Sealed with a Kiss by Leeanna Morgan (mobile ebook reader TXT) đź“•
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- Author: Leeanna Morgan
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“It looks as though Cindy did, too. She’s probably kicking herself that she didn’t take more.” Dorothy pointed to the list in front of him. “We need photos of you at your new house, with your clothes on and a tool belt around your waist. That will let people know that you’ve got more than a pretty...”
“I get the idea.”
“Let’s hope everyone else does, as well.”
Ryan didn’t bother looking for a smile on Dorothy’s face. He’d given up years ago believing that she actually had a sense of humor. He looked back at the list and frowned. Out of all the options she’d come up with, having his photo taken wearing a tool belt made the most sense.
He read the next bullet point on her list. “You’re not asking for much. I haven’t written any new material in the last six months. How do you expect me to write, produce and record an album in the next six months?”
“Your ex-wife was your inspiration for Sad Time Coming. It made you an overnight success. Use that same energy to produce your next number one hit. Maybe you could call it Goodbye to Bad News.”
This time, Ryan did look for a smile. Dorothy’s mouth was tilted at the corners. “And here I was, thinking you didn’t have a sense of humor.”
Dorothy’s smile disappeared. “I hide it well. Getting mad doesn’t achieve anything, but at least getting even makes you feel better. Cindy won’t be impressed if her threats make you another million dollars.”
“Especially if she can’t get her hands on any of it,” Ryan muttered.
He would have laughed at the next bullet point if it was someone else’s life they were talking about. “What do you hope to achieve by setting me up with another woman? The only thing I need is a good lawyer and a plan to keep Cindy away from me.”
“A new girlfriend is my emergency option. After what happened with Cindy, you could be asking for trouble. But, after a lot of soul-searching, I believe it could be your saving grace.” She reached across the table and pulled another piece of paper from the back of the folder. “She would have to meet certain criteria. You can’t afford to make the same mistake twice.”
Ryan didn’t bother reading what Dorothy had left in front of him. There was no way he’d date someone to make his publicist happy.
Dorothy sipped her coffee and watched him read the rest of the list. “You haven’t had a serious girlfriend since you left Cindy. If you’re not willing to do anything else, at least think about it. I might be a miracle worker, but I’m not Cupid.”
“I’m not paying you to be Cupid,” Ryan said. “I’m paying you to look after my career. I’ll take the list home and read it. If I have any questions, I’ll give you a call.”
“I’ll be in Bozeman until four o’clock this afternoon. I’ve got a meeting with your lawyer in half an hour. If there’s anything else you need to tell me, call me on my cell phone.” Dorothy left her coffee cup in the middle of the table and stood up. “If you hear anything from Cindy, call me straight away.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She passed Ryan her folder of notes. “At least promise me that you’ll read the other ideas. You’re not the first musician to be blackmailed by an ex-wife.”
Ryan didn’t bother replying.
Dorothy sighed. “Why do I get the feeling that as soon as you leave the café, you’re going to put my notes on the floor of your truck and leave them there?”
“I guess we’re both learning something new about each other. Cindy’s not going to get her hands on any of my money or ruin my reputation. I’ll read your ideas and let you know what I think.”
Dorothy left the café as quickly as she’d arrived.
Ryan looked down at the folder and frowned. Some days, being a country music superstar sucked.
Sophie Elliott lifted one of her suitcases out of the trunk of her car. In both directions the road was as straight as an arrow, stretching into forever for as far as she could see. Ten minutes ago she’d run out of gas. She knew she would have been lucky to reach Bozeman, but over the last two weeks she’d been in more difficult situations than a blinking fuel indicator. This time, she’d pushed her luck too far. About two miles too far.
She locked her car and pulled the handle of her suitcase high. Bozeman couldn’t be more than a thirty-minute walk from here. She’d buy more gas, walk back to her car, and keep looking for somewhere safe to stay.
As she started walking, she wondered how many people drove down this stretch of the interstate. In the last ten minutes, the only living thing she’d seen was a hawk.
She’d driven from Chicago to Montana out of desperation. A friend who’d worked with her in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Chicago University had lived in Montana for six years. She’d told Sophie it was the prettiest place on earth. It was so quiet you could hear the wind whispering through the trees and, in the summertime, it was so hot you could fry an egg on the asphalt. Even knowing all of that, Sophie wasn’t used to feeling as though she was the last person on earth.
Her suitcase bumped over the stones behind her, jarring her arm and slowing her down. At this rate, she’d never make Bozeman by nightfall. She pushed the handle back into the suitcase and carried it beside her. She kept reminding herself that she was doing the right thing, that she could do more good by disappearing. Sharing what she knew with the wrong people could be deadly, not only for herself but for her mom and sister.
A brown pickup truck drove toward her. Sophie put her head down and kept walking. The truck slowed to a crawl, and the driver rolled down his window.
“Looks like you could do with a ride.”
Sophie glanced at the cowboy. “Thanks for the offer, but you’re going in the wrong direction.”
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
Sophie didn’t think her Chicago accent was that different from his, but she wasn’t about to start a conversation with a stranger. She pushed a strand of hair off her face and kept walking. It must have been ninety-five degrees, and it was barely eleven o’clock in the morning.
The cowboy turned his truck around and followed her down the road. “That suitcase seems mighty heavy,” he said with a smile. “Looking at that tiny blue car on the side of the road, I’d say you’ve run out of gas. I can easily drive you into town and bring you back here.”
Sophie stopped walking. The cowboy’s hat covered most of his face. She had no idea what he looked like, but there couldn’t be many mass murderers and trained killers who wore plaid shirts.
His truck was covered in dirt. It had enough bumps and scrapes to pass for the real thing. “I don’t want to be too much trouble. You’ve just come from Bozeman.”
“Ma’am, there isn’t a woman alive that’s not trouble. But if it’s just gas you need, then I can help.”
Sophie looked down the road once more before deciding what to do. It was hot and she was desperate. After two weeks of running like a scared rabbit, she was tired of second-guessing everyone. It probably wasn’t the most logical thing to do, but logic didn’t work so well when you were alone and thousands of miles from home.
“Thank you. I’d be grateful for a ride into town.” She waited beside his truck while he got out. He was taller than she imagined. Taller and wider. The man had muscles that would have put her male colleagues in the science lab to shame.
Sophie looked into his deep brown eyes. “I appreciate you stopping.”
“Happy to be of help,” he said with a smile. He opened the back door and took her case out of her hand. “Were you planning on staying a while or just passing through?”
Sophie walked around the truck and opened the passenger door. She thought about the different things she could say; the half-truths and downright lies she could use to keep herself safe. “I’m not sure yet.”
The stranger got into the truck and started the ignition. “Montana’s a good place to work out what you need to do. Have you been here before?”
“No, but I’ve heard some great things about Bozeman. Do you live here?”
He looked in his rearview mirror and moved onto the highway. “I move around a lot. I’ve got family living in Bozeman.”
She waited for him to say something more, but he kept his eyes focused on the road ahead. “I’m Sophie.” She held her hand out, wanting to keep the ride into town as professional as possible.
The cowboy glanced across the cab. He held his hand out. “Hi, Sophie. I’m Ryan.”
Their hands barely touched, but Sophie felt the strength of his grip like a warning along her spine. “I don’t usually run out of gas. I thought I’d have enough to get me into town. I guess I didn’t pay too much attention to how quickly the fuel gauge was going down.” Sophie closed her mouth. She was rambling. He probably thought she was a ditzy woman who didn’t know one end of a car from
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