Heat Wave (Riders Up) (14 page)

Flashing a half
smile, Maggie ran a finger across his furrowed brow. “Don’t play possum. I know
you’re awake.”

Ed grunted,
feigning sleep.

Maggie bounced
playfully on the bed and tossed the sheets to the floor. Kneeling beside him,
she leaned over and used her tongue to trace tiny circles around his nipples,
first one and then the other.

“Damn, woman, can’t
you let a man sleep now and then?” he groused, stroking her corded neck
muscles.

“Not this man.” She
worked her hand around his erection and up and down its length. “Feels like you’re
more than a little awake.”

With Maggie licking
his belly button and moving lower still, Ed sank into a pleasurable abyss. How
could he escape a whirlwind? How could he protect Maggie Anderson from herself?
Quickly, the questions were forgotten.

CHAPTER TEN

Later that same
day, after the horses were cared for and supper dishes were finished, Maggie
and Ed sat comfortably side by side on the porch swing. She worked a crossword
puzzle and he caught up on racing news from the Daily Racing Form. Frogs
croaked, announcing the approach of evening. The blood-red sun rested atop the
western horizon.

Both Maggie and Ed
glanced up at the sound of a vehicle entering the driveway. It was a white
compact, the kind popular with rental car agencies.

Maggie scrutinized
the familiar figure getting out of the car and walking stiffly toward the
house. “Oh, shit.”

“Who the hell is
that?” Ed asked, picking up on Maggie’s distress. The man approaching them had
on a blazing Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts, and the whitest patent leather shoes
Ed had ever seen. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“That’s my brother.”

“Your…”

“Brother. Guess I
didn’t get around to mentioning him,” she said weakly.

“No, guess not.” Ed
stood aside and watched Maggie move to greet her brother. Neither sibling
appeared all that eager. This didn’t look like a grand family reunion. He
decided it was best for him to simply lay low. This was Maggie’s place. And it
was her brother.

The man dressed for
the beach opened the screen door. “You don’t look all that pleased to see your
dear brother, Sis. Wonder why?”

Ed observed the man’s
smile, which never reached his eyes. His resemblance to Maggie was remarkable. The
same straw-blond hair, turned-up nose and oval face. But he was of medium
build. Thankfully, her brother’s eyes were brown. Ed’s dislike for the sneering
intruder was immediate and intense. Not only had Maggie failed to tell him
about her brother, neither had she indicated the pain she carried because of
him. Ed took a step closer to Maggie.

She swung an arm
behind her back as if to keep him from interfering. “Do you want some coffee,
Brad? Or maybe some lemonade?” Her inflection was flat and toneless.

“Not even a
good
to see you, long time no see, why are you here?”

Clasping her hands
loosely at her waist, she replied, “I figure you’ll tell me soon enough. If you
don’t want anything to drink, at least have a seat. And oh…this is Ed
Harrington. He works for me.” Motioning toward Ed, she added, “This is my
brother, Brad.”

Ed extended his
hand, quickly took the shorter man’s and shook it firmly. “Pleased to meet you,”
he lied.

“I doubt that.” Moving
to sit on the edge of a chair, Brad frowned at his sister. “So this is the man
you’ve been shacking up with.”

Maggie squeezed Ed’s
thigh tightly as he started to rise up off the swing to go after her brother.

“It’s all right,”
she whispered to him. Turning to Brad she said, “Ed and I are lovers. So what
is that to you? You’ve been married and divorced more times than I can remember,
and I sure wouldn’t know what came in between.”

“Hell, I don’t give
a damn how many men are screwing you, Sis. I just think it’s a hoot. I wish Mom
and Dad were here now. You were always the perfect one. The hard worker. The
good student. The perfect wife and mother. And now look at you—a  single mom
with the hots for a man who can hardly limp past a bottle. Yeah, I’ve heard
about your good Mr. Harrington. Sis, you never could walk past a stray dog.”

Ed throttled his
anger. How could the usually bristling Maggie just sit there and take crap from
such a fancy dude?

Maggie sat ramrod
straight.

Brad studied his
manicured fingernails.

