Poked (A Standalone Romance) (A Savery Brother Book)

by Naomi Niles

  “Sure thing.”

  I staggered out of the stables into the gray light of dawn, and hobbled up to the house. As I stepped inside, I took one last look at my phone – still no message from Mackenzie. Maybe I really had blown it with her. I stumbled up the stairs, fell into bed, and was asleep within seconds.

  It felt like I'd only been asleep for a couple of minutes when Andy woke me.

  “Andy?” I mumbled. “What's going on? I need to sleep, dammit.”

  “You've been asleep for six hours already, son. But me and the boys have found something: tracks. Someone got in by climbing over the fence down by the creek. They followed the trees up to the back of the stables, and I guess from there they crept in and gave Silver the poison when nobody was near the stables.”

  “And, any clues as to who it might have been?”

  “Well,” he said, “judging from the size, depth, and shape of the boot imprints – it was a woman.”

  Chapter Seven

  Mackenzie

  I could hardly believe it when Chance's attitude changed in an instant, like bright blue skies turning dark and stormy in the blink of an eye. One minute we were starting to get into the flow of conversation, and the next, he flipped a switch and I was sitting across from a cold, emotionless robot.

  I'd had a hunch he hadn't really wanted to go on this date and that perhaps the contest had been set up by a friend at the radio station as a prank or something, and he'd just gone through with it out of a sense of obligation. But deep down, I couldn’t dismiss the whole 'fate' aspect at the traffic light. As much as I wanted to, it was hard to ignore the brief but intense look that had passed between us. The attraction I had felt for him when I'd seen him there had been undeniable and unlike any other attraction I'd felt for a guy for longer than I cared to think about. And when we'd started talking, sparks had definitely begun to fly, despite feeling nervous. And it had really looked like it was going somewhere...

  Until it didn't.

  And suddenly, there I was, alone at the table, with other diners glancing at me after Chance had pretty much rushed out as fast as he could in what felt like an effort to get away from me. It was humiliating, to say the least. Not that I’d ever been one who cared much what people thought, but the onlookers probably thought that we'd had some sort of argument or domestic dispute and that he'd publicly shamed me by walking out on me. Of course, that wasn't the case, but how were all those people to know that?

  I sat for a while just sipping on the wine and trying not to feel too embarrassed about the whole scene . . . or too confused about why Chance had just disappeared so quickly. The waitress returned, and asked if I was ready to order.

  “Mr. Lawson left instructions that whatever you order will be charged to his credit card,” she said. “And that you should feel free to order as much as you want. Are you ready to order yet?”

  An idea popped into my head and a sly smile sneaked across my lips. Chance thought he could simply pay me off and make me go away by doing this, did he? Well, I had my dignity, and I intended to keep it. No man was going to get the better of me, especially one who had likely been pressured into going on a date with me, or whatever the case was.

  “Um, not yet. Could you give me another ten minutes?” I asked.

  “Sure, I'll come back in a little while,” she replied.

  As she walked off, I took out my phone and called Lilly. She answered almost immediately.

  “Hey, girl! How's your hot date going?”

  “It's not,” I sighed.

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “I mean the date is over. Already,” I stated matter-of-factly.

  “What? How can that be? You can't have been there more than ten minutes!”

  “Yeah, I have actually been here less than five, but who’s counting.”

  “So, what happened?” she asked. “Was it that bad that it all fell apart before it even got going?”

  “I wish I knew. It sure seemed like we'd got off to a good start, but then he got a phone call and just took off.”

  “Just like that?” she asked.

  “Just like that,” I echoed.

  “Wow. That's a douche move.”

  “I know, right?”

  “Well, what are you gonna do now?”

  “You don't happen to be free right now, do you?” My smile grew as I asked.

  “Actually, I am. Why?”

  “Because I could use a dining companion and since he told the waitress to put whatever I order on his credit card, I thought since he acted like such an asshole, why not take full advantage of the offer? Why don't you come on over and eat with me here? I've already started on the wine, and could definitely use more of it – and some good company, of course.”

  She chuckled.“Perfect. I was just about to go out to grab a bite to eat anyway. I'll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Awesome. I'll be waiting. Don't take too long! I've already been stood up once this evening. Well, kinda. You know what I mean,” I grumbled.

  “I know. I'll be there soon.”

  She showed up exactly ten minutes later, just as the waitress arrived to take my order.

  “Someone else is joining you?” the waitress asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yes,” I replied. “And don't worry, Mr. Lawson said to charge whatever she orders to his card as well. You can call him to confirm, but do it at your own risk – he's attending to an urgent matter right now and he really, really hates being disturbed at times like this.”

  She eyed me skeptically for a moment but seemed to buy the story. “All right. Well, would you like something to drink to start the evening?” she asked as Lilly sat down.

  “A glass of wine, please, same as hers,” Lilly replied, pointing at me. “And her wine looks like it's gonna need a bit of a top-up.”

  “Sure. I'll come back in a few minutes to take your food order.”

  “Thanks,” I replied as the waitress walked off.

  “So,” Lilly started as she sat down. “He just up and left, halfway through the date?”

