Forever Ventured

by Kathleen Brooks

  Camila pulled the keychain to her heart and smiled. It was meant for her.

  “And this is also my great-grandmother’s. Like the keychain, it’s ancient but it works,” Wyatt was saying.

  Camila looked up from the keychain to find a giant white Cadillac that was older than she was by decades. “This is my car?” It was a boat. “I can’t drive that around the farm.”

  “That’s all it’s been used for. My great-grandfather bought it for my great-grandma forever ago. She flew through the pastures in it. I’m sorry, will it not do?”

  “Same great-grandma with the red lipstick kisses drove this car as a farm car and needlepointed this keychain?” Camila tried to imagine it all and the smile on her face grew.

  “Yes. She was something else.” Wyatt smiled and Camila could tell his mind was reliving happy memories. She felt happy for him. She’d lost her grandparents at an early age.

  “I hope I can live up to her then. Can I drive you to the store?”

  “It’s in Lexington, but it’s not far. It’ll be good for you to learn the way.”

  Camila began to walk around the car but realized the wheel was on the other side. This was going to take some getting used to.

  * * *

  Wyatt tried not to slam his foot on the imaginary brake pedal but it was hard not to with Camila driving. She drove like she rode—full tilt. Bud had texted him a video of her working with Gent and it had sent shivers down his body and put a smile on his face. They were going to do it. They were going to save the Wyatt legacy.

  “Wrong side of the road!” Wyatt called out as he gripped the “oh crap” handle above the door and slammed his foot against the floor as if he could control the car.

  Camila just laughed. “I keep forgetting that, but I’ll get used to it eventually. Tell me about Ruth Wyatt.”

  Wyatt told her all his favorite stories. The time she found a cannonball in the yard, the way she got the horses to walk on the blank canvas so she could needlepoint the large rug in the living room with their hoofprints on it. The way she would teach him the manners of days gone by.

  By the time they made it home from the store, he’d told her his whole family history and was definitely not thinking employer-like thoughts about her as she talked to him in that soft accent of hers.

  “My mum’s family raced on the beaches in Spain. I remember sitting on my granddad’s shoulders, watching the horses race by. It was such a different feel from the races in the UK. I’d gone to Ascot and Epsom before, but even as a seven year old, I knew the race in Spain along the ocean waters was special. People lined the beach in their bathing suits, cheering for the racers. It was on that beach that I fell in love with racing. Not the dress-to-be-seen racing, but the admiration of the horse and the appreciation of the race. My grandfather always pointed out what made a good horse. What qualities they needed to race on the beach versus the turf versus the dirt.”

  Wyatt opened the back door and pushed it open with a kick. He held it for Camila as they were both laden with bags of groceries. “So how are you not a trainer already then?”

  “My dad saw the knowledge I was acquiring and added to it. He took me around everywhere and taught me.” Camila set down her bags, and they worked together putting the groceries away. “But when I asked to help train, he just shook his head and said no one would take me seriously. Women weren’t trainers. That was ten years ago when I was a teenager. I tried every year to get him to let me train. I went to university, and when I graduated I figured he’d have to let me. He let me help, but never let me take the reins myself. That’s why I’m so thankful to have seen your ad for a trainer.”

  “It’s only been a day, and I already see great things for Wyatt Farm under your leadership.” Wyatt smiled but then the smile faded. “Do your parents know where you are?” Camila didn’t look at him, and he didn’t like that. “They need to know you’re safe. My parents would have every military branch, spy group, and Interpol looking for me if I just disappeared.”

  “I didn’t just disappear. I told them I was taking a road trip in America to see all the famous horse farms. I just didn’t mention I was going to stay. To be fair, I didn’t know if you were going to hire me. And I kind of don’t want my parents to know I am training. My mum and dad are coming for the Derby this year. I want to surprise them.”

  Wyatt shook his head as he tossed her the bags of salad she’d bought as she began to put them in the refrigerator. “It’ll be a surprise all right. Hopefully, a good one. But please promise me you’ll tell them where you are. You don’t have to tell them you’re a trainer.”

