Lost Billionaire Heir: Billionaire Cowboy Sweet Romance (Texas Ranch Romance Book 8) Read online

  That night, Chad came down to dinner dressed to kill. “Wow, Chad, you’re looking spiffy, what’s the occasion?”

  “I’m having dinner with a beautiful woman, why not dress up?” This was the charming version of Chad at work. Olivia was still angry and planning to call him on his plans with her money, but she had to admit he did look good and seemed to be in good humor. She decided she might as well have an enjoyable evening before they argued about money. She had to smile; this did sound like marriage.

  “Let’s talk about where you want to go for our honeymoon. I’ve been having a hard time not thinking about that.” Chad lifted his eyebrows and gave her his most engaging smile, full of meaning.

  Olivia blushed. “Well, that would be a fun subject. We can go anywhere we want. But, Chad, you know I want to wait. It’s important to me.”

  “Yes, Olivia, I respect that, as hard as that will be.”

  They finished eating, and Chad got up to get a drink for Olivia at the counter. He brought back glasses of fresh orange juice with lemon-lime soda.

  “Here, we better drink up; it’s easy to get dehydrated here.”

  Olivia drank all her juice, and they got up to leave. She was feeling a little funny but happy and calm. Chad took her arm and suggested they walk around the lake. “I have a surprise for you.”

  They walked through the covered bridge and along the edge of the water. Frogs were squeaking and jumping into the lake with big splashes. The crickets were starting to chirp, and ducks and geese were following along looking for the bread they normally received from ranch guests. It was a beautiful evening in the balmy, humid air. It did feel soft and wonderful on the skin, but Olivia could feel a little sweat running down the center of her back. She bent over to look closer at a very large frog and almost fell into the lake. Chad grabbed her arm.

  “Wow,” she said, “I’m not doing so well.”

  “You’re probably just tired. Let’s get over to the bench, and we can rest.”

  When they got to the other side of the lake, Chad had a basket sitting on the bench with a blanket and more to drink. “Let’s go back here and lay out the blanket.” He took her arm and led her back into the woods.

  “I’m not sure I want to go back there, Chad. It’s dark; what if there are wild animals?” Libby was trying to remember what she drank with dinner. She felt funny, and her brain seemed foggy. Something wasn’t right.

  “Oh, don’t worry, Olivia, it will be fine. Here, sit down, and we can talk about the honeymoon.”

  Olivia was getting worried; something in the back of her brain was sending out signals of danger, but she didn’t seem to care. Chad sat down beside her and started to unbutton her blouse as he pushed her back onto the blanket.

  “No—Chad, what are you doing?”

  All of a sudden, someone grabbed Chad and threw him into the woods. Through the fog of her brain, she watched another person jump on him and pin him down, throwing punches into his face until he passed out. Olivia felt like she was going to black out.

  The first man picked her up and carried her. He seemed familiar somehow, and she felt perfectly safe with him but wondered if she were dreaming.

  The second man came over to look down at her. “You’ll be okay now, Libby.”

  She looked up into the face of the man carrying her. “Jacob?” she said, and then she passed out.

  Michael walked with Jacob as he carried Libby. “That scumbag drugged her. Do you know what he was planning to do?”

  “Yes, I don’t think she’ll be safe back in her room, let’s take her to Raelyn and see what she says.”

  They both walked back into the woods to Carson and Raelyn’s new home. Michael ran up the steps and knocked on the door. Jacob followed with Libby.

  Raelyn answered the door. “What happened, Jacob?” she cried when she saw them.

  Michael was out of breath but tried explaining. “Listen, I think Chad drugged Libby. She didn’t seem right and couldn’t walk straight. He led her to the back of the lake. He was pushing her back into the woods against her will.”

  “Put her in the back bedroom, and I’ll tend to her.” Raelyn followed Jacob as he carried Libby. “What happened to Chad?” Raelyn opened the door to the guest room where he and Michael stayed when they first got to the ranch. The bedding had been changed and now looked quite girly as far as Jacob could tell. He gently laid Libby down on the bed. She moaned a little but curled up and went back to sleep.

