Colorado Billionaires Boxed Set (The Wedding Wager, The Wedding Hazard, The Wedding Venture)

by Regina Duke

  Megan nodded. “I will.”

  One corner of Krystal’s mouth turned up. “And you, too.” She turned and moved carefully toward the house.

  Kevin sat down in the sand and grabbed a toy car. “Well, well, indeed. Mother is pleased.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  It was a talkative, happy group that gathered around the dinner table. Keegan was freshly scrubbed. Instead of an electronic toy, he perched two of his action figures on the edge of the table. He was full of information about highway construction.

  “I need a bulldozer,” he said at last.

  Kevin said to Megan, “Didn’t you get him a bulldozer?”

  “You were there,” said Megan. “You might have mentioned it.”

  Kevin grinned. “Maybe for your birthday, Kee.”

  Karla came to the table in full face paint. She had tried some shadow effects, and her vampire face looked gaunt and haunting.

  Krystal’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “Karla, my dear, you look positively ghastly.”

  In vampire voice, Karla said, “Thank you, mother. The One Called Megan gave me a very useful book. Lots of good tips.”

  Krystal fluffed her napkin over her lap and murmured, “Lovely.”

  Cookie came in with a delicious smelling stew. She set the pot on the table, then stood waiting behind Megan’s chair. Finally, she cleared her throat, loudly.

  Karla looked up.

  Cookie turned her hands over and asked, “Well?”

  Karla raked the air with her black fingernails and hissed.

  Cookie said, “That’s more like it. Hold on, everyone, I made rolls to go with the stew.”

  Kevin said to Karla, “Distracted?”

  Karla used her normal voice to answer. “I’m just thinking about the next chapter and how to add more color to my face. Don’t you think bruising would be cool?”

  Krystal lifted her wine glass. “Will you wear bruises to the wedding?”

  Megan said softly, “I thought it would be wise to clear it with your mom.”

  Karla said, “Not at the wedding. That would be a bad omen. I’ll save the bruises for a different occasion.”

  “You can make me decomposition green for the wedding photos,” said Kevin.

  “Cool!”

  “Dreadful!”

  “Sick!” But Keegan was grinning. “Can I be a vampire, too? For the wedding pictures?”

  Karla sniffed the air. In vampire voice, she teased, “Did someone forget his garlic?”

  Keegan pulled it out of his pocket and rubbed it on his head. “Safe now.”

  Cookie returned with a basketful of warm rolls.

  “They smell heavenly,” said Megan.

  Cookie beamed as she returned to the kitchen.

  Krystal dabbed at her lips with her napkin.

  “Karla, Megan tells me your ability to apply theatrical makeup is quite an unusual talent.”

  Karla froze.

  Megan could practically see the girl’s wheels turning. It was clear that Krystal had never before considered her daughter’s behavior in the light of creative expression.

  At last Karla mumbled, “Thanks.”

  It was equally clear that the next few words stretched Krystal’s maternal instincts to the max.

  “If we’re going to get creative with wedding photos, I would very much like to resemble Morticia Addams.”

  Karla’s eyes flew open in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?” Her vampire voice dissolved into a teenage squeal.

  “I’m quite serious,” said Krystal. “I always enjoyed that program, and the cartoon series before that, and Morticia was an excellent mother and role model.”

  “Oh, my God! That would be totally awesome! Do I have a budget?”

  Krystal allowed herself a small smile. “You may consider yourself funded.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Megan and Kevin exchanged glances of shared appreciation during the rest of the meal as Karla bubbled over with ideas. It had taken Kevin half an hour to convince his mother that trying a different tactic with Karla might produce different results.

  By the end of dinner, it was also clear that Krystal’s seamstress would require reinforcements. But Krystal didn’t seem to mind.

  After dinner, Kevin took Megan for a stroll through the stables.

  Megan smiled to herself when he took her hand. His broad shoulders and handsome features seemed completely at home on the ranch.

  Kevin stopped by a stall where a pale palomino nickered a greeting.

