Page 15 of Summer on the Ranch (Royally Wed #1)

‘‘Shoes and earrings,’’ she said as she stepped out of his car. ‘‘Actually, just one earring. After all, I only lost three games.’’

‘‘That’s cheating,’’ Mitch complained.

‘‘No, it’s sensible.’’

He muttered something she couldn’t hear and led the way to the front of The Sunshine Home. She smiled at him as he held the door open for her to allow her to enter first. ‘‘And here I thought you’d be a gracious loser.’’

‘‘I’m gracious about many things, but not that, princess.’’

‘‘Want a rematch?’’

‘‘Maybe.’’

They were, she realized with a start, flirting.

She wasn’t sure she’d ever allowed herself to flirt with a man before.

There were so many times when she had to be careful, so that a casual remark wasn’t misunderstood.

Her belief that she would marry for the good of her country had kept her from forming close friendships with many men.

To make the problem even more complicated, very few men felt comfortable just being themselves around her.

Mitch was a rare and very special man. She was fortunate to have met him.

Twenty minutes later, she was even more grateful. As she surveyed the large, dusty storage room with its piles of boxes, her stomach sank. ‘‘This could take weeks,’’ she said as she read the different labels indicating the types of information stored inside.

Mitch looked around at the hundreds of files and records.

‘‘You’re probably not going to find out what you want today,’’ he admitted.

‘‘They weren’t kidding when they said they hadn’t gotten everything on the data base.

At least they had the boxes delivered here so you didn’t have to dig around in the various storage facilities they’d been renting.

One place is easier than three.’’ He shook his head at the mess.

‘‘Tell you what. Let me get the files in order so they’ll be easier for you to go through.’’ He flexed an arm.

‘‘Might as well take advantage of the muscle while it’s here.’’

Alex looked at the tall stacks. There had to be over a hundred boxes. ‘‘I’ll help,’’ she said, motioning to her jeans and long-sleeve shirt. ‘‘I dressed to get grubby. Besides, it will go faster if we do this together.’’

‘‘Works for me.’’

Mitch started clearing a space against the far wall. Alex picked up a box and read the label. ‘‘I suppose we should sort them by year. If we put all the ones that won’t help on one side of the room, that will cut down what I have to look through.’’

‘‘You’re the boss.’’

While she carried boxes one at a time, Mitch picked up two or three each time he crossed the room. Unfortunately some of the containers had five or ten years’ worth of records, so the sorting wasn’t going to help all that much. But it was a start.

As she worked, Alex wrestled with her conflicting emotions.

The longer the job took, the more time she could spend at the ranch.

In the past week she’d relaxed enough to enjoy the quiet and the rhythm of her days.

She wasn’t so sure she wanted to get back to her regular life.

The thought of hectic, event-filled afternoons and evenings, not to mention official functions, made her cringe.

Until she’d had the chance to live without the constant scrutiny of her family, servants and the public, she hadn’t realized how high a price she’d paid to always be on her guard.

Unfortunately, Alex wasn’t sure what to make of the revelation.

Shouldn’t she be anxious to get back to her regular life?

Shouldn’t she miss the palace, her family and her duties?

She drew in a deep breath. In some ways she did miss her normal contact with her sisters and her parents, although they spoke daily by phone.

But she would have expected to feel more out of place on Mitch’s ranch.

‘‘Here’s something,’’ Mitch said.

She glanced up and saw him crouch down as he raised a lid on one of the boxes. ‘‘What is it?’’

‘‘I happened to notice the label when I set the box down,’’ he told her. ‘‘These are lists of the children adopted the same year as John. Now it might not say when they arrived, but it’s a start.’’

She knelt next to him on the floor and took the files he handed her. They both scanned the labels on the aging and dusty manila folders. There were dozens of names.

‘‘I had no idea there were going to be so many children adopted from here,’’ Alex said.

Mitch opened a couple of folders. ‘‘The good news is you can eliminate all the girls, not to mention the boys who are too old. That will cut the number down.’’

‘‘Not by enough.’’ Alex studied a file. ‘‘Here it lists a child’s age as anywhere from eleven to sixteen months. They’re guessing, which means we have to broaden the age range we’re looking at. So it would have to be boys under the age of two.’’

He looked at her, his brown eyes dark with concern. ‘‘Are you discouraged already?’’

‘‘Not really, but I did have the unrealistic expectation that this would be a lot easier. Foolish of me, I suppose. It’s not as if the police or royal security detail were able to find James, and they’re trained professionals. What shot do we have?’’

‘‘They didn’t know about The Sunshine Home,’’ Mitch reminded her. ‘‘Don’t forget about the baby blanket. That has to mean something.’’

