And the call was disconnected, leaving Sophie wondering what was going on and what was it she was not being told?
* * *
Thursday morning as Sophie entered the office, she immediately saw Clay behind his desk, reading the morning paper, a cup of coffee in one hand. Approaching, she couldn’t help but notice the look of self-satisfaction on his face. Wherever he had been, whatever he’d been doing, he’d apparently been successful. She couldn’t help but speculate what it was. He’d probably been signing new accounts for Everest.
“Good morning,” she offered. “I’m glad to see you back. Did you have a good outcome to whatever it was you were doing?”
“Good morning,” he replied, “and yes, I did. Thank you for asking.” The newspaper still blocked his face but by the tone of his voice he’d accomplished what he’d set out to do. Whatever that was.
She went about her business the rest of the day
. Clay approached her as she was straightening her desk before going home.
“Can I delay you a few minutes?”
“Sure.”
“There is someone I want you to meet.”
“Who is it?”
“Come with me and find out.”
Together they made their way through the enormous house, out the kitchen door and down a walkway toward the main barn. Bypassing the lobby and the duplicate stalls of horses, Clay continued to the back of the barn, finally stopping in front of a large pen made of solid iron topped by wire panels held together by steel supports.
Sophie peeked through the panels and saw the creature inside. Startled, she jumped back. It was the largest Brahma bull she’d ever seen in her life. She’d guess the weight to be well over a ton.
“Sophie?”
“Not what I was expecting. It’s massive! What is a Brahma bull doing here on the ranch?” she asked, her voice quivering. “If that sucker ever got out, it could eat someone’s lunch.”
Clay smiled and stepped toward the fence. When he held his hand out to Sophie, she hesitantly put her smaller one in his and stepped forward.
“This is Iron Heart. He and I met in a rodeo arena five years ago. And he stomped more than my lunch.”
Sophie swallowed hard. “This is the bull that almost killed you?”
Clay silently nodded.
“Clay? What is it doing here?”
“It was scheduled to be euthanized. I found out and had them stop and arranged for him to come here.”
“But why?”
“Because that ogre’s the only SOB I’ve ever met who’s meaner than me and that deserves some recognition. Besides, he actually saved my life.”
“I don’t understand.”
“If it hadn’t been for Iron Heart, I would’ve entered into a marriage with a woman who I didn’t truly love and who certainly didn’t love me. It was the roughest damn thing I’ve ever been through, overcoming both downfalls. But it gave me the chance to build Everest from the ground up into the technology behemoth it is today.” He turned to face her. “Just so we’re straight, I suffer no regrets that Veronica walked out. None. Not with you beside me.”
Sophie was stunned. Not only was Clay showing her a softness he carried inside that hardly anyone ever saw, he was implying...what? That she was the one he really cared for? No. She couldn’t read more into his statement then he’d said. She’d simply helped him over the rough spots.
She swallowed hard and stepped back. He had been honest with her. She had so many secrets that she was keeping from him and she had no idea where to start. The full report on the employees at Everest possibly had not included her. But when he found out what she’d done to land her in Texas, it was possible she’d hurt him all over again. He couldn’t fall in love with her. He couldn’t love a woman who had taken someone’s life. She wouldn’t allow that to happen.
And then there was the biggest secret of all: she was carrying his baby. She hadn’t told him. And at this point she didn’t know when she could and delaying telling him was only making it worse.
Clay had opened the gate just a little bit and she stared at the giant in front of her who was contentedly munching on hay. Would Clay be as forgiving with her as he had been with the bull? She doubted it. There was good and there was bad and unlike the bull, she should know the difference.