The Princess and the Cowboy. Lois Dyer Faye
or sit, it makes no difference to the outcome of this meeting.” He cleared his throat. “Since my heart attack last month, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this family. I’ve never thought a lot about my legacy, nor to having grandchildren to carry on the Hunt name. However, the heart attack made me face some hard truths I’d ignored—I could have died. I could die tomorrow.” He stood, rested his knuckles on the desktop and leaned forward, his face grimly intent. “I finally realized that, left to your own devices, you four never will get married, which means I’ll never have grandchildren. I don’t intend to leave the future of this family to chance any longer. You have a year. By the end of that year, each of you will not only be married, you will either already have a child or your wife will be expecting one.”
The silence thickened, lengthened.
“Right,” J.T. finally muttered, dryly.
Justin bit back a grin and looked past J.T. at Gray, noting the amusement flashing across his brother’s face. To Gray’s left, Alex merely lifted an eyebrow and sipped from his bottle of ale to drink.
“If any one of you refuses to do so,” Harry continued, as if he hadn’t noticed their lack of interest, “you’ll all lose your positions in HuntCom and the perks you love so much.”
Justin stiffened. What the hell?
Gray’s face lost all amusement. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m deadly serious.”
“With all due respect, Harry,” J.T. spoke, breaking the brief, stunned silence, “how will you run the company if we refuse to do this?” He gestured at his brothers. “I don’t know what Gray, Alex or Justin have going on right now, but I’m in the middle of expansions here in Seattle, in Jansen and at our Delhi facility. If another architect has to take over my position, it’ll be months before he’s up to speed. Construction delays alone would cost HuntCom a fortune.”
“It wouldn’t matter, because if the four of you refuse to agree, I’ll sell off HuntCom in pieces. The Delhi facility will be history, and I’ll sell Hurricane Island.” Harry’s gaze left J.T. and met Justin’s without flinching. “I’ll sell HuntCom’s interest in the Idaho ranch.” He looked at Alex. “I’ll shut down the foundation if you refuse to cooperate.” Lastly, his hard stare met Gray’s. “And HuntCom won’t need a president because there will no longer be a company for you to run.”
Gray’s expression went stony.
“But that’s insane,” Alex said. “What do you hope to accomplish by doing this, Harry?”
“I mean to see you all settled with a family started before I die.” Harry’s eyes darkened. “With a decent woman who’ll make a good wife and mother. The women you marry have to win Cornelia’s approval.”
“Does Aunt Cornelia know about this?” Justin found it hard to believe his honorary aunt, the widow of Harry’s best friend, was a willing partner in his father’s crazy scheme.
“Not yet.”
Justin felt a surge of relief. When Cornelia learned what Harry was planning, she’d pitch a fit. She was the only one Harry was likely to listen to.
“So,” Justin said slowly. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. Each of us has to agree to marry and produce a kid within a year…”
“All of you have to agree,” Harry interrupted. “All four of you. If one refuses, everyone loses, and life as you’ve known it—your jobs, the HuntCom holdings you each love—will be gone.”
Justin ignored all three of his brothers’ muttered curses and continued. “…and the brides have to each be approved by Aunt Cornelia.”
Harry nodded. “She’s a shrewd woman. She’ll know if any of the women aren’t good wife material. Which reminds me,” he added abruptly. “You can’t tell the women you’re rich, or that you’re my sons. I don’t want any fortune hunters in the family. God knows, I married enough of those myself. I don’t want any of my sons making the mistakes I made.” He drew a deep breath. “I’ll give you some time to think about this. You have until 8 p.m. Pacific time, three days from now. If I don’t hear from you to the contrary before then, I’ll tell my lawyer to start looking for a buyer for HuntCom.”
He rounded the edge of the desk and left the room, the door closing quietly behind him.
The four watched him go with varying expressions of anger and disbelief.
“Son of a bitch,” Justin said softly, his eyes narrowed in thought. “I think he means it.”
Chapter One
Lily Spencer sipped her first cup of organic green tea while standing at the kitchen island of her town house, the pages of the Seattle Times spread out over the white marble counter in front of her. Early-morning sun spilled through the window behind her as she read, slowly turning the pages and enjoying the peaceful, quiet moments before her daughter awoke.
She skimmed the business articles and flipped the page to the Seattle Life section. A photo of a jogger at Green Lake was prominently featured at the top of the page.
Lily caught her breath, the gently steaming mug held motionless halfway to her lips. She narrowed her eyes and stared, trying to make out the man’s features. But his face was partly turned away from the photographer.
Still, she knew with gut-deep conviction that the jogger was Justin Hunt. A gray tank top with a University of Washington logo left his broad shoulders and upper arms bare, the muscles of his thighs and long legs powerful beneath the hem of his black jogging shorts. Sunlight gleamed off sweat-dampened tanned skin.
She skimmed the brief caption beneath the photo, confirming her guess. The jogger was indeed Justin Hunt, in town for meetings the reporter speculated were important, since all four of the Hunt brothers had been seen in Seattle over the last twenty-four hours.
Lily leaned over the counter, her fingertips brushing the photo.
Then reality intruded and her lips firmed, compressing into a frown. She set her mug on the counter with a distinct clunk.
So he’s back in town. So what?
She’d stopped jogging at Green Lake after Justin had dumped her. The wide asphalt track that circled the lake had been her favorite spot to run, but the possibility that she might see him, either alone or with another woman, wasn’t one she cared to chance. Nowadays, she jogged along the waterfront, timing her visits to avoid the arrival of the cross-sound ferries and the wave of traffic from the passengers and vehicles they brought with them.
The baby monitor sitting on the counter next to the toaster crackled, followed by the subtler sound of rustling bedclothes.
Lily glanced at her wristwatch and smiled. Right on time, she thought.
“Ma-ma. Ma-ma.” Ava’s voice came clearly over the monitor.
Lily folded the newspaper and left the kitchen for her daughter’s bedroom. Ava looked up the moment Lily opened the door. She grinned with obvious delight and held up her arms to her mother.
“Good morning, sweetie.” Lily picked up the one-year-old toddler and cuddled her close. “Did you sleep well last night?”
Ava responded with a string of sounds interspersed with several “mamas,” chortling when Lily nuzzled her downy cheek.
Lily carried Ava downstairs, tucked her into her highchair and shook a handful of Cheerios onto the tray. As Ava carefully picked them up, one by one, and tucked them into her mouth, Lily switched on the kettle for her daughter’s morning oatmeal.
Justin is ancient history, she thought. He’s probably in town for a meeting at HuntCom, and will be gone soon.
She picked up the newspaper and dropped it into the recycling bin, determined to forget the photo.
And