“Remember,” he said placing the hat firmly on his head. “You have unlimited funds.”
“Don’t worry,” she said as they walked outside. “I’m an expert at shopping. By the end of the evening you’ll be mine.”
***
The auction was just getting underway when they finally arrived. “Where have you been?” Ilene asked, shooing Jace toward the stage. “From the way people are talking, you’re going to be our bestseller.”
Jace groaned, and looked at Caytie pleadingly.
“You only have four other guys in front of you,” Caytie said. “It’ll be over before you know it.”
“Actually,” Ilene said with a grin. “We’ve moved you toward the end so we won’t lose any of our buyers.”
Jace mumbled something under his breath that made reference to the byproduct of a bull.
Ilene waggled her finger at him. “Anymore language like that and you’ll be last.”
“It’s for a good cause,” Caytie reminded him. “Besides, it’s a good marketing strategy.” She winked at him. “You know, saving the best for last.”
His mouth tilted up on one end. “Okay.”
“Seriously?” Ilene said dryly. She leaned over to Caytie. “I’ve been trying to get him to clean out the attic for years. Maybe if you ask him he’ll finally do it.”
Jace rolled his eyes before reluctantly making his way up on stage as the auctioneer grabbed the mic to open the auction.
Caytie spied her uncle to the left of the stage. He had the challenging job as one of the bid assistants. The room was jam-packed with women, making it a difficult job for the auctioneer to keep track of all of the bidders.
As the first bachelor was presented, Caytie looked around the room to see where Kellen had gone. She hadn’t counted on Jace being on stage throughout the auction, and didn’t want to be alone. She finally found him, surrounded by a group of gorgeous girls dressed up in sparkly cowgirl outfits that on anyone else would look ridiculous. Kellen appeared to be enjoying all the attention so she decided not to bother him.
The auction was fun, especially when a bidding war between a few women occurred over a couple of the remaining firefighters left over from the recent forest fire. Caytie knew she’d have her work cut out for her when it was finally Jace’s turn. He had relaxed, joking around with the other bachelors. Frequently, he would make eye contact with Caytie, and every time he did her skin would tingle just like it did after treating herself to a polishing body wrap at the spa.
About halfway into the auction, someone tapped Caytie on the shoulder. She turned to find Victoria standing there.
“Hello, Victoria,” Caytie said, hoping the woman wasn’t here to make any more disparaging comments about her.
“Hi.” She tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. “I need to talk to you. Can we go outside for a minute?”
Caytie glanced at the stage, but Jace had his back turned, talking with one of the other guys. “Sure,” she said, not knowing what else to do.
She followed Victoria through the crowded room to the nearest exit. They stepped outside, and Caytie realized how stuffy it had been inside the building, despite the air conditioning. Although the temps were still in the mid seventies, it felt considerably cooler outside.
She inhaled the scent of barbeque coming from one of the many grills set up for the cook off earlier in the day. She and Jace planned on sharing a large stack of baby back ribs after the auction.
There were a lot of people milling about the farmer’s market as Victoria led Caytie around the side of the building to a vacant area where most of the vendor’s trucks were parked.
Before Caytie could ask Victoria what she wanted, a man stepped out from behind a truck. “Hello, Catherine.”
Caytie sucked in a sharp breath and clutched her stomach as she stared at Edward. Her head started to spin, making her feel as if she might faint.
“You’ve been a very naughty girl, running off like you did,” Edward said in his silky voice. “Your father and I have been worried sick something had happened to you.”
“As you can see I’m perfectly fine.”
“I agree.” His eyes skimmed slowly over her. “I have to admit you look rather sexy in your little cowgirl getup.”
Caytie ignored Edward’s observation, and looked over at Victoria. “Did you do this?”
Defiance flickered in her eyes. “If you mean did I call your fiancé, then yes.”
“He is not my fiancé.”
“He says he is.” Victoria took a few steps backward. “And I don’t want Jace to get hurt when he finds out.”
