by Regina Duke
She was just about to cut into the steak when her phone rang. She glanced at it. “Daddy.” She shook her head. She wasn’t in the mood, not after he’d given her prize away to her brother. But she knew she couldn’t enjoy her dinner if she had to call him later, so she picked up.
“Hello, Daddy.” She wasn’t at all prepared for Pembroke’s opening salvo.
“Taylor! Why on Earth are you shipping your horse to Colorado?”
Taylor’s mouth opened, but nothing came out as a thousand questions raced for the gate and none found traction. At last, she sputtered, “How in the world could you possibly know about me bringing Jackson out here, when the decision was only made five hours ago?”
Then she had a terrible thought. “Did you have cameras planted in Axel’s cabin?”
Pembroke walked back his tirade. “No, of course not. So you’re on a first name basis at last, eh? He must be talking to you finally instead of giving zoo tours.”
“Rescued alpacas and a herd of reindeer do not constitute a zoo. He’s an animal lover, and frankly, I admire him for that, even if he is the son of your business adversary.” She wondered what else she should say. She wasn’t about to tell her father about her growing affection for Axel. And she certainly wasn’t going to tell him about their shared kisses or her very hot dreams about him. She traced a finger along the arm of the sofa. “Of course he’s talking to me. But I’ve had to work hard to gain his trust. A person doesn’t bare his soul to a stranger. I finally came up with a method to get information about his father. Now tell me how you know about my plans for Jackson?”
Pembroke slipped into his “Daddy-loves-you” voice. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m your father. I know a lot of things about you almost before they happen. Parental instincts.”
Taylor took a sip of tonic water. The bubbles tickled her nose. “Why don’t I believe you?”
His voice turned gruff. “Just because I think you should spend more time on learning the family business than on playing with horses doesn’t mean I don’t want you to be happy. And Jackson makes you happy. So I’ve been keeping tabs on him for you.”
Taylor made a face at the phone. “You mean you bribed one of the stable hands to keep you informed of any new developments.”
Pembroke chuckled. “My little girl is a chip off the old block. Suspicious and cynical. I’m so proud.”
“Oh, yes, I’m sure you are. If you’re so proud of me, why did you want to get rid of me? Oh wait, that’s right. You wanted me out of the way so you could give Donald my vice presidency.”
“Good heavens, Taylor. What’s got into you? I told you I’d find one for you, too. Just because I had already planned to bring Don back from San Francisco doesn’t mean you won’t be rewarded for doing my dirty work. Keep your eyes on the prize, sweetheart. Use your feminine wiles on him. Flirt if you have to.”
Taylor nearly choked on her tonic water. She couldn’t believe her father had just said that! It totally backed up Axel’s theory about why she’d been sent to Eagle’s Toe. She swished her glass and the ice cubes tinkled. “If that’s your plan, Dad, you may be out of luck. I think he’s immune to that kind of thing. All he thinks about is rescuing more animals.” She covered her mouth to muffle her giggle.
“I thought he wanted to be a writer.”
“He does. He is. I’ve seen the novel he’s working on,” she fibbed. Well, she’d seen the stack of manuscript pages on the kitchen counter. “It’s really good. But unlike some men I know,” she said pointedly, “he has more than one interest in life.”
“So he loves animals. That should give you two a lot in common. Keep at it, Taylor. I need that info by Friday. Did you learn anything today?”
“Nothing that would help your cause. So far, he just says nice things about his dad. But I think he’s warming up to me.” She fought to keep the smile out of her voice. “Bringing Jackson to Colorado was his idea.”
“You don’t say. Well, don’t get so wrapped up in your horse that you forget I need the goods on Lester by Friday. I have to go now. I have some associates coming for drinks at nine-thirty. Bye-bye.”
Taylor hung up, then dialed another number immediately. She wanted to know who at the stable was reporting to her father. The filet mignon looked divine, but first things first. She needed to talk to the stable manager. He lived on-site, in an apartment adjacent to the facility.
