Nina lowered her voice. “Chad might get a run for his money, because Tripp can’t stop staring at you. And he is sexy. Like, tall, dark, and naughty-sexy.”

  Hannah leaned forward and looked where Nina was pointing. Sure enough, Tripp was clutching a bottle of beer and talking to a group of board members, splitting his attention between them and her. She happened to catch his eye and he gave her a slow smile, then bumped up the front of his hat with his beer bottle. She looked away quickly, her face coloring.

  “I think he likes you,” Nina sang. “Maybe they’ll have a duel for your hand?”

  “Oh God, please no,” Hannah replied.

  “Don’t look now, he’s headed this way,” the blonde woman said quietly as she held her cup up to her mouth.

  Tripp was standing beside their picnic table before Hannah could even think of trying to make a quick escape. The ladies giggled as he said hello. Clearly not all of them knew the creepy behavior he was capable of and focused instead on his undeniable good looks.

  “Ladies,” Tripp said, bumping his hat back. “Enjoying this beautiful day?”

  They nodded and preened up at him.

  “Hannah,” Tripp said, focusing on her. “I’m hoping I can steal you away for a chat today. Need to talk to you about something, uh, quite interesting.”

  Nina’s eyes went wide as she took a gulp of her beer.

  “Oh, wish I could, Tripp, but I actually need to help out with the Radford ice cream sale. Chad and I made it last night.” She gave Tripp a “back off look then glanced over her shoulder to try to find Chad. “My shift is about to start.”

  “Well, why don’t I escort you over to the booth, then?” He offered his hand to her, but she ignored it, stood up, and scanned the crowd, heading away from the table.

  Once they were out of earshot of the women, she turned to Tripp angrily. “What do you want?”

  “Whoa, aren’t you feisty today? What’s gotten into you, young lady?”

  She sputtered and tried to collect her thoughts, standing her ground in front of him. She knew better than to challenge him directly—knew it would only make things worse—but he just made her so angry. “I can’t understand why you … I wish you would just …”

  “Hmm, how is it possible that someone who’s so good at communications always has a hard time talking to little old me?” Tripp said it with a teasing voice that hinted at something more.

  Her heart stopped. “What do you mean?” she asked slowly.

  Tripp gave her a triumphant smile, like he was about to lay down a winning hand on the poker table.

  “Let’s just say I’ve learned a few things about you …”

  Her mouth went dry.

  “Oh yeah? Why don’t you share it with me too?” Chad said, appearing out of nowhere and draping his arm over Hannah’s shoulders and giving her a possessive kiss on the cheek.

  She sagged with relief, letting her body lean into him. Hannah hated to admit how good it felt to have him by her side.

  “Chad,” Tripp greeted him with a frown.

  “What were you going to say? I’m interested in everything that has to do with Hannah.”

  Tripp smiled but it looked anything but friendly. “Oh, you’ll definitely want to hear this.”

  Hannah felt a line of sweat break out at the nape of her neck. What was Tripp going to reveal? From all the hints he’d dropped, she was almost certain that he knew about her past. She glanced at Chad and felt sick. She didn’t think he needed to know all of the details, especially now that their relationship was speeding to an end.

  “Mommy, Mommy!” Aria shouted as she crashed into Hannah’s legs with a hug. “Drew dropped his balloon and he got all wet!”

  Trip grinned and bent over so that he was level with Aria. “Hi there, young lady, do you remember me?”

  Aria went silent and tucked her chin against her chest, peering up at Tripp. She stepped behind Hannah and Chad’s legs to hide from him.

  “Well, it’s been a while, I guess.” Tripp chuckled mirthlessly. “Anyway, I’ve got to get back to the guys on the board. We’re going over some important decisions, so …” He trailed off and gave Chad a superior look.

  “You go do that,” Chad said, standing straighter. “I’ll be out here doing the work, fundraising and helping out. Talking is fine during meetings, but the whole point of this event is to raise money for our chapter, so that’s what I’m gonna do. Later, Tripp.”

