Truth and Dare (5 page)

Here was this multimillionaire, known as a shark in the business world, who thought nothing of picking up a hammer to help a friend.

Her opinion of him had changed so much since they first met. He was a caring, loving grandson and friend. She could tell by the way he communicated with Andy that there was a deep connection there. And honestly, a man didn’t have friends like Andy if he wasn’t good-hearted.

Patience checked herself. She shouldn’t care anything about the man’s personal life. She was here to solve a case, and that’s where her focus needed to be. It was hard to separate the man from the work, especially when he was right next door. She didn’t date much, but even she was aware of how hard it was to find a man like Cade Randall.

He’d been so passionate about his ranch, and she’d noticed he smiled more when he discussed what he wanted to do with the place he called the Triple Dare. The idea of restoring the ranch had been something Cade had thought about for a long time.

She wondered if this was some way of honoring his father or making up for the years he’d been so bitter about his dad’s disappearance.

Patience knew about being bitter and losing someone you loved. There wasn’t a day she didn’t think about the soul-sucking moment when her life had forever changed.

After sliding on his jeans, he knocked on the door separating their room.

She didn’t answer.

He heard another soft sob.

“Patience?” He opened the door. She was twisted in her sheets. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Jeremy… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please come home.”

Who was Jeremy? A pang of jealousy hit him.

He knelt at the bedside and saw she was sound asleep but in the middle of some kind of nightmare. “Patience.” He softly pressed his hand to her cheek.

“Hey, wake up,” he said softly. But the tears continued to flow.

Each sob constricted his heart. He couldn’t stand to see her this way. “Patience, come on, I need you to wake up.” This time he lightly jostled her shoulder and her eyes fluttered open.

“Cade?”

“You were having a bad dream.”

She turned to stare out the window. “I— Sometimes that happens.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry I woke you. Please, go back to bed.”

Cade smoothed a hand over her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I just wanted to make sure you’re all right. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” she said. “I’m fine. Embarrassed.”

“Why? It’s not like you can control something like that. And we’re friends. You don’t have to be embarrassed with me.” He meant it, though at times he had to admit he felt a little more than friendly toward her—well, way more.

“Thank you.” She sniffled.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk?”

“No, I’m fine. Please go back to bed and forget this ever happened.”

“Hey.” He pushed a strand of hair off of her forehead. “You aren’t the only one with nightmares. I’ve had a couple since you figured out what happened to my dad. All that boyhood trauma coming back to play.” He dealt with it by pounding on a punching bag in his gym. “I don’t know what upset you, but don’t feel bad about it. GG always said we work things out in our dreams and usually it isn’t always the fun stuff.”

She glanced back at him. “I really adore that woman.”

“Me, too. So, are you better?”

“I will be.”

The haunted look in her eyes hadn’t eased.

“I love the sound of the rain on the tin roof. It’s soothing, don’t you think?”

“I’ve never been in a house with a tin roof,” she said, leaning back against the headboard.

He glanced around searching for a place to sit, this room only had one of those small white wicker benches and he knew it couldn’t handle his weight.

“Do you mind if I sit on the covers over there and watch the rain through the window. It really is relaxing for me.”

Cade didn’t wait for her to answer him. He walked to the other side of the bed and sat on top of the covers. Propping up the pillow, he mimicked her action and leaned back against the headboard.

“Cade?”

Silently, he gathered her in his arms.

She hesitated, as if she were making a life or death decision. Then she snuggled into him and he tugged a blanket up over her shoulder.

Her nearness was almost his undoing. He wanted to kiss her pain away, and the honeysuckle scent of her was enough to push him to try it.

But that wasn’t what she needed.

Clearing his throat, he began, “Tomorrow, well, later today, I’m going to work on fixing the barn door out at the ranch. The structure is good, but like everything else on the property, it needs an overhaul.”

Cade talked and stroked her hair until he could hear her breathing steadily. He didn’t want to move for fear of disturbing her. And he convinced himself to stay through the night, in case she had another bad dream.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Romeo
.

