His jaw tightened. It meant it would take him a little longer to track her down. But track her down he would. And when he did...
Just as he heard the helicopter approaching, the doorbell rang. What now? Yanking open the door, he met the face of a surprised deliveryman. “Package for Garrett Trask.” The short, balding man held up a clipboard, a brown box under his arm.
“About time.” Garrett scrawled his signature. Grabbing the box, he threw a tip to the startled delivery guy. “I’ve got a chopper to catch.”
###
Maddie drove steadily, aware of the miles flashing by. In a few hours she’d land in Portland, and her life would return to her old routine. A life without Garrett.
She’d done the right thing. She knew she had. So why was a little voice inside her head screaming at her to turn around the car and go back?
As she approached a junction, she hesitated. Should she return? Maybe the situation wasn’t quite so dire as Carol had made out. If she got the job at the library in Elk View Corner, perhaps she and Garrett could live frugally but happily on the ranch.
The junction loomed ahead. Just as she’d made her decision, the whirring blades of a helicopter filled her ears. Maddie peered through the windscreen. A helicopter hovered above her, keeping pace with her.
“What?” She bit her lip, trying to concentrate on her driving. Luckily, there wasn’t much traffic on either side of the highway. The helicopter moved ahead of her, a man’s arm emerging out of the door and waving at her. Maddie stopped breathing for an instant when she saw Garrett’s face appear.
She slowed down, veering onto the shoulder of the road, her heart hammering. With trembling hands she turned off the ignition. What was going on? Garrett didn’t have a helicopter.
The ‘copter landed in front of her. Maddie watched, hypnotized, as the blades slowly whirled to a stop. The door opened and Garrett dashed toward her.
She opened her door and got out, leaning against the red metal of the car for support.
“Maddie!” Garrett crushed her in his arms. “Thank God I found you.”
“Garrett.” Her voice was muffled against his hard chest. “What—”
“Shh.” He held her tightly, as if he would never let her go. Stroking her hair, he finally pulled away from her slightly to look into her face. “What did you think you were doing?”
It felt so good to be in his arms once more. Once she'd explained, how could she find the strength to leave him again?
“It’s in my note,” she said helplessly, staring up at him, committing every detail of his face to memory.#p#分页标题#e#
He shook his head. “Not everything.” A muscle pulsed in his jaw. “Carol doesn’t know the full story.”
“But I won’t let you lose the ranch. And you will if—”
He placed a warm finger against her lips. “No. I won’t.”
Her eyes widened, hope fluttering in her heart.
“Let me explain.” His eyes gleamed with love and passion.
She nodded, wishing she could stay in his embrace forever.
“My grandfather did write a will, leaving his grandsons nothing if we married or were involved in a permanent relationship. My brothers and I knew about it the whole time we were growing up. And we were all determined not to let that man rule our lives.” Garrett sighed. “He was a very bitter old guy. He’d always been difficult to live with, but he got worse as he got older. My grandmother, who was a wonderful woman, eventually couldn’t take any more. She fell in love with a schoolteacher in town, and they moved to Pennsylvania. My grandfather couldn’t accept what had happened and made that stupid will.”
He threaded his hand through her loose hair, her spine tingling at his sensual touch. “Sweetheart, we all knew we’d have to make our own way in life. The estate pays us a generous sum every month, as long as we’re not in a relationship. But none of us care about the money.” He grimaced. “It did come in handy for college, and afterwards, when I was getting started, but as soon as I could I gave it all to charity. And I still do. Every month.”
“But what about Farley?” Maddie whispered. Was it possible they could be together?
A shadow crossed his face. “Farley’s death was a blow, but I’m hardly bankrupt. When I said I could support you, I meant it.”
She gazed up at him, her arms tightening around his back. “And your father?”
Garrett chuckled. “He runs a bed-and-breakfast with Mom in Vermont. My grandfather cut him out of the will completely because he took my grandmother’s side when she finally left him.” He added ruefully, “My parents refuse to take money from any of us, even money we‘ve made ourselves.”