by Regina Duke
Taylor ran her hands over a leather handbag with a horse’s head stamped in the center of the design. “I really want this bag. And those two small matching shoulder bags, too. The ones with horseshoes on them. I need those for gifts.” She moved through the room, making her selections. By the time she finished, she’d spent six hundred dollars. She pulled out her wallet and took six of the hundred-dollar bills that Axel had given her to replace her Armani blouse. “Here you go. Now please, see if you can get a space to sell at that horse show, because your husband is an artist and horse people will be fighting over these things.”
Doreen looked overcome. “Do you really think so?”
“I’m sure of it! Wait until I tell Karla. I’m going to give her and her friend Mindy these shoulder bags. I’ll tell her about special orders, too.”
A moment later, Taylor had the wind squished out of her as Doreen gave her a powerful hug.
“Thank you,” she babbled. “Thank you, thank you.”
Once the hug ended, Taylor said, “You’re very welcome. Do you sell online?”
Doreen’s eyes glazed over.
“No,” said Taylor, “I don’t suppose you do. We’ll talk about that another day.”
“I’ve got to show Andy,” said Doreen, waving the six crisp bills in the air.
She headed for the kitchen and Taylor followed, her arms filled with her purchases.
Axel and Andy seemed to have finished their conversation by the time Doreen laid the bills on the table. “Andy, you better call that organizer fellow back and tell him you want to sell at the horse show after all.”
Andy reached out to touch the bills as if they were alien artifacts that might explode beneath his fingers. “How on Earth…?”
Taylor hefted her armload. “You, sir, are an artist of high degree, and I look forward to buying more of your work in the future. I’ll put my special orders in after your shows.”
Axel beamed at her. “That is so cool. Hey, Andy, do you ever make stuff that will fit reindeer? I’ve got breed stock in my barn.”
“Maybe he can make something to keep alpaca spit from hitting home,” said Taylor sweetly.
Axel laughed.
Andy seemed as overwhelmed as Doreen had been. “This is…deeply appreciated.”
“Don’t forget my offer,” said Axel. “You’ve got my phone number right there. Let’s talk soon, okay?”
Andy nodded, unable to find another syllable.
They said their goodbyes and loaded into the SUV. Taylor waved at Doreen, who stood in the doorway, wiping tears from her eyes.
Taylor sank back in her seat. “What wonderful people,” she said.
“I know. I really like them, too. And guess what? Andy showed me letters just like the ones that the Shanes got.” He patted his breast pocket. “He let me take them after we talked.” He turned the car around and moved slowly down the gravel road.
“Yeah, what was your mysterious offer all about?”
“I told him his property was more valuable than he thought, and if it was just about money, I’d rent his land for more than the oil people would give him, and he and Doreen could keep the deed and live there for as long as they want.”
Taylor unhooked her seat belt so she could lean over and kiss Axel on the cheek. “That’s so cool! You keep doing things that make me love you.”
Axel slowed at the end of the driveway and turned to look at her. Teasingly, he said, “I say something incriminating in front of witnesses, but you only say you love me when no one else is around. Should I be worried?”
Taylor took advantage of being stopped to wrap her arms around him and give him a real kiss. “Don’t worry,” she said, “I’ll look for opportunities to say it in front of other people.”
Axel hugged her back. “I’ll hold you to that. What are you going to do with all this stuff?”
“Use it! And I’m calling the stable manager in New York to tell him about Andy’s work, and I’m going to help the Pattersons figure out how to sell online.”
Axel grinned. “Excellent.” He checked the highway, getting ready to pull out, then stopped abruptly again. “Hey! I thought you didn’t have any cash? That’s why I paid for all your tack at the Feed and Grain.”
Taylor refastened her seat belt and tossed her head innocently. “I spent way more than $800 at the Feed and Grain,” she said. “So technically, I was telling the truth.”
