The Grandmaster’s Legacy: Masters of Love and War (A Taylor Lee HOT Historical Romantic Suspense Collection) (The Grandmaster's Legacy)

by Taylor Lee

  Charlie knew he was Grant’s most potent, hidden weapon. Intentionally or not, a saloon owner is often at the center of the action. The town saloon is where a lot of the action takes place, from planning sessions to afterhours orgies. Much of what happened in Wyatt’s campaign took place at the Back Door Saloon—under the watchful eyes and ears of Charlie, with his direct line to Grant.

  ~~~

  If Grant intended to make the campaign personal, so did Tom.

  “Look, I don’t want to make you any cockier than you already are, but let’s face it, Wyatt. When we get you out there next to blubbery Grant with his smarmy smile, spit soaked cigar, and elevator boots, who do you think makes a better impression?”

  Wyatt grinned at Tom and took a drag off his cigarette.

  “See, that’s what I mean. You’re a charming guy, Wyatt. Christ, you’re as handsome as they come. But I swear to god, your best weapon is that goddamn grin of yours. You capture men and women with that smile. Doesn’t he, Chief?”

  Chief smiled in return. “From the time he was eight years old. Once he stopped being scared and realized he was with me to stay, that kid started charming people and horses. He hasn’t stopped since.”

  Tom continued. “It isn’t just greenhorns like me who are impressed. When you ride up on Master, you look like who you are. A Wyoming rancher and businessman. You’re authentic. You’re who you say you are. That’s important, Wyatt. It’s something we’re going to emphasize. Grant isn’t from here. He’s a goddamn carpetbagger. Christ, I’d like to see him in a pair of riding pants. No, I take that back. I can’t imagine a worse sight.”

  Wyatt’s grin faded and he said with an exasperated snort, “Okay, okay, Tom, I get it. You like the way your candidate looks. Now let’s talk about what a violent son of a bitch he is. Christ, Tom, I’ve killed people, mutilated them. What do you think Grant is gonna do with that?”

  “Wyatt, you tell me when being strong and carrying a gun in a dangerous country filled with outlaw gangs is a problem. Or protecting yourself? Or killing bad guys who were killing innocent people? Tell me when that is ever gonna be a problem in a place like Wyoming? Or that you ride with a group of men who also carry guns, men who are trained to help you. Protect your property. Your family. When is that a problem in Wyoming?”

  “I’ll tell you when, Tom. When the guy we’re talking about is an Indian. The guys on the other side are gonna do their best to portray the things I did as the acts of a wild savage.”

  “You know, Wyatt, that may have worked ten years ago. But hell, I’ve seen the way people smile at you when you ride in with Alex and Elena. Christ, when Nicolas Deshi is with the three of you, people melt on the street. Every person who sees you sees the proud father of three young children who adore him. They don’t see a savage. They see a man who buys his beautiful children an ice cream cone when they come to town with him.”

  Chief nodded in agreement. “He’s right, Wyatt. I have seen attitudes change over these last five years. Hell, people are even nicer to me because they know I’m with you. Tom is right. Grant is barking up the wrong tree on this one. Sure, there are still people who won’t vote for you because you’re part Indian. But not people who know you, and, Wyatt, a hell of a lot of people in Wyoming know you.”

  Tom got up and closed the office door. He came back and sat down, a sly smile twitching his lips. “I’m only going to say this to the three of us. The largest group of voters in the state of Wyoming is our natural constituency. Grant can’t win them over if he tries.”

  “Who might that be, Tom, given that reservation Indians can’t vote and Chinese aren’t citizens?” Wyatt asked with an ironic grin.

  “Women.”

  Both Wyatt and Chief stared at him, not understanding. Then a smile flashed across Wyatt’s face.

  “Thanks for closing the door, Tom. And, yeah, even if you are right, let’s not make this an overt part of the campaign.”

  “You know I’m right, Wyatt. Look, if anyone was a fixture in every brothel, beaver barn and chippy joint in Wyoming – up to three years ago—it was you. The last time I checked, whores can vote, right? I’m also willing to bet there are a large number of upstanding married and unmarried women across the state who have enjoyed the legendary talents of the best looking guy around.”

  Wyatt shook his head, but couldn’t hide the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

  Chief also shook his head, as if in disbelief, and then agreed, “Hell, Tom, you’re right again. I never thought of it that way. Wyatt’s past ‘associations’ could actually be an advantage. We have all been trying to downplay them, given the situation with Lei. The last thing we wanted to do was underscore that the number of women Wyatt has “known” would create a – what did you call it – a constituency?”

  Tom was grinning from ear to ear. “What did Walt Peters say about you, Wyatt? ‘The guy’s prick must be a national treasure the way the women run after him.’? That’s one of the best lines I’ve heard. You can stop blushing. You know you’re proud as hell of your reputation. Who wouldn’t be? I can tell you something else. Again, we won’t say this in front of Lei. We all know those days are past. You are living with the mother of your children and the love of your life. However, there are more than a few women out there who believe that a guy with your past can always be corrupted by the right woman, or so they hope.”

  “Christ, Tom, don’t even say that in jest. Hell if Lei heard that…”

  “If Lei heard what?” Lei asked as she started to walk into the office, then stopped in the doorway. She looked at all three of them quizzically. Her smile became a frown when she saw their smiles turn to confusion. More telling was the blush that flashed across Chief’s face.

  Tom recovered as best as he could. He said in his smoothest Washington politician’s voice, “We were talking about potential voters we could approach, Lei. I told Wyatt all the work he has done with the suffragettes could be helpful. A lot of women who vote know that every candidate Wyatt has supported over the years believed that women should have the vote. Those women will be good targets to help us get out the vote of other women.”

  Lei stood in the doorway, and then glared at Wyatt. He took a drag off his cigarette, quirked an eyebrow, and gave her a diffident smile. Something in his face made her flush. The flash in her eyes signaled her anger.

  “There’s a larger group of women you could tap, Tom. How about all the women Wyatt has fucked? My understanding is that the suffragettes only number in the hundreds. Why stop there?”

  With that she turned and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

  “Oh, Christ, Wyatt, I’m sorry. I should never have started that whole discussion. It was disrespectful of Lei and of you. My apologies.” Tom was clearly upset, dismayed.

  “It’s okay, Tom. You didn’t mean for Lei to hear. Unfortunately, everything you said is true, including the fact that women do constitute a group of voters we can probably tap and tap successfully. That fact sure as hell doesn’t help me with the woman I love, but it might help me get elected. Christ, that’s a hell of a note, isn’t it?”

  With a deep frown creasing his forehead, he turned and left the room.

  Chief gazed at the floor, shaking his head. A pained look crossed his face as Wyatt went to look for Lei.

