He’d rested his head on them more than once when he’d still been drinking. Right after Kendra left town sixteen months ago and three days ago. Not an excuse, just a fact.
Rob said, “I’m gonna order pizza. Any requests?”
“Ham and pineapple,” both twins said at once.
“And some wings on the side,” Kiley said. “And tell ‘em not to be stingy with the blue cheese.”
Kendra grinned, but snapped her mouth straight again.
Rob texted in the pizza order, then inclined his head toward the kitchen and Dax followed him out there. Rob poured tea from a glass pitcher shaped a lot like his wife, over ice in tall glasses. After he’d closed the fridge, he handed a glass to Dax.
“I’m gonna ask you a favor,” he said. “And it’s a big one.”
“And it has to do with Kendra,” Dax replied as his hand closed around the cold, dewy glass.
“Yeah.”
“I ever mention that my sponsor thinks I need to avoid her the way I avoid alcohol?”
“If there’s any chance this would push you off the wagon, Dax—”
“You don’t get pushed off the wagon, and you don’t fall off it either. You jump. It’s a choice, and it’s one I don’t intend on making.” He hadn’t had a drink since last December, and he was kind of excited about that first anniversary. “What do you want me to do?”
“Keep an eye on Kendra, that’s all.”
“Why not say what you really mean, Rob? You want me to pretend I’m into her again, and get close enough to find out what she’s up to.”
Rob made an exaggerated frown. “I’d never ask you to do anything dishonest. You know me better than that.”
It was true, Rob was probably the most honest man in town.
“But I think we both know you wouldn’t be pretending.”
“That’s a low blow, Rob.”
Rob nodded. “I don’t know why she’s here. Why now, with the baby due any time? And could it have anything to do with her father?”
“What would it have to do with him?” Dax asked.
Rob said, “She messed up his plan to swindle a half million from the townsfolk of Big Falls. Made her a local hero to them. Made her an enemy to him. And he’s not a nice man.”
“I don’t think even Jack Kellogg would hurt his own daughter,” Dax said. “And even if he did, there’s no way Kendra would help.” He took a long drink from the tall, dewy glass, then shook his head. “She might be bad to the bone, Rob, but she loves her sister.”
“But we both know Kiley isn’t why she’s here. Don’t we?”
Dax sighed. “I’m not gonna lie to her.” Then he shrugged. “But you’re right. I won’t have to. Truth is, I’m as curious as you are about what she’s doing back here.” He felt the craving for a stiff drink start writhing around in that spot above his stomach but below his ribs. That’s just my most deadly weakness waking up. I’m stronger than a weakness. And he changed the subject in his mind to the one most likely to distract him, Kendra. He now had a slightly more noble-feeling reason to be around her. Convenient how that ended the inner battle he’d been waging, with part of him telling himself to stay as far away from her as possible, and another part wanting to be with her as much as he could before she floated away again, like a dandelion seed on a summer breeze.
Rob had become his best friend. Kiley could be in danger, and her baby, too. Jack Kellogg was a criminal who’d done serious time in a serious prison. And he was furious with his daughter. The good one.
Kendra had helped Kiley, though. In the end, she’d chosen the right side. Impossible to say whether she’d make the same choice again. She was angry at being kept in the dark about the impending arrival of her niece. The daughter of her twin, which seemed to make it even worse, somehow. He didn’t blame her for being pissed about that. But he knew Kendra Kellogg well enough to know, you can never really know Kendra Kellogg. Or what she might do if she felt like her back was to the wall.
If he had to walk the razor’s edge with Kendra to keep Rob’s two girls safe, then that’s what he was going to do. Get close to her again, only this time it would be him running a game on her. He was going to find out why she was really in town and what Jack Kellogg knew.
It would be like dancing with a bottle of fine Jim Beam and not taking a sip.
He couldn’t take even a little taste of Kendra, or he’d fall into that bottle of her headfirst. And he had a feeling he’d never get back out.
#
Kendra was pacing her corner room, surprised the noise from below was so muffled. Just a dull din, almost a hum. And yet The Long Branch was packed, mostly with tourists. It was after nine p.m. and the activity was on the upswing. More and more sets of headlights slowed and angled as cars filled the parking lot. Business must be booming.
Her room was at a back corner, so the headlights didn’t glare straight through into her eyes. She only saw them when gazing out the window.
Someone had redone the guest rooms since she’d been here last. They used to be plain bordering on Spartan. But this one, at least, was all dressed up in an old-time theme that fit with the old west motif downstairs. There were hurricane lamps and bed curtains, a washstand with an antique bowl and pitcher made of white porcelain with pink roses and gold edging, all spider-webbed with age. The wallpaper had roses too, vertical rows of them. Cream colored curtains hung in four windows with pink satin tiebacks hooked around brass holders. Each holder had a round inset, white ceramic with pink roses. Behind the curtains, there were window shades with lace edges, their color meant to look age-yellowed.
Portraits of times gone by graced the walls in antique frames with thick but spotless glass. Black and white prints, enlarged from the original tin types. A man with a moustache that drooped lower than his chin and solemn eyes. A cowboy posing beside his painted pony. His face was a stone mountain range, his scowl-for-the-camera, given away by the dimple pulling at one cheek.