Axel laughed out loud. “Fair enough. Okay, let’s go talk to my cousin. Something in one of Andy’s letters made me suspicious.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
When Axel pulled up in front of Thor Security, Rocky the Doberman announced their arrival.
Axel pointed at the dog. His front feet were on the window ledge and every bark left a circle of hot breath on the glass. “That right there is the best security,” said Axel.
“Oh good. That means we can have dogs.”
Axel felt a tingle upon hearing Taylor talk in terms of “we.” He never knew how good that felt before meeting her.
“You’re not afraid of him, are you?” he asked.
“No, not afraid. Cautious. After all, it looks like he’s on the job.”
When they approached the door, a stern male voice ordered, “Rocky, go to bed.” Rocky stopped barking and retreated to a large dog bed in the corner of the shop.
Thor didn’t have his summer tan yet, but his blond hair and sky blue eyes were as distinctive as ever and his muscles proved he’d worked out all winter. He opened the door.
“Good morning, Cousin.” His gaze flicked to Taylor. “What can I do for you? Need security for that house you’re building?”
Axel shook Thor’s hand. “Not yet, but I will before the summer’s over. This is Taylor,” he added.
Taylor shook hands as well, announcing, “We’re almost engaged.”
Axel blushed. Thor grinned. “Have you consulted Axel about that? I thought Lester’s drunken wedding toast made you swear off the ladies for the rest of the year.”
Axel shuffled his feet. “She’s just evening the score,” he said, but his tone and expression made it clear how he felt about Taylor.
Thor clapped his cousin on the back, then said, “Pleased to meet you, Taylor. Love your hair. Come on in and have a seat.”
The plastic chairs facing his desk made a modern statement in the historic brick building. On the walls, staggered acrylic shelves displayed a large variety of home security devices. On one wall, a TV screen played a film about the joys of knowing your house is protected against any and all dangers. Axel was amazed by how many possible risks were involved in owning a house, but he figured in the security biz, scare tactics were part of the game.
He and Taylor sat down, and Thor took his chair behind the desk.
“Not to sound callous,” Thor said, “but I’m surprised to see you so soon after you walked out of that last city council meeting. I had the distinct impression that you were less than pleased with me.”
Axel waved that aside. “We may disagree here and there,” he said, “but we’re family. We both have to deal with the same crazy relatives. I leave that zoning stuff up to you and the city council.”
Thor looked hopeful. “Does that mean you’re going to accept my offer for your property?”
Axel chuckled. “No, sorry. I really love the place. I can understand why you settled here. But there is something I want to ask you about. It concerns some other property offers.” He pulled the Pattersons’ letters out of his pocket. “Do you know anything about these?”
Thor examined the letters one by one, reading each carefully and frowning at the signatures. At last, he commented, “Pretty coincidental for people I never heard of to have handwriting that looks like my dad’s and my uncle’s. I don’t recognize the third one, though.”
“Your dad? You mean Rudy wrote one of those letters?”
“I’d bet money on it. That’s his chicken scratch for sure. And this one sure looks like Uncle Lester’s handwri
ting. What’s going on?”
“So you don’t have anything to do with the property offers to the Pattersons?”
“I’m stumped.”
“How about the Shanes?”
“I love the Shanes. Their daughter is giving up the city life to come home and help them take care of the ranch. I gave them a free security system for their place. Promotional move. They can tell all their friends about it. I even hooked up their barn so they can hear if there’s a ruckus out there and check for coyotes. They have chickens, you know.”
“Yes, Marigold mentioned her chickens.” Axel shook his head. “Taylor says the third letter is signed in her father’s hand, even though it’s a fake name.”
Thor nodded. “I see. So we have three fathers involved in something that they haven’t bothered to share with us?”
“It would seem so. Are they all involved in your real estate project?”
“No. Dad—Rudy,” he clarified for Taylor, “he’s sort of involved. He wants a piece of the action. But Uncle Lester? And this other fellow? No.”
Taylor said, “Pembroke Hazen. That’s my father’s name.”
