by Taylor Lee
TARA
Book 2: The Trouble Sisters Saga
By
Taylor Lee
TARA
Book 2: The Trouble Sisters Saga
Trouble with a Capital T
By
Taylor Lee
She’s a brash newspaper editor and declared environmental activist.
He’s an arrogant land developer.
A broken elevator forces them to confront each other, not as diehard adversaries, but as a man and a woman.
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TARA: Book Two; The Trouble Sisters Saga
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Chapter 1
I have a question for you, Mr. Black. Why did you decide to come to Cochise County to build your development? Did you run out of pristine land to rape in Colorado?”
Griffin Black turned to see the source of the insulting inquiry, but before he could respond, Mayor Watcher, his florid face flushing a dangerous shade of purple, leapt in front of him.
Glaring at the woman who’d stepped toward them as they entered the lobby of the Whispering Pines Motel, the mayor made an obvious effort to respond in a jovial tone. “Now, now, Tara, there’s no need to be nasty. We don’t want our special guests to think that Sierra Vista is a backwater, inhospitable city, now do we, missy?” Glancing at the uniformed men standing off to the side of the room, he added ominously, “Besides, Tara, this is a private party. Please don’t make me ask these officers to—”
Cutting off the mayor’s threat with a dismissive wave of her hand, the young woman said coolly, “As you know, Mayor Watcher, my name is Tara Trouble. When you refer to me, please call me by my correct name.” Turning from the flushed mayor, she pinned a hard gaze on Griffin. “May I presume, Mr. Black, that you are capable of answering my question and do not require assistance from our obsequious mayor to respond?” Ignoring the mayor’s outraged gasp, she nodded to the officers, who were making an effort to contain their amusement, and addressed the fulminating mayor with a flippant shrug. “And, Mayor Watcher, I’ll take my chances with the representatives of the Cochise County sheriff’s office. The last time I checked, we have freedom of speech in Cochise County, and I presume I won’t be arrested for exercising that right.”
Griffin Black stepped forward and put up his hand, stopping the bristling mayor’s stuttering response. Turning the full force of his narrowed gaze on the tall, blonde woman who was meeting his gaze with a frown of her own, he said pleasantly, “That was a challenging question you asked, Ms. Trouble.” He allowed his lips to quirk up in a momentary grin, but seeing her chin rise a good two inches and her frown deepen, he decided that humor was not going to defuse this standoff. Instead, not hiding his displeasure, he added carefully, “Ignoring the hostile tone of your inquiry, let me simply say that I don’t accept the premise of your question.”
Turning to the group of clearly embarrassed local dignitaries, he motioned toward the private dining room. “Please, gentlemen, my team and I are understandably hungry after our flight. I’m eager to take advantage of your hospitality and the opportunity to tell you more about our plans for Shadow Peaks, the name we gave to the innovative development we are planning to build in your impressive county.”
As he ushered the chagrined welcoming committee into the dining room, he murmured to Magnus Armstrong, his second-in-command, “Find out who the fuck she is and how she got into this private meeting.”
Armstrong snorted. “Unfortunately, I already know who she is and you will soon. She happens to be a rabid environmental activist who puts the Earth Liberation Front to shame. As she indicated, she equates land development with rape.” He met Griffin’s frown and added, “Oh, and among her other credentials, she’s the hard-driving editor of the Sierra Vista Gazette. Which, as you will discover, is as close to a Greenpeace rag as you’re likely to find in this otherwise conservative Old West world we’ve ventured into. And incidentally, the only newspaper in this outback county.”
Obviously seeing Griffin’s annoyance, Magnus blew out a guffaw that might have been a laugh but was mirthless at best. “You may have noticed that she wasn’t intimidated by us and that the uniforms on the sidelines didn’t rankle her either. That might be because, as the obsequious little mayor—as she rightly called him—indicated, her name is Tara Trouble. In addition to living up to that apropos moniker, you should know that her father is Titus Theseus Trouble, sheriff of Cochise County and as formidable a lawman as you and I are likely to tangle with.”
