Dominic slumped down in his desk chair. “Shit.”
“It’s a pleasure to see you too.”
“Gerri, what do you want?”
“Well, I saw that mess you got your fine ass into and took advantage of an opportunity.” She sat in a chair across from Dominic’s desk. She nodded to Gary. “Thank you for your help. I’ll take it from here.”
Dominic held out his hands, questioning Gary with his look.
Gary shrugged. “Sorry, man. She introduced me to Nikki. I’d still be miserable if she hadn’t helped.” He walked over, kissed Gerri on the cheek, then walked out the door.
Dominic shuffled papers on his desk. “Gerri, as you can see, I’m very busy. Don’t really have time to talk.”
“I’m not leaving. You might as well get comfortable.” She pursed her lips, her face determined.
He sighed. “Fine. It’s late, and I’m tired. What do you want?”
“You know what we need to talk about. It’s time.”
“For what?”
“Your mate.”
Dominic lifted another folder and started to protest. Gerri lifted a finger, waved it back and forth, and clucked her tongue.
He let out a long breath and resigned himself to this tiny woman who planned to turn his world upside down.
Gerri Fucking Wilder. This night just got ten times worse.
Chapter Three
Dominic
Dominic walked to the bookshelf across the office, took off a bottle, and found two glasses. As he poured the amber liquid into the glasses, he said, “What brings you to my club?”
“I didn’t know it was your club until I saw the fight. Good right hook, by the way.” Gerri took the glass and swirled the liquid inside. She inhaled deeply. “Dalmore?”
Dominic nodded.
“You have exquisite taste except in one area.”
“And you’re here to fix that, aren’t you?”
“I’ve given up on trying to find your mate. You fight me every step of the way. You are as stubborn as an ass.”
“Hey, this ass is a fine horse.”
“Well, then you’re a horse’s ass.” She smirked.
Dominic walked over to a window overlooking the city. Fog hung low around Golden Gate Bridge. The top reminded him of arms reaching up from the ground. Below, a man walked two yappy dogs. They took turns marking the various light poles. He harrumphed. Yappy dogs like that one were destroying this town, one light pole at a time.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Gerri, why are you here?”
She joined him at the window. “I was in town to see you. Wanted to check on my old friend. We go way back.”
He chuckled. “Far enough to know when you’re not telling me the truth.”
“Seems to me like someone needs to be ridden.”
Dominic glared at her. Few had the backbone to remain firm when he glared at them, but this little woman didn’t flinch. Instead, she glared back until he was the one who backed down. Finally, he shrugged and pulled her in for a hug. “You are infuriating.”
She pulled back. “It’s part of my charm.”
They walked to a leather sofa.
“Have you heard of a spa retreat in Rio City, The Libre Volare?”
“Yeah, the Hanson brothers. I’m helping them start a brewery.”
“That would be Cameron’s project. Do you know much about the resort?”
Dominic shook his head.
“They had a horrible fire. A very sweet girl died. She had plans on coming here to San Francisco for school. They’ve established a scholarship in her name and asked me to help raise money. We’ve planned a dating auction, and I want you to be in it.”
“What the hell, Gerri. You want to auction me to the highest bidder?”
“You bet. I expect you’ll bring in lots of money.”
“I have no desire to shake my little groove thing on the catwalk.”
Gerri snickered. “Someone thinks he’s too sexy.”
Dominic returned to his desk. “I have way too many things going on right now to do this. Having a mate is not on my priority list.”
“I already told you I’m not searching for your mate. I need a hot male that will bring in a lot of money. If they raise a good chunk of money for this first official fundraiser, it will set a precedent for other fundraisers. Hell, those kids were doing bake sales until they contacted me.”
He rubbed the spot between his thumb and forefinger. It’s not that he was mad at this tiny live wire, it was that she represented a truth he didn’t want to admit. His heart wanted more. It went beyond sex. Sex, he had any time he wanted. But love, love was a different matter, and it was too hard to focus on love and his business at the same time.
He sighed. “When is it?”
The smug expression on her face irritated him. Did she always get her way?
She sat on the edge of his desk next to him. “The next weekend. When you get into town, head out to the resort, and I’ll make all the other arrangements.”
He leaned back in his chair. “No matchmaking.”
Gerri put her hand over her heart. “Would I do that after I promised I wouldn’t?” She batted her eyes.
“In a fucking heartbeat. In a fucking heartbeat.”
A week later, he drove his truck an hour north to Wild Horses Run Ranch outside Petaluma. His ranch was his sanctuary. It gave him the endurance to deal with the traveling and crazy business world. But it also served an even more important function.
When his mother died, his father lost himself. To make ends meet, he fought in illegal street brawls. The owner of the auto shop where he worked matched shifters against shifters. There was only one rule, stay in human form. At first, Gene did well, and despite the beating he got every night, he made decent money. When the boss brought on newer fighters, Gene would take a dive to increase the value of the new fighter.
No matter how much pain he allowed to his body, he couldn’t erase the pain caused by losing his mate.
Two dogs raced alongside the truck as he drove down a dirt road. Nixon and Dixon were as devoted as any mate. They’d worked the ranch since they were puppies.
