by Dawn Brower
Chapter Eight
Ginnifer slowly strolled toward the breakfast hall. She had never been so exhausted in her life. Yoga was part of her daily life in New York, but for some reason today’s session drained all of her energy reserves. It could be the residual effects of jet lag making her feel so fatigued. She seriously doubted it was the extra lessons on how to tie a knot. They didn’t require much stamina to complete. In fact, learning how to tie a knot was one of the most mind stimulating activities she had ever completed. The constrictor and bowline knots might be the most useful—for tying someone in place anyway. She wasn’t sure what the actual uses for them were.
The sound of a car’s engine drew her attention toward the front of the house. She looked over and noticed a burnt orange Jaguar convertible pull to a stop in front of the wide porch steps, directly behind her meager Honda Civic. Ginnifer wanted to go over and run her hands over the car and stroke its exterior. It was so pretty and she had always had a soft spot for expensive sports cars. Struck dumb at the Jag’s appearance, it had distracted her from its occupants. So when she saw her best friend Tori getting out of the driver’s side of the vehicle, her mouth dropped open in shock. The lucky bitch was driving that drool-worthy machine? Ginnifer quickly made her way over to Tori, barely noticing the passenger of the automobile. She saw him lingering in the corner of her eye as she made a beeline for Tori.
Tori, wearing a pair of cobalt four-inch stilettos, slammed the car door and waltzed over to Ginnifer as she pushed her designer sunglasses on top of her head. Her caramel-blonde locks floated over her back in long, luscious waves. The sapphire halter dress she was wearing hugged her breasts, narrowed around her waist, and flowed over her hips, stopping above her knees. Ginnifer was starting to feel inferior standing in the vicinity of her best friend. Tori’s skin glowed with warmth, and it looked like she had gotten some much needed beauty sleep. Something that Ginnifer had been denied by her early morning wake up call. It took all of her reserves not to growl at the sight of Tori’s exuberance.
Tori’s face lit up with a radiant smile. “Oh good, I don’t have to send out a search party for you. As you can see, we arrived a bit earlier than planned. I had to take over driving at one point. It was easier than fighting with him. This car here is his baby, and once it was clear I was going to drive on without him, he jumped in the passenger seat faster than the Flash.”
Ginnifer looked over at Colt Lewis and nodded her head at him. He walked over to stand next to her and Tori. She turned back to Tori and said, “I’m confused. Why did he need to be forced to come here? I’m not doing an interview with a reluctant participant.”
Tori turned and sent Colt a scathing look of disdain. Ginnifer was familiar with this particular look. She was disgusted with her client and was about to throw him to the wolves. This was his last chance to make things right before she washed her hands of him. Tori turned her attention back to her best friend. “He was fine until he found out where we were going. He hadn’t realized that Novak Springs was our final destination until we were an hour away. We had stopped to fill up the gas tank when it had occurred to him he had been on that particular stretch of road before and asked what the name of the ranch was. He was about to turn tail and run. I didn’t know he had history with the place, or I would have worked harder at getting you to do the interview in Seattle. No matter, though, we are here and he’s all yours.”
Ginnifer raised an eyebrow and looked over at Colt with a questioning expression in her green eyes. What history? Well this was definitely going to be more interesting than it had started out to be. Ginnifer couldn’t help wondering what this ranch had to do with Colt Lewis. She turned to Tori and gestured to the two of them to follow her. As she started to turn, she saw the front door of the ranch open and a man she had not met before walk out. He had long citrine-blond hair pulled into a short ponytail at the nape of his neck. A few strands had escaped and were falling over the side of his head, hugging his cheekbones and stopping short of his chin. A black T-shirt hugged his rock-hard muscles across his chest and left little to the imagination. His jeans were slung low over his hips and were covering some black cowboy boots. Not bad, not as good as Dallas, but he might do in a pinch…
His face turned a bright shade of red as he approached and asked, “What the hell are you doing here, Colt? You can get back in that overpriced contraption and drive on back to Seattle. I know you don’t want us to bust you up just as the season is starting.”