  Camila’s eyes softened as she looked at him. Wyatt fought the urge to hug her. To pull her to him and whisper encouragements. “You’re a good man, Wyatt. I’ll call them tomorrow and tell them. But now we eat.”

  “What does a woman make who doesn’t cook?”

  “Chef Salad with cold cuts. Not an oven to be had!”

  Wyatt chuckled again as he sat on the stool at the kitchen island and watched Camila mix up dinner. It had only been a day, and already Wyatt felt completely comfortable with her. Worse yet, it wasn’t just comfort he was feeling. As much as he wanted to find out if there could be more, he knew what he needed to do. He needed to back away and let Camila shine on her own.

  6

  It was almost midnight and Wyatt was just finishing up the paperwork and the bills for the farm. He’d had fun with Camila that night and knew what it meant. He liked her. And he needed to stay away from her. He couldn’t risk a personal relationship with her when she was so new to her job. Not when the future of Wyatt Farm needed to be considered first.

  The ringing doorbell had him looking up from the last bill and blinking. Camila had gone to bed hours ago as she was getting up at four-thirty in the morning. The bell rang again and Wyatt hurried from the office to the front door. He yanked it open and blinked. “Zain?”

  Zain Ali Rahman or, His Royal Highness Prince Zain, spare heir to the Rahmi throne, as he was formally known. But to all in Keeneston, he was just Zain. His younger-by-a-minute twin was known as Gabe and their little sister was Ariana. “Don’t tell me your dad sent you to make another charity offer to buy Ruth’s Gentleman.”

  Zain smiled broadly. “Nope,” he slurred. “I’m here to celebrate, and you’re the only person I know who’d be up at this time who isn’t still in college.”

  “Mila didn’t have her baby, did she?” Wyatt worried. Mila, Zain’s wife, had suffered from years of fertility issues before finally becoming pregnant. However, she wasn’t due for a couple more months.

  Zain shook his head and slid against the doorframe as he lifted a bottle of very expensive bourbon. “To Rania Ali Rahman, my new cousin and now second in line to the throne of Rahmi.” Zain lifted up his bottle. “May she grow up strong, wise, and have the knowledge and compassion to lead Rahmi.”

  Wyatt smiled as he took a drink of the bourbon Zain offered. “I am so relieved for you.”

  “I am, too,” Zain said, letting out a long breath. “My cousin Jamal called me an hour ago to deliver the news that I am no longer the spare heir. Mila cried with relief. The pressure on her to produce an heir was unbelievable.”

  Zain pulled out his phone and turned it to Wyatt. “There are celebrations in the streets as the entire country received news of the birth of the King’s first grandchild, who will one day be the country’s first queen. I don’t envy the pressure that will be placed on her shoulders. Does it make me a bad person for being relieved that pressure no longer rests on my family’s shoulders?”

  Wyatt shook his head and pulled Zain into the living room where he handed him a glass for his bourbon. “No. You and Mila have been put through enough. It’s time to look forward to being a father for the sake of your family and not for a country.”

  “Thank you,” Zain said, looking up and holding up his already empty glass. “Who’s that?”

  Wyatt turned around and felt the hit like a truck. Camil
a was standing there rumpled from sleep, wearing nothing but a T-shirt that was so short if she raised her arm he’d be able to see her . . . Wyatt tossed back the bourbon he was going to hand Zain.

  “I’m Camila Callahan. I’m Wyatt’s farm manager and trainer. Is everything okay?”

  Zain staggered to his feet and executed a decent bow. “I’m Zain Ali Rahman, the former spare heir. Thank goodness. Excuse our celebration. I didn’t realize Wyatt had company.”

  “Oh no!” Wyatt and Camila said at the same time.

  “She’s not company,” Wyatt tried to explain.

  “Nice. She’s cute,” Zain whispered loudly. Wyatt tossed back more bourbon and Camila blushed.

  “She’s living here. For work.”

  “We’re not together. He’s my boss.”

  Wyatt and Camila looked at each other, and if Zain weren’t there, Wyatt would have made a move on her. That one look had said everything. They both wanted more, and yet they both knew they couldn’t have it.

