Cowboy 12 Pack
Page 173
Adriana and Lucinda chuckled while Kendra nodded as if she understood. She didn’t, not really.
Lucinda grasped her hand. “Would you do the honor of playing poker with us? Adriana said you might be willing to. It would be such a great story to tell the others at our club.”
“Oh, you have a card club?”
“No, no. Our nudist club. We play Texas Hold’em every Saturday afternoon there. So don’t go easy on us. We know what we’re doing.” Lucinda winked and Kendra relaxed a little more. No one had commented on her appearance and no one had stared at her. “I would be happy to play.”
“Oh, good.” Lucinda clapped her hands once and spun around to face the others. “She’ll play.”
Cheers greeted that news, and Kendra was quickly ushered to the head of the coffee table.
For the first few hands, she had a hard time concentrating, just not comfortable without clothes. She surreptitiously glanced at her fellow players’ bodies. Is that what they did? Look but not be obvious about it? They seemed more concerned with their cards than her.
All eight of her guests were older than she, probably sixties and seventies. They were all shapes and sizes and one man had a long scar down the center of his chest while a woman to the right had a brown stain covering her entire right arm and half of her breast. Attractiveness didn’t seem to have any place in the nudist lifestyle. It was such a freeing thought, but was it real?
When she lost a large pot of churro chips, her competitive instincts took over and she refocused her attention on winning. Everyone was having fun, talking and joking. Adriana made sure they all had drinks, though she wasn’t officially working.
Kendra was concentrating on a particularly good hand when the sound of the front lobby door opening distracted her. Immediately, she tensed. Whoever it was, it wouldn’t be someone she wanted to see her naked. She was completely comfortable with the nudists now, but a staff member besides Adriana wouldn’t be good.
As the footsteps came closer to the corner of the great room, her heart sank. It had to be Wade.
A moment later, he appeared and halted. She looked at him as he scanned the room, taking everything in. When his gaze rested on her, his jaw tightened. He shook his head slowly, as if she’d disappointed him. Then his hands formed fists and he turned on his heel, heading back the way he’d come.
“Do you call, Kendra?”
“What? Oh yes, I call.” She wanted to rush out after him and apologize, but she wasn’t sure what for. Hurting him? Doing what she thought was right even if he didn’t agree?
“Kendra?” Adriana snapped her fingers in front of her face. “Are you all right? That’s your pot.”
Her gut told her she had to talk to him sooner rather than later. “Go ahead and split it among everyone. I have to get back to work.”
“Already?” Lucinda whined, having raked in the second highest number of churros, although only because her husband kept eating his.
“Yes, I’m afraid so.” She managed to smile kindly before standing.
She started out but Lucinda called her back. “Don’t forget your towel.”
“Thanks. I’ll just—get it now.” She returned, not sure if leaving it behind would have been the right etiquette. She’d been about to say she’d get another. There was so much more to learn about her clientele, and it wasn’t all on the internet. Hopefully, her sacrifice tonight would help Poker Flat’s budding reputation.
As she reached the door to her office, her newest quandary hit her. She needed to see Wade, but should she put her clothes on or leave them off? If she put them on, he might be pissed she covered her body in front of him but not the guests. If she approached him naked, he might look at her in disgust and that would absolutely devastate her.
“Damn, this sucks.” She grasped the towel to her chest as if it could help, and then it did. Wrapping the towel around her, she strode outside to find Wade. The question was where would he be. Getting in her golf cart, she drove to the barn just in case. Sure enough, a cart was parked outside and a dim light shone from inside.
She called out as she approached. “Wade?”
“What?”
She couldn’t see into the back of the barn as the lantern was near the entrance, but she could hear a horse moving in a stall. “Wade, are you back there?”
He growled, “Yeah.”
Was this what was meant by facing a lion in his own den? She straightened her shoulders. She owned that den so this lion better come out. “We need to talk.”
“Why?”
Ugh. His one-word answers pissed her off. “Because you’re angry and I want to know why.”
The sound of boots hitting the concrete floor reached her before he emerged. His face made her wish she could talk to the darkness again, his scowl so much harsher with the shadows.
“You really have no idea why I’m angry? Come on, Kendra, you’re smarter than that.”
“And so are you. I’ve spent two years working on this resort for nudists. I researched everything I could, sank millions of dollars into its development and find out at the last minute if I don’t go nude, all I worked for could go down the drain. So I get naked and you stomp off.”
Leaning against the opposite wall, Wade folded his arms across his chest, his scowl deeper, if that were possible. “First, I didn’t stomp off. Second, you’re taking the word of a few guests that not being naked would kill your enterprise without giving it a chance. Third, if it really didn’t work out, you could always open the place up to clothed people. Families would love this setting, but you won’t even consider that. And fourth, you knew how I felt about you going nude and you did it anyway.”
She folded her arms, mimicking him. What she really wanted to do was punch him as the real reason he was upset revealed itself. He was angry she hadn’t done what he wanted. “Yes, I did know how you felt, but you aren’t the law. I respect your opinion, but in the end, it’s my choice and I chose to go nude. Now you don’t have to. You should be relieved.”
