Playing For Keeps (Emerald Lake Billionaires 2) (28 page)

“Just read it,” Sophie said.

Hayley pulled the laptop closer.

Sophie fidgeted. It was hard to guess whether the email held good or bad news. Her sister wasn’t giving anything away.

Sophie looked between the laptop and her sister. “Are you going to torture me or read it out loud?”

“I’m building anticipation.”

Tank came inside with their mom. “Who’s building anticipation?” He looked at Hayley and a guilty blush stained her cheeks.

“Sophie got an email from her lawyer. It’s about her patent application and the proposal she made to the pharmaceutical companies.”

“He’s replied about both things? In one email?” Sophie could hardly sit still on the sofa. “What did he say?”

Hayley turned the laptop around. “You need to read this yourself.” There were tears in her eyes. She blinked them back and smiled. “Go on. You’ve been waiting for this for months.”

Sophie looked at her laptop. She read the message once, then read it again to make sure she’d understood it the first time. She wiped tears out of her eyes and hugged Hayley tight. “I can’t believe it. After all this time someone wants to fast track my research.”

Tank looked from one sister to the other. “Do you want to tell me what you’re talking about?”

Sophie jumped up and hugged him. “They gave it to me. The patent office approved my application. No one else can copy the formula or say they developed the supplement. As soon as my lawyer had the patent secured, he went back to the two pharmaceutical companies we’d contacted. One of them bought the manufacturing rights.”

“Congratulations. What happens now?”

Sophie took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I need to call my lawyer and see what we do next.”

Hayley handed Sophie her cell phone. “Use mine.”

Her hand was shaking so much that she tapped in the wrong number three times before finally getting the correct number. As she waited for someone to answer, she looked at Hayley. “I don’t think anyone’s there.”

“Don’t hang up. Wait for the answering machine and leave a message. He might check his phone during the weekend.”

Sophie bit her bottom lip and waited. When her lawyer answered the phone, she had to sit down. “Hi Geoff. It’s Sophie. Sophie Elliott. I’m calling about the email you sent.”

By the end of the conversation it wasn’t only her hand that was shaking. Her whole body trembled in reaction to the news her lawyer had shared with her. He had negotiated the price of the formula beyond anything Sophie had ever imagined. Her life, along with Hayley and their mom’s, was about to change forever.

All she had to do was go back to Chicago, read the contract line by line to make sure she understood all of the terms and conditions, then sign on the dotted line.

She glanced at her mom and smiled. Something good had come out of her dementia. And if Sophie had any say in the matter, there would be better things to come.

She looked at her watch. “I’ve got to go.”

Tank’s gaze shot to her. “Where?”

“The concert at Ryan’s home. I need to tell him.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Tank said. “Just because you’ve got a piece of paper to sign, it doesn’t mean you’re out of danger.”

“Oh for Cripes’ sake,” Hayley groaned. “Let Sophie go.”

Tank’s blue eyes turned to a blue so cold that Sophie shivered. “No. She’s not going anywhere.”

Instead of backing down, Hayley poked Tank in the chest. “You will make this happen or I’ll go back on our deal.”

Tank’s eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

Sophie looked between her sister and Tank. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” he ground out between his teeth. “Get your jacket. I’m taking you to the concert.”

Sophie didn’t wait for Tank to change his mind. She ran out of the living room, taking the stairs two at a time to get to her bedroom fast. The concert was starting in an hour. She’d be lucky if she found Ryan before he went on stage.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Tank didn’t look impressed when he saw the vehicles parked on Ryan’s property. “This was a bad idea.”

Sophie was surprised, too. “We limited the number of invitations. There can’t be that many people left to arrive.”

Tank scowled.

Her attempt at making him feel better had fallen on deaf ears.

He slowed down and drove through a gate. “I called John while you were getting your jacket. Tanner will be waiting for us at the main gates.”

Sophie watched the cars in front of them. They’d left Ryan’s driveway and were making their way across a field. For most of the journey to Emerald Lake, Tank hadn’t spoken. He wasn’t a chatty kind of person at the best of times, but he seemed to have a lot on his mind.

She suspected Hayley had something to do with his silence. “What deal did you make with my sister?”

A woman in a bright orange high-vis jacket waved them toward a long line of vehicles.

“I’m not saying.”

“I might be able to help.”

Tank glanced at her before looking back at the field. “Why would you want to help?”

“You saved my sister and mom’s life. It’s the least I can do.”

Another warden waved them into a parking space.

Tank turned the ignition off and looked at Sophie. “Thanks, but I prefer to sort my own problems out.”

Sophie undid her seatbelt and reached for her jacket. “Okay, but if you change your mind, you know where to come. Let’s find Ryan before the concert starts.”

Tank followed her across the field. She walked between families who were slowly making their way across the grass and dodged more than one over-excited child. Dorothy had done a great job of making the property look amazing. Colorful flags ran along the edge of the area they’d put aside for the concert.

Tank held onto her elbow. “Stay close. Tanner’s up ahead.”

By the time they reached Tanner, Ryan’s band and backup singers had already walked on stage.

“We’re too late,” Sophie said sadly.

Tanner pointed to a place not far from the front of the stage. “You can talk to Ryan during the break. We saved you a space close to the stage.”

They walked between people with blankets spread on the ground. More than one picnic hamper had been opened and food was being passed around.

