No Risk Refused

by Cara Summers

  “My pleasure,” she said as she led the way up the staircase.

  “I’ll bet.” But he didn’t say it out loud, nor did he let the chuckle escape as he followed her.

  * * *

  “YOU’RE WILLING TO share your recipe for these delicious scones?” Bunny Maitland sprang from her chair, excitement clear in her voice.

  “I’ll do more than that,” Vi said. “I’ll demonstrate. Follow me.”

  Adair watched her Aunt Vi usher Bunny Maitland out of her office right on schedule and willed away the headache that was throbbing at the back of her skull.

  Then she shifted her attention to Rexie. The bride-to-be hadn’t talked much during their meeting.

  There hadn’t been much chance for anyone to talk while Bunny was sharing the good news like a weather reporter on a sunny day. The wedding would go on as scheduled. A good night’s sleep with all that magic mountain air and quiet—blah, blah, blah—had settled Rexie’s nerves.

  Adair sorely wished the “magic” air had settled her own. Fat chance of that after her run-in with Cam, which had fueled more fantasies than the ones she’d already written down.

  She hadn’t been able to catch more than a few winks of sleep. Not with her mind racing at full speed, imagining what might have happened if she hadn’t let him up from the foyer floor.

  Thank heavens her arms hadn’t been working.

  Too bad her arms hadn’t been working.

  Adair pressed a hand to her stomach in an attempt to quell the heat that had centered there, but it was already radiating out to her fingers and toes.

  Cam had clearly felt nothing at all. According to Aunt Vi, he’d left her a note that he’d left the castle early to visit the library in Glen Loch. Research on the missing sapphire jewels. He was obviously totally focused on his purpose in coming to the castle.

  And she had to focus on hers. Reaching for her mug, she took a long swallow of her cooled coffee and shifted her full attention to Rexie. She wasn’t sure how long Vi could distract Bunny, and this might be her only opportunity to discover what was bothering the young girl.

  The best description Adair could come up with for the expression on Rexie’s face was resignation.

  So she asked the question that she might not want the answer to. “Rexie, do you want to marry Lawrence?”

  “Of course.” The answer came quickly but Rexie didn’t meet her eyes.

  Not good.

  “Why do you want to marry him?”

  Rexie’s eyes lifted to hers. “Because I want to do something right. I messed up my first marriage because I didn’t choose the right person. Lawrence is perfect for me.”

  The fact that Rexie’s answer sounded memorized only increased the intensity of Adair’s headache. “How is Lawrence perfect?”

  “My father and mother like him—he’s been such a good friend to them. And our marriage will help solidify the merger between Maitland Enterprises and Banes Ltd. This is my chance to help with that. My duty. Lawrence has already bought a beautiful estate for us on Long Island. He has memberships in two very prestigious golf and tennis clubs nearby. He’s going to hire a pro to help me improve my game. And his estate has a stable. He’s going to let me keep a horse. I used to show horses when I was younger.”

  Adair studied Rexie. As she’d listed all the advantages of marrying Lawrence Banes, it reminded her of all the reasons she’d listed for herself when she’d decided to date Baxter DuBois exclusively. Of course, he’d pointed them out to her. They’d already teamed up on several projects at the office, and becoming a “team” outside the office would only enhance that. It would put them on the fast track for promotions. And the plan had worked at first. But then Bax’s career had begun to advance faster than hers.

  She hadn’t seen it at first because she’d trusted him. More than that, she’d trusted her own judgment. It wasn’t until she’d had that final meeting with her supervisor that she’d learned how wrong she’d been. Bax had been taking all the credit for their success, even for the last client that she had brought in. She’d trusted him, and he’d dumped her the same day she’d been fired. He’d explained in his email that it might tarnish his image at the company if he continued to be seen with her. She of all people had to know how important perception was in the cutthroat world of career advancement.

  She certainly did now. In Rexie’s perception Lawrence Banes was the perfect husband. Was he? “Rexie, are you in love with Lawrence?”

