Fortune's Proposal Read online

  But then she realized that one woman in particular was making her way out of the church. She was dressed in a silvery-blue dress that even from several yards away, Deanna could see suited the breathtakingly beautiful woman.

  “What’s Frannie doing?” Drew mused.

  So that was the other cousin. Deanna realized she shouldn’t be surprised at the woman’s magazine-perfect looks. To a one, all the Fortune men that she’d met had received ample blessings from the genetic pool of good looks.

  “I’d say she’s looking for someone,” Deanna guessed and quickly fell into step when Drew headed toward Frannie.

  When they neared, she realized that the cheerful noise of the guests as they’d collected had muted into hushed whispers and furtive glances.

  Drew’s hand caught hers in a tight grip. He, too, had noticed the mood shift.

  They made their way through the people and joined Nick and Darr and their wives who’d joined Frannie.

  “What’s wrong?” Drew asked.

  Frannie looked at him. Her eyes were plainly worried. “We can’t find William.”

  Chapter Six

  Three hours later, the groom was still missing.

  All the guests had departed, but the family members were still inside the church, either pacing between the pews that were bedecked with clusters of hydrangeas and white roses that matched the enormous sprays decorating the chancel, or sitting in them.

  In the rear of the church where the double doors had been closed against the afternoon as well as the departed guests, Bethany was sitting on the floor, her lovely dress spread around her crossed legs as she held Charlene and Nick’s baby in her lap and rolled a ball back and forth to her little Randi, keeping the active toddler more or less content.

  At the front of the church where she ought to have stood with Drew’s father exchanging their marriage vows, Lily was pacing, her long hands twisting together around the cell phone she was clutching.

  Every few minutes for the past few hours, she’d held up the small phone and peered at it or dialed it, and every few minutes later, she’d clutch it at her waist again, and pace some more.

  She wore high, caramel-tinted ivory pumps that added even more height to her long-limbed figure, and with her dark, sultry features she looked much younger than the sixty-five that Deanna knew her to be. Her dark hair was pinned into a twist with tiny roses at the back of her head that were matched in style with the rose-patterned embroidered lace that covered her bodice and worked its way down into points over the full, wide tea-length skirt. It would have looked like a party dress right out of the ’50s except for the color—cream with a hint of coffee added to it—that seemed to add a thoroughly modern edge.

  Despite the woman’s obvious strain, Deanna could hardly tear her gaze from Lily. She looked elegant and stylish and so lovely that it was heartbreaking to know her groom had seemingly disappeared from the face of the planet.

  And then a side door opened and Lily whirled.

  Her expression fell, though, when it was Darr and Drew who entered the sanctuary.

  “I’ve checked with the police,” Darr said without preamble. “There’s been no report of accidents in the vicinity of Red Rock. Closest thing was a single car accident a good seventy miles out, on the highway heading toward Haggarty.”

  Lily paled but Darr lifted his hand. “There was only one person involved, a woman.” He looked solemn. “She didn’t make it, but that has nothing to do with Dad, Lily. There’ve been no emergency calls out of Red Rock, and no incidents between here and San Antonio. I’ve got some friends at the firehouse who’ve promised to recheck all the hospitals in a few hours.” He shook his head. “Drew checked the hotel where Dad was staying.”

  Drew sat on the edge of front pew next to Deanna. “His suitcase was packed and sitting on his bed like he was ready to put it in his car,” he told them. “But nobody who works there remembers seeing him leave this morning and he definitely didn’t check out.”

  “Lily, why don’t you sit down,” Isabella suggested softly, stepping into Lily’s path to stop her pacing for at least a moment. Like Lily, Isabella had a river of dark brown hair, though hers was a straight sheet down the back of her vibrant, red dress. Deanna was glad to see that Isabella gently maneuvered the cell phone out of Lily’s hand.

  She might have surrendered the fruitless device, but the older woman just shook her head and continued pacing. “Something has happened,” she fretted. “I know William. He was looking forward to this day as much as I was. He could be sick somewhere or…” She shook her head again, her voice trailing off.

