My heart jolted catching a beautiful white fondant mini wedding cake with deep red sugar roses being loaded into a glossy cake box. A pretty woman jumped up and down. I hadn’t gotten very far with my wedding plans to Truitt, but I had been looking forward to the cake tasting.
Seeing Iona busy with a customer, I held back and asked Grace to refresh my memory on this one. “What does Iona want to do, again?”
“She wants to take over the tobacco store, right there.” She pointed to the attached shop next door.
I looked up and noticed each building’s address. Iona’s awning read 110 and the tobacco store’s glass door had the same 110 painted on it. “How can the addresses be the same?”
“It was a subdivide before you bought this section. It was originally one location.”
“Who rents the tobacco store?” I asked, even though I should know that. But many of these tenants were already under lease when I bought the buildings.
“George Sawyer.” Grace flipped over a few pages from a binder she pulled out of her workbag “He’s getting ready to retire. Said his son doesn’t want the business.”
“Okay, when?”
“Within the year.”
I shrugged. “So, we just have to re-do Iona’s lease?”
“That and she’ll need you to sign off on the renovation so she can get a construction loan.”
“Huh. Can I loan her the money?”
Grace blinked. “I guess.”
I had no interest in becoming a loan shark, but maybe there was a missed opportunity with all these business tenants who had to get lines of credit from someone who’d rip them off. “I’ll talk to my accountant this afternoon to get something set up.”
Inside, the smell of fresh-baked bread and sugar from cookies and pastries overwhelmed me. When the customer left with her cake, I said, “Hi, Iona.”
“Oh, my goodness, Delsey.” She wiped her hand on an apron before extending it to greet me. “Hi. I’m so glad you made time to meet with me.”
“No problem. I love everything you bake. I’ve had your donuts, cookies, a scone.” I touched my waist, feeling like I’d been enjoying her sugar a little too much.
“Everything was my grandmother’s recipe from back in Brooklyn. Her German bakery won awards,” Iona said, sounding so proud. “Oh jeez, here’s my delivery van. Let me get this order together for him. I’ll meet you at one of the tables in the back.”
“Take your time, hun,” I said to her with a warm smile.
My stomach hadn’t exactly processed the food Logan fed me the night before, although those chili cheese fries were frickin’ delish. I rubbed my stomach and realized food at The Whistling Frog and Iona’s baked goods meant I’d need a bigger jet to fly me back to Houston.
I wiggled my nose. I always considered Houston home. Why hadn’t I said home? Now... Wild Heart felt like home. Again.
I FINISHED MY MEETING with Iona, who was a delight. I wanted to help her out any way I could.
Back in my office at Nickel Song, I said to Grace, “I’ll talk to my accountant to see if he can start a lending arm under the LLC I use for the rental properties. After that, I’ll have him work with you directly, Grace.” If she was now going to be a lending officer, I’d have to start paying her more money. Which I was glad to do.
“Will do.” Grace typed into her laptop and then closed it up. “I didn’t realize how late it was getting. Do you want me to order you some supper?”
Lila was a housekeeper, not a cook.
“Whoever can deliver me a Caesar salad. You still have that credit card I gave you, right?”
“Yes. The diner back in town makes good salads.”
“Get yourself and Owen supper, too.”
“Thanks, Delsey.”
“My pleasure, really. Oh...” The long day hadn’t left an opening to discuss some ideas I’d had about how to help Maddie with her leg. “Grace, do you by any chance know if there’s a prosthesis clinic at Cambridge Hospital?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Logan is driving all the way out to Colony for Maddie’s leg adjustments. I may have overstepped, but I told him she needed something better.”
“There’s a VA hospital annex in Medford. I’m guessing they have a prosthetic lab. It may not be open to the public, though. Just wounded warriors, but I can’t see them turning down a little girl.”
The words wounded warriors jabbed me in the heart. Something else I should look into as far as philanthropy.