“Hello, Roger? It’s Taylor Hazen.”
“Checking on your boy, eh? Nothing to worry about, Miss Hazen. Jackson is sleek and sassy, and we’re getting everything ready for his flight to Colorado tomorrow.”
“Great. I’m so glad. I know you take great care of him.”
“That’s a relief. When you decided to fly him to Colorado, I was afraid someone here had displeased you.”
“Not at all. Don’t worry, Roger. When I come home, Jackson will come with me. But I do have a question.”
“Fire away.”
“Did you get a call from my father today asking about Jackson?”
“No, not me. No message, either. And I’d remember because he has never called me before, not ever.”
“Is it possible that one of the grooms might have talked to him about Jackson coming to Colorado?”
“No way. No one could have told him anything because I’m the only one who knows about it. I’ve been handling all the trip details myself.”
“Thank you, Roger. You know how much I appreciate your hard work.” Taylor hung up. More and more curious. How had her father found out? And why had he lied to her?
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Taylor tried calling Axel to fill him in on her conversation with her father, but the call wouldn’t go through. And when she texted him, she got a message that the text failed. He must have turned off his phone. He’d said something about shutting out the world when he was writing. Frustrated, she sent him an email, but she didn’t know if or when he would see it.
Her frustration was mounting, in more ways than one. The more she thought about him, the more she wished she could get another rental car and just drive up to the darn cabin. But the road was still a mess. His SUV had a six-inch layer of mud spatter all over the bottom half and partway up the hood. Besides, the only place to rent a car in town was at Brady’s garage, and he’d been the one who hauled her mud-slogged car down off the mountain. No way he’d trust her with one of his cars after that.
She would have to wait until morning.
She cast a baleful eye at her little filet mignon. It was cold. She investigated behind the bar. Yes, there was a microwave. Although she cringed at the thought of microwaving such a fine cut of meat, she decided it would be okay to warm it up a tad. Thirty seconds later, she was finally able to curl up on her sofa with her dinner. The sun was lowering itself slowly behind the mountain, like a person sinking with relief into a tub of hot water. Or maybe cold water, since the mountains were still covered with snow.
Halfway through her chocolate mousse she opened her laptop and stared at the screen. She no longer wanted to find any real dirt on Lester. How could she, when all she wanted was to snuggle in the arms of his son? Then she had a flash of inspiration. She would make stuff up! She spooned mousse into her mouth and held the spoon there with her tongue as her fingers flew across the keys. Since these notes would go to her father in the form of an email, she didn’t have to make it sound like a biography. That was Axel’s department.
“Lester once had a controlling interest in a casino in Atlantic City, so it looks like he had business associates in the Mafia. Not sure that’s what they still call themselves, but a couple of them had criminal records. Axel says not to worry about that, but he won’t put their real names in the biography, because there were rumors that Lester’s business partner died under suspicious circumstances.”
She laughed out loud. This was fun. After all, Daddy wanted dirt on Lester, and there wasn’t any, but what Daddy wants, Daddy gets. And that paragraph alone should give her father pause. So she
kept going. What else would really put her father off?
“It seems that Lester’s finances may be shaky. He’s being audited and Axel thinks it’s worse than Lester makes it sound because Lester won’t share any details. Axel has his own money. His mother left it to him. He plans to spend every penny on his eighty-acre animal rescue farm.”
Oh, she hadn’t said anything about Lester’s wife yet. She stared at the ceiling for a while, then began typing again.
“Lester’s wife, Bambi, likes expensive cars and designer clothes. She has half a million dollars in handbags so far. And she likes to send her favorite politicians on junkets to Europe.” She paused. That sounded pretty over the top. She added, “Of course, they have to be careful, so they award the trips to the politicians’ kids as educational scholarships.” There. That sounded like something a crafty person would think of.