  Deanna slid a glance toward Drew beside her, but he didn’t comment. His thoughts looked far away.

  “Of course he was looking forward to being your husband,” Isabella soothed. “It’s practically all he’s talked about for the past few years. We’ll figure everything out soon.” Her head lifted when J.R. came through the same door that Drew had used. J.R. had driven out to the Double Crown where the wedding reception was to have been held to see personally if there’d been any news there. William had already moved in with Lily, though he’d evidently checked into a hotel to observe the propriety of not seeing his bride on the day before the ceremony.

  But J.R. just shook his head. “I told the caterer they could go ahead and pack up.” He eyed Lily. “I didn’t think you needed to have to deal with that, too.”

  “Thank you, dear.” Lily turned to face the simple wooden cross that hung above the chancel area. Her shoulders slowly lifted and fell. “Ever since I lost Ryan I’ve felt that he’s been there, still watching out for us all.” Lily’s voice was husky. “I have to still believe that.”

  Deanna blinked hard and looked away.

  But a moment later, the bride had turned around to face them. Her expression was drawn, but her chin was lifted. “I do still believe that. But there’s no purpose to hanging around here.” She stepped down the three shallow steps leading up to the chancel and her beautiful gown swayed slightly around her shapely ankles. “The caterer won’t take away the food. So if anyone is hungry, they should come out to the Double Crown. Nothing will be solved by any of us collapsing from hunger.” She looked toward Isabella. “Would you be so kind and let the reverend know we’re finally getting out of the way so the custodian and groundskeeper can clean up around here? I know they still need to prepare for regular services tomorrow.” She cradled her hand around the spray of flowers decorating the end of the pew were Deanna and Drew were sitting. “If any of you want some flowers, take them. They’re too lovely to waste.”

  Not surprisingly, nobody seemed inclined to enjoy the flowers now, beautiful or not.

  Drew pushed to his feet beside her. “Has anyone considered the notion that something else might have happened to Dad?”

  Deanna sucked in a breath. “Drew—” He surely wouldn’t offer the suggestion that William had changed his mind, would he?

  He shook his head sharply, though, and she fell silent. She hadn’t seen such an expression on his face since the morning she’d gotten to the office early and found him sitting at his desk with an empty bottle of whiskey beside him, looking at a photograph of his mother.

  “He’s a Fortune,” Drew continued. “We can’t allow ourselves to forget that fact.”

  J.R. folded his arms across his wide chest. Like his brothers, he too had discarded his suit coat and rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up his forearms. “What are you thinking?”

  “I don’t know. But we all know it wouldn’t be the first time someone’s deliberately brought harm to this family.”

  Deanna gasped. “No.” But she saw the way Lily’s hand jerked, then moved away from the hydrangea blossom and the petals that rained down onto the carpet after. She quickly slid her arm around the woman’s slender waist and nudged her toward the pew. “Sit. Please.”

  Lily sat. She pressed her fist against her chest. “Nobody would want to harm William,” she said, but there was a fresh shimmer
of fear in her voice.

  “Maybe not,” Darr allowed and Deanna saw the look he and Drew exchanged. “But this family has had more than a few incidences.”

  “What about kidnapping?” Drew looked toward Nick and J.R. He hated being the one to voice the possibility, but he already knew that he and Darr were on the same page.

  “Dear Lord,” Isabella whispered. She, too, sat, then suddenly leaned her head forward until it touched her knees.

  “Honey?” J.R. started.

  But she just lifted a hand, waving at him. “I’m fine. I just got dizzy for a minute.”

  Frowning, J.R. sat next to her, his hand resting on her back.

  “We’re all getting ahead of ourselves.” The voice of reason came, surprisingly, from the cotton candy-soft-looking Bethany who walked up the aisle with her miniature version toddling after her.

  Charlene brought up the rear, holding her sleeping baby. “She’s right. Imagining outlandish scenarios isn’t helping the situation.”

