“But you’re carrying his child.” His hand went to her knee. A gesture of emphasis, perhaps.
Yet the warmth of his palm lying lightly on her thigh sent a shiver of pleasure through her.
“He doesn’t know that.”
Vaughn’s eyebrows lifted, his hand sliding away. “You never told him?”
Her skin still felt warm where his hand had been.
“He was hardly in town this spring.” She had felt guilty about her lack of communication at first. But once she’d discovered how deep his deception went, she was actually relieved. “Earlier this year, he was flying back and forth to Ireland. Then he was out of the country on business. Finally, I went to the main house once to try to speak to him.”
Overhead on the PA system, a doctor was paged, the announcement blaring into their corner of the hospital, which was otherwise so quiet.
“When was that?” Vaughn asked when the speaker went quiet again.
She thought back. “The first week of May, maybe?” So much had happened in the last few months. “It was probably a week before the plane crash. Maybe a little less.”
“And Rich wasn’t at the Ace in the Hole that day?”
“I have a hard time thinking of him as Rich.” She had never even met Richard Lowell, as himself—he was a man others in Royal knew well enough for his friendship with Will. “Don’t forget, I thought Rich was dead in a boating accident and that Will had moved on after losing his closest friend.” Her chest hurt remembering their conversation about that. “He told me about that accident on the night—on Alannah’s birthday. When I was falling apart and feeling vulnerable. He made me feel like we were kindred souls, mourning people we loved.”
Bitterness gave the words a bad taste. The more that came to light about Rich Lowell’s deceptions, the more she realized how thoroughly she’d been played. He had taken advantage of her grief, maneuvering her right where he wanted her.
And she’d been too caught up in her own loss to notice.
“The bastard.”
Vaughn’s quiet assessment of the situation mirrored her own.
“My thought exactly. But on that day, when I went to the main house on the ranch to confront him, he was there.” She had been prepared to bargain for full custody. Offer to move out of town even, if that would help Will, since he’d never left his wife even though he’d told her that he and Megan were separated. Abigail had hoped he would want nothing to do with the baby. “I went in the back way, toward the office where I had done temp work. The desk and room where I used to work was empty, but I could hear arguing in Will’s—er, Rich’s—private office.”
“Do you think it was Rich’s voice?” Vaughn’s hand shifted to rest lightly between her shoulder blades.
She realized then how wrong her first impression of him had been. That he was an arrogant. Brash and blunt. Since that first meeting he demonstrated a tenderness and empathy for her that made her understand what made him a good doctor. His patients must feel well cared for.
“I know it was Rich because I peeked inside the office door. It was open a crack.” She’d been startled by what she saw. A very different side of the man who’d been her boss for two months. “Just as I reached the door, to see who he was arguing with, there was a thumping noise. Like a shove or a punch. And when I looked inside, Rich was fighting with Jason Phillips.”
Vaughn swore. “Jason Phillips? The same man who sent the urn back with Will’s remains, only they weren’t Will’s remains.”
Jason, like Will, was also a member of the Texas Cattleman’s Club. He was a key player at Will’s energy company, Spark Energy Solutions, although Abigail didn’t remember his exact role. He lived part-time in Dallas and part-time in Royal. She’d never heard him speak an angry word before that day she’d seen him fighting with the man who was impersonating Will.
“Is Jason a suspect in stealing from Will? Or do they think he knew that Rich Lowell was a fake?”
A cleaning crew rolled a cart past the lounge, mops and cleaners rattling as they steered their supplies over a threshold. The two women pushing it were having a rapid disagreement about whose turn it was to use the floor-polishing machine. The argument faded along with the clacking of the cart’s wheels.
Vaughn tracked their progress, waiting until it was quiet again before he answered. “I’ve heard Jason is away on international business and can’t be reached. He could be Rich’s accomplice. He could have double-crossed him. Or he could have been completely innocent and his only crime was figuring out that Rich was a thief. But I think it’s clear you walked in on a very dangerous situation that day.”
At the time, she simply didn’t want to be around men who were fighting. She didn’t want her baby around violence, either. But maybe she’d escaped something much worse. A new wariness crept over her, making her grateful for Vaughn coming here tonight. For checking on her.
A chill had taken hold of her while they spoke. And the only place that felt warm was the spot where Vaughn touched. His hand still rested between her shoulders, as he continued to rub lightly.
Unable to resist the comfort he offered, she tipped her head onto his shoulder. Allowed herself to soak in the feel of his arm tightening around her, hugging her close. For the moment, she felt safe. Protected.
“I don’t think Rich Lowell would come after me.” She would be more careful anyhow, of course. “He doesn’t know I’m carrying
