âI never play with fire.â She paused. âIâve never met fire before.â
Every muscle in Sawyerâs body clenched tight.
He couldnât shake the feeling that he was being manipulated. But he also couldnât figure out why. She didnât know who he was, or sheâd already have run for the hills.
âWe have to go back,â he told her. If they didnât leave now, he was going to kiss her all over again.
âThanks,â she told him softly, innocently, all traces of teasing replaced by sincerity. âFor everything.â
Sawyer turned for the shore, ruthlessly switching his mind to his uncleâs dilemma and the dire price his family would pay if he failed. He couldnât afford to lose focus.
He couldnât afford to let Niki get under his skin.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to book four of the COLORADO CATTLE BARONS series. With each story, Iâm enjoying the Terrell and Jacobs families more and more.
In Millionaire in a Stetson, the Terrell brothers discover they have a secret half-sister. Niki Gerrard is in serious trouble and runs to her newly discovered half-brothers to hide out under a secret identity. Washington, DC, mover and shaker Sawyer Layton, using a disguise of his own, tracks her down in Lyndon Valley to save his family from ruin.
In this day and age of technology and social media, knowing how many people are reuniting with their own family members, it was great fun to write a secret sibling story.
I hope you enjoy it!
Barbara
In a magnificently appointed private room at the Seabreeze Hospital in Washington, D.C., Niki Gerard held her sleeping motherâs pale hand.
The hospital specialized in discreet service for wealthy clients, so plush sofas replaced vinyl, institutional chairs, while the walls were painted in rich colors, adorned with original art and ornate crown moldings. An armoire held Gabriella Gerardâs designer nightwear and robes. And a forty-inch plasma screen, which was connected to a keyboard for email and internet access hung on the far wall. Beneath it, there was a comfortable day bed, should a relative wish to spend the night.
But nothing could completely hide that this was a medical facility. A heart monitor beeped softly next to the bed, green numbers counting off, sending up corresponding spikes on the little graph in the background. An IV bag dripped morphine into the back of that hand of Gabriellaâs. She was too thin, only five pounds from her ideal weight, but Niki had discovered during these past two weeks that thin from a healthy diet and exercise looked different than thin from illness.
At forty years old, her mother had contracted a rare virus. Sheâd barely survived the high fever, and the ordeal had weakened her heart, also taking a toll on her aorta.
Gabriellaâs brilliant blue eyes fluttered open.
âNiki?â She appeared both confused and fearful.
âIâm here, Mom.â
Gabriella convulsively squeezed Nikiâs hand. âProtect yourself.â
âIâm fine.â Niki gave her motherâs hand a gentle stroke of reassurance. âYou need to rest, not to worry about me.â
Gabriellaâs gaze darted around the room, and she stage whispered, âYou know where the money is?â
âYou told me yesterday.â Niki nodded. âItâs in Switzerland.â
âYouâll need it.â
Niki knew the size of her motherâs investments here in D.C., so the statement didnât make sense. Not unless Niki had plans to buy a luxury hotel or a cruise ship in the near future.
âTell me,â Gabriella insisted.
âMy birthday, your birthday and our building address.â Niki repeated the code to access the account.
Sheâd hoped the increased morphine would calm her mother, not make her more agitated.
âDonât let them get it,â Gabriella gasped.
âWho would get it?â
âDonât trust them. Donât trust any of them.â
âMom. Itâs fine. Everythingâs fine. Nobody can get the money.â
âI mean it, Niki. The diary is your only hope. Itâll keep you safe, keep them from â¦â Gabriella seemed confused again. âWilton.â She sighed. âHow I wish â¦â
The diary? Gabriella was worried about her diary? Though sheâd never seen it, Niki knew her mother had kept a diary for many years. Sheâd joked about the power of its secrets, mocking the married men whoâd had affairs with her.
Gabriella focused intently on Niki now, leaning up. âThey know. Too many people knowââ Her blue eyes suddenly went wide. She cried in obvious pain, collapsing back on the bed.
Niki rose from her chair. âMom?â
âDonât let them get the diary.â Gabriella sucked in a few sharp breaths, then her jaw clenched tight.