“Tom, Quinn McAllister. How are we doing?”
“You aren’t going to believe how well.” The stockbroker’s voice was excited. “It’s like McAllister Pharmaceutical stock is falling from the sky.”
A grim smile curved his lips at Tom’s response. “Wonderful. How much longer do you think it will be before we have controlling interest?”
“We’re getting close to the five percent mark. At this rate, I’d say another week.”
Quinn paused and his smile widened. “That’s better than I’d expected. A lot better.”
“Are you going to inform Edward that you’re making a takeover?”
“No, let the Security Exchange Commission tell him. It’ll give Edward a taste of his own medicine.”
Dropping the phone back into its cradle, he laced his fingers behind his head, satisfaction flowing through him. It was going to come as a big surprise when Edward discovered the company he lived for now belonged to the four-year-old grandson he hadn’t considered good enough to acknowledge.
* * * * *
Lanie stopped in the stable door to let the first group of riders return to their cars before checking the booking schedule. Five more groups were down for today, which meant she and Sherry both would be in the saddle all day.
“Next week is worse,” the blonde commented from behind her. “People are already drifting in for the Frontier Days Festival.”
“I know. The newspaper is running our ad today and tomorrow. Maybe we’ll have some help by Monday.”
7“Granddad can always pitch in if we need him.”
“I hate to bother him.” Lanie smiled at her foreman. “But that does remind me.
Quinn is taking me to the Spotted Horse tomorrow night and he suggested you and Duncan come along.”
“Yeah?” She glanced toward the bunkhouse where Duncan was standing and licked her lips with a great deal of exaggeration. “I think I can handle that.”
“You’re horrible.” Lanie laughed out loud.
“No I’m not. But there are only three hunks like him in this county, and you’re married to one of them, and engaged to the other. I’ve got dibs on this one.”
Leave it to Sherry to remind her, Lanie thought ruefully. She closed the appointment book as her foreman went to get ready for the next group. She’d been trying not to remember how nice it had felt last night, sitting next to Quinn with his arms around her while they talked. Or about the dreams she’d had when she finally fell asleep. They made her feel like a traitor.
She pinched the bridge of her nose in confusion. How could she have dreams like that about Quinn when she loved Jared? There had to be something wrong with her.
Her next group had ten people in it, and she tried to think logically as she began saddling the horses. Quinn had not only been her first love, he’d been her first lover.
The day they’d married had been one of the happiest of her life. She’d thought they would be together forever.
The night he’d left, her whole world had fallen apart. For weeks she’d waited by the phone, expecting him to call. But he never had. Edward had called instead.
And lied.
Lanie lifted her head and stared into space. That was it, of course. One minute Quinn had been there and the next he was gone. There had been no closure, nothing to tell her emotionally that their marriage was over. Part of her had always believed he’d come back. She simply hadn’t expected it to take five years.
Now that she thought about it, she knew why she’d waited so long to take off her wedding rings, why she’d held Jared at arm’s length for so long. In her heart she’d still been married to Quinn.
He was right, she realized. No matter how this turned out, they needed the chance to find out what might have happened if not for Edward. And if they wound up getting a divorce after all, then at least this chapter of their lives would be closed. They could both move on with no regrets.
“Need some help?”
She glanced over her shoulder to see Quinn watching her and her heart did a fast somersault. “Still remember how?”
“I think I can figure it out.”
“Okay. I need six more saddled. We can split it.”
“Which ones?”
7She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. All the horses we use for riding are gentle and well trained. They have to be. A lot of the people we get have never been on a horse before.”
He led a chestnut mare into the aisle. “Are the groups always this big?”
“It’s about normal for early spring. They’ll get larger later in the summer. There’s only one other riding stable near Watson and their horses are nags. They rent them out for thirty minutes and pretty much just turn the people lose in a big pasture. Our rides are ninety minutes, and we take them to all the scenic spots on the ranch. Word gets around and we generally have more business than we can handle.”
“I can see why you need to hire more people. I’m really sorry about the bunkhouse.”
