“Jeez, Ace, just say it,” Gus blurted. “There’s a whole line of SUVs and cars comin’ up the road, Miss, every last one with antennas sproutin’ in all directions.”
Lissa felt her stomach drop.
“Up this road? To the Triple G?”
Gus nodded. “Yes’m. I shut the upper gate so they can’t come no further than that, but there’s not much else we can do unless the boss tells us to go out there with shotguns and threaten to run ’em all off.”
Ace cleared his throat.
“There’s more. Esther called. She says to tell you she slammed her door on a reporter at dawn.”
“Oh, hell,” Lissa said, just as the back door opened. Brutus galloped into the kitchen straight to her, with Nick strolling after him. He smiled, but one look at Lissa’s face wiped his smile away.
“Lissa? What is it?”
“We thought we’d have twenty-four hours,” she said softly. “We were wrong.”
“People comin’,” Ace said. “Television people. Gus closed the upper gate, but there’s a bunch of ’em buildin’ up out there.”
“Me and the boys can go out and run ’em off,” Gus said. “This is private land, boss. You have every right to keep it that way.”
“Thank you,” Nick said. “Thank you—but they’ll just head back to the main road and wait.”
“You could phone Hank,” Lissa said. “He could fly you out.”
“They’d be waiting wherever we landed.” He took Lissa’s hand in his. “All of those ifs, remember? This time, they lead to the same place. I can’t escape the outcome, Duchess. It’s time to face reality.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat.
“What shall we do?”
“Not ‘we.’ Me. This is my mess. I’m the one who has to start cleaning it up.”
“Nick. You don’t have to do this alone.”
He brought her hand to his lips.
“I do,” he said softly. “I have to take a step into the world, i
nto living my life.” He smiled. “A very wise philosopher told me how important that was.”
“Still, you don’t have to do it all by yourself.”
Nick’s smile faded. “Yes. I do. The first steps have to be mine.”
His gaze fell to her mouth and he leaned forward and kissed her. It was the first time they’d shared any small sign of intimacy in front of his men, and an audible sigh swept through the kitchen. After a long moment, he turned and looked at them.
“Ace. Gus. All of you. Thank you for your loyalty these past months. There’s not a ranch in all of Montana with a finer bunch of cowboys than you guys. I want you to know how much that’s meant to me—how much it will continue to mean to me, especially now. Those vultures out there are going to try to pick your bones.”
“They ain’t gonna get nothin’ out of us,” one man said, and the others growled their assent.
“I know that,” Nick said. “And I’m grateful.” He cleared his throat. “So, let’s get this over with. Ace, Gus, all of you—just go about your usual day. I’ll make it clear that nobody’s to bother you. I can’t guarantee that’ll keep them from trying—”
“It will,” Ace said grimly, “if we all spend the day shovelin’ manure.”
Everybody laughed. Then, one by one, Nick shook hands with his men and they shuffled out of the house. Ace was the last in line.
“We all wish you only the best, boss. You an’ Ms. Lissa, too.”