“If you had a secret—something big enough that people finding out could destroy you—would you tell anyone?”
He smirked. “Probably not.”
Noah shook his head. “What I mean is that if you keep the secret, it could ruin your career, but if you let it out, it would change your personal life as you know it.”
This time, Reese cocked his head, and his hazel eyes flashed with curiosity. “I take it this has something to do with you.”
Noah didn’t answer.
“What I don’t get is how can you separate your career from your personal life? Here, they’re the same thing, right?”
When Noah didn’t answer, Reese’s eyes narrowed.
“Right?” he asked again.
“Just answer the question.”
Reese shook his head. “I can’t unless I have the full story. I need to know more.”
Another cowboy entered the area, and Noah stiffened. He watched the man head toward the tool bench at the far side of the barn, rustle through the tools there, then gather a few of them before he walked out. Once he was gone, Noah moved toward his cousin. “If I tell you what’s going on, you have to swear you won’t breathe a word of it to anyone. Not your brother. Not your mother. Not my parents. No one,” he muttered.
Reese drew an ‘x’ over his chest. “Do you want me to pinky swear, too?”
Noah might have barked out a laugh if he wasn’t so stressed out. He jerked his chin toward the door. “Take a walk with me.”
By the time they’d made it to the nearest pasture, Noah had spilled everything, from the way he’d made his money to whathe’d done with it. He’d confessed how he’d helped Jane with her job, making sure to tell Reese she’d earned her promotion, and it wasn’t just because he liked her. He got a flat look from that statement, but Reese didn’t argue with him. Once it was all out in the open, he waited for Reese to respond. When he didn’t, Noah groaned. “Well? What would you do?”
Reese chuckled—a response that Noah hadn’t been expecting. “I’m sorry, man, but this one is totally a personal preference.”
That wasn’t the answer he’d been hoping for. He needed direction.
“The truth is, you have to decide what’s more important. Is your company more important, or is the girl? And don’t tell me this has anything to do with your family because deep down you know as well as I do that your brothers and your parents wouldn’t care that you kept this secret. Finances are personal. It’s Jane’s opinion that should matter. And if she finds out from someone else, then she’s gonna be hurt.”
He was right. Jane would likely never forgive him if he wasn’t the one to come clean.
“So the question is, what do you want to do? This isn’t just your life on the line anymore. It’s hers, too, right?”
Noah nodded. She’d said her reputation could be at risk. He hadn’t wanted to believe it, but he could see where she was coming from.
Reese clapped him on the back. “Seems to me you already have an answer to your question.”
Noah straightenedthe bow tie on his tux. He looked in the mirror in the visor before him. Jonathan had offered to have him picked up in a limo, but he hadn’t wanted to draw attention until after he told Jane who he really was. He’d have to be careful. The whole board was here, and Jonathan had told them that he’d changed his mind and would be making a speech.
Even Jane had been informed that he’d stand before the whole group and talk about what had inspired him to start up The Wounded Heroes Project.
Noah just had to find her before someone recognized him and blew his cover before he did.
His palms were clammy, and he fought the instinct to rub them on his pants. He could do this. Jane would understand. She had to.
He pushed out of his truck and headed for the open space that had been set up on the Twisted Rivers property. There were lights strung up on every tree and pole possible. Live music played, and the hum of chatter floated to him from where he’d parked near the vendors’ vehicles. Jane was in there somewhere, bossing people around. He’d seen the setup this morning, hoping to speak to Jane then, but she’d gone MIA in search of additional table cloths when they realized they were three short.
Clearing his throat to rid himself of the lump growing there, he moved through the crowded area in search of the one person who he needed to see.
Jane wasn’t with the vendors, caterers, or the people in charge of the live entertainment. He didn’t see her mingling with the people near the tables or the dance floor. Where on earth could she be? She had to be here somewhere. Jane wasn’t the type of person who just took off when everything was coming together.
She’d be here with her clipboard until she was required to interact with the guests.
“I heard that the woman planning the event finally convinced him to make an appearance. Only the board members know who he is,” a woman to his right said.
