by Regina Duke
“I guess I should. But dang, mailing that plastic tracer to Vegas was a stroke of genius. You have to give me that much.”
Taylor giggled. “It really freaked Daddy out.”
Axel took a minute to fill Thor in on the tracking device he’d found on Taylor’s purse.
Thor grew serious. “Not a bad idea, security wise. There are places in the world where kidnapping is a common way of making money. Sounds like your father loves you a lot.”
“I’m sure he does,” said Taylor. “He just wants to control my every move.”
Axel checked his pockets. “Where did I put my phone?”
“Did you leave it in the SUV?”
Axel stood up to head outside but stopped when he heard his phone’s familiar chime coming from the floor under his chair. It had fallen out of his jeans pocket. Axel picked it up and cocked an eyebrow at the caller ID. “It’s Uly’s wife.” Then he answered it. “Belle? What’s up?”
“Uly wants to know why there are three private security goons at Lulamae’s front door, and why do they keep asking for some guy named Taylor?”
“Let me guess. Your mail was recently delivered.”
“Ten minutes ago, in fact.”
“Did you find the padded manila envelope I sent you?”
“Yes, it’s in my hand.”
“It contains a small GPS locater with a listening device included. It came off Taylor’s purse.”
Belle sounded amused. “Gee, I hope his bag matches his shoes.”
Axel laughed. “Taylor is a girl.” His voice softened as he pulled Taylor close. “In fact, I’m pretty sure she’s the girl, if you know what I mean.”
“I’m very happy for you and I can’t wait to meet her. But right now, would you mind telling us what’s going on before Lulamae bludgeons these guys with her cane?”
Axel raised a brow at Taylor. “Do you want to tell your father’s hired help that you are safe and sound in Eagle’s Toe?”
Taylor threw her head back and sighed like a martyr. “Do I have to? They’ll yell at me.”
Axel made a face. “Really? You’re the boss’s daughter. No one yells at the boss’s daughter.”
Taylor batted her lashes at him. “Can’t you do it for me?”
Thor lifted his hands in the air and teased, “See what you’re in for, Axel? She has located your control panel and is now pushing all the buttons.”
Taylor tilted her head impishly. “Ha, ha, very funny.” She peeked sideways at Axel. “Is it working?”
Axel grinned. “A little bit. We should let your dad’s goons know you’re okay.”
Thor added, “Besides, if Lulamae decides to call the police, those bodyguards of yours are in for a world of trouble. Everyone in Vegas knows Lulamae.”
Taylor slumped in feigned defeat. “Oh, all right. Give me the phone.”
But before Axel could hand it to her, Thor stopped him. “On second thought,” he said, “before we give up the game, let me talk to Uly.”
Taylor and Axel exchanged curious glances as Axel handed over the phone.
Thor turned off the speaker. “Hello, Belle? It’s Thor. How’s my favorite sister-in-law?” He laughed at something she said. Then, “Is Uly around? I need to ask him a question.” He covered the mouthpiece and spoke to Axel. “Uly and Belle have put down some roots here. They planned to buy property in Vegas as well, but I think—Oh, hi, Uly…. No, don’t worry about those guys. They were following a GPS device that our genius cousin mailed to Lulamae’s house. Just give them the manila envelope and tell them Taylor is tired of her father tracking her every move….Taylor….She’s Axel’s fiancée.”
Taylor beamed and Axel blushed.
Thor continued, “What I need to know is this. Have Rudy and Uncle Lester tried to pull you into this fracking deal they’re working on?”
Whatever Uly said, it had the power to make Thor jerk the phone away from his ear. After a few cautious moments, he pulled it closer, then nodded and grinned. This went on for another minute before Thor could get a word in. “That’s what I thought….Sure, you bet. We need to stick together when it comes to Dad.” More nodding. He lifted his free hand and made the universal signal for yakking. At last, he said, “Thanks, brother. I appreciate it. Oh, Axel is definitely on our side. He’s the one who told me about it.” It took several more attempts, but at last Thor was able to end the call and hand Axel back his phone.
“Well?” Axel and Taylor chorused.
“You’ll be happy to know that when Uly told Lulamae that Taylor was your fiancée, she invited the bodyguards inside to have iced tea out by the pool.”
“Not that part,” said Axel.
Thor laughed. “Sorry. You’ll also be happy to know that Uly is up in arms and is going to call Rudy right away and tell him to keep his oil-soaked fingers off our little patch of paradise.”
“We need to know how many other people our conniving fathers have approached.”
“Uly will find out. Rudy can be a force of nature, but not even Rudy can stand up in the face of Hurricane Uly.”
Taylor looked from Thor to Axel. “So we don’t have to worry about big oil or gas fracking moving into Eagle’s Toe?”
“Not when Uly gets through with Dad. I hope your father isn’t too disappointed, but his business deal is about to fall through. Big time.”
Axel looked pleased. “Now all we have to do is figure out how to help our neighbors so they won’t need that kind of money.”
Thor said, “Let’s get Ashley involved in this part. And the Darbys and the Fineman Wakes, as well.”
