Daring Wes: Cade Brothers Series

by Jules Barnard

  When Emily had first approached him about giving a spunky five-year-old golf lessons, he’d nearly run from the room. Then she’d explained Bella’s situation. And how often Bella’s parents came to the club.

  The little girl was ignored and bored. Wes could relate. He’d been that bored kid, hanging out at the club while he mourned the loss of his mother. Instead of spending time with his five young sons, Wes’s father had buried himself in work. Wes had always hated that his father had chosen the club over him.

  He had agreed to one lesson with Bella. Until he saw her skills and determination.

  Bella’s swing had been all over the place, like most new players. But she had an amazing ability to watch Wes and repeat the form he showed her. He’d seen real potential there. And that had excited him. The more he worked with Bella, the more he believed she could become a great golfer one day.

  At first, it irritated Wes that Bella’s parents were such selfish assholes that they couldn’t be bothered to spend time with their daughter. But he changed his mind when he decided to train Bella as his protégée. Let her parents do their thing; he’d make sure Bella kicked ass at golf.

  It didn’t take long before Wes was rethinking the children’s program Emily had been begging him to extend to the golf program. If even half of the kids who took lessons at the course had Bella’s energy for the game, it would be worth it. In fact, he liked the idea of training the next generation. Made him feel like he was doing something important.

  Wes scanned the list of applicants again. He wrote down the phone numbers of those experienced with children. Anyone he hired would go through a full screening, but a background working with kids suddenly seemed essential.

  He shut down his computer and stood, ready to put in another three hours on the practice green. He’d given an extra lesson to Kaylee earlier in the day after she’d called to see if he had time. He usually worked on his short game then, but he couldn’t say no. She was going through a lot, and no matter how screwed up their past was, he wouldn’t leave her hanging.

  She’d shown up in fitted red golf shorts and a white polo, and it was good to see color in her face. Some of her energy was back, and he’d not gone easy on her.

  Wes smiled, remembering Kaylee’s disgruntled look when he told her to grab another bucket of balls ten minutes before her lesson was supposed to wrap up. He’d made her stay until she emptied it. By the end, her cotton polo shirt stuck to her petite frame, and she was out of breath. Which Wes took to mean that he’d done a good job. No one should leave his lessons without a few muscles burning.

  On that note, he’d better get his ass on the practice green before it got too dark to see the balls. He grabbed his clubs and shoved his phone in his navy-blue golf pants, right as the thing vibrated.

  Wes dug his hand in his pocket and fished out the phone. “Hello,” he said, locking up his office and scanning the pro shop to make sure his staff had shut it down properly.

  “Wes, it’s Tom.”

  “Hey, man. How are things in SF?” Tom Henderson was a buddy of Wes’s who’d made it onto the pro tour straight out of college. Pretty much Wes’s one and only dream in life. Until Kaylee had kicked him to the curb and made a head case out of him. And now she was back in his life. Which had to be some sort of sick twist of fate. It didn’t help that he still found her attractive, even when she was sweaty after a grueling golf lesson. Especially when she was sweaty.

  Wes hadn’t been with a woman since Kaylee arrived. He’d blamed it on his rigorous training schedule, but he worried it was more than that.

  “Wes, I gotta catch a flight, but there’s something that came up,” Tom said, cutting into Wes’s daydream of removing Kaylee’s sweaty shirt for her. “One of the courses on the tour had an accident. Major fire at the clubhouse. No one got hurt, but the place won’t be repaired in time for the tournament. The tour needs a replacement.”

  Wes froze in the act of turning off the lights in the pro shop, and then his heart hammered in his chest.

  It was extremely rare for a disaster to bump a course from the tour. “Please tell me Club Tahoe is being considered. And if you’re messing with me, I will hunt you down.”

  Tom laughed. “Yeah, buddy. I happened to be in the right place at the right time and boasted about your course. Didn’t hurt that one of the panel members has played there.”

  “Are you shitting me?” Wes paced the room, running a hand roughly through his hair.

