Surrender to Chance [King's Bluff, Wyoming 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Fiona Archer

  Talk about leaving an impression.

  But he’d laughed, right? While she’d stood there with her mouth open, he’d laughed. Not yelled or ranted. And it had been one of those full, deep laughs, the kind that made her smile before she’d even been aware she’d done so.

  Who’d have thought it? Alex MacKenzie could be a good sport. More than that, his smile added a new dimension to his appearance. No doubting the guy had a commanding presence. With the slash of silver at his temples, his angular face with a square jaw and piercing gray eyes could make any woman lose their train of thought. But when true, honest-to-God humor had shone in his eyes, she had been breathless.

  The man was a danger to women everywhere. Combined with his brother? Whoa. Break out the oxygen tank.

  She shook her head before turning on the sink’s taps. Using a squirt of the white soap, she rubbed her hands together, the scent of gardenia making her think of the old bush that grew beside her mom’s garage.

  At the swish sound of the door, she looked up. Lacey stood there, her gaze moving up and down Olivia before coming back to her face. “Seattle office called. Said it was urgent. Reception tried your phone but you were away from your desk.” She made it sound like Olivia was frolicking, out shopping for shoes. “Since you were absent, I handled the situation.”

  Count to ten.

  Two days and the younger woman had used every opportunity, real or imagined, to ride Olivia, from “forgetting” to give her the right codes for the desk phone, to not being able to supply Olivia with complete answers to simple questions from providing a list of phone extensions for staff to stationery supplies.

  Olivia dried her hands with a paper towel. “What kind of a situation, Lacey?”

  “Marketing department needed your sample of text for a press release. Seattle is chasing the document. They have a deadline.”

  “I e-mailed the text to Henry in Seattle.”

  “Well, they don’t have it.” She lifted a brow with such precision Olivia was certain she’d practiced the move in front of a mirror.

  “Lacey,” she kept her tone polite but firm. “Thank you for taking the call, but in the future, please transfer them to my cell, especially since I won’t normally be here on-site. I’ll deal with any follow up.”

  “But we didn’t know where you were. Seattle needed the document. Still needs it.”

  “Not to repeat myself, but it has been sent. Obviously, there’s been a glitch.” Olivia moved past Lacey, ignoring the fact the other women refused to step aside to allow easier access to the door.

  As she walked into the spare office, Kane was dropping a folder marked “Youth Café Trainee Program” on the desk.

  “Everything okay? Lacey came in chasing up some urgent document. Said Seattle wouldn’t meet a deadline.”

  Great.

  “I’m just checking my e-mail. I sent it over an hour ago.” She sat in her chair, then opened up her e-mail on her computer. Next to her Sent folder was one marked Outgoing with the number 1 in bold beside it. The nerves in her stomach knotted. She clicked on the folder.

  Kane moved up to stand beside her.

  There sat her e-mail, caught up in some cyber traffic jam. And Kane saw it for himself.

  She bit her lip against the urge to groan.

  “Mystery solved.” He tapped his knuckles on her desk, then headed back into his office.

  Her second day and she’d let him down. Okay, not on purpose, but right after throwing coffee on his brother, this wasn’t her most stellar morning.

  After phoning Henry in Seattle, she organized to send the document to another e-mail address, this time watching it whizz through without a hitch.

  She pushed back on the desk with her hands, the wheels of her chair sliding over the fawn-colored carpet. With a sigh, she walked through the general admin area, then headed into Kane’s office.

  “I’m sorry. Seattle needed the document there earlier. I messed up.”

  Kane turned away from his computer screen. “Did you organize for the e-mail server to go slow?”

  “Well…” She blinked. “No.”

  “You’ve handled it now?”

  “Yes.” An hour later than she’d first tried, but still…yes.

  “Then it’s dealt with.” He stared at her a second. “Olivia, stuff’s going to happen. Let’s not panic, okay?”

  Awesome. Now she looked needy. “Of course.” She gave him a quick smile, then retreated back to her cubbyhole.

