His Tempest (15 page)

Colin started to speak, but George cut him off.

“Needless to say, I'm very pleased with the match,” George said. “You'll be the first to know, Leander, that Noelle is Mackenzie's daughter. And of course I've already changed my will. She'll be getting my portion of the farm. I couldn't hope for a more perfect match personally or business-wise.”

“Your granddaughter?” Leander said.

“It's a long story. I'll be introducing her to the family next weekend. I hope you can attend the party.”

Noelle felt like a costumed doll on display. She really didn't want the farm. That's all Colin needed to prove his point—that she was only after George's money. But she knew if William got it, he'd sell it out of hand. George had worked too hard to let that happen. And so had Colin. George and Colin's grandfather believed in it. Colin could run the farm when the time came. And perhaps she could help.

“Maybe the boy's finally growing up,” Leander said. “I can't tell you how pleased I am that Colin has finally settled down with a nice young lady. A good woman can take the wanderlust out of a man, you know.”

The right blood lines, Colin thought. Would his father never understand? Losing the foal was all the excuse his father needed to convince himself he needed to sell his portion of the thoroughbred farm. Colin would need some of the cunning he'd learned from George to pull this one off.

“H
eard you lost the foal.”

The voice was like a knife twisting in his gut. Colin didn't have to turn around to identify his father's voice. He knew he'd have to face the music, though he'd hoped to avoid it now, having escaped to the stable after dinner.

Steeling his emotions, he faced the older man. His father wasn't alone. The man who'd wanted to buy River Oaks for the last year was with him. He must have arrived while Colin was at the stable.

Colin's stomach roiled. His father got the trainer to show the buyer around. When they were alone, Colin pulled his father aside. It ticked him off that his father was so willing to give up. But he reined in his emotions to deal with the situation logically.

“Dad, there are always going to be setbacks. That doesn't mean we have to give up the business.”

“That's exactly my point. You're never going to be able to hold your head above water. This is a risky business. It takes a lot of money. And I don't want you to live your life that way.”

“For once we have a stallion whose offspring are winning races. We're getting decent rates for stud fees off this stallion alone. This year we'll bring in at least five million, if not more.”

“You're still teetering on the edge. This kind of business can drain you dry. It will always be this way.”

“But the rewards are worth it. The business has been pulling itself up in the last couple of years. Granddad and George laid the groundwork. They weren't going by trial and error. They had a plan and now we're executing it. And it's working. If you just give me a year we'll be in the black.”

“You thought you'd be in the black with this foal. But look what happened. Son, you'll say the same thing six months from now. A year from now. Two years from now.”

Colin inhaled sharply. There was only one way to settle this. “Dad, let me buy you out.”

His father barked out a laugh. “With what? You don't have two nickels to rub together.”

“I have some savings and I have all the money Granddad left me. I haven't spent a penny of it. Write up a contract. The same one the other buyer will offer you. I'll make the first payment in six months.”

“I'm not going to let you ruin your life that way. I'm not going to let what happened to Dad happen to you.”

“Why do you keep saying that? Nothing happened to Granddad. He bought into a business, set up a plan and now it's working,” Colin said. “Every sales venture you make at your company doesn't pan out. You've had losses, but you don't sell the business because of them. You keep trying. This is no different. It's a business with ups and downs just like the one you run.”

His father wasn't hearing him. He was still shaking his head.

“Can't you see that Grandpa was happy? Do you hate your job so much you can't stand to see me enjoy my work? Let me choose my career.”

“You enjoy the celebrity, Colin. You enjoy the women. You stand out in this business just like any athlete,” he said. “You can work at the company. Then maybe you can start to settle down. How's the new girlfriend by the way?”

“Dad, did you hate Grandpa? What did he do to you?”

“What the heck is this about?” Leander asked.

“I don't think your issues with the farm are about me. There's more going on here.”

“It has nothing to do with your grandfather.”