  Panic flashed into the young girl’s eyes. “If I marry him beneath the stone arch, I will be. And I’ll be happy. Won’t I?”

  Adair heard Bunny’s voice, her aunt’s laughter. She needed more time with the young bride-to-be, and she needed some help. “Why don’t we go down there right now? You didn’t have time to check it out yesterday—what with the storm and all. That way you can get a better feeling about it.”

  “Could we do that?” Rexie smiled for the first time since her arrival at the castle.

  “Follow me.” Adair rose and quickly led the way through the open French doors. The path to their right led around the front of the house to the gardens. With any luck at all, Vi would distract Bunny long enough that she could get what she needed from Rexie. Perhaps Rexie would get what she needed, too.

  The morning was a beautiful one, the sky blue, the breeze cool, and this early in the morning the sun had risen just high enough in the sky to shoot bright lances of light off the surface of the lake. Pansies bordered the path and behind them peonies bloomed in various shades of pink.

  Wesley Pinter, Glen Loch’s gardener and landscaper, a man who’d been handling the maintenance of the castle’s gardens since she was a child, was unloading the last planter from his truck. She noted he’d settled them temporarily on either side of the stone arch. The chairs that they’d set up for the rehearsal the day before were still there and Adair led Rexie to the first row. She gestured her into one and sat beside her.

  Then she cut to the chase. “Were you in love with your first husband?”

  Rexie tensed. “Mummy says it was infatuation. My therapist says we were just too young. We rushed into it and we weren’t right for each other. Coming from the same kind of background helps to ensure compatibility.”

  A wave of sympathy washed over Adair. Those were Mommy’s words or a therapist’s, not Rexie’s. She laid a hand on the younger girl’s arm. “Tell me what happened?”

  “Why? It’s over. My divorce became final six months ago, and Barry returned his signature on the papers by overnight delivery. I’m no longer Mrs. Barry Carlson. I took my maiden name back as soon as I could.” There was a trace of grief in her eyes, a mix of anger and hurt in her voice. Not good.

  “Where is Barry now?” Adair asked.

  “In Montana. His family owns a horse farm there, and his mother opened a wildlife refuge. We met while he was finishing his degree in veterinary medicine at Cornell. I was a freshman, and I fell in love with him the first time I saw him. I could actually feel my heart take a tumble. He said it was the same for him. We got married as soon as we could. Barry insisted on that. He comes from a religious family and he didn’t want me to just move in with him. We didn’t have time to do a big wedding thing. We didn’t even tell our parents right away. I sometimes wish we’d never had to.”

  “That’s when the trouble started,” Adair said.

  Rexie sighed. “They were so upset. My father was furious, my mother hurt and disappointed. Barry’s family wasn’t happy, either. Especially when he told them that he was going to get a job in the East.”

  “What happened next?” Adair prompted.

  “We started trying to make everyone happy again. My father got Barry a job in a very upscale, very busy veterinary practice on Long Island, and my mother threw a huge wedding reception for us at her country club. But I could see that Barry wasn’t happy. Neither was I. I barely saw him, and when I did we always argued. And when his grandfather died he went back to Montana.”

&nbs
p; “You didn’t go with him?”

  Rexie’s eyes grew shiny with yet-to-be-shed tears. “He didn’t ask me to. He promised he’d come back. But each time he called he made excuses. An ailing horse, then sick animals at the refuge forced him to extend his stay. Then he sent me a letter saying that we’d made a mistake and he wanted me to handle the divorce on this end.”

  A Dear Jane letter, Adair thought. Why was it that men were so lacking in class?

  “After that he wouldn’t even take my calls. I’d leave a message but he’d never call back.” She blinked back the tears and her voice became very firm. “I made a huge mistake marrying Barry. This time I want a guarantee. Can you give me that?”

  “I can promise you that getting married here will give you your best shot at it.”

  “Rexie?” Bunny’s voice was accompanied by the sound of Alba’s bell.