  “It was nice meeting you. Congratulations on your dethroning.”

  “Thank you. I’m sure my wife will be over soon to welcome you to town. She is done with travel until the baby arrives and is feeling rather restless.” Zain tipped his glass to her in a silent toast and Camila relaxed.

  “I look forward to meeting her, Your Highness.”

  “Pfffft. No one calls me that here. Zain. Just Zain,” he said with a happy little sigh.

  “Goodnight then, Zain.”

  “Goodnight, Camila,” Wyatt said as she was walking away, and he would have sworn he saw her shiver.

  Wyatt looked up as he heard the front door open and close. Gabe and Sloane, Zain’s brother and sister-in-law, walked inside with an apologetic smile. “Brother,” Gabe said before holding open his arms.

  Zain staggered into them as they thumped each other’s backs.

  “Sorry to intrude,” Sloane said to Wyatt. “Mila called us and said Zain had disappeared with a bottle of bourbon to celebrate.”

  “Shh,” Zain said with his fingers to his lips. “You don’t want to wake Camila. She’s cute and Wyatt wants to sleep with her, but he’s her boss. But they will. He has the look.”

  “Really?” Gabe and Sloane said, turning to him.

  “No, not really. Just an employee of the farm.”

  “Hmm,” Sloane murmured as she pulled out her phone.

  “Will you put twenty on my account for me, sweetheart. My hands are full,” Gabe said as he slid an arm around his drunken brother.

  “Already doing it.”

  “You’d better not be placing a bet on Camila and me.”

  “Hmm?” Sloane blinked innocently up at him. Dammit. A bet had been placed and now he wouldn’t hear an end to it.

  “You’re welcome to come with us,” Gabe said as he started walking Zain to the front door. “Mila called my mom and Sloane to tell them about the new heir. Apparently while she was doing that, Zain was celebrating on his own. But the whole farm is up. The security, Ahmed and his family, my entire family . . . we’re celebrating at the main house if you’d like to come.”

  Wyatt looked back toward his bedroom and his eyes went upstairs to where Camila was lying in that barely there T-shirt. Sleep was not going to visit him tonight. “I’d love to.”

  The Blossom Café was the best perk of the job. Camila had watched from the shadows as Wyatt had left with his friends to celebrate. She’d heard everything before Zain had seen her. She’d never thought about that aspect of royal life before. She’d thought it was all shiny diamonds and sparkling champagne.

  Camila had headed back to bed and had a restless night thinking about Wyatt and what Zain had said about them sleeping together. She’d given up and at four in the morning, got up when she heard Wyatt stumbling in. He didn’t appear drunk, but exhausted. She’d wanted to go to him, but he’d shut his door instantly.

  Camila finished the early morning work at the farm, then headed for the café at seven. She was standing outside when Poppy and Zinnia came walking down the sidewalk.

  “Good morning, Camila. How was the morning training?” Poppy asked as she unlocked the café.

  “It’s such a beautiful morning. The horses had a great training session.”

  “You okay, hon?” Zinnia asked as she flipped on the lights. “You look tired. Wyatt isn’t working you too hard, is he?”

  Only in her dreams and it wasn’t work he was doing to her in those dreams.

  “No, he’s the best boss I could ask for.” And that was the truth.

  “Wyatt’s great. He’s one of the nicest, most chivalrous men I have ever known,” Zinnia said as she headed into her kitchen, and Camila took a seat that over the past few days was quickly becoming “her” seat.

  “He’s at the top of the list for a reason,” Poppy agreed.

  “What list?” Camila asked as Poppy started up the coffee machine.

  “The Keeneston Belles, a local charity organization for unmarried women, puts out a Most Eligible list every year. This year Wyatt is number one,” Poppy told her.

  “I heard there was a fight during the meeting between Wyatt and Jackson. It was so close that they named them co-most eligible bachelors.”

  “I don’t think I’ve met Jackson.”

  “Honey, you’d know if it you did. The man’s to die for. Silver eyes, black hair, and fearless. He’s not in town all the time as he works out of Louisville for the FBI Hostage Rescue team. But he comes back quite often and usually brings his teammates.”

