To Tempt a Cowgirl (28 page)

Argh
.

Dani finally stomped upstairs. She felt as if she’d been crying for days instead of for an hour. She stalked by the window, refusing to look out of it and see Gabe’s lights burning. How much longer would he be in the Staley house, now that he’d failed to get the ranch for his rich friend?

Not long, she bet. He’d be on his way. Off to fleece other trusting souls on the behalf of Widmeyer Enterprises.

Dani sank down on her bad and clasped her hands loosely between her thighs, staring at the floor. Her face felt raw from tears. Tears of anger, she reminded herself. Not tears of gut-wrenching loss. She hadn’t lost anything real. It had all been pretend, all in her mind. She’d been manipulated and used. Slowly she toppled sideways onto the bed, pressing her cheek against the fluffy white bedspread.

He’d been so perfect for her. Why couldn’t he be real?

* * *

“
I
T’S VERY UNLIKELY
I can finesse this situation.” Gabe leaned his forehead against the refrigerator. It was the third call from Stewart in less than twelve hours—this time a conference call with Neal on the third line. The first two had been a confession followed by a this-is-unacceptable return call.

“Do you have any idea where it got away from you?” Stewart asked yet again. “Can we backtrack at all?”

Backtrack? How?

“No. I’m not quite sure when it got away from me.” Maybe it had been the minute he’d staked himself out at Lacy’s pen as a way to meet Dani Brody. Or maybe it had been when he’d realized they had something between them and he hadn’t come instantly clean, because he’d hoped he could confess half the lie and not the really sleazy stuff, like pretending to need a horse trained when that was maybe the last thing on this planet that he needed.

“We need to act fast before word gets out that Widmeyers own the Staley property,” Neal said, stating the obvious. “You’re certain that Danica Brody will mouth off about this?”

“She’s pretty damned pissed at me,” Gabe said, “but I don’t know how she’s going to handle it. The brother-in-law will. I have no illusions about that.”

“
Why
is she so pissed?” Neal asked.

Because it’s personal. Because she feels betrayed yet again.

“All that matters is that she is,” Gabe said.

“No,” Stewart replied irritably. “If we know the why, we can work from that angle.”

There’d be no working from that angle. “She feels manipulated,” Gabe said. “She’s angry that I didn’t tell her why I was getting to know her before I made the offer.”

There was a second of silence and Gabe knew that both Stewart and Neal were thinking that Gabe had followed the only reasonable course of action.

“Maybe she just needs some time to get over the feeling that she was manipulated,” Neal said. “Give it a few days.”

“You want me to give her a few days, then try again?”

“Let her cool off,” Neal said.

Gabe ran a hand over his face. He wasn’t going to tell