by AC Arthur
He looked to Stephen quickly then and continued, “The sheriff was scheduled to meet me out here later this morning. Why don’t we give him a call and let him know we need him here now. I’ll ride back up to the house with them and we can meet in the den as soon as the sheriff arrives.”
Stephen nodded. “Got it,” he said. “I’ll get Nevil and let him know what’s going on. Sheriff’ll probably want to speak to him too. Staff’s up and moving about already, so we’ve got coverage. I’ll just make it clear we don’t want any of them touching anything until the sheriff’s had a chance to look around.”
“Good. You have my cell number. Call me if anything changes,” Tyler said.
“Will do,” Stephen told him.
Tyler turned back to his brother and his fiancé. With an inward sigh he began walking toward the front doors. “Let’s get back to the house.”
“Yes. I can’t wait to see it,” Brooke said from behind. “We can get an idea of how much it’ll make during the sale and plan from there.”
Tyler remained silent until they were at the house. The moment he entered the living room and watched as Jagger and his fiancé came in too he said, “We’re not selling the ranch.”
“Of course we are,” Jagger replied. “I live in New York and you live in L.A. Neither of us want anything to do with this ranch, or we would have come back to it before now.”
Tyler didn’t like that Jagger wasn’t totally wrong.
“I was here five years ago for Christmas. You couldn’t make it because you were…I don’t even recall where you were. Anyway, this place has been owned and operated by a West for more than fifty years,” Tyler told him.
“And look where that’s gotten us,” Jagger snapped. He’d walked across the room to the bar where he wasted no time fixing himself a drink. “I received the letter from the lawyer about the will. I’m here so he can read whatever my part is to me and then I’ll be heading back. It makes more sense that we sign whatever needs to be signed to get this place unloaded as quickly as possible.”
Tyler leaned against the back of one of two leather upholstered sage green couches. He crossed his arms over his chest and resisted the urge to yell at his brother for being an inconsiderate jackass. He knew a better way to deal with Jagger.
“5.6 million dollars,” he began. “That’s what this property is worth. But the business, it’s pulling in close to a million dollars in profit every year.” At least it had been for the last two years. Before that, they’d been very close to operating at a lost.
Jagger paused, the glass halfway to his mouth, and glanced at Tyler. “You’re lying.”
“For what reason?” Tyler asked with a shrug. “I’ve spent the last three weeks walking every inch of this place, reading every piece of paper here, talking to the staff, watching the day-to-day operations. Sales from the cattle alone could carry the place, but Dad was always thinking bigger. Expanding into horse breeding, offering riding lessons and training. And then there’s the resort. All of these elements are boosting revenue. The place was doing extremely well.”
Jagger took a gulp from his glass. His face contorted a moment while the sting of the aged whiskey he’d just swallowed made its way down his throat. A quick punch of sour, followed by a smooth glimmer of caramel. It was an interesting blend, one Tyler had become very familiar with in the weeks he’d been back. Liquor wasn’t good for the body, especially not a body that was on display as much as Tyler’s. But the moment he’d walked through those doors, Tyler had slowly begun to feel less like the man who owned Ty-Fitness Inc. and more like the young man who’d been desperate to get as far away from this ranch as he could.
Jagger finished the drink and looked toward the other couch. Brooke was sitting there, legs crossed, lips pursed.
“They created a brand and sold it for years,” Jagger told Tyler. “I can see that becoming profitable. But we’re not ranchers, Tyler. At least I know I’m not. So for my half, I say we’re selling. Brooke and I are planning to get married later this summer and I’d like to show her a fabulous honeymoon.”
“Your job at the PR firm not paying you enough anymore?” Tyler asked.
Jagger chuckled. “I pull in almost seven figures a year at Mason Partners. I made partner five years ago, one of the youngest in the history of the company. I have worldwide accounts. People and businesses that I’ve created and built a brand for, making them richer than they ever could have imagined.”
Tyler nodded. Nothing had changed. Not one damn thing.
“I don’t need to rundown my portfolio to you or anyone else. All I know is that Mom and Dad loved this place. They loved every inch of it and never wanted to leave. They nurtured and built this legacy for us and I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s not that easy to walk away from that knowledge.”
“Sentiment has no place in business,” Jagger replied.
“They’re dead Jagger!” Tyler roared as he pushed away from the couch. “Gone! Their bodies were left to burn to a crisp in that truck. But that was after bullets were planted in the back of their heads. And you waltz in here three weeks late rattling off how much fuckin’ money you make! What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Why don’t we take a breath here,” Brooke intervened.
Tyler turned his head sharply to stare at her. Up until this point he wasn’t sure she was going to do anything other than sit and look pretty.
Now, she was walking to stand next to Jagger.
“There’s some emotion to contend with. That’s only natural when lives are loss, especially to some type of violence,” she said.
Was she serious?
“But there’s also business to be discussed. So why don’t we—”
“Tyler?”
At the sound of his name being called, Tyler turned toward the doorway to see Stephen again.
“Sheriff Alvarez’s out front. He wants to see the place first,” Stephen said.
Tyler’s jaw clenched before he nodded. “I’ll be right out.”
