“Hope you never lived in tornado alley.”
He was relieved to hear her chuckle. “No. Just Dallas and Houston.”
“Dallas? That’s where I grew up!” She hadn’t mentioned it before, had she? “Where in Dallas? Maybe we were in high school together. I went to Highland Park.”
That could be why she seemed so familiar.
“I... uhm... we moved away from Dallas when I was young.”
“Oh. That’s too bad. I thought I’d finally figured out where I’d seen you before.”
“It’s the Faye Fortune thing. Happens all the time.” She cleared her throat. “I really appreciate you finding me a place for the night and driving me out here. I promise I’ll be out of your hair tomorrow. As soon as I can get a rental car.”
In the reflected light from the dashboard, he spotted her chewing her lower lip.
“We’ll worry about that tomorrow.” With any luck, the weather would prevent her departure. He needed time to break through her barriers.
But a niggling fear pushed at the edge of his mind. What if he was wrong about Carly? What if she was like Elle and couldn’t get past his disability? He might break down her walls and find the only emotion she felt toward him was pity!
He had to take a step back. He needed to assume the worst and judge her with a critical eye, keeping his emotions carefully contained.
I’ll stay completely detached until I get to know her better.
“I can’t thank you enough for rescuing me,” she said. “You are totally my hero.”
Her hero! His puffed-up chest ripped his shirt seams apart.
Yeah, I’m about as detached as a puppet to his puppeteer.
CHAPTER 5
CARLY
As cold as it was, Carly was perspiring as they waited outside the massive carved wooden doors.
This was a bad idea. The more time she spent with Liam, the more she liked him. And the worse she felt about her part in ruining his life. How many nights had she cried herself to sleep, wishing she could relive that night and make a different decision? The secret had been slowly smoldering deep inside, burning at her conscience. But meeting Liam had fanned it into a full flame.
Will I be able to go on with my life and keep pretending I had no responsibility for my brother’s death or Liam’s paralysis?
And she’d almost blown her cover multiple times already.
Carly Simon. Carly Simon. Carly Simon.
She practiced her name inside her head. She couldn’t let “Simpson” slip out of her mouth the way “Dallas” had. But her heart thumped so loudly in her ears she could barely think.
The doors opened, and a man ushered them inside. “It’s good to see you, Mr. Bennett.”
Evidently, this person wasn’t Branson Knight, since Liam said he was only thirty years old. The tall, thin man who greeted them had gray hair and appeared to be in his sixties or seventies.
“Good to see you too.” Standing tall in his upright wheelchair, Liam clasped his hand and gave it a hearty shake. “And you know you can call me Liam.”
Several young men wearing khakis and white shirts filed outside, heading toward Liam’s car. “Take the luggage to the East Wing,” the older man called after them. “Suites one and two.”
The man turned his sharp gaze toward Carly. “I’m Fordham. And you must be Ms. Simon.”
She hesitated for a second, her reflex to correct him. But she stopped herself in time and pasted a smile on her face.
“Nice to meet you, Fordham.” She stuck out her hand. Fordham’s shake was firm and respectful. “Are you related to Mr. Knight?”
“We have no blood relation.” Fordham gave a wry smile. “I describe my position here as that of indentured servant.”
Liam chuckled. “Don’t listen to him, Carly. Fordham is Bran’s right-hand man. Bran says he keeps everything running smoothly at the estate and in business.”
“Everything here at the estate is definitely under my purview,” said Fordham. “But my duties in the businesses are more like that of a firefighter who runs around putting out small fires. Branson likes to shower embers in every direction.”
Carly grinned despite her nerves. “Must keep you busy.”
“I’m certain my young slave driver believes if I ever have a free moment to sit down, I might decide I’m too old to get back up again.” Fordham arched a single eyebrow. “His assumption may be correct, but I’ll never know.”
He swept his hand toward a wide, windowed hallway.
“Follow me, and I’ll show you to your apartments.”
Five minutes and several turns later, Fordham stopped in front of a door and handed Liam a key. “You’ll be in here, and Ms. Simon will be next door. Branson specifically chose the East Wing because it has the best views. I’d have put you in a West Wing apartment that wasn’t five miles from the dining room.”
“I’m sure I’ll love the view,” Carly said. “But I won’t be here long. As soon as the snow clears up tomorrow, I’ll get a car and be off on my tour of leafless trees in the snow.”
Fordham’s eyebrows flew to the top of his forehead.
“She was planning to see the autumn leaves,” Liam explained.