****
Tara reached for the mammoth tumbler of frothy liquid and took a large sip. Trying not to choke on the potent liquor, she swallowed the alcohol-laden drink, eager to fight her raging emotions. Grateful for the harsh burn in her throat, she took another swig of the icy poison to the amazement of her wide-eyed sister.
“Wow, sis! I thought I was the only Trouble sister who could guzzle a porn star martini and not choke to death.” Nodding to her redheaded sister beside her, who was obviously as surprised as she was, Tanya Trouble gaped at Tara. “Damn, big sister, out with it. It’s one thing for me to chug down a half pint of eighty-proof alcohol. Seeing the things that I see as a deputy sheriff tends to give one an amazing tolerance for the hard stuff. But you and Tatiana here, my sweet and somewhat less obnoxious sisters, are pussies when it comes to booze. So tell me, Tara, what’s got your panties in a bunch so that you are trying to emulate my less-than-healthy happy hour habits?”
Glancing from the irreverent Tanya, the youngest of the infamous Trouble sisters, to Tatiana, the most serious of the three of them, Tara struggled to describe the impetus for her driving need for the strongest alcoholic drink she could imbibe. Fighting the angst that was making it hard for her to breathe, much less articulate the fury that drove her to the forbidding cocktail and to consider ordering another, she forced herself to answer Tanya’s frowning inquiry. “I don’t know where to begin, Tanya. Just know that I’ve never been angrier in my life and for good cause.”
Shaking her head at the memory of her face-off with the cadre of men who’d spurned her attempt to get them to answer her important questions, she took another sip of her drink and appealed to her sisters. “Look, we all know what a pansy ass our pathetic mayor is, but Watcher outdid his sycophantic self today a thousandfold. Jesus God, you would have thought that Prince William had deigned to visit our humble abode, the way Watcher cozied up to that unscrupulous charlatan Griffin Black and his entourage. I’m surprised our suck-up mayor didn’t beg the big guy to drop his pants so he could kiss his ass.” She shook her head, struggling to contain her fury. “Seriously, sisters of mine, you need to understand. The equivalent of a horde of nineteenth-century robber barons landed on our pristine piece of the planet today. Instead of riding them out of town on a rail as he should have, Mayor Harry ass-kissing Watcher all but begged to suck that criminal land-grabber’s dick.”
“Phew, big sister! Feel strongly about the issue, do you?”
Tara whirled on Tanya and didn’t try to temper her reply. “Yes, Tanya, and you too, Tatiana, I do feel strongly about the issue—as you should. The men who arrived in our town today are here for one reason and one reason only. They intend to change forever the extraordinary landscape of our beautiful community. Rape is not too strong a word for how they plan to ravage the most pristine and untouched land left in our corner of the world!” Sucking in a large gulp of the potent alcohol and swallowing it down without so much as a warning sputter, she smacked the now-empty tankard on the
table and declared, “Unfortunately for Mr. High and Mighty, Griffin Black has met his match. If he thinks that he can do what he did in Colorado and Utah and, for God’s sake, even in South Dakota, he couldn’t be more wrong.”
Glancing from one to the other of her sisters, she snorted and said caustically, “What he doesn’t understand but soon will is that even a land rapist extraordinaire can be stopped.” She raised her empty glass to the grinning bartender across the Bitter n’ Twisted tavern, who nodded in appreciation as he cranked up another PS martini. Turning to her wide-eyed sisters, she declared, “Particularly when Mr. Hotshot Black runs into a level of trouble that he’s never faced.” She added with a brazen grin, “Make that Trouble with a capital T.”