“Dammit! I don’t want anyone seeing you.” Wade stalked toward her. “It’s just not right. I want you to myself.”
Her heart did somersaults at where he was headed. “Why?”
He halted, looking away.
“Wade? Why do you want me to yourself?”
He finally met her gaze. “I just do.”
She shook her head. “Really? That’s all. Well that’s not good enough. You need to go all-in on this one. In fact…” She tore off the towel. “I’m willing to bare my body and my heart. I love you. I want you to myself because I love you.”
His gaze moved from her face to her breasts and lower. When he raised it again, desire, hurt, and anger collided. “Then don’t do this anymore.” He pointed to her nakedness. “If you love me, you’ll respect my preference to keep you covered.”
Her eyes watered. She’d given him a chance, but he’d brushed it and her away. Mr. Perfect wasn’t so perfect after all. “If you cared for me, you would support my nudity for the sake of my dream.”
Wade shook his head. “I won’t fold on this issue.”
She looked down to wrap her towel around herself again, hiding her teary eyes. When she raised her head, her stoic face was firmly in place. “A good poker player knows when to fold and when to stay in the game.” She spun, intending to return to her cart.
“Kendra, I’m not a poker player.” Wade’s hand on her arm had her stopping.
She didn’t turn around. “No, you’re not.” He was far too good for that.
He sighed. “I just can’t.”
She nodded once and pulled away. “You should probably call Dale and tell him I need employees who are okay with naked people strolling around, including their boss.”
As she settled in the golf cart, she glanced at Wade’s silhouette in the barn doorway. Gritting her teeth against the pain in her heart, she kept the tears at bay and drove down the path. She had barely reached the main building when the first sob overtook
her.
She doubled over. Tears streamed down her face. She rocked as the hurt speared through her, eating her insides. She’d made the mistake of falling for one of the good ones. She should have known. She and Wade came from completely different backgrounds and had different values. Wade would never understand.
Her towel soaked in her tears but it couldn’t take away her pain. A pain caused by reaching “beyond her sphere.” That’s what her ex–husband had said, but he’d meant his social standing. She’d been good enough to distract his supervisors with her breasts and help him get promoted, but when he needed to find his own rich clients, he’d needed a wife from a much higher level of society. Wade also lived in a completely different sphere than she did. His was the one without misfits or outcasts or second chances.
When she could finally catch her breath without sobbing on the exhale, she looked at the main building. The floor-to-ceiling windows of which she was so proud revealed the light and fun inside. She couldn’t be there.
She turned the golf cart and drove to her dark little house set slightly apart from the staff casitas.
Letting herself in, she was anxious for the numbing relief of sleep.
She stilled at the sight of light flickering in her bedroom. What the hell?
Chapter Twelve
‡
KENDRA FROZE, BUT her blood heated with fury. Someone was in her bedroom. And her gun was back in her office. Shit.
She needed a weapon. Something heavy could work. Where had she left the tools she’d used the other day when she put together her bookcase? Probably still on the floor. With her luck tonight, she’d trip over them.
The flickering light hit the living room, reflecting off the hammer sitting on the top shelf before it moved to another spot in her bedroom. Leaving the outside door open, she quietly moved to her only choice for a weapon. Grasping it firmly in hand, she tiptoed toward the open doorway. Her heart pounded, making her breathing speed up, but her years of poker kept her hand steady.
The person opened a drawer in her nightstand, the flashlight illuminating the contents inside. She’d heard someone once say offense was the best defense. She doubted that held true for a woman in a towel with a hammer in hand. Aiming for her bedroom door, she slammed the hammer into it.
The noise sounded like a gun shot and the person in her room yelled as the flashlight fell to the floor. “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!”
Crouching, she grabbed the light and shined it on her burglar. “Powell? What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’m sorry, boss. I had to. He said he’d get me in. I needed something more.”
She shook her head, even though Powell wouldn’t be able to see her with the light in his face. Then again, he wouldn’t know she didn’t have a gun, either. “What are you babbling about?”
“My uncle. He promised to get me into the police academy if I made problems for you. I didn’t want to, but you always said we should follow our dreams.”
“Not at the expense of others or by participating in illegal activities.” She sighed. “Who’s your uncle?”
Powell pursed his lips.
“You better tell me right now, or I’ll have you arrested.”
His shoulders fell. “Sheriff Harper.”
What? That’s what Harper had been raving about. He thought she had corrupted his law-breaking nephew? The man was certifiably nuts. “Do you really think he would help you become a policeman when he was having you break the law?”
Powell thought for a moment. “He said he would.”
“Well, he isn’t anymore.”
Powell’s face fell. “Please, boss. Don’t turn me in. Don’t tell him you caught me or he’ll make sure I never get accepted.”
She’d known Powell was young when she’d seen him that day in court, but for an expert hacker he was very naïve. “Harper won’t be doing anything for anyone for a while. He’s been suspended while under investigation. I’m afraid you hitched your horses to the wrong wagon.”
Powell looked like he would cry and there was no way she wanted to see that. She changed the subject to avoid an embarrassing scene. “What were you doing in my room?”