  Chad gave Hannah a squeeze and took Aria by the hand as they walked away.

  “Screw him,” he whispered in Hannah’s ear. “Let’s go sell some ice cream.”

  It calmed her for a moment, but she couldn’t quiet the nagging feeling that Tripp was about to ruin her fresh start.

  “Hi, you’re Hannah Smith, right?” the perfectly made-up woman in a form-fitting green dress asked Hannah. She was holding a tablet and had an expectant look on her face that was all too familiar.

  “Yes, I am.”

  Hannah peered behind the woman and saw the telltale camera operator. No matter the city, reporters always looked the same, more or less. A touch blonder in some parts of the country, or a little more make-up in others, but their smooth, confident approach was universal.

  “Hi, I’m Candace Dugan with KRXQ, and I was hoping I could chat with you and Chad for a few minutes. We’re covering the picnic and some of the other work that the association is doing, and we heard that Chad has played a big part in what’s going on. We’ve seen his Instagram feed. You two are so cute together, we’d love to interview you both. Would that be okay?”

  Her first reflex was to refuse and defer to Chad, but she knew that he’d try to convince her to join him on camera and it would get awkward. There was no way for her to wiggle her way out of this one.

  She looked over at where Chad and Aria were teamed up scooping ice cream together with the rest of the Radford clan and sighed. Now she’d have to fake it on an entirely different level. The second the camera turned on, she’d flip to her professional persona, the one that knew how to keep a smile plastered on no matter what and could summon the perfect soundbite even when she disagreed with everything she was saying.

  “Sure, we’d be happy to, Candace!” she enthused then took a step closer to the ice cream booth. “Hey, Chad, can you come here for a minute?”

  He glanced at the reporter and nodded, then wrangled Noelle to keep an eye on Aria.

  “Well, howdy, Miss Dugan! I thought I recognized you. Pleasure.” He thrust his hand out to the reporter and she practically swooned.

  “And I’ve heard so much about you, Chad,” Candace flirted back. “You’ve got quite a few fans in high places.”

  “Is that a fact? Well, I have this gorgeous woman to thank for that.” Chad grinned and threw his arm around Hannah. “She always makes me look good.”

  Hannah summoned an appropriately modest smile but didn’t say anything.

  “Okay, that’s great, but let’s save some of this for the interview,” Candace said as she scrolled on her tablet and the camera operator hoisted the thing onto his shoulder. “You two ready?”

  Chad shot Hannah a surprisingly nervous look.

  “We are!” she answered with a practiced calm that she hoped would help him relax. “Chad and I are excited to spread the word about the Kingsley Cattlemen’s Association and all of the good work they’re doing, as well as Chad’s campaign to win the chairman position.”

  Candace grabbed a mic from the cameraman then counted down, and Hannah snapped back into the role she thought she’d never have to take on again.

  Ten minutes later, the interview was over and Chad was flying high.

  “You are incredible!” he said as they took a quick stroll at the far end of the park. “I mean, I knew you were good but that was like next level impressive. Even when she brought up the competition for the position, you helped me sidestep it like a politician. How did you get so good at being interviewed?”

  For a moment she wanted to tell him everything. To open up about what she’d done—how she’d stayed by her partner’s side—supporting and protecting him as Green Spaces rose and then dramatically fell. How it had all blown up in her face, leading to a court case, a media uproar, and the need to start over with a new name and a new identity. Would he still be so eager for her help once he knew about her past? Hannah frowned. He’d probably never want to talk to her again after he heard what she was capable of.

  “Hey, you still here with me?” Chad waved his hand in front of Hannah’s face.

  “Yeah, sorry,” she replied. “I thought it went well, too. You’re a natural, and it helped that she totally had a crush on you.”

  “Not like it matters,” Chad replied, glancing at Hannah out of the corner of his eye.

  She shrugged. Once the campaign was over, Chad would be free to go back to romancing anyone he pleased, even local celebrities. Hell, if he were discreet, he could start now.

