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

by Regina Duke

  The phone rang again. With a sound that was half groan and half laugh, Terri returned to the living room and answered it. “Calin, enough already. I said I’ll meet the dog when I get back.”

  “Hey, babe.” Gavin’s voice wiped the smile from her lips.

  “Gavin.” She felt the old stressors start twisting inside her. “What do you want?”

  “Don’t be that way, Terri. I heard about poor old Reggie. I just called to see how you’re doing.”

  Could it be true? Was he actually thinking about her feelings for once? Terri was cautious. “I’m fine. Friends at work are helping.”

  “I miss you, babe.”

  Terri made a disgusted noise. “No, you don’t. You miss my paycheck.”

  Gavin’s temper flared. “That’s not very nice.”

  His anger was almost comforting. It was proof that he hadn’t changed. It confirmed Terri’s opinion of him. He was still an unstable, violent ex-boyfriend with serious anger management issues.

  As if reading her thoughts, Gavin apologized. “I’m sorry.” He sounded sincere. “I’m trying to straighten out my life.”

  “Are you still working at the warehouse?”

  “Sure am. Got a promotion. Bought a new ride.”

  Unable to stop herself, Terri asked, “New new? Or used new?”

  “I don’t believe in paying all that money for new. Value drops by thousands when you drive it off the lot.”

  Terri smiled in spite of herself. It felt like she was talking to the old Gavin, the one she fell for before he discovered gambling and revealed his dark and angry side.

  “I’m working hard,” he said, “but I need a little help with the insurance, you know?”

  Terri rolled her eyes. “Here we go,” she said sarcastically.

  “No, babe, it’s not like that.”

  “Yeah, right. I am not giving you any money, Gavin. I don’t have any to give.”

  He turned on the persuasive voice. “Now Terri, we both know you’re lots better off than me. You bought that house free and clear with your inheritance. You don’t have to pay rent. You could help out a friend if you wanted to.”

  Anger sharpened Terri’s reply. “No, Gavin. No. Do you hear me? No, I will not give you money. Good-bye.”

  She didn’t hang up fast enough. He rushed on, more urgently now.

  “Don’t hang up! Look, okay, I’m still working, but I’m in a little trouble. More than a little.”

  “You are always getting into that kind of trouble,” said Terri. “If you owe the casinos, arrange a payment plan. You’ve done it before. And I’ve done it for you. That’s why I’m never helping you again.”

  “I paid the damn casinos,” said Gavin, his temper flaring once more. “I owe somebody else, somebody who doesn’t do payment plans. I’ve got three days. They’ll hurt me, Terri.”

  She winced. But experience was an excellent teacher. She refused to go back down that road with Gavin. “No. I can’t help you. I’m hanging up now.”

  “Wait! Terri, I’m scared. These guys are serious. You could take out an equity loan on your house. You know I’m good for it.”

  Terri’s stomach began to ache, and she was clenching her jaw again. Just like the old days. She thought of the long months of therapy she had undergone to learn to deal with Gavin. She remembered all the past bills she had taken on in an attempt to help him. She was finally out of debt, and here he came again. She pushed steel into her voice.

  “Gavin, I am not responsible for your bad choices. You are the last person I would ever loan money to again. You never pay anything back, not to me. I know what you did. You borrowed from a loan shark. You took twice as much as you owed the casino. Then you paid the casino debt and gambled away the rest of it.”

  “I had a queen-high straight! It wasn’t my fault.”

  “And the other guy had a king-high straight. I’ve heard it all before, remember? No money, Gavin. I am not giving you any money. Do not call me again. You are on your own.” This time she snapped her cell phone shut and ended the call.

  She took a deep breath and tried to exhale the tension spawned by Gavin’s request.

