Forever Hunted

by Kathleen Brooks

  Suzanne looked panicked. “I’m supposed to meet Mick tonight for dinner in Lexington. I told him I was visiting old family friends.”

  “How did you explain Miss Mambo being here?”

  “She’s flying down to Ocala tomorrow. That’s where Sam lives.”

  “Ocala? Is she flying on Keeneston Air that I recommended to you?”

  “Yes. The pilot said she was flying down there to pick up several horses tomorrow, and Miss Mambo would have the whole plane to herself. I was even going to fly down with her and catch a regular flight home. She may be worth only twenty thousand, but she has my heart and I plan to continue to spoil her.”

  Carter took a deep breath. “I’ll call Ryan. You get Miss Mambo out, and I’ll have a look at her. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  Carter waited for Suzanne to leave his office before taking out his cell phone and calling Ryan. The phone went to voicemail and Carter left a quick message about needing to know more about racketeering in horse sales before joining Suzanne outside. But when he found Suzanne, he also found a man kissing her. Mick had arrived early.

  10

  “Nice to meet you,” Carter said with a smile as he shook Mick Connors’s hand. Mick had an arm possessively around Suzanne’s waist and an overly wide smile. His light brown hair was gelled up in the front and his T-shirt was tight across his chest.

  “You too. I’ve heard good things about a filly of yours. I’d love to buy into a piece of her if you’re selling,” Mick winked.

  Carter laughed and slapped Mick on the shoulder without answering before he made his way over to the transport van with a couple of his farmhands.

  “What’s going on?” Mick asked as Carter got closer to the transport van.

  “I told Mrs. Bristol that her mare can use the pasture today before she flies out tomorrow. I know you probably have a stall at Keeneland, but here she can run a bit and that will make it easier on her to fly tomorrow,” Carter said as he worked in tandem with his men to quickly get the mare out of the van and into the nearest pasture. In one look, Carter could tell this mare wasn’t worth what Suzanne paid for her. He had pleasure horses worth more.

  “My Suzanne sure does love this girl. Has she told you anything about her?” Mick asked as he placed a foot on the bottom board of the fence and leaned his elbows on the top rail while they watched the horse trot around her new pasture.

  “Only that she was the sweetest mare she’s ever seen, and she loves her to pieces.” At least that part was true.

  Mick’s phone rang, and he stepped away to take the phone call. Miss Mambo trotted over to the fence and nuzzled Carter’s hand. “You are a sweet thing,” he whispered to her. He would find a way to make Mick and Sam pay for cheating Suzanne. He just had to figure out how.

  * * *

  Reagan found Carter rubbing a horse’s nose and talking to a stunning woman and a very handsome man when she walked up to the main barn. She didn’t mean to interrupt a meeting, but as soon as Carter saw her he called her over.

  Reagan had awoken to several texts from her father and mother. Her father had apologized and her mother wanted to set a time to have them come over for dinner, all the while promising her father would behave. Reagan didn’t want to deal with it yet. She was still too raw from the confrontation.

  “Reagan, this is an old family friend, Suzanne Bristol.” Carter smiled as he introduced her to the woman. “And Mick Connors. You’ll be flying Mrs. Bristol and Miss Mambo here to Ocala tomorrow.”

  “Oh, you’re the pilot of Keeneston Air Transport?” Suzanne asked.

  “That I am.” And the owner, but Reagan didn’t feel the need to tell them that. People tended to act differently when they found out. They felt the need to discuss business nonstop and Reagan wasn’t in the mood to talk business. “I’m about to head over there and get the plane all set up for you ladies.”

  Mick took a step toward Reagan as he grinned a little too big for her taste. “I hadn’t planned on joining the flight, but maybe I should.”

  Reagan really didn’t care if he did or didn’t. She wanted some time with Carter to make sure they were okay. There had been a lot of words said last night and a lot of tears cried. The only thing she knew for sure was a life without Carter would be very dark indeed.