It was a busy room. She’d like it a lot better with the lights off.
What was she going to do? Dax was fighting her too hard. Yes, he’d come along with her to Kiley’s place, but reluctantly, and he’d been keeping a minimum of three feet of space between them at all times. Sure, she’d win him over eventually, but she didn’t have that kind of time.
She stopped pacing and looked at the bed. Modern comforter, white with roses. If she had to look at one more rose, she’d puke. She yanked the comforter off the bed, wadded it up, and hurled it into a corner with a growl that sounded vaguely like gruck groses!
Knock knock knock. “You okay in there?” Dax called.
“It’s open.”
The knob turned, door opened. He stuck his head through and looked around. “You got a bear in here with you?”
She grinned. Then she laughed. He’d pulled the plug, and her frustration was draining away. “No bear.”
He came the rest of the way in, closed the door behind him, and looked around. “Wow. I’m really glad this isn’t the room they let me dry out in after my last bender.”
“You had a bender?”
He nodded. “I’d been drinking way too much for way too long. And I knew it. I was riding a train off a cliff and didn’t have the brains to get off before it went over. And then it did.”
She lowered her head. “After what I did to you.”
“A drunk can always find a reason to drink. You were mine, but if you hadn’t been, something else would have, sooner or later.”
“I’m sorry, you know. I never felt bad about a mark before, but you… I’d undo it if I could. But that would mean we’d never have had that time together.”
He lowered his head, not looking into her eyes. “That time together was you running a con.”
She nodded. “It was also the best time of my life.” She held up both hands when he shot her a look that was almost accusing. “No game. That’s the truth. I regret taking that money from you. I really do.”
He lowered hi
s head. “Yeah, well, I’m not blameless. I mean, come on, a kidney transplant? Out of the blue like that? I wanted to believe you, even when I knew better. I knew when I handed you that cash. On some level, I knew.”
“You can’t take the blame for what I did.”
“I can at least admit that I was a willing participant.”
“So…” They were playing tag with their eyes and she was it. “Are you saying I’m forgiven?”
“Ninety-nine percent forgiven. I’m holding back a point for when you pay it back.”
She blinked and pulled in her chin. “You think I’m gonna pay it back?”
“I think it’s the right thing to do.”
“Uh-uh. No way. You just stood there and took the blame for being conned.”
“You said—” he countered, but she held up a hand.
“Fifty percent. I’m half to blame, you’re half to blame. Chalk your half up to a learning experience. I’ll pay you back my half. Eventually.” She turned her hand sideways. “Deal?”
“I like you when you’re being your legitimate self, you know that?”
She thrust her hand at him. “Deal?”
“Deal.” His hand enveloped hers completely in warmth and restrained power. She’d always loved Dax Russell’s big strong hands.
He closed his eyes, took a breath, and let go.
“So… now what?” she asked.
He looked at her, then at the bed. “I um…I don’t…”
“Not that kind of now what. I meant, why are you here, in my room?”
“Oh, right.” He smiled in what looked like real relief and said, “I thought you might want to see The Twig.”
She glanced at his zipper and said, “Is that what you’re calling it these days?” He was blushing before she gave him a wink to let him know she was kidding. “I knew what you meant. And yes, I’m dying to see what Joey’s got going out there.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were standing beside a carbon copy of The Long Branch, about a third the size of the original. Its overhead sign spelled out “The Twig” in the same western font. Dax opened a metal panel on the outside wall, flipped a lever, and the place lit up like Christmas, inside and out. Tall lights on poles aimed down from above, and he took her hand like it was an ordinary thing to do and tugged her a few trotting steps away from the building.
“Mini-golf course,” he said, pointing. The obstacles were bucking broncos and bad guys, saloon doors and a jailbreak scene. Everything cowboy.
She barely had time to see all that before he led her around to the back of the building, pointing out a wide area that looked like a ghost town. There were one-dimensional store fronts with fake broken windows and missing doors, broken fences, empty watering troughs, square bales of hay stacked here and there.
“Paintball course,” he told her. Then he kept going around to the right of the building, on the side nearest The Long Branch. It was a worn patch of dirt with a wide path winding around it. “Racetrack. There’s a fleet of little electric cars.” He pointed and she spotted eight mini-cars parked along one side of the track inside a locked paddock.
“Did you help Joey plan the racetrack?” she asked.
“No, no, he came up with it all himself. He and Emily. You have her to thank for all the roses in your room by the way. She’s very into decorating and themes.”
“Oh. Yeah, it’s uh…a lot of roses.”
“It is. She did a few rooms cowboy themed. They’re not as bad.”
He pulled out a keyring and started to unlock the door. She said, “I only asked if you planned the racetrack because of your years working at one. The one your father owns. Or owned, I guess.”
He paused in unlocking the door, blinked twice, then swallowed hard, finished unlocking it, and swung it open. “The big room on the left here,” he leaned in, flipped a light switch. “contains the ball pit and bounce house.” She looked past him, gave a nod. He turned that light off and moved on. “The whole back of the building is an arcade.” Again, he leaned in and flipped the light switch. Rows and rows of arcade games five deep and four wide, took up every bit of available space. He shut the light off. The room they were in held a service counter, and the space behind it, a walk-in cooler.