‘‘You’re right.’’

She continued to flip through files, sorting them into different piles. Those to investigate, those that were unlikely candidates and finally those that didn’t fit at all. She glanced at the remaining boxes and wondered how many more records would need to be studied. The task was daunting.

Mitch gave a low whistle. ‘‘Well, I’ll be. Who’d have known?’’

‘‘What are you talking about?’’

He thrust an open folder toward her. ‘‘I know this guy. Bill Lewis. He went to school with John. They were friends. But I never knew that Bill had been here, too. He came in the same year your brother disappeared. Looks like a month after the fire. He was adopted shortly after that.’’ He tapped the folder.

‘‘If you’re missing a prince, you need to take a look at this guy.’’

She took the folder from him and studied the loose pages inside. ‘‘Why do you say that?’’

Mitch raised his eyebrows. ‘‘You haven’t heard of Bill Lewis?’’ When she shook her head, he continued.

‘‘He’s an incredibly wealthy businessman. Self-made. He’s been on the cover of dozens of business magazines.

He’s got the Midas touch and then some.’’ Mitch’s gaze narrowed.

‘‘I can’t tell if he looks anything like you, but there are enough similarities that it’s worth checking into. ’’

Alex reached for her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed the number of the Aspen house from memory, then asked to speak with Katherine.

‘‘We’ve found something,’’ Alex said when her sister came to the phone.

‘‘About James?’’ Katherine asked.

‘‘I think so. I’m at The Sunshine Home, going through old records. There was one child brought in shortly after our brother disappeared. His name is Bill Lewis. Apparently he’s a very successful businessman.’’

‘‘All right. What do you think we should do?’’

Alex hesitated. ‘‘Investigate. Is Elizabeth still…’’ Her voice trailed off.

On the other end of the phone Katherine sighed. ‘‘Acting strange? Yes. I’m not sure why. I’ve tried speaking with her, but she won’t say if anything’s wrong. I talked with Serena, but you know how she is. Why do you ask?’’

‘‘Someone has to look into Bill Lewis, and obviously you’re the only one who can do that. I hate for you to go alone, but Serena would just be trouble, and with Elizabeth not herself I don’t see another choice.’’

‘‘I’ll be fine,’’ Katherine promised. ‘‘You’re surviving by yourself. Why should it be different for me?’’

Alex didn’t know how to answer that. She’d always seen herself as more independent than her sisters. That probably came from being the oldest. No doubt they would tell her it was because she was bossy and insisted on getting her way.

‘‘I know you’ll do well. Just be careful and stay in touch every day.’’

‘‘I will. I guess this means you don’t have any news about John Colton.’’

‘‘Not yet,’’ Alex admitted. ‘‘Mitch has talked to his parents, and they’ll let him know if John contacts them. In the meantime, all I can do is wait—’’ she glanced around the room ‘‘—and go through these records. There are dozens of boxes. I might need Elizabeth and Serena to come help.’’

‘‘Just say the word. They’ll be there.’’

‘‘Thanks. I’ll do some more on my own and see how far I get.’’

Alex shared the details about Bill Lewis that Mitch had provided, then she hung up.

‘‘That guy won’t know what hit him,’’ Mitch said with a grin. ‘‘I know I didn’t. How often does a regular guy meet a real live Princess?’’ He kicked the closed box with the toe of his boot. ‘‘Ready to get back to the salt mines?’’

‘‘If that means am I ready to look through more files, certainly.’’

They worked until it was dark. The single bulb in the room didn’t give off much light, and when Mitch suggested they stop for the day, Alex agreed. ‘‘I’ll make time to come back later in the week,’’ she said.

She glanced up and saw Mitch staring at her. He had the oddest expression on his face, and she couldn’t help reaching up and brushing her fingers against her cheek. ‘‘Am I smudgy?’’

He grinned. ‘‘Nope. I was just wondering. It’s getting late and I’m hungry.’’

Alex’s stomach growled in response to his statement. She laughed. ‘‘I guess I am, too.’’

‘‘So we can head back to the ranch and eat there, or we can eat here, in town. The local diner has great food, if Her Highness doesn’t mind dining with the little people.’’

‘‘I’ve never eaten at a diner,’’ she admitted. ‘‘That sounds like fun. And I promise not to make anyone bow unless he or she wants to.’’

It wasn’t a date, Alex told herself firmly, but it was too late. Her heart had already started thundering in her chest, and she could feel her thighs getting weak.

Dinner out with Mitch. If it wasn’t a date, it was close enough to make her wish the evening would never end.