My Fair Fortune

by Nancy Robards Thompson

  “Don’t worry, Dad.”

  “I’m not. Because I know that you know that the best medicine you could give me would be a park that’s up and running.”

  And what was she supposed to say to that?

  * * *

  It was exactly what Brodie had feared would happen. Even if they needed to keep things strictly business, he’d hoped that they could at least be friends.

  For two weeks, they’d been running at opposite ends, only discussing business matters. Strictly avoiding all things personal.

  She’d gone rogue on him.

  She’d cost him his bonus.

  She’d cost him his mind.

  But the thing that scared him the most was when he realized he had given up the bonus for her by not overriding her off-the-cuff offer of free admission for the residents of Horseback Hollow.

  He could’ve done it. Alden Moore had assigned him the authority to do whatever it took to get that park open and off to a profitable start.

  He could have vetoed her getaway.

  The only reason he hadn’t disputed Caitlyn was because he hadn’t wanted to embarrass her in front of the entire town of Horseback Hollow.

  And that meant he was going soft.

  He never should have kissed her atop that stalled roller coaster. He certainly never should have made love to her that night and then spent most of the next week with her, but it had felt so right. Obviously, his brain had been addled.

  It’s just that no matter where he was with Caitlyn, it seemed to feel like home, and here they were the day before the opening, and they were still at odds with each other.

  It was probably for the best—as long as it didn’t get in the way of business. He would be leaving soon. He’d been away from the London office for far too long. This project had been so demanding there was no way he was going to leave here without another success neatly cataloged for Hayes Consulting.

  He realized with a start that he’d neglected to book his plane ticket home. He’d have to ask Janie to do that for him when he got back into the office. Right now he had matters to tend to. He needed to do a final walk-through to make sure everything was in place for tomorrow.

  Actually, he and Caitlyn should be doing this walk-through together. Today he’d only caught glimpses of her here and there as she bustled about taking care of the matters that had turned up during the three days of the Red, White and Blue Extravaganza.

  He silently congratulated himself for coming up with such an interactive plan that gave the employees reason to take ownership. Of course a few feathers had been ruffled in the process of smoothing things out, but this was no time for the rank-and-file to take things personally. He needed everyone to take things seriously. If that meant losing those who refused to do so, well, so be it.

  They’d only lost five employees in the process—three had gotten upset and quit when he’d gone to them with the tickets their peers had filled out detailing gum chewing, slow service and basic incompetence. He’d had to fire two: one woman had taken a two-hour lunch break, but had only clocked out for a half hour; and a guy who’d worked in the General Store had eaten a pound of fudge without paying for it. Caitlyn had taken issue with his decision about letting the guy go. She’d sided with him because he had claimed there was a certain amount of fudge to be given out as samples. No one had told him he could not indulge. So he’d eaten an entire pound over the span of one shift. Right in front of his coworkers.

  Apparently, no one told him taking candy without paying for it was stealing.

  Caitlyn had argued that they should do a better job at making the rules clear. Since they hadn’t communicated properly, she thought the guy should be given a second warning. But Brodie had used his veto power and insisted that they make an example of the guy. It would be a lesson that the entire workforce could learn from.

  Caitlyn had looked at him as if he were a monster and simply walked away. But not before she said, “It’s your conscience. This one is on you.”

  Damned if that little dig didn’t hit home, because it seemed as if she had delivered it with a double meaning.

  She was right, actually, about the personal part. The second time they’d made love was on his conscience. He should’ve known better. He’d broken his own rule of not getting involved with clients.

  Now he was paying the price.

  Brodie stopped to inspect a stack of T-shirts that had been haphazardly plopped on a four-sided shelving unit at the front of one of the gift shops. He was just about to call one of the shop attendants over so that he could demonstrate the correct way to fold and display merchandise, when Caitlyn walked around the corner and nearly ran into him.

  “There you are,” she said. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  His stomach dropped before he’d had a chance to put up his guard. He had to be careful because the woman had that effect on him.

  “You could’ve called me,” he said and immediately regretted it because it sounded so personal. He straightened his shoulders—he certainly hadn’t meant it to be personal. Although he did miss talking to her. He missed their banter, the way she challenged him.

  Well, actually, he didn’t miss being challenged. Not at work. But what little leisure time he’d had over the past two weeks had been quite dull since the two of them had taken a step back.

  Of course, he’d been so busy all he’d have time for was to grab food on the go and fall into bed at night, exhausted—and alone.

  In his weakest moments he missed holding her, he missed the way she fit so perfectly into his arms, and he missed her smell. How could he have grown so fond of someone after only a week of intimacy? Well, really this thing had been brewing since the wedding in February. But back then he never thought he’d see her again. Now even the thought of their nights together had him breathing in a little deeper as she stood in front of him.

  Today, her long, dark hair was twisted off her neck. She wore a green blouse that skimmed her curves and brought out the emerald shade of her eyes. And apparently she’d just asked him a question, and he had no idea what she’d said.

  “Brodie, did you hear me?”