“You have no idea what you’ve done,” Caytie said, barely controlling her anger. “And this has nothing to do with Jace getting hurt.”
“I did what I thought was right,” Victoria said. Then she quickly spun around and disappeared around the building.
Caytie had no choice but to let Victoria go, however that didn’t mean she wouldn’t confront her later. First she had to deal with Edward.
Turning, she found him watching her closely. “A cowboy, Catherine?” He chuckled, taking a few steps toward her. “If that’s what you’re into then I’ll make sure to get a hat and matching boots before we leave.”
“Do what you want, but I’m not going anywhere, especially with you.”
His eyes hardened, and he gave her a tight smile. “I’ve missed you, Catherine. I’m not leaving without you.”
“Edward, you can cut the doting boyfriend act. I know you don’t love me, and I certainly don’t love you.”
“I’m wounded,” he said, placing a hand over his heart.
“I’m sure you’ll get over it.” She whirled around, heading back toward the auction.
“Catherine, don’t walk away from me. You’ll very much regret it if you do.”
The hard tone to his voice made her stop in her tracks. Slowly, she turned around and met his icy gaze. “Are you threatening me?”
“Call it what you want.” He shrugged. “I prefer to think of it more like an incentive.”
“An incentive to what?”
“To keeping your father out of prison.”
Honestly, if her father had done something illegal, then he deserved to go to jail. Edward must have sensed her lack of sensitivity. He leaned in close. “I forgot to mention it will keep you out of prison too.”
Caytie wanted to laugh at Edward’s threat, but the look in his eyes was enough to make her stomach feel as twisted as the buttery pretzel she’d eaten at the rodeo the night before.
“Edward, I paid all of my parking tickets, and I’m pretty sure visiting my uncle isn’t against the law.”
“No, but embezzlement and fraud are.” He gave her a malicious grin. “I’ve got all the documentation ready to send to the FBI to put you and your daddy away for a very long time.”
“Good luck with that,” she said, trying to call his bluff. Maybe he had damaging info on her father, which, quite honestly, wouldn’t surprise her, but there was no way he could make anything stick to her. At least she hoped not.
“While your little disappearance act irritated me, it actually makes you appear guilty, especially since you ran away to your uncle’s.” He withdrew his smart phone and swiped his finger across the screen. “You see I’m already working on uncovering information that George Holbrook is heavily involved in your fraudulent scheme.”
He started rattling off Uncle George’s birthdate, social security number, and financial information, including an offshore account that supposedly she and her father had set up.
“No one will believe you. Uncle George and my father haven’t had any contact in years.”
“Don’t underestimate me, Catherine. The information I have is damaging, and your uncle will lose everything he owns trying to prove his innocence.” He moved closer, and chuckled darkly. “By the way, your redneck lover boy has an interesting background. I don’t think it will be hard for anyone to believe the offspring of a drug-
addicted whore ended up trafficking drugs to supplement his income.”
Nausea gripped Caytie’s stomach. She was wrong. Edward wasn’t as bad as her father. He was far worse.
“What do you want, Edward?”
“We can discuss my terms on our return flight.” He glanced at his watch. “I told the pilot we’d be back within the hour so we need to get moving.”
Caytie swallowed, willing herself not to cry. Edward had come in a private jet, which meant they could be airborne within twenty minutes of leaving town. She had to think of way to buy some time. “I can’t just leave. Jace and my uncle will know something is wrong when I don’t return to the auction.”
“I’m counting on them knowing something is wrong. It will make the message you send them about how much you loathe living in such a small town so much more believable.”
Edward turned toward a dark SUV and nodded his head. A man climbed out of the driver seat and opened the back door.
“Let’s go, Catherine,” Edward said.
Caytie glanced around, wishing someone would come looking for her. She contemplated making a run for it but fear of what Edward could do to Uncle George and Jace stopped her from following her impulse. If she went along willingly, she could protect Jace and her uncle by hiring a private investigator of her own to find out what Edward was up to.