  “We better get going,” Mick said, stepping back to grab hold of Suzanne’s hand. “We’re having breakfast with some friends. It was great meeting you both. I’ll talk to Sam and maybe I’ll join you tomorrow for the flight. We can spend the night at that hotel you like so much and see Miss Mambo settled. I’m sure we can catch a flight back the next afternoon.”

  Suzanne smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’d like that. It was good seeing you again, Carter. Will you give your father and mother my best?”

  “Of course,” Carter said, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.

  “I’m so glad to have met you, Reagan. I look forward to flying with you tomorrow.”

  “You too, Mrs. Bristol. I’ll take good care of you and Miss Mambo.”

  Reagan watched the couple head off to a flashy sports car parked in front of the horse transport. “Was something wrong with Mrs. Bristol?” Reagan asked. “She seemed, I don’t know, tense.”

  Carter nodded as he smiled and waved at the couple as they drove off. “She came to me because Mick has fraudulently bilked her out of two hundred thousand dollars for the purchase of this horse. She thinks he has plans set to do it again at the sales next month.”

  “She seems so nice. That’s horrible. Have you called Ryan?”

  “Yes, but I got his voicemail.” Carter turned and looked at her with concern. “How are you doing?”

  Reagan let out a deep breath. “I know one thing and one thing only right now. I love you, Carter. I should never have been embarrassed or fearful about telling you my feelings.”

  “I love you too. I have for a very long time. Do you remember that first flight together?” Carter grinned wickedly at her, and she felt her heart speed up.

  “It wasn’t the first flight, as I recall, it was the overnight stay. We talked the whole flight, and then, well, then things got interesting.”

  Carter’s grin widened as he pulled her against him. “Interesting is what you call it? It was so interesting you tore off my shirt and had your wicked way with me?”

  Reagan laughed as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “That was after you got me drunk on your kisses.” Oh, she remembered those kisses well. Carter was an artist when it came to kissing. Something so simple could drive her wild. He knew the right amount of pressure, how to use his fingers to heighten the kiss, the way to move his tongue that sent sparks straight to her core. It had taken one kiss in the hotel elevator to send Reagan into a lust-induced frenzy.

  “I wish I didn’t have to go to the airport, but I need to get everything ready for the flight. The flight down will be easy, but I have to have everything ready for the full return flight.” Reagan slipped her hand into his as they walked toward the stallion pastures on the other side of the farm.

  Quarterback Sneak, one of the promising new race horses, was tossing his head in the air as he pawed the earth with his hoof. Reagan watched the stallion fling his head to the side and take off across the field. They were beautiful animals. She looked back at Miss Mambo who was happily trotting around with her ears up and her long chestnut tail almost wagging in excitement. It was such a shame she would be embroiled in a possible crime.

  “What will happen to Miss Mambo if this Mick guy is really committing fraud?” Reagan asked.

  “I think Suzanne will keep her anyway. She has a big heart for animals, and as you can tell, Miss Mambo is truly a sweetheart,” Carter told her as he pulled out his phone and looked at the time. “I’m sorry. I wish we could talk more, but I have a busy day. Your father stopped me this morning to see how you were.”

  Reagan’s heart sped up. She didn’t want a confrontation right now. “How was he?�
��

  “Worried. But, he did ask me to come work out with him tonight at five. Do you want to meet me at the café at seven for dinner?”

  “You do know he’s using that as an excuse to get you into the boxing ring, right?” Reagan asked worriedly. She didn’t want Carter to have to handle her father.

  “I do. It’s not like I’m completely without talent. I was a wide receiver in college. I can take a hit.” Carter tried to joke, but Reagan didn’t laugh.

  “Be careful. I won’t lie. I wish you wouldn’t go. I’d rather have the night with you before I begin my crazy season of flying.” Reagan didn’t like this side of her—the side that needed him. The side that felt unsure about everything.

  Carter smiled and palmed her face, tilting her lips up toward his. “You’ll have me all night long. If this helps your father realize I’m not going anywhere, then it’s worth the time apart. Reagan, it’s important you know that no matter what your father throws at me, I’m not going to run. I want to be with you, and nothing is going to change that.”