  Adair turned to see Aunt Vi bringing up the rear of the small parade. Bunny was a bit breathless when she reached them. “We have to leave for the city now if we’re going to make the final fitting on your dress. Then we have to get ready for your bachelorette party tonight.”

  “Our gardener just unloaded the planters,” Adair said. “Can’t you stay long enough to give them your final approval?”

  Bunny waved a hand in the direction of the flowers. “I’m sure they’ll be lovely. But we need to make this fitting. The dress has to be perfect. It’s a copy of the one I wore on my wedding day. She’s going to wear my veil, also.”

  Bunny gave Rexie a little push toward the car, then spoke in a very low voice to Adair. “My plan is to keep her busy and focused on the wedding. Your job is to make sure that there are no more glitches on this end. She and Lawrence chose this place against my wishes. They’ve refused to change venues at this late date, and I’ve agreed because I want my daughter to be happy.”

  Bunny’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she continued. “I’m sure you want her to be happy, too. That way I’ll have only good things to say about Castle MacPherson.”

  With that, Bunny hurried to catch up with her daughter. Seconds later the flashy red convertible sped out of the driveway.

  “Well, well. There’s a core of steel beneath that sweet magnolia exterior,” Vi murmured as she stepped to Adair’s side. “And none of the ‘glitches’ yesterday were your fault. You certainly can’t be blamed for the storm, nor for the fact that the groom-to-be was late and distracted.”

  “Well, Bunny can’t very well get angry with Mr. Banes. Not when she’s so desperate to make sure this wedding takes place.”

  “What did you learn from Rexie?”

  “Her upcoming marriage will be a marriage of convenience.”

  “Whose convenience?” Vi asked.

  “Exactly. There’s money involved. And I think Rexie’s still in love with her first husband.” She glanced through the stone arch. “I’ve always believed there’s a lot of power here. I suppose we should just leave it to the legend. But I’d like to know more about what’s going on with the Maitlands and Banes that makes this wedding so important.”

  “You’re still afraid we might have a runaway bride on our hands.”

  “Or lightning may strike again.” She was beginning to think that the stone arch might have more power than she’d ever realized.

  5

  THE CAR CAME out of nowhere, flying over the crest of the hill and then smacking down to barrel toward him. Cam’s reflexes, honed by his training as well as the experience of battling two brothers as he grew up, kicked in immediately. The narrow dirt road in front of him led to only one place. The castle. And it was going to be very tricky to negotiate past the red convertible shooting toward him at race car speed.

  Tall pines with trunks as thick as a giant’s thighs pressed close on either side. Thanks to that summer he’d spent playing on the castle grounds, he had some knowledge of the road.

  The blonde driving the convertible didn’t. Or she wouldn’t be speeding. She was risking her own life as well as her passenger’s. Keeping his hands steady on the wheel, he set his foot gently against the brake.

  Tires squealing, the convertible ahead skidded, swerving wildly from one side of the road to the other. Dust spewed and he prayed for it to settle. He couldn’t edge over yet. He was going to need a wide angle when he made his turn. And he prayed it was coming up soon.

  With a bare twenty feet to spare, Cam spotted the slight break in the trees he was looking for and pulled his steering wheel hard to the right. His car fishtailed, bringing it parallel to the trees before it straightened and shot forward. Narrowing his eyes, he pressed his foot gently on the brake, aiming the front of the car right between the two giant pines. He thought of the biblical image of trying to squeeze a camel through the eye of a needle. Impossible. But the car whispered through and bumped its way into a shallow gully. He was grinning as he managed to stop just short of the next tree.

  Jumping out of his car, he ran back to the road to check on the convertible just in time to see it disappear around a curve. Son of a…

  But it hadn’t been a son of a bitch driving that car, he reminded himself. It had been a woman and she’d been in as much of a hurry as the Disney villain Cruella de Vil when she’d been hunting down those hundred and one Dalmatians. Turning, he glanced up the hill where dust still hung in the air. There was only one place she could have come from, since the road dead-ended at the castle.