When they’d planned the concert, they’d decided not to rent any seating. Ryan wanted the concert to be relaxed and family friendly. If he was going to do this as a fundraiser for Pastor Steven’s church, he wanted everyone to enjoy themselves no matter how old or young they were.

“Over here.” Tanner pointed to a big, red blanket spread on the ground. A woman Sophie vaguely recognized was waiting for them. She had a large picnic hamper in her hand.

“I’m Maria. We met a couple of months ago when Dorothy was taking Ryan’s publicity photos.”

Sophie held out her hand. “I remember you now.”

Maria shook her hand and put the picnic hamper on the ground. “There’s a selection of food as well as juice inside the hamper. If you need anything else just let either Tanner or Tank know. They’ll be able to find me. Dorothy will be here as soon as the concert starts.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy the concert.”

Tank and Tanner sat either side of her. She felt like the filling in one of Ryan’s cheese sandwiches. Tank faced the audience with his back to the stage. Tanner was looking to the side, assessing the crowd around them.

“Can you look a little less like bodyguards?” Sophie whispered. “We’re at a concert, not a political rally.”

Tanner gave a dry laugh. “Until John says otherwise, we’re sticking to you like glue.”

Sophie knew it was useless to argue with them, so she waited in silence for Ryan to arrive. It didn’t take long. After the backup singers and band had finished their warm-up song, Ryan made his way onto the stage.

He didn’t look too closely at the audience and Sophie couldn’t blame him. He looked every bit as nervous as he had the last time she’d seen him perform.

Once he was behind the microphone he relaxed. His face broke into a smile and his band started playing the first song of the night. By the time the song ended, Ryan had lost the terrified look on his face and was enjoying being in front of the audience.

Halfway through his third song he saw Sophie. She watched his gaze travel between Tanner and Tank, then Dorothy, as she sat on the picnic blanket.

Sophie smiled to let him know that everything was okay.

Ryan frowned.

In between songs, Dorothy leaned toward Sophie. “We weren’t able to tell Ryan that you’d be here. How are your sister and mom?”

“They’re happy to be in Bozeman.”

Dorothy nodded. “Family is important. I’m glad they’re okay.” She looked down at her cell phone and sighed. “I’ve got to go. There’s a problem with one of the generators. I’ll see you soon.”

When she left, Sophie turned back to the stage.

As each song followed the next, Ryan found an easy rhythm, talking with the audience and enjoying their feedback. They’d invited other local singers to perform and the audience loved it. Ryan was able to take a break from singing and his guests were excited to be on stage with him.

Molly O’Donaghue, the photographer they’d employed, moved around the stage like the seasoned pro she was. She took photos of Ryan, his guest musicians, and the audience. By the end of the concert, Dorothy and her team would have loaded the best of the photos onto a number of social media sites. Press releases would accompany the photos, telling everyone about the concert.

If anyone had any lingering doubts about Ryan’s reputation, today’s concert would put them to rest.

Sophie checked the time. They had scheduled a half hour break in the middle of the concert. She nudged Tanner. “Is Ryan going back to his house during the break?”

He nodded.

Sophie looked at the people around her. There was no way she’d be able to have a conversation with Ryan without the risk of being mobbed by his fans.

“If you want to go to the house, we go now,” Tanner said.

Tanner and Tank walked beside her as they navigated through the crowd. For the first time in a long while, it felt good to be out in the open, doing something that most people took for granted. For months, she’d been worried about her family, hiding behind a new life that was hardly safe. With the production of her supplement almost secure, she could start living again.

A cheer rang out from the crowd.

“The last song has just started. We need to move fast if we want to miss the people going to the food vendors,” Tank said.

As they walked, Tanner spoke softly into the microphone on his headset. “Ryan will be leaving the stage in five minutes.”

“It’s like a military operation,” Sophie said half-seriously.

No one replied.

“We’ll go in the front door.” Tanner nodded at the other security guards looking after Ryan’s home. He opened the double-height door and nudged her inside. “We’ll wait for you on the patio. As soon as you’re ready to go back to the concert, Tank and I will walk with you.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Tanner hesitated before closing the door, as if he was about to say something, but changed his mind.

The door closed with a soft click and Sophie looked around the entranceway. It felt strange to be back. She’d only been gone for a couple of days, but it felt like a lifetime.

She walked along the gallery, admiring the paintings and sculpture that Ryan had collected. It was a wonderful space, full of light and color. The pieces he’d chosen were a mix of modern and traditional art. Some were made by well-known artists and others were pieces he’d found in small galleries around the world.

The open plan living area looked spotless. She smiled at the shiny floors, remembering the bucket of water she’d carried from one end of the house to the other.

The front door opened. Ryan and Dorothy walked into the living room followed by Ryan’s band and their photographer.

Ryan frowned. “What are you doing at the concert? It’s too dangerous for you to be here.”

“We’ll go through to the kitchen while you talk,” Dorothy said as she waved everyone across the room. She handed Ryan a bottle of water. “Make sure you have plenty to drink.”

Sophie smiled and walked closer to Ryan. “I heard from my lawyer. One of the pharmaceutical companies he was negotiating with has offered me a ridiculous amount of money. They’re going to fast track more research and produce my supplement.”

“That’s great. It still doesn’t tell me why you’re here.”

Sophie wasn’t going to be put off by his grumpy attitude. “Ask me about my patent application.”

Ryan ran his hands through his hair. “What’s happened with your patent application?”

“It’s been approved! I officially own the formula.”

Ryan sighed. “That’s great.”