  “Halfway? Ha! Halfway might have been forgivable,” I replied as I took a generous sip of wine. “He left like five minutes in.”

  “You said he got a phone call. Did you know what it was about?” Lilly asked.

  “He didn't say. But his whole attitude changed. He went from being warm and friendly, and pretty damn charming, to straight up cold.”

  Lilly scrunched her nose. “Damn. Well, that’s not such a great first impression.”

  “No, it ain't,” I replied.

  “Look, Mack, there's something I should tell you. Something I probably should have told you before you went on this date. But it all seemed so promising, and so good, that I didn't want to say anything.”

  I wasn’t liking the tone of her voice or the direction this was about to go. “What are you talking about, Lil?”

  “I spoke to Jason about this date with Chance. He knows a lot of people in the radio and music industry on account of his business connections and stuff, and apparently, Chance has a bit of a reputation in those circles.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “What kind of reputation are we talking about?”

  “Well, uh, I guess Jason's heard stories about Chance.”

  “Come on, Lil, don't beat around the bush – what kinda stories?”

  “That Chance is a bit of a player. That he really has a weakness for pretty girls – real pretty girls . . . like you. And that once he's had a bit of fun with them, he doesn't keep 'em around for very long.”

  Well, that was just great – so Chance was too good to be true. I should have known it from the start. “Well, at least I gave it a shot. And at least he didn't get to string me along and then toss me aside when he was done with me.”

  “Yeah, I guess things could have been worse. But... I mean, on the other side of the coin, maybe those are just rumors. You know how people like to talk in this town. Maybe Chance is really a good guy. All he had to d
o was turn down one spiteful woman who then wanted revenge. Maybe he had a bad breakup, or just made a mistake or two and someone wanted to get back at him. We shouldn't just straight up believe the rumors.”

  I stared curiously at Lilly for a while. “Lil, sometimes I really don't get you. First, you bring up these rumors about him, and then you tell me that maybe I shouldn't be taking them too seriously?”

  She shrugged. “Just saying that you should look at both sides of the story. That's all.”

  She was probably right. There probably was another side to this story. But that didn't change the fact that he'd acted like a rude ass jerk on a first date within minutes of meeting each other, and that was something I wasn't so sure I could forgive easily. Sure as hell wasn’t something I was going to forget. Still, the whole 'fate' thing kept rolling around my head. It was hard to shake, to be honest – and I couldn't help wondering what else, if anything, this strange little 'fate' thing had in store for me.

  ***

  I had just finished playing a new song I'd been working on and was putting Betsy on her guitar stand when my phone buzzed. Curious who would be messaging me at such a late hour, I took it out of my bag and had a look. When I saw whose name was on the screen, my heart skipped a beat. Chance Lawson.

  Not really sure what to expect, I opened and read it. It turned out to be a rather sincere-sounding apology for how he had acted earlier in the evening. He still didn't say what the supposed “emergency” at his ranch had been, but the tone of his apology seemed genuine enough – and, it seemed, he wanted to see me again.

  Well, this changed things a little, and now I couldn't help feeling a little bad. Lilly and I, after a few glasses of wine each, had run up quite a bill on his card at the restaurant. Something I’d done assuming he was an asshat jerk and that it was giving him his just desserts to do it, but now I felt a little guilty about it.

  On the other hand, he had been rude – I mean, he really could have just taken thirty seconds to tell me what was going on instead of practically fleeing from me. And I didn't want to give off the impression that firstly, it was okay to treat me like that, no matter the circumstances, and secondly, that I was desperate and would do anything to be with him – which of course was not the truth. I wasn't desperate at all, but the whole fate thing and our powerful mutual attraction meant that it was kinda hard to get him outta my head.

  I held my phone in my hand for a few minutes, debating in my mind over whether I should reply to him or whether I should wait until the next morning to do that.

  I put the phone down after a while and went to wash my face and brush my teeth. I was happy that he'd apologized, but still upset enough about his conduct earlier that I thought he deserved to wait a little until he heard back from me.

  ***

  I woke up early enough but didn't message Chance. To send him a message first thing in the morning, I thought, might give him the wrong impression. Also, it wasn't that I wanted to drag things out a little longer, it was more that I was just wondering exactly what I needed to say to him.

  I had a quick smoothie, went out for a long jog, and then came back and showered. Once I was freshened up, I sat down and started composing the message I had been going over and over in my head during my entire jog.

  “Hi, Chance. I appreciate that you took the time to apologize for your conduct at the restaurant last night. I do wish you would have at least told me the general gist of the emergency since you left me wondering, but thank you for the text about it later. It seems I have an apology to make to you as well. You see, after you left, I invited a friend of mine over to finish the meal with me, and she and I ran up quite a bill on your card. I'm sorry, it wasn't a mature or decent thing to do, and I'll pay you back for it.”

  I paused there.

  Now for the question I'd been pondering all morning – was I going to say “yes” to his request to see me again? It was a question that had been pinging around inside of my head like a damn pinball in a machine. I'd been weighing the pros and cons and trying to figure things out.