“Then why do you treat me differently from my brothers? They aren't perfect. They date as many women as I have, yet you don't hold it over their heads. You don't even concern yourself with it. And you don't threaten to fire them every time they do something wrong at the company. You're not being fair. So I want to know why. What have I done that's so bad compared to them?”

“I'm not threatening you. I'm looking out for your future.”

“That's not true and you know it.”

The buyer came out of the stable and his father started to walk away.

“Write up a contract,” Colin said. “I'm offering to buy you out. Then, whether I win or lose, I'm in a place where I can make decisions I can live with.”

Colin turned from his father and stalked away. He went directly to Diamond Spirit's stall and fed him an apple. It took awhile for him to calm down, but watching the horse had a tendency to soothe him.

He thought of Noelle. He'd set her up to conform to some impossible standard, the same as his father was doing to him. Why hadn't he seen it before now? His love for her hadn't dissipated, not one bit. And he'd treated her unfairly. By now she'd probably sock him if he approached her. It would be nothing more than he deserved.

Noelle spent some time drinking a cup of apple cider and talking with Leila. Colin still hadn't come to the house. Leander and George were at the barns. The buyer had left half an hour ago.

“I tell you it just pains me,” Leila said. “The boy works so hard. He loves this place every bit as much as his grandfather did. I just wish he could catch a break.”

“So do I,” Noelle said.

“You care about this place. You don't know squat about horses, but it doesn't matter. It's in your blood,” she said.

“If you say so.”

“I do. Colin ran around here wild as could be for years, but he was always good with the horses, even when he was a young one. As much as his father complained, his grandfather was patient. Said the boy would find his way eventually. And, of course, he did.” She put together the fixings for a casserole for the next day. “Then it was the women. Colin was like a starving man with a feast. Didn't know which one to choose. They all looked good to him. And I told his grandfather that one day he was going to find one woman who'd tie him into knots until he wouldn't know which way was up.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“His grandfather said he couldn't wait for that day.”

“I think you were wrong.”

“I wasn't wrong. So when are you going to put him out of his misery?”

On a morning later that week, Noelle was working in her office—at least she was trying to work when she wasn't thinking about the mess she'd made of things—when Trixie started yapping beside her. She pranced back and forth to the door. Noelle had gotten somewhat used to the creature. She'd fixed up a soft pallet beside her desk. The dog liked being near her for some odd reason. At night she slept beside the bed, now that Noelle had trained her not to sleep on the bed or on her furniture. Noelle was scared to death she'd step on her one night on her way to the bathroom, but Trixie wouldn't sleep in another spot.

Seconds later, she heard a car door slam. “Now I know what the prancing was about,” she said as she went to the front door to answer it. “Soon I'll know all your little quirks.” But before she twisted the lock, a hard pounding shook the door and nearly scared the daylights out of her. Her heart thumped as though it had been jump-started with a defibrillator.

“Open up!” a male voice thundered. “I know what you and Colin are up to. You've cooked up some scheme and I'm going to put an end to it.” A fist rattled the door again. “You're not going to get away with it.”

What in the world?
“Go away,” Noelle called out.

“I'm not leaving until you open that door.”

Was he out of his mind? She wasn't about to open the door.

“Fine, then maybe the police will take you away.”

“Open up!”

Noelle was actually trembling.
Who was out there?

Trixie danced, barked and clawed at the door as if she couldn't wait to take a bite out of whoever was on the other side. Noelle eased over to peer out of the side window, but she couldn't see the door.

The fist rattled her door again. She rushed to the phone and started to dial 911. Then she remembered he'd mentioned Colin.

Noelle didn't know what the lunatic was talking about, but she dialed Colin's cell number instead. The person obviously knew of him and of her. With an impatient voice, Colin answered immediately.

“Someone's banging on my door as if they're about to break in, yelling about a scheme we've worked up,” she rushed out. “I'm about to call the police.”

“I'll be right over,” Colin said. She could barely hear his voice over the dog's barking. “Don't hang up,” he cautioned. “Stay on the line with me.”

