Page 15 of Winter Vows

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I just figured you might want to get on with whatever you came here to do.”

Hardy remembered the horse. He also remembered the coffee that Kelly had never brought. He had a hunch he was already doing exactly what he’d been lured here to do.

“How did you end up here, anyway?” he asked Trish.

“I think Lizzy had a hand in it. I’m pretty sure she talked to Kelly and Jordan. He and my father are business associates. I think they’re pretty uncomfortable with the fact that I don’t want my father to know I’m here, but they invited me to stay a while anyway. It’ll just be for a few days.”

He settled into a chair with the baby, then asked, “And then what?”

“I’ll move on.”

“To?”

“I’m not sure.”

“But you won’t be going home?”

“No, that’s one thing I know for sure. I won’t be going home.”

“Why not?”

“If you knew my father, you wouldn’t have to ask that. He’s the ultimate control freak. Add in my mother, who is horrified by my decision to have the baby on my own, and it seems like home is the last place for me to be.”

Hardy thought over what she’d said, then recalled something he’d heard on the news earlier about some Dallas bigwig’s missing daughter. “Delacourt? Your father wouldn’t be Bryce Delacourt, would he? The oilman?”

She returned his gaze ruefully. “Afraid so.”

“Oh, boy.”

She immediately looked alarmed. “What?”

“He’s got the whole blasted country looking for you. This may be a tiny place, but you’ve made a big impression. It won’t be long before word leaks out that you’re here. Don’t you think it would be better to call him, so he knows you’re okay? He might call off his dogs then. It also might be easier on Kelly and Jordan. I suspect he won’t like the fact that his friends kept your whereabouts from him.”

“No, he won’t,” she admitted with a sigh. Then she regarded him intently. “But I can’t tell him. You can’t, either. Promise me, please.”

“Look, darlin’, I’m not in the habit of ratting out my friends, but not everybody’s going to feel that way, especially if that reward he’s offering gets much bigger.”

Trish looked horrified. “He’s offering a reward? As if I’m a common criminal or something?”

“More like he’s a desperate father,” he replied reasonably.

“Oh, no. You don’t know Bryce Delacourt. This isn’t about desperation. This is about him being ticked off because I slipped out and he can’t find me. It’s about him not being able to control me.”

She took four agitated strides across the room and grabbed up the phone. She punched in the numbers with enough force to have the phone bouncing on the table.

“Miriam, it’s me. Is my father around?” Her foot tapped impatiently as she waited. Her eyes flashed sparks of pure fury.

Even from halfway across the room, Hardy could hear a man he assumed to be her father bellowing out a string of questions. Trish waited until he fell silent.

“Are you through?” she asked quietly. “Good. Because I am only going to say this once. Call off the detectives. Tell the media that I’ve been found and that I am perfectly fine, that it was all a huge misunderstanding and that you’re terribly sorry for having sent everyone on such a wild-goose chase.” She listened for a moment, then shook her head. “No, I am not coming home. No, I am not going to tell you where I am. I am fine. So is your granddaughter, in case you’re interested. We’re both doing just great. If you ever hope to see either of us again, you will give me some space now. Are we clear?”

Whatever her father said to that was too softly spoken for Hardy to hear, but her expression softened finally. She sighed.

“Yes, Daddy, I love you, too,” she whispered. “I’ll be in touch. I promise.”

When she turned around, there were tears streaming down her cheeks. Hardy stood up, put the baby into the nearby carrier, then went to her. He touched a finger to her cheek, brushed away the dampness.

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