At last, Maggie
broke the silence. “So what do you want, Brad? Why are you here now? I’ve sent
a check each month since the will was read. It’ll take time, but that was
stated clearly in Dad’s will.”

Ed’s brow furrowed.

Brad shot him a
look of contempt. “So you don’t know that I’m a silent partner in this operation
of Maggie’s? I own twenty-five percent of the place.”

“You did own
twenty-five percent. That’s down to less than twenty now. I should have just
paid you off in a lump sum with Mason’s life insurance money, but Dad’s
instructions were to pay you over a fifteen year period.”

“He wanted me tied
to my sister’s apron strings, that’s why.”

The bitterness in
her brother’s voice bothered Ed. Why would a father want to dictate family
loyalty from the grave?

Maggie crossed her
arms under her breasts. “And you have no say in what I do with the land. You
own a portion, but you can’t sell it to anyone but me. I not only own over
eighty percent of the land, Dad made clear in the will that he wanted you to
have no say in the operation of the farm. That’s why you got so much cash when
Mom and Dad were killed. I can’t help it if you go through money like it’s
toilet paper.”

“Ah, yes. Saint
Maggie. Maggie—Daddy’s girl who had dirt under her fingernails and sand in her
veins. I never could understand why you loved this damn farm so much. I couldn’t
wait to get away from it, and you seem to wear it proudly like a millstone
around your neck.”

“We always have had
different interests.”

“That’s putting it
mildly. Anyway, I understand from the banker that we have a significant offer
for the farm. I want to sell!”

Ed thought the man’s
neck veins might pop. Well, at least he finally knew what was going on. Sort
of.

Maggie laughed a
dry laugh. “You’ve certainly wasted your time coming all the way from
California to tell me that news. You’ve wanted to sell from the moment our
parents were in the ground. I’m not selling. No chance. I’m sure Prater went to
a lot of effort to track you down. But it won’t do any good. You can’t make me
sell. I wish I could just pay you off and be done with it.”

“Who the hell is
going to sue if you did pay me off? Dad’s not coming back, you know.”

Ed watched Maggie
recoil from her brother’s words. He was surprised by pain flashing across her
brother’s face. Maybe he hadn’t meant to hurt his sister after all. How much of
Brad’s performance was an act? Or maybe it was the twenty-fifth act of an old
play between brother and sister.

“For your
information,” Brad’s voice lowered, “I happened to be coming back from a
business trip to Minneapolis. And Mr. Prater keeps me informed now and then
about my Iowa investment and the carryings-on of my sister.” He paused. Ed
received the brunt of the man’s glare. Looking back at Maggie, Brad said, “And
I don’t like one bit you chasing some damn foolish fantasy regarding racehorses.
You’ll screw everything up yet. If you go bankrupt, I stand to lose right along
with you.”

“I understand.” Maggie
exhaled slowly. “Your position is clear and always has been. If I can get ahead
enough, maybe I should go ahead and pay you off. But until then, I’m afraid
your investment in the farm, as small as it is, remains at the same risk as
mine. In any legal proceeding, I out vote you eight to two. And there is the
binding will, which you have already unsuccessfully contested. So?”

Ed crossed his legs
at the ankles and relaxed a little. That was some good news. This was better
than any soap opera he’d ever seen, which wasn’t very many. This was the
determined Maggie that he knew so well. This was the Maggie who could scare him
at times—and no doubt her brother, too.

“So. You never were
able to take sound advice.” Brad visibly shed some of his anger and relaxed a
bit. He gave Maggie a genuine smile. “Well, as long as I’m here I’d kind of
like to see my nephew and niece. They’ve probably grown a lot since I last saw
them.”

“I’m sorry, Brad. They’re
not here. They’re away at summer camp and won’t be back for another three days.”

“Oh, isn’t that
just handy,” he said, balling his hands into fists. “I’ve got some time coming.
I guess I’ll wait a few days to see them. Maybe I can find out some information
from Prater or Con-Ex Farms that will convince you to sell.”

“Don’t count on
that. Has Ben Templeton reached you yet?”

“No, but I’ve been
on the road for weeks. What does that snake-in-the-grass want?”

