Accidental Knight: A Marriage Mistake Romance(48)

They’d turned to cattle, wheat, whatever they could in order for Dallas, North Dakota, to keep from becoming nothing but a mysterious ghost town on the map. A forgotten speck of history.

The town didn’t become a popping metropolis, but it didn’t disappear either.

Then years and years later, when Gramps took over, North Earhart Oil brought the small town the success it always sought. The American Dream fulfilled.

North Earhart was here from the beginning, providing jobs, but it never thrived, never flourished, never seemed more real than the nonexistent South Earhart until Gramps.

When the oil field boom hit North Dakota, North Earhart was smack dab in the center, and already light years ahead of the other companies that came flooding in.

The boom has fizzled in more recent years, taking plenty of casualties.

All except for North Earhart, still thriving. Roger Jones showed me just how much yesterday.

The town’s been thriving, too, no thanks to Gramps’ generous cash flow.

No, there’s no doubt why I’m here. It’s up to me to keep this going. To be the hero Dallas needs.

Until now, it never really hit me, the position I’m in.

Whatever I do, whatever I decide, doesn’t just affect me or my parents. It will affect this entire town, several thousand people.

People whose livelihoods depend on Earhart Oil and hence, depend on me.

Holy hell, that’s sobering. And scary. And true.

“You okay?”

I turn and look at Drake, who’s probably wondering why I’ve crawled into my own head for the past ten minutes. “Yeah. Just thinking.”

I smile. Gramps knew what I’d be facing, and he gave me a leg up.

A warmth fills my chest. He trusted me. Left me a way to execute that trust.

One man. The only thing I need to make sure Jonah Reed’s legacy never disappears.

Drake seems trustworthy, and handsome, and for the next six months, mine. The partner that I need. A smile forms, and I nod. “And yes, I’m okay.”

“You’ve barely said a word since we left the ranch,” he says, pulling the keys out of the ignition. We’ve arrived.

“A lot on my mind.” I open my door and climb out of the truck.

We meet on the sidewalk before he asks, “Yeah? Anything I should know?”

“That Gramps was right in what he did. Maybe you are, too.” I glance at the white BMW as we walk past it toward the door to the sheriff’s office. “Thanks for agreeing to help me, to be here for...you know. It can’t be easy.”

There’s a touch of skepticism in his brilliant eyes, even as he smiles. “He’d be happy to hear you say that.”

I hook my hand around his arm. “I’m happy to tell it like it is. I won’t lie; this whole thing freaked me out. Still does. But it’s hardly the worst that could happen.”

Drake glances up and down, sizing me up. “Really?”

Looking up at him, I smile and nod.

He lets out a low whistle. “My turn to freak, darlin’. You’re starting to scare me bad.”

I laugh, mainly because I don’t believe him.

In fact, I don’t believe much of anything would scare this behemoth of a man.

We’re both laughing when he opens the door. My parents are there, standing in the lobby. Mother’s eyes instantly settle on the hand I have around Drake’s arm. If this were a cartoon, I’m pretty sure she’d turn cherry red and start spitting bullets.

Reason enough to leave my hand on Drake’s very big, ink-kissed forearm.

She shifts her gaze to me, and her eyes narrow into slits. “What’s he doing here? Seriously? We can’t have any privacy?”

Awesome start. I just know this is going to go about as well as I expected.

Smiling, I shrug, and knowing full well what she’ll think of my answer, I say, “He lives with me, Mom. And after yesterday, I’m not exactly comfortable with two or three on one.”

The way she sniffs and turns her nose up tells me she’s as unimpressed as I expected.

So be it. I’m done obeying like a good puppy just because that’s what they expect.

“We’ll just see. What happened to your face?” she asks.

Crap.

I’m surprised she even noticed with the way she’s glaring at Drake.

And no, we won’t see because there’s nothing she can do about it. That thought tickles me as I shrug.

“I tripped and took a fall by the barn. Honest mistake.” I turn to my father. “Why are we here?”

“Sheriff Wallace wants to talk to us. Everybody, he said.” Dad gestures toward a door, the kind with a small, thick glass window. “Now that we’re here, best not to keep him waiting.”

With my hand still on Drake’s arm, we walk in that direction.

I don’t look up at him because I’m not sure what he thinks about what I just said. We both live at the ranch, but not in the way I’d purposefully implied.

He’s a stranger. Not my boyfriend. Not my husband. Not for real. Not my anything.

Mother arrives at the door first and pushes a button.

A buzzer whirs and a moment later, the door pulls open from the other side. Dressed in her brown uniform, Shelia sees me as soon as the door opens far enough, her curly hair bobbing.

“Bella-Bell!” She rushes past Mom. “It’s so wonderful to have you home.”