The Wedding Toast (Colorado Billionaires Book 6)

by Regina Duke

  Lucy chuckled. “Sounds like letting Taylor take charge of the interior is a good idea. Oh, excuse me. I hear a truck on the gravel. The mail is here.”

  “We’ll walk out with you,” said Axel. “I’ve got an envelope in the car that I’d like to send on its way as soon as possible.”

  After handing the mailer over to the postman, Axel and Taylor headed back to the cabin.

  At four p.m., a large red pickup and horse trailer pulled up in front of the barn.

  Taylor was beside herself with joy. Two men alighted from the pickup. One had paperwork for Axel, and the other trotted to the back of the horse trailer to open the door. Jackson nickered a soft greeting from inside.

  Two hours later, after walking Jackson around the barn and corrals, letting him meet the reindeer and catch the scent of alpacas on the wind, they got him settled in his new stall.

  Axel leaned against the stall door, propping his chin on his arms. “I think your horse is very fond of Rita the Reindeer.”

  “Rita? I’d have thought you’d pick more traditional names, like Prancer and Dancer.”

  “Oh, those particular reindeer still live at the Lazy B. I have the breeding stock over here. Did you know that female reindeer keep their horns all through the winter? The males shed theirs long before Christmas. So all of Santa’s reindeer are ladies.”

  Taylor smiled. “That makes a lot of sense, actually.” She stroked Jackson’s forehead as he nuzzled the pockets of her jacket for treats.

  Axel smiled back. “Jackson is very happy to see you.”

  “Thank you so much for bringing him to Eagle’s Toe.” She turned her big blue eyes in Axel’s direction.

  He sidled closer, laying a hand on Jackson’s neck as he did so. “My mother loved horses so much,” he said.

  “Maybe it’s time for you to add to your stable,” said Taylor. “I mean, what is money for if you can’t indulge in what you love? You’re doing great rescue work here, but you could honor your mother’s passion for horses by taking in a few rescued equines.”

  Axel considered the suggestion. “That’s a great idea. I hadn’t thought of that.” He patted Jackson’s neck, and the horse responded by nibbling at his arm. “I don’t understand how your father can resent the time you spend with this magnificent animal.”

  Taylor slipped an arm around Axel’s waist. “Jackson likes you. He’s a very good judge of character. You just scored a bazillion points.”

  Axel grinned. “Glad to hear it.” He pulled her closer with one arm.

  Taylor said, “I tried to please Daddy every way I could. I majored in business at school. I showed as much interest in the family companies as he would let me. I mean, insurance? Finance? Stocks and bonds?” She shrugged. “Why can’t we do something hands on, something that’s more than numbers on a computer screen?”

  Axel fed Jackson a sugar cube. “I think you’d make a great businesswoman,” he said, “in the right field. How do you feel about retail? Mr. Parker is getting ready to retire, and his kids have scattered to do other things. Eagle’s Toe will always need a feed and grain store.”

  Taylor’s expression turned thoughtful. “That’s not a bad idea.” Her tone brightened. “I could spend my days surrounded by saddles and bridles instead of slogging around the company mailroom!”

  “Sounds like you and your father have very different ideas about the path to happiness.”

  Taylor leaned her head against his shoulder. “Sort of like you and your dad.”

  “Really?”

  “You don’t seem to have much in common either. He’s a billionaire businessman, and you are a talented novelist who wants to rescue animals. He’s a ruthless negotiator, and you are a gentle soul.” She paused before adding, “I think I would have really liked your mother. I’ll bet you’re just like her.” Then she turned away to press her face against Jackson’s cheek, afraid she’d revealed too much.

  Axel searched for something to say. “So, shall I drive you back to the hotel, or did you want to sleep in the barn with Jackson?”

  “Don’t tempt me!” Taylor looked up at him, love in her eyes. “We need to get you a horse,” she murmured.

  “Why, Miss Hazen, that is the sexiest thing anyone ever said to me.” Axel bent to kiss her softly on the lips.

  Jackson shoved Axel with his head.

