Brodie sighed. “My parents were divorced when I was three. I never really knew my natural father. My mother remarried Sir Simon John Chesterfield—he’s Amelia’s natural father.”
“Is he also Oliver’s father?”
“Is that your second question?”
“What? No! I was just continuing conversation. That doesn’t count.”
“Just so you can’t say I’m not a nice guy, I’ll give you that one since we are a complicated bunch. Oliver is older than I am. We have the same natural father. I have four half siblings: Amelia, Jensen, Charles and Lucie.”
“That’s amazing. Not only do you have this expansive extended family, your immediate family is like an army, too.”
“You have no idea. Next question.”
He wanted to steer the conversation away from his family before Caitlyn started digging any deeper. That was all she needed to know, anyway. He’d set himself up for this, left himself wide open when he’d given her free rein. He should’ve set parameters, but the nearness of her made his senses spin, messed with the equilibrium of his common sense.
“Have you ever had your heart broken?” she asked, stealing a glance at him.
He nodded, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
“What was her name?”
“Nina.”
“And?”
“Is that your third question?”
She nudged him with her knee. “Of course it’s not my third question. We’re still on number two. You can’t just give me one-word answers. What happened?”
“That’s question number three. She married someone else.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. No one should have to go through that.”
“Obviously, we weren’t meant to be.”
Caitlyn was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, that happens sometimes. I suppose it’s better to discover it before you marry the person rather than afterward.”
Her right hand had found its way onto his thigh. She nearly drove him crazy the way she traced small circles on his leg with her forefinger.
His skin prickled under her touch.
“Is Nina the one who convinced you that you don’t have a heart?”
He shrugged and coughed out a laugh. “If I had a pound for every time someone told me I was heartless, I’d be the wealthiest man in the world.”
“Don’t skirt the question. Did she?”
“She did, as did many others. Does it really matter?”
“Yes, it matters, because they were wrong. You’re not as heartless as you would like everyone to believe, Brodie. I’ve glimpsed that heart of yours when you didn’t know I was looking. You don’t have to pretend with me.”
The heartrending tenderness in her eyes.
His body ached for her.
He wasn’t sure who moved first, but they went from zero to sixty in a heartbeat. His lips were on hers, and she gasped a little. The sound she made was nearly silent—more of a shudder than a sound. Brodie wondered if maybe he’d felt rather than heard her. But it didn’t matter. The important thing was she didn’t pull away; she didn’t break contact.
They shouldn’t be doing this—for so many reasons. But she was kissing him back and he wanted to devour her like a starving man at a sumptuous buffet.
Their kiss sent him reeling back to that first night. It nearly took him over the edge as new spirals of ecstasy unfurled in his body. Heat stirred and pooled in his groin as his body responded. He couldn’t remember when he’d needed a woman as badly—as desperately—as he needed Caitlyn Moore.
He had no idea how long the two of them were up there tangled up in each other’s arms because for a beautiful while, time vanished, and they were the only people in the universe. The only thing that brought Brodie back to reality was the jolt of a deafening alarm that sliced through the bliss and broke the two of them apart.
Caitlyn blinked at him as if she were gathering her faculties. Then her eyes flew open wide. “Hang on. This thing is about to start again.”
He stole one more kiss.
With his lips a hair away from hers, he assured her, “I can guarantee you it already has.”
Chapter Nine
It was a hell of a long walk back to the office. They took care to keep a respectable amount of distance between them. Caitlyn was too quiet. So Brodie knew it was up to him to break the ice.
“I hope Truvy left before the malfunction.”
“That would be a lucky break,” Caitlyn said.
Once they were back on the ground, trying to act normal—as normal as one could after making out atop a stalled roller coaster—the second thing they asked was what time the reporter had left.
The first question was, of course, “What the hell happened?”
Les didn’t know what caused the malfunction, but he assured them he would get to the bottom of it in short order. But when it came to info about Truvy, he wasn’t so helpful.
“She was here snapping pictures when the ride blasted off, but I couldn’t tell you how long she stayed after the thing started malfunctioning.”
“Did she realize it broke down?” Caitlyn asked.
Les shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you how long she hung around. I was working. But I don’t see her around here now. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”
Brodie decided if Truvy had witnessed the malfunction, she would’ve waited around to ask questions. No need to worry when it probably would turn out to be nothing.
“Right, Les,” Brodie said. “Please let us know when you figure out what went wrong with the ride and when you think it will be good to go. We’re only a few days away from opening. We need to make sure everything is shipshape.”
Les nodded curtly and turned away.
He’d given no indication that he or anyone else on the ground was any wiser to what had been going on high up there on the apex of that final hill. On one hand, he knew behavior like that wasn’t professional, but on the other hand Caitlyn was all that mattered.
Since that day when he’d walked into the Cowboy Country USA offices and saw her standing there, he’d been fighting these feelings.
He’d been grasping at any reason to prove that they were not good together.
But why?
Ever since Nina he’d buried himself in his work. With the exception of a few casual relationships, he hadn’t allowed himself to look away from work long enough to see what was good or right or true about love.