“The big guns,” said Axel. “I can’t wait to hear what they come up with.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
By the time Axel and Taylor had finished talking to Thor, the streets were filling with afternoon shadows.
Thor said, “It must be four o’clock. Are you hungry?”
“Very. And it’s almost time to feed the animals.”
Axel smacked himself up side the head. “It’s a good thing one of us is thinking about them. It went right out of my mind.”
Taylor said, “Let’s get a snack at The Muffin Man. That won’t take long.”
“Great idea.”
The menu at The Muffin Man had been expanded to offer fresh pizza in the afternoons, and before long, they were seated at one of the little tables with cold drinks and hot, bubbling mozzarella.
“I’m so relieved,” said Taylor. “The thought of all this glorious beauty being marred by the search for oil just makes me sad.”
Axel’s voice softened. “I’m so glad.” He caught himself. “I mean, not that you’re sad. I mean, the part where you think its glorious. You know what I mean.”
Taylor smiled sweetly and sucked on her straw. “Well, the other good news we got today was finding out your father didn’t send me out here to seduce you. Now I’m free to actually give it a try.”
Axel chuckled. “I guess there’s no point in worrying about that stupid wedding toast after all.” He glanced around the little shop and held up a finger. “Just a second.” He went to the counter, pointed to something in the recently added candy case, then returned to his seat.
His hands were busy under the table for a few seconds.
“What is it?” asked Taylor. “A Snickers for dessert? Isn’t pizza enough to ruin my figure with? You have to add candy?” Her tone was playful.
“No, not candy,” said Axel. He grew serious. “There’s one thing missing.” He put his hands on the table. He was holding an unwrapped bubblegum cigar. Very carefully, he slid the paper ring off the gum and held it up. “I know this isn’t what most women hope for at a time like this, but it is a ring. We can go to a jewelry store tomorrow. But the way things have been going, what with everyone already saying we’re engaged, who knows what other craziness will pop up? So….” He reached for her empty hand—the other was holding pizza—and asked softly, “Taylor Hazen, will you marry me?”
EPILOGUE
<
br /> Six months later…
The bell over the door of Taylor’s Feed and Grain tinkled merrily when Axel breezed in on a gust of October air. He strode to the counter and leaned across it to plant a kiss on the blue-haired proprietor.
“Hello, my beautiful wife. How is your day going?”
“Great! Even better now that you’re here.” Taylor came around the counter and returned his kiss, leaning into him and wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Careful now,” said Axel huskily. “It’s the middle of the day. What will people think?”
Taylor laughed. “They’ll think I hit the jackpot,” she said. “Any news from Bambi?”
“Yes. She called this morning to let me know she’s sent the biography to the printer. Your idea about letting her take over that project was absolutely inspired. She said doing it made her feel like she’s really part of the family.”
“I’m so glad.”
“And I just picked up a box at the post office.”
Taylor jumped up and down with excitement. “Your paperbacks?”
“Yep. Turning my book into a romantic comedy was a smart move. Turns out I’m not good at writing about dark dystopian topics. But our sales numbers on the digital version of the romance are really picking up steam.”
“Fantastic!” She hugged him again.“How is my horse?”
“You just saw him this morning. Since then, he has demanded room service for his stall and finagled three sugar cubes and half an apple out of me.”
“You’re going to spoil him,” warned Taylor.
“Good. I’m on a roll. I like spoiling you, too.”
“How so?” Taylor pulled away and planted her hands on her hips in mock astonishment.
Axel spread his arms. “I bought you a Feed and Grain store, didn’t I?”
Taylor smiled and moved flirtatiously down the aisle displaying fly traps and insect repellent. She pulled two traps off the shelf. “We need these,” she said sweetly, pushing them into Axel’s arms.
Axel grinned. “Romantic. Fly traps.”
Taylor continued. “Mr. Carpenter came by this morning. He says he loves what we’ve done to the place. And I’ve sold over a thousand dollars of Andy P’s Leather Goods today.”
Axel watched her with a mixture of love and pride. “Your plan to get him online with his leather work has really turned their lives around.”
“And we get first choice of his stock to sell here. I doubled all his prices. He was practically giving it away.”
“Strange how things work out, isn’t it? Before his accident, he had no idea that an artist lived inside him.”
Taylor stopped to help a customer pick out an Andy P dog collar, and Axel admired the new signage and bright, open displays of bird seed, chicken feed, and dog and cat food. He set his fly traps down next to the register and wandered through the store. A large bulletin board at the back was covered with local news and notices of animals for sale.
“Hey, Taylor? What happened to your ‘help wanted’ flyer?”
Taylor came up behind him. “Don’t need it anymore. The Shanes’ daughter wants to work thirty hours a week, and Sunny—you remember, Brady’s wife, the dog trainer who rescues animals?—she wants to work thirty hours a week, too. So I’m covered. It looks like I might even get a couple days off for myself.”
“That’s wonderful!” Axel took her in his arms. “Has your father forgiven us yet for getting married in Colorado?”
“I don’t know what made him madder, having to fly out here for my wedding or realizing I wasn’t asking him to pay for any of it.” She gazed fondly at her husband. “Thank you so much for bringing my girlfriends out for the ceremony.”