  “It’s not outlandish, though,” Lily countered shakily.

  Isabella had sat up again. Her face was pale. “The fires a few years ago. First at Jose and Maria’s restaurant and then the one at your barn.”

  Lily was nodding.

  “But Lloyd Fredericks is dead, Lyndsey Pollack is locked safely away in a psychiatric facility and her mother’s still rotting in jail,” Nick pointed out. His tone was reasonable, but Deanna—feeling more lost than ever—could see that his expression, too, had taken on a new worry.

  “Well, if it is a kidnapping,” Bethany said, “then someone ought to be at the Double Crown in case they try contacting Lily, right?” She grimaced. “One thing I’ve learned from having a father who owns the largest private oil company in Texas is what to expect in situations like his. My father was always fearful that my brother and sister and I would end up being targets for people like that.”

  “Bethany is right.” Lily pushed to her feet. She was still pale, but at least she looked steadier. And resolved. “I want to go back to the ranch no matter what.”

  “We’ll drive you,” J.R. immediately offered.

  “Thank you, dear.”

  Isabella stood, too, and smoothed down her dress. “I’ll speak with the reverend first and meet you out front.”

  Lily nodded and took J.R.’s arm when he offered it and they all began recessing out of the church. But it was as far as it could get from the recessional they’d all expected when they’d started out that day.

  The air had taken on a strong chill when they left through the front doors, gray clouds gathering where only hours ago there had been pretty white puffs of clouds and sunshine.

  It was horribly fitting and Deanna shivered.

  “Here.” Drew slid his suit coat over the thin wrap around her shoulders.

  “Thanks.” She clutched it around herself. The scent of him that clung to the fabric was even more comforting than the warmth. Then Isabella joined them and everyone silently aimed across the grass for the parking lot.

  It looked desolate, compared to how crowded it had been earlier that day.

  No one noticed the person standing in the lengthening shadow cast by the church, a large push broom in hand, watching them climb into their trucks and cars and slowly drive away from the church.

  When they were gone, the groundskeeper turned and eyed the pile of flower petals and other bits of debris that the broom had collected from the back of the church. Only one of the Fortunes would have thought to decorate the rear door of the church that was only ever used by staff.

  But it really wasn’t the pile of trash that had the groundskeeper’s full attention.

  It was the tiny infant swaddled in a car seat.

  The groundskeeper had found the baby sitting next to the rear door more than two hours ago, but even when the guests started streaming out of the church after the wedding that wasn’t, nobody came back to claim the kid, even though it had been crying its head off. Eventually, the baby had stopped its thin wails and gone to sleep.

  And still no one came to get the baby.

  Everyone inside the church was too concerned about the old Fortune guy to bother looking around for a baby who evidently shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

  Now, the worker crouched down and touched the gold medallion that hung from a thin chain around the baby and blanket. It wasn’t a large medallion but against the baby it sure looked that way. It also looked valuable.

  “Who do you belong to?”

  But the baby just continued sleeping, its little mouth sucking its own lip.

  The groundskeeper straightened and finished sweeping up, moving faster because fat raindrops had begun to fall, making the task even more of a pain.

  Cleaning up after other people had never really been part of the plan…

  Then, after putting the cleaning gear away, the worker returned to pick up the car seat and the baby.

  Nobody noticed…or cared…when they disappeared into the evening.

  Drew and Deanna drove back to Molly’s Pride in silence.

  Everyone else had gone to the Double Crown to be with Lily.

  Drew couldn’t bring himself to be among them.

  Not because of his feelings where Lily was concerned. He’d seen for himself just how devastated she’d been when his father hadn’t made it to the church.

  But because Drew couldn’t get the last, angry words he’d had with William out of his head.

  He’d told his father he could go to hell and take his new wife with him, if William really expected Drew to find a freaking wife.

  What if his father didn’t come back?

  What if he couldn’t?

  “Who are Lloyd Fredericks and Lyndsey Pollack?” Deanna’s soft voice finally broke the silence when they went inside his brother’s hacienda.