Left without much of a choice, Caytie slipped onto the back seat. She cringed when Edward climbed in next to her. The sweet smell of his cologne permeated the interior of the car. Not wanting to touch him, she scooted as close to the door as she could get.
The drive to the small airfield only took ten minutes. Caytie remained quiet, thinking about Jace and how he’d feel when it was his turn to be auctioned and she wouldn’t be there. Instead Victoria would probably be the winner. And here Caytie had been feeling sorry for the woman.
Once they were aboard the luxury jet, Edward sat down across from Caytie. “I really do like the dress and the boots, Catherine.” He poured himself a drink. “Perhaps we should make a stop at Vegas, and we can have one of those tacky cowboy themed weddings.”
“No thanks.” Caytie gripped the sides of the seat to keep herself from taking Edward’s drink out of his hand and tossing it in his face.
“Not your thing?” He took a long swallow, nearly emptying the glass. “I’m sure we can find a theme you like.”
“If you want a theme you might want to see if they have a wedding package based on a greedy, conniving groom.”
He chuckled, and refilled his glass. “Cheer up, Catherine. At least our marriage will be based on honesty. Instead of wondering if I married you for your money you’ll know I did.”
Caytie wanted to knock the smug smile from Edward’s face. He might think he had the upper hand, but there was no way she was marrying him, and he would never see a dime of her money. Her new mission in life was to bring Edward Childs down.
“Now, I don’t want your cowboy boyfriend to get any ideas of coming after you.” He took another long swallow of his drink. “So you’ll send him a message to let him know that you’ve realized you could never be happy in Snowy Ville, or whatever this hick town is named, and you want him to stay away from you.”
He set his drink down, and loosened his tie. “You better make it good, Catherine, because if your cowboy comes chasing after you I’ll make sure he’s ruined.”
Chapter 22
Jace scanned the crowd, still unable to see Caytie. She’d been gone for about fifteen minutes now—most likely to use the bathroom—but he was starting to worry. He was next up for auction.
Pulling out his cell, he checked for any messages. The only notification was for a Snapchat from Kellen. Jace opened it and grinned. It was a selfie of Kellen surrounded by the current rodeo queen and her attendants.
He quickly typed a message to Caytie. Where are you? I’m up next.
He waited for a reply, growing more concerned when the three little dots didn’t show she was typing a response. The auctioneer was calling for the final bid on the current bachelor. Jace quickly sent a message to Kellen, asking him about Caytie.
The reply from Kellen came seconds later. I haven’t seen her since we got here.
Jace didn’t have time to track down George or Mama Ilene as the auctioneer called his name. His friend, Porter Wilson, another of the bachelors, shoved him from behind. “Dude, you’re up.”
“All right, ladies,” the auctioneer said. “Our next bachelor is Jace McAllister.”
While the auctioneer read off his bio, Jace scoured the audience for Caytie. He recognized quite a few faces, including Victoria. She was watching him intently, and when their eyes met she gave him a tentative smile. Jace offered her a friendly smile before continuing his search.
“Okay, here we go,” the auctioneer said. “Who will give twenty-five?”
Jace watched several paddles go up, none of which belonged to Caytie that he could see. The auctioneer fell into the familiar chant, and soon the bidding was up to one hundred dollars. Most of the other bachelors went for around a hundred and fifty, so Jace was surprised when the numbers rapidly increased to over two hundred dollars. The bidding war seemed to be between Victoria, and another lady Jace didn’t recognize. Caytie wasn’t one of the bidders, and his concern for her safety superseded the concern of who would win.
“I have two and a quarter,” the auctioneer said. “Who will give me two and a half?”
Victoria’s paddle shot up, and Jace had to wonder where she would get that kind of money. As a single mom without any kind of child support, she lived on a tight budget.