  He dumped his clubs near the front counter. This was the opportunity of a lifetime for the resort, which had taken a hit financially since he and his brothers began running it.

  None of his brothers had wanted anything to do with the resort once they were adults. Had, in fact, run from it. His brother Adam was the exception. Adam had worked for their father and ended up an executive at Blue Casino. Wes was somewhat of an exception too, but only because he liked the golf course. His other three brothers had worked blue-collar jobs prior to their father’s death. They hadn’t known jack about running a luxury resort, and had been stumbling to catch up ever since.

  “I’m not shitting you, but you need to act fast. I pitched Club Tahoe and they were receptive, but you’ve got to jump on it.” Tom rattled off the name and number of the person in charge.

  Wes lunged across the front counter for a pen and scribbled down the information.

  “Tell them I referred you and that your course will be ready in time for the tournament.”

  “Yeah, anything. Which tournament is it?”

  “Second of the season.”

  Wes did a quick mental calculation. “That’s in seven weeks.”

  “Yep. You still want it?”

  Wes would be a fool to pass up the opportunity. “Hell yes.”

  “Then make that call. I’ll be in touch when I return to San Francisco. Oh, and Wes?”

  “Yeah—I’m here.” Which he was, even if his mind was running a mile a minute.

  “Don’t forget, if the tourney takes place at Club Tahoe, the club pro gets one of the sponsor’s exemptions.”

  During Wes’s mental rundown of all the things he’d need to do to get the course ready for a tournament, and that was assuming the tour chose Club Tahoe as the replacement course, he’d skipped over one very important bonus.

  As the club’s head pro, he could play in the tournament. Without the need to qualify.

  Holy fucking shit.

  Wes somehow managed to end the call without passing out. He placed his hands on the counter and took a deep breath.

  This could change everything. The direction of the club. The direction of his golf career.

  Chapter 12

  Wes swung open the door to Levi’s office the next morning and stormed inside. “Brace yourself.”

  Emily scrambled off Levi’s lap, clutching her top together and buttoning it.

  Wes covered his eyes. “Sorry—should have knocked.”

  “Asshole,” Levi grumbled. “My girlfriend works here. What do you think we do when no one’s around?”

  Wes peeked to make sure the coast was clear, then dropped his hand. “Work?”

  “No, shithead, we make out…and other stuff.” Levi said that last bit under his breath. Emily covered her flushed face with her hand and shook her head. Levi pointed at Wes. “So keep that in mind before you come barging in here.”

  Wes rolled his eyes. “Good job, Levi. Real professional.”

  “Don’t listen to him,” Emily said. “We don’t make out all day.”

  “Would if I could,” Levi mumbled.

  Emily picked up paperwork from the corner of Levi’s desk. “I’ll go. Give you guys some space.”

  Levi grabbed her hand and tugged her back onto his lap. “Stay.”

  Wes closed the door behind him. “Actually, Emily, I need you here for this. What I have to say is huge—all hands on deck.”

  As soon as Wes had stopped repeating the words sponsor’s exemption five hundred times in his head
, with visions of holding a trophy, he pulled it together and spoke to Tom’s tournament contact. The manager was completely on board with the switch to Club Tahoe—and had even agreed to change the tournament’s name. As long as Wes could prepare the course and facility in time.

  “We’re hosting the Tahoe Invitational.” Wes rose on the balls of his feet, his body vibrating with excitement.

  Levi looked at Emily. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”

  She shook her head, but her eyes glowed. Emily was a sharp one. Wes could see her mentally putting the pieces together. “Are you talking about a professional tournament? Coming here?”

  “Yes, motherfuckers. Yes.” Wes clapped his hands loudly and strode across the room. He sat on the edge of Levi’s desk, eliciting a frown from his brother.

  Emily stood—despite Levi’s grabby hands—and walked over, tapping on her tablet as though she were searching for a screen to take notes. “When?” she said. “And what are we talking about in terms of people to accommodate?”