Or maybe he’d been waiting for the right person to lift him out of his slump.
As they passed Gulch Holler Rapids log flume ride, Brodie stole a glance at Caitlyn.
Is she the right person?
Was she the one or was he telling himself that to make himself feel better about getting involved with Alden Moore’s daughter?
He felt himself wanting to backpedal, but he recognized that traditionally, this was where the walls would go up, and he would slip out the side door.
Then he rode it out and after the wave broke, his feelings for her were still standing.
They didn’t have to rush things, but he didn’t want to delay things, either.
Caitlyn paused outside the entrance to their building.
“Do you really think we’re going to be ready to open Memorial Day?” she asked. Even if we have to delay a week or two, don’t you think that’s better than running the risk of something like this happening with guests in the park?”
“If the Twin Rattlers isn’t ready to go, we don’t have to run it. But we do have to open the park as promised. It’s in my contract.”
“I don’t have a contract—”
Brodie leaned in and silenced her with a kiss.
“What are we doing?” Worry clouded her eyes.
“Are you talking about business or—” He motioned back and forth between them.
She gave a quick one-shoulder shrug, and he knew exactly what she was talking about.
He smiled at her. “I’d show you, but I don’t know if it wo
uld set a very good example if someone walked around the corner and saw me ravishing you right here. They might have to fire both of us.”
“Yeah, about that. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea to make out on a roller coaster in the middle of the park. Although, I must admit, I’ve always wanted to do that.”
Brodie feigned surprise. “What? The Princess of Coaster World has never made out on a roller coaster? I’m your first?”
“Yes. Given that it’s the first time I’ve ever been stuck on a roller coaster. They’re not exactly the tunnel of love when they’re going at full speed.”
“Touché.”
She caught her top lip between her teeth and looked up at him, emotion darkening her eyes.
“I’m not cut out for flings,” she said. “That woman who ravaged you at the wedding wasn’t me. I mean, it was me, obviously, but I’m not like that. I’ve never picked up a stranger before. So I don’t want you to have the wrong impression. Although, I guess it’s too late for that.”
Color rose in her cheeks as she rolled her eyes. He loved how flustered she got sometimes when she tried to explain herself.
Now more than ever he wanted to pull her into his arms.
He opened his mouth to tell her so, but she silenced him by raising her hand.
“I want you to think about it. You don’t have to give me an answer right now—right here. This isn’t really the time or the place to decide something so personal.”
A smile tugged up the corners of his lips. “I agree. So why don’t you have dinner with me tonight, and we can talk about it when we have more privacy?”
* * *
Janie held out a piece of paper to Caitlyn as she and Brodie made their way back to their offices.
“Ms. Moore, Truvy Jennings from the newspaper called for you. She says she needs more information about the Twin Rattlers for the article she’s writing. I told her that you and Mr. Fortune Hayes were still out in the park, and she asked if y’all were still having problems with the ride. Is there a problem?”
Caitlyn and Brodie exchanged an alarmed glance, but Janie’s expression was earnest as she looked back and forth between the two of them.
“What did you say to her, Janie?” Caitlyn put on her professional smile and did her best to make sure the panic crawling up the back of her throat didn’t croak through in her voice.
“I told her I didn’t know. That you and Mr. Fortune Hayes were just out in the park like you always are and I wasn’t aware of anything being wrong.”
Caitlyn’s alarm slipped a couple of notches.
“You did the right thing, Janie, thank you,” said Brodie. “This is not a reprimand. It’s simply a directive for the future because it’s likely we will be receiving more calls from media outlets from all over the world in the next couple of weeks. But it’s important that no one speak to the media except for Ms. Moore and myself. In a case like this, when someone starts asking questions, simply tell them that you’d be happy to take a message. Do you understand?”
Janie nodded. “I did take a message, and she wants you to call her back. Her number is on the paper.”
As they made their way down the hall, Brodie said, “I’ll take care of Truvy.”
Caitlyn handed him the number and quirked a brow. “She’d probably rather talk to you, anyway. Work your charm.”
Brodie took her proffered paper with Truvy’s number. “But before I take care of this, how about if I make us a seven-thirty reservation at the Cantina?”
“That sounds wonderful,” she said.
Brodie pulled her inside his office and covered her mouth with a kiss.
When Caitlyn came up for air, she pulled back and looked at him with dreamy eyes.
“We really do have to stop doing that at work. Janie might walk in without knocking.”
Brodie narrowed his eyes at her. “I thought Janie usually buzzed you when she needed you.”
“Well, yeah, there’s that, but you never know when she might surprise us and walk in.”
Brodie reached out and picked up a strand of Caitlyn’s hair and started twirling it around his finger.
“Go,” Caitlyn said. Make our dinner reservation and then make us look good for Truvy. In the meantime, I’m going to finish up the outline for the Red, White and Blue team days.”
The workers had been divided into three groups of Red, White and Blue teams, and they would each have a day where they could bring a guest to enjoy themselves in the park. Afterward, each person would come to a debriefing meeting and rate their experience. It was like a soft, soft opening, with a report card, done by the workers out on the front lines. They’d use this exercise to work out the first kinks. The exercise was also designed to make the employees buy into this sense of ownership and experience firsthand the expectations of Moore Entertainment.