  “How much more can go wrong in my life?” she said aloud, as if Reggie were there to listen. “Well, from now on, I’m taking charge. I’ve done just fine without Gavin. In fact, life is far less complicated without him.” She put her hands on her hips and glared at the suitcase. “I’ll go to the store and pick up my pictures, and while I’m there, I’ll buy a bungee cord to fasten around my suitcase. Then I’m off to the Canyon.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  The July sun shone so brightly that Terri’s pale blue eyes demanded sun glasses. Without them, she squinted in pain. And it was hot. It was only nine in the morning, but it was already 70 degrees, and the weather man had predicted a high of 95. But her little car had air conditioning and a CD player, so she could shut out both the heat and the traffic noise. At that hour, there were plenty of spaces in the parking lot. Even so, some people still had to take up extra room. She shook her head ruefully on her way past the silver Mercedes that straddled the dividing line between spaces. Some people treated their cars better than they treated their pets or other people.

  She parked her gray Honda sedan and wondered if she should remove Reggie’s blanket from the back seat. No. Not yet. She wasn’t ready. She straightened two of the dog-paw magnets that decorated her trunk and headed inside.

  Once there, she found the bungee cord she needed, then went to the photo counter. There were only a handful of people shopping in the aisles, but there were three people ahead of her waiting for photos. By the time she got to the register, there were three more behind her. The man at the end of the line was vocal about his discontent.

  “Hey, lady, why don’t you call some help? You got a line here.”

  The teenager handling the photo counter was visibly flustered.

  Terri laid her photo receipt on the counter. She felt sorry for the girl. She smiled encouragement and said gently, “You’re doing fine. Just ignore him.”

  “Come on, come on,” grumbled the man. He jumped the line, slammed his palm on the counter, and shoved his own receipt at the girl.

  The embarrassed cashier took both receipts and fetched two orange and white envelopes. She slid one at Terri.

  “Thanks for waiting,” she said. “The other girl called in sick. I usually work the stock room.”

  “No problem.” Terri handed her a ten and ignored the rude man next to her.

  The girl handed back her change. She was already bracing to deal with the jerk who yelled at her.

  Terri tucked the envelope into her canvas tote bag, then headed for the parking lot. She was busy with the contents of her bag and wasn’t paying attention at the automatic doors, so she didn’t see the dark-haired, brown-eyed stranger until she bumped into his skin-tight white tee shirt.

  “Oh! My bag!” Her tote slipped out of her grasp, but before it could hit the ground, he swooped it up.

  “Sorry about that.” He had a voice that bordered on baritone and a smile that bordered on dangerous. Terri’s breath caught in her throat. She took her bag and clutched it to her chest, suddenly aware again of her missed hair appointment. The baritone was a sweet musical background to his sculpted muscles and golden tan.

  “Oh, no problem,” said Terri. She wished her heart would quit pounding. She’d just gotten rid of Gavin. She did not appreciate the response her body was having to this gorgeous hunk with a face like a young George Clooney and a voice like silk.

  “My name’s Russ Camino. I hope I didn’t startle you.”

  “Terri Baker.” She grew irritated with herself. Why was she telling him her name? She was a free woman, on vacation, and she didn’t want any more complications in her life. “I’m sorry, I’m kind of in a hurry.” She gave him an apologetic glance and headed for her car.

  Once inside, she turned on the air conditioner, set her bag on the passenger seat, and then got
out so she could open the trunk and wrap the bungee around her suitcase. It looked silly, but at least the lid would stay shut when she rolled it to her cabin at the North Rim.

  Feeling satisfied with her handling of that problem, she closed the trunk and got back in the car. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a flash of white near the automatic doors, but she couldn’t tell if Russ was looking at her unless she looked at him, and she refused to do that.

  “Okay, Reggie, I guess I’m weak. But I’m not going to give that man another glance.” She reached over and patted the bag with the photos in it. “I’ll look at you later. If I look now, I won’t feel like driving. Meanwhile, I’ve got a full tank of gas and reservations at the North Rim. I’ll spend tonight in Vegas, and then off to the Canyon tomorrow. And Russ Camino be damned.” But it was annoying that his name stuck in her mind like that. She frowned as she steered the car through the lot. It was just hormones, she thought. She was female and he was male. Oh, boy, was he male. Well, there were lots of men in the world, and she didn’t want to complicate her life with any of them.