“This is where you rent your equipment for the games, buy tokens for the arcade, and get soft drinks and snacks, including soft-serve ice cream. Dips and sprinkles are extra.”
She nodded her approval. “Nobody spends money like a parent,” she said. “This is gonna be a goldmine. Hell, between what Joe’s doing here and Holiday Ranch, Big Falls is going to start being a destination for low-key, kid-friendly fun.”
“Not to mention the birthday party business,” Dax said. “Joey put a lot into it, but I think it’ll pay off, if he figured out how to promote it properly.”
She nodded, and this time as they went back outside, him turning off lights on the way, she took hold of his hand as he locked the door behind them. “Seems like Joey’s found his calling,” she said softly. “Kiley and Rob, too.” She tugged him around the building, found the control panel, turned the lever off, and closed the lid. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Have you found your calling?”
“Working with horses. Training them. That’s what I love doing best.”
“And what about the track? Your dad’s business. It’s yours now, isn’t it?” She searched his face as he stood there, stone silent. Then she widened her eyes and said, “He didn’t disinherit you, did he? Because of me?”
So her visit wasn’t about Kiley at all. It was about the track and the fortune that came with it. Dax stood there, trying to work out the best answer, but it was impossible, because he was reeling. He shouldn’t be. He knew her. He’d figured she was here for a reason. He’d just been hoping he was wrong.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
He’d believed the emotion in her eyes when she’d been with her sister, and the empathy in them when she talked about his father’s death. But her mention of the track just blew the cover off her lies.
In a kneejerk reaction, he decided to repay deception with deception and said, “Yes. He disinherited me.”
She frowned as if that didn’t quite compute, and then plastered on a look of sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Dax.”
“I’m not. I don’t mind at all. I like my life just fine.” And he did. And he figured that probably answered the question that had been plaguing him ever since he’d watched his old man die. What to do about the inheritance. Now he knew. He’d meant what he’d said. He didn’t want it, and it was a load off his mind to know that for sure. He still couldn’t refuse it until he’d found whatever surprises were hiding in the books and figured out a way to protect his mother from the repercussions of them. But at least he knew for sure that he didn’t want it.
She lowered her head. He thought he saw disappointment in her eyes, but she was so good at hiding her feelings that he didn’t get a long enough glimpse of it to be sure. When she lifted it again, her eyes were bright and her smile was counterfeit. She changed the subject with ease. “It’s odd being back home again. My sister being a pillar of the community now. Me, too, by extension. That’s just…it’s weird.”
“I meant to ask about that. You’re using your own name now. Last time you were here, you were pretending to be dead.”
“Oh, that. Yeah, that’s all cleared up.”
“Cleared up? They made faking your own death legal, and I missed the memo?”
She nodded. “Dad convinced the cop on the case that it was an accident. That I’d run away from the halfway house before the fire and wasn’t aware one of the bodies had been identified as my own.”
“And the cop believed it?”
“No, but Dad also had photos of him in some pretty compromising positions with a whore, so…” She shrugged.
God, that family of hers.
“Kiley said that if you were pretending to be dead, you must
have had a good reason. She suspected someone dangerous was after you.”
She shrugged. “Mmm.”
“Mmm? What kind of an answer is that?”
She shrugged. “I dated a guy who turned all stalker on me, and I got scared. Whatever, it’s history now. You know what I’d like? I’d like to go riding. Here I am in Big Falls with a brother-in-law who has a whole herd of horses and a…friend…who’s an expert trainer. I almost have to go riding, don’t I?”
“You almost have to,” he agreed.
“Will you take me?” She tipped her head up and made her eyes as Disney princess as possible.
His internal reaction was to go warm and gooey. His brain was the only part of him still onto her lies. “You really want me to take you riding, even now that you know I’m not gonna inherit a nickel?”
Her smile died. Her eyes turned wounded. “I guess I deserved that.” She looked at the ground. “I’m sure Rob will take me if I ask.” Heaving a gigantic sigh, she started back toward The Long Branch. “Thanks for showing me this. I’ll see you around.”
She walked away.
And he let her go.
For about a hundred steps. He counted them. And then he ran to catch up to her and said, “I’m heading out to the ranch anyway in the morning. Come out around eight?”
Her smile was as bright as a supernova. “I can’t wait.”
CHAPTER FOUR
As she stood in the fragrant stable watching hay dust dance in a beam of morning sunlight, Dax saddled a pair of horses for them. Kendra still couldn’t believe it. Sweet, kind, loyal, honest Dax Russell was lying to her.
Lying.
To her.
He was his father’s heir.
Nealand Russel had only died a couple of days ago, though. They’d just had the funeral day before yesterday. Dax had attended with his mother, and taken the next flight home. Kendra wasn’t supposed to know those things, but she did. The will probably hadn’t even been looked at yet by anyone other than the lawyers, who’d probably torn into it before the old man finished his final breath. Greedy bastards. She hated lawyers.
Shine On Oklahoma Page 3