  Jacob walked back into the hall. “We threw him off her, and Michael took care of him.”

  “Why do I not want to know the details of that?” Raelyn shook her head.

  “We had a bad feeling about him. He admitted at your dinner last night that he was only after her money. Then when we saw her barely able to walk straight with Chad leading her around the lake in the dark, we followed.”

  Raelyn nodded, her face taut and eyes turned to steel. She turned and walked back into the bedroom. “She’ll stay here tonight. You men better get to bed, and Carson will send someone out to find Chad. I think I’ll call Doc Maynard to come over in the morning and talk with Libby. If she’s been drugged, he’ll have some information for her.”

  Jacob walked back into the living room. He stopped, sat down on the sofa, and sighed.

  “Do you want to talk, Jacob?” Carson walked over and sat down.

  “I’d do anything to protect Libby. I have loved her since the first minute I met her. But I have nothing to give a woman like her. She’s wealthy, and what would she do with a man like me? The last time I saw her, we were pledging our love to each other, but that was kid stuff compared to the realities of real life. She’ll be much better off without me.”

  “Better off with men like Chad?” Carson raised his eyebrows. “Let me do some research and see what I can find out about this man.” Carson patted Jacob’s shoulder.

  “Okay, thanks, but I don’t see how that will change anything.”

  “Jacob, the type of man you are has nothing to do with your acquired wealth. It has to do with your character, and from my standpoint, she would be lucky to have someone like you. Your deficiency is the fact that you don’t realize you have a lot to offer.” Carson’s lecture reminded him so much of his father and his lectures.

  “Carson, you remind me of my father. What’s going to happen when Chad realizes we are the ones who attacked him?” Jacob figured he would take the responsibility even though it was Michael who held him down and was hitting him.

  “He’s not in a position to do anything; he was caught using date-rape drugs.” Carson’s eyes narrowed.

  The next day, Jacob made a point of getting up extra early. He was quiet in the bunkhouse, trying not to wake up Michael. He dressed and carried his boots out the door with him to put them on outside. He spent most of the night thinking about Libby and the danger she was in with this Chad dude.

  Jacob walked up to Carson’s house to check on Olivia. He loved the walk through the woods up to their front steps. He knocked on the door, and Raelyn answered.

  “She’s still sleeping; the doctor is coming over in about an hour to check on her. He has a good idea of what drugs she might have in her system and would like to do a blood test.”

  “Okay, so did she look okay sleeping? I mean you don’t think there was any damage to her from the drugs?” Jacob’s worried brow told the whole story.

  “Come with me,” Raelyn said. “You can peek in the room and see for yourself.”

  Jacob followed Raelyn down the hall, and as she opened the door, he looked over at the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She was lying with her arms out to her side, and her long hair spread out over her pillow. Her face was flushed, and she had a frown on her lips. Libby had grown into an even more beautiful woman. He visualized her in her fairy outfit the first time he saw her in the woods by her house. She was beautiful then, but now he really couldn’t find the words.

  His heart was pounding as he turned away to head for the bar
n and his daily chores.

  Raelyn patted his shoulder as he went by. He noticed the sad smile on her face. “It will be okay, Jacob.”

  The doctor arrived as he was about to leave. Raelyn explained what happened and took Doc Maynard down the hall to her room. Jacob stood outside the room in the hallway. He heard Libby’s soft voice ask, “Have I been hurt?”

  “Well, hello there, I’m Doc Maynard, we’re going to do a little blood test and see how you’re doing. Do you remember anything from last evening?”

  “I had dinner and went for a walk around the lake with Chad. Now I’m here, what happened?”

  “Let me check your pulse and listen to your heart, and then I’ll look into those beautiful eyes of yours. A blood test will help us figure out why you don’t remember.” The doctor drew her blood and handed it to his nurse. She left and went to the office to run the tests.

  “She’ll call me in about fifteen minutes, and we’ll have our answer.” He turned to Raelyn. “Now, I hear we have another patient.”

  “Yes, come with me to the stable.”