Critically, she watched him adjust the saddle as she tightened the girth on another.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m hoping for at least four local kids. And if it comes down to it I can always put a few college kids up in the cabin for the summer. Why don’t you come with me this trip? You must be eager to look the place over.”
He hesitated. “Maybe another time. They’re installing the hot tub this afternoon and I want to be there.”
“A hot tub.” She grinned and shook her head in amazement. “The neighbors are going to think we’ve lost our minds.”
“Wait until you try it. You won’t care what the neighbors think. Did you get the plans for the new bunkhouse worked out with the contractor?”
“Yes. He’ll start next week.”
By the time they led the horses outside and draped the reins loosely around a hitching rail, people were starting to arrive. Quinn watched Lanie take the money, his mind doing a rapid calculation. One eyebrow rose as he finished. Even if the groups stayed this size, she’d make enough in four months to support the ranch all year. No wonder she’d never pushed for alimony or child support. Lanie had turned the ranch into a real moneymaking operation. And she’d done it on her own. A sense of pride filled him at her accomplishments.
She waved at him as the group headed out, already giving her guests a brief rundown on the history of Jackson Hole and the McAllister Ranch.
He waited until they were out of sight, then returned to the stable. Duncan was already there.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes.” Quinn went to the stall of a buckskin gelding and led the horse out. “She’s already starting to wonder why I haven’t been riding.”
“You could tell her the truth.”
“No.” He settled a saddle blanket and saddle on the horse before glancing at Duncan. “I don’t want her pity any more now than I did before.”
“She’ll have to know sooner or later. You can’t hide those scars on your leg forever.”
7“I know that, Dunc. But I’m hoping by the time she finds out, it won’t matter.
Besides, I’ve missed riding.” He untied the reins and looped them over the saddle horn.
“I’ll have to mount from the right. My left leg will never hold my weight. It might make him nervous until he gets used to it, so hold his head.”
Duncan got a tight grip on the bridle as Quinn paused by the horse’s right side.
Curiously, the gelding turned his head as Quinn lifted his right foot to the stirrup, but made no effort to move out of the way.
Gingerly, he swung his bad leg over the horse’s rump and lowered himself to the saddle before picking up the reins. “Okay, you can let go.”
Duncan released his hold then walked beside him to the stable doors. “Thirty minutes this first time. No more. And stay where I can see you.”
“Stop acting like a mother hen.”
“Show a little sense and I won’t have to,” Duncan growled. “Even if nothing were wrong with you, it’s been five years since you rode. You’re going to be saddlesore at the least, and I don’t want you re-injuring that leg.”
“Fine. Thirty minutes.”
He kept the horse at a walk as they went through the open gate that Lanie had taken a few minutes earlier. His heart pounded so hard it felt like he’d run a marathon.
There had been many months after his surgeries when he’d doubted he would ever walk again. Now, he was back on a horse.
Automatically, the buckskin tried to turn in the same direction the riding group had gone, but Quinn held him straight. He didn’t want to meet Lanie after telling her he couldn’t ride today.
Taking a deep breath and clamping his teeth together, he let out on the reins. The horse trotted a few steps then broke into an easy canter.
Elation burst through him, and he had to stifle his yell of delight. Only a dull burning sensation centered in his thigh, not the sharp pain he’d been expecting. All those hours of physical therapy and exercise were paying off.
Duncan was leaning against the fence when he returned to the stable. He straightened as Quinn came through the gate.
“Well?”
Grinning like an idiot, Quinn slid off the horse. “It was fantastic. Hardly any pain at all.”
“Then why are you sweating?”
“It’s hot.”
“Uh-huh. I think you’d better keep it to thirty minutes for the next week. If you’re still doing okay, you can increase it to forty-five.”
“Did anyone ever tell you you’re too easygoing?”
“No. If memory serves, you usually call me a slave driver.”
7“And I’m usually right. Let me get the horse back in his stall and we’ll go see how they’re doing with the hot tub.” He glanced at Duncan as they led the gelding back into the stable. “By the way. You have a date with Sherry tomorrow evening.”