“Two fifty from the little lady in blue.” The auctioneer pointed to the other woman. “Will ya go two seventy-five?”
The woman shook her head, and after several more attempts to get the price to go up the auctioneer pointed at Victoria and shouted, “Sold for two and a half.”
Victoria smiled as the crowd clapped wildly. Jace glanced behind him to find George and Ilene looking as concerned as he felt. As the next bachelor was introduced, Jace strode across the stage.
“Do either of you know what happened to Caytie?” he asked, digging in his pocket for his phone.
“No,” Ilene said. “George and I were wondering if you two got in a fight or something.”
Jace cut them an irritated glance. “We didn’t fight.” He glanced at this screen to find several messages from Kellen, but nothing from Caytie.
Scanning the messages, Jace’s concern mounted since Kellen was as confused as he was about Caytie’s absence.
“I’m gonna go outside where I can hear and try calling her,” he said, already making his way off the stage. He cut through the crowd to the nearest exit, selecting her number as he stepped outside.
Her phone went straight to voicemail. Jace ended the call, and immediately tried again. He repeated the process two more times before leaving a message that he was worried about her, and asking her to call him back.
Kellen joined him outside, followed by George and Ilene.
“Any luck?” Kellen asked
“No.” Jace took off his hat and ran a hand through his damp hair. “I just keep getting her voicemail.”
His phone buzzed, and he glanced down to see a new email in his inbox. He opened his mail app and tapped on the untitled message.
“Is it from Caytie?” Kellen asked.
Jace couldn’t answer. He was still trying to absorb the opening line.
Jace, please don’t hate me but I couldn’t stay in Snow Valley any longer.
His chest felt like he’d just been kicked by a horse, and he couldn’t breathe as he read over the rest of the email.
I didn’t want to hurt you, but I’ve realized I could never be happy here. Please don’t call me. Whatever you have to say won’t change my mind. We come from two different worlds, and I know it isn’t fair to make you believe there could be anything more between us. I’ve gone home, and once I inherit my money I’m leaving for Italy. Be happy,
Jace. You deserve it. Catherine.
“What is it, son?” George asked. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah.” Jace shoved the phone into his pocket. “She’s on her way home to California.” He forced out a harsh laugh. “Guess she didn’t want to waste her money on me.”
He placed his hat on his head. “I really don’t feel like sticking around for fireworks.” He took a step backward, unable to look any of them in the eye. “I’m gonna need some time alone, so please don’t change your plans.”
“Jace,” Kellen said. “Let me come with you.”
“Thanks, kid, but it’s not what I need right now.”
“But—”
Jace cut him off. “Come on, Kell, I’ve given you your space, now I need mine.” He didn’t wait for any more arguments, and turned around, making his way toward his truck.
“Let him go, Kellen,” he heard George say. “We’ll figure it all out.”
As far as Jace could see there wasn’t anything to work out. Caytie didn’t want him. What a fool he’d been to think this past week meant anything to her. She’d played him, and he’d fallen for her hard.
***
For two weeks Jace avoided talking to anyone about Caytie. Actually he avoided talking to anyone as much as possible. He worked hard from sunup until sundown, and still the ache in his chest remained. He had no idea a broken heart could hurt so much.
“You coming in for dinner, son?” George asked from the barn door.
“Not yet.” Jace glanced up and tried to smile. “Judd’s coming by to pick up Moonshine soon so I’ll be in after that.”
“Need any help?”
“No. I got it.”
Jace went back to work on getting Moonshine ready, and was thankful when George left him alone. A few minutes later, Kellen showed up to bug him. The kid spent everyday with a physical therapist, learning how to use his prosthetic leg. Every evening he would track Jace down and try to get him to talk about what happened with Caytie. Although Kellen never said it, Jace could tell the kid was hurt that Caytie hadn’t returned any of his messages or phone calls.
Summer in Snow Valley (Snow Valley Romance Anthologies Book 2) Page 16