“As I was saying before being rudely interrupted,” Brooke began the moment Stephen left. “We should sit down, have dinner and discuss this like adults.”
Tyler didn’t know why she was even involved in this conversation and so he ignored her.
“Some unauthorized person was on this land last night. I want to know who it was and why. If you’re only worried about the money, stay here and count yours over and over again. I’ll be back when I’m done.”
Tyler left them, not giving a damn if they were there when he returned.
* * *
Gabriella picked up her phone to check the time. Her plan was to spend a few hours at the pool relaxing before heading back inside the resort to have dinner. In the morning, she would drive to the airport. Her bags were already packed, the email she sent to her supervising agent at The Proctor Group explained that Tyler West had not yet decided what to do with the ranch at this time.
Gabriella totally understood. There was no way she could sell her parents’ house in Greenwich, nor did she think her brothers would ever sell or leave Bennett Industries. She suspected her family was quite different from Tyler’s. Although she didn’t know any of the West family well, she sensed that before his parents’ death there was more than just physical distance between Tyler, his parents and his brother. That would explain Tyler’s indecisiveness about whether or not to sell their property. As for the Bennetts, well, they were pretty close. So close that Gabriella hadn’t even been out of town for two full days before Alex was ready to send in the troops to find her. Luckily for her, she’d had the forethought to tell Adriana where she was going and why.
But this wasn’t about her family.
After noting the time, Gabriella ran her finger over the screen of her phone and watched as her list of text messages shifted.
It was gone.
She’d deleted it seconds after reading. It wasn’t coming back. She just had to make sure. Yes, the message was gone. Just as Gabr
iella had hoped to stay gone from Greenwich for a while. Distance would make it stop. All of it. She’d assured herself of this when she’d almost leapt with joy the day her mentor Mallory Klien of Klien Design Studios had called her with a proposition. Gabriella had done some freelance staging work for Mallory in the weeks immediately following her tumultuous break-up with Austin. There was no way she could have continued working with Austin’s real estate team on their properties. So Mallory had thrown her a lifeline, then and now. It was Mallory who had referred Gabriella to The Proctor Group.
“It’s the chance of a lifetime,” Mallory had said as they had lunch on the deck of the lavish home Mallory shared with her husband Patrick and their two adorable sons. “If you do a good job for them, they’ve guaranteed to keep you on. You can travel and work in exotic locales and make a ton of money. It’s perfect.”
“It sure sounds like it,” Gabriella had replied and two days later was packed and flying to Miami to meet with the top selling agents at The Proctor Group. Within a week after accepting the position and flying back to Greenwich, a courier delivered plane tickets, itinerary and preliminary pictures of the Westwind Ranch & Resort.
Four days later, Gabriella was in Hobbs Creek, Texas.
Now, just three days after arriving, she was packed to leave.
Dropping her phone into her bag she stood up from the lounge chair and sighed. No sense in sulking about a situation she couldn’t change. It had taken her years to let that sink in. For now, Gabriella was going for a swim. She wasn’t going to think about returning to Greenwich and possibly seeing Austin again. She wasn’t going to think about the pain and confusion that would come with seeing Austin again. Dammit, she just wasn’t going to think about Austin.
It was ninety-five degrees on this sunny summer afternoon and the water was cold and refreshing. She swam slowly and leisurely, eyes closed, enjoying every second. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but when her arms and legs began to get tired, she swam to the edge of the pool and pushed herself out of the water.
He was standing there, holding a towel out towards her.
She accepted the towel and quickly wrapped it around herself. Tyler West was technically not a client. But Gabriella still felt off balance with him standing a few feet away from her fully dressed while she stood there in a very scant sapphire blue bikini.
“Just taking advantage of the pool before checking out in the morning,” she said because they were the first words to pop into her head.
“As I said you can stay as long as you like,” Tyler told her.
Gabriella shook her head. “This was a business trip. Now that the business is over, I’ll be heading back.”
No matter what she feared was waiting for her back in Greenwich.
He wasn’t moving. In fact, he might have looked a little odd standing there in his boots, hat, jeans and t-shirt, when everybody else at the pool wore bathing suits and swim trunks. But truth be told he didn’t. He looked handsome as hell. A fact which made Gabriella just a bit more uncomfortable.
She held the towel tighter around her body and moved to walk around him. She really hadn’t expected him to follow her, but he did. And the next thing she knew, Tyler West was sitting on the lounge chair beside hers. She slid her feet into her flip flops and reached for her purse. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist to stop her movements.
“Give me a minute,” he said.
She didn’t want to sit with him a minute, not dressed like this and certainly not now since they weren’t going to be doing business together. But there was something in the sound of his voice. Something in the feel of his skin against hers.
“Are you having second thoughts about selling the ranch?” she asked.
He looked toward the pool.
There was a family sitting on the side. Mom, dad, two little girls and a teenage boy. The boy had just tossed one of his sisters into the water while the other sister stood on the side giggling. The mother jokingly chastised the son, while dad chuckled. Gabriella could remember times when one of her three brothers would have happily tossed her and/or Adriana into the pool for laughs. Tyler watched in awe, as if this whole scene was new to him.
