exact same business that your father is in.”
“That doesn’t mean I like it.” She asked him, “Do you have any idea how many people lose their shirts at the track?”
“Veda, I can’t help that.”
“Like a dealer can’t help an addict who continues to use?”
“Not the same thing.”
“I’ll fill you in on the definition of addiction someday.” She went on. “The worst part is the number of horses that are manipulated and hurt, too. Just last week, one of your own was put down after a fall.”
He stiffened. “And let me tell you, I was upset about it.”
“Not as upset as the horse.”
He opened his mouth, stopped, and then sought clarification. “So you don’t want to see me again because I own horses?”
“You use horses.”
Whatever you want to call it. “That’s not gonna change.”
“No shit.”
He had to grin. Veda could be direct when she wanted to be.
“Just please set me straight on one thing,” he said. “You don’t approve of keeping horses, but I don’t hear you bawling out your bestie, the dressage champion.”
“Lanie? That’s…well, it’s—”
“Please don’t say different.”
“Ajax, I’m not sleeping with your sister.”
“Right.” Stepping closer, he lowered his head over hers and ground out, “You’re sleeping with me.”
His whole body was a heartbeat as she gazed up with eyes flooding with questions. Veda might have her reasons for staying away, but he could tell a big part of her wanted Saratoga again at least as much as he did.
Finally she stepped back, took a breath.
“We’re here for Lanie. This is her night.”
He cast a look toward the twinkling pavilion and nodded. “Agreed.”
“So we need to put this aside.”
“That won’t work.”
“At least for now. For your sister’s sake.”
He slowly smiled. “You’re a shrewd negotiator, Darnel.”
“And you’re a persistent SOB.”
“One way to fix persistentness…because that’s absolutely a word.”
She didn’t hide her grin. “Okay.”
“The point is, yes, we should rejoin the party, and have one drink together.”
She cocked her head. “One drink?”
“Don’t know about you, but I’m drier than a dust storm.”
They continued down the path until Ajax had another thought and stopped again. “One more thing before we go in.”
Veda sighed. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”
“I need to say how amazing you look tonight. That dress. Your hair.” He slapped a hand over his heart. “And that’s all I’ll say on the subject. No more compliments.”
And he meant it. Foot on the brake.
But one drink could always lead to two. Could maybe lead to…more.
The woman who stopped beside Veda at the tent’s buffet table came right out and said it.
“He’s something else, isn’t he?”
When the woman sent Ajax an approving look—he was talking with guests by the birthday cake—Veda’s cheeks went warm. While looking over the desserts, every so often she had flickered a glance his way, obviously not as discreetly as she had thought.
And who was asking, anyway?
The woman was somewhere in her fifties and dressed in an elegant peach-colored sequined sheath. Her shoulder-length auburn hair was tucked behind an ear, revealing a dazzling teardrop diamond stud. Based on the woman’s maternal smile as she continued to watch Ajax, Veda took a guess.
“You’re Susan, aren’t you? Hux Rawson’s…housekeeper.”
After many years, it was known among relevant circles that the pair was less employee and boss these days and more a couple without the legal formalities.
Susan’s dimpled smile grew. “I met Ajax when he was a teen. Now he’s like my own. The other kids, too.”
After Veda introduced herself—leaving out her last name, which might complicate things at this time of night—Susan looked Ajax’s way again. As she leaned back against a column, her expression deepened. “Did you know that boy is the reason I’m here?”
“Really? How’s that?”
The lights dimmed at the same time Veda settled in for what promised to be an interesting conversation.
“After their mom passed away,” Susan explained, “the family was devastated, as you can imagine. With his father so lost in his grief, Ajax decided to step up to the plate. He placed an advertisement in the local paper. We need a housekeeper, the ad read. Someone who would like a family to look after. On my word, we will look after you right back.”
Veda’s heart squeezed. “That is so sweet.”
“I’d been going through some difficulties myself. Not a death, thank heaven. But enough to spin my world around ’til I didn’t know which way was up. Life can be like that sometimes. Downright dizzying.” Straightening, she resurrected her gentle smile. “I got the job and haven’t looked back since. I’ve never felt more fulfilled. I’d always wanted children of my own, so those kids were the icing on my cake. Griff, Ajax, Lanie and, of course, Jacob.”
Lanie had mentioned Griff, the Wall Street kingpin, as well as her adopted brother, whom she idolized as much as the other two. “Jacob’s a lawyer, right?”
“With an outstanding reputation. He came to us through a juvie program.” She toyed with the diamond stud as she clarified, “For years, Huxley ran a scheme here for boys in trouble who might benefit from fresh scenery and a little guidance. While they helped with chores, they learned about responsibility as well as what they were capable of and, more importantly, what they deserved out of life. Jacob had a terrible childhood, but Huxley saw something very special in that boy. He decided to fill the void and give him a real home.”
