turned and smiled. “Good morning, Mr. Carter.”
“Morning,” he replied. “I’m supposed to meet Damon.”
“Oh, he’ll be down shortly.” She picked up the plate of gooey rolls and extended it toward him over top the granite island. “Fresh rolls from the oven. Would you like one?”
“I can’t turn down anything that smells this good,” he told her, reaching for a warm pastry.
“I’m Linda, by the way.” She pulled out a small saucer and set it in front of him, along with a napkin. “Coffee?”
“Please. Black.”
Soon he was in breakfast heaven. Homemade cinnamon rolls and coffee. He could so get used to this film set. Some he’d worked on had been out in the desert; a few had been in a jungle with no indoor plumbing. But this estate? Yeah, Grant could get used to these amenities...and he wasn’t just thinking of the food.
“I’m happy to see someone sit and actually enjoy my cooking while it’s hot,” Linda told him. “Cassie rarely shows up because she’s busy with Emily, and Tessa is too worried about keeping her weight as a jockey. Damon usually eats, but it’s grabbing and heading out the door.”
“And do you cook every morning, anyway?” Grant asked, sipping the steaming coffee.
“Every morning without fail. One of these days the family may decide to all come in and actually use that dining room.” She smiled. “They’re just too busy, if you ask me.”
“Well, I have good news. Next week more of my crew will be arriving. You’re in luck. They like to eat.”
Linda laughed. “Well, then. Looks like I need to make a trip to the store and throw together some menus.”
Grant polished off the roll and eased back in his chair, in no hurry to leave his present company. He had a feeling this woman might know things about this family that many others didn’t.
“How long have you worked here?” he asked.
Linda placed her palms on the edge of the island. “This summer will be fifteen years.”
Perfect.
“So you knew the late Mrs. Barrington?”
Linda nodded. “I did. She was a beautiful woman. Her girls most definitely take after her. That vibrant red hair, those bright blue eyes. A rare mix, but the Barrington women have a special mark of beauty.”
“Was there ever any rivalry between Tessa and Cassie? Cassie seems very content to stay behind the scenes and be the trainer. Has that always been the case?”
“Cassie has always been a bit shy, but she’d do anything for anyone and sacrifice her own happiness to make others happy.” Linda paused before going on. “I dare to say that’s how she ended up with Emily’s father, that arrogant prick. Pardon my language.”
Grant smiled. “I’m getting a vibe that Cassie’s ex-husband isn’t liked around here very much.”
“He’s not liked at all. How could you leave a woman when she’s just delivered your child? I ask you. He’s no man, he’s a selfish coward.”
“I completely agree,” Grant replied. “What about Tessa? What can you tell me about her?”
Linda smiled again, her eyes softening. “Sweet Tessa. She wants to be the best at everything, and she’ll push herself until she becomes that way. I’ve never seen anyone more in competition with themselves than she is. To be honest, after her mama died, she completely submersed herself in the horses. She loved them before and competed heavily, but she had a life. Now she’s in those stables all day and sometimes all night.”
Not last night. Last night she’d been trembling beneath his hands, silently begging for things she couldn’t possibly be ready for.
“I’ve heard her ex isn’t too popular around here, either,” Grant said, mentally moving on from last night’s interludes.
Linda rolled her eyes and grabbed a pot holder as she made her way to the stove built into the wall. “That man wanted Tessa for two reasons—her name and her money. And then...”
Grant waited while she pulled another pan from the oven, but when she didn’t continue he rested his elbows on the counter and asked, “Then what?”
Shaking her head, Linda turned back toward him. “I’d best not say. You’ll have to talk to Tessa.”
“Did she love him?”
The woman smiled, cocked her head to the side. “I’m thinking I like where this line of questioning is going.”
“It’s all pertinent to the film.”
She laughed. “That may be, but it’s also important to you on a personal level, yes?”
“I’m not here for personal reasons,” he replied.
No matter what was or wasn’t happening between him and Tessa, he couldn’t let anything slip. That clause hung over his head, and if he and Tessa decided to...whatever, then that would be in private and kept between them. Period. He had no other option if he wanted to take his career to the next level. And he needed this film and Russo Entertainment to get him there.
Some might say advancing his career was just another leg of this race he ran to stay as far away from his family and past life as possible. Grant liked to believe he was just securing his future.
“Grant.”
He turned and came to his feet when Tessa’s father stepped into the room. “Morning, Damon.”
“Hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
“Not at all,” Grant replied. “A cinnamon roll, coffee and wonderful company is never a bad thing.”
Damon smiled and reached for a roll. “Linda’s specialty. She’s a whiz in the kitchen.”
“Not that anyone in this family sticks around long enough to really enjoy my talents,” she muttered with a slight grin.
“Are you ready to get started?” Damon asked. “I’ve arranged a tee time for ten o’clock.”
“We’re golfing?” Grant asked.
“I am. You can play caddie if you want.”
Grant laughed. “I suck at golf, but let me run to the cottage and change, and I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be here.”
Grant rushed back to his house, barely glancing toward the stables, because he feared he’d see Tessa and that hurt in her eyes again. Female laughter rippled from the open doors and his heart flipped. She was in there with her sister, and they were fine. She probably hadn’t given him another thought.
So while he was on the golf course with her father today, Grant would try his damnedest to not let her consume his every