Brodie came in to tell her about his call with Truvy, which had been pretty standard—she had seen the roller coaster stall and wanted to know if that would have an impact on the park’s opening. He told her absolutely not.
He had other news for Caitlyn, too. His aunt Jeanne Marie called and asked them if they could stop by around five-thirty. She wanted to talk to them about their plan to get on the agenda for next week’s town meeting. There was no time to waste and since Brodie’s aunt had made time for them, Caitlyn certainly wanted to meet with her while they had the chance. Who knew if she would have time before the meeting?
Besides, their reservation at the Cantina wasn’t until later. Of course, meeting with Jeanne Marie meant that Caitlyn wouldn’t have time to go home and freshen up before dinner, but hearing what Jeanne Marie had to say was more important.
By five-thirty they were sitting at the trestle table in Jeanne Marie’s spacious kitchen.
“Where’s Mum and everyone else?” Brodie asked.
Jeanne Marie had brewed a pitcher of fresh sweet tea, which she served to them over ice, with lemon rounds and sprigs of aromatic fresh mint.
“Orlando Mendoza drove your mother to Lubbock because she had some shopping to do.” Jeanne Marie lifted a brow. “She seems to have that man wrapped around her little finger these days.”
“Yes, I noticed they seemed quite chummy at the barbecue,” Brodie said. “What’s going on there?”
Caitlyn sipped the cool beverage and realized she was a little nervous. The scent of the lemon and mint was soothing, but it didn’t completely cure her jitters. This woman could help smooth the way for them...or not.
Never mind Caitlyn’s personal plea about the place being so important to her ailing father, Jeanne Marie’s own nephew was working so hard to make sure the park opened to rave reviews. Because of that alone, when Caitlyn had left the barbecue last week, she’d been under the impression that the Fortunes’ hardline stance toward Cowboy Country had softened.
Caitlyn hadn’t been surprised by their perceived change of heart.
Now she wasn’t so sure, but she guessed they were about to find out.
“Who knows what’s going on between them—if anything.” Jeanne Marie sipped her tea. “Your mother insists they’re just friends, but they’re texting all the time like a couple of teenagers. It’s ridiculous.”
The corners of Brodie’s eyes slanted Caitlyn a glance. The left corner of his mouth curved up, and there were those dimples.
Her heart kicked up a little two-step as she remembered the way he’d kissed her senseless in the park today.
Oh, Caitlyn. Stop it. This woman could make or break your chances for time in front of the city council, and here you are lusting over her nephew. So inappropriate.
“But that’s not why I asked you to come over here today,” the older woman said. “We need to get down to business and talk about this plan of yours to speak to the city council. I have to leave here for my canasta club in a few minutes. I wish I could offer to make you some dinner, but I don’t have time.”
“That’s okay, Auntie. I appreciate the thought, but we’re going out to din
ner after we leave here.”
Jeanne Marie’s face brightened. “Are you, really? Together? As in a dinner date?”
Brodie’s brows knit together. “Let’s stay on topic, shall we? Since you’re pressed for time.”
Jeanne Marie eyed Caitlyn and Brodie with satisfaction for a moment, before she became all business again. “So tell me, what exactly do you hope to accomplish by doing that?”
“We’re tired of being the five-hundred-pound gorilla in the middle of the room that no one wants to talk about,” Brodie said.
“Oh, they’re all talking about you,” Jeanne Marie said. “I’m just not so sure they want to talk to you.”
Caitlyn’s heart sank. “Forgive me if I’m being presumptuous, but I thought you’d changed your mind about Cowboy Country.”
Jeanne Marie sighed and traced her fingernail over a grain in the wooden tabletop. “I understand where you’re coming from and, if truth be told, I admire how this project is important to you because it’s important to your daddy. The Fortunes are all about sticking up for family. However, it’s not as simple as my liking it or not. The city council doesn’t give a pig’s snout about my opinion.”
Brodie drummed his fingers on the table. “I don’t believe that for one minute. You and Uncle Deke carry a lot of influence in this town. In fact, aren’t a couple of the council members related to you...to us, I mean?”
Jeanne Marie nodded. “But they certainly don’t come to me for counsel. If your plan is to go to the citizens of Horseback Hollow with your hat in your hand asking them to love you, I don’t want you to be under the false assumption that their minds will be as easily changed as the family’s.”
Caitlyn knew she was grasping at straws, but had Jeanne Marie just admitted that she and the Fortunes—at least those in her immediate family—supported Cowboy Country? That’s what she heard, and that’s what she decided she was going to focus on...the positive.
“No, we’re not going there asking them to love us,” Caitlyn assured her. “Everything I said to you about wanting to be a good neighbor is absolutely sincere and true. What Brodie and I hope to accomplish in that meeting is we want to show them how we’ll do that, how we can help. Cowboy doesn’t want to take anything from Horseback Hollow. We want to give back to the community in the ways that I mentioned last week at dinner and even more.”
My Fair Fortune Page 11