The night before came rushing back to her and she almost cringed when she realized what she’d done. “Hi,” the word came out a whisper. A little cough escaped her throat. “Did you get any sleep?”

“A couple of hours. That’s all I need.” There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t read. Her usual lack of understanding human emotion was nothing less than frustrating at times like these.

She sat up on her knees accidentally touching his thigh as she did so.

He jerked slightly as if her touch repulsed him.

“Sorry. For—that and for everything,” she said quickly. “You were so sweet to stay with me.” She leaned forward to grab her pillow as he lifted his head. Their lips touched.

Before she could pull back, his mouth moved against hers, challenging and taking everything she had to give. She tried analyzing what was happening, but his tongue slid across hers and it was Patience who lost her breath. The man was delicious.

What are you doing?

She had the sense to push away and sat back.

Patience’s cheeks were hot and she knew they must be a dark shade of pink. “That was nice.”

“Nice?” One eyebrow went up.

“Yes, and unexpected,” she added.

“Yes, unexpected is a good way of stating it.” His hand caressed her cheek. “I’d be liar if I said I was disappointed.”

“Yeah, I’d be liar if I said that, too.”

The man looked at her as if ready to eat her up, and she was more than happy to be his dish. For a second she thought he might reach for her, but he rolled off the bed.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked.

“No, I’m checking for leaks. GG said the roof was leaking and we had a good soaking rain last night, thought I’d better see if there was water damage.”

Why wouldn’t he look at her? Had she done something to turn him off?

“Oh,” she said.

“I’d better check the other rooms.”

Patience had offended him. She tried to think back to what happened directly after the kiss, but she couldn’t think of anything.

He stepped through the doorway connecting their rooms, calling to her, “What do you have planned today?”

“I—am going out to the crime scene. I want to make sure we haven’t missed anything.” She was slightly befuddled that he even cared. He acted as if he wanted to get way from her.

“I still don’t understand how there could be evidence there. The weather’s rough here, it would have been washed away long ago. And I thought you were a forensic anthropologist, not an archaeologist.”

“I am, but I spent a good part of my youth helping my dad on various digs. You’re also right about the weather, and there are insects, too, besides the erosion that can disrupt a crime scene. However, as I’ve learned, the land can hold on to some surprising things. I won’t know unless I go over the surrounding area myself.”

“Never thought of it like that,” Cade said. “So what time are you leaving?”

“After breakfast. Why?”

“I’ll come with you, I don’t want you going out there alone.”

Her eyebrow rose this time. “I’m a big girl, Cade, I don’t need a chaperone.”

“I know, but I want to be there, okay? I need to go to the store so if you can hold off until about ten or so, I’d appreciate it.”

“Sure,” she said lightly.

Something flashed in his eyes. That she wanted him so much was clouding her judgment. This kind of complication she didn’t need. Focus was the name of the game.

When you solve the case, then you can taste him again.

And yet…

Her traitorous body might die if it had to wait too long. Never had she craved a man’s touch like she did his.

Cade Randall was an addictive drug, one that she’d have to take in small doses if she was going to survive.

She was confident and self-assured and he didn’t doubt that she knew exactly what she was doing. Her fragility from the night before was gone, except perhaps a slight darkening under her eyes. As he held her in his arms the previous night, it had shocked him when he realized he’d do anything to protect her. By the morning he’d decided it was merely a manly instinct and one that he would have felt about any woman in a similar circumstance.

Using a large stick she poked into the underbrush around a group of trees. About the time he was worried she’d run into a snake, she jumped back.

Cade hopped off the truck. “What is it?”

She waved him away. “It’s okay, just a rattle snake.”

“Just?”

“He surprised me, well, I’m pretty sure I surprised him first,” she said as she walked over to him. Most of the women, hell, a good portion of the men he knew would have run screaming.

“I run into creatures all the time when I’m out in the field. I try to be respectful since I’m in their territory, but every once in a while I make a mistake.”

“You amaze me.” Cade meant the words.

“Why is that?” She took a swig of water from her bottle.

“That you don’t have a clue cracks me up. I saw you pick something up before the snake surprised you.”