  He turned back to Olivia. “I’ll be back in a jiff.”

  When the doctor and Raelyn arrived at the stable, Carson was talking to Chad in one of the horse stalls that they had turned into a storage closet. Chad was lying on a cot.

  Jacob followed them but stood outside the door listening. He could barely stand to look at the man, but he also couldn’t leave without hearing what was said.

  Doc Maynard’s voice boomed. “Oh my, you had a run-in with a bull, or something like it. Your face is a mass of purple bruises. Your lip is swollen, but it’s not nearly as bad as your left eye.”

  “I was jumped and beaten, and who knows what they did to Olivia, where is she, by the way?” No one said anything, then he heard Chad say, “You’ll be hearing from my lawyers.”

  Jacob smiled as he heard Carson’s controlled voice. “I would advise you to get a lawyer. It’s against the law to use date-rape drugs in Texas.” There was a pause, and Carson continued. “I particularly don’t like it happening on this ranch.”

  “What are you talking about? You have no proof of anything like that.” Jacob peered around the door. Chad looked worried—that is, if Jacob could read his expression correctly through all those bruises.

  “I think we’ll have the proof we need as soon as the blood test results come back.” Doc Maynard pulled some gauze out of his bag. “Hold still, this is going to sting.” He poured a liberal amount of alcohol onto the gauze and washed it over Chad’s face.

  “Ow, that kills! What is this, Texas torture? Stay away from me!”

  Jacob was satisfied Chad was expressing pain of some kind. He deserved it. He deserved to go to jail. Jacob backed his head out of the room before anyone could see him and continued to listen.

  “You’re lucky you won’t need any stitches; in a month, all evidence of the beating you took should be healed.”

  “A month? I’m planning to be married soon.”

  Not if Jacob could help it.

  “Hopefully, not.” The doctor got up to leave.

  Jacob slipped around the corner into a horse stall and started brushing a black filly.

  “You better head back over to the ranch house and your rooms.” Carson walked out of the stall with Chad.

  “Where’s Olivia?” Chad demanded as he walked by.

  “We’ll talk about that later today.” Carson left Chad and walked over to the doctor where Jacob joined them.

  As they were standing outside by the picnic tables, the doctor’s phone rang. “This must be the blood work results.” He stopped to get out his pen. “Oh, well, that’s too bad. The drug must be that new one that dissipates quickly in the blood. Okay, Jeanine, thanks.” Doc Maynard put his phone back into his medical bag, shaking his head. “Well, as you heard, it didn’t show in the blood, so there’s no evidence that would convict that whiny swine.”

  “Okay, what do we tell Olivia then?” Jacob felt himself turning red under the collar and started pacing.

  “Calm down, Jacob, we have more that we can do here, and I suspect this isn’t the first time he has tried that with a girl.” Carson thanked the doctor. “We’ll look into this, Jacob.”

  Doc Maynard patted Jacob’s shoulder. “She seems like a real nice young lady. But I don’t think we can tell her she was drugged since there’s no evidence.”

  “Well, we can’t let her keep meeting with that slimeball, can we?” Jacob took off his cowboy hat and wiped his brow. “She can’t still marry him.”

  Jacob stomped off to the stables and started getting the horses ready for the day since Michael was finished with their grain.

  “What happened?” Michael was wearing gloves, but Jacob knew under those gloves his fists were swollen and sore.

  “The blood didn’t prove Chad drugged Libby. Surely if we tell her, she will dump this guy.”

  Both men picked up horse brushes and began the morning grooming of the horses. The horses nickered in greeting as they approached. The inside of the stables glowed with rich redwood and smelled wonderful and clean. As the sunrise allowed rays to reach inside through the outside horse stalls, the beautiful rich texture of the walls glistened.

  Normally, Jacob loved this time of day. The air was fresh, and the smell of cut grass and wildflowers lifted his spirits. He usually felt like singing with the birds each morning. However, this day he was thinking of ways to convince Libby that Chad was dangerous.