Striding toward the table where his three extraordinary daughters were sitting, clearly engaged in a compelling conversation, Titus Trouble allowed himself to feel a modicum of pride. Hell, how many men could claim to have fathered three women who’d all cracked the pulchritude ceiling, achieving almost unheard of beauty. His youngest daughter, Tanya, who also happened to be his deputy sidekick, was known to the community at large as hell on wheels. Which didn’t begin to describe the way his outrageous deputy took on all comers. It didn’t matter how dangerous they were. With an arrogant flip of her middle finger, she dared the miscreants to tussle with the five-foot-four-inch bodacious hellion at their peril. Titus smiled to himself, granting that there was a God. Tanya had come frighteningly close to abandoning her haughty ways to marry the son of the richest man in the county—make that the state. Fortunately, an undercover FBI agent had done what Titus hadn’t thought was possible. Not only did Ryker Thompson convince his wayward deputy to give her insufferable fiancé back his four thousand-dollar engagement ring, but he’d convinced her that falling in love with a man as outrageously arrogant and powerful as Ryker would turn her life around. And indeed it had. Tanya was happier than Titus had thought possible, apparently deciding that Captain America, as she’d nicknamed her powerful lover, was worth abandoning her ferocious need to fly solo.
Compared to the outrageous Tanya, Tatiana, his lovely, redheaded middle daughter seemed almost serene, incapable of the strong emotions that ruled his oldest and youngest daughters. But sadly, Titus conceded that Tatiana’s tranquil demeanor hid a cauldron of churning feelings. With his fierce help and that of her sisters, Tatiana had dragged herself out of a crippling marriage that Titus knew had been rampant with abuse. To her credit, Tatiana had managed to convince the world—outside of her sisters and father—that her life was as peaceful as her lovely smile. As the founder of the flourishing women’s shelter, the Sanctuary, and mother of the two cutest grandchildren a proud grandfather could have, Tatiana had established herself as a beacon of hope for troubled women and their children—of which there were far too many in their supposedly well-behaved town.
But as pleased as he was to see all three of his daughters huddled together deep in what was obviously a riveting conversation, it was his oldest daughter who had brought Titus to the crowded town hangout. He paused for a moment to acknowledge that, as beautiful as they were, what made his daughters remarkable was how different they were from one another. Tanya was the hellion, Tatiana the graceful one, and without a doubt, Tara was the rabble-rouser. A cascade of blonde hair streaked with every available shade of sunshine flowed over her slim shoulders. Particularly in comparison to her youngest sister, “Tiny Tanya” as she’d been nicknamed, Tara, at five feet eight inches tall, was almost statuesque. And as Titus had silently admitted, she was blessed with a body that would make a centerfold jealous. But it was his gorgeous daughter’s flashing dark brown, almost-black eyes and powerful personality that made her the force of nature that she was.
Closing in on the table where his progeny were holding court, Titus gave in to his pride. He acknowledged with no small amount of relief that somehow, someway, he’d managed to turn what could have been a devastating life for his three daughters into one that was rich with love and acclaim. No one could have told him those many years ago, when he’d done his damnedest to convince his drugged-out, promiscuous wife that their daughters were worth sobering up for, that the four of them would not only survive her abandonment but actually thrive. Eternally grateful, Titus never let a day go by without acknowledging that as challenging as their lives had once been, they were now truly blessed.
Painting a smile on his face, he assumed a bonhomie he was far from feeling and called out, “Ah, here she is. I was wondering where I’d find that outrageous woman the mayor of our fair town insisted that I run to ground and throw what he called her ‘haughty ass’ into jail. I should have known that the Bitter n’ Twisted would attract not only the would-be felon but her approving sisters as well.”
Tara looked up from her second PS martini and grinned at the tall, dark-haired man approaching their table. A crafty smile wreathed his handsome face. She thought for a split second she should be ashamed that once again she’d made her illustrious father’s life more difficult. Quickly squashing that ignoble thought beneath a flood of righteous anger, she tipped up her chin. “Ha! If it’s haughty asses they want you to arrest, Sheriff Trouble, may I suggest that you hightail it over to the Whispering Pines Motel and arrest that land-raping hotshot interloper who is out to commit the most egregious crime this county has known.”
Titus dropped a kiss first on Tatiana’s cheek, then Tanya’s and pulled out the chair next to his oldest daughter. Shaking his head, he glanced from one to the other. “Tell me, please, what I did in a former life to deserve not one, not two, but three of the most formidable daughters a man could father?”