“I was supposed to take a bra of yours and leave it in one of the casitas so it looked like you had sex with one of the male guests.”
Adrenaline rushed through her at how close she’d come to losing the goodwill of her first patrons. That, of anything so far, would have done it. Now, what to do with Powell? “Come on. You’re leaving Poker Flat right now.”
“What? No, boss, please. I can’t lose this job.”
“Powell, I may give second chances, but there are no third chances from me. Let’s go.” She motioned with the flashlight. “If you leave peacefully, I’ll give you two weeks’ pay as a going-away gift, not that you deserve it. You can come back in the morning to pick up your belongings and your last check.”
The young man bowed his head, sniffing. “Okay.”
As he walked by her, she grabbed the baseball cap off. “I’ll be keeping this.”
His hand made for his head but she was too fast. His shoulders slumped and he wiped at his nose with his sleeve.
Nudging his back with the head of the hammer, she pushed him forward. “Come on. You drive.”
*
WADE WAVED GOODBYE to his first three customers. They had to be old enough to be his grandparents, but had acted like children on the trail ride, exclaiming after every cactus, view and horse. They did love the horses. He had to like people who loved horses.
He’d give Kendra credit for that too. She’d done her research and granted these people the chance to do something they’d always wanted to do, but in a safe environment. The slow gait of the horse combined with the padding she’d designed protected them. Even so, they’d still used their towels. He grinned.
The guests’ golf cart passed one heading toward him and his heart jerked at the hope it was Kendra, but it was only Billy. Turning, he strode inside. He had four horses to take care of and didn’t have time for Billy if the man was drunk again.
Starting with Sam, Wade removed all his riding gear and walked him into his stable. He still couldn’t believe Kendra had gone nudist on him even after she knew he was dead set against it. Seeing her sexy body amongst all that naked flesh had his dreams going wild last night.
He made himself focus on Buca, finally getting her stripped and into her stall. What did the guests think of Kendra’s body? He hated the idea they had viewed her and made some kind of judgment. Maybe they had dreams too.
After unsaddling Sundancer, his curiosity finally got the best of him and he strolled over to look into the parking area. Billy stood next to his cart talking to himself.
“Billy, what are you doing?”
The older man jumped as if caught red-handed, but came forward anyway. “I were trying to decide what to say to you.”
The man’s frown and obvious nervousness made Wade more curious. “Since when do you have to choose your words around me? Just say what you want to say. It’s that easy. But come inside out of the sun so I can finish taking care of the horses.”
Billy followed him and sat on a hay bale, but still didn’t say a word. At least he wasn’t drunk this time.
Wade shrugged and finished with Sundancer then started on Ace.
“What does you did?”
Billy’s sudden question caught Wade off guard. “I’m not sure what you mean. I just gave three people a trail ride and now I’m taking off the saddles.”
“No.” Billy dug his hands into the hay. “I means what does you did to upset Miss Kendra.”
Wade tensed, but saw no reason to hide his feelings. “I told her I didn’t want her to go nude.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not right.”
Billy’s nose scrunched, making the lines around it disappear into the wrinkles under his eyes. “But those people you took on the ride was naked. Why that all right?”
Wade
relaxed. “Because they’re nudists.”
“But Miss Kendra run a nudist resort. Why can’t she be nude?”
“Because I don’t want anyone else to see her without any clothes on. Do you want people to see her nude?”
“Sure, if that what she want. Why doesn’t you want people to sees her?” Billy’s stare was too focused.
Wade sighed. “You’re asking a lot of questions.”
“And you is not answering them.”
Wade put down the feed he’d been about to take to Sam and gave Billy his full attention. “Okay, I don’t want other people to see Miss Kendra because I like her…a lot. And I want her all to myself.”
“Good.” The old man grinned. “So you does want her to succeed, right?”
He raised a brow. “Yes. So?”
Billy shrugged. “So that mean you would does anything to help her.”
Wade shook his head. “It’s more complicated than that.” More than Billy could possibly understand.
“Why is you working on a nudist resort if you doesn’t like nudists? All of us come here knowin’ exactly what she plan. What make you think she change that now? Because you doesn’t likes them?”
“I—”
Billy stood. “You gots to figure out if you is here for the right reasons and exactly how much you ‘likes’ Miss Kendra because the rest of us is in this for the long haul. And if the only reason you is breaking Miss Kendra’s heart are because you is a prude, then you needs to leave sooner rather than later.”
Wade stared at the old man. Shit. He was getting dressed down by a drunk.
“Don’t looks at me like that.” Billy wagged his stubby finger. “Yeah, we all a bit tainted but we is pure of heart and loyal. You be pretty on the outside, but we still waiting to sees how good that heart of yours are. You best decide your int-int—what you wants and decides fast. Miss Lacey hear Miss Kendra on the phone asking Mr. Dale at that there temp agency to finds her a new security guard and stable manager.”
Wade’s heart skipped a beat. “She wants to replace me?”
“She are making it a requirement that employees is comfortable with people walking around nude. I think she enjoying it a little.”