Thor flicked one of the letters with a finger. “They all say pretty much the same thing. Heard you were having financial trouble, thought you might like to make good money. The line about leasing? Call me suspicious, but that sounds like a not-so-subtle oil man fishing for a fracking contract. Who else got letters?”
Axel said, “So far, we’re only aware of Lucy Baxter, the Pattersons, and the Shanes. We know you wrote to Lucy, but you signed your real name and your letter was worded differently. The Shanes were visited by a lawyer this morning. The Pattersons also received letters, trying to make the case for a fracking operation.”
Thor looked disgusted. “Well, there is oil in Colorado. I just wish Rudy wasn’t messing with my little patch of it. Sure, I want to build homes, but how am I going to attract high-end buyers if the town is surrounded by fracking operations and oil rigs?”
“So you agree that they’re trying to pressure people into letting them look for oil and gas on their property? But why be so secretive?”
Thor made a rude sound. “Because Rudy doesn’t like anyone knowing what he’s up to. He’s had me talking up the housing idea and egging me on to fight the city council. He obviously wants to keep me busy and keep me from sniffing out his real plans.” He glanced at Taylor. “Does that sound like something your father might get involved in?”
“Boy, does it ever. My father loves that sneaky stuff. Especially if he’s going to make money.” She took hold of Axel’s hand and he squeezed her fingers gently. “Axel thought his father sent me out here to seduce him.”
Thor looked at her askance. Then understanding dawned. “Oh. That wedding toast again. Well, Rudy told me Lester is fit to be tied that he got grandkids before Lester did.” He grinned. A moment later, the grin faded. “Interesting, though. All three colluded to send letters to Eagle’s Toe property owners, urging them to sell or lease their properties. But I could have sworn that Rudy was talking about some kind of merger coming up—or was it a buy out?—something about Lester being in negotiations with a New York billionaire.”
Taylor nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, that’s what my father told me. He said he wanted me to come out here and get the dirt on Lester by pretending to help Axel write a biography about him.” She looked apologetically at Axel. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
Axel patted her hand, forgiving her with a smile.
Thor leaned back in his chair and rocked to and fro for a few seconds. “You know,” he said thoughtfully, “I’ve been wondering about my dad’s commitment to the housing thing. He keeps saying he’ll leave all the planning to me. Hmmm.” He tapped his pencil against the desk. “That doesn’t sound like our family, does it?”
“No,” said Axel. “It doesn’t.”
Taylor frowned. “You mean my dad is plotting with Rudy instead of Lester?”
“I’m not sure,” said Thor. “But if Rudy asked Lester to sign a letter with a false name, Lester would do it. He’d never sign his own name without a dozen lawyers looking into it first, but if it was a fake name, I’m sure he’d do it.”
Axel said, “I agree. They fight a lot but they’re quick to help each other out. The question is, does Lester know what Rudy is up to?”
“And is Taylor’s father involved in their game?”
Taylor’s brow furrowed. “Have you ever heard Rudy mention a Pembroke Hazen?” she asked.
Thor stared off into space, looking for a memory. “Does your dad have a nickname?”
“His golf buddies call him Mulligan because he always wants a do-over.”
Thor sat up straight in his chair. “Mulligan!? Oh boy, Rudy’s been talking up a storm about this big deal he’s involved in with a guy named Mulligan.”
Axel added, “And Bambi mentioned somebody named Mulligan when I spoke to her on the phone the other day.”
Taylor snapped her fingers. “So they are all three in cahoots. But why put a listening device on my purse? And why send me out here to dig up dirt on Lester?”
Axel looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, Taylor, but I think your original suspicion was right. I think your dad sent you out here to get you out of the way so he could promote your brother to vice president without having to deal with your reaction.”
“What about the wedding toast?” she asked. “Do you still think your father sent me out here to seduce you?”
Thor laughed out loud.
“Hey!” snapped Taylor. “It’s possible.”