  “I need to get back to Aria,” Hannah said abruptly, turning on her heel. “She probably wants lunch.”

  Chad grasped her arm gently, stopping her. “What’s wrong? You’re not yourself today.”

  “I’m fine,” she lied, attempting to put on her PR smile. “Everything is going according to plan.”

  Chad frowned at her. “It’s Tripp, isn’t it? You’re upset because he cornered you again. Hannah, I’m sorry, I really need to step up and start paying more attention. I just got so caught up in my conversation with Hank and the guys that I didn’t realize you needed me. My job is to keep you safe, and lately I’ve been doing a shit job. I’m sorry.”

  Hannah gave him a sad smile.

  If only Chad knew that he was the one who needed protection. From her.

  14

  As always, the casual quarterly Cattlemen’s Association meeting was slow to break up after the official business concluded. Most of the men got along well on a social level, and the promise of a beer or two before heading home was too much of a temptation to resist. There were always more deals to be made and casual business to conduct sitting in the back room of the Saddle Joe’s Bar while throwing back a few.

  But Chad didn’t really feel like talking even though everyone kept peppering him with questions about some of the new plans he’d suggested. There had been a slow but gradual shift in the way that he and his ideas were viewed by the others. At first, it was clear they hadn’t taken him seriously. But over the past few weeks, he could see the more senior members looking at him differently. They listened when he spoke. Respected his opinions. Checked in with him for answers when debating a problem.

  And the change was all thanks to Hannah, who seemed so unaccountably distant from him now.

  He drained his beer and tried to figure out what had changed between them since the last time they’d been alone together. They’d had sex and it had been amazing. Mind blowing, really, unlike anything he’d experienced with other women. The way Hannah had looked at him once she’d finished … he let out a long, slow breath to try to calm himself. He was used to desire, but what he felt for her was on a whole different level. And it went way beyond sex. He wanted to be with her—talk to her, get her opinions, make her laugh—all the time. He’d always thought he wasn’t cut out for relationships—that it was smarter to stick to one-night stands where no one expected more from him than a few hours of fun. But Hannah made him want more, want to give more.

  Chad scanned the room and his eyes landed on Tripp, laughing too loud and calling attention to himself like always. Now that could be the problem. Hannah always seemed to be working to advance Chad’s campaign, but he wasn’t doing as good a job at keeping the persistent a-hole away from her. He remembered how scared she’d look that first day, on the sidewalk, and felt his hands involuntarily curl into fists. If she still felt scared, it was all his fault for not stepping up to protect her.

  Maybe if he could finally get Tripp to back off, Hannah would finally realize that she could count on him—trust him, even with the secrets she seemed to hold so close to the chest.

  Chad said his goodbyes and headed for the door, head still full of questions on how to fix what was wrong between him and Hannah.

  “Chad!”

  The voice rang out from behind him and he knew exactly who it was without even needing to turn around.

  “Later, Tripp,” he responded with a wave, still heading to his truck.

  “Hey, I need to talk to you for a minute.”

  Chad could hear Tripp’s boots crunching along the gravel parking lot behind him.

  “What?”

  Tripp walked over to him looking cocky. Chad immediately wanted to wipe the grin off his face. Whatever he was selling, Chad wasn’t buying.

  “Turns out I learned some stuff about our mutual friend.”

  Chad clenched his fists again but took a deep breath to try to calm himself.

  “I wouldn’t call her your friend, Tripp.”

  “She might not be your friend either after you hear this.”

  Tripp crossed his arms and leaned against a truck. Any good cowboy knew that you never touched another man’s hat or his transportation, but Tripp seemed to think gentlemen’s rules didn’t apply to him.

  “Spit it out, Hamilton,” Chad said through gritted teeth.