Tara tossed her head and quipped, “Must be those righteous genes of yours, Dad. Not only are we formidable, but damn, we’re cute too.” Shooting her father a pert grin, she asked, “So which of the assholes sent you to arrest me? The pansy-assed mayor, the equally pussy-whipped deputy mayor, or that overbearing, thinks he’s God’s gift to the world, insufferable, and criminally arrogant Mr. Griffin Black?”
Titus allowed a smile to curve his lips. Nodding to Dante, the ever-ready barkeep, to indicate that he should bring refills all around, he emitted a long-suffering sigh. “I’m sure it won’t surprise you, Tara, that both the mayor and deputy mayor are hell-bent that I arrest you if it’s the last thing I do. Particularly, as they warned, if I value my badge. As for Mr. Black, it appears that he doesn’t deign to consult with underlings. At least I haven’t heard from him. Although Magnus Armstrong, the lead attorney for Black Enterprises, did leave a message that he would be pleased to buy me a drink in order for us to ‘become acquainted, in that we’re going to be neighbors and all.’ ”
Tara slugged back a hearty swallow of her impressive drink and said with a dismissive snort, “I’m not surprised, Dad, that his majesty, the insufferable Mr. Black, doesn’t stoop to mix with the hoi polloi. He didn’t last two minutes in the same room with me after I took him on.”
Titus breathed out an audible sigh. “Hmm, so I understand. Apparently, he didn’t appreciate your question. According to our vexed mayor, you were intemperate enough to ask Mr. Black if he had run out of land to rape in Colorado, hence his arrival in Sierra Vista.”
At her sisters’ surprised gasps, Tara shook her head dismissively. “What else would you call it, Dad? Should I have added ‘plunder’ to my rape charge?”
Titus raised a dispassionate shoulder, then winked at her. “Far be it from me to correct you, Tara. After all, you’re the acknowledged wordsmith.”
Chapter 2
Griffin stood on the deck of the impressive house, gazing at what appeared to be endless miles of untouched land. Damn, Magnus was correct. His long-time associate and lead attorney had convinced Griffin, sight unseen, that the land that had become available in Cochise County was a prize Black Enterprises would be crazy to pass up. Drinking in the sight of endless rolling hills and mountains to the west, Griffin was glad he’d agreed to put down his marker. He’d stayed away from Arizo
na lands in the past because so much of the state was either government controlled or owned by the tribes. In fact, a measly eighteen percent of Arizona land was privately owned. But the offer from one of the major landowners in the county combined with an agreement from the federal government for a contiguous piece made his decision to invest in the pristine property a slam-dunk.
“What do you think, boss man? Did I exaggerate or is this land the sweetest acquisition we’ve ever acquired?” Magnus added with a grunt, “Granted, we did have to pay Sledge Perkins a hefty price, but given the price of the federal land, which was amazingly inexpensive, we made a great deal. Although I have to admit that, as usual, it was you who made this deal as attractive as it is. If you hadn’t convinced the feds to throw in that area by the ridge, I would have recommended we turn Sledge down.”
Griffin shrugged. “Let’s just say that our projects in other states that earned us the approbation of the tribes we worked with put us in good stead with the feds. It was worth those months, hell, those years of negotiation that we did. We convinced some damn tough negotiators that the developments could be as efficacious for their tribes as it was for us.” Griffin sipped on his Glenmorangie and said with a frown, “But I have to tell you, Magnus, under ordinary circumstances, I would have stayed as far away from Sledge Perkins as possible. The last thing I thought I would ever do was get in bed with an openly racist white supremacist like Perkins.” He put up his hand when Magnus started to interrupt. “It’s okay, Magnus. I concede. You were absolutely on-target. That piece of property beside the ridge that we convinced Perkins to sell to us is golden. It will be the showplace of the development. I’m glad you talked me into it.”
Topping off his glass and Magnus’s, Griffin went back to the altercation at the Whispering Pines Motel. “That was quite a scene at the motel. Is that what we can expect going forward?”