Page 69 of Silos and Sabotage

“Like marrying another one of your sons?” She gave a shaky laugh, wondering if she was dreaming the entire conversation. Any moment now, she could wake up at her office with her head on her desk. There would be crease lines on her cheeks from the edges of the folders she’d been using as a pillow.

Creston leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “I’ll admit Raleigh has caught me off guard with his latest brainstorm. Not that I disapprove, mind you, but…” He blew out a breath, looking nearly as flabbergasted as she was.

“If we go through with it, we’d be kicking the hornets’ nest pretty hard.” She couldn’t believe she was even considering it.

Creston grew wide-eyed. “More like cracking it wide open and yanking every last angry hornet into the sunlight.”

“Which might not be a bad thing.” Raleigh wagged a finger solemnly at him. “For the past five years, all we’ve done is bang our heads against a brick wall, trying to figure out who’s behind the evil that’s been poisoning our lives. This is our chance to finally do something. Something meaningful.”

Avery normally considered herself a level-headed person, but not today. Her emotions tripped and stumbled as she struggled to analyze her options, but she could only zero in on one that stood a chance at keeping them alive. “I assume you’re proposing a marriage of convenience, complete with all the usual prenuptial agreements?”

I can do this. It’ll be like any other business transaction.And if she was anything, she was an astute businesswoman.

“Not this time.” Raleigh spoke quietly, but with the same self-assuredness he always wore like a second skin. “Nothing short of a full merger will pull the crosshairs off of Ella.” He waved his hands to invite her and his father out of the shocked silence that had fallen over them. “Feel free to chime in if you think I’ve lost my mind.”

“You’re not wrong.” Creston slowly shook his head. “And at the risk of looking like an old soldier retreating to the rear of the battle, I’m going to leave the rest of this conversation up to the two of you.” He stood and lifted his empty dessert bowl. “Goodnight, Avery.” His voice was extraordinarily gentle.

“Goodnight, Creston.” Her voice was so thick with emotion that she had to give a delicate cough to clear her throat. “Thank you for dessert.” She’d only taken a few bites of it, but those few bites had been spectacular.

“You’re welcome. I hope you’ll take the rest of it home,” he offered kindly. “Raleigh can have one of the staff members box it up for you.”

After he left the dining room, Raleigh stood and held out his hand to her. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

She placed her hand in his and allowed him to tug her to her feet. Her bodyguards trailed them silently as they strolled from the room together.

Raleigh glanced over his shoulder at them. “Is there any chance we can have the rest of this conversation alone? Bolander & Sons is one of the safest places on earth.”

“I, er…” She’d been employing bodyguards for so long that she couldn’t picture going anywhere without them. It would feel foolish and unwise, like stepping into a blizzard with bare feet.

“Never mind.” He lifted her hand to his arm and curled his other hand around it. “How about I get back to earning your trust first?”

She gave him a tremulous smile, grateful that he seemed to understand the turmoil inside her head.

He led her to the back veranda that overlooked the vast Bolander & Sons compound. The families that lived in the employee cabins had barbecue grills smoking, children kicking soccer balls, and an outdoor speaker system rocking out a country western tune.

“You’ve built your own community here.” Amazement coursed through her. It was a happy place. The atmosphere was so much more inviting than the rigid rules of Radcliffe Industries. Nobody had ever lived on site during her father’s tenure as president and CEO. Instead, they had a skeleton crew on the night shift — men and women who lived like moles and rarely spent much time in the sunlight.

No one except Blain, that is. After her father had fallen ill, Blain’s duties had extended to that of a live-in valet, chauffeur, and nurse. He was, quite simply, whatever her father needed. She couldn’t have been more grateful to have such a dedicated employee on staff.

“Our work crew is like one big family.” Raleigh sounded pleased that she’d noticed. “Our non-compete clause isn’t the only reason for our low turnover rate. We believe that the most productive work environment is one where employees are happy, in good health, and well provided for. We offer in-house daycare, a gym with a community pool, and recently started our own recreational softball league.” They strolled away from the hubbub of activity and voices, striking out across the east pasture.

“This is incredible.” She was surprised her neck wasn’t getting tired from all her twisting, turning, and gawking. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m taking mental notes.” It occurred to her that she would soon have the choice to run Radcliffe Industries differently than her father had. Very differently. It was a heady thought.

“Don’t get me wrong.” Raleigh rubbed his thumb lightly across the top of her hand. “We’ve had our setbacks.”

The likelihood that he was including the sabotaged silos in his statement made her wince.

His voice grew silkier as he dipped his head closer to hers. “I mostly just try not to make the same mistakes twice.”

She tipped her face up to his, no longer caring that her vulnerabilities had been stripped clean for all to see. Her bodyguards wouldn’t talk about it. They never did. “Are we really doing this, Raleigh?”

“If you’re willing.” Like her, he’d let down his shield. The fact that he’d been harboring a secret crush on her for so long was an added bonus to his slightly insane proposal. It wasn’t a bad foundation on which to build a new relationship.

The awareness between them was so potent by now that she had to break eye contact with him to sort through her emotions. Unless a bolt of lightning shot from the skies, she already knew what her answer was going to be. While she debated how to tell him, she scanned the field beyond them, idly wondering if she’d get a glimpse of the silver silos Johnny Cuba had seemed so interested in earlier.

Raleigh’s hand tightened over hers. “All current dangers aside, there’s nothing that would make me happier than to get a yes from you.”

She felt a blush heat her cheeks as she returned her gaze to his. “It sounds like you’re describing more than a business transaction.”

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