  “Not people. Crowds.” Wes turned to Levi. “Are you even listening?” Levi was staring at Emily as though he were considering pulling her back on his lap. “Do you know what this means for the club?”

  His brother scratched his jaw. “Does this have to do with your buddy Tom? I don’t trust anything that comes out of that jackass’s mouth.”

  The one and only time Wes had coordinated a meeting between his brother and Tom, Wes and Tom had gotten hammered and taken women home instead of talking about bringing a tourney to the club. And okay, that had been an immature thing to do, but that was months ago. Wes had had his fill of stupid shit like that. He wanted more.

  And his vision of success had just landed in his lap.

  “Forget all that. This isn’t a chance opportunity; it’s the real deal. I signed the preliminary contract this morning.” Wes placed a sheet in front of Levi.

  Levi stared at the document. “Without my permission?”

  “The final version will need to be signed off by all of us. I figured you’d want me to handle the course details.”

  “You thought right.” Levi tapped his finger on his desk. “What else is involved? Can we even handle something this big? When is it exactly, anyway?”

  “Seven weeks, which is why they gave it to us. I promised we’d be ready.”

  “Seven weeks?” Levi bellowed. “Have you lost your mind?”

  Wes rubbed his chin. “It’ll be a miracle if we pull it off. But if we do? Our resort will be in the world’s spotlight. Think about it, Levi. We could become a regular stop on the tour. And this tourney will ensure full hotel booking during the event at a premium price. But if we’re going to make this work, it’ll require every single employee busting their ass. We’ll need to hire additional personnel, no question…” Wes stood and paced, then stopped abruptly and stared at Levi. “Fuck. Can we do this?”

  Emily tapped feverishly on her tablet, taking down notes or calculating—who knew what she did on that thing? “Yes. Yes, we can. If we hire a boatload of temporary employees and make sure our existing services are running like a machine. The only program that isn’t is Club Kids. We’ve got it booked out, with more guests requesting it every day, so we don’t want to screw it up. But if I find someone amazing to run the program, we should be fine.”

  Levi rubbed his mouth. “We’ve been using our regular crew to bolster Club Kids, but that won’t work during the tournament. How soon can you hire a full-time manager for it?”

  Emily bit her lip. “Depends on the candidates that apply. It’s kids; there’s no way I’ll hire just anyone. I need someone totally trustworthy and hands-on. Someone who will jump in and make the program great.”

  Levi sighed. “So basically, we need a miracle worker to fall in our laps.”

  Emily nodded slowly. “Pretty much. But let me get the word out and see what I can come up with. I’ll post the job description this afternoon. Sometimes it takes forever to fill a position, and sometimes I luck out and land someone on the first try.”

  “While you’re doing that,” Wes said, “I’ll put together a meeting with my staff. The tour must offer support. I’ll look into what all that entails, as well as specific requirements for security, hospitality, vending… Shit, the list is long, isn’t it?” Wes started pacing again. “Levi, now would be a good time to reach out to that lawyer you hired and make sure the contract I signed is solid.”

  “On it.” Levi picked up the document. “I’ll get the finance director and Jared in here too. They’ll need to know what’s going on.”

  “Right.” Wes scrunched his face up. “Still can’t believe you hired your ex’s boyfriend.”

  “Hey,” Emily said indignantly. “Jared is awesome. And Lisa isn’t only Levi’s ex, she’s my sister, which trumps ex classifications.”

  Wes gave her a blank stare. “Emily, don’t use convoluted female logic on me right now. Kaylee’s messed with my head enough these last few weeks.”

  He moved toward the door. “Levi, call in our brothers, yeah? Let them know what’s on the horizon and to get their asses in gear. For the next few weeks, I’ll be tied up at the course, getting things arranged. I’m leaving it up to you two to handle the resort portion.”

  “Sure, just leave us the resort.” Levi flashed Wes a look of annoyance, but he turned toward his computer and started typing out what appeared to be an email, his broad shoulders and bulky arms hunched to accommodate the narrow keyboard.

