by Deb Kastner
Griff narrowed his gaze on her, his brow furrowing. She was offering the bunkhouse as if it were somehow an answer to prayer.
If Griff believed in the power of prayer—and he didn’t—having the opportunity to bunk down with a bunch of rowdy cowhands would not have been what he considered a legitimate answer to his problems. The trouble was, he couldn’t think of a better option that wouldn’t reveal that he had the means to pay for housing indefinitely, that his bank account was bigger than he was professing it to be.
He leaned forward on his elbows, steepling his fingers under his chin. His mind was spinning, scrambling for a way to salvage this conversation. He’d all but thrown down the gauntlet to her. If he wanted to maintain the slim facade he’d offered, what choice did he have but to accept?
Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. And he had no one to blame but himself.
“Okay. Er, thank you for the offer.” He flashed what he hoped was a confident grin. “I always wanted to be a cowboy.”
She stared at him speculatively, gnawing on her bottom lip.
“What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
He suspected he was going to regret accepting her offer. In some ways he already did. If he had a lick of good sense he would just walk out of here right now and bunk at the nearest five-star hotel, even if it was an hour’s drive away. What he lost in the convenience of the short proximity to the town he could make up in the extravagance of his surroundings.
And why was his heart so set on this particular town, anyway? Surely there were dozens of other places just like Serendipity. Did he really care if he made his home here or somewhere else?
He couldn’t entirely explain it, but the answer to that question was yes. He did care where he landed, and this town was it. Vivian had been full of stories about the town of Serendipity and the folks who resided there. According to her, the town was small. Quiet. Unassuming. Becoming a recluse here would be easy, and the surroundings would be peaceful and beautiful. It was a gut feeling more than anything, but he’d learned over the years to follow that internal leading. Why should one small bump in the road cause him to change lanes?
Years before, when the thought first occurred to him that he ought to leave his unfulfilling life in the city and move to a small town to raise horses, he’d simply tucked it into the back of his mind. His subconscious mulled over it, occasionally spearing him with the desire to make that dream a reality. He’d had the means, but he’d been too focused on his career to do anything proactive to make that change.
Then in one painful fell swoop he’d been scammed by a beautiful con artist. Caro had taken what little faith in humankind he’d built up over the years and dashed it against the sharp rock of her conniving schemes. At this point he carried nothing with him but what was left of his shattered heart and the great deal of money he’d made through a career he was no longer interested in pursuing.
He needed Serendipity. He didn’t want to find another town. All he had to do was to grit his teeth and get through the next couple of weeks until he found a place to call home, somewhere out of the limelight where he could find rest and peace, where his best friends would be of the equine variety instead of the human kind. He could live with the wranglers. Who knew, they might be able to help him in his quest to launch a ranch of his own. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.
“You won’t be sorry,” Alexis assured him with a genuine smile that flooded his senses.
“I’m already sorry,” he muttered under his breath, even though he wasn’t certain it was true.
Alexis’s grin didn’t waver, though sparks momentarily filled her eyes. “Don’t be. I’m not sure exactly what you’re looking for, but I can assure you that you’ll be able to pick up some fine property for only pennies on the dollar. You’re going to find your perfect home here, I just know it.”
Her enthusiasm was contagious. Griff fought to tamp back his excitement, afraid to allow himself to get his hopes up. They’d been dashed so many times before.
“I’ve saved my whole life for this.” That was the absolute truth, though probably not in the way in which Alexis would interpret it. He cleared his throat and broke his gaze away from hers. He didn’t want to see his future in her eyes. Not until it was signed, sealed and delivered, in triplicate.
“What made you choose Serendipity?”
Griff chuckled. “Your sister. I’m sure you’re aware that she can be quite animated about a subject she’s particularly interested in. And persistent, too. She knew I’d been looking for a place in which to settle down and buy a ranch. And she really, really loves her hometown. Once she got it in her head that Serendipity was the right location for me to make a place for myself, she wouldn’t let up until I agreed to visit.”
“She can be pretty persuasive,” Alexis agreed with a warm chuckle, but a moment later her brow furrowed and she compressed her full lips. “Sometimes a little too much so. Once she gets an idea into her head, she won’t let it go. I apologize on her behalf. She has the distressing tendency to get on a person’s last nerve.”
Griff raised his eyebrows at her stark admission. “I didn’t say that. Your sister is really sweet. A little deceptive, maybe, but I’m sure she was just trying to be helpful.”
Or maybe not so much. What had been her plan, sending him out here to the house where her sister lived? She probably had her reasons, but he had no clue what they might be. He was beyond being able to tell, where women were concerned. Whatever. He was here, and that was the point of the matter.
Alexis’s lips quirked. “Oh, I’m sure she was trying to help you. The problem is that her idea of ‘helping’ is focused on what she thinks is in the other person’s best interest, whether or not the person she’s supposedly helping would agree. And she usually pushes the option that helps her the most in the end. I’m sure you’ve noticed that she can be a little…” She paused and brushed a strand of her long, straight blond hair back behind her ear. “Self-absorbed.”