  His blank look must’ve said it all because she frowned and said, “I’ve been over at the Wild West Show for the past hour, and things are not going well. During rehearsal, the horses weren’t cooperating. One keeps raring up and the others just seem spooked. It seems that the horses are not adapting. They’re still getting spooked by the gunshot sounds.”

  “What happened? Everything was going so well. I thought they had all the kinks worked out.”

  “Well, they don’t. Some of the horses are acting very skittish. They might need more time to adjust to the sound of the gunshots in the show. I know you’re not going to like this, but since the Twin Rattlers ride is still not operational and now with the kinks in this show—those are two of our biggest attractions. I think we need to delay the opening until we have everything under control. Or at least delay the opening of the Wild West Show. My gut is telling me we’re not even ready for a soft opening.”

  “Come on, let’s walk look over there,” Brodie suggested. His sister-in-law-to-be, Amber Rogers, was in the show. If anyone knew horses, it was Amber. She was a professional-level rider. She’d won rodeos, exemplified grace under pressure. If anyone could help them make this work, Amber could do it.

  Caitlyn was a bundle of nerves. He could see it in her face, in the absence of her smile, the set of her jaw. The urge to pull her into his arms and kiss away all the tension that was etched in her beautiful face was nearly overpowering.

  And it was further proof that he needed to keep his distance.

  “I just don’t see how we can delay, Caitlyn. We have media from all over the country lined up to tour the park, and we can’t postpone at this late date. That in and of itself would guarantee the worst type of publicity. Not to mention, there is the small fact that we have all those comp tickets outstanding. Explain that one to the community.”

/>   He couldn’t look at her. It was a jerky thing to say—even if it was the truth—and his voice sounded harsher than it should have. He hated himself for it. Yet he couldn’t seem to stop pushing her away.

  “So under no circumstances will we delay the scheduled opening. The purpose of a soft opening is that it’s a dress rehearsal—a chance to work through the kinks.”

  “I understand what you’re saying,” she said. “But in a sense, this will be the fourth dress rehearsal since we had three days of practice with the Red, White and Blue teams, and we still don’t have our act together. Don’t you think the bad publicity derived from opening before we’re ready will be worse than if we postpone?”

  He shook his head. “We will just have to push through this and not let nerves get the best of us.”

  She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “So this is what it comes down to? You’re the one with all the power? You’re the one who makes the final call? I get no say in what happens to my father’s business?”

  “I am simply abiding by the letter of the contract that I have with your father. My reputation is at stake here, Caitlyn. I have to do what I think is best. I can’t manage by my gut—there’s no room in business for that. I have to go by facts and figures. I’m sorry.”

  “Wow. Thanks for that.” He could almost see the anger radiating off her in waves. “Let’s go see that Wild West show. Maybe you’ll be able to pick up some additional tips on other ways to ride roughshod over anyone who gets in your way.”

  This is why you don’t get involved, man.

  Maybe if he said that to himself enough, he would be able to apply it to Caitlyn.

  Deep inside a voice said, Nope. Not going to happen.

  He had an idiotic flash of fantasy that maybe after all the madness was over they could talk things out and try to make things work. But then reality came crashing down. He’d go back to Hayes Consulting’s headquarters in London, and she would go back to her research in Chicago. Neither one could give up their lives for the other.

  “You know, I’m not doing this to hurt you,” he said. “This is business, Caitlyn. This is not personal. Your father has certain expectations. And I need his endorsement for a potential project I hope to line up down the road.”

  “Let’s just go watch the show,” Caitlyn said, bitterness in her tone. “Don’t patronize me.”

  They walked in silence to the ring that housed the Wild West Show. Even before they got there they could hear the horses whinnying and snorting. And it didn’t sound good.

  The director, Tom, nodded as he saw Caitlyn and Brodie approach the sidelines.

  “Places, everyone,” he said to the performers. “Let’s take it from the top.”

  When everybody was on their marks, the director called, “Action!”

  Even as the riders began to steer their horses into place, Brodie could see that some of the talent was having difficulty. Some of the animals seemed skittish and uncomfortable.

  “Cut! Cut!”

  Brodie leaned over and whispered, “Do we have other horses we could try instead of the ones that are so nervous?”

  “We do have backups, but don’t you think the director and the animal trainers have already thought of that?”

  “So basically what you’re saying is we’re stuck with these animals? We have to make it work?”

  “The backup horses might work if we altered the show, or at least that’s what Tom was telling me.” Caitlyn motioned toward the director, who was sitting in a chair on the side of the ring. “But even so, it would call for new routine blocking and new rehearsals to get everything down. Brodie, what you don’t seem to understand is that these are animals. Sometimes they don’t follow orders. They are often unpredictable, and sometimes no matter how you try you cannot control them. They have feelings and minds of their own.”

  Feelings?

  The way she was looking at him, tempted him to ask if she was talking about the animals or...them. But then a gunshot blasted, and the big white stallion that Amber was riding reared up onto its back legs, came down hard, lost its balance, throwing Amber.

  Demonstrating her experience, Amber Rogers managed to throw her small body in the opposite direction of the giant animal.

  “Amber! Are you okay?” Everyone shouted the words at the same time and rushed over to tend to her. But she didn’t pay any attention. All she wanted to do was get to her horse and soothe him.