  Carter lowered his lips to hers, and he flexed his fingers into her hair, letting her know he needed her as much as she needed him. He could say so much with a kiss. And this one told Reagan all she needed to know—Carter loved her.

  “I’ll see you at the café at seven. I love you,” Carter told her, his voice husky from the emotions he’d poured into the kiss.

  “I love you too.”

  * * *

  Carter headed to the office while Reagan walked toward the house as she called her sister to help deliver her car. In twenty minutes, two cars pulled in front of Carter’s house. One was hers and the other was her sister’s. Her sister got out of her own car as her assistant, Aniyah, got out of Reagan’s.

  “You naughty girl!” Aniyah grinned as she sashayed her curvy body toward Reagan.

  Where Reagan was athletic with strong muscles from horseback riding, Aniyah was all soft curves, giant breasts, and a booty that songs were written about. Her brown skin glowed from the reflection of the morning sun and her long swooping black bangs that were normally dyed red were pinned back with a diamond bobby pin. Aniyah was the definition of good things coming in small packages. And she knew how to use it to her advantage. It was something Reagan had always been in awe of. Reagan was more comfortable in jeans and a T-shirt, but Aniyah could wear jeans and a T-shirt and somehow look ready to go shopping on Fifth Avenue.

  “How could you keep a fine man like Carter Ashton a secret for over a year?” Aniyah wondered as she joined Riley to stand in front of Reagan.

  “I think last night answered why I kept him a secret,” Reagan said, embarrassed all over again. “Do you think Layne and Walker and Uncle Miles and Aunt Morgan will forgive me?”

  “Forgive you?” Aniyah cried. “Haven’t you heard? It was the highlight of the reception. See, I got the whole thing on video. Miles had me send it to him.”

  Aniyah pulled out her phone, and in slow-motion glory her dad was seen leaping from the tabletop. “It’ll be hard to top this when my sugarbear and I get married.”

  “You and DeAndre are getting married?” Riley asked. DeAndre Drews had been a security guard at the capitol building when Riley had been attacked. He was so good at his job, Matt had helped him become a state trooper. Then when Matt retired from the state troopers to take the Keeneston sheriff’s job, DeAndre got assigned to the district. As far as Reagan knew, DeAndre and Aniyah had been together for a couple of years, but no one had mentioned marriage before.

  Aniyah shrugged a shoulder. “Eventually we will. If you’re with a man for over a year, it’s inevitable or you’re wasting time. By the end of a year together, you know if he’s the man you’re going to marry or not. Isn’t that right, Riley?”

  “In my case it took us a little while to get together, but once we did . . .” Riley held up her hand with the wedding ring on it.

  Reagan wanted to ask Riley about trying for a baby, but Aniyah wasn’t exactly known for keeping secrets. She’d have her sister over for some girl talk after she was back from Florida.

  “Which means,” Aniyah started again. “I’m not the only one who is starting to think about marriage. What about you and Carter? Should I place my bet at the café?”

  Terror seized Reagan as she shook her head. “No! I mean, it may be over a year, but we’re really casual. I mean, we didn’t even say we loved each other until today.”

  Aniyah raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow and then looked at Riley who rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t heard it myself.”

  “What?” Reagan asked Aniyah.

  “You’re a coward in hiding.”

  “I am not!” Reagan shot a glare to Aniyah before looking to her sister for backup. Only Riley didn’t appear to be jumping to her defense.

  “Rea, she’s right. I stood up to Dad almost immediately. A couple days, sure, but you’ve been hiding for over a year. And hiding is the right word. If you are that unsure about your feelings, then cut Carter loose. He’s too good of a man to tie up and not do anything with.”

  “Or to. If you get them nice soft ropes, then you could tie him up, and I bet he’s not so nice in bed. It’s always the nice ones that are freaky-deaky,” Aniyah added helpfully. And correctly. Carter’s abilities in bed made his kissing seem amateurish.

  “See, told you,” Aniyah said smugly. “Her face is so red it matches her hair.”