“The blonde?”
“Yep.”
Duncan grinned. “Now I know why I put up with your abuse. It’s the perks that come with the job.”
A crowd had already gathered at the Spotted Horse by the time they arrived. Lanie caught sight of Duncan and Sherry, saving a table near the dance floor, and wound her way through the mob, Quinn’s hand resting lightly on her shoulder as he followed her.
“Did I tell you how great you look tonight?”
His warm breath tickled her ear and chill bumps erupted on her skin. Even with all the other scents in the room, she had no problem picking out his. It surrounded her like a cozy blanket, doing things to her insides she didn’t want to think about.
She felt his hand shift, his fingers threading through her hair.
“It’s been a long time since I saw your hair loose like this,” he murmured.
A shiver ran over her. He’d loved having her hair loose when they made love, said it made her look wild and wanton. Had she subconsciously released it from its normal braid for that reason? Or worn her sexiest dress, a gauzy little number that floated around her and hit her mid-thigh, because she wanted his attention? At this point, she wasn’t sure why she was doing anything, and she was tired of worrying about it.
Tonight, she only wanted to relax and enjoy herself.
She glanced over her shoulder to meet those amber eyes smiling down at her. “You look pretty good yourself.”
That was certainly an understatement. His white cotton shirt emphasized well-defined muscles, muscles that hadn’t been quite so prominent when they were younger.
But then, he said he worked out a lot. It was obviously paying off. It hadn’t escaped her notice that every female in the room watched their progress toward the table.
Nothing new about that, she thought ruefully. Quinn had always attracted women.
They were drawn to him to like steel to a magnet. She had to give him credit, though.
Never once had he made her jealous. When they were together, he’d acted like she was the only woman in existence, totally ignoring anyone who tried to get his attention away from her. Maybe that was what made him so irresistible, she mused. There was something extraordinary about feeling like you were the center of a man’s universe.
Especially one who looked like Quinn.
When they reached the table, he pulled a chair out for her, keeping his hand on her arm until she was seated. Eyebrow arched, she smiled at him. “I thought you weren’t a gentleman?”
He shrugged lightly as he pulled a chair closer to hers. “Maybe it’s time I changed.”
From across the table Duncan snorted. “I’ll believe that when I see it. We almost decided you’d backed out of coming. What took so long?”
8“Zack.” Lanie made herself smile at the man. “He blackmailed us into two bedtime stories instead of just one.”
“We ordered beers all around,” Sherry told her. “Hope that was okay. In this mob, we figured we better get our request in fast.”
“That’s fine.” Quinn almost had to yell to make himself heard above the noise. “I don’t remember the Spotted Horse being this busy, even on a weekend.”
“Tourists,” Sherry explained. She pointed to an overweight man who looked as if he’d stepped off the set of a grade-B western. “You can always tell them from the locals.”
A handsome, middle-aged woman stopped at their table and deposited four beers before turning to Quinn with a smile. “Welcome back. Buck told me you’d been in the other day. Feels like old times.”
“Thanks, Ruby. Nice to be here, but don’t expect any excitement out of me. I’ve outgrown my wild ways.”
“Well, thank heavens for that. It got tiresome replacing the mirrors behind the bar once a week.” She winked before heading to the next table.
“Were you really that bad?” Duncan asked.
“Oh, he was.” Lanie grinned at Quinn. “But he always paid more for the repairs than what they cost. It was the only thing that kept him out of jail. It was a running joke around here that he’d pay Buck for damages as soon as he walked in the door.”
Quinn’s gaze was fastened on hers. “And you’d always patch me up the next morning.” He draped an arm over the back of her chair and ran a finger down her cheek.
“Someone had to. Couldn’t have you bleeding all over the horses.”
“If you two are going to start reminiscing, I’m leaving.” Sherry stood and pulled Duncan to his feet. “Come on, city boy. Let’s dance.”
There was a line dance in progress and Lanie laughed as she watched Duncan’s feet get tangled up trying to execute the moves. Sherry put her hands on his hips and slowly led him through the pattern, both of them looking down intently.