  ~~~

  Wyatt went first to their bedroom, but she wasn’t there. He headed over to their retreat room, then remembered that Lei was wearing a sparring outfit. He turned back and went to the dojo. Walking in the door, he remembered with a pang that just hours ago, they had made passionate love in this very spot.

  He saw her among the students practicing in the center of the ring. She was warming up, stretching. As he watched, she strode over to the punching bag and started kicking the bag furiously. Several of the students who were close to her stepped aside in surprise. When they saw Wyatt coming toward her, they moved back.

  Wyatt came up behind her. “Lei, come here, honey.”


  She saw him, but kept kicking and punching the bag fiercely. Tears flowed down her cheeks. He reached out and grabbed her, holding her upper body, pinning her arms to her sides. She fought hard against him. Swearing at him under her breath, she tried to break his grip, but couldn’t. He half carried, half dragged her into Joey’s office. He closed the door behind them as Joey looked up in surprise. He continued to hold her as she struggled to get free, sobbing loudly.

  “Lei, listen to me. Stop, honey. Let me explain.”

  She twisted again and broke free. Backing against the wall, she held her hands out in front of her to keep him away. Her face was white with fury. Tears streamed relentlessly down her face. She was shaking so hard she could barely speak. In a voice racked with pain, her words shot out. “Not only is it true, but now I’m a joke among you? Something and someone to laugh at?”

  Wyatt’s face was grim. He tried to reach her, but she batted his hands away. She swung on Joey.

  “Why aren’t you in there with them? They were having a great time laughing at me. Even Chief was there!”