  I had, of course, taken into consideration the rumors about Chance that Lilly had told me about, the possibility that he might be a player and a womanizer was very real in my mind. After all, he was extremely good-looking, charismatic, charming and, it seemed, rich and powerful.

  Of course, even though someone fits the look of a stereotype, it doesn't mean they are what you suspect them of being. So, with that in mind, I hadn't allowed my suspicions that he was a player to totally poison my image of him or my desire to want to get to know him. Hell . . . it was hard not to think about how strikingly handsome he was, how powerful those arms looked, or the strength I imagined in those rugged, strong broad shoulders. Physically . . . he was totally my type.

  Still, I couldn't let that cloud my judgment either. What was a girl to do in this situation?

  I sighed. There really was no clear way out of this dilemma. So, I decided to do what I usually did in situations like this, in which there was no clear-cut path to follow – I stalled. I knew I didn't want to back out completely, but I just couldn't dive right in. I wouldn't. Not with the cloud of the rumors hanging over his head, and my own bad memories of what Brad had done to me.

  I sat down and typed out the rest of the message.

  “I admit, I’m flattered that you'd like to see me again. I think I might want to see you again too, despite the way you treated me last night. I don't often give people second chances, but I just might be willing to give you one. But first, I’m going to need to know this isn’t going to happen again. I want you to show me that you're prepared to make amends for your behavior last night. So... the ball is now in your court. If you really do want to see me again, I'd like you to show me, somehow, that you do. Can you do that?

  Mackenzie.”

  I breathed in deeply, with my thumb hovering over the “send” button for a few long, drawn-out moments. Then, finally, I exhaled and hit “send.” It was done. The wheels of fate had turned again.

  Chapter Eight

  Chance

  “A woman, huh,” I said slowly, looking Andy up and down. “You guys sure? You sure it wasn't a teenage boy you just mistook for a woman?”

  “Very sure. C'mon kid, you know how good a tracker I am. And if you don't believe me, you can go check it out yourself. But I think you'd come to the same conclusion, seeing as I taught you everything you know about trackin'.”

  I chuckled, despite the severity of the situation. “Ah, Andy, I know, I know. It's just... weird... that a woman is behind this. Poisoning my Silver, y' know?”

  He nodded, his face grim. “Well whoever that bitch is, we'll find her, son. We will.”

  “I know. I just hope nothing else happens. We’re gonna have to be vigilant. These Circle B people don't have any reservations about gettin' dirty. And they're stepping things up. But we won't give up. No way in hell we’re gonna let 'em win.”

  Andy looked me in the eye for a while and then nodded to himself.

  “What's on your mind, old friend?” I asked.

  He cracked a subtle smile. “You really are your father's son,” he said. “You remind me so much of the old man it's scary. He'd be real proud if he was still around. Yes sirree, he'd be real proud to see his son defending the family land like this.”

  I clapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. “You're a good man, Andy, one of the best, and I'm glad you're still here. Thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for my family.”

  He shrugged. “Your granddad, he took me in off the streets when I was just a little kid. Without him, God knows where I would've ended up. I owe everything I am, everything I have, to your family.”

  “And you've paid us back a hundred-fold with loyalty and hard work, Andy. I'm proud to have you.”

  He smiled. “Ya’ll are family to me, kiddo. Always have been, always will be. And I don't let nobody mess with family. We'll take these Circle B snakes down, I promise you we will.”

/>   “You're right about that, old friend. You're right about that.”

  Andy tipped his hat and left me to ponder the situation for a while. Of all the people from Circle B who had pestered me about the land, not one had been a woman. They'd all been the same – shady lawyers in suits with briefcases. Whoever they had committing these acts of sabotage was likely an outsider they'd hired just for the job. And whoever she was, she was fast, silent, and thorough, and left almost no clues. But Andy and I, we'd find a clue, we'd find something, eventually. She'd slip up sooner or later, or we'd catch her in the act, of that I was confident. My only worry was that she'd be able to get away with more things – possibly even more heinous than the crimes she'd already committed – before we did.

  I was still feeling a little groggy from the lack of sleep, and my thoughts were still a little disorganized. I checked my phone to see if there was anything important I needed to attend to, and I was pleasantly surprised – and a little nervous – to find a message from Mackenzie.

  Maybe I hadn't blown it, after all. There was only one way to find out, though, so I opened the message and read through it.

  I couldn't help but chuckle when she mentioned that she and her friend had run up a big bill on my card. I'd deserved it, so fair enough. She'd offered to pay me for it, but there was no way I'd take her money. It wasn't as if I was hurting for funds, and besides, it was the principle of the matter that was important. I'd acted like a bit of a jerk, so I deserved that.

  What intrigued me most about the message was her request for me to prove that I wanted to see her again. Interesting. It seemed as if she was trying to keep some distance from me, and holding back. I could respect that.

  I knew for sure that I wanted another date with her. Before last night's situation had erupted, I'd felt real good about chatting with her, getting to know her – not to mention just how stunningly gorgeous she was. So, the question in my mind now was, how was I going to prove to her that I really wanted to see her again?