“Okay,” she murmured nervously, glancing at the rattling door. She was glad to have contact with someone sane. Her hand was trembling. Her stomach was jumping. The door was going to crash in any minute now. Noelle was never so happy to have an animal in her life. It occurred to her that she should get some other protection. There was a bat in the hall closet. Colin's voice was droning in the background, but with the dog's barking, she couldn't decipher his words.

Pulling on the dog's collar, she dragged her with her to the closet and retrieved the bat. Between the dog and the bat she should be okay until Colin arrived.

“The police are on the way. You'd better leave right now,” Noelle yelled out, hoping her voice projected over the dog's barking.

“I'll be happy to tell them about your scheme and the two of you will go to jail just like you should. Open the damn door.”

“Leave my house immediately. You're trespassing and you're crazy. I don't know about any scheme.”

“Lady, you're hip-deep in it. I'll find out who you really are if it's the last thing I do.”

The dog started tugging at the leash again, frantic to get to the intruder. Noelle didn't try to silence her.

“If you come in here, my dog will tear you to shreds.” Thank God George had brought her the dog.

“Do you think I'm going to let a stupid mutt keep me away? I'm going to get the truth out of you. Who are you, some actress Colin hired? Or some cheap floozy he picked up somewhere?”

Finally Noelle gave up. Trixie was so worked up she could barely hear the man anyway. And since he wasn't trying to break the door down anymore, she could wait. But the trembling wracking her body wouldn't stop.

Finally she saw another truck drive into the yard and a couple more behind it, all with River Oaks Thoroughbred Farm emblazoned on the sides.

She could barely hear the vehicle doors slam over the din. Then she heard voices. The other trucks drove off. Only Colin and the intruder were left on the front porch. Obviously he knew the man.

Noelle grabbed the dog's collar and gingerly opened the door. She recognized George's nephew immediately. He was her cousin somewhere down the line, she realized.

“You!” William spat the words like bullets and glared at her. “He brought you here, didn't he? You're not Mackenzie's daughter. If he could have had children, his wife would have conceived years ago. They tried hard enough.”

Colin stepped between them. “Noelle is George's granddaughter and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. Get the hell out of here. Who do you think you are coming over here like this? If you have issues, take them up with George.”

“You've got Uncle George wrapped around your fingers,” William shouted at Noelle.

“It's not your business,” Colin barked. “Now get out of here. And don't ever come back.”

William pointed a shaky finger in Noelle's direction. “He changed the will because of you.”

Noelle moved around Colin to face William. Now that she knew who he was, she wasn't hiding. “I don't need the farm. But you'd destroy everything George has built. I'll make sure that doesn't happen.”

“You're getting everything when you don't deserve a damn thing. You won't get away with this. You watch and see.” Although it was February and below freezing, William was sweating.

“It's all about the money with you, isn't it?” Colin sneered. “What you can get out of him. You don't give a crap about George. So take your deranged self away from here, because the deed's done and you can't do shit about it.”

They watched William stomp to his car and drive off. Noelle rubbed Trixie's fur. The dog had finally stopped barking and sniffed Colin. He reached down and stroked her.

“You okay?” Colin asked Noelle.

She nodded.

“It's freezing. Let's go inside.”

Trixie clearly wanted to stay outside, but Noelle feared if she let her out now, she'd follow William's car to the road and get hit.

“Thanks for coming over,” Noelle said. She pressed a hand to her chest. The adrenaline was still flowing and she couldn't calm herself.

“I don't think he'll be back. He'll be too busy checking out your background.”

“I'm surprised you didn't,” Noelle said.

“How do you know I didn't?”

“I don't.” Noelle wished he'd just leave. It was obvious he wanted nothing more to do with her, and try as she might, she couldn't banish him from her thoughts or her dreams. But the pain wouldn't last. She kept telling herself emotions had a way of healing. It was just happening too slowly to suit her. Or maybe she was giving up too quickly.