  Taylor laughed. “Okay, okay, Jackson. You’re right.” Her voice softened. “Staying here would be a very dangerous idea.”

  Axel held her gaze for several long seconds before forcing himself to look away. “I’ll wait for you in the car.”

  “I’ll get my computer.” She headed for the cabin.

  When she got there, she could hear her phone ringing in her purse. She pulled it out, heaved a sigh, and answered the call.

  “Hello, Daddy.”

  “Where the hell have you been?!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Taylor was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

  “I haven’t heard from you in—” He broke off.

  Taylor propped one hand on her hip. “In what? Twenty-two hours? I just called you last night.”

  Silence.

  Then, “Well, be sure to call me again tonight. I told you, I need that info by Friday!” And he hung up.

  Taylor stared at her phone, shaking her head. She gathered her computer and her purse and joined Axel at the SUV where she loaded her things into the cab and climbed in. “I just had the weirdest call from my father.”

  “What’d he say?” Axel got behind the wheel.

  “He was angry that he hadn’t heard from me since last night.” She clicked her seat belt into place.

  Axel laughed. “Well, at least we know that the little plastic square was definitely a listening device.”

  Taylor’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, that’s what he meant! He stopped himself, too, before he could say how long it had been since he heard from me.”

  Axel started the car and headed down his dirt road. “I’ll bet it’s been…” He glanced at the dash clock. “…at least five hours. That’s how long ago we popped that thing in the envelope.”

  Taylor laughed. “It’s a relief to know he can’t eavesdrop on every word.” She shook her head. “I’m so angry with him. He really doesn’t trust me at all. I’m just a chess piece in some bigger game he’s playing.”

  “Don’t take it too hard,” said Axel. “You’re not in this alone.”

  Taylor smiled, then ducked her head to keep from showing her pleasure at his words. “What do you think they’re really up to?” she asked.

  Axel shook his head. “Not sure. We know they were helping Thor try to bring the price down on the property. That makes sense if Thor wants to build housing on it, because a development like that is a huge investment. But considering the amount of money floating around between your family and mine, if they were ready to buy, the asking price wouldn’t have mattered. I mean, they could have done it easily. So why were they waiting?”

  Taylor frowned. “Daddy loves it when he gets a bargain.”

  “I just think this is more than bargain hunting. They wanted the property for a reason, but I bought it before they could make their move. So far, they haven’t made any real money offers to me, but I have received some pressure from my cousins. You know, asking me what the heck I’m doing, putting one house on a huge piece of acreage, living the country boy life. But they haven’t really pushed hard about it.”

  Taylor stared out the window. “This is such beautiful country. I think you made the right decision. Keep it pristine. Or almost pristine. An animal sanctuary is a noble cause.”

  “Thanks.” Axel reached out and took her hand. “It’s such a puzzle though. I mean, should we still be working on this biography? Or was it all a sham to send you out here with that listening-slash-tracking device to eavesdrop on something other than our conversations?”

  “Like what? We’ve spent all our time together.”

  “Not quite,” said Axe
l. “You go back to the hotel every night. You went shoe shopping at Mina’s Boutique, and I wasn’t along for that.”

  “How do you know that’s where I bought them?”

  “Your rental car is in Brady’s garage. No other place you could get to on foot from the Cattleman’s. Besides, everyone shops at Mina’s. So what did you two talk about?”

  Taylor shrugged. “We talked about shoes, actually. And she told me a little about your cousin Thor and…oh! She mentioned that the town council had voted down fracking and oil stuff. I didn’t know there was oil in Colorado.”

  “Seventh largest producer of crude in the U.S.,” said Axel.

  Taylor gawked at him. “How did you know that?”

  “The Garrison money comes from oil. My uncle, Rudy, is still in the oil business.” He hit the brakes and pulled the SUV onto the shoulder of the road. “Son of a gun! Could that be it? I left that meeting in the middle because I was tired of watching Thor trying to browbeat the council over zoning. They must have talked about fracking at the end.”

  “But why would your cousin want that kind of industry here when he’s trying to convince the council to let him build luxury homes?”