“Hmmm,” said Axel, “I think that’s only the thousandth time you’ve thanked me for that little item, but you’ve only thanked me five hundred times for the Feed and Grain.”
“Well, I’ve got some work to do, haven’t I?”
Axel chuckled. “The best part of bringing your dad out here was the way he seemed to love our little piece of Colorado.” He looked around the store. “I don’t suppose you can leave early?”
Taylor gawked at him. “You are such a stinker,” she said. “Until the ladies start next week, it’s just me in here and Cody outside, loading bags of feed for customers. I can’t shut down in the middle of the day.”
Axel sighed. “I knew you were a businesswoman at heart when you convinced Cody his career opportunities would be more promising over here than at the Cattleman’s. I just didn’t realize how dedicated you would be.”
Taylor smiled. “Well, I have to make this place a huge success or my favorite shareholder might get upset.” She winked at him.
Axel pulled her closer and planted a kiss on her nose. “That’s okay,” he said. He checked the time. “I have to attend a Grange meeting with Thor and Ulysses. Our battle to help the local ranchers hang onto their land has struck a chord in Uly, and he and Belle are thinking about teaming up with one of the ranchers to start a summer camp for special needs kids, with Zachary King’s help.”
“Wonderful! Now go away so I can get back to work.” Two more customers came through the door. “I’ll be right with you,” she called.
Axel lowered his voice. “What about the part where you have to keep your shareholder happy?” He retrieved his fly traps.
Taylor gave him a playfully smug look. “Thanks to Daddy’s wedding gift, I can buy out my shareholder any time I like.” She walked him to the front door. “Come back after the Grange meeting, okay?” She kissed him warmly.
“I will, and I’ll bring dinner from Il Vaccaro.” He held her cheek and leveled her gaze so he could stare into her eyes. “Your father really surprised me,” he murmured.
“Me, too,” said Taylor, squeezing his hand. “And the gift card was priceless!”
Axel laughed at the memory of it. Pembroke Hazen had written Taylor an embarrassingly large check for her wedding gift, and the card had read, “Buy your own lousy Van Gogh.”
Axel grew serious. “He loves his little girl,” he said.
“Well, I think Lester must have been pretty generous, too,” said Taylor. “He was such a good sport about the lying email I sent my dad. When that moving van pulled up in front of the house, I was astounded. Have you unloaded it yet? What was in it?”
Axel cleared his throat and pulled out his phone. “I knew you were going to ask, so I took some pictures before I left. It’s still in the van because the interior work on that room hasn’t been finished yet. Here. Look.” He held up his phone and thumbed slowly from one photo to another.
Taylor’s surprise turned to tears of joy. “He sent us a nursery!”
“Yes, and a note.” He took a card out of his jeans pocket.
A winged cherub floated on a yellow background. Inside, Lester had written, “Get busy!”
The End
*If you enjoyed this novel, please take a moment to leave a review.*
Other Books by Regina Duke
The Wedding Wager (Colorado Billionaires, 1)
The Wedding Hope (Colorado Billionaires, 2)
The Wedding Venture (Colorado Billionaires, 3)
The Wedding Belle (Colorado Billionaires, 4)
The Wedding Guest (Colorado Billionaires, 5)
The Wedding Toast (Colorado Billionaires, 6)
Colorado Billionaires Boxed Set (Contains novels 1, 2, and 3)
Colorado Billionaires Boxed Set (Contains novels 4, 5, and 6)
Colorado Billionaires 8 Novellas (Contains: Sunny’s Christmas, Krystal’s Christmas, Christmas Angel, Love Again, Twice the Joy, Jingle Bell Magic, Jingle Bell Wedding, Jingle Bell Romance)
Colorado Billionaires Christmas 2014 (Sunny’s Christmas, Krystal’s Christmas, Christmas Angel)
Colorado Billionaires Christmas 2015 (Jingle Bell Magic, Jingle Bell Wedding, Jingle Bell Romance)
Love on the Lazy B: Love Again, Twice the Joy (Two Colorado Billionaires Stories)
Self-H
elp for Writers: Being Your Own Cheerleader
My Vampire Wedding
North Rim Delight (Silver State Romance, 1)
The Woof in the Wedding Plans (Silver State Romance, 2)
Calin's Cowboy (Silver State Romance, 3)
Silver State Romance Boxed Set (Contains novels 1, 2, and 3)
Trickster and Other Stories
Linda White's Loving the Sensitive Dog,
Linda White's Sir Darby: Another Sensitive Dog
And don’t miss Lovers Lane Romance! Collections of shorter works by Regina Duke and Sandra Edwards! If you enjoy Regina Duke’s books, you will love Sandra Edwards’ romances.
About Regina Duke
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Regina Duke writes sweet romance, cozy mystery, and paranormal. She lives in the High Desert with her three dogs, and when she’s not writing she’s playing the piano and enjoying her friends. For more info on Regina’s books, visit her websites: ReginaDuke.com (fiction) and LindaLouWrites.com (non-fiction).
Visit the author at her author page http://www.amazon.com/Regina-Duke/e/B005KB08YM or email her at [email protected].
