Ryan shook Will Ashton’s hand and didn’t even blink when her father crushed his bones together. Instead, he gave a slow smile and squeezed back. The two of them stood squeezing their hands in a silent war.
“I talked to your father,” Will said and then squeezed Ryan’s hand harder.
“You did? And how is Dad this morning?” Ryan asked, still squeezing.
“You should know. He said he saw you and Sienna this morning.” Squeeze.
“Yes, we’ve spent the morning together.” Squeeze.
“And the night?” Squeeze.
Ryan had to prevent himself from wincing. “Is none of your business.”
“When it pertains to my daughter, it is always my business. Cut the crap, Ryan. You know the whole town knows you had a thing for Sienna, but she never reciprocated. Then something happened and the situation suddenly reversed. You never asked her out again. Instead you left for the FBI. Now you’re back the day after a friend of hers is murdered.”
Ryan shrugged. “I’m just helping my dad.”
Squeeze. “It seems you’re spending too much time with my daughter to help your dad. Why are you here?”
“We’re friends. I’m just saying hi.” Squeeze.
“When your father saw you this morning, that’s not all you were doing or he wouldn’t have placed a bet at the Blossom Café that involves the two of you being something more than friends.” Squeeze.
“And if we were?” Ryan asked as he squeezed with all he had. He couldn’t believe he even asked that, but he liked Will, and if he was going to be with Sienna, then he wanted his blessing.
Will dropped his hold on Ryan’s hand, and Ryan put his behind his back and stretched it out. It hurt so badly.
“Sit down, we need to talk. I know there’s something going on, and you’re going to tell me all of it.”
* * *
Sienna sat back in her chair and let out a long breath after returning her last call. Her respite hadn’t lasted long though; her cell phone began to ring.
“Ryan is in town and you didn’t call me?” Sydney practically yelled into the phone.
“I’m not talking to you about your cousin. That would be weird.”
“No, weird would be talking to Sophie about it since they’re practically twin cousins. They have some bond with being born at the same time on the same day, Christmas at that, but whatever. It doesn’t affect me, so dish.”
“He’s in my dad’s office right now. My dad called him in, and I haven’t heard from them in thirty minutes.”
Sydney cursed. “Your dad’s going to jail for murder.”
“I know, I thought it would be Ryan after he heard Seth asking me out.”
“Whoa!” Sydney cried out. “Back this train up. Seth? Ryan? No, this is too much. Dinner. Tonight. At the café. I want to hear all about this.”
“Okay,” Sienna laughed. “I’ll see you at six. Examining my love life could take all night.”
Sienna hung up in a much better mood. This was her life. Not her father’s. And she needed to rescue the man she loved from certain death.
Sienna opened her door and stalked down the hallway. The sound of raised voices worried her until she realized they came from the conference room. Jaylen stood up and tossed a handful of papers at Seth and stormed from the room.
“Jaylen, what’s the matter?” Sienna called out as the running back barreled down the hall.
“He’s upset he can’t afford the house he wants,” Seth said, coming to stand beside her. “That’s the trouble with some of these players. They think they have all the money in the world, so why not drop fifty thousand on a night out with the guys or rent a yacht for a couple weeks? What’s a couple million? Then they see the reports and realize they’ve spent their nest egg.”
Sienna felt horrible. She knew how badly Jaylen wanted that house.
“Maybe you could help me with him?” Seth asked. “Between the two of us, we can get him back on the straight and narrow financially and mentally. Let’s talk about it over dinner tonight.”
“I’m sorry, I already have dinner plans. And Seth, I know we had just started dating, but I need to stop seeing you personally. As you know, Ryan and I have a history, and I’d like to see where it goes. I just need time,” Sienna said with her hand on his arm. She felt him tense, but he didn’t have time to say anything as they turned at the sound of her father’s door opening. The sight that greeted her stopped her from saying anything further. Her father had his arm around Ryan’s shoulder, and they were both laughing.
“Damn good to see you again, son,” her father said as he shook Ryan’s hand. “Take care of my daughter.”