  Axel looked grim. “Maybe he doesn’t know anything about it. I’ll bet they’re letting him think they’re interested in his luxury homes idea. We need to talk to Thor.”

  Taylor touched his cheek and her fingers tingled with his energy. “But not tonight. Stay in town long enough to have dinner. No one can hear us talking now.” She smiled flirtatiously and hefted her purse. “And I won’t keep you too late. After all, my horse is in your barn.”

  “Just dinner, huh?” Axel’s voice grew husky.

  Taylor looked apologetic. “You’re the one who said we have to wait because of your father’s silly wedding toast.”

  Axel gazed softly into her eyes. “I guess the least I can do is have dinner. Like you said, your horse is in my barn. That counts for something.”

  “More than you know,” said Taylor sweetly.

  Axel rubbed a hand over his face, fending off the attraction between them. “Okay. Let’s go eat. I’m starved.”

  Taylor laughed. “Gee, that was romantic.”

  When they got to the Cattleman’s, Taylor said, “Let me run upstairs and change into something prettier.”

  Axel held his arms out. “Please don’t make me feel like a plaid suit at a fancy ball.”

  Taylor paused, looking him up and down. She said softly, “I think you look great. Every inch the gentleman rancher. But I know what you mean.” She lifted one mud-encrusted hiking boot in the air. “I’m just going to change my shoes and comb the hay out of my hair.”

  “I’ll put our names on the reservation list,” said Axel. He watched her move toward the elevators, computer bag over one arm, purse over the other, and marveled that she could make that look sexy. Especially considering the state of her hiking boots. Shaking his head in wonder, he approached the hostess at the Il Vaccaro Italian restaurant off the lobby and learned that they would only have to wait ten minutes for a table. He strolled to the historic photos on the wall and caught his reflection in one of them. Taylor wasn’t the only one with hay in her hair!

  He decided it was worth a stop at the men’s room because the picture glass wasn’t the best mirror. Besides, if he was going to have dinner with a fine-looking woman like Taylor, he wanted to measure up. It was already seven. His five-o’clock shadow was fashionable these days, so he didn’t worry about that. But it did take him a few minutes to pick the hay and some unidentifiable bits of green out of his hair. At last, he broke down and paid a dollar for a comb out of a machine on the wall. When he viewed the result, he decided it was worth the money.

  He returned to the lobby not a moment too soon. As he struck a casual pose near the restaurant entrance and turned to watch the comings and goings at registration, he spotted Taylor on her way over from the elevators. Her blue bob was flawless. And although she was still wearing jeans, she had changed into a demure white blouse with a ruched midriff and white heels. The sight of her caused his heart to skip a beat as he realized for the first time how hooked he was on Miss Taylor Hazen.

  “Did I take too long?” she asked.

  Unable to form words, Axel shook his head and waved an arm toward the restaurant. Curse his father’s drunken wedding toast! How was he possibly going to stay away from Taylor long enough to ruin the old man’s devious plans?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Tuesday, April 12

  Taylor dreamed of wedding gowns and horses. As she woke up, the last shreds of her dream fading, she could distinctly remember Jackson being their ring bearer. It was the image of her horse decked out in flowers, walking down the aisle of the church, that nudged her awake.

  She luxuriated in the silken sheets of her bedroom suite and let herself relive the magical evening she’d shared with Axel. First, they had dinner at Il Vaccaro. Then they’d gone to a tiny restaurant up the street for dessert.

  “What a perfect name for a tiny restaurant! The Itty Bitty.”

  Axel seemed to know everyone in town, and they were warmly welcomed and treated to tiramisu perfection by Alice Kate McAvoy, the owner. By nine-thirty, they were stuffed to the gills and holding hands like teenagers over their coffee. For several long minutes, they stared into each other’s eyes.

  At last, Axel spoke. “I hate to say it, but I have to get back to the cabin and check on the animals before bedtime.”

  “I know. Jackson loves those horse treats we bought at the Feed and Grain. Be sure to give him one when you say good-night.”