  The score stood at Lacey, one. Olivia, a needy zero.

  * * * *

  “The fish not to your liking?”

  Olivia’s gaze flew to Kane as he sat across the table they shared with Alex in the lodge’s restaurant. A crisp white business shirt emphasized the width of his shoulders and highlighted the dark strands of his hair as it brushed over the open collar.

  He leaned against the high back of the dinning chair. Each seat, covered in chocolate brown leather that was secured with brass studs, was made for comfort and added to the general theme of chic rustic that pervaded the lodge.

  “The food’s fabulous.” And it was. So she should stop playing with it and manage a few more bites of the delicately poached sole in lemon sauce.

  Unfortunately, each mouthful she ate ended up sitting like a lead weight in her stomach. Most everything had since Tuesday’s debacle over the e-mail, and her subsequent failure, three days on, to capture any traction in her ongoing tactical war with Lacey.

  “You’ve hardly taken a bite.” Alex’s blunt assessment didn’t help. Eyes the color of storm clouds studied her with sharp interest.

  She shifted in her chair. Singularly, each MacKenzie was a formidable presence. Together, they were downright intimidating, even when just being themselves.

  “Blame it on my mom’s big breakfasts.” She’d only managed to eat a couple of pieces of toast, not quite the gorge-fest she’d implied, but she wasn’t going to tell.

  “Speaking of your mom, Kane tells me she recently had pneumonia. How’s she doing?” Alex’s voice held genuine concern and reminded her that he, like his brother, was a man of many different facets. A person would be foolish to form quick judgments.

  “Okay, considering she wants to launch herself back into full-time work at the clinic. Doc Jackson had his hands full making sure she stuck to half days this week.” That was Maggie Fletcher, stubborn to the core.

  And right now, one less worry for Olivia was a kindness. With Lacey seemingly plotting Olivia’s downfall with her administrative themed ambushes, she needed to be on her game. More importantly, make up ground she’d lost in Kane’s eyes.

  The niggling issues that had hampered her day—messages not being put through to her cell phone, appointments with staff for interviews and background stories being canceled at the last minute due to “unforeseen circumstances,” photocopying going missing off the printer only to turn up later on the spare desk—impacted doubly since she didn’t normally work on-site.

  She was better off working full time from her mom’s dining table.

  Being polite but firm with her determined foe wasn’t working. Clearly, she and the younger woman were headed for a showdown.

  For now, she must reclaim some confidence, be bold with a strong example of her skills.

  “Speaking of my mom, I had a discussion with her last night.” She flicked her gaze to Alex, then Kane. “Regarding the lodge. Specifically, about how the locals felt about the recent vandalism.”

  Alex took a sip of his iced tea, saying nothing as he stared at her.

  Kane looked up from slicing into his steak. “Go on.”

  She cleared her throat. God, this hadn’t been so hard earlier when she’d run through this scenario in her head. “Most local folks aren’t that interested in knowing much about your problems. There’s a tiny bit of gossip, but they think the lodge is a rich man’s mountain retreat.”

  Alex frowned. “You don’t think offering local employment and membership at
the BDSM club makes us the good guys in this scenario?”

  “No, I don’t. Offering employment means some locals are indebted to MacKenzie Corp for their paycheck, but the general public is not invested in what happens here on a wider level. You need to show them why they should care beyond thinking it’s wrong for anyone to vandalize a property.”

  Both men stared back at her.

  She breathed deep. Don’t stop now.

  “Let me take a step back. You both put a lot of personal time and effort into this project, yes?”

  Kane’s laugh had a bittersweet roughness to it. “Getting the lodge to this stage has been over two years in the making, including negotiating with Noah King to buy the land. Having our own construction company allowed us to manage the project under such a tight schedule.”

  She nodded. “People see the end product. They don’t consider what goes into making that vision a reality.”

  “True.” Alex added pepper to his baked potato. “We’d been warned a few locals would oppose us on the grounds that we were outsiders, and worse, had connections to Noah King and Flynn Taylor.”