  “Hello, Honeybun. Yes, I have some sugar cubes for you.” He held his hand out flat and Honeybun nuzzled his palm. The sugar cubes were gone.

  “Here,” said Kevin, pulling Megan’s hand up. “Make friends.” He set two sugar cubes on Megan’s palm.

  Honeybun’s lips tickled Megan’s fingers as she accepted the sugar.

  “Her lips are so soft,” marveled Megan.

  “I take it you haven’t had much experience around horses.”

  “None. I used to pray for one when I was a little girl. The closest I got was a toy barn and some plastic animals for Christmas one year.” She stroked Honeybun’s nose.

  “You’ll have time to learn as much as you want here.”

  Megan cupped Honeybun’s chin in her palm. “Kevin, your mother said that after the wedding I would be the lady of the house. Does that mean you plan an extended stay here on the ranch?”

  “It’s necessary,” he said. “Once I inherit, I’ll have to get much more involved in the running of the place. Zach has kept me posted over the years, even when I didn’t want him to. I think Zach was the only one who ever really expected me to fulfill the terms of the trust.”

  “But your mother arranged a wedding for you!”

  “For us,” said Kevin softly. “You know, a week ago I didn’t think I could do it. I thought we were going to lose it all to my father’s moneymaking schemes and Wall Street wagers. I’d been looking for someone who could basically just stand next to me and say, ‘I do.’ And then you walked into the office.” He paused to move a lock of her hair behind her ear. “You were a vision, with your angelic beauty. You practically glowed.”

  Megan blushed at the compliment. “I probably did glow,” she said. “Six months in the hospital leaves a girl rather pale.”

  Kevin’s smile loosed an internal flock of butterflies.

  “I’m just saying,” he continued, “when I placed that ad in the paper, I never expected I would actually find someone I could love.”

  Megan’s heart pounded and her lips parted.

  “Love?” she whispered.

  Kevin leaned in and kissed her warmly.

  Megan melted against him, letting the kiss take over. A tiny voice in the distance of her mind was asking how his lips could be so soft and warm and still deliver an electric charge? Should she ask Kevin about that? Maybe later. Next week would be soon enough. Could she stay here in the stable, kissing Kevin, for seven days? Easy. Maybe even forever.

  Honeybun had different ideas. She pushed Kevin with her head and he had to step backward to keep his balance.

  A moment later Zach’s voice floated on the evening air.

  “I’ll just check the tack room.”

  Megan giggled. “Honeybun was telling you someone was coming.”

  Zach entered the stable.

  Kevin wiped a hand across his mouth and scuffed at the hay-covered floor.

  “You two lovebirds looking for some privacy? Or are you hiding out from your father?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Kevin’s jaw tensed and his hands balled into fists. “I thought he was staying at the hotel with his legal team.”

  “Evidently not,” said Zach. “Just thought I’d give you a heads up.” He nodded at Megan. “Ma’am.”

  Kevin turned to Megan. “I’d better go inside and see what’s going on. You can wait out here if you like. Dad never sets foot in the stables. That’s probably why I used to spend so
much time out here.”

  “No,” said Megan. “I ran from him once because he caught me off guard. I won’t let that happen again. I’ll go with you.”

  Kevin straightened his shoulders, feeling once again that Megan was more than worthy of his affection.

  Together, they entered the house through the kitchen. They could hear Douglas Wake in the dining room, raging at Karla.

  “I’ve had it with this vampire crap! You’re going to school in Switzerland. I’ve already reserved a spot for you.”

  Krystal stood clutching the back of a dining room chair.

  “Douglas, let’s discuss this privately.”

  “I’m through with private discussions,” he roared. His green eyes glinted cold and hard in the light from the chandelier. “I’m stating out loud and with witnesses,” he stressed as Kevin and Megan entered the room, “that I am fed up with this costumed nonsense! Last month she told the wife of one of my managers that the low-necked dress she was wearing attracted vampires like corpses attract maggots! You heard her. You were there!”

  Krystal’s voice of reason countered with, “That woman barely had a dress on at all.”