  Amber was visibly upset, and Caitlyn hurried over to comfort her.

  All Brodie could hear was bits and pieces of what they were saying.

  “I know,” Caitlyn said. “I told him...” The tones of the conversation drifted lower, and he couldn’t hear the rest of what they were saying, but he was certain they weren’t saying nice things about him and his decision to open as scheduled with as many full shows running as possible.

  Brodie dragged his hand over his face. He was beginning to question his decision—but still believed that opening on schedule was in Moore Entertainment’s best interests. And Brodie never failed to do as he promised. Still...

  He walked over to Amber and Caitlyn. “Are you okay, Amber?”

  “I’m fine, but I’m worried about my horse,” Amber said, visibly upset. “Brodie, I have to second what Caitlyn is suggesting about not opening the show tomorrow. We aren’t ready and the horses still need to get acclimated—”

  “I’ll tell you what,” Brodie said. “You go ahead and keep rehearsing, and we will see how things are tomorrow.”

  Amber nodded but didn’t look much happier. But Brodie had to commend her for being a team player.

  He might be the most unpopular guy in Cowboy Country right now, but they were going to open this park on time. Because he had already bet the good name of Hayes Consulting on it.

  Chapter Twelve

  With the cut of a giant red ribbon stretched across the Cowboy Country USA gates, the park was officially open for business.

  And it had opened on time.

  Brodie breathed a giant sigh of relief as he and Caitlyn shook hands with the mayor of Horseback Hollow, the town council and a frail-looking Alden Moore, who had come for the opening ceremony.

  “Did you see that crowd gathered outside the gates this morning?” he asked Alden, who had given the opening address, thanking the citizens of Horseback Hollow for making this day possible and, with Caitlyn’s help, had done the honor of cutting the ribbon with the giant gold-painted scissors.

  “I did,” Alden said. “I did, indeed. Hayes, you did a fabulous job. Worth every penny I spent on you.”

  The older gentleman laughed, but it turned into a wheeze that turned into a coughing fit. He put a hand up to his chest and leaned on his daughter.

  “Dad, I know this is a big day,” said Caitlyn. “But you really shouldn’t overdo it.”

  Caitlyn slanted a glance at her mother, who looked just as elegant as always, dressed in a feminine spring suit and pearls. Somehow the dressy ensemble didn’t seem out of place at a cowboy-themed amusement park. Elegance and refinement seemed to run in the blood of Moore women.

  Even Caitlyn, who was dressed in a crisp white button-down blouse tucked into low-slung khakis with a cordovan leather belt that lay just perfectly on her slim hips, looked effortlessly cool and chic.

  Ah, hell. Who is he kidding? He had never seen anyone make a white Brooks Brothers button-down look downright sexy. His heart gave a regretful squeeze.

  Brodie had to hand it to her. Yesterday she had been nearly overwrought with nerves and trepidation about opening the park today. Looking at her now, you would never know that she had been ready to reschedule everything. But her ability to be a team player and remain calm when it really mattered were two of the things that Brodie admired so much about her.

  “Alden, I couldn’t have pulled this off without your daughter.”

  And then the strangest thing happened. If looks could have killed, Caitlyn had pinned him with one meant to take his head off. She
didn’t say a word. She didn’t need to; her expression said it all.

  But what?

  Why had she taken such offense?

  Thank God, Truvy Jennings chose that moment to ask for a group photo. Caitlyn’s beautiful features softened into her professional smile as Alden, Barbara, Caitlyn and he posed for the camera.

  “Truvy, I’d like to introduce you to Alden Moore and his wife, Barbara. Alden is the founder and CEO of Moore Entertainment.”

  “Are you the one who ran the story about the Twin Rattlers’ malfunction?” Alden asked.

  The reporter nodded sheepishly.

  “Well, Truvy, you may actually have done us a favor by running that article,” Alden said. “Because that meant we had to give you something positive to write about next time. I know you’ll do us proud. Won’t you?”

  “If everything is as fabulous on the inside as it was during the opening ceremony, I’m sure I will have many great things to say,” Truvy said.

  Brodie spoke into his walkie-talkie, calling for the media specialist he had assigned to accompany her around the park. “I have someone who will make sure you get the VIP treatment today.”

  The woman laughed and blushed and shook everyone’s hand one more time before she disappeared into the park with her guide.

  Putty in our hands.

  Moments later, Alden and Barbara said their goodbyes—he would come back to the park on another day. In so many words, he admitted that the excitement of the opening ceremonies had pushed him to his limits—at least for today.

  Now, armed with walkie-talkies, Brodie and Caitlyn stood face-to-face in the midst of the people milling about, gathering their families, getting their tickets and making plans of how to best see the park.

  “Are you okay?” Brodie asked. He reached out to place a hand on her arm, but she flinched and pulled away.

  “Don’t. I’m fine.” She raised her chin a notch, as if proving as much. “I will take my post at the back half of the park. You’re going to cover the front half, right?”

  The edge in her voice was chilly, but her words and demeanor were strictly professional. Two coworkers coming together for a common cause that had nothing to do with anything personal.