Good to meet you Chad, I'm Bob, the foreman here," he said and clasped his hand.

"Good to meet you as well." 

"Why don't you get settled in today and get the lay of the land. You can begin work tomorrow," Bob said, giving Chad the time he needed in order to scope out the area and do some snooping through the hands things.

Once the other men headed back out to do their work, Chad and Bob sat down and discussed things. Bob promised to keep the men away from the bunkhouse between three and five. Chad headed out to survey the grounds.

He didn't see anything suspicious right off but he didn't have much time and would have to do a more thorough search the next day. He really wanted to go through the hands rooms. He was far more likely to find suspicious items there.

At three on the dot he slipped back into the bunkhouse, without anyone seeing him and began searching through the men's belongings.

"It's time to get out of here for a while. The guys can take care of the kids. I'm in desperate need of a pedicure," Jessica said to Emily and Amy.

"Ooh great thinking Jess, I'll let Lucas know and be ready to leave in twenty minutes. I just want to change," Amy said and then dashed off towards her room.

"That does sound nice. I hate to leave Trevor with everything going on though," Emily added.

"He'll be fine. No one can get through our men," Jessica reassured her.

Emily really loved to think of Mark as her man. She wasn't really sure where they stood but so far things seemed to be just about as perfect as they could get. Well, as perfect as things could be while she was being stalked by some unknown psycho.

"You're right, of course. I'll go change and be down quickly," Emily conceded and ran up to change.

"Be careful and don't stay gone to long," Mark said to Emily. He knew he would be worried about her while she was out. He also knew she needed some time away from the house. Her nerves were fried.

"Try not to max out the charge cards," Lucas teased them.

"I'm sorry but we cannot make any promises," Amy told her husband with a wink. Lucas smiled as they headed out the doors. Amy was so much more confident from the woman he'd met years ago. She was still far too frugal but she finally felt like an equal in the marriage. He'd drummed into her head money was nothing without love and she finally felt she could go out with the girls, without having to justify every little purchase. He was relieved about it.

"I love that woman," Lucas said as the three women disappeared down the driveway.

"Ditto, Brother," Alex said.

"I'm right there with you," Mark added. Both brothers turned to smile at Mark. They were happy he seemed to have found the one. The fact she came with an instant family was an added bonus.

"I can't believe how hard we all fought to hold on to our bachelorhood. What the hell were we thinking?" Alex asked.

"Seriously," Lucas agreed.

"I thought falling in love with just one woman would be the end of me but watching you guys with your wives and how happy they've made you over the years has really put a longing in me for something more. I've felt like there was something missing. I still was determined not to get married but since Emily has stepped into my life I can't seem to think of anything else," Mark said.

"At least we found our own women without Dad's meddling," Lucas said.

The three men laughed at what they perceived as their independence. Joseph happened to be around the corner and heard his three sons talking. He laughed to himself. Someday he would tell them the truth, or maybe not.