“Really?” Griff struggled not to laugh. In his opinion, all women were self-absorbed. Men, too, for that matter. Always looking out for old number one. And who could blame them? He was no different. “You think she had an ulterior motive for sending me here?”
Had he been played? It kind of felt that way, although he couldn’t figure out any legitimate reason for Vivian to have acted deceptively. His mind scoured over the details of his visit. What reason could Vivian possibly have for sending him here, if not primarily to help him find the home he so desired? Viv’s boyfriend, Derrick, was the closest thing to a friend Griff had ever had, and they’d both been enthused by the idea.
“You have to admit the circumstances are rather telling,” Alexis said, thoughtfully tapping her chin with her index finger. “I don’t think it’s an accident that Vivian led you to believe I was a guy. She would have had to have been awfully careful not to slip up and refer to me as her sister.”
“She used the word twin, not sister. And she called you Alex.”
“Well, there you have it, then. She’s never called me Alex a day in her life. And then there’s the fact that she knew perfectly well I was still living here at the ranch, yet she gave you the impression the house was vacant.”
“I’ll admit that part sounds a little fishy.” And he was beginning to look—and feel—more and more like a sap.
Alexis scoffed. “A little fishy? This whole thing has Vivian’s interfering signature all over it.”
“Yes, but what could she possibly stand to gain by misleading me?”
“I have no idea.” Alexis twirled a strand of her hair around her index finger.
Griff was stumped. And humiliated, to boot. Who knew the internal workings of a woman’s mind? He certainly didn’t. But the latent anger that was never far from the surface was starting to billow in his chest.
He was so over being manipulated. By anybody.
“You think we should ask her?”
“Oh, I’m going to ask her,” she assured him with a robust nod. She sounded as though she wasn’t too thrilled with Vivian’s actions, either. “Just as soon as I’ve got you settled in at the bunkhouse. And we should probably see about getting a new breakfast fixed up here. I think I’ve got some more bacon in the freezer. It shouldn’t take too long to defrost it.”
Griff forced a chuckle. “Yeah. My attempt at cooking turned out to be a bit of a disaster, didn’t it?”
“I’m sure the dogs appreciated it.”
He twisted his lips into a semblance of a smile. “No doubt.”
Alexis glanced at the digital clock on the microwave. “Oh, dear. I didn’t realize how late it was. It’s already a quarter past eight and here I am still in my—” She glanced down at her fluffy purplish-pink robe and her face turned the same color as the material. She was bundled from neck to ankle, but that didn’t stop her from gathering the sides of the robe under her chin—the same chin that tipped upward a moment later, set with determination and maybe just a little bit of pride. “I’m afraid I don’t have time to cook us a full breakfast. Will a muffin do? I think I’ve got chocolate chip and blueberry in the breadbox.”
Still clutching her bathrobe with quivering fingers, she jerked to her feet and bobbed toward the counter.
“Blueberry will be fine. Are you going somewhere?” He couldn’t help but be amused by her stuttering movements. She appeared to be embarrassed about something, and for some reason that put Griff more at ease. Perhaps because it put them on a more equal footing. He knew what it was like to feel uncomfortable. He’d been feeling that way since the moment Alexis had confronted him with her curling iron.
“It’s Sunday,” Alexis explained. “I have to teach Sunday school to a bunch of middle-schoolers in an hour, and the worship service is right after. Oh!” She turned to face him, her eyes wide. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think to ask you. Would you like to join me? You are welcome to come visit our community chapel, especially since you’re planning to move into town. It’s probably nothing like the church services you’re used to in Houston, but most of the town attends, so you’ll have a chance to meet your new neighbors. We’re small, but faithful.” Her words poured over each other like a waterfall.
Griff barely suppressed the chill that impaled him. Ice entered his lungs, making them burn with the effort of drawing a breath.
He didn’t know what was worse—the thought of being surrounded by a town full of people—or the idea that they were all worshipping God. While these folks would be strangers who wouldn’t know his painful and humiliating history, he was convinced they’d be quick to draw unsolicited conclusions about him, and Griff had long ago given up on believing any kind of deity existed. Not in his black hole of a world.
“No.” He barked the word out more sharply than he should have.
Alexis’s jaw dropped and her startled gaze pierced him.
Griff shrugged, backpedaling. “I mean, no thank you. I drove most of the night to get here. If you don’t mind, I’d rather just find my bunk and get some shut-eye.”
Surprise turned to compassion. “Of course. You must be exhausted. Let me get you a muffin and some orange juice and then I’ll show you where you’ll be staying. You can visit the chapel another time.”
That wasn’t going to happen—ever—but for now, Griff allowed Alexis to fuss over him and get him settled in. There was enough time later for him to set her straight on what he was—and wasn’t—planning to do during his stay at Redemption Ranch.
Chapter Two
“Are you completely insane? You sent Griff here to do what?” Alexis gripped her cell phone close to her ear, glad she was near a chair, because her legs suddenly felt too wobbly to hold her on her feet. She slumped onto the plush burgundy fabric of the recliner and tucked her knees underneath her, coaching herself to slow her rapid, shallow breathing. She was hyperventilating and the room was spinning.
Where was a paper bag when a woman needed one?