  Axel nodded. “I will.” But neither of them moved an inch.

  Alice Kate brought their bill. Axel glanced at it, then protested, “On the house? No way. You can’t just give food away, Alice Kate. You’ll go out of business.”

  Alice Kate winked. “I have a secret partner, a sugar daddy, so to speak. I was just talking to him a moment ago, and he said you’d spent a fortune on your dinner. So dessert is on me. You need more coffee.” She patted Axel on the shoulder, then bustled off to her kitchen.

  “Wow,” said Taylor, “people here really love you.”

  Axel gave a tiny shrug, like it was no big deal. “I saved the Lazy B,” he said. “I guess that made me a hero of sorts.”

  Alice Kate was back in time to overhear Axel’s words. “Too bad you couldn’t bail out the Pattersons,” she said. “I heard a rumor today that they’re thinking of selling out.”

  “Oh no,” said Axel. “They have a huge place, too. Is someone local buying it?”

  “Not sure, but rumor has it the offer came from back east somewhere.”

  Taylor said, “Maybe they want to keep it as a ranch, like Axel’s doing.”

  “We can only hope,” said Alice Kate before retreating again.

  Axel frowned. “When we visit Thor tomorrow, I’ll ask him if he’s heard anything. Maybe after I bought the Lazy B parcel, he started looking around for a different piece of land.”

  “But she said the offer came from back east.”

  Axel raised a brow. “She said, ‘rumor has it.’ In my experience, that’s not the most trustworthy source of information.” He glanced at his phone. “I’d better get you back to the hotel. You can sleep in tomorrow. Thor doesn’t open his doors until ten a.m. I’ll meet you here and we’ll walk up the street to his store.”

  “Thor Security?”

  “That’s it.”

  And that was why she was letting herself lie in bed like a woman of leisure. Axel wouldn’t arrive until ten. After a few moments, she sighed dreamily. She reached for her phone and glanced at the screen.

  “Nine-thirty-two?!” How could she have slept so long? She blamed it on the wedding dream. She threw off the covers and dashed for the shower. It’s not that she was rushing things. No one had control over their dreams, did they? But she knew she’d fallen hard for Axel. Two weeks ago, she’d never heard of him. And here she was, head over
heels.

  But he loved her back. She just knew it. She couldn’t wait to see him again, and help him figure out what their fathers were up to.

  She took the fastest shower of her life, then selected her outfit at a saner pace. She decided to go casual. She wanted to look more like an Eagle’s Toe resident. She picked her plainest pair of designer jeans, a modest pale blue tee, and a sweater that matched her eyes and hair. She frowned at her blue tint. She needed a refresher. Maybe she’d ask at registration. Hadn’t she seen a hair salon in the commercial wing off the lobby? Near that little coffee shop? She’d look later. She slipped her feet into a pair of Nikes. She’d left her galoshes in Axel’s truck, so if things got muddy, she’d be okay.

  She managed to pull herself together quickly enough to grab her purse and make it to the elevator by nine-fifty-five. She left her computer in her room. If they wound up actually continuing with this biographical ruse, she’d take notes by hand.

  Axel was already in the lobby, waiting for her by the coffee and pastry table. She felt her heart race at the sight of him. Why hadn’t she met him in New York? They both grew up there, and obviously their families were in the same financial class. How could they have missed each other?

  She knew the answer immediately. He’d been at an all-boys prep school and they’d gone to different colleges. So it wasn’t as if they’d been attending the same parties or anything. And besides, it didn’t matter. She’d finally met him here, she’d fallen in love with him here, and she wanted to spend the rest of her days with him here. In Eagle’s Toe, Colorado. Life was full of surprises.

  When she approached, he bent to kiss her softly on the lips.

  “I’m happy to report that a certain fussy warmblood is settling in well and Rita the Reindeer already thinks he’s king of the barn.”

  “Wonderful!” That deserved another kiss.

  “No computer?”

  “We’ll play it by ear. Why labor all day and find out it was all just make-work in the end?”

  “Can’t argue there. That means you can spend the afternoon riding Jackson.”