  She was crying so hard, she could barely speak, but then cried out, “God, I hate you, Wyatt!”

  Whirling to include Joey, who was standing dumbfounded, she screamed, “I hate you all!”

  “Lei, stop. Stop now.”

  “Never! I will never stop! Goddamn you, Wyatt! I will never marry you. Never! Never! Do you hear me?”

  She turned and ran from the room. Racing through the shower room, she jolted past startled, half naked fighters who quickly parted to let her through.

  ~~~

  “Jesus, Wyatt. What the hell…?” Joey face was fraught with concern.

  “I’ll explain later, Joey. Or, let me put it this way. I’ll try to explain.”

  He walked out the door past the same fighters that Lei had passed. They looked even more startled to see Wyatt. He shook his head and went by without speaking. She wasn’t anywhere in sight, and he decided it was useless to try to find her now. He also realized how upset he was. All he could think of and see in his mind was her fury, her fierceness. Once again, he saw that Lei meant it when she said she would never marry him. It was as if her words had stabbed him through the heart. He went to his office and closed the door behind him. He stayed there by himself until Daniel knocked on the door to tell him that dinner was ready.

  ~~~

  Daniel waited until Wyatt came to the door. Wyatt saw the concern on his face.

  “Theresa asked me to tell you that dinner is ready, Wyatt. As I was coming over here from the dojo, I saw Lei running toward the barn. I called after her to tell her dinner was ready, but I don’t think she heard me. She seemed upset. I think she was wearing only her sparring outfit. That’s not good. It’s already cold outside.”

  “Thanks, Daniel. I’ll go check on her. You go ahead for dinner. Let Theresa know that Lei and I will eat later.”

  “Okay, sure thing, Wyatt.”

  Chapter 8

  Alono was working in the barn when he saw Lei run by. At first he didn’t think anything of it. He continued to rub down the paint he had ridden to town. The more he thought about her, he decided something wasn’t right. Lei was wearing a sparring outfit and no jacket. That wasn’t enough in this weather. It was also unusual that she didn’t say hello or acknowledge him in any way. He stopped what he was doing and went to the barn where Lei kept Stealth, her Arabian. To his surprise, he heard someone sobbing. It was Lei.

  “Lei, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

  When she turned to look at him, he was startled to see that her eyes were almost swollen shut from crying, and that she was shaking. He moved toward her and repeated, “Lei, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”

  She shook her head and turned back to her stallion. Alono saw that she was saddling him.

  “Lei, what are you doing? Where are you going? It’s dinner time. I’m sure they have already started eating. Are you going somewhere now?”

  “Leave me alone, Alono. Can’t you see I’m upset? And, yes, goddamn it. I am going somewhere. I don’t know where and I don’t care where I go. But, yes, dammit, I am definitely going!”

  “Lei, I… I don’t want to interfere. But… it’s cold. You don’t have a jacket. Those clothes aren’t warm enough. And, it… it’s late. It’s dark outside. You shouldn’t go riding now. It is dangerous.”

  She whirled on him. “Why, Alono? Why shouldn’t I? Will I get hurt? Will something or someone hurt me? Is that what happens in the dark? Really? I thought that’s what happened in broad daylight! Get out of my way. Now! Leave me alone. I am leaving and you aren’t stopping me!”

  Alono stepped back, startled, feeling helpless. He was uncertain what to do but knew he couldn’t let her leave. It was dark, cold. To his dismay, she finished saddling Stealth and turned to mount him. She looked over her shoulder piercing him with a fierce glare. “I told you to leave me alone. Now go! Get out of my way!”

  “I’ll take it from here, Alono.” Wyatt stepped out of the shadows and took hold of Stealth’s bit in one hand and Lei’s arm in the other. He pulled her back against him, holding her with one strong arm. With his other, he handed Stealth’s bridle to Alono.

  Alono sighed with relief. He started to lead Stealth away, but turned back at the sound of Lei’s sobs. A frown crossed his face. He stood still, waiting to see what Wyatt would do. Wyatt took off his jacket and put it around Lei’s shoulders. Lei fought against him, twisting, turning – struggling to get away, but Wyatt held her firmly. Wyatt looked up and saw Alono standing in the doorway, his face tight with concern. Wyatt nodded to him again. “It’s okay, Alono, I’ll take care of her now. Please, put Stealth back in his stall.”