She almost hit send, but decided she’d better run the email past Axel first. What if she’d accidentally stumbled on a real family secret? She didn’t want to do that. She turned off her laptop and moved into the bedroom. She’d find a nice, romantic movie on TV and spend the rest of the night thinking about Axel. Maybe she’d make a list of questions for him. Question number one: How long before that new house is built? Number two: Where do you want to go on our honeymoon?
Then she had a fit of giggles. She snuggled up around a large pillow, wondering how she’d ever thought Axel was a country bumpkin.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Monday, April 11
The next morning, Taylor could hardly wait for Axel to pick her up. She climbed into the SUV and opened her laptop.
“I almost sent this disinformation to my father before showing it to you,” she said. “But then I wondered if any of it was true. I mean, we want to mess with them, but I didn’t want to get your father in any real trouble.” Or get herself in any real trouble with Axel.
He skimmed through the email, chuckling here and there. At the end, he said, “Take out the part about Bambi. I had a real interesting phone call with her yesterday. I don’t want to say anything negative about her.”
Taylor deleted the paragraph about Bambi. “Shall I hit send?”
“Definitely,” said Axel. “That will give them something to talk about besides us.”
“By the way, when I called my dad to check in last night, he already knew we were flying Jackson to Colorado! My stable manager swears there’s not a leak at his end.”
“The leak might have been Bambi. I told her I was expecting a horse this afternoon. She probably called my father and filled him in.”
Taylor shook her head in disgust. “And he probably called my father and told him.”
“We could be totally off base,” said Axel thoughtfully, “but I don’t think we are. Bambi said the CEO Dad was spending all his time with is named Hazen.”
“Aha! We’ve caught them in the act!”
“Yes. Now if only we knew what the act was all about.”
“Are you getting cold feet? I thought you said you were sure you’re father was trying to set us up.”
“Yes, and I’m still sure that’s a part of it. But why would your father jump in with both feet? I mean, I’m a great catch and all, but I’m no Warren Buffet.”
Taylor gave him a sarcastic look. “You’re thinking this is about you and your father. What if it’s all on my side? I told you he lied to me about the job he was going to give me. My father thinks that because I’m a girl, I don’t have a head for business. He’s done this to me before. He sends me away when he wants to give one of my brothers a big gift or a huge career boost. I complain, and he pats me on the head and sends me to equestrian camp. Of course, then he turns around and blames me for my own lack of business progress by telling me I spend too much time with my horse.” She made a disgusted noise.
“Speaking of horses,” said Axel, pointing through the windshield, “Mr. Parker just arrived to open the Feed and Grain for us. Hey, where’s your purse?”
“Rats! I left it in my room.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll put everything on my credit card, and you can pay me back later.” He started the SUV and pulled up in front of the Feed and Grain across the street.
Parker greeted her with his hand extended. “Nice to meet you, young lady.” Taylor figured he must be seventy at least, and he had that wrinkled, tan look sported by men who’d spent half their lives outdoors. Maybe more than half, if they were sleeping rough. But he also had an air of quality about him. “I don’t open early for just anybody,” he said. “But for the man who saved Lucy Baxter’s Lazy B? I’m all over that. Come on in.”
Taylor walked in the door and took a deep breath. The smell of leather tack and horse treats and fly traps made her giddy. She’d always loved buying tack, and since she wasn’t sure how much of Jackson’s would come with him, she let herself splurge.
Axel browsed as she shopped, a bemused look on his face.
“Don’t you have any English saddles?” Taylor asked Mr. Parker.
Axel looked up from a display of local newspapers with livestock ads in them. He pulled two out of the box and said, “I think they’re sending his saddle with him. That’s what the guy on the phone said.”
“If my stable manager gets it all together,” said Taylor, slightly annoyed that Axel would derail her spending spree with logic.
But Axel just grinned at her. “If you want to buy a new saddle, why not look at the lightweight western saddles? Then you’ll have one as a souvenir from Colorado.”
Taylor clapped her hands together. “Great idea! And certainly a celebratory saddle pad is in order.”
“Most definitely. You’ll need one to go with the new saddle.”