“My brother’s back,” he said eventually. “He didn’t come when I called him about our parents’ death. Didn’t bother to ask me anything about the funeral. Hadn’t even called to say he was heading down here. But just shows up this morning.”
“When was the last time you saw him?” she asked.
He shook his head. His eyes looked different today, more green than blue. It was odd and yet, attractive.
“About six years ago. He was in L.A. on business and gave me a call.”
“My brothers don’t let me go six minutes without wondering where I am,” she said with a chuckle.
Then she stopped because he still looked so very serious. Too serious, she thought.
“I have three brothers, older than me. Alex, Rico and Renny. And I have an older sister too, Adriana.”
“You’re the baby,” he said.
“I’m the youngest,” she replied.
The corner of his mouth lifted in a partial smile. She liked that much better than his serious look.
They were quiet a minute and Gabriella wondered what she should do or say next.
The arrival of a very pretty woman fixed that problem.
“Tyler, when you’re finished, Jagger and I are waiting in the dining room. Clyde and Dessie are joining us for an early dinner.”
She’d spoken in a very crisp tone, being sure to keep her gaze focused on Tyler. But before she walked away, she looked at Gabriella as if just noticing she was there. Gabriella almost laughed because that was impossible. The woman had come from behind her, which meant that in order to see that Tyler was sitting there talking to someone, she had to see the person he was talking to. Especially since he still held Gabriella’s wrist in his hand.
“I spoke to Dessie already,” he said.
“She mentioned that,” the woman said as she continued to stare at Gabriella. “Jagger and I think it’s a good idea for all of us to talk together. It saves time and will cut out any misunderstandings. We’ll be in the restaurant.”
His fingers tightened slightly, not painfully, around Gabriella’s wrist.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he told the woman.
She flipped her hair over one shoulder and raised a brow at Gabriella.
Easing out of his grip, Gabriella stood. She extended a hand and gave her most brilliant smile before saying, “I’m Gabriella Bennett from The Proctor Group. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
With that came a look down to Gabriella’s flip flops, and then up to her make-up free face as strands of wet hair stuck to the side of her neck.
“Brooke Radison, Jagger’s fiancé,” she replied and barely touched Gabriella’s fingertips in the worst handshake ever. “Ten minutes, Tyler.”
Brooke snapped those words to Tyler before walking away.
“Well,” Gabriella said still grinning because she’d already deduced Brooke, Jagger’s fiancé, was nuts. “I’ll be going again. We won’t bump into each other anymore because I’ll be gone in the morning.”
“Stay,” Tyler said immediately.
Gabriella looked down to where he was still sitting on the lounge. “What?”
He stood, slowly and stepped closer to her. “Stay here. Go to dinner with me and tell them about your plans for the ranch.”
Gabriella wasn’t sure what was happening here. On the one hand she’d just met a very rude woman. On the other, was Tyler who had shown up out of the blue, handed her a towel and touched her wrist. Gabriella touched the spot where his fingers had been, while keeping her gaze on him.
“I thought you hadn’t decided whether or not to sell.”
“You’re a designer. Re-decorate the house. It could use it whether or not I decide to sell.”
“That’s not what I came here for and it’s different. The goa
ls of redecorating and staging are different. I’d have to re-think, plan again, talk to you more about what you like, how you want the place to feel. It’s a different job.”
He reached out and touched her again. This time his fingertips lightly brushed her bare shoulder, before he pulled away.
“I want you to stay. I’ll hire you. Sign a different contract or whatever you need. Just stay.”
Why? What the hell was going on here? And did she really want to get in the middle of it? She’d left Greenwich because there was too much going on there. This was definitely not what she needed right now. But as she looked up into his now blue eyes and heard the bleak tone of his voice, she knew there was no other answer. Especially none that she’d be able to explain to Mallory or The Proctor Group.
“I’ll be ready in ten minutes,” she told him before grabbing her purse and heading up to her room.
Chapter 4
“This is a business dinner,” Brooke said while Tyler pulled a chair out for Gabriella.
“And I’m all ready to discuss business,” Gabriella said. She took the seat and looked over her shoulder to mouth a silent “thank you” to Tyler for pushing her up to the table.
“Well, this is nice. We can get a lot accomplished tonight,” Dessie said as she lifted a napkin from the table and placed it on her lap.
Gabriella liked Dessie. She reminded her a lot of her mother even though their physical appearances were startlingly different. Where Beatriz Bennett had the same bronze complexion and dark brown hair as Gabriella, Dessie’s deep mocha complexion and glossy black hair was a contrast. Dessie also had a boisterous personality and wide genuine smile. Gabriella had liked her from the moment she’d stepped into the resort and Dessie greeted her.
“Excuse me. Who is this?”
Gabriella smiled across the table to the man who was actually frowning at her. He had to be with the bitchy brunette because they shared the same sour disposition.
“This,” Dessie said with a tilt of her head that warned he should fix his face, “is Gabriella Bennett. She is here to stage the house and the resort in a way that will bring exuberant buyers to our door. With her help we can get the most for the property. Gabriella, this is Jagger West and his fiancé, Brooke.”