  “Okay, okay,” Tripp replied, raising his hands in the air in a patronizing, calming motion that always seemed to make Chad even angrier. “Hannah had me take a photo of her and Aria together when we were at the library planting event and I—”

  Chad cut him off. “That’s not how it went. Total revisionist history. You grabbed her phone from Mrs. O’Neill. But anyway. Continue.”

  Tripp scowled. “Anyway. I noticed something in the photo on her lock screen. It was an old photo of Aria when she was younger. It was blurry, but I could see that she was wearing a T-shirt and name tag. The logo on the shirt was for Green Spaces, and the name tag said Kaley.”

  He said it in a way that suggested the information would mean something to Chad, but he had no clue what Tripp was getting at.

  “And?”

  “Don’t you remember what happened with Green Spaces a few years back?”

  Chad scowled. “You drunk or something?”

  He made an exasperated noise. “That eco-terrorism group, Green Spaces?”

  Chad squinted. “Oh, yeah, yeah, I heard about what happened with that river and the trial, sure. Who didn’t?” It had been a big scandal. The group had staged some stunt that went massively wrong, actually harming the plants and animals they claimed they wanted to protect. It had led to criminal charges, and the guy in charge had gone to jail. “Still don’t see your point, though.”

  “Yeah, well, I did a little digging and discovered your little girlfriend isn’t who you think she is.” Tripp pulled out his phone and scrolled to a photo, then pointed the screen at Chad.

  He leaned closer and stared at the screen. It was a photo of Hannah looking gorgeous but unlike the Hannah he knew, with blonde hair, standing next to a model-handsome guy. He felt his hackles go up, partly because he hated the thought of her with another man, and partly because the guy looked familiar. If he had just seen the photo in passing, he might not have put the pieces together, but since the story was already on his mind, he saw at once what Tripp was getting at.

  “Wait a sec … she knew that Green Spaces dude? The one who went to jail?”

  Tripp laughed. “Oh, she more than knew him.” He scrolled to another photo and showed it to Chad.

  It was a screencap of an article titled, “How Much Did She Know and When? Amanda Hastings Heads to Trial in the Green Spaces River Poisoning Case.” There was a small photo with it of a woman holding her coat in front of her face, but he could tell it was blonde-Hannah.

  “That’s her. Her real name is Amanda Hastings, and she was implicated in the whole thing. She was the guy’s girlfriend—joined up with Green Spaces when it was still just beginning and ended up in some high-level position. She played a major role in what happened. The only reason she’s not in jail is because she turned on the guy.” Tripp smiled. “I always knew there was something off about her.”

  The details of the trial came flooding back to Chad. Green Spaces was protesting the construction of a new factory being built near a river, saying the runoff from manufacturing waste would poison the water and wildlife that lived there. The group wanted to call attention to what they thought was going to happen to the water by temporarily coloring it neon green, but the dye they used was toxic in high concentrations—and they mixed it wrong. Within days of the stunt, dead fish and turtles started surfacing and the water-dwelling birds around the river were permanently stained. Even the riverbanks ended up looking like they’d been painted with toxic sludge. The resulting trial was a media sensation, thanks in part to the handsome, arrogant leader who refused to admit wrongdoing … and the added drama of the man’s partner turning against him to testify for the prosecution.

  “The internet never forgets,” Tripp taunted. “It can get scrubbed, but if you dig hard enough, there’s always good stuff to find. She covered her tracks, or probably paid someone to cover them for her, but Amanda and Hannah are the same person.”

  Tripp looked at Chad expectantly, like he was waiting for a bomb to go off, but the only thing Chad could feel was sadness. The woman he thought he knew, the one he was starting to care about in a way that made him want to smile all the time, was actually a stranger. She’d hidden so much from him that he didn’t feel he knew her at all. Memories he couldn’t square flooded back to him … her caginess about her history, the secret coding, her social media savvy … Hannah was a totally different person than the one he thought he knew.

  But for some inexplicable reason, his instinct to protect her from Tripp never wavered.

  “Who else have you told about this?” Chad asked Tripp, eyes blazing.