  Levi used to be a fireman, until he got injured. Seeing his blue-collared, muscular brother behind a desk—and kicking ass—was shocking and funny as hell to Wes. But all of his brothers had been forced to step out of their comfort zones after their father died.

  “You want the golf course?” Wes said. “’Cause I’d love to see you try and take on that one.”

  Levi flipped him the bird. “Get out of here so I can work.”

  Wes hurried out of Levi’s office, his head buzzing with excitement and trepidation. Fucking hell, this was intense. He didn’t know if they’d pull it off, but he was going to do everything in his power to try. Because this opportunity wasn’t only for him, it was for his brothers as well.

  * * *

  Kaylee passed the Club Tahoe front desk and turned left down a long corridor that ended in a double door. She entered the executive offices, and shivers ran down her body. This was the final step in canceling her wedding. It wasn’t that this was the wrong thing. It was simply one of those steps that propelled her life in a totally different direction. Uncharted and scary.

  She took a deep breath and spoke to the male receptionist at the entrance. He confirmed her appointment and asked her to have a seat.

  Kaylee eased into one of the upholstered reception chairs and twined her fingers together, her knuckles bleaching white.

  “Kaylee?”

  She glanced up to see Emily standing in front of one of the offices, a kind smile on her face.

  “Come on in.” She gestured toward the door.

  Kaylee stood and walked down the hallway, passing several workers bustling about. The employees seemed busier than the last time she’d ventured to these offices. With Eddy. Ugh. This was the right move, but it didn’t help to think about the monumental mistake she’d almost made. And to contemplate starting her life over from scratch.

  “Thank you for meeting with me today,” she said once Emily had closed the door to her office. “I didn’t realize it would be so busy this late in the afternoon.”

  Emily sighed and sat behind her desk. “Normally, it’s not. But we just received notice we’ll be hosting a professional golf tournament in under two months.”

  Despite where Kaylee’s life was, she could appreciate how awesome that news must be for the club. And for Wes. “That’s amazing. Congratulations. Wes must be so excited.”

  “You know, I can’t tell. I mean, yes, he seemed excited, but it’s pretty crazy what we need to do in order to get the resort ready.”r />
  “Well, don’t let me take up your time. I just came by to sign the wedding cancellation forms.”

  Emily frowned. “I’m so sorry, Kaylee. I worried when I last saw you that this might happen.”

  “Thank you. I’m only sorry things got this far. It’s complicated…”

  Had she ever been in love with Eddy, or he with her? Right now, Kaylee second-guessed everything.

  “No explanations necessary.” Emily lifted an envelope from her desk and extended it to Kaylee with a gentle smile. “I spoke to Levi and we were able to give you the entire deposit back. It turns out we have a couple who would love to move up their wedding date.”

  “Oh, wow. Will you thank Levi for me?”

  “I sure will.” Emily’s eyebrows knitted together. “How are you overall?”

  “Better. I mean, I’m uprooted, but I feel more whole somehow, which is probably a sign that things weren’t right. And I’ve decided to stay in town, though I need to find a job now… That’s why I couldn’t come earlier this afternoon. I’ve been interviewing all day.” Kaylee frowned. “I forgot how small this town is. There isn’t a lot available outside of gaming. Hopefully, I’ll find something soon, because moving back in with my parents at the age of twenty-six is not appealing.” She chuckled.

  “No, of course not,” Emily said slowly. “What kind of jobs are you looking at?”

  “I majored in sociology with a minor in early childhood studies, and I used to work for a women and children’s non-profit. So, aside from substitute teaching, I’ve found a few non-profits and one or two social programs that seemed interesting.”

  Emily sat forward. “Really. Well, you know, the club has a position we urgently need filled. It might not be a perfect fit, and the pay isn’t much, but it relates to children. I don’t suppose you’d be interested in applying to run our Club Kids program? It’s growing exponentially, and we need someone trustworthy with good organizational skills. The pay will also increase after we get the program fully up and running.”