  Then he glanced back down at his car. He’d managed to avoid crashing it, but he was going to need a tow out of that gully. The castle was still a couple of miles off. A nice hike if you weren’t in a hurry. There was a part of him that was anxious to get back there. But there was still a part of him that was practicing avoidance where Adair was concerned—something that he’d been doing for the past seven years.

  Old habits died hard. He’d left a note for Vi near the coffeemaker in the kitchen that he was going into Glen Loch to let the sheriff know about the earring. He’d also wanted to stop by the library to refresh his memory about Eleanor’s missing dowry.

  Both were perfectly valid excuses—but not the only ones he’d had for wanting some time before he came into contact with Adair again.

  Cam moved quickly down the incline and grabbed the bag the librarian had given him to carry the books and copies he’d made at the library. His mother had used the Glen Loch library when she’d researched the missing sapphires for her book. It was always best to look at the primary data. Partly that was his CIA training talking and partly it was the curiosity he’d always had about those missing jewels. When he and his brothers had played with the MacPherson girls during that long-ago summer, his favorite game had been “pirates.” And the treasure they’d always sought had been the sapphires.

  His mother’s research had never turned up even a hint of what had happened to them. But the proof of their existence had always been right there in the main parlor of the castle in Eleanor Campbell MacPherson’s portrait. When his mother had been researching, she’d picked up on the story that the sapphires had once been worn by Mary Stuart and that they’d been Eleanor’s dowry. But exactly when or how they’d disappeared was still a mystery. And no one knew exactly how the sapphires had come into her family’s possession. The mystery had always drawn him. And it was one of the reasons his mother was in Scotland right now researching the Campbells and MacPhersons on that end.

  And mysteries surrounding the sapphires had drawn someone else to the Glen Loch library that morning. The librarian, a tall, spider-thin woman with sharp eyes, had greeted Cam warmly as soon as he’d identified himself, telling him that she remembered when his mother had brought him and his brothers to the library that summer when they’d first visited the castle. And she’d been very willing to tell him about the stranger who’d come in the moment she’d unlocked the doors. He’d asked for help in locating anything on the missing MacPherson sapphires. She couldn’t give Cam a name, but she’d described the stranger as a man with brown hair, a receding
hairline, mid-forties, with a portly build. He’d been wearing khaki slacks, a baseball cap and glasses. And he’d printed copies of some of the materials he’d accessed on their new computers.

  There were two things that bothered Cam about the guy. His timing and the fact that he was a stranger. His own reason for visiting the library, besides avoidance, was the fact that he knew one of Eleanor’s earrings had surfaced. Was it just a coincidence that a stranger had dropped by the library the same morning to gather information on the missing sapphires?

  Cam had never put much faith in coincidence. He wasn’t even willing to bet that it was some kind of coincidence that had pulled him back to the castle right now.

  Shouldering the bag, he started up the hill. Adair was different for him. He’d sensed it on a bone-deep level seven years ago when she’d stood beneath the stone arch with him while their parents exchanged vows. He trusted his gut instinct, something that had always served him well at his job. And working for the CIA had also honed his skills at analyzing data. What he’d learned from his encounter with her on the floor of the foyer last night was that avoiding her hadn’t changed a thing. She was still different for him. And he still wanted her.

  This time he couldn’t just leave the way he’d done when he was twenty-two. He was stuck here until he’d done what their father had requested and thoroughly checked out the security. For now, he’d made sure that the earring was safe. But there was someone else who was suddenly interested in the sapphires. And there was still the job that Daryl had asked him to do. His boss hadn’t contacted him yet, which meant he still hadn’t been able to definitely identify Saturday’s groom as his longtime nemesis. But Adair or Vi might know something about Lawrence Banes that would help him out.

  So avoidance time was over.

  He hadn’t even kissed her yet. But in spite of the fact that he had a lot on his plate, he wasn’t sure that he could resist the urge to taste her for very long. And they weren’t twenty and twenty-two anymore.