Grace then held her chin and said, “Although, the way some of those poor soldiers look after coming home...” She gave a shake. “All the scars. Some are just horrific. It might be traumatic for Maddie to go there.”
Ultimately it would be up to Logan. He was her guardian. But the idea of a place filled with damaged men and women who’d fought for our freedom intrigued me. It was wounded warriors, not wounded cowards. “On the other hand, she might feel more comfortable with people who are just like her. People who’ve had to deal with the same kind of loss. We can’t imagine any of that, Grace. But Maddie needs to feel like there’s someplace she belongs because no matter what, you know she’ll be judged her whole life.” I held back a sob in my throat.
If people saw what was under my makeup...
“You’re right.” Grace gathered her work bag. “It’s so great how you want to help her. How you understand Maddie not feeling perfect.”
“Looks can be deceiving.” I stood and when I got closer to Grace, I pushed a chunk of hair behind my ear.
“What happened to your skin?”
“Acne scars. This is what’s left over. Can you imagine what was all over my face?”
“Now I feel awful for crying over the occasional zit.”
“Then add horn-rimmed glasses and having to take most classes by myself because I was so advanced. I felt so alone.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I could have done anything with my chemistry degree. I wanted to create a cosmetics line that would make a woman, any woman no matter what cards she’d been dealt, look and feel beautiful. Women are judged so harshly. That’s what worries me the most about Maddie. She certainly doesn’t need makeup.” I gathered my hair back around my face, insecurity kicking in, looking at beautiful, perfect Grace with her long natural auburn hair and violet eyes. “With the right prosthetic, Maddie will walk better and that alone will give her confidence.” I scrolled on my laptop. “The Arthur Cramer VA Hospital?”
“Yes, I believe so.” Grace nodded and grabbed her phone. “I’ll call in your salad now.”
“Perfect.” I exhaled. “Oh, before you leave... I want you to take more of an initiative with the business tenants we met today while we’re processing their loans. I’ll change your salary for the extra work. Consider yourself promoted. Instead of being paid directly from me. I’ll make you a Senior Property VP of the new LLC. I’ll make sure there’s a better health plan, retirement plan, and I’ll also reimburse any child care you need for Owen. Are you interested?”
Grace sank in her seat and blushed. “That’s so generous.”
“You’ll be doing additional work. It only seems fair.” I squeezed her hand. “Would you also be willing to take Maddie on for me?”
“For you?”
“I’m going back to Houston. I already mentioned to Logan that I would ask you to take charge of Maddie’s prosthesis issues. That will free him up to work more. If he’s working more...”
“Then it’s not a handout.”
I smiled. “Exactly. And it’s a win/win. Regardless, I want Maddie to get back to being a girl. She’s what? Eleven? Womanhood is right around the corner. You remember what that was like. It was hard enough. She doesn’t need the extra stress. Janey was very nice to me. This is more to do with her than Logan.”
Yeah, right.
“Of course, I’ll help out with Maddie. But can I say something?”
I straightened in my seat. “Go ahead.” I always wanted to hear
any kind of feedback. I didn’t want ass-kissers working for me.
“Maddie would probably be happier if you did it. I’d never seen her light up the way she did when she saw you last night. I know this isn’t what you expected coming here this week. Sometimes life throws curve balls at us that we never expected or saw coming.”
I thought about that. No. Sometimes life purposely slapped a person upside the head.
As Grace was leaving, a delivery Smart Car idled in my driveway. I took the bag of food and ambled along the trail behind my house that sloped down to the edge of the river. I sat on the small dock that my daddy had built and ate my salad. It was certainly too cold to go for a swim. But the briny smell of the river and smoke from the fireplace Lila had lit in the grand living room surrounded me and made me smile. That unique smell tickling my nose always reminded me of home.
I’d catch it once in a while and it always brought me back to nights like that one when I’d sat outside and watched the water. Alone.
I looked around. Not much had changed.
