Page 90 of The Cowboy's Second Chance Bride

Twenty minutes later, he had a list of Dalton’s appointments and deals in the works, the biggest being a ribbon cutting on a new hotel in the Vegas area. The land itself was prime, and though construction had started, the Beck Group had not announced the project until earlier that day.

“Who are the investors?” I asked Spoon.

“Still working on that. Also, it looks like he’s doing a deal with a media conglomerate that’s been struggling. I’m guessing this is where he found Smith and got him to do some dirty work for him. The deal should close soon once it’s through the FCC.”

“Why did we not know any of this?” I was frustrated.

“Because this stuff doesn’t get out until the paperwork is filed, which happened yesterday. Listen. I was talking to that reporter in Wolf Creek. She’s sharp. She has been going through the town’s video and looking at the area where someone filmed Sabrina’s altercation. She thinks she found a car and is sending me the images any minute now so I can narrow it down. I tapped into the woman’s email account—what’s her name, Kathy—and she did receive a payout to confront Sabrina and make a scene. I’m putting all that together too. We’re starting to get a step ahead here. Your mom will be able to use this to her advantage in the divorce. And Paul can show the media all this to help with the video’s narrative.”

Who knew how long the divorce would drag out? The worry alone would beat down Mom. But that wasn’t the main point. I needed to put my finger on what was.

“I think Dalton’s getting desperate, to have fires started and my mom served. If we can trace the arson to him, then he’s looking at being charged. That’s very reckless.” And very unlike my father. Everything he did was measured.

“Maybe it’s because what was in the media was your happiness and not you guys falling apart. He thinks you aren’t feeling all the punches?”

Yeah, we’d done a good job coming together. All the hits we’d taken hadn’t shaken us. In fact, we were stronger than ever. I wasn’t going to lie; the hits had hurt. But when you had people to pick you up, love you, and give you therapeutic hugs, the pain just seemed more manageable.

“What time is the ribbon cutting?” I asked.

Five minutes later, I was having the pilot change the flight destination to Vegas. I texted both Sabrina and my mom about my change of plans. I was going to crash my father’s ribbon cutting. How nice of him to have scheduled media coverage. My instincts told me Dalton expected me to rush to Mom or be with Sabrina. He would not expect me to be at his ribbon cutting.

During the flight, I had Paul release a statement about the fire that had destroyed Brynna’s shop, which made her work rare as her shop was out of commission for the foreseeable future. Her prices tripled instantly simple due to the limited supply. I bet Dalton hadn’t considered that.

I had a few hours to kill before the ribbon cutting, so I asked my mom for Dalton’s password and spent the time reading all his email. It really was pathetic that his security was so lax. And how entitled he was—so much so that he was sloppy. There was no smoking gun about the arson but very clear exchanges between him and Smith, the journalist and the person Smith paid to hack the adoption agency, and exchanges outlining the deal between him and my former employee turned tailcoat.

Sabrina and I were able to connect when I landed in Vegas, and she told me what she’d found in the box. She and Nick would be meeting me there.

At the ribbon cutting, I stood behind the gathering crowd. I wasn’t trying to hide my presence but wanted him to seek me out. I wanted him to think he’d bested me, that I was hesitant but here. I was in jeans, a flannel shirt, and my boots. I crossed my arms so my wedding band was clearly prominent.

“Son!” he boomed to tell the gathering investors about my presence, a large smile on his face as he walked toward me.

Dalton was tall, with silver-gray hair and broad shoulders. He looked like a tycoon. But he also looked peaked. An unhealthy pale-yellow tinge tinted his skin. It was only noticeable when the sunlight hit him just right. But I noticed it. Mom was right. He thought he could will himself into being healthy.

Then he caught sight of the ring, and his smile faded into a sneer. He got close and said in a low voice, “You are a fool. I bet you didn’t even have her sign a prenup.”

“Why would I? What do I have that I wouldn’t give her? Or give up for her?”

“You can have all this.” He waved his hand toward the construction site. “I have built an empire, and you’ve thrown it away for a piece of ass.”

His words were meant to rile me, and they did. I wanted to punch his smug face. But I wouldn’t stoop to his level.

“But what is all this without love? Buildings? Land? See, that’s where we’re different. Reputation, power, and money are what you value the most. Not me. For me, it’s family. None of this matters without them.”

“Like you weren’t bothered by my accusations in the press. Your reputation is important to you.”

I raised a brow. “Wow, nice of you to admit you started all this. Sure, attacking my reputation bothered me. But then I just had to trust that those who worked with me would lean on that more than some lies. And that actually turned out to be true. Getting my award canceled at the gala didn’t affect my relationships whatsoever. That’s the point you’re missing, Dalton. You can have all this. But when you’re alone in the hospital from a heart attack”—I tapped his chest—“who will be there with you? No one. At least, no one you aren’t paying to be there.”

Nick walked up and clapped me on the shoulder, giving me his A-lister smile. Time for the second phase of the plan. He gave my dad finger guns as a greeting. His presence was drawing a crowd, including media, including those not employed by my dad.

“You are such a disappointment,” Dalton snarled.

“What bothers you the most? That I won’t join the family business or that I got the girl and you didn’t?”

His eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, I know all about you and Sabrina’s mom.”

“Whatever you heard has likely been exaggerated. We knew each other in college. That’s it.” He turned to walk away, but I followed him.

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