by Regina Duke
She’d been looking forward to the opportunity to ride in the huge arena, but now she didn’t dare. If she got on a horse that afternoon, Karla would certainly feel she had the right to chat with her about their competitions, and Axel would overhear and figure out that she wasn’t some poor starving secretary looking for work after all.
Or did he already have it all figured out? He was sharp as a tack. And kind and generous. And gorgeous. Oh Lord, was he gorgeous! She would have to work extra hard this week. She needed dirt on Lester Garrison so she could pack up and go home to her own horse and put all of this behind her.
But why did that thought make her so sad?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Axel was surprised to realize how much fun he was having. Hadn’t he just decided Friday night that he was going to razz Taylor and think up chores for her to do to keep her out of his hair? And here he was, following her around like a love-struck puppy, admiring her puppeteering skills. Darn his father, anyway. With every passing hour, Axel was more certain that Taylor was sent to seduce him into marriage, just to gratify his father’s ego.
The problem was that Axel really liked her. A lot. He loved watching her move. He loved the sound of her laugh. And he loved the fact that she rode Thunder bareback and adored his reindeer herd.
He would obviously have to do some soul-searching. Meanwhile, maybe he could pursue his original plan of keeping her busy with make-work while he dove back into his novel. He smirked at the memory of the chapter he’d written the night before. He was taking all his frustrations about Taylor out on the written page, and his Great American Novel was beginning to sound like a romantic comedy. How could he resist? He had to put the mud fight and the alpaca spit into the book. And Taylor had already given him another attack of clumsiness to include when he got back to his computer.
Still, something about the exchange between her and Karla had upset her, and he couldn’t help but wonder what it was.
Taylor tugged at his sleeve. “Hey, Earth to Axel.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“I said, I need to find a quiet spot to make a phone call. Any suggestions?”
“Oh, sure. Head around to the front of the house. There’s a beautiful porch and swing there. It’s probably quiet, since everyone is back here. Is everything okay?”
She gave him a casual shrug. “Everything’s fine. I just need to check up on a…a friend. I won’t be long.”
Her last sentence made it clear he wasn’t invited to eavesdrop on the conversation. But that was okay. He decided it was the perfect opportunity to touch base with Karla and find out what had happened at the ticket table.
He returned to the table, but instead of Karla, he found Kevin’s wife Megan, counting money while young Keegan used a Labrador retriever’s snout as a spool around which to roll tickets.
Megan was saying, “Not too tight, Keegan. Creamy needs to breathe.” She looked up as Axel stopped in front of the table. “Out of tickets so soon?”
Axel smiled. “No, not yet. I expected to find Karla here.”
“She’s inside the arena, getting ready to ride. Anything I can help you with?”
Axel shook his head. “It’s nothing serious. I just wanted to talk to her about a mutual friend. I’ll be back when I need more tickets.”
He headed inside, and sure enough, he spotted Karla right away. She struck a fine figure in her helmet, jacket, and boots. He waved at her. “Looking good, Karla.”
“Thanks, Mr. Garrison.”
“You know, with all the Garrisons in Eagle’s Toe, you could call me Axel if you want.”
Karla almost smiled. “If your cousins rub you too far the wrong way, you could change your name.”
Axel gave her a teasing look. “That is very deep advice coming from someone so young.”
Karla stroked her horse’s nose. “What can I say? I guess I’m deep.”
“Speaking of which,” said Axel, “would you be betraying a secret if you told me what made Taylor spill her soda?”
Karla looked him up and down, and Axel had the definite feeling that she was examining him with some kind of x-ray vision. He’d heard stories about her troubled past, though seeing her decked out and ready for a ride made it hard to believe that she’d ever had a bad day in her life. But she was definitely taking stock of him before she answered.
At last, she said, “Seeing as how you think your eighty acres are better off in a natural state than covered with driveways and swimming pools, I guess it’s okay to trust you. I kind of surprised Taylor because I remembered competing against her at a Massachusetts horse show last year. I don’t know why she spilled her soda. I mean, she won the competition on that flashy warmblood of hers. Edged us out.” She kissed her horse’s nose. “So why all the drama? Excuse me, they’re ready for me in the ring.” She led her horse away.
Axel nodded. “Have fun.” He stood for a few moments, watching Karla swing effortlessly up on the back of her horse. She looked like a million bucks astride her perfectly groomed mount. Or maybe a billion, considering how much family money was behind her.
So how could a hired secretary manage to afford a flashy horse and a life of competitive equestrian events? Axel felt a knot of suspicion balling in his gut. It was time to have a little chat with Taylor.
He strode like a man on a mission toward the front of the Victorian house. His mind raced through the possibilities. Had she duped his father? No, that didn’t seem likely. If she was wealthy, she’d fit right in with his crowd. Why pretend to be otherwise? Then again, if Lester had sent her out here to seduce him into getting married, the whole secretary act could be for Axel’s benefit. It was just a ruse to get her into his life and maybe into his bed, if that was indeed what his father was working on. Whatever was going on, he needed answers, and he needed them fast, because he was falling for Taylor in a big way.