“Sorry,” said Thor. “I didn’t mean it that way. Who sent you? Your dad or Lester?”
“They arranged it between them,” she said.
“What reason did Lester give for sending you?”
Axel responded. “He said he wanted me to create a biography of his life with my mother in time to give it to the family for Christmas. So he sent Taylor out to help me write the biography because I told him I didn’t have time to get it ready before December.”
Thor nodded. “That part makes sense. Last time I talked to Rudy, he said Lester was feeling his mortality because he doesn’t have any grandkids yet and that he’s having someone write a book about his life.” He cocked his thumb and pointed his loaded finger at Axel. “That would be you, cousin.”
“For Pete’s sake,” said Axel. “It’s a miracle we turned out as well as we did because we were spawned from the two most conniving brothers that ever lived.”
Taylor got up and stood behind Axel so she could put her hands on his shoulders. “So we think all three are involved in trying to get fracking started in Eagle’s Toe?”
“That’s what it sounds like,” said Thor.
“Okay, so what’s the big deal about Friday? My dad said he needed all this dirt on Lester before Friday.”
Axel covered her hands with his. “Maybe he’s ready for you to get back to New York. Maybe he just invented it as a deadline so you would be able to leave Eagle’s Toe. He was pretty upset when he found out we flew your horse out here to my place.”
Thor’s expression brightened. “No kidding? Sounds serious.”
Axel and Taylor shared a look that confirmed Thor’s suspicions.
Thor clapped his hands together so loudly that Rocky jumped up from his bed and barked. He pulled a dog biscuit out of his drawer and gave it to Rocky. “That’s great,” he said to Axel. “Ashley will be so excited. You are going to stay here in Eagle’s Toe, aren’t you?”
Taylor nodded bashfully. “I’ve fallen in love with everything,” she said. “Axel, the reindeer, the landscape, everything.”
“Except the alpacas,” Axel teased.
Taylor’s phone rang. She dug it out of her bag and covered her mouth with one hand. “It’s Daddy!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Taylor stood there, eyes wide, wondering what to do.
Axel asked, “Did you disable the location finder on your phone?”
“Then go ahead and answer. But put him on the speaker.”
Taylor answered. “Hello, Daddy.”
Pembroke Hazen hollered so loud that Axel and Thor would have heard him, speaker or no.
“What the hell are you doing in Las Vegas?!”
Thor raised a questioning brow as Taylor and Axel both stifled laughter. She covered the phone for a moment and whispered, “You were right about the GPS finder.”
“Taylor Hazen, answer me right now!”
“I’m in Las Vegas with the man of my dreams,” said Taylor, running a finger along Axel’s jaw line. “He loves horses. He flew Jackson to Colorado for me, and after we’re married, I get to decorate the mansion he’s building.”
“Married?! Over my dead body, young lady. You get yourself on a plane back to New York right this minute.”
Taylor feigned innocence. “But Daddy, I thought that’s why you sent me out west. Didn’t you and Axel’s father put your scheming heads together to make us fall in love and get married? Axel said Lester made a big deal out of him being the next one to tie the knot. So now you both have what you wanted. How many kids do you think we should we have?” She laid it on thick.
“What are you talking about?” sputtered Pembroke.
“Axel wants six, but I don’t think my body is ready for that.”
Pembroke’s voice rumbled with anger. “Taylor Hazen, you are not going to marry anybody until I say so, do you hear me? I sent you out there to get information, and you were doing just fine until—” He left the sentence unfinished.
“Until your listening device went silent?” asked Taylor.
For a moment her father was breathing so hard into the phone, Taylor thought he might be having a heart attack. Then the line went dead.
“He hung up,” she said.
Axel finally let loose the laughter he’d bottled up inside. “That was so perfect!”
“You were right,” said Taylor. “He was never in on the marriage plan. He just wanted to get rid of me for a while. Maybe you should call your father and find out what’s really going on.”