Both dogs jumped, barked, and howled as Dominic got out of the truck. He rubbed behind their ears and played with them before heading into the main house.
The foreman met him on the porch. “Wasn’t expecting you today.”
The two men shook hands.
“Good to see you, too, Jim. Is it okay with you if I visit my ranch?”
Jim puffed out his chest. “That depends. Did you bring dinner?” He glared down at Dominic.
Dominic narrowed his eyes, challenging the worker. “Have I ever come out here without bringing dinner?”
Jim’s snarl changed to a smirk. “Did you bring cheesecake too?”
Dominic gave Jim a side glance.
Jim slapped him on the back and chuckled. “Go see your dad. I’ll bring the food inside.” He walked toward the truck.
“How’s he doing?”
“Well, you know your old man. Had a storm last week. He wouldn’t come in until every one of the new foals was safe. One fool got lost, and it took us hours to find him. I think he’s in the paddock.”
Dominic headed to the barn. Gene stood close to the fence, his face warming in the sun. He didn’t move or acknowledge Dominic.
“Feeling stubborn, today?” Dominic asked.
Gene continued to ignore his son.
Dominic walked to the fence and propped his foot on the lowest bar, his arms rested on the top. It was a beautiful day, a typical warm, early fall, California day. He closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet smell of harvested hay. Two years ago, a fire destroyed the hay crop, but it grew back better than before.
A young foal neighed from the corner of the pen.
His father refocused his energy.
“Is that why you’re so zen today?” Dominic asked.
His father flicked his mane back and stomped his hoof
.
“She’s a beauty. One of yours?”
As if his father understood, the horse snorted and shook his head.
Dominic held out his hands in front of him, surrendering. He chuckled. “Sorry I asked.”
Dominic fished out an apple from his pocket and dangled it over the fence. The black thoroughbred dropped the apple on the ground, called to the foal, and nudged it to her when she joined him.
Dominic harrumphed. “Just like you to share the treat I brought you with a pretty, young thing.”
The horse nudged Dominic’s elbow.
When his mother died every year got harder for his dad. He retreated into his animal self more and more. One night he came home from losing another fight. When Dominic woke up the next morning, a strong black thoroughbred stood in his backyard. Dominic never saw his father’s face again.
He rubbed the horse’s head between the ears. “I’m headed out of town for the weekend. Wanted to come out and see you first. Jim says you’re helping him with the new ones. That’s good, I guess.”
The horse snorted.
Dominic climbed on the bottom rung of the fence and leaned over enough to take the horse by the face. He rested his forehead against the horse’s forehead. His chest grew heavy. “Ah, Dad. I miss you.”
The horse shook his head and pulled away. He and the foal played while Dominic watched.
Twilight descended around him. He rubbed his arms. The warm air cooled enough that he kicked himself for not wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt. Before he left, he opened the gate and led his father to the barn. The foal followed close.
The smell of grilled steaks overpowered him when he came inside the main house.
“I knew you’d make good use of that meat,” Dominic said to Jim.
“Sit your ass down. I’m hungry and tired of waiting for you.” Jim set down a platter with the steaks.
A shorter redhead walked to the table behind him. She carried a bowl of vegetables and a plate of rolls.
Dominic took the dishes from her and inclined his head to kiss her cheek. “Hi, Dolly. It looks wonderful.”
Dolly went back to the kitchen and returned with glasses and a bottle of wine. Dominic inspected the wine. The paper label with Wild Horses Winery never stopped making him happy. It was his only personal investment. Before his business took off, he spent a harvest season on a winery. It was enough. He loved scotch and whiskey, but he could live off of wine.
Dominic poured wine into Dolly’s glass then his own. He offered the bottle to Jim, but he declined, holding up a beer bottle instead. “Fill me in on what’s happening around here.”
Jim reached for the steak platter. “The rescue section is going well, which I never know if that’s good or bad. Since we opened that last year, we’ve had four rescues come through. One we had to put down because he was too sick.”
Dominic winced.
Jim nodded. “Yeah, I know. Dolly and I sat with that one for three days, never leaving his side, but when the Doc said he couldn’t do any more, you could just tell the horse didn’t have enough left to fight.”
“What happened to the owner?” Dominic helped himself to a steak then reached for the salad.
“We turned the owner into the sheriff. I don’t know what the sheriff did with the information,” Dolly added.
Jim cocked an eyebrow and caught Dominic’s gaze. His look told Dominic what he wanted to know. They had dealt with the owner. Dominic never condoned murder, but he and Jim reeducated a few misguided horse owners in the past.
“And what about the other three?” Dominic asked.
“We rehomed all but one. Just picked up one two days ago. Your dad is spending time with her for right now.”
“Is she the one I saw with him?”
Dolly nodded. “We had the hardest time even getting her out of the trailer. I have no idea what she’d been through.”
In between bites, Jim and Dolly shared about the rehabilitation program and the boarding parts of the ranch. It wouldn’t be long before Jim brought the cows to market, and he expected to do well with this herd.
After dinner, he and Jim sat on the porch watching the sunset.
