Marry Me for Real, Cowboy - Valerie Comer Page 0,62

basement hallway and closed the door. A shadow lunged.

“You’re an idiot,” came his brother’s harsh voice.

And then Nathaniel’s fist collided with Adam’s chin.

Riley hadn’t been completely prepared to see her dad’s still form hooked up to a bunch of tubes, wires, and monitors. His thinning hair lay disheveled in sharp contrast to the neatly tucked bedding. She’d never seen his skin so sallow.

Mom led her and Jodie back out to the waiting room. Raul wasn’t there, to Riley’s relief.

Jodie pressed her hands together as she took a seat. “Did the police catch the other driver?”

“They have him in custody.” Mom glanced at Riley. “It was Johnny Sanderson.”

Oh, no. “Maggie’s father? How could it be someone we know?”

Mom twisted a tissue into knots and shook her head.

Riley jerked to her feet and paced the small room. Dad. Raul. The teen girls Riley had mentored last fall, like Maggie’s sister. The men she’d trusted... Dad had managed to take credit for her program. He’d do nearly anything to get reelected. Raul was even worse, playing Dad against Johnny. He’d managed to undermine her. Anything to look good to Dad and the county commissioners, led by Johnny Sanderson. Anything to launch Raul’s own bid next election year.

That’s why he’d proposed to Riley back in August, so that his name would start appearing in the news. It had worked. Their engagement photos had been splashed across the entertainment pages of the Santa Fe New Mexican and the Santa Fe Reporter. They’d even been showcased on TV news. At the time, Riley wondered at the coverage, but she hadn’t realized Raul was leveraging every avenue to become a household name. Linked to Ernest Dunning, sure, but only as a stepping-stone for his own means.

Suave, smooth, ambitious Raul Garcia didn’t care who he stomped on as he climbed the ladder, since he didn’t plan on coming back down. If only she could topple him.

Did it really matter? Weren’t the voters smart enough to see through his great smile? If they weren’t, didn’t they deserve what they got?

And, most importantly, had Johnny Sanderson ramming her father’s car really been an accident?

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Get away from me,” hissed Riley as Raul crowded her shoulder on the way out of the hospital the next morning. Why couldn’t he just back off?

A few seconds later, she focused on the news cameras and microphones pointed her way. Oh, so that’s why a smiling Raul was at her side. She stopped in the middle of the automatic door and pinned him with a glare. “You set this up.”

“Set what up?”

His innocent grin didn’t fool her for a second. “You really want cameras here? Because I might have a lot to say.”

“Your dad’s reelection hangs in the balance.”

“I’m not on his staff.” She shoved a finger at the center of Raul’s chest. “That’s on you. And you’re not playing fair.”

He caught her finger and leaned in to brush a kiss on her cheek. “Don’t look now, but they’re taking photos for the noon news.”

Riley placed both hands on his chest and shoved. He stumbled backward as she turned to the cameras.

“Ms. Dunning! Can you give us any word on your father’s recovery?”

“He seems to be out of danger.” Riley scanned for a gap in the reporters, but they stood shoulder to shoulder.

Raul’s arm slid around her waist. “Senator Dunning is expected to fully recover. Please excuse my fiancée. All this has been very traumatizing.”

Riley stepped closer to the nearest camera. “I am no longer engaged to Raul Garcia. He’s a lying, ch—”

“Like I said. Very distraught.” Raul lifted her left hand to a reporter. “And definitely engaged. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re headed over to the police station to learn more about the accident.”

Several cameras were aimed directly at Riley’s hand. “This is not Raul’s ring I’m wearing. We broke up months ago, because he—”

“Excuse us.” Raul’s voice cut through hers.

Riley yanked away from him and stalked over to one of the other cameras. “Hear me. Mr. Garcia is not to be trusted. I’m engaged to a cowboy in Montana.” Would any of the national channels pick up this altercation? She could only hope, but that hope dissipated in two seconds flat. Adam didn’t watch the news. He was too busy. Too absorbed in the daily life of Rockstead Ranch to worry about political machinations in other states, even if his ex-fake-fiancée was embroiled in them.

It was crazy when her best hope was Mrs. McDiarmid seeing the news and gossiping about it to