sixteen years, Missy Dobbs had thought he would have changed, but no, Liam Murphy had only grown more handsome than the boy who’d stolen her heart all those years ago.
She pulled in a deep breath. She had to do this. There was no gray area to fill with could she or should she when it came to this decision. The certainty of what lay ahead outweighed the fear, although not by much.
The hustle and bustle of the busy airport gate continued on around her as she waited for a flight that would take her to the last place on earth she’d ever thought she would see again.
Destiny, Wyoming.
She tightened her grip on the tablet as she stared again at Liam’s picture on the website for his family’s company. She tried to reconcile the wild and crazy cowboy she’d known as a teen with the serious man looking impossibly dashing in a business suit. The dark-framed glasses he wore couldn’t hide the sparkle in his eyes and his hair was shorter now, but a wayward curl or two still threatened to spill down over his forehead.
Her former love had done well for himself. CEO and president of his family’s business. She wasn’t surprised. Liam had been cut out for more than being a rodeo star, but at eighteen that had been his dream.
A dream that had torn them apart.
A dream that had sent her running home and into a fateful one-night stand with a former boyfriend. A man she’d ended up marrying because she believed—she’d been told—he was the true father of her child after finding out she was pregnant a few months later. Only now—after many years, she knew the truth.
Liam Murphy was her daughter’s father.
What a bloody mess!
She hadn’t even talked to Casey about what she’d learned before heading to Los Angeles on a last-minute work assignment. No, there’d only been time for a heated argument with her mother, who’d known the truth about Casey’s paternity all along.
That had been two weeks ago.
Her job on the film set had finished late yesterday and Casey was set to fly in on Monday to join Missy for an extended holiday here in the States. That meant Missy had the weekend to fly to Destiny, knock on Liam’s door with the hope he remembered her and break the news to him that he’d fathered a child.
The gentle chiming of her mobile phone came from deep within her purse. She didn’t recognize the number and offered a quick prayer that it wasn’t anything work related that would cancel her plans.
“Hello?”
“Mum, it’s me. Casey.”
Missy slammed the tablet’s cover closed, almost as if her daughter could see what she’d been looking at.
Other than texting back and forth, they hadn’t talked in the last few days. And when they had chatted during Missy’s stay in Los Angeles, she hadn’t mentioned anything about what she’d discovered to her daughter. Sharing the news about Casey’s real father had to wait until they were together again, face-to-face.
“Ah, hello, sweetie. Why aren’t you calling me from your mobile?”
“It died. Completely. I’ve got it charging at the moment.”
The airport’s loudspeaker came to life, blaring out information. Missy turned to the wall and ducked her head in hopes of muffling the noise. She quickly figured the time difference between California and London. It was after dinnertime there. “Are you home now? You need to start packing.”
“Not...exactly.”
Two words—and the nervous hitch in her daughter’s voice—sent a shiver of maternal alertness through Missy. “Laundry might be your least favorite chore for a Friday night, sweetie, but you can’t wait until the last minute to figure out what to bring for our holiday—”
Her daughter’s words cut her off midsentence. “Mum, I don’t have to worry about packing because I’m already here.”
Here? In Los Angeles?
Missy jerked to her feet, her leather tote swinging from her shoulder. She scanned the gate area for an airport map. “What do you mean, here? Are you at the LAX international terminal?”
“No, I’m in Wyoming.”
What?
Missy’s precarious hold on a reality that had been spinning out of control over the last few weeks slipped away. She dropped to the unyielding airport seat beneath her, the ability to stand gone as the blood drained from her head.
“Mum? Did you hear me?” Casey asked. “Mum?”
“How did—why are—” Missy pushed the words past her lips, unable to complete either question. She finally managed to squeak out, “Why on earth would you fly to Wyoming? Alone?”
“I was planning to fly to LA alone, wasn’t I? Blimey, it’s not like it’s the first time I’ve traveled by myself.”
Yes, Casey had started joining her at film locations during school breaks a few years ago, but those were always nonstop flights around Europe.
“Of course, but again, why—” Missy’s heart pounded in her chest, the truth already settling like a rock in her belly. “Why are you in—”
“Why do you think? I overheard bits and bobs when you and Grandmum fought the night before you flew to California. About what you found in Granddad’s desk. I can’t believe they did that to you! To us!” Her daughter’s words came fast. “And you didn’t talk to me before your flight or the few times we’ve chatted since. Not one word!”
Oh, this was not how she wanted this to go. “Sweetie, I—”
“Not that I blame you, really. I mean, it’s not exactly a topic for casual conversation,” Casey barreled on. “I heard you say a man’s name and a town in Wyoming during your argument, so after some online searching I decided to change my flight plans. I arrived in Cheyenne this morning.”
Missy tried to keep up, but her daughter’s words blended with the loud rushing in her ears and the announcement that her flight was boarding. She gathered her items and got in line, the boarding pass shaking in a mad fit in her fingers.
Casey was in Wyoming. She knew about Liam.
Fix this! Fix this! Fix this!
The words thundered inside Missy’s brain as she made her way to her first-class seat, trying to think of what to say—what to do—next.
Casey could wait for her at the airport. They’d get a hotel room and talk. She’d figure out a way to get in touch with Liam tomorrow.
Slightly calmer after her hastily thought up plan, Missy said, “Okay, I want you to stay at the airport. I’m on a flight—”
“Mum, I’m not in Cheyenne anymore. I’m in Destiny! And guess what?” Casey’s voice rose in excitement before it dropped to a loud whisper. “I found him.”
Destiny! Missy’s impetuous
