Marti,” Dani said as she opened the gate to Lacy’s pen, “was that you bidding against me?”
“No,” Marti said with a light laugh, brushing back a hank of her beautifully streaked light brown hair. “I have more than enough horses to deal with. The last thing I need is a crazy one.” She leaned her arms on the rails, fixing Dani with a candid look. “So is it true what I’ve heard?”
“Depends on just what that was,” Dani said, coiling the halter rope. Marti had been a couple of years behind her in school and the undisputed queen of her class—no, make that of Eagle Valley High. The aura still clung to her, making it difficult for Dani to warm up to the woman. What made Marti so certain that she was a cut above everyone else, other than her perfect looks and amazing horse skills?
“That you’ve come home to start training for a living? Just like me and Dad?” she asked brightly.
“Seems like a good time to do it.”
“Wow. I hope you’ve done your research.” She spoke with a note of concern that didn’t fool Dani one bit. “You know that the market is fairly saturated here.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Dani said, trying to infuse some sweetness into her dead tone.
“I guess what I’m saying is, since you’re just starting out, don’t be surprised if you can’t get enough work to make ends meet. Dad and I are kind of the go-to trainers in the region.” She flashed her very perfect teeth. “But you know that.”
“Why,” Dani asked slowly, “would you care if I made ends meet?”
Marti seemed surprised by the question. “Because I’d hate to see you fail.”
Yeah. Right. And I have this bridge...
“I’ll be fine,” Dani said. “Thanks for your concern.”
“Well, good luck.” Marti patted the side of Lacy’s pen, the silver bangles on her arm jingling as she moved. She started for the door, then stopped and turned back. “Since you’re here, can I sign you up for an Eagle Valley Days committee? We have a lot of last-minute details to work out.”
“I need to work out a schedule before I commit. I may not have time.”
“Oh...and Chad’s family is pretty heavily involved. I understand.” She sounded as if she actually did understand as she expertly delivered the Chad jab. “But if you change your mind, give a call. We’re in the book.”
“I’m sure I can find your number.”
“Just look under ‘horse training’ in the Yellow Pages,” Marti said with another bright smile. “I think we’re the first entry.”
* * *
“SHOT DOWN. HOW UNUSUAL.”
Gabe smirked at his assistant, hoping the full effect came across on the FaceTime phone connection, even though Serena Anderson Widmeyer was impervious to both his charm and his temper.
“I’m not trying to date her. I’m trying to get to know her. Make friends.” Then offer her a fair price for a piece of land he needed. He had it on good authority that there were stability issues on the Lightning Creek Ranch and that it had come close to being put on the market a few months ago. He planned to capitalize on that instability as soon as possible.
“Hard to do if she shuts you down,” Serena said with a wicked smile that came through clearly, even though she had the airport terminal window at her back.
“You’re a rotten assistant.”
“That’s what happens when you hire the boss’s family.”
“You aren’t family,” he muttered.
“I was at one time,” she reminded him with a serene smile.
And then she’d come to her senses. She and his best friend, Neal Widmeyer, had been ridiculously unhappy in their marriage, but after the divorce, both had continued to work for Widmeyer Enterprises in different departments. Oddly, they now seemed to like each other much better than when they were married. Good thing, because Stewart Widmeyer did not take well to dissension in the ranks.
“What do you think of the place?” she asked.
“Potential. A lot of potential.” Nestled against a mountain with a fishing stream running through it and within shuttle distance of a ski resort, it was a gem of a property, nicely protected from the rest of the valley by Lightning Creek Ranch acreage.
“Enough to compete with Timberline?” Timberline was the resort on the opposite side of the valley that Stewart’s former partner had essentially stolen before parting ways with Widmeyer Enterprises.
“I think so. Eventually,” Gabe said. But they needed more land, first to insulate the proposed resort from the possibility of encroaching housing developments and, more important, to make a world-class golf course. Timberline didn’t have a golf course and had no hope of procuring the acreage at this point in the game.
That was Stewart’s trump card.
He planned to make a bigger, better, more exclusive resort than Timberline, steal Timberline clientele and make his duplicitous partner, Mark Jeffries, pay. The trick was keeping the plans under wraps while Gabe investigated the possibility of buying the Lightning Creek. If anyone associated with Timberline figured out that Widmeyer Enterprises was looking at property, land prices would go up astronomically. That was where Gabe came in. Jeffries, of course, knew all the family members who worked for Widmeyer. He didn’t know Gabe, who acted as an independent consultant. His name was on no company rosters—he was identified only as Process Resources, Inc. He was nameless and faceless, and was thus able to lease the Staley property with no fear of word leaking out. He’d even drummed up a few side contracts so that he had something to do while he “vacationed” in his new house.
“They just called my flight,” Serena said, “which means you have to do without me for the next two weeks because I’m turning off my phone.”
“Right.”
“No, really. I’m doing it.”
“I’ll expect you to call for an update tomorrow.”
Serena made a rude noise. “Won’t happen. Good luck with Ms. Brody,” she said. “Gotta go.”
“What if I need you?” he asked, just to be a dick.
Serena made a face and then the screen went blank. Gabe smiled to himself as he set the phone down on the table.
Good luck with Ms. Brody. He was going to need it.
Temporarily moving to Montana from his home base in Bloomington, Illinois, getting to know Danica Brody and then introducing the idea of a sale had seemed a logical approach, but now that he’d met Dani, he sensed that he’d have to move carefully. Take his time, collect information. Refrain from pushing too hard and spooking her.
He could play it that way. And in the meantime...
Yes. In the meantime.
Gabe