He slowed as he reached the back gate of the little fence that surrounded the lawn. Kids and dogs required that he carefully latch the gate behind himself, and he did so. The grass muffled his steps as he moved along the side of the house toward the front porch. He could hear Taylor talking, and he slowed even further, hoping to get an idea of who she was talking to.
“Yes,” she said. “And how was your day, Jackson? Did you have a good morning? You’d better not be flirting with all the girls, you stud. We’ve talked about that, remember? I have ways of stopping your flirtatious behavior. Yes, yes, I love you very much, you rascal.”
Axel stopped cold. He felt like the ground had just dropped away beneath him. It didn’t matter whether he was falling for Taylor or not,. She obviously had no interest in him. Her tone of voice made it clear that she was completely enamored of some guy named Jackson.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Taylor finally hung up and decided it was time to get back to Axel. Now that she knew Jackson was okay, she could relax and enjoy the rest of their afternoon.
She spotted him at the cotton candy booth, stuffing a long pink strip of gooey sugar into his mouth. She sneaked up on him and announced, “Please tell me that’s not your secret to staying in such great shape.”
He glanced down at her and shrugged. “Sometimes you need comfort food.”
Taylor’s gaze shot left, then right. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes. They don’t put nearly enough candy on these cones.” His tone was distant, matter-of-fact.
Taylor was puzzled. “Okay, where’s the guy I came with? You know, the one who was having a good time about ten minutes ago?”
Axel dumped the empty cone into a trash can and pulled a paper towel off a roll to wipe the sticky off his hands. “Nothing is getting written,” he said. “We’re wasting time, playing all morning, when we should be focused on getting this biography done.”
Taylor couldn’t figure him out. She’d been sure they were hitting it off. But now he was cold and distant and irritated. Well, if he had crazy mood swings, she was glad to find out now so she could stop thinkin
g about how attractive he was all night.
Even so, it hurt her feelings that he had turned all business for some reason. “Well, maybe we should just leave and get back to work.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.” She followed him back to his SUV. By the time they reached the highway, she decided it was for the best. After all, she wanted to get this done and go beat the crap out of her brother for accepting the vice presidency that was supposed to be hers.
Taylor had brought her laptop with her that morning because she couldn’t stand the thought of leaving it in the hotel room. She took it into the cabin but left her purse in the car. No one was going to steal it out here. She set the computer up on the table in the cabin and busied herself with opening the biography file while Axel poured them each a cup of coffee. Part of her longed to be watching Karla ride at the fundraiser, but maybe she’d been having too much fun with Axel to dig up any dirt. She said, “Why don’t we try something different?”
“Such as?”
She settled back in her chair. “I’ll ask questions, and then I’ll type your responses.” She sipped her coffee.
Axel seemed impatient. “I’m a writer,” he said. “If my fingers are on a keyboard, the words flow like crazy. But just sitting face to face with you? The words get all jumbled up. I can barely talk.”
“Gee, thanks.” Taylor preened, running her fingers through her blue hair as if it were as long as Rapunzel’s.
Axel smiled begrudgingly. “You’re welcome.” Then he stood up. “Okay, let’s give it a try. Ask away.”
Taylor lifted her gaze to the ceiling. Even though he still seemed standoffish, at least he was willing to work. “Let me see.” She typed her question as she asked it. “What is your fondest memory of your father?”
It wasn’t a question that would elicit the dirt her own father wanted, but hey, she couldn’t start out by asking where the family skeletons were buried.
Axel strolled to and fro, thumbs hooked on his jeans pockets. Taylor had to force herself to look at the computer. The sight of Axel in motion was captivating, and she still couldn’t figure out why his attitude toward her had changed. She struggled to focus on the screen as Axel narrated.
“Easy one,” he said. “When I was twelve, I went away to school. Pawling was only two hours away by train but at that age, it felt like I was a world away. It was my first year at prep school, or it was supposed to be. I was miserable and afraid to admit it. I was the oldest in my family, so there was no big brother ahead of me to pave the way or look out for me. I finally told my mother I wanted to come home. She said she had to discuss it with Dad, and I figured, that was the end of that. No way would he understand. All he’d talked about the summer before was how great the place was and how it would get me into any college I wanted. Well, I was twelve. I wasn’t thinking about college. That was way too far in the future.
“So I went back to my room and tried to hide from my roommate by burying my nose in a book. And at ten p.m. there was a huge ruckus in front of our residence hall. Horns blasting, headlights flashing on and off. That was supposed to be lights-out time. So of course we were all awake. We opened the dorm window to see what was going on, and there was Dad, looking for me. When he spotted me, he said, ‘Pack your bag. We’re leaving.’
“We drove back home that very night. He ranted about the school all the way. He was furious with them but not mad at me. He went on and on about how they’d assured him I would have a positive experience. Make new friends, with a comforting adult presence, no Lord of the Flies nonsense. The next day, he was on the phone for hours, reading them the riot act. It was the first time in my life I’d ever seen him go to bat for me.” He stopped and stared down at the floor.
Taylor was typing as fast as she could. “That’s a great story. See? This method could work. What happened after that? Did you have to go back to prep school?”