She pulled the package out of her pocket. When she held it up his breath caught in his chest. “That’s—”

The words wouldn’t come.

“Did this belong to your father?”

Cade didn’t trust his voice. He took the package from her so he could read the inscription. “Love’s enough” was written inside the simple gold band. He held his father’s wedding ring. When they were first married, his parents didn’t have much money and his mother always told him that love was enough to see them through.

Anger burned in Cade’s gut. What happened to his father hit him like a two-ton truck. Leaving the ring on the tailgate, he walked away.

The tiny piece of metal forced Cade to think about everything he and his family lost. He wanted to scream. Pain shot through him at how all their lives had been ruined.

Cade dropped to his knees. The emotions roiled inside him. All the hate he’d felt toward his father was replaced by a desperate need for his killer to be brought to justice.

There was also the heart-sinking guilt. He might have only been seven when his father disappeared, but Cade should have known. His dad was a good man.

Memories of fishing on the river, and helping his father gather hay on the weekends flooded his mind. Sitting in his dad’s lap so Cade could feel as if he was driving the tractor. His first solo ride on a horse. After only a few times around the ring he’d fallen off. “You can give up and never ride again,” his father had said gently, “or you can get back on that horse and show him who is boss. I believe in you, son, and I’m proud of you, no matter what you decide.” Cade had hauled himself onto the horse and ridden until his mom had called them in for dinner. That night he’d caught his dad looking at him at the dinner table. He remembered the pride in his father’s eyes.

Cade’s hands splayed on his thighs and he gulped for air. Tears burned the rims of his eyes, but he was a proud man and refused to let them fall.

“I’ll kill whoever did this,” he vowed.

“I wouldn’t blame you,” Patience said, as she tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder.

Her touch was a salve. It soothed his conscience in a way he’d never expected.

“The ring made it real,” she said, filling the silence. “For the first time in years.”

Cade continued to stare at the ground. The idea that she perhaps had shared his kind of pain calmed him. The need to comfort her grew stronger than his anger and grief.

“I’m sorry. It isn’t fair,” she said. “And if it means anything, I’d probably help you kill whoever did this to you.” Cade heard a hint of anger in her voice and pushed himself off the ground to stand before her.

“I envy you in a way.” Her voice caught.

A single tear slid down her cheek. How could she possibly envy the fact his father had been murdered?

“Envy?” he asked her.

She shook her head, and pushed the tear away with a fist. “I’m sorry. I know that sounds terrible. I just meant, at least you know what happened to him. As tough as it is, you no longer have to wonder why he disappeared. I’m not sure I’ll ever know what happened to Jeremy.”

“Can I ask who he is?” Cade wasn’t at all sure he wanted to know, but he could tell she was ready to talk. He’d do anything to get his mind off his own troubles.

“He’s— It’s not important right now,” she said, her voice raw with emotion. She bit her lip and Cade could see she fought for control.

“Tell me about him.” He didn’t let go of her arm. He watched as fear and then what looked like remorse played over her face.

“This isn’t about me, Cade,” she said, her voice hoarse. “It’s about you. We need to get to town and show the sheriff what I found.”

Cade didn’t let go of her. Instead, he led her to the tailgate of the truck and lifted her onto it. Then he sat down beside her.

“How is it you can relate to all this?”

Patience’s head dipped down, as if she were trying to hide her pain from him. Cade put an arm around her shoulders. When he touched her, she took in a deep shuddering breath and shook her head. This was a deep sorrow born of years of pain. He knew because he’d felt the same way.

“Please?” he asked again.

“Jeremy is my brother,” she finally answered.

Scooting closer to him she snapped her arms around his body as if she were hanging on to an emotional anchor. He tightened his hold.

“When I was thirteen he was six. During the school years my father taught at the university in town, and summers we would go with him on expeditions. Every day I walked Jeremy home from school.

He had to wait a half hour for me to get out, but my school was across the street so he’d sit on the steps and wait for me. But one day he wasn’t there.