Tori leaned over and whispered in Ginnifer’s ear, “Please tell me who that scorching hot cowboy is.” Her eyes were glazed over and lust was pouring out of them. This was her ideal man. Longish blond hair, chiseled face with light stubble across the lower half of his face, muscles everywhere. Oh yeah, Tori was in sexy man heaven.
Ginnifer shrugged her shoulders at her and told her, “I have no idea.”
Colt looked over at Tori, running his hands through his long mahogany hair in frustration. “I told you this was a bad idea. Do you listen? Noooo, ’cause you think you know best. Come on, let’s leave.”
He started to walk back to the car, but Tori put herself in front of him and held out her hands in protest. “I will deal with this Colt. Hold your horses and you will be able to leave in no time.”
The sexy cowboy turned his steely eyes on Tori. “He can leave now, or I’ll not be held responsible for what happens to him.”
Tori turned on her charm and smiled up at him, flipping her shiny caramel locks back over her shoulder. If she were a kitten, she would already be purring in delight. As it was, she was damn near close to rubbing herself all over him. If she got any closer, Ginnifer would need a crow bar to dislodge Tori from the cowboy’s body. Of course then her claws would come out because nothing pissed her off more than being interrupted when she was on the prowl. Her lips curved into a sultry smile as she narrowed in on her target and trailed her fingers across his firm chest and skimmed down his abdomen, a move that had never failed to achieve her goals with a man in the past.
“Well, darlin’, I am sure we can work something out. Ginny needs to do a quick lil’ interview, and then Colt will be gone. Where is the harm in that? She got permission from the lady running this shindig. Didn’t you?” she asked as she turned her head toward Ginnifer, leaning it slightly into the guy’s chest, a soft moan escaping from her mouth.
Sometimes Tori really had no shame. Ginnifer was used to her shenanigans, and it would make things easier if the guy fell willingly under her spell. It helped that she was right and she had gotten permission from Emma the night before when she arrived. Nodding her head in agreement, Ginnifer said, “Yes, I asked yesterday when I arrived, and she said it wouldn’t be a problem.”
The man snorted in disbelief. “I don’t believe Emma gave anyone permission to have Colt Lewis anywhere near this property. She wouldn’t have agreed to that for any reason.”
Ginnifer’s face screwed up in puzzlement, and she tilted her head at him with questions streaming from her eyes. For once Tori’s charms were not working to distract someone of the male persuasion. Maybe she was losing her touch a bit. She was shocked as he pushed Tori aside and stalked over toward Ginnifer and Colt, leaving Tori stunned in his wake. She stepped in front of him before he could reach Colt’s side. Holding her hand out to him, she said, “I don’t believe we have met. I’m Ginnifer Zeiss and over there, that is my friend, Vitoria Miene. The one that you damn near pushed onto the ground to storm over here,” she said.
He stopped and grudgingly said, “Ah yeah, the reporter Emma asked to do an article on this venture of hers. I’m glad you’re here, but Colt still needs to disappear and fast. I don’t particularly like your friend, either, but I understand she is a guest, so she can stay.”
As he said that, they heard a scream coming from the direction of the dining hall. A female with cinnamon hair pulled up into a high ponytail had stopped before the main house, shock covering her face. It didn’t take long for her to regain her com
posure. Ginnifer watched as Emma rushed toward them, her face as white as a ghost. She walked over and stood next to the cowboy pointing at Colt as she said, “Wes, what the hell is he doing here?”
“I don’t know, Em, he hasn’t said much. If I were to hazard a guess, it’s something to do with these two ladies here.” Contempt covered every inch of his gaze as it landed on Tori and Ginnifer. Wow, Tori really had lost her charm because this man was disgusted looking at her.
Tori took exception to the look. “I have no idea what your problem is, mister, but you’re making this a lot harder than it needs to be. Ginny could have already been done with Colt, but you had to hold us up and be an ass.”
“I stand corrected, that one isn’t a lady. She’s a harpy.” He squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, bending his head down in frustration.