  She forked a piece of her grilled fish, gliding it through the lemon sauce on her plate. “By those locals you mean Karl Wagner and his cronies.” One or two more bites and she’d done the meal some small measure of justice.

  Kane stared at her as she licked a drop of the sauce from her lips. Had she made a mess? She wiped her chin.

  He cleared his throat. “Yeah. Wagner has a stick up his butt regarding the King family.”

  “More like a whole forest.” Olivia grimaced, pleased at hearing both men chuckle. Her sense of humor was quirky, dry. Nice to know it found its mark. “You’ve heard the story of how King’s Bluff was established?”

  Kane nodded. “Wagner’s great, great grandfather lost the land to King’s in a game of poker.” He added another pat of butter to his baked potato. “It’s like something out of a dime-store novel.”

  “Wagner’s family never got over the loss.” She waved a hand. “They have their own fortune, but their influence in town is nothing like it was even thirty years ago, especially after the area went through an economic rough patch.”

  “Now Noah’s moved here and started to make his own plans.” Alex pushed his empty plate to the side. “Got to say, he and Flynn Taylor are smarter than they look.” His mouth lifted at one side. “For a couple of SAS.”

  “Wagner, on the other hand, we’ve only seen from a distance in town, and we’re”—Kane glanced at Alex—“less impressed.”

  Alex’s gaze narrowed. “Despite the fact the break-in seemed personal, there’s a chance it’s still linked to the same perpetrators of the nuisance pranks.”

  Okay, this was interesting. “You think Wagner could somehow be behind the damage to your house?”

  The older MacKenzie twisted his lips. “No proof. But from the intel we have on him, it’s the type of petty action he’s been accused of before.”

  She paused in taking a sip of her drink. “You guys don’t leave anything to chance, do you?”

  Kane gave her a level stare. “That’s a lesson you learn early if you want to live long enough to become an ex-SEAL.” His jaw hardened.

  Was he thinking of others who’d failed to master that lesson and paid the ultimate price?

  She sat up in her chair. “Getting back to what I was saying before, regardless of whoever is behind this crap, one way to fight back is to ostracize them in the eyes of the town. That’s where I come in. You need something that draws the locals in, showing them parts of what I saw on Monday. You haven’t had an official opening yet, have you?”

  Kane shook his head. “No, and we’ve been operational for three months. That window’s closed.”

  “How about staging a Community Day? Invite the town to come up here. Have pony rides and a giant BBQ. Get the Women’s Progress Association to have a stall and sell cakes to raise funds. You’d give them a donation.”

  She held her breath. Say yes. Say yes.

  Alex finally spoke. “What about our guests? They pay for privacy and solitude.”

  “They’d be forewarned. The main lodge would remain closed to the public. The guests can enjoy the festivities or you can organize for them to be taken off on a wilderness trek if they don’t want to hang around.”

  Kane was the first to warm. “Might work.”

  “You use local businesses for some supplies?” Olivia asked.

  Alex wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Where possible. It’s an easy way to earn goodwill.”

  She nodded, a strand of her immaculately styled hair falling from its sweeping side part down across her brow. She swiped it back, too excited to care. “We can use The Imperial Pub and Hansen’s Market for supplies for the BBQ.”

  “How quickly could you put a proposal together?” Kane asked.

  Her smile felt huge enough to pull the muscles in her cheeks. “I started working on it last night. I can have something to you by this afternoon.”

  Alex folded his napkin, then tossed it on his bread plate. “Lacey can help you work out any details for the lodge that you’re not yet familiar with. I’ll tell her to come see you.”

  That same smile now froze. The muscles in her stomach knotted.

  “No bother. I can always ask if I have a question.”

  “Olivia, I know you want to run with this, to impress us. But we all want to impress the town, too. Lacey will help you to handle the small stuff while you work on the bigger issues.”

  That was an order. No mistaking the finality in his voice.

  “Of course.” She swallowed down the urge to scream. “I look forward to working with her.