“At first I was so mad at him for running off. I checked the playground and then went over to his school. His teacher, Mrs. Glade, saw how worried I was and she gathered some others to help look for him. They checked the school, and I ran to the homes of his two best friends. The last time they’d seen him, he’d been on the steps of my school. That’s when I called my dad.” Her voice trembled when she mentioned her father.

She glanced up at him, and the pain in her eyes took Cade’s breath away. The confident, self-assured woman was once again a little girl.

“The police were called in and a search team. We combed the neighborhood, but it was as if he’d just disappeared. The last time anyone had seen him, he’d been on those damn steps right where he was supposed to be.”

The tears flowed now and Cade dug around in his pocket for his bandana. Patience didn’t seem to be aware of the tears. He blotted them away for her, cursing himself now for asking about Jeremy.

“There were statewide and then nationwide searches. Still, the police didn’t have a single lead. My father took a year’s leave of absence and did nothing but look for my brother. Our mother had died of cancer when Jeremy was four and he couldn’t stand the idea of losing another family member.

“For a long time I blamed myself. That day I’d lingered at my locker to talk with a boy that I liked. I wondered if I’d been on time, would Jeremy have been there waiting for me? Maybe because I was a little bit late he left and decided to walk home and that’s when someone kidnapped him.”

“You can’t believe it was your fault,” Cade pushed her hair behind her ears. “You were little more than a child yourself. Whoever took your brother is to blame, not you.”

She coughed a little and Cade handed her the bandana.

“I know that’s true, but there’s a part of me that will never let go of the feeling that I maybe could have done something. I imagine the most horrible things happened to him. My father never blamed me. He told me he always believed someone saw what a wonderful little boy Jeremy was, and they gave him a good home. But the world doesn’t work that way. I knew that even back then.

“At the end of the year Jeremy went missing, my dad pulled me out of public school. He had me tutored privately and we traveled the world. He never let me out of his sight. It wasn’t until I went to university that he finally let go. Even now he texts me once a day, every day, even though he’s remarried and has my stepbrothers to worry about.”

“Well, you never know, your father might be right about someone kind kidnapping your brother. We hear stories about women who will do anything to have a child. Have you ever used your resources at Stonegate to find him?”

Patience shrugged. “I thought about it a couple of times, but—”

“What?”

“What if we do find a lead? What if I get my hopes up and we find out the worst? Sometimes I believe not knowing is easier.”

“I’m surprised to hear you say that. When you took on my dad’s case the first thing you said was he deserved to rest in peace. That meant finding out what had happened to him.”

She shoved him gently. “This is not the time for you to be throwing my words back at me, Cade.”

“Ha, I happen to know this hardheaded woman who would do anything to find out what happened to my dad. I think she should also put some of those skills to use for her own cause. Have you ever told any of your friends at Stonegate?”

She sighed. “No. I’ve never told anyone but you.”

Cade’s chest tightened. “I’m honored. And yet, I think you need to at least try, Patience. Your brother deserves the same as my dad. As hard as it has been for me the last two weeks, I wouldn’t trade knowing my father was a good man for anything. I at least have some closure, even if it isn’t the ideal situation. You deserve the same. He may be alive somewhere wondering where you are.”

“Or I could find out he’s dead.”

“Yes, that is a possibility,” Cade said carefully, “but at least you would know.”

They sat in silence for several moments and his thoughts ran the gamut. Cade wanted to take the pain away from her. He had financial resources that could help her search. The merger had made him a wealthy man several times over and if her friends wouldn’t help her for free, he’d pay them, too.

You’re in deep.

Maybe too deep
.

Cade kissed the top of her head and she lifted her face to him.

“I need something from you, Cade, and I’m embarrassed to ask,” she said softly.

“Tell me. I’ll do anything for you, Patience.”

“Make love to me, Cade. Now. Help me forget.”

Cade watched her for a few seconds and saw the need in her eyes.

“Please don’t make me beg.”

His hand slipped around the back of her neck as his lips descended on hers with a ferocity he fought to control. She wanted him, and though somewhere in his mind he knew he might be taking advantage of the situation the feel of her pressed against him overrode any reason he still might have had.

He’d make her beg, but not for comfort.