“Not that year. My folks hired a couple of private tutors so I’d be prepared to go back a year later. By the time I was thirteen, I was ready. But I was a legend when I went back. All the boys who’d ignored me the year before thought my father was the greatest, and they all wanted to be my friend. Amazing.”
Taylor nodded. “So he saved you twice in one night.”
Axel pointed a finger at her. “That’s it exactly! And his complaints to the school administration had brought about some changes on campus, too. The other boys all felt they’d benefitted from him pulling me out.”
Taylor stopped typing long enough take another sip of coffee. “That was good. Okay, let’s try another question.” She hesitated, wondering if it was too soon. But she needed negative stuff. She forged ahead, because she was missing Jackson like crazy and no herd of reindeer could fill that void. She cleared her throat. “All right. Let’s go to the other end of the spectrum.” She started typing and talking at the same time, mostly to avoid looking at Axel. “What was the worst moment you ever had with your father?”
Axel pulled a chair around so he could straddle it and rested his arms on the back. “That’s not as easy to talk about.”
Silence.
Taylor was worried that he would clam up. She waited, afraid to push too hard. She was just about to think of a new question when Axel spoke.
“The day he married Bambi.”
“His new wife?”
“Yes. We all felt it was too soon and too stupid. She’s obviously a gold digger. She’s my age, for God’s sake. I just don’t get it.” More silence.
Taylor’s fingers hovered over the keys, waiting. At last, she nudged. “Did you and your father argue about it?”
“Oh, many times. The last time was the worst. He told me I was wasting my life trying to be a writer. He said I should do something that would make money. So I decided it was time to come out west for a while. Get reacquainted with my cousins.” He snorted but did not elaborate.
“Well, this is a great start,” said Taylor. “Let’s see if I can come up with another productive question.”
Axel rested his chin on his arms. “I think it’s my turn,” he said.
Taylor pulled her hands back from the laptop. “Your turn?”
“To ask a question.”
She shrugged. “Oh. Okay.” What harm could it do? As long as he kept talking and she was getting closer to her goal, fine, let him ask a question.
Axel’s eyes seemed to bore right through her. “I need to know the answer to this question if we’re going to continue working together.”
“Fine,” said Taylor, wondering what sort of question could make or break their arrangement. Did he suspect her true motives? Had he heard something from his siblings in New York? But what would they know? How could any of them know about her deal with her father? She braced herself for the worst. “Ask away.”
Axel narrowed his eyes and peered at her. “Who is Jackson?”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Taylor blinked at him, wondering if she’d heard correctly. “Jackson?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. Every day when I drop you off at the Cattleman’s, I can see you in my rearview mirror, phone in hand. You’re making a call before you even get inside. I didn’t think much of it. But today, I…accidentally…overheard you saying his name on the phone. So, who is Jackson?”
Taylor wasn’t sure what to say. Her mind raced, trying to determine why he felt it necessary to know about Jackson. “Is it important?”
Axel gazed out the window, then rubbed his forehead with one hand. “I’m starting to like having you around,” he blurted. “But if there’s another guy waiting for you in New York, then I should rein things in a bit. You know. Before I get too attached.” He avoided her eyes but looked sideways at her, from toes to shoulders.
Taylor’s head was spinning. She was pleased that Axel liked her, and then she was surprised that she was pleased. This hadn’t been part of the original plan. The biggest surprise of all was the realization that she liked him, too. A
lot. And every day that they spent together, sharing their feelings and their personal history, made her like him more and more. They had so much more in common than he realized. For a few moments, she scrambled mentally for the wisest answer. In the end, given Axel’s love of animals, she decided the truth might actually fly.
“Jackson is my horse. A warmblood gelding and the love of my life. He lives in a stable in Central Park, and I call every day to check on his feed and his exercise. There you go. My secret’s out. I’m a closet equestrienne.”
Axel laughed with relief. “A horse? That’s awesome.”
“You think so?”
“Definitely. I thought you had a boyfriend checking up on you every day. You called him a stud.”
Taylor made a face. “He still thinks he’s a stallion. I don’t want to destroy his illusions.”
Axel’s good mood had returned in spades. “I love that you have a horse. See? I knew you were an animal person. The way you took to the reindeer, and the way you rode Thunder, and the way you beat out Karla—” He bit off the rest of the sentence, but it was too late.
“You talked to Karla about me?”
Axel made an “eek” face. “Only because you were so rattled by something she said and I didn't want anything to ruin your day.” He dropped his gaze to the floor. “Then I went ahead and took care of that part myself. I was sort of aggravated when I thought you were talking to another man. I’m really sorry. But I’m thrilled that you have a horse.”
“Could you tell my father that? I mean, how it’s awesome to have a horse?”
Axel spread his hands. “Any time. What’s his number?”
Taylor felt a flutter of panic. She couldn’t let him talk to her father. That would not be good. Either Pembroke would get impatient and ask for information about Lester from the source or Axel would find out she was supposed to be spying on him and his family. She needn’t have worried, though. Axel had glossed over his request for contact information and rushed on with his own thoughts.