few years. Kenzie had discovered her and suggested that Saks offer her a contract for her designs. She’d always been able to spot the up-and-coming designers and talk stores into showcasing their lines.
“That woman,” Monique snarled. “I hate her.”
“What woman?” Kenzie cradled the phone against her ear with her shoulder while she poured herself a glass of iced tea.
“That Anna. The one who replaced you. I cannot work with her. She is an...an imbecile.”
“She came highly recommended.” Sam had campaigned for the store to hire her, replacing Kenzie. “I’m sorry she’s not working out with you.”
“She is not you, Kenzie.”
“I’m sure she’ll work out if you give her some time.”
“I don’t know,” Monique said, her tone resigned. “I like working with you.”
“And I with you. Your clothes are selling well here.” Kenzie had opened a small store in the hotel spa for Monique’s line. “I know it’s not like having your lines in Saks, but Reno is growing. I think you should consider expanding your lines with your own stores.”
“I think on it, but I’m not ready yet. I have no...worries about you in Reno. It is this Anna I have uncertainties about.”
“She’ll work out, Monique,” Kenzie soothed. “Change requires a period of adjustment. Talk to Sam. I’m sure he’ll help.”
“Maybe.” Monique sounded dispirited.
Kenzie wondered just what Anna was doing that upset Monique so much.
“Come to Reno and play for a week,” Kenzie offered. “I’ll show you around and we’ll explore. There’s some great hiking here.”
Monique, like Kenzie, was a hiker. She would love the mountain trails, the hot springs in unexpected places and the beautiful vistas.
“I will think on that,” Monique said before she hung up.
Kenzie tried not to let her friend’s conversation bog her down. Everyone she’d worked with in New York would adjust to the new buyer. She was sure Anna would work out. She might not have Kenzie’s intuition about things, but she would learn.
Maya sat on her horse as though born to the saddle. Kenzie knew how to ride. As a tween she’d been horse-mad and Miss E. had arranged for her to have riding lessons. For a while as a child, Kenzie had thought about being a cowgirl working on a ranch, but fashion won out.
Maya was turning into a little fashion plate all by herself. She wore black jeans, a pink shirt with red fringe and matching pink boots. A pink Stetson sat on her head. She’d wanted a pink saddle, but her mother, Lydia, had said no.
Kenzie watched Maya race her horse around the barrels. Hector Ibarra, her teacher, sat on the fence, his booted feet hooked around the bottom rail. Patti, Hector’s daughter and Maya’s best friend, sat on her own horse out of the way.
Kenzie wasn’t all that interested in barrel racing; she just wanted to bond with her niece.
“Good time,” Hector called when Maya finished the course. “You’re going to be competition racing in another couple months.”
Maya preened, grinning happily. Kenzie remembered being nine years old and loving the attention after doing something right.
Kenzie pulled up to the start line, and when Hector called time she kicked her horse into a gallop and raced around the barrels. Her time was terrible, but she enjoyed herself and knew she’d never be a pro.
After the lesson, Maya and Kenzie walked their horses back to Maya’s home.
“I can’t wait for my baby brother to be born,” Maya said.
“I’m sure your mother feels the same way,” Kenzie replied with a laugh. “She’s getting kind of tired being pregnant.”
“She told me once the baby is born the hard work starts.”
Kenzie had absolutely no experience with babies. “When they’re first born they just eat, sleep and poop.”
“Ick.” Maya turned into the driveway leading up to her house. Her dog, asleep on the front porch, came to her feet and trotted down the driveway to greet them.
Kenzie enjoyed Maya’s company. In fact, until Maya had come into her life Kenzie had never been around children.
They walked their horses to the barn and dismounted.
“I want Mom and Dad to name the baby Sylvester,” Maya said as she unsaddled her horse, draped the saddle over a saddle tree and reached for a brush to groom her horse.
“Sylvester! Sweetie, I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Kenzie unsaddled her horse and started to groom it. “Where did you get a name like Sylvester?”
“In a book. I like the name. I think it sounds noble.”
Kenzie shook her head as she groomed her horse. Dust billowed up with each stroke of her brush. The animal’s tail swept back and forth and its eyes closed as it relaxed.
“Sylvester is better than plain old Christian.” Maya lifted a front hoof and slid a pick under the shoe, cleaning the dirt and mud out. She had to learn to take care of her horse as part of the price of ownership.
“I think Christian sounds like a wonderful name.”
Maya simply frowned.
They put the horses away in their stalls, made sure they had plenty of fresh water and alfalfa hay in the manger, and headed to the house.
Lydia lay on the sofa in the family room while Hunter puttered about the kitchen grilling chicken. Seeing Hunter so domestic amused Kenzie no end. He’d always been the first one to dare everyone to climb a tree, to vault over a fence or to jump off the roof into the pool. Lydia had tamed him. Kenzie had never seen him so happy.
“Need some help?” she asked.
“Toss the salad,” he ordered, pointing at a bottle of dressing.
She did as instructed. He whistled as he brushed a final layer of flavoring on the chicken legs with the special marinade made from their chef brother Donovan’s secret recipe. The rising scents of the marinade and the cooked chicken made Kenzie’s mouth water. She’d eaten in five-star restaurants all over the world, but they didn’t even begin to compare with Donovan’s cooking. His fiancé, Hendrix, made such mouth-watering desserts that the hotel couldn’t keep anything in stock in the diner and the main restaurant.
“Any signs of a baby yet?” Kenzie put the salad on the dinner table.
Lydia pushed herself to her feet and waddled across the family room to the dining table. “I’m so ready. I don’t think I have another three weeks in me.”
Hunter