  Alono nodded and started back into the barn leading Stealth. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Wyatt holding Lei tightly in his arms. He could hear him talking to her, softly, the way he talked to the horses he was trying to calm. Fighting back the tears in his eyes, Alono went into the barn and closed the door behind him.

  ~~~

  Lei was crying hard. Wyatt held her tight, murmuring soft words of comfort.

  In between sobs, she tried to speak. “I want… to… go.”

  “Where do you want to go, honey?”

  “Any… where! Anywhere… away… from here.”

  “Away from here? Or away from me?”

  From, from… everyone.”

  “Hmm. Do you want to go to California? To your father’s place for a while?”

  “No!” She cried harder.

  “Why not?”

  “Because… because… you wouldn’t… you… wouldn’t be there.”

  “Okay, honey. That’s what I wanted to hear you say. What I needed to hear you say. C’mon, baby. Let’s go inside. You’re freezing. Jesus, Lei, you’re shaking. You barely have any clothes on. Honey, I’m going to pick you up and carry you back to the cottage, okay? I think a hot bath would be great for you right now, okay? “

  When they got inside, Wyatt stopped and held her close. “Lei, how about if we deal now with what happened? I know Tom and Chief are beside themselves with guilt. Joey is still in shock. Poor Alono is out crying in the barn. Are you up to having a discussion? Tonight? Now before it grows into an even bigger problem?”

  She looked surprised, then nodded.

  “Okay. I’m gonna get a blanket to wrap you up so you don’t freeze to death. I’ll let everyone know that we want to talk this over now. After that, you can have a hot bath. We’ll have dinner in our room, okay?”

  She nodded and pulled his jacket tighter around her. He put her down in one of the big armchairs in his office and took a quilted throw from the back of the sofa. He wrapped it around her.

  “I’ll be right back, honey.”

  He went into the dining room where everyone had finished eating. They all were at the table waiting for him. Daniel had told them about seeing Lei running out to the barn. They assumed that was where Wyatt was. In a few sentences, Wyatt explained what
he wanted to do and asked everyone to join him and Lei in his office. He asked Daniel to go to the barn and get Alono. He took Theresa aside and asked her to draw a hot bath for Lei when they were finished talking, and to bring them their dinner later.

  When all of the men came into the office, they were clearly shocked at Lei’s appearance. She was pale, her eyes were swollen and she looked like a forlorn waif—no more than ten or twelve years old. In truth, Wyatt wanted them to see her like this. He wanted everyone to know what they were up against. What he hadn’t said to Lei or anyone else, he was about to say. He had been thinking about it all afternoon. He had made a decision. They needed to end the campaign.

  He motioned for everyone to be seated. “For Joey’s and Alono’s sake, let me quickly tell you what happened today that upset Lei. Tom, Chief, and I were discussing strategy and…”

  Tom broke in. “Sorry, Wyatt, but I am going to tell everyone what happened. It was my idea and I take responsibility.” He continued, ignoring, Wyatt’s frown. “I suggested that one of the constituencies we could tap for likely votes were the women of Wyoming. I made several crude references to the fact that Wyatt knew many of them. For that reason, we could count on them for their votes. Lei overhead part of the discussion and was understandably upset. I am sorry, Lei, for hurting you. I also want to apologize to Chief and Wyatt for drawing them into a conversation that was disrespectful at best.”

  Chief stood up and moved over next to Lei. “Lei, you know I love you as my daughter. You also know that my heart is about to break. I will only say once how sorry I am. Tom, this is not about you, or even what was said today. This is about a bigger issue. That is why it is so painful. Joey and Alono were not in the room, but as you can see from their faces, they know how devastated we all feel, and why.”

  Before anyone else could speak, Wyatt said, “As always, Chief is correct. This is about a bigger issue. It is about the issue that is in danger of tearing Lei and me apart. The real reason I asked all of us to come together tonight is because I think we need to reconsider whether we go forward with this campaign.”