“You have my word,” Ryan said and returned the handshake.
“What the hell?” Seth exploded.
Ryan felt Will tense beside him. Their talk was something akin to walking through a field full of landmines while blindfolded. Ryan prided himself on being a strong man, physically and mentally, but nothing had prepared himself for Will’s stare. In the end, he broke and explained exactly what he was doing here. He expected Will to lose it, but that was when the older man leaned forward, gave Ryan a pat, and said, “There’s no one else I would trust to look after my little girl.”
At that moment, Ryan had never felt more pride. And at this moment, he’d never felt such amusement.
“Excuse me, young man?” Will said with a deadly tone.
Seth looked flustered and Sienna looked so cute as she stared with confusion at him and her father standing side by side that Ryan sent her a wink just to mess with both further.
“I thought you hated him. I was just surprised, that’s all.” Seth turned to Sienna quickly. “I’ll see you soon for dinner to discuss Jaylen.”
“Let’s set up a meeting at the office,” Sienna said with a weak smile.
Seth didn’t respond. Instead he went to pet Hooch, and the dog growled. Ryan and Will smiled at each other as Sienna’s eyes quickly narrowed.
“What’s going on with you two?” she asked as soon as Seth was gone.
Will leaned forward and gave his daughter a kiss on her cheek. “He’s just the first man you’ve dated that I approve of.”
“You approve? Of Ryan?”
“I couldn’t have picked better myself. In fact, I believe your mother and Paige had this planned twenty-eight years ago.”
“But, we’re not . . .” Sienna started before Ryan grabbed her hand.
“But we need to go. Things to do and all that. We’ll see you soon.” Ryan shook Will's hand and grabbed Hooch’s leash, nudging Sienna down the hall.
“I don’t know what to say,” she murmured beside him.
Ryan shot her a wink. “Twice in one day and I still haven’t gotten you naked yet.”
* * *
Ryan sat on the back porch of Sienna’s house and tossed treats to Hooch. Sienna had just left to meet Sydney for dinner, and if there was one place he didn’t need to worry about her being safe, it was the Blossom Café. The sound of the ATV reached him before he saw it crest the small hill. The figure in all black rode it comfortably to the back fence and stopped. He adjusted the straps of his backpack and, in an easy hop, cleared the five-foot fence.
“Hi, Nash. How are you?” Ryan asked as the figure crossed the backyard. Nash Dagher was the apprentice for the security team protecting the Rahmi royal family in Kentucky. He was a year older than Ryan but had spent the past four years doing the same things Ryan had—trying to get himself killed.
“Good. Just got back from Afghanistan. The rolling hills of Kentucky never looked so beautiful after three weeks in those mountains,” Nash told him as he took off his backpack and took a seat.
“I've got something I turned over to Ahmed’s U.S. government contacts, though.” Nash’s black hair was shaved short. His normally tanned skin was darker, showing the amount of time he’d spent outdoors this past month. For a kid who had come to Keeneston from the small Middle Eastern island country of Rahmi weighing slightly more than a wet dishrag, Nash’s transformation was nothing short of astounding.
Ahmed, the previous head of security and all-around international badass, had trained Nabi, the current head. Now Nash was here. Since Nabi and his wife, Grace, had started a family seven years ago, Nash had been taking over more and more responsibilities. But with his intense physical training regiment and the Rose sisters’ diet of good Southern food, Nash had put on eighty pounds of muscle in addition to growing several inches.
“What did you find?” Ryan asked, tossing Nash a drink.
“There’s lots of chatter of a big terrorist statement that’s going to be made on US soil. The natives called him Rais. Literally translated to someone who leads. He’s doing things differently over there. He’s not ruling out of fear, but almost through dangling riches in front of the poorest of the poor and promising power to the wealthy who have been disrespected.”
Ryan put it together in a second. “We have him on our radar, but we call him The Suit. We can’t pinpoint his location or even his real identity. Could you?”
“No, and trust me, I tried.”
Ryan nodded his head. If what he’d heard about Ahmed in his younger days were true, and Ahmed had taught Nash, then he knew Nash had gone dark to get this information.
