Thrill Me (Fool's Gold #18)(81)

While not elegantly worded, she had to admit she appreciated the sentiment. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Phoebe patted the sofa next to her. “Come join us. We need the male point of view.”

Maya expected her stepbrother to take off at a run, but he surprised her by circling the sofa and settling next to his wife. After putting his arm around Phoebe, he looked at Maya.

“Okay. Tell me what’s going on.”

She recapped the situation with Del, including the job offer, the videos they wanted to do and her feelings for Del.

“I think he’s probably desperately in love with her,” Phoebe added when Maya had finished. “But he’s not going to mingle work and personal stuff.”

“Possible,” Zane said.

“But?” Maya knew there had to be more.

“Be honest. Not just with Del but with yourself. What do you want? Would you be happy to be just work partners? What happens if you don’t say anything and it turns out he’s not interested? You end up stuck in Nairobi, watching him fall in love with someone else.”

He laced his fingers with Phoebe’s, but kept his attention on Maya. “On the other hand, you could do the first commercial and see how it goes. Maybe your feelings for him aren’t that strong and you’ll discover he annoys you. Or you’ll learn it’s everything you want and you’ll tell him then.”

She frowned. “You do realize you’re arguing for telling him and for not telling him.”

“Just trying to be fair.” He released Phoebe and shifted forward on the sofa. “The deal with the videos. You want that?”

“The ones for the kids? I do. I think it’s a great project.”

“Then if you decide to go into business with Del, let me know. I’ll front you the money to buy in as an equal financial partner. I know you bring the talent, but in business, whoever has the money has the power. I don’t want you to have to worry about that with Del.”

He was still talking, but Maya stopped listening. Tears filled her eyes. She stood and crossed to him. Zane rose and pulled her close, then kissed the top of her head.

“I thought it would make you happy,” he murmured.

“It does.”

She felt Phoebe join them in a group hug and let the love wash over her. Whatever happened with Del, she had this, she thought. People who cared. She wasn’t that kid trying to survive anymore. She was thriving.

She sniffed, then straightened. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Both of you.”

“Of course,” Phoebe said, squeezing her hand. “We’re family. We’re here for you, Maya. No matter what.”

Maya nodded, then returned to her seat and sipped her wine. She asked about the ranch and conversation shifted away from her and her confusion about Del.

As she listened to Phoebe and Del talk and laughed at their stories, she wondered why it had taken her so long to figure out the truth. Why had she needed to come home to Fool’s Gold only to realize it was time for her to leave?

* * *

DEL FELT THE excitement humming through him. He was back at his cabin, but he couldn’t settle. He paced, he made notes on his laptop, then paced some more. There were a thousand things to organize, he thought eagerly. Details to be worked out.

He and Maya had to come to terms with Robert and Ernesto. Once that was done, they could start making other plans. His gut told him their first shoots should be in China. The country was huge and growing. Everything it did had an impact. To document that, to share it with kids back here, could help them better understand their future.

A lofty goal, he thought, chuckling to himself. But why not? With Maya as his business partner, anything was possible.

He returned to the kitchen table and his laptop, prepared to attack more lists, when his cell rang. He picked it up and saw his father’s name on the call display.

For a second, Del hesitated. He wasn’t in the mood for one of Ceallach’s rants about Nick and how he was wasting his talent. Because there was no way the old man was calling to talk about Del. Still, his father rarely phoned. He pushed the talk button.

“Hey, Dad.”

“It’s your mother.”

Del stood. “What do you mean?”

Ceallach’s voice shook as he spoke. “She’s gone.”

“You’re not making any sense. How can she be gone?”

“She’s not at the house. I came in from work and she wasn’t here. I finished my commission today. We always celebrate. She had a big dinner planned. I couldn’t find a note or anything, so I drove into town.”

Del didn’t like the sound of any of this. “What happened?”

“I’ve found her car, but no one has seen her. I’ve been calling her cell and she doesn’t answer. I’ve spent the last three hours going from store to store, and she’s nowhere. Not shopping, not having dinner.” His father’s normally strong voice broke. “I don’t know what to do.”

Del glanced at the clock on the stove. It was nearly eight in the evening. Not unusually late for anyone to be out, but they weren’t talking about anyone.

“Does she have friends in town?” he asked.

“How would I know? She’s never out in the evening. Never. She sees her friends during the day. She’s home at night. With me.” Ceallach cleared his throat. “She’s gone. Left. I should have known this would happen eventually.”