“Well, as if. Ugh. Ginny do something,” Tori demanded.
Ginnifer sighed and looked over at Wes and Emma. “I swear it won’t take long. I don’t know what issues you have with Colt here, but I did ask you yesterday, Emma, if it was okay if I did a quick interview here today.”
Emma turned toward Ginnifer with shock on her face. Her mouth opened and closed several times. “You never said it was with Colt Lewis, though.”
Ginnifer rubbed her temples and breathed in a deep breath. “I never said it wasn’t with him, either. You didn’t ask who I had to interview, and honestly, it didn’t cross my mind to tell you. Please let me get this done. This day hasn’t started the best, and I want to rest. If I can knock this out, I might be able to salvage the day.”
“What do you mean it hasn’t been the best? I thought you had fun at yoga earlier,” Emma said. A tinge of pain laced through each of her words.
“Yoga was fine. I enjoyed it. My day went to hell when my phone rang at five a.m. and woke me up before I was ready.” Ginnifer turned to glare at Tori.
A sheepish look formed on Tori’s face. “I’m sorry, Ginny, I was going to give you a heads up to expect us, but at the last minute I realized it was dumb to call you that early and hung up.”
“You could have answered when I called back, but that’s for another time.” Ginnifer turned toward her hosts. “Is it okay if I get this done, Emma?”
“I’m not gonna lie, I don’t like it. I’ll give you an hour and he better be gone. I’m sorry. I know I invited you here, but he isn’t welcome on this ranch. Ever.” Emma stressed the last word vehemently.
“I’ll make sure he’s gone in an hour, Em.” Wes continued to glare at Colt.
Emma nodded her head at him and walked up the stairs and into the house. Wes turned to the three of them and folded his arms in front of his chest. “The clock is ticking; you better get started.”
Ginnifer looked over at Colt, and Tori and waved them toward her. “Follow me, we can go to the cabin and finish. It really shouldn’t take long.”
Tori looked over at Wes and said, “It really is too bad.”
Wes looked puzzled at Tori’s words. “What is?”
“That such a smoking hot body is wasted on such an asshat,” she said as she turned to follow Ginnifer and Colt to the cabin. Her stilettos pushing into the dirt path making it difficult to storm away, still Tori did her best to sashay as she escaped from Wes’s presence. She only stopped briefly when she heard him say, “I can overlook you being a bitch long enough for a good fuck if you change your mind.”
Tori turned her head, looking over her shoulder as she coolly replied, “You wouldn’t be able to keep your mouth closed long enough. The fantasy would be ruined in ten seconds flat. No thanks, I have better uses for my time.”
Ginnifer had stopped to stare at her best friend’s exchange with Wes. Colt was standing next to her with his arms folded across his chest. Tori never could leave well enough alone; she always had to get the last word in. It was going to be an interesting two weeks if Tori was going to cross barbs with Wes whenever she saw him. Come to think of it, she had her own cowboy to fend off. At least Dallas was being rude in a different way. She didn’t think Wes and Tori would ever get along. There were sparks between them that bounced all over the place. If anger and instant dislike hadn’t ignited between them, they might have found a useful way to dislodge those flames. Now though, it was a lost cause because Tori had written him off as useless.
When Tori reached them, she said, “What are you waiting for? We have to get this shizzle done before the Terminator comes and throws us off the planet or something.”
With those words, they silently turned and walked toward to their cabin. Ginnifer sighed with discontent. She was never going to get a cup of coffee at this rate.
Chapter Nine
It didn’t take them long to get back to the cabin and settle in for the interview. Ginnifer was still reeling from the tension in front of the main house between the Novaks and Colt Lewis. She couldn’t wait to get this interview over and send the quarterback on his way back to Seattle. Tori was going to owe her for this one, and she didn’t care about their previous deal. Colt Lewis was enemy Numero Uno in Casa de Novak. Ginnifer didn’t deal well with hostile environments. If she had wanted to work in a dangerous terrain, she would have become a political journalist or something of a similar nature. She dealt mostly in entertainment and fashion, which held its own pitfalls but generally was harmless. This was crap she didn’t need to take.
