to make a hard copy of her flight schedule. He’d remedy this gap in his surveillance as soon as feasible.
But how? She kept her damn cell on her person all the time while she was at the office. He’d tried before to steal a peek at it, but she carried it in the pocket of the cardigan she wore year-round because the management kept the temperature of the office set to arctic.
Turning to his second screen, he navigated to the airline’s reservation page and booked himself a ticket to Denver on the flight arriving just before Piper’s. He wanted to be in place at the Denver airport to observe her arrival. Who would pick her up? Where would she go after arriving? The family ranch or a hotel?
He sloshed another bite of cereal into his mouth, irritated that he didn’t know the nature of her trip. Had someone died? Was this a business meeting? He dismissed the idea of this trip being work-related with a brisk shake of his head. Surely if this was company travel, he’d have heard about it in staff meetings or seen something come through her work email. If he could—
He cut the thought off, seeing new activity on her laptop. Speaking of email...she was apparently writing one to—he leaned closer to the screen to see what she’d typed—Josh and Zane. Her brothers.
He set his now-soggy dinner aside and rolled his desk chair closer to the monitor where he followed her activity.
Hi guys, I just booked my flight out for Mom and Dad’s anniversary party. Can one of you dolts find it in your hearts to pick me up and save me the cab fare in from Denver? I arrive on the Wednesday before the party at 3:10 p.m. Love you both (despite your many flaws!) Ha ha! P.
An anniversary party, huh? He rubbed his jaw and considered that for a moment. On the surface, a family event seemed innocent enough, but...
Ken ground his back teeth together and stared at the monitor, as if he could read any hidden agenda into her return to her family’s ranch. She had a good job, a good life here in Boston. She had him here in Boston, even if she hadn’t yet realized what they could mean to each other. Maybe he was paranoid, but every time she went back to Colorado, he worried that she might decide she was missing something by not being close to her family. She talked fairly often about her brothers. He knew she and her brothers were triplets. Did she have some triplet bond with her brothers that might trump everything she had here in Boston?
Mentally, he bumped up the urgency to hack her cell phone before she left town in a couple weeks. He couldn’t be sure how closely he’d be able to observe her once she got to Colorado, and he needed that additional link to her ASAP.
He went back to reserving a flight to Denver, then pulled up a list of motels near Boyd Valley, Colorado. Piper had said the town was small and rather remote, and the lack of lodging options in the town confirmed that. Two motels were listed within a twenty-five mile radius. One called The Mountaineer in Boyd Valley itself and a place called Catch-a-Wink in a community ten miles to the south. Next closest result was 56 miles away. He clicked the link for The Mountaineer’s website and arrived at a rudimentary website that looked like it had been created as a junior high kid’s school project. Jotting down the phone number for the office, he’d started tapping in the number on his cell phone. Activity on his monitor caught his attention. A quick reply from one of the brothers to her email.
Of course we’ll pick you up, dummy. No prob. Can’t wait to see your ugly mug! LOL! BTW, do you want to go in thirds on the cruise Josh and I are giving them as their gift? Have a good trip, Zane
“Mountaineer Inn. Can I help you?” asked the woman who answered his call.
“Yeah, you got any rooms left for later this month?”
“Absolutely. How many rooms do you need, and when will you be checking in?”
“Just one room.” He only gave the lady from the motel half of his attention as he rattled off an alias. If Boyd Valley was as small as Piper said, it wouldn’t do for her to catch wind of his presence there thanks to some town gossip.
“Can I pay cash for the room when I get there?”
“Yes, if you pay for the full stay on arrival.” The lady from The Mountaineer went on to rattle off a spiel about their hot breakfast and something about local attractions, but he tuned her out.
Piper was replying to Zane’s email.
Yes on the cruise. I already told Josh that. Not surprised Doofus forgot to tell you! :-) I’ll give you a check when I get there. Excited! See you soon, P.
“Yeah,” he muttered, hanging up on the lady at the motel. “We’ll see you soon, bro.”
Piper McCall entered the baggage claim area at Denver International Airport and scanned the crowd for a familiar face. Her brothers had assured her they would pick her up, but since then some question had come up about which of them it would be. Despite the long flight, she actually looked forward to the ride to the Double M Ranch. The hour-long drive would give her the chance to catch up on ranch and family news. She hadn’t seen her identical twin brothers, the other two-thirds of the McCall triplets, since Christmas.
She missed the bond she’d had with her brothers. She might have felt a bit odd-woman-out growing up, but you didn’t share a womb for nine months and not have a connection to your siblings.
“Piper!” a strong male voice called over the crowd noise, and she turned in the direction she’d heard her name. And froze.
The face she spotted by the luggage carts was definitely someone from the ranch. But not one of her brothers.
Brady Summers.
Son of their foreman. Her first love. And her first lover.
Her mouth dried. Why did it have to be Brady?
He raised a hand to make sure she’d seen him, and she bobbed a stiff nod of acknowledgment. Her gut somersaulting, she wove through the milling passengers and airport personnel toward Brady.
She silently cursed her mother, who had, no doubt, set this up. She’d have to explain to her mother, again, that she and Brady were over. Kaput. History. Time to stop throwing them together, believing that the old spark would reignite, and the McCalls and Summerses would live happily ever after.
She exhaled a cleansing breath. Okay, so her mother didn’t know the whole truth about what had happened between Piper and Brady. Probably for the best. Piper shuddered internally at the notion of what her mother might do if she knew the whole story, the whole, checkered past between her and the foreman’s son.
Brady doffed his cowboy hat as Piper approached and gave her his charming, lopsided grin. “Hey there. Good flight?”
“Average.” She heard the slight falter in her voice, the flutter that matched her staggering heartbeat.
Damn it, why did he have to look so good to her even after all these years? Better even. His youthful face had matured with a stronger jawline, sharper angles to his cheekbones and more rugged overall appeal. Brady’s eyes were the same piercing green, though, and the smile that tugged at his lips had the same power to tie her insides in giddy knots. His gaze held hers as he greeted her, and she felt his stare to her marrow. Could he see how he still affected her? How the mere sight of him turned her insides to goo?
Steeling herself, Piper surreptitiously wiped her sweaty palms on the seat of her jeans.
“Welcome