“Now, Alexis, calm down.” Viv’s saccharine voice on the other end of the line sounded as patronizing as it was amused.
“Calm down? You want me to calm down?” Alexis was squawking like a parrot and she knew it, but how else was she supposed to react? “You lied to a man who you claim is your friend to send him here, then gave me no warning before waking up to find a strange man in my kitchen while he found a crazy woman in what he was under the impression was a vacant house, and you want me to calm down?”
“Well, when you put it that way.” Vivian sniffed.
Alexis took another deep breath and prayed for a semblance of self-control. It was a good thing for Vivian that she was in a different city and not in the same room or Alexis might have throttled her.
What a way to ruin a Sunday afternoon. Her spirit had been so calm after spending her morning worshiping the Lord at the chapel. Now any lingering sense of peace she’d experienced had been blown to smithereens.
“You purposefully mislead Griff to get him here, and I want to know why.”
“I would never do anything to hurt Griff,” Vivian protested resolutely. “He’s Derrick’s best friend, and that makes him my friend, too.”
“All the more reason for you to be straight with him. This doesn’t make any sense. Tell me what’s really going on.”
“I don’t know why you’re getting so down on me.” Viv’s voice was close to a whine. “Griff is one of the best-looking men I know.”
Alexis knew Vivian’s response made perfect sense—to Vivian. Not so much for Alexis, although she privately agreed with her sister’s assessment of Griff. He was the kind of man that would cause a woman to do a double-take if she passed him on the street. But, honestly, Griff’s good looks had absolutely nothing to do with the current situation, except maybe in Vivian’s mind—and trying to unravel that mess would be akin to untangling a rat’s nest.
“So he’s gorgeous. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Oh, you did notice, then.”
“Vivian,” Alexis warned, thoroughly exasperated and very much on the verge of blowing a gasket.
“I’m just sayin’.”
“Saying what?” Just once in her life, Alexis wished Vivian would connect the dots and make a logical picture.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed how refined he is. Rich, too.”
Refined, yes. Rich? Maybe Griff hadn’t said so in so many words, but he’d definitely suggested that he was pinching pennies—something with which Alexis was all too familiar. He hadn’t corrected her assumptions, at any rate.
And why did the size of Griff’s bank account matter, anyway?
It sounded as if Vivian was trying to set her up—as in matchmaking. Only in Vivian’s outlandish fairy-tale mind could a relationship between Alexis and Griff be even remotely possible. Honestly, any romantic relationship seemed out of Alexis’s grasp most of the time. No matter how many dates she went on, or how many times she got her hopes up, every attempt to find real love fizzled out into nothing. She was the girl a guy dated, not the one he put a ring on. And after kissing so many toads, she was taking an extended vacation from searching for a prince.
Alexis ignored the little twinges in her stomach, writing them off as feeling sorry for having to let her sister’s plans down. It wasn’t the first time Vivian had come up with a harebrained scheme and somehow involved Alexis in it, but this situation went above and beyond, even for her. Poor Vivian would be in for a shock to discover her fantasy future brother-in-law was actually dirt-poor and world-weary.
“I hate to have to be the one to break it to you, hon, but I don’t think Griff is rolling in dough.” The man’s net worth meant nothing to Alexis, but she knew a thick poc
ketbook was near the top of Vivian’s most-wanted list and therefore—in Vivian’s mind, at least—a necessity for Alexis.
Viv burst into giggles. “Did he tell you that?”
“Yes.” Alexis frowned, thinking back to her conversation with Griff. He had said he was strapped for funds, hadn’t he? Or had she put those words into his mouth? Either way, he hadn’t contradicted her.
“He’s pulling your leg, then, hon,” Vivian informed her in a know-it-all voice. “The man has money. Lots of it.”
Even though Vivian couldn’t see her, Alexis rolled her eyes. “And you know this because…?”
“Did he tell you what he does for a living? He’s a venture capitalist. A successful one, too. Trust me on this, Alexis. He’s loaded.”
Alexis frowned. So Griff was a successful businessman. That didn’t explain why Vivian had purposefully deceived him into coming to Serendipity, or why she thought Griff would have any interest whatsoever in her. “I still don’t see what that has to do with me.”
Vivian tittered. “I should think that would be obvious.”
It was. Patently obvious, unfortunately, though Alexis had secretly hoped she’d somehow mistaken Vivian’s purpose. “If this is some kind of cockeyed matchmaking scheme, you can forget about it right now.”
“You’re welcome.”
“So let me get this straight. You sent Griff here so I could meet him?”
“Well, I didn’t do it for my own good. Let’s review his résumé. Handsome. Rich. Sophisticated. What’s not to like?”
That was Vivian’s short list, not Alexis’s. She wasn’t even in the market for a relationship anymore. Redemption Ranch, her flailing ministry to troubled teenagers, took every second of her time and energy as it was. Who had time to pursue dating, never mind the time and energy for anything resembling a true relationship? But if she was looking—and that was a very big if—her list would read more like “a gentle, down-home cowboy who likes quiet nights at home and working outside with the horses. Those not in current possession of old scuffed boots and worn-out blue jeans need not apply.”