Logan
I CLEANED UP AFTER supper and checked on Maddie at the dining room table doing homework. Or something else because she was looking at her phone. And smiling.
Uh oh. That better not be a boy. Although, a part of me would be thrilled to know someone was gracious enough to look past her disability. Not be a cruel prick...like I’d been.
“What’s got you grinning over there?”
“Just stalking Delsey on Instagram.”
My throat went tight because I did the same thing.
Please, dear Lord, don’t let Maddie look at Delsey’s followers and find my pathetic Instagram account with two posts and zero followers.
If I remembered correctly, besides Delsey, I only followed Jamie Miller, and during the racing season with Blue Lake, I’d followed some other trainers to see what they’d been up to.
“She’s so pretty, Uncle Logan. And she’s so generous.”
“I know.” I slipped into one of the dining chairs.
“Why were you so mean to her?”
“’Cuz I was a dope. Just a kid.”
“I’m a kid.” She pinned me with a stare and for a shattering moment, I saw my mother. “I’m not gonna look for someone different and start picking on them.”
“’Cuz you ain’t no dope.” I exhaled and finished my sweet tea. “If it matters at all, it was a different time. That ain’t no excuse, but you didn’t stop to think if you were traumatizing someone. And she never ratted on me. Never told anyone. I thought she was just brushing it off.”
“Why did you keep doing it?”
Because I knew I could never have her, so the more I pushed her away, the better it made me feel. Kissing the daylights out of her had wrecked me. “If it means anything, I apologized last night. There’s a point at which people move on. I think she’s moved on.” Except, the way her body crashed into mine and the look of want in her eyes told me she felt something for me.
Did I want to explore that further?
That would only lead to trouble. For everyone. I wasn’t what she wanted. She wasn’t what I needed. Maddie needed stability. I saw the pressure being a celebrity put on Jamie. Here in Wild Heart, it was easy to have your privacy. Our town was close-knit. Eyes everywhere watching out. Paparazzi knew better than to come sniffing around because they’d be snuffed out. By cowboys who didn’t take crap from city folk.
I didn’t want Maddie dealing with that. Delsey Mackenzie walked around Wild Heart amidst whispers and stares. I’d bet she was hounded pretty often in Houston. And rightfully so. How many super-rich lady CEOs were there? That alone probably put spotlights on her.
When I thought about living some kind of high-life with Delsey, my heart rate kicked up even more. The idea that I could give Maddie everything she ever wanted just knocked me cold. When I thought of all that she’d lost and not just a limb. She never had a father and now she’d lost her mother and her grandparents. Then got stuck with me. I loved her to kingdom come, but I knew nothing about parenting. Learning on the job was fine for loading docks, but not for raising a little girl.
Now I’d gone and got us kicked out of my house. Eventually. I didn’t expect Delsey to just let me go on not paying. And my financial situation wasn’t changing unless I started taking handouts.
Delsey
AFTER MY DINNER AND an ugly cry, I was able to make a connection at the VA hospital through my contacts at Johns Hopkins, my alma mater. My chest felt lighter when the chief administrator agreed to see Maddie. Now I had to convince Logan to take her there.
My phone rang again and I smiled seeing it was my accountant. For a moment, I felt the weight of my celebrity status. It was after nine p.m., and I was getting phone calls returned to me. In Houston, I snapped my fingers to make things happen at all hours. Looking out on the quiet street and homes around Nickel Song that had gone dark, I felt like a mad scientist staying up all night. Planning and scheming.
After I explained my situation to Barry, I said, “What are my options with this tenant if I want to sell him the house?”
“Interest rates have been really low, but lenders want to see down payments. The days of zero-down are pretty much over. And those who do offer it, the interest rates make the monthly payments awful steep.”
“What if I sold him the house at a really low price?”
“Home sale prices get recorded and you’ll destroy other people’s selling ability by skewing the comps.”