“Now,” Nash said with a smile, “since I’ve already placed my bet with Miss Daisy about how long it will take until you and Sienna are engaged—I had within one week—and you’ve invited me to her place, are you here to tell me your good news?”
“Not exactly. The real reason I’m here . . .”
“Yeah, I know. John isn’t the only one with resources.” Nash winked.
“Picked up her address on the scanner?”
“You bet your ass we did. Nabi about lost his mind. Faith was sick and Grace was at a horse show so Nabi made me sneak over to find out what happened.”
“How is his daughter?” Ryan asked, taking a slug of beer.
“She’s fine now. Turned out to be an ear infection. So, what can I do to help?”
“What you don’t know is someone paid Sienna a little visit yesterday and had a look at her computer. I need some surveillance equipment. The good stuff that is completely invisible.”
“No problem. Where do you want it?”
Ryan pointed to a cluster of trees. “There, the back door, the front porch, by the mailbox, in the kitchen, living room, and outside the bedroom window.”
“Piece of cake. I have the outdoor equipment with me now,” Nash told him as he opened his backpack.
“Thanks a lot, Nash. So, what’s going on with you and my cousin Sophie?” Ryan took another sip of beer. It was so much more fun being on this side of the questioning.
Nash shrugged a shoulder. “I thought something at one point. It seemed like there was mutual interest, but then, nothing. I’ve hardly seen her since she graduated college.”
“As if you haven’t run her name through your little supercomputer to know exactly what she’s up to.”
“Haven’t had time. Nothing ever happened between us, so it’s not like I have any claim to her. She chose to leave, and she chose not to tell me, or anyone, where she went. Besides, my time is now being occupied,” Nash quipped as he lifted the bottle to his lips.
“You’re dating someone? Who?”
“I didn’t say I was dating. I said my time was occupied. Now, we have some work to do if we want to get these cameras up before Sienna gets back from the café.”
Sienna opened the door to the café and was met with complete silence. Every person stopped talking and looked at her left hand. As if they were one being, they all turned to Miss Daisy’s table and started calling out dates. So this is what it felt like to be the subject of a bet.
“Sienna!” Syd called out. “You wouldn’t get engaged without telling me first, right?”
“Of course I'd tell you.”
“Good, next Sunday’s game at the Thoroughbreds’ stadium sounds romantic, doesn’t it?”
Sienna took a seat across the table from her friend and shook her head. “One, I’m not proposing to anyone. Two, Ryan and I aren’t even dating.”
“Liar, liar, pants on fire. Cole called my dad and told him that Ryan met with Will today and got his blessing.”
“Marshall knows now, too?” Sienna groaned. Sydney’s dad, the sheriff, would tell every other Davies in the town, and that meant every single person in this room now knew her father approved of her dating Ryan.
“Really, we aren’t dating,” Sienna protested.
“That’s not what Uncle Cole said.”
Sienna raised her hand in the air to get Poppy’s attention. Zinnia was busy in the kitchen and her sister was helping serve tonight.
“Poppy, I need some Rose Sisters’ Special Iced Tea. Just bring the pitcher.”
That quieted the café again, and they all looked to Sydney, who in turn gave them the thumbs-up sign.
“You’re no longer my best friend,” Sienna grumbled.
“Sure I am. Now spill.”
“I told you, we’re not dating.”
Sydney gave her best friend the “I don’t believe you” look.
“We may not be officially dating,” Sienna whispered, caving to the look. “But he’s kissed me.”
“Was it hot?”
“It was melt my panties, tear my clothes off kind of hot. Until his father showed up while my legs were wrapped around Ryan’s waist, his hand on my ass, and our tongues doing way more than talking.”
“O-M-G!”
“Shhh,” Sienna scolded, but it was too late. The entire café had heard Sydney’s squeal and bets were being placed left and right now.
“Here you go, hon,” Poppy said, setting down the pitcher of tea between them.
Sydney poured the two glasses and handed one to Sienna. “To hot men and even hotter kisses.”
