before.” He pinned Ella with a troubled green gaze. “Still want me to take you to the ball?”
“ Of course.”
“ I’m heading home next week to help save the family brewing business. It’s called JB Brewing and it holds a significant global market share. It’s not a small corporation and I don’t rightly know how long it will take to fix. I’d ask you to come with me, but until Richard is behind bars its best if you don’t. It’s not safe for you there.”
It was a lot to take in. Ella ran a nervous hand around the back of her neck and slid her father a glance. Her father stared back, stony eyed. “Sawyer’s brother isn’t all that nice,” she offered.
“ So I gather.”
“ So, uh.” There was a distinct possibility that she probably should have mentioned Sawyer’s brother to her father earlier.
She turned her gaze back on Sawyer. “Who was she this time?”
“ One of our corporate execs. The good news is that she pressed charges and has the will to see a nasty court case through. And then she’ll probably sue JB Brewing.”
“ I’m inclined to say good for her.”
Sawyer ’s lips hitched a little higher around the edges. “Let’s just say she won’t lack for support. The bad news is that Richard made bail. He’s had to surrender his passport but I don’t like it. He has a tendency to think that rules and regulations don’t apply to him. If Richard finds out about you there’s a chance he might come here looking for you, as a way to get to me. I’ve left him precious little else by way of leverage.”
“ I can handle it.”
“ Ella—
“ I can.”
“ Here’s a recent picture of him.”
Ella took the paper Sawyer held out and studied his brother’s handsome face before passing it to her father. Sawyer’s brother didn’t look like a power-tripping egomaniac, and that was probably part of the problem. “No one comes onto this place without our notice. We can show the photo to Jem and Carl, Ray, and the boys. If your brother comes poking around here we’ll know it. And then we’ll handle it. Right, Dad?”
Her father nodded, his eyes flat and hard.
Sawyer looked torn.
“ Sawyer.” She waited until his gaze had shifted from her father back to her. “You need to trust us on this – no going back to Australia and obsessing over what if. I’ll be careful. We will all be on guard.”
“ Never meant to bring this kind of trouble down on you, Ella. Never wanted you to have to live in fear.”
“ This isn’t fear.”
“ I’ll fix it,” he said raggedly. “I will neutralize him. Help put him behind bars, and then maybe he can get help, I don’t know. And then I aim to come back and court you properly this time. Dinner and the movies. Weekends away somewhere special. Cows. Line dancing. Rodeos. The works.”
Ella li ked the sound of that. “You can line dance?”
“ You can teach me.”
“ Where would you live?”
“ I haven’t really thought about it yet, but it’s not a problem. I could keep the house on the coast, buy well in Marietta and still have change.” This time Sawyer’s words were for her father. “Sir, I’m not a pauper, whatever my former employment and living arrangements might have suggested. I can provide for your daughter.”
H er father cleared his throat. “Ella could build here, on the northern side of the ranch, tucked into the shelter of the foothills. We could build a new road out; that way there’d be more privacy for everyone involved.”
“ I’m right here,” Ella said, before they decided to build her a castle. Although…
“ We were just considering options,” said her father.
Sawyer nodded . “Options.”
First real smile she ’d seen on his face all night. “Your dimples aren’t always going to save you, Sawyer. If I go and get changed into my gown, I don’t want to come back down here to find my future lodgings all organized for me, got it?”
Ella wanted input into those future house plans,
“ Of course.”
“ I’m heading home next week to help save the family brewing business. It’s called JB Brewing and it holds a significant global market share. It’s not a small corporation and I don’t rightly know how long it will take to fix. I’d ask you to come with me, but until Richard is behind bars its best if you don’t. It’s not safe for you there.”
It was a lot to take in. Ella ran a nervous hand around the back of her neck and slid her father a glance. Her father stared back, stony eyed. “Sawyer’s brother isn’t all that nice,” she offered.
“ So I gather.”
“ So, uh.” There was a distinct possibility that she probably should have mentioned Sawyer’s brother to her father earlier.
She turned her gaze back on Sawyer. “Who was she this time?”
“ One of our corporate execs. The good news is that she pressed charges and has the will to see a nasty court case through. And then she’ll probably sue JB Brewing.”
“ I’m inclined to say good for her.”
Sawyer ’s lips hitched a little higher around the edges. “Let’s just say she won’t lack for support. The bad news is that Richard made bail. He’s had to surrender his passport but I don’t like it. He has a tendency to think that rules and regulations don’t apply to him. If Richard finds out about you there’s a chance he might come here looking for you, as a way to get to me. I’ve left him precious little else by way of leverage.”
“ I can handle it.”
“ Ella—
“ I can.”
“ Here’s a recent picture of him.”
Ella took the paper Sawyer held out and studied his brother’s handsome face before passing it to her father. Sawyer’s brother didn’t look like a power-tripping egomaniac, and that was probably part of the problem. “No one comes onto this place without our notice. We can show the photo to Jem and Carl, Ray, and the boys. If your brother comes poking around here we’ll know it. And then we’ll handle it. Right, Dad?”
Her father nodded, his eyes flat and hard.
Sawyer looked torn.
“ Sawyer.” She waited until his gaze had shifted from her father back to her. “You need to trust us on this – no going back to Australia and obsessing over what if. I’ll be careful. We will all be on guard.”
“ Never meant to bring this kind of trouble down on you, Ella. Never wanted you to have to live in fear.”
“ This isn’t fear.”
“ I’ll fix it,” he said raggedly. “I will neutralize him. Help put him behind bars, and then maybe he can get help, I don’t know. And then I aim to come back and court you properly this time. Dinner and the movies. Weekends away somewhere special. Cows. Line dancing. Rodeos. The works.”
Ella li ked the sound of that. “You can line dance?”
“ You can teach me.”
“ Where would you live?”
“ I haven’t really thought about it yet, but it’s not a problem. I could keep the house on the coast, buy well in Marietta and still have change.” This time Sawyer’s words were for her father. “Sir, I’m not a pauper, whatever my former employment and living arrangements might have suggested. I can provide for your daughter.”
H er father cleared his throat. “Ella could build here, on the northern side of the ranch, tucked into the shelter of the foothills. We could build a new road out; that way there’d be more privacy for everyone involved.”
“ I’m right here,” Ella said, before they decided to build her a castle. Although…
“ We were just considering options,” said her father.
Sawyer nodded . “Options.”
First real smile she ’d seen on his face all night. “Your dimples aren’t always going to save you, Sawyer. If I go and get changed into my gown, I don’t want to come back down here to find my future lodgings all organized for me, got it?”
Ella wanted input into those future house plans,
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