  Russell Camino leaned against the wooden post and tried to keep an eye on both store exits at the same time, but his gaze kept straying to the car where Terri Baker was bending over the trunk of her car, fastening a bungee cord around something inside. She was wearing yellow shorts. They were modest enough, not the least provocative. But he couldn’t take his eyes off her smooth, shapely legs. Those athletic calves, those slender thighs, and that perfect nose over cupid-bow lips were a major distraction to his stake-out. He figured she could be wearing Amish garb and still look terrific. If he went over and talked to her, DaSilva might come out of the store and spot him. Or worse yet, he might drive off before Russ could get to his own car and give chase. He knew the man was up to no good. DaSilva was on Russ’s list of people to watch, and not because he was a current flight risk. In fact, at the moment there were no warrants out for DaSilva.

  Russ knew what he was doing was unwise. He was a bounty hunter, and his job was to bring bail jumpers back to Reno. But things were slow at the moment, and he had made a promise that had to be kept. So he was tailing DaSilva, warrant or no warrant. Russ Camino always kept his promises. He could not let a pretty girl divert him from that goal.

  Terri Baker was more than pretty, though, and their brief encounter was having a definite affect on him. Why was he even interested? She was just a girl coming out of the supermarket. Nothing special. But his heart felt that was a lie. He had to be a good judge of people in his line of work, and he had felt something, for just a millisecond, something that might grow between them if he were to allow it.

  He didn’t even know he was holding his breath until Terri got into her car and he could finally exhale. Those fantastic legs were out of sight at last. As her car began to move, he spotted DaSilva leaving the store and heading for his own vehicle. It was time to get back to work.

  Terri drove past the crookedly parked Mercedes, turned right on the Pyramid Lake highway and headed for the freeway. No more complications. Just the open road and a date with the Canyon. Her heart felt lighter than it had in a long while, giddy with the thrill of adventure. She glanced in the rearview mirror and was surprised to find herself smiling.

  “This is just what I needed.”

  Her cell phone rang. She frowned and dug it out of her bag with one hand. This time she looked at the number before answering.

  It was Gavin.

  “No!” she shouted to the universe. Then she had a better idea. She opened the phone, shouted “No!” into Gavin’s ear, then turned it off. That was one way to guarantee her peace and quiet. She slipped a CD into the player and turned up the volume.

  Once she took the Fernley exit, the highway would be only two lanes almost all the way to Indian Springs outside Vegas. The next two hours whizzed by, fueled by music, diet Pepsi, and adrenaline. But after that, she began to wonder if making the long drive alone was a smart thing to do. The road was surprisingly busy for a two-lane highway. Most of the traffic was made up of big rigs, but there were also a lot of cars trying to zoom past the trucks. She was relieved when she followed the curve around the mountain and saw Walker Lake below her, looking wild and cold even in the July sun. Nevada kept surprising her with unexpected geography and soul-scraping landscapes. In the treeless distance, little humps dotted the desert in rows. Calin told her she would see munitions bunkers, but she thought they would look more imposing. A few minutes later, she was in Hawthorn, a tiny burg right out of the fifties. The main street was wide and the buildings were low and weather-worn.

  Her co-workers had told her to turn left at the El Capitan casino when she got to Hawthorn. She laughed at their instructions, but they assured her she didn’t need a map. She brought one anyway, because she hated traveling without one, but she was going to try their instructions first. She almost missed the casino because she was thinking tall buildings and neon lights, like in Reno. But there it was on the left, a long low building with a sign “El Capitan.” It reminded her more of something out of an old 1950s movie than a modern casino. But it was hard to think dark thoughts in such bright sun, and she desperately needed a ladies’ room, so she turned left into the parking lot.

