“You can take me on a stroll through the gardens...”
Kane Harrington glanced toward the large arched windows along the back hall of Harrington House, darkening from gray to black as the sun disappeared. “I don’t think there’s quite enough light for that.”
The little imp—Joan was her name, if he remembered correctly—sidled a little closer. “I don’t mind.”
I do. And so did all the eligible women and their mothers who had hoped for a few minutes of his time. After all, he was the only Harrington man who was still single. That made him the center of attention at this open house for the new estate and stables he and his brother, Mason, were holding for prominent local families. Suddenly the four hours he’d already endured started to wear on Kane.
“I’m sorry, hon,” he said, trying to infuse his normally stern expression with a sincere regret. “I just remembered I need to make a business call tonight. I’ll be right back.”
He quickly escaped down the hall to the large office they had marked off-limits during the earlier tours. Though Kane had his own desk and computer to work from in the office, he didn’t live at the estate with Mason and his fiancée, EvaMarie.
Thankful for the heavily carved door that kept out unwanted visitors, he dropped into his desk chair with a squeak of leather and a sigh. His sudden exhaustion reminded him of why he had been avoiding social events over the last few years. To his eternal consternation, his dark, brooding looks seemed to attract the attention of more women than he wanted. And as soon as word spread that he and his brother had inherited enough money to be labeled billionaires, the number of potential wives chasing him had become obscene.
He’d agreed to take one for the team if his mixing and mingling got their newly established stables noticed by pretty girls and their families. Money wasn’t the only thing they needed to keep building—although his father had ensured that they had plenty of that. No, they needed to build a reputation among the movers and shakers of racing society here in Kentucky bluegrass country. Kane would do whatever he had to in order to ensure their names were on every pair of lips at this year’s biggest events surrounding the race to the Triple Crown.
After he’d had a few minutes to himself...
What surprised him was how utterly boring he found the women here today. The newly minted billionaire was looking for a bit of a challenge, a sassy remark or, hell, anything outside the cookie-cutter norm...but he hadn’t found that yet.
And the fake helpless act...he shuddered. Kane had more protective instincts than most men, but he could see right through to the calculating performances that did nothing more than turn his stomach.
Idly, he clicked on his email icon and glanced over the notifications. The usual mix of ads, business replies and such filled the screen. Geesh—it didn’t matter how often he checked his inbox; the thing just kept filling up.
Suddenly the name Vanessa Gentry caught his eye, and his world went still for long, long seconds.
He recognized it, of course, even after several years. Kinda hard to forget the woman who would have been your mother-in-law. Immediately his mind’s eye filled with a picture of her with her daughter, both of them laughing, heads close together. They’d looked so much alike, only Vanessa’s dark hair had gone silver gray at an early age. Her daughter Emily’s had still been black as night. Just the thought saddened Kane.
Though he probably shouldn’t, he clicked on the email and read it while a photo began downloading.
Kane, I know it is presumptuous of me to send this to you. But after the way things ended... Well, I just wanted you to know that all is well and that Emily has been able to move on.
Kane braced himself, straightening his spine against the back of the chair. Sure enough, as he glanced down at the picture that appeared, it was as though someone had landed a blow square in his solar plexus.
There she was, the beauty he’d thought to one day call his own. Odd—he’d thought he would never stop loving her then. Now love wasn’t the emotion he felt. No, instead it was the familiar wave of weakness, the helplessness that had first plagued him during his mother’s illness and death from cancer. Then Emily had had her accident, which sent all his fix-it instincts into overdrive. But she’d wanted none of his help. She’d interpreted it all as pity.
Beside her in the photo was an average-looking man, nondescript except for the tux and boutonniere. There was a happy glow in his eyes. Over Emily’s shoulder Kane could see the handle of her wheelchair. So she was still at least partially paralyzed...
And a beautiful bride to someone who could apparently meet her needs better than Kane, no matter how hard he’d tried.
The anger hit quick and hard. Even though he didn’t want to, Kane conceded that Emily had a right to move on. But Kane had a right to be left out of it, instead of being reminded of all the ways he hadn’t measured up.
Surging to his feet, he ignored the slam of his chair against the wall behind him. Stalking across the expensive carpets without a thought, he continued out the door and down the hall without acknowledging the few guests he passed. He imagined his facial expression wasn’t particularly welcoming at the moment.
The way people fell back as if he were the beast at the ball only confirmed his thoughts—and exacerbated his anger.
But his body knew what it needed. The peace and quiet he’d always found in the stables. The acceptance of the horses. The earthy smell that grounded him in the present. And today, the realization of the dream he hadn’t been willing to give up—even after his ex-fiancée had fallen off her horse and been left paralyzed for life.
There was no one in the stables. They’d allowed tours earlier. After all, this would be the heart of their operations. Kane and Mason were rightfully proud of the building, the renovations they’d done here and the stock they’d started housing in the stalls. As soon as he entered, Kane’s steps slowed, his breath evened out, his heart rate returned to normal.
He paused, savoring the quiet shuffle of horses’ feet and their gentle calls to him as they sensed his presence. This time when he moved forward, his footfalls were almost silent. He was meditative as he strolled through the space. It was the realization of a dream he and his brother had for so long: premium-grade stables and the stock to one day race a championship horse.
He only wished his father had lived long enough to share it with them.
A sudden high-pitched squeak broke the silence. Then he heard a voice coming from the right-hand fork of the aisle. Kane wasn’t as alone as he’d thought. Had a sneaky couple decided to play some games in the stables while the party was going on? Normally he would just ignore it, but that wing had been declared off-limits to visitors earlier in the day.
Because