  “That’s not the point! The school officials told me we can deliver Karla any time because they offer a year-round curriculum. So I’m putting you on notice, young lady.” He shook his finger at Karla. “Once this ranch transfers to my control next week, you are headed for Switzerland!”

  Karla’s reaction startled Kevin. She transformed herself from a quiet meek costumed child into a shrieking hellcat. She held her fingers like claws and slashed them through the air as her father approached. She alternated between shrieking and hissing, and she half-crouched as she bounded around the perimeter of the table, avoiding his grasp.

  “You insufferable little brat! Your mother got you out of that hospital way too soon.” He turned long enough to snap at Krystal, “You think I believed that cockamamy story about them not wanting to keep her? I know what you did!” Back to Karla, “Hold still!” He grabbed for her.

  Karla eluded him by scuttling under the dining table, surrounding herself with chairs. She huddled there, hissing and clawing whenever her father made a move.

  Kevin had had enough. He stepped into his father’s space, forcing Douglas to back up a foot.

  “Enough! Stop this nonsense now.” His voice was deep and firm, and it carried the implicit promise that if Douglas did not stop, Kevin would make him regret it.

  Douglas Wake puffed up and glared at his oldest son.

  “You’ve got some nerve showing up to meddle in family affairs after all these years. You abandoned her!” He pointed at Karla. “And you abandoned your mother! But here you come running back when you smell money.”

  Kevin drew himself up his full height. In that moment, he realized that he was now taller than his father, and his summers as a lumberjack had added forty pounds of muscle to his frame. In measured tones, his anger barely under control, he spoke.

  “I did not abandon anyone. You chased me away at eighteen. But at least I was ready for college. Now you’re trying to send Karla away before she’s old enough to fight back! You will never control this ranch, and you won’t send my sister away for being different, either.”

  Douglas had to bend his head back to look Kevin in the eye. That fact was not lost on him. Nor was the very real presence of Kevin’s physical bulk. His complexion darkened, but he said nothing.

  Karla took advantage of the lull to scramble out from under the table and run for her room.

  Kevin finished with, “I used to think you were a big man. Now I realize that you’re just a bully.” He held out a hand to Megan. “Let’s go talk to Karla.”

  CHAPTER FORTY

  KEVIN KNOCKED SOFTLY ON KARLA’S DOOR.

  “Go away!”

  “Karla, you’re not going to Switzerland.”

  A few seconds later, the door opened. The shades were drawn. The room was dark except for the illuminated skull that Megan had given her.

  “Come in.”

  Kevin and Megan entered.

  “May I turn on a lamp?” asked Kevin. “I’d like to see your face.”

  Karla turned on her bedside lamp. The room was cluttered with the treasures of its teen occupant. A laptop sat open on an antique desk. The chest of drawers was draped with clothing, as were the chair and the bed. The book on makeup was open on the bed as well. Two spaces were organized and tidy. One was the dressing table where jars and tubes of theatrical makeup awaited Karla’s attention. The other was the art table near the window. The Victorian wallpaper was barely visible behind the sketches Karla had tacked to the walls.

  Megan was drawn to the art right away. “These faces are amazing.”

  “Thanks,” said Karla. “Mom and dad think they’re the product of a sick mind.”

  Kevin said, “All your clothes are black.”

  Karla’s brows drew together. “Not exactly.” She pointed out different items. “Onyx, charcoal, thunderhead. Shall I go on?”

  Kevin gave his sister a hug. “No need. I see what you mean. You know, I think mom is starting to come around. She wants to be part of the photo extravaganza. That’s great, right?”

  Karla nodded. “But it won’t matter if dad is here. He’ll forbid it, and Krystal will cave.”

  Without thinking Megan said, “Survival mechanism.”

  “What?” Karla looked puzzled.

  Megan perched on the foot of the bed. Kevin joined her. Karla straddled her desk chair.

  Megan explained. “Krystal lives with an overpowering man with anger issues. Sorry, Kevin, but that’s so obvious to the outsider. Even you see it now. You called him a bully.”