“Where you headed this time?” Jim asked.
“Going out to New Mexico, Rio City.” Dominic lifted his eyes upward. “Gotta fulfill a promise.”
“Must be a shitty promise if you’re this grumpy about it.”
“An old friend helped me close a big deal, and now she thinks she can set me up with my perfect mate.” He used air quotes around the word perfect.
“You mean like a blind date?”
“I guess. It’s some kind of charity dating auction.”
Jim snickered. “Do you mean women will be fighting over who gets to spend the most money for a date with you?” His chuckles grew into belly laughs.
“It’s not that funny. I’m not looking forward to it at all.” He jerked up and moved to the edge of the porch.
Jim forced his face to settle. It was a losing battle.
“Come on, man. I have to stand up in front of a crowd, probably strut down a catwalk or something like that.”
Jim lost it again and almost fell off his chair from laughing so hard.
“Whatever.” Dominic shook his head and walked to the truck.
Dominic inhaled the fresh air one more time then stood from his chair. “Okay then. I’ll let you take care of everything. Let me know if you need help, and I’ll see you in a week.”
Jim shook his hand; then he walked to the truck. Dolly joined him, and they watched Dominic drive away.
As they disappeared from his rearview mirror, Dominic felt a rock land heavy in his stomach. Seeing Jim and Dolly made him wonder what it would be like to have a woman he wanted to be with longer. Not wanting to go to his place, he headed to the airport and spent the night in a nearby hotel.
As much as Dominic loved to indulge himself, he drew the line at buying a plane. It seemed like an extravagance that even he couldn’t justify. So early the next morning, he found his seat.
After stretching out in the first-class seat, he ordered a refill for his coffee, closed the window shade, and opened the magazine he bought at the newsstand. National Landscape was not something he read, but the cover showed a group of female soldiers in Zimbabwe. These fierce women were a little scary.
A woman struggled with her carry-on bag next to him.
“Do you need some help,” Dominic asked.
A huge smile showed on her face. “Oh, yes. Thank you.”
“Where are you sitting?”
She pointed to the empty aisle seat next to him. “Here, I believe.”
He put her bag in the overhead bin, then asked, “I have the window seat, but I don’t mind trading if you’d like.”
The woman’s button-up blouse was opened enough that he had a direct view of the smallest beads of perspiration glistening at the top of the valley between her breasts. It was a nice view, but he forced his eyes to move away. A hook-up was the last thing he needed.
The woman pulled out a tissue from her purse and pressed it to her cheeks and forehead. “I can handle the stress of a busy kitchen any day of the week but traveling kills me.” She motioned to the attendant and asked for water.
“You work in a kitchen? Are you a chef?” Dominic watched her face relax as she drank her water.
“Yes. I run the kitchen for a resort in Rio City.”
“How big is the kitchen? That sounds like a huge job.”
“It recently re-opened after we had a horrible fire.”
The captain interrupted their conversation to announce the flight was preparing for takeoff.
The woman next to him gripped the arms of her chair tighter.
“Are you nervous?”
She nodded. “I don’t like to fly. I’m only here in San Francisco because of training.”
Dominic put his hand on hers. “I fly all the time. You’re perfectly safe.”
Her eyes darted down to hi
s hand. He pulled it back. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have been so familiar.”
She attempted to smile but grimaced as the airplane wheels raised. “No, probably not, but my stomach is in such a state, would you mind holding my hand just until we get up in the air? It can’t hurt much, can it?”
He gave her his seal-the-deal smile and squeezed her hand. “Tell me about this resort—wait, are you talking about the Libre Volare?”
Her eyes brightened. “Yes. You’ve heard of it?”
“As a matter of fact, I know the previous chef. I tried to steal Ms. Baker. Wanted to open a restaurant here in San Francisco, but she wouldn’t budge.”
She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him. “Are you that friend of Ginger’s who does all the big business deals?”
“Ginger and I are friends, so it’s probably me you’re thinking of.”
“Eliza opened a place next to the hotel.”
The seatbelt light went out, and she let out a huge sigh.
“That wasn’t horrible.” She pulled her left hand away and extended her right hand. “I should introduce myself. My name is Dottie James.”
Dominic shook her hand. “My name is Dominic Kingston.”
Dottie winked. “I just knew you were going to say your name was Beelzebub, from the way Eliza described you.”
He chuckled. “I’m afraid Eliza may have caught me on a bad day. Very few people turn me down, though.”
“Why are you going to Rio City?”
“I’m helping with a fundraiser that’s down at the resort.”
“The dating auction? Yeah? Me too. This short, silver-haired lady came back to the kitchen and told me I didn’t have a choice but to help. I assumed she meant with the food, but nope she conned me into taking part in the damn auction. I don’t know why I agreed.”
“That would be Gerri Wilder. She wouldn’t have taken no for an answer even if you tried.”
An attendant offered them a fruit platter, which they both took.
Dominic pealed back the plastic wrap from the top and put the napkin in his lap. “Gerri convinced me to be in the auction too.”
Dottie smiled. “Oh, well. It’s for a good cause, so how bad can it be?”
Wild Horses in Love Page 3