  Camila noticed Zinnia smile at Poppy who smiled dreamily at the coffee pot.

  “Thank goodness Nikki isn’t here this summer,” Poppy said as she poured a cup of coffee for Camila.

  “Who’s Nikki?”

  Both women groaned. “She’s one of the Belles and as fake as they come. Luckily she’s traveling overseas this summer. Trust me, you’ll remember her as soon as you see her. She’s a list hunter. She’s been going after the most eligible bachelors for the last couple of years. She really wanted to be Princess Nikki, but both Ali Rahman brothers are smarter than that.”

  “I met Zain last night.”

  “And we’re also guessing Gabe and Sloane,” Poppy said with a giggle.

  “Why do you assume that?”

  “Because they placed a bet . . .”

  “Poppy!” Zinnia hissed.

  “. . . on how well you’re doing. It’s exciting to have a female trainer here in Keeneston.” Poppy set down the coffee and hurried to get her pad. “Do you know what you want for breakfast?”

  “Biscuits and sausage gravy, please. I can’t get enough of them.”

  “Make that two.”

  Camila turned to see a man in jeans and a brown polo shirt walk in. A gold sheriff’s star was embroidered on his chest. He took off his dark tan cowboy hat to expose light-brown hair and stormy gray eyes.

  “Sure thing, Luke. Will Ava join you this morning?” Poppy asked as she grabbed another cup of coffee.

  “She’ll be here in a couple of minutes. She’ll have her regular.” Luke looked to Camila and smiled as he took the table near her. “I’m Luke Tanner. I’m a new deputy here. I haven’t met everyone yet.”

  “Camila Callahan. I’m new here myself. I work for Wyatt Davies.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Luke turned to the door. “And this is my girlfriend, Ava Miller. We both work the night shift and just got off. Ava, this is Camila. She’s new here, too.”

  The scrubs indicated she was in the medical field. Her curly hair was pulled back into a bun that had partially fallen. Her blue eyes looked tired but friendly. “Oh, you’re the new trainer at Wyatt’s farm. So nice to meet you.”

  “Night shift at the hospital?” Camila asked as Ava sat down at the nearby table.

  “Yes. I’m getting through my last months of residency for med school and will be so glad to be done with it. The end is in sight.”

  The door opened again and Poppy gasped. Camila turned an
d saw a very pregnant woman shuffle in. She had long strawberry-blonde hair that was pulled into a very sloppy ponytail. But it was the pure look of determination that Camila first noticed.

  “Sophie! What are you doing here?”

  “Chocolate. I need chocolate and the store is too far to drive.”

  “You’re due any day, right?” Ava asked.

  “Four days. But I’m telling you. I have never had a craving like this before. And peanut butter. I need chocolate with peanut butter.” The woman turned her head and looked at Camila and then grimaced as she plopped down into the chair Luke held out for her. “You’re Wyatt’s new girlfriend, the trainer, right?”

  “I’m not his girlfriend!” Camila said shocked even as she felt her cheeks blush. “But I am his trainer.”

  “Sophie Dagher. I’m Wyatt’s cousin.”

  Camila chuckled to herself and then noticed everyone was staring at her. “Sorry. Wyatt said he had a lot of cousins, and I’m realizing he was not exaggerating.”

  “Where’s Nash?” Poppy asked as the smell of melting chocolate filled the café.

  “My husband is unavailable right now.”

  Ava groaned. “You didn’t taser him again, did you?”

  Sophie blinked innocently. “Who, me?”

  “Here you go,” Zinnia said, carrying out a plate and gravy boat. “Peanut butter pancakes with melted chocolate sauce.”

  “Mmm,” Sophie groaned as she breathed in deeply.

  “Are you looking forward to the baby?” Camila asked as her biscuits and gravy were brought out a couple minutes later.

  “I can’t wait. Nash took my guns away. Do you know how long it’s been since I shot something?” Sophie looked over at her and grimaced. “I’m a weapons developer. It’s my job to shoot things.”

  “And your husband?” Camila asked between bites of breakfast.