“Cheers to that,” Sienna said, taking a big sip. The key to drinking this bourbon-laced drink was to get the first three sips down, and then everything else was smooth as silk.
“Are you finally going to admit you’ve liked Ryan for years?” Sydney asked as she took another sip.
“Maybe.”
“Liars have to take another drink,” Sydney taunted.
Sienna laughed and took a sip. She loved her best friend. And Sydney knew Ryan had intrigued her since their role reversal years ago.
“Are you finally going to ask all the things you’ve wondered about for the past eight years?” Sydney asked, reading her mind.
“I sure hope so,” Sienna said. The two dissolved into giggles. “What about you? You never mention guys anymore.”
“Much to Great-Grandma Wyatt’s dismay. I’ve been so busy I’ve had to live vicariously through you. And let me tell you, until tonight that wasn’t doing much for me.”
“How is Mrs. Wyatt doing?” Sienna asked seriously. Mrs. Wyatt’s husband passed away years ago and since then, Mrs. Wyatt had dressed in her big hats, flowing dresses, and bright red lipstick every day. She said it was what Beauford would have wanted. But last year she tripped in the stables and broke a hip. Since then, she’d never recovered all the way.
“She’s hanging in there. I worry about her. Mom is over there quite a bit and she’s hired a nurse to stay with Great-Grandma so she’ll never be alone. Enough about sad things, though. Tonight I need to live vicariously through you. Does Ryan make your heart go pitter-patter?”
Sienna tossed her napkin across the table and hit her friend square in the face.
“Seriously, Sienna. Is he the one? You’ve been dating and discarding men for years, and I think it’s because none of them were Ryan. I think you think that, too.”
Sienna’s eyes narrowed as she poured another glass of tea. “That’s a lot of thinking.”
Sydney tossed the napkin back across the table as two bowls of bread pudding in bourbon butter sauce were set down in front of them.
Sienna leaned forward and lowered her voice so no one could hear. “You know I love him, even if this is the first time I’ve said it out loud. I don’t know when it happened, but I do.”
“I know when it happened. When you two were spying on Nabi and Grace eight years ago.”
Sienna shook her head. “It started before then. He has this habit of rescuing me without making me feel like I was rescued. And then there was always the support he gave me on my education. He never thought anything was too big of a challenge. I think it started then.” Sienna took a sip of her tea and whispered, “But that night when he kissed me all those years ago didn’t hurt.”
The two friends dissolved into a fit of the giggles.
“Ladies, I sure hope neither of you is driving home. By the way you two are giggling, I’m going to assume that’s an empty pitcher of Rose Sisters’ Special Iced Tea.”
Sienna looked up and saw two state troopers. “Who’s your friend, Matt?” Then she squinted. “Oh! It’s just you.”
“Yeah, I’m giving you two ladies a ride home.”
“I don’t think you’re the kind of ride she’s looking for tonight,” Sydney snorted.
“Okay,” Matt chuckled as he reached out to help both women stand, “if you keep that up, I won’t let you play with the siren.”
“I want to play with the siren,” Sydney said with wide eyes, stumbling forward.
“It’s been a while since Sydney had her siren played with,” Sienna drunkenly whispered at the top of her voice.
Matt’s grin grew even wider as her best friend smacked her arm. “Shhh, or I’m going to tell everyone you and Ryan have the hots for each other,” Sydney said in the same non-whisper.
“Oh, honey, we already know that.” Miss Lily grinned from her table.
“We’ve known that for twenty years,” Miss Daisy said without blinking an eye.
Sydney pulled Matt and Sienna to a stop. “But did you know they’ve been k-i-s-n . . . no, that’s not right. K-i-s-s-g- . . . well, kissing since he got back?”
“That we didn’t know,” Miss Violet smiled as she slipped a ten-dollar bill from her bra and handed it to her sister. “Engaged by next week.”
Sienna stumbled across Matt and smacked her friend on the arm. “Why are you my best friend again?”
“Because I’m going to let you play with the siren,” Sydney laughed as Matt helped them into his cruiser.