  The doctor walked into Olivia’s room with Raelyn. “Hello there, Olivia. Your blood work came back healthy. We don’t know why you can’t remember, but have you heard about date-rape drugs?”

  “Well, yes, but you surely don’t think Chad would have used that on me?” Olivia’s eyes teared up.

  “Some of the newer drugs dissipate in the blood quickly. We have no proof that Chad used drugs on you, but if I were you, I’d be careful and ask yourself why he’d do something like that, other than the obvious reasons.”

  “Thank you, but honestly, I can’t believe Chad would be capable of something like that. We’re engaged, and surely he wouldn’t do that to his fiancée.” She wiped her eyes. “Could there be another reason I might have a memory lapse?” Libby sat up in her bed. “Where is Chad?”

  “He’s up at the ranch house now, I imagine. Apparently, he was taking advantage of you, and someone saw it and stopped him.”

  This really bothered Libby. “What do you mean taking advantage? This doesn’t sound like Chad at all.”

  Doc Maynard sighed. “I can’t see any other cause for your blackout without an MRI and other tests, but I don’t see a reason to do that in this case.”

  Raelyn patted her arm. “Let me walk you back to the ranch house; you could probably use some breakfast.”

  “And a shower, I feel so muggy…” Olivia got up and followed Raelyn out of the house. She wobbled a little, and Raelyn took her arm.

  “The ranch house has a great spa. You might enjoy a day of pampering yourself.” At the front door, Raelyn left Olivia and walked back toward the stables.

  Olivia was shocked at the suggestion that Chad would try to drug her. What in the world would he accomplish by doing that, and had he ever done it before? The idea that someone’s memory could be taken away was petrifying to her. What was wrong with this world? She didn’t believe that Chad would do such a thing, but because he had kept his meetings with her financial advisor private, it gave her pause to wonder if he had other secrets as well. He was certainly forthcoming about his plans to take over her life once they were married. He wasn’t keeping that a secret.

  As she was going up the stairs, she turned the corner, ran into Chad, and yelped. “You scared me to death—what in the world happened to you?”

  “Are you okay? We were jumped by some locals. I fought them off to protect you, but as you see, I lost. Once I regained consciousness, I was desperate to hear how you were. The ranch manager said you were okay, but the arrogant jer
k wouldn’t give me any other information.” Chad tried to put his arm around Olivia. “The doctor gave me something to sleep, and I just woke up.”

  She moved aside. “What did the doctor say?”

  “He was some old guy and told me it would take a month to recover from the bruises. I’ve been waiting to tell you all about what happened.”

  Olivia’s heart jumped. “Why wouldn’t I remember what happened, Chad?” For the first time, Olivia considered the possibility that Chad did give her something to erase her memory.

  “Since I was unconscious, I assumed you were as well. Were you beaten or harmed in any way?” Chad’s response was quick, and Olivia wasn’t sure what to think.

  “Chad, I’m sorry you were beaten, it looks horrible.” His left eye was swollen shut, and the bruise on his lip was so large it looked like it might crack open. His left cheek was bruised with a big purple bump that looked like it was pulsating. Olivia hated to think it, but the thought came that at least she wouldn’t have to kiss him for a while. “I think I’ll spend the rest of the day on my own. I might visit the spa and just rest. You look like you could take a rest as well.” Olivia patted his shoulder and continued up the stairs to her room.

  “Okay, darling, rest is a good idea.” Chad stood and watched her walk down the hall.

  Olivia needed more information about Chad. She hurried to her room and called her secretary. “Hello, Alice, I wonder if you’d do me a favor.”

  “Sure, Olivia, are you okay? You sound a bit upset.”

  Olivia sat on the bed and opened her laptop. “I need any information you might have about Chad.”

  Alice cleared her throat. “Is anything wrong?”

  Olivia didn’t want to start a bunch of office rumors. “I don’t know, Alice. I would appreciate your confidence in this matter and your honesty. Have you heard anything around the office?”

  “Well, all I can tell you is that he’s smitten with you for sure. He’s always polite when I see him, and he’s a hunk.” Alice laughed. “Sorry.”