barely sleeping, Richard’s God knows where and I don’t know how much longer I can hold this together. You’ve always been the strongest of us all. The best of us. Come back to us, please, if you could just consider it.”
“ I have a life here. A woman I don’t want to leave behind.” There, he’d admitted it. “You’re asking me to walk her into that?”
“ No. I—no.” His mother sounded defeated. “I didn’t realize.”
Sawyer paced. He ’d been pacing ever since he picked up the phone.
“ I’ll let you go,” she murmured.
“ I’ll come alone. I’ll give you one month and I can be there by mid next week, but I can’t help you if you don’t co-operate. Buy back the stock. Get me a seat on the board. I’ll send you my CV. Tell my father to give that to the board as well. Tell him I’ll not be his yes man but I will support good management decisions. Tell him I know damn well that he’s always been good at those. Unless it involved Richard.”
“ Richard—”
“ Deserves what he gets.”
“ Cameron, we do this and he’ll come after you. I’m not guessing. I’m sure.”
“ I know. Where does he think I am now?”
“ I don’t think he knows.”
“ Tell him I’m on my way. And I will be, just give me a few days. Tell him I want my life back. And I want my family back, and I want to be able to offer the woman I love safety and security rather than a life full of fear. I’m not coming home to hold Richard’s hand, Mother. I am done with staying out of his way. I’m coming home to finish him.”
Chapter Nine
Sawyer had left. Ella heard the news third-hand when she went to Emerson’s Transport on Wednesday morning to find him. She wasn’t impressed. Gutted, more like. Upset enough to call in on Mardie at the saloon. Mardie, who’d taken one look at her and told Reese she was taking her lunch break now and had then proceeded to sit Ella down in front of a plate of fried food.
Sawyer phoned her while she was still at the bar contemplating the delights of fried onion rings dipped in mayonnaise. He was at his beach house in Washington. Ella didn ’t even know the name of the town, and it seemed a little late to ask.
“ I didn’t think you were leaving quite so soon. Couldn’t you have said goodbye?”
Mardie nodded vigorous agreement. Damn right he could have said goodbye.
“ I’ll be back on Friday – with a suit for the ball. I wasn’t exactly thinking in terms of goodbye.”
“ You weren’t?” Now she sounded tentative as well as needy.
“ I just have to sort out a couple of things while I’m here. I will be back, Ella. Don’t give my ticket away.”
“ I won’t.”
“ See you soon.”
“ Yeah.”
And then he was gone.
Ella met Mardie’s troubled gaze with one of her own. “He said he’d be back in time to take me to the ball.”
“ Yeah?” Mardie’s face brightened.
“ Do you think he will be?”
Mardie nodded. “Sawyer says he’s going to do something, he does it. That’s my experience of him. What’s yours?”
“ Same.”
“ See? We can’t both be wrong.”
Ella smiled wryly. “Pretty sure we can.”
Mardie rolled her eyes. “Hey, Reese. Is Sawyer going to get back here in time for Friday’s ball?”
“ Ask him,” said Reese.
“ See?” Mardie picked up a fried onion ring, dragged it through the mayonnaise and offered it to Ella, dripping and all. “Reese says he’ll be here, and Reese is male and never wrong.”
“ I heard that,” muttered Reese. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“ See?” Mardie murmured sagely. “Never. Wrong.”
Ella worked herself to exhaustion for two days solid, until on Friday lunchtime, her father ordered her to get on up to the house and stay there and get ready for the ball.
“ I haven’t heard from him these past two days,” she muttered, and her father stopped stacking hay and regarded her narrowly. “At all.”
“ Phone him.”
“ You think I should? He said
“ I have a life here. A woman I don’t want to leave behind.” There, he’d admitted it. “You’re asking me to walk her into that?”
“ No. I—no.” His mother sounded defeated. “I didn’t realize.”
Sawyer paced. He ’d been pacing ever since he picked up the phone.
“ I’ll let you go,” she murmured.
“ I’ll come alone. I’ll give you one month and I can be there by mid next week, but I can’t help you if you don’t co-operate. Buy back the stock. Get me a seat on the board. I’ll send you my CV. Tell my father to give that to the board as well. Tell him I’ll not be his yes man but I will support good management decisions. Tell him I know damn well that he’s always been good at those. Unless it involved Richard.”
“ Richard—”
“ Deserves what he gets.”
“ Cameron, we do this and he’ll come after you. I’m not guessing. I’m sure.”
“ I know. Where does he think I am now?”
“ I don’t think he knows.”
“ Tell him I’m on my way. And I will be, just give me a few days. Tell him I want my life back. And I want my family back, and I want to be able to offer the woman I love safety and security rather than a life full of fear. I’m not coming home to hold Richard’s hand, Mother. I am done with staying out of his way. I’m coming home to finish him.”
Chapter Nine
Sawyer had left. Ella heard the news third-hand when she went to Emerson’s Transport on Wednesday morning to find him. She wasn’t impressed. Gutted, more like. Upset enough to call in on Mardie at the saloon. Mardie, who’d taken one look at her and told Reese she was taking her lunch break now and had then proceeded to sit Ella down in front of a plate of fried food.
Sawyer phoned her while she was still at the bar contemplating the delights of fried onion rings dipped in mayonnaise. He was at his beach house in Washington. Ella didn ’t even know the name of the town, and it seemed a little late to ask.
“ I didn’t think you were leaving quite so soon. Couldn’t you have said goodbye?”
Mardie nodded vigorous agreement. Damn right he could have said goodbye.
“ I’ll be back on Friday – with a suit for the ball. I wasn’t exactly thinking in terms of goodbye.”
“ You weren’t?” Now she sounded tentative as well as needy.
“ I just have to sort out a couple of things while I’m here. I will be back, Ella. Don’t give my ticket away.”
“ I won’t.”
“ See you soon.”
“ Yeah.”
And then he was gone.
Ella met Mardie’s troubled gaze with one of her own. “He said he’d be back in time to take me to the ball.”
“ Yeah?” Mardie’s face brightened.
“ Do you think he will be?”
Mardie nodded. “Sawyer says he’s going to do something, he does it. That’s my experience of him. What’s yours?”
“ Same.”
“ See? We can’t both be wrong.”
Ella smiled wryly. “Pretty sure we can.”
Mardie rolled her eyes. “Hey, Reese. Is Sawyer going to get back here in time for Friday’s ball?”
“ Ask him,” said Reese.
“ See?” Mardie picked up a fried onion ring, dragged it through the mayonnaise and offered it to Ella, dripping and all. “Reese says he’ll be here, and Reese is male and never wrong.”
“ I heard that,” muttered Reese. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“ See?” Mardie murmured sagely. “Never. Wrong.”
Ella worked herself to exhaustion for two days solid, until on Friday lunchtime, her father ordered her to get on up to the house and stay there and get ready for the ball.
“ I haven’t heard from him these past two days,” she muttered, and her father stopped stacking hay and regarded her narrowly. “At all.”
“ Phone him.”
“ You think I should? He said
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