Page 94 of The Guy Who Stole My Ranch

“Frank will take good care of her until you get back over there in the morning,” Patrick said.

“Why did you leave Frank?” I asked.

“Because he loves her, and he’ll keep her company without keeping her up all night.”

I gave Patrick a flat stare.

“What? I was just doing what was best for the patient.”

I took a deep breath. Apparently, my feelings were even more noticeable than I had thought. “Do you think we need to call a doctor?”

“Already done. I had Christopher do it since they go to the same clinic.”

I frowned. “Brooke isn’t going to like that the two of you assumed to know what she needed and then took care of it for her.”

“I know.” Patrick sped up as the pickup turned off the highway. “But unless you think you can talk her into going on her own, he’s calling her in the morning.”

Brooke had accepted help from me, and I felt how much of a sacrifice that had been for her. I hated to think that she’d lash out because these two were trying to help, but she might. “I’ll talk to her,” I said.

“Good.”

We drove in silence for a few minutes, the remnants of the storm still apparent as puddles next to the road. Just as Patrick pulled into the parking lot of our hotel the sound of a red alert fromStar Trekcame from my pocket.

My mother was calling.

Patrick parked and opened the door. “I’m going to see if they have any corn chips in the store.”

“Uh-huh,” I muttered.

My mother had only contacted me once since I’d landed in San Antonio. She’d had yet another date for me, which I’d declined.

What would it be this time?

I stared at the screen and wondered if I could get away with not answering. It might work once, but the next time she called it would be worse for me, and if she got suspicious, she’d do everything in her power to track me down.

So I took a deep breath, got out of the SUV, and started walking toward the front doors of the hotel. My boots made slurping sounds as I stepped on the asphalt. I swiped the screen to life and said, “Hello, Mother.”

“William, where are you?”

“What do you need?” It was best to get straight to the point.

“I need you in New York.”

I rolled my eyes, and my gaze drifted in the direction of Robert’s ranch. The last thing I was going to do was go back to New York.

“This is serious, William.”

What would she try to cajole me with today? Another merger falling through? Dad being sick? Her being sick? A young woman in a life-or-death situation that needed me to escort her to a function?

My mother went on without encouragement. “It’s your father. He’s offended a client who is threatening to pull out of a merger.”

Impressive. She’d managed to use both my dad and business against me. “What merger?”

“Luxury Holdings in Chicago.”

“Courtney is working on that. Call her.”

“The client won’t deal with her.”

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