Ginnifer rummaged through her bag, pulled out a small recorder, and grabbed her notes. Colt was already sitting in one of the chairs by the little table in the cabin. Tori took one look at the room and told them she needed to get her luggage out of the Jaguar. Palming the keys, she left the room, leaving Ginnifer alone with Colt. Ginnifer shrugged and went to sit down at the table with Colt. Tori had some steam to let off, and the walk back to get her belongings might help her relieve some of the pressure brewing inside of her. Ginnifer set the recorder and notebook on the table and pulled out the chair. Once she was seated, she turned toward Colt and gave him her full attention. “Are you ready to begin?”
He nodded his head at her indicating he was ready. “Yeah, I want out of here before Wes decides to eject me himself. I tried to tell Tori they didn’t like me here.”
Ginnifer turned her recorder on and took the opportunity to ask him, “Yeah about that, why do they hate you so much? Emma is such a nice person. I hadn’t met Wes before, but he really wanted to pummel you.”
“Yeah, well, um,” he started to say and then changed direction with his words. He looked up at her with a lot of guilt shining through his eyes. “Emma and I used to date. Well, before all this crap came out. I love her and I wouldn’t ever hurt her, willingly. I tried to tell her Missy was lying. At first she believed me, but well, something changed her mind.”
The man’s features were wracked with pain. His brown eyes bled misery into anyone that looked at him, causing them to feel every ounce of the hurt he was barely holding inside of him. He should be angry at the injustices that were dealt him, but all Ginnifer noticed was his inner turmoil and agony. She needed to remember why they were here and doing this interview. It might not be enough, but maybe it could help him find a way out of the mess that had found its way into his life. Ginnifer set her notes down, deciding to take a different approach to the interview. She looked up at Colt and asked, “Missy is the girl that says she is having your baby.”
Colt looked directly in Ginnifer’s eyes. “Yeah, and until the paternity test comes back, I have to deal with her lies. I honestly don’t care what anyone thinks about me. I know it isn’t my baby. It’s Emma that mattered. I lost her because of this. When she broke up with me, I wanted to punch something. Thank God for football practice, it gives me a good outlet for most of my frustrations. I didn’t want to come back here until I had proof the baby wasn’t mine. It was part of the reason I freaked out when Tori told me where we were heading. You want to know the saddest part, though?”
“What’s that?” Ginnifer asked.
H
e scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to erase the desolation away. “I don’t think she will ever believe that I never had sex with Missy, even if that baby isn’t mine. She could very well be lost to me forever. My life isn’t right…without her in it. I don’t know what to do without her. I don’t know what to do. If only I could make her understand, make her see that I didn’t betray her. It’s useless, though, football is all I have left.”
Ginnifer ached listening to his sad story. She had to do something to ease the sadness falling off of him in waves of despair. If someone had asked her if she believed someone could love another person as much as Colt appeared to love Emma, she would never have believed it was possible. In Ginnifer’s mind love was a fantasy and rare in the harsh world she lived in. If she could find a way to help him repair his relationship, she was going to do everything in her power to make it happen. Sometimes a person needed to believe fairy tales did exist. She took Colt’s hand in hers and looked him in the eyes as she said, “Maybe this article is the first step in getting her to realize that she was wrong. Tell me your story, Colt. How did this Missy get her claws into you?”
Ginnifer sat back and listened to the long, sordid tale. Colt had been signed to a two-year deal with the Seattle Starlings as a second-string quarterback. He had gone out celebrating with some of his teammates, excited at signing his first professional football contract. They got drunk, and Colt passed out and woke up in a hotel room next to Missy. He had been fully clothed and barely remembered the previous night. But he did remember everything he had done up to the point he had passed out in the hotel room. Missy had been drinking with the whole team and had been cozying up to the tight end of the Starlings most of the night. She didn’t rate much of a blip on his radar. Colt didn’t think anything of her until she claimed to be pregnant with his kid.