  “He is,” said Kevin. “I had to be away from it for six years before I could recognize it.”

  “And Krystal has developed behaviors to calm him down. She’s always controlling her voice, governing her words, and trying to ameliorate the situation. Those behaviors are her survival mechanism.”

  Karla tilted her head to one side. “So that’s why she never fights back? That drives me crazy. Once I told her she doesn’t love me because she doesn’t defend me when dad goes ballistic. I didn’t realize she was trying to calm him down.”

  Megan turned a hand over. “That’s because your survival mechanism is so different,” she said. “You keep your father at bay by becoming a vampire and scaring the crap out of him. Did you see his face when you started shrieking?”

  Karla smiled behind a hand. “That’s not easy, you know? I had to practice those moves.”

  Kevin nodded. “I believe it. You scared the heck out of me, too.”

  “So, how can you be sure dad won’t send me to Switzerland?”

  “Because your mother won’t let him,” said Kevin. “And I’ll back her up. Dad’s a lot worse than I remember him, and he was bad when I was eighteen. I think his behavior is affecting his work. Maybe that’s why he’s counting on getting control of the ranch and the money in the Fineman trust. I also think he’s had someone spying on me.”

  “Someone named Wong,” said Karla. “I heard him talking on the phone one day.”

  Kevin deflated. “Oh, no! Not Jeffrey!”

  Megan touched his leg. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I thought Jeff was my best friend.”

  Megan pulled her head back. “Your chauffeur is your best friend?”

  Kevin rolled his eyes. “Okay, I knew I couldn’t fool you forever. Until I take over the trust, I am not a wealthy man. My mother has been sending me an allowance every month for school. I got my degree in record time, but she kept sending money. And then I found out she told dad I was in graduate school so she could keep sending me cash. I let it build up in a bank account, and I stashed a bunch in my safe deposit box. I was using it to convince women I was super rich, because I thought that would be the only way to convince someone to marry me so I could inherit the trust. And part of that was hiring my best friend—my so-called best friend, the traito
r—to play my chauffeur and drive the rented limo.”

  “Oh.” It was a thoughtful syllable, full of concern and realization.

  “Thanks to you, I will get control of the trust, and your medical bills will be paid. You don’t have to worry about that. We have a prenup, remember?”

  “Oh, that. I’m not worried. After meeting your family and knowing you’re giving up your freedom so they can be assured of their own inheritance, I knew you were a man of your word.” She reached out and squeezed his hand.

  Karla’s eyes were big as plates. “You mean, you guys are playing parts? You’re just acting?”

  “No!”

  “No!”

  Kevin looked at Megan, and Megan met his gaze.

  “No, we’re not acting,” said Kevin. “I love Megan very much.”

  Megan’s eyes grew bright. “And I love Kevin.”

  Karla looked relieved. “Then the wedding is still on?”

  “Definitely,” said Kevin.

  “Too late to get out of it now,” teased Megan.

  “Good. Because if I end up in Switzerland, I’m going to run away from that school and come back and bite your necks.”

  There was a knock at the door. Kevin went to open it.

  “Come in, mom.”

  “You can leave the door open,” she said. “I convinced Douglas that he should stay in town with his legal team. I reminded him that his blood pressure suffers every time he flies into a rage, and it would be a shame if he were to have a stroke before the lawyers made a determination.”

  Megan’s brow furrowed. “But I thought if Kevin was married before his twenty-fifth birthday, the result was cut and dried.”

  “Technically, yes,” said Krystal. “But never underestimate a stubborn man with a corral full of lawyers. I’m sure he’ll contest. But hopefully he won’t have a leg to stand on.”

  Kevin, Megan, and Karla stared at the floor.

  Megan broke the silence. “Where’s Keegan?”

  Krystal’s expression softened. “He’s out in the horseshoe pit playing with his new toys. It turns out Garcia has two little boys nearly Keegan’s age. The three of them are building a city of roads in the sand. Zach gave them some small packing boxes from the office. Now they’re making garages. I have to bring him in soon. The light is fading.”