  Riley snickered and Reagan glared at her sister.

  “Look, it’s all out in the open now. What are you going to do with it?” Riley asked.

  That was the thing. Reagan didn’t know. She knew she loved him, but could love conquer a crazy father? And would it be the same now that it was out in the open? “I don’t know.”

  Aniyah shook her head and Riley sighed.

  “I will, though. I’ll have the whole flight to Florida to think about it. And I’m not a coward,” Reagan said with more vigor than she felt. Right now she wanted to hide under the covers. Who knew that the woman who could disable a GPS or shoot a target at 800 yards could also be a coward? When they’d been hiding the relationship, it had been exciting. It had been her versus her father to see who could outsmart and outspy each other. But now . . . now it seemed she was unable to make any decision and that did not sit well with her.

  Riley hugged her then and squeezed her hand. “Stop thinking about Dad. This is about you and Carter. It’s your life together that matters. If you two love each other and want to be together, then nothing and no one will come between you. I mean, Matt and I are still going strong. We love each other a little more each day and so will you and Carter. If that’s what you want.”

  Reagan thought she told them goodbye, but she found herself staring after the taillights with only one thing going through her mind. What did she need to do to figure this out?

  11

  Reagan and Diego worked all afternoon cleaning and loading the plane. Diego was her horse handler for this trip. He had worked with her since she started her company, and by now he was a seasoned veteran at prepping the plane—fueled, cleaned, and checked. All that was left was filling it with hay in the morning. During the busy season between August and Christmas, Reagan would usually take two or three handlers with her. This trip wasn’t overly booked, so Diego took it since the others had families they wanted to spend time with before they went a week or more without seeing them during the height of the flying season, plus all the horses on the ride back had grooms accompanying them.

  “We’re all set, Reagan,” Diego told her as he checked the portable stalls they’d loaded into the cargo plane she’d bought earlier in the year. The plane was an old cargo plane used by UPS that she’d painted white with a royal blue tail. K AIR was on the tail in white while a royal blue line ran the length of the plane with Keeneston Air written in script along the back half of the plane. She was still paying it off since it had cost well over a million dollars, but it had been worth putting everythin
g on the line to achieve her goal.

  Reagan had the only plane solely used for transporting horses. She had started with a small plane that could only fit two horses at a time. She’d flown it by herself until this year when she sold it and upgraded to the larger cargo plane. Now she had specialized loading equipment that guaranteed her horses never touched the ground between the trucks and the plane. Owners or their grooms could now travel with their prized horses as well. Soon movie studios had also taken to reserving the whole plane to move animals for movie shoots. She had a dedicated team of professionals to take care of the horses during the flight and she flew the plane carefully to keep horses calm and safe.

  With the larger plane, Reagan had the ability to take up to twenty horses on a single flight. And at five thousand dollars a horse and close to three thousand horses or movie animals flown in the last year, that was enough to look into paying off the cargo plane and buying a second plane to add to the fleet she wanted to grow. She already had looked into hiring a second team of pilots for the potential new plane.

  “Thanks, D,” Reagan told the man she’d hired away from Desert Sun Farm. He was a couple years older than she was but had been working with horses since he was eighteen. All of her handlers had extensive experience with horses. They had all worked with horses for at least ten years and even had basic training in emergency veterinary care. “We’ll meet back here tomorrow morning at seven. Daniel will be copiloting with us tomorrow. I think we’ll only have one passenger, Mrs. Bristol, and potentially a second. Her boyfriend mentioned the possibility of tagging along.”

  “No problem. I’ll see you in the morning then.”

  Diego locked up the cargo ramp and headed to his car as Reagan finished the paperwork she’d be submitting in the morning. It was five o’clock by the time she left the airport. She hadn’t thought about Carter all afternoon, but knowing he was with her dad right now made it hard not to drive straight to Mo’s farm to check on him. Instead, she needed to sink into her bathtub and take a serious look at her future. Love, marriage, family . . . they were all things she thought about any given day, but never in combination with Carter.