“What about rent with the option to buy? Doesn’t that allow me to give him some equity without lowering the price of the house?”
“That’s a grand solution. But you called me because he couldn’t pay the rent to start with. That means zero equity, making the point moot.”
I was starting to hate this man. Why did I have to come up with the solution?
“Hang on. Can we make it retroactive? He’s been paying rent for almost seven years.”
“Hmmm.”
Ha! The chemistry whiz beats the money man.
“I will have to look into that one, Delsey, but if your goal is to put all his back rent toward equity, it might still skew the appraisal.”
All of the equity. Someone like Logan wouldn’t fall for that one. It was basically another handout.
“And I just can’t gift the house away?” I figured that was worth asking even if I knew he’d never go for it.
“The transfer will get recorded at market value, so good for the community. But he’ll have to pay taxes on that gift. It could ruin someone with no cash.”
My head fell on my desk, and I murmured, “And I can’t pay the taxes because?”
“You’re not a relative. I have to look further into it, but giving property away to individuals has all kinds of tax implications. It’s easy to just create a trust and disperse the property that way. But without being related, it will just look like an illegal transfer.”
Trust... I lifted my head.
“What if I set up an education trust for his niece? She’s eleven. Very smart. Will definitely go on to college. Maybe even graduate work. If I were to dump money in a trust for her, and make her uncle the trustee, could he use that money to...buy the house?” Or have one less thing to sock money away for...
“It will then be considered income.”
Where were all these frickin’ loopholes I’d heard so much about?
Chapter Seven
Delsey
“Thank you for doing this, Walker,” I said to the handsome cowboy who swaggered to the front entrance of Renner Ranch to let me in.
“He’s not in a good mood today,” Walker said as the iron gates swung open.
“Is he ever in a good mood?” I asked, hanging my head outside my SUV, for once wishing I had something simple like a silver Volkswagen and not my blaring Delsey mobile.
“Point taken.” Walker hopped in next to me and as we drove up a tree-lined gravel road, he gave me a quick tour. “Cam and Lake live in that
first brick house. Those are guest cottages. See the parking spaces near the barn?”
“Yep.” I pulled into one next to Logan’s black scuffed up F-150. Just seeing it gave me an unexpected little thrill, imagining us on a blanket in the truck bed, naked under the stars.
“I’ll stick around in case he gets—”
“No. I don’t want to do this with other people around.”
“And you didn’t just call him, why?”
I smiled. “I admit, I wanted to see this place. Everyone talks so fondly of it. And it’s where Logan works.”
“He doesn’t just work here. He creates magic here with horses. He puts his heart in what he does.”
My brain twinged. Hearts and Horses, my favorite charity. The equine therapy non-profit organization rescued horses and paired them with troubled souls who needed a pathway to peace. Renner Ranch had so much land, why hadn’t I thought of starting my own therapy center certified by Hearts and Horses here?
That perhaps was too much to throw at Logan in one afternoon. I had to let him know the VA could see Maddie the following day. Grace had said the little girl would appreciate it if I were there. I planned to return to Houston on Sunday night. Time was ticking away.
“Speaking of making magic...” Walker said with a grin and I spun around to see what he was referring to.
Logan Grady on a horse shouldn’t have affected me, but there I was getting all damp between the legs. It stirred me so much, I hadn’t realized all I’d missed here in Wild Heart. Rugged strong men in plaid shirts and dirt-stained jeans with frayed hems.
Even sexier? Logan rode atop a dapple-gray mare. Not afraid to let a woman have power over him. Everyone knew the horses were really in charge. All the compliance was just an act to get a carrot or a nice brushing.
Gazing at Logan in his element did something else to me. A sly smile tugged on his lips.
Until he saw me.
I quickly lit up with a smile to soften what could be a blowout. I’d ambushed him at his job.
The Cowboy's Rebel Heart: An Enemies to Lovers Second Chance Romance (Wild Texas Hearts Book 4) Page 7