  The casino didn’t interest her. She saw what gaming did to Gavin, and she ignored the rows of slot machines. The restroom was acceptable, given the age of the building. In fact, she decided it had a rustic charm. All her Nevada friends felt she had to experience it in order to become a real Nevadan. She ran a brush through her hair. Her bangs were in her eyes. She sighed disgustedly at herself and rummaged through her tote. At the bottom she found a brown plastic hair band, pressed to imitate braided leather.

  “Oh, what the heck,” she muttered, “I’m on vacation. I can try something different.” She pushed her bangs back with the hair band and examined the result. The effect was kind of perky. “At least I look awake now,” she shrugged. Then she glanced around quickly to see if anyone else was in the restroom. No feet under the doors. Relieved, she eyed herself sternly. “Terri, you have to quit talking to yourself! You’re too young to be muttering aloud all the time.”

  She knew what she needed. Calin and her other friends at work had been giving her lots of advice since Reggie died. It was the same advice she gave to others who had lost a pet. Adopt another one. Find a reason to get out of bed and go for a walk. You can’t wallow in self pity when a dog needs to be fed and groomed and loved. Also, no one bats an eye at someone talking to their dog.

  But like so many of the bereaved pet owners who came through their office, she just wasn’t ready. Maybe Calin’s suggestion about the GSD rescue was a good one. She would definitely meet the dog when she returned from vacation.

  She jammed her brush back into her tote bag and returned to her car. As she was getting in, she noticed a silver Mercedes at the far edge of the lot, parked at an angle across two spaces. She laughed softly and decided parking lot paranoia was a disease of Mercedes owners. She opened a fresh bottle of water and continued on her way. She checked her rearview mirror and smiled. A little red sedan with darkened windows was pulling out behind her. She wondered if she should get her windows treated. It would help defeat the sun a bit.

  “Oh, darn, I forgot to check the map.” But she wasn’t worried. There was a sign ahead with Tonopah on it. That would be her next stop.

  Fifty miles later she noticed the red car was still behind her. She was surprised it didn’t pass. She was not a speed demon. Maybe they weren’t in a hurry. Besides, it wasn’t like there was any other road to take.

  Suddenly she had a horrible thought. What if Gavin was following her? He never told her what kind of car he was driving. They’d gotten side-tracked about the money issue. Could it be him back there in that little red car? The tinted windows were something he would do. He owed money to the wrong people. He would do everything he could to hide himself from view.

  But would he follow her to Vegas? She didn’t have access
to a home equity loan on the road. Besides, she told him no several times. There was no good reason for him to follow her.

  Except, she thought, he had done it before.

  She felt like an ice maker had just dumped its cubes in the pit of her stomach.

  In fact, he had stalked her for weeks the last time he owed a casino big money. He would not leave her alone. He begged, cajoled, and threatened her, although she told herself his threats were just a sign of his desperation. He had embarrassed her by coming to Dr. Kay’s office and hanging out until she was forced to talk to him, just to get him out of the waiting room. She finally relented and made arrangements to pay his casino debt on an installment plan.

  After paying that ugly price for her own weakness, she decided she needed a therapist. It was the best money she ever spent. The only thing she regretted was waiting until after she paid Gavin’s gambling debt to hire a therapist.

  Now, he was using the same tactic against her. He was shaking her down for more money.

  Maybe.

  She recalled the tools the therapist had given her. Don’t catastrophize. Don’t assume the worst. If a problem comes up, deal with it. You have the right to say no.

  After five minutes of encouraging self-talk, she was finally able to admit that it was highly unlikely that Gavin was in the red car. She didn’t even know what kind of car he owned. It was silly to get all worked up over a possibility.

  Even so, in the back of her mind, she made a note not to stop again until she reached the next town.

  *I hope you enjoyed this preview of North Rim Delight. If you'd like to read the book in its entirety it's available on Kindle and Nook. Turn the page for an excerpt of The Woof in the Wedding Plans by Regina Duke.*

  THE WOOF IN THE WEDDING PLANS