  “It’s an old story.”

  “It didn’t sound that way back at the church.”

  His hands tightened at his sides, remembering the turmoil the duo had wrought on the family. He turned toward the center of the house, his shoes echoing hollowly against the distressed floor as his thoughts kept whirling inside his head.

  “Lloyd was Frannie’s first husband,” he finally answered. “Lyndsey was Josh’s girlfriend. She was pregnant with Brandon, but her real interest wasn’t in making a family with Josh—it was the huge inheritance from Frannie’s father that he came into when he turned eighteen.”

  “Frannie’s father being your aunt Cindy’s husband,” Deanna clarified.

  “One of four husbands.” He reached the alcove that overlooked the center courtyard and stared out at the open space. Scrolled iron sconces cast pools of light around the courtyard and the sprinkles of rain were increasing, making the tile on the fountain gleam.

  He looked at Deanna.

  She was still clutching his jacket around herself and her eyes looked huge for her face. Her mother might have some emotional problems to deal with, but he seriously doubted that Deanna had the kind of traumatic events in her family tree that the Fortunes did.

  And now, he felt like the worst kind of selfish idiot for not having forewarned her. God only knew what was going on in Red Rock with his father disappearing.

  “You should go back to San Diego,” he said abruptly.

  “What? Now? No way.”

  “What if things get dangerous?”

  Her brows pulled together, a mutinous set to her slightly pointed chin that he’d seen often enough in the past to know she meant business. “What if they do?” she challenged. “Your family believes we’re engaged.” She waved her hand with the ring, as if he needed reminding. “What kind of a person would I seem like if I cut and ran now?”

  “They’d think maybe I was trying to keep you safe!”

  She looked bewildered. “From what?”

  “Murder. Arson. Take your pick.” His voice turned flat. He looked back out at the rain. It was easier than looking at her. Because when he did, all he wanted t
o do was pull her in his arms and just hang on. “We’ve had all of that touch our family at one time or another,” he finished.

  “Good Lord.” Her dress rustled as she sat on the edge of one of the deep leather chairs positioned to look out on the courtyard. “Just fill me in, all right? Because my imagination will come up with things probably much worse than what actually has happened.”

  “Don’t count on it.” He exhaled.

  “What happened with Josh’s father?”

  “Lloyd, you mean?” He grimaced. “Turned out he wasn’t Josh’s father at all, but everyone—including Frannie, thanks to her mother’s machinations—thought he was.” He sat down on the coffee table, still looking out on the courtyard. “In any case, the inheritance that Lyndsey had her eyes on was the same money that Lloyd wanted to get his hands on—one of the reasons why he married Frannie in the first place.”

  “Sounds like a prince.”

  “Yeah. I don’t think anyone in the family ever much cared for him, except maybe Cindy. She thought he was a great catch for her daughter, whether Frannie agreed or not. Anyway, Lyndsey and her lunatic mother weren’t interested in having to compete for Josh’s inheritance when it did come through, and they caused all sorts of trouble. They tampered with Cindy’s brakes on her car when she was in town trying to make nice with Frannie after all the crap she’d pulled on her, they practically burned down Red—it’s a great Mexican place owned by the Mendozas.” He glanced at her. “The Fortunes and the Mendozas go way back. Isabella’s half brother manages the place now. Anyway, they also tried to torch Lily’s barn when she had an event going on there with hundreds of kids. Darr got hurt, actually, trying to save the horses in the barn. Lily still lost one, but nobody but Darr was hurt.”

  “And he obviously recovered,” Deanna observed.

  Drew nodded once. The fact that Darr’s injuries had healed didn’t make up for the fact that the crime had occurred in the first place. “Lloyd eventually ended up dead and Frannie was initially arrested for it. Then Roberto—Josh’s real dad and the guy that Frannie’s married to now—confessed to the murder. They were both just trying to protect Josh, who they feared might have done it. But ultimately, it turned out that Lyndsey and her mother had been behind all of the violence all along.”