Now she could tell he was just helping her spend money, and she was loving it.
When they collected everything she couldn’t live without, Axel pulled out his credit card at the counter.
“I’ll pay you back as soon as I get some cash,” said Taylor.
“That sounds fair. In fact, if it makes you feel better, I’ll let you pay for his hay as well.”
Taylor laughed, her eyes sparkling. “Definitely. Thank you so much.”
Mr. Parker asked, “Is that road of yours passable? I can have hay delivered tomorrow.”
Axel grinned and nodded. “It’s firming up pretty good. Delivery would be nice. I’ll start loading these things in the Expedition.”
“You need a bale in the back for tonight?”
Taylor popped up, “Yes, please.”
Once the SUV was loaded, Axel reminded Taylor that it would be cooler at the cabin. He stopped at the Cattleman’s so she could retrieve her purse and a jacket as well. She set her purse on the back seat and tossed her jacket over it.
When they got to the cabin, they took their time preparing Jackson’s stall. Every hour, Taylor’s phone would ping with a text from the flight attendants, updating her on their progress and Jackson’s well-being. By noon, everything was ready.
“I guess we’d better work on the biography,” said Axel.
“Do you think it’s a real project?” asked Taylor. “Or just a means to an end? Getting us together?”
Axel pulled straw out of her hair. “That’s a good question,” he said huskily. “Maybe we should put our heads together and see if we can figure this out.” He leaned in for a kiss.
Taylor enjoyed the feel of his lips against hers until her body tried to convince her that the hay scattered on the floor was a fine substitute for a mattress. Then she pushed him gently away.
She panted, “I thought the whole point was to make sure your father can’t make good on his toast.”
Axel groaned. “I almost forgot.” He cleared his throat. “I’m going out to check on the reindeer. I need a break.”
“Don’t forget to give them treats for me, too. I’m going inside. It’s clouding over, and without the sun, it’s chilly out here.”
Axel eyed her with mock shrewdness. “I see that my reindeer ha
ve worked their charms on you.”
Taylor made a face. “Just because I’m thinking they’ll make great company for Jackson.…”
Axel chuckled. “I won’t be long. I need some fresh air to clear my head.”
“I’ll make us some tea.” She stopped at the SUV to retrieve her computer and her purse. Once inside, she set the computer bag on the table and her purse on the floor. The cabin was warm, so she slipped her jacket off and draped it over her purse. Then she pulled two mugs off the kitchen shelf and set the kettle on the stove.
As she waited for the kettle to boil, she remembered how off-handedly her father had dismissed the idea of him planting a bug in the cabin. Sure, Axel’s scenario was probably right. But if Lester Garrison and Daddy were in cahoots, there was no telling how far they’d go. Of course, they wouldn’t be snooping for info about each other. Instead, they’d be keeping tabs on how well their little plan for Taylor and Axel went.
She frowned for a moment, then stuck her head out the door. “Axel! Have your cousins been up to see your cabin?”
He hollered back, “Yes, they have! Three times! Trying to talk me into selling the land to them.”
There it was, the link she’d been looking for. Lester had only to send his nephews out to the cabin and get them to install some kind of bug. Maybe a tiny microphone, or even a hidden camera. She began searching for a device planted in the cabin. She peered under every shelf and counter. She moved the contents of the cupboards around, checking for a false container. She didn’t bother to look in the corner where the Murphy bed was folded away. It was too far away from their work area. Besides, the only thing her father would have overheard there was Axel snoring at night, if he snored, that is.
Frustration set in as the tea kettle whistled. She took it off the stove and poured water over the tea bags in their mugs. While they steeped, she walked to the window to check on Axel’s progress. He wasn’t visible, but the large gathering of reindeer on the far side of the barn gave away his location. She still had time. She hadn’t checked the light fixture yet. There was only one, above the table where they worked. She climbed onto a chair, but her five feet were insufficient to reach the light. So she stepped gingerly up onto the table.