“You’ll have to ask
him, but it is important. He can explain.” Letting out a sigh, Maggie said, “Brad,
it’s nice that you want to see the kids. They do miss you. They’ve always liked
the funny stories you tell. And you know you’re welcome to stay here.”

“No. No way. I
haven’t slept in this house since you inherited it. And I certainly wouldn’t
start now when you have your hands so full with horses and your hired man.” Brad
stood and sauntered toward the door. “No, I’ll stay in town. Maybe look up some
old buddies. I’ll be around.”

Ignoring Ed entirely,
Brad Magee stepped out into the darkening night.

- o -

Maggie felt Ed
place a comforting arm around her shoulders. When all they could see of the
compact was its red tail lights in the distance, she shuddered against the cool
breeze and the despair her brother left behind.

“You want to talk
about it?” Ed asked softly.

She turned and
buried her tears in his chest. “You sure got an ear full. Bet you didn’t know I
was such an evil person. Most of the time I try to forget I have a brother.”

Maggie stepped away
from Ed, leaned against the porch wall, and shook her head. She stared past Ed
out into the dark.

“He was Mommy’s boy
and I was Daddy’s girl.” She sighed and flopped down onto an overstuffed porch
chair. “Maybe it would have been different if I had been the second born. But I
was first born. And I listened well to my dad. I accepted his philosophy and
work ethic. He taught me to love the land, and that nothing came to anybody
without hard work. He taught me to be strong because I had Magee blood coursing
through my veins.”

“You’re nothing if
not strong,” Ed commented. “Sometimes too damn strong for your own good.”

“I doubt that,”
Maggie muttered. “Four years younger, Brad always resented his older sister. Maybe
for good reason. I don’t know. He didn’t naturally take to the land or to farm
work. He hated the hogs. He’d rather have his nose in a book.”

Maggie smiled a
half smile. “There’s nothing wrong with being studious. But it didn’t meet Dad’s
expectation for a son. Dad kept forcing me on Brad as the role model
. Work
as hard as your sister and you’ll be fine. Your sister can work the land and
still get good grades, why can’t you? Why do you want to go off to college,
your sister didn’t. Your place is here on the farm with your sister.”

“Oh, I’m sure I had
to have been a real pain in the ass for Brad. I was active in 4-H; Brad didn’t
want to join. And Dad was furious. When we were young, I don’t imagine I really
appreciated what was happening, or wanted to. If anything, I was probably smug
about being the favored child. And I probably worked hard to maintain that
status.”

“Where was your ma
in all of this?”

“Oh, she tried to
protect Brad the best she could. But she seldom took Dad on directly. Few
people did. He was a good man, but he was set in his ways. And he did have a
temper.”

“Sounds like
somebody I’m getting to know,” Ed said.

Maggie glared at
him and then broke out laughing. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I take after my
Dad, but I hope not in all ways. He was much more controlling that I ever
understood when he was alive.

She hunched
forward, rubbing her shoulders. “Anyway, Brad did as little as he could around
the farm and then only grudgingly. He only did things he was told to do. He’d
never volunteer to do more. He couldn’t wait to escape to college. And Mom
encouraged him to go. She knew it wouldn’t ever work for him to stay on the
farm and work with Dad. Their personalities clashed. There seemed to be no way
around that.”

“And there never
was a reconciliation?”

Maggie tucked her
legs under her body. “No. Never. Brad joined a fraternity and lived the good
life: beer, women and partying. It took a while, but he finally did graduate in
computer science. He only came home to visit—mainly Mom. Never stayed long. And
then he was on his way. He’s gone through almost as many jobs as women. But he’s
never had much difficulty finding another of either.” Maggie frowned. “He’s not
big on permanency.”

Ed nodded. Maggie
saw a flicker in his eyes she couldn’t recognize.

“Let me get us some
coffee,” Ed said, getting up and moving toward the kitchen.

She heard him
banging around in the kitchen and was comforted to have a break. It was
difficult talking about her family. But maybe now Ed would say more about his. He
certainly was learning that her family was no model. She worried that her crack
about Brad and permanency might have struck too close to home for Ed.

“Try this,” he
offered, returning with two steaming mugs.

She sipped the
butternut flavored coffee and grinned. “This is soothing. Thanks.”