  If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel the knife as it entered her back.

  Chapter Five

  Kane walked out onto the back terrace, enjoying his first Saturday back in Seattle for four weeks. It was also the same time since his first meeting Olivia in the Imperial. He smiled to himself. Not a bad way to track his social calendar.

  The breeze off Lake Union lifted strands of hair from his forehead, welcoming him with its freshness. He loved this view. The tall trees, a mixture of spruce, pines, and ornamentals, stood on either side of the landscaped gardens, framing the blue water beyond. Behind the trees, a dock and jetty sat like anchors for the shore.

  This had been their father’s home and his father’s before him. In the stillness of the late Seattle afternoon, Kane could almost hear his dad’s voice, calling out to his sons to join him in throwing a football. Kane had been, what, six at the time? Those remembrances were like sand falling through his hand, there one moment and gone the next. Just like their dad. An aneurysm they’d said. Taken just before his fortieth year.

  That was when everything had changed.

  The sound of footsteps scrunched on the paved terrace.

  “Going to be a gorgeous night.” Alex came to stand beside him. “Phillip says you’re staying in tonight.”

  “It is and I am.” Kane was surprised to see him in jeans and a T-shirt. “Where’s the tux? Don’t you have some dinner to attend? Aren’t they friends of…” He paused. Nope, he couldn’t think of the name. “Whoever they are, you’re expected.”

  “I’m not going.” Alex gave Kane a sidelong glance. “They want me to invest in something I think is a complete failure. I’ve told them twice, once over lunch, the next over a dinner that I’m guessing would be like tonight, where everyone smiles while they sink their hooks, hoping to catch the big fish. I see no point in extending the farce.” He turned at the sound of more footsteps. “I’ve made it clear to all involved I won’t be pressured into parting with my money.”

  Therein lay the thorny issue, for Kane anyway. Not that he’d ever emotionally blackmail Alex, but… Ah, hell.

  Phillip Jenkins carried a tray bearing a decanter of scotch, two glasses, and a bucket of ice, and set them down on the table.

  “Alex, do you want me to pour?” The house manager,
aged in his early thirties, waited patiently. He and his wife, Bonnie, had worked for them the last five years, keeping the property running like a clock with the kind of efficiency ex-military like he and Alex appreciated.

  “No, we’re fine, thanks, Phillip. Tell Bonnie we’ll be ready for dinner in an hour.” Alex moved to pour two drinks. Ice clinked against the crystal before amber-colored fluid flowed over the frozen cubes. “She’s made her famous roast. As if I’d pass that up for an excruciating three hours of having someone try to screw me with my pants on.” He lifted a glass to Kane, an easy smile on his face.

  That wouldn’t last long.

  Kane nodded his thanks as he accepted the drink. No sense dragging this out. “Mom called.”

  Alex’s face hardened. Yep, not long at all.

  “I can guess.” Alex moved to the teak outdoor seating, its dark green padding matching the scenery it looked out on. He sat, then sipped his drink. “What do you want me to say? Don’t pay her? You have already or you wouldn’t raise the subject.”

  “Alex—”

  His brother cut him off. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me. I’m not angry with you. I simply don’t like seeing you used.”

  Kane dropped himself in a chair beside Alex, his glass cradled in his hands. “You think I’m weak.”

  “No, I think you love her. And that’s admirable. She’s not worth that love. But no matter how hard you want to walk away from her, you still see her as a mom.”

  Each visit home to her had started with an avalanche of warm hugs. My good boy. Her laughter at his schoolboy antics still hung in his memory. “Whereas you don’t.”

  “She never acted like one around me.”

  Kane knew he spoke the truth. “I’m sorry.”

  Alex banged his glass down on the table, fluid spilling over the rim onto the teak finish. “Fuck, Kane, don’t apologize for her.” He bit the words out. “That’s the part that pisses me off. You’re not responsible for her actions. She hated Dad for divorcing her and took it out on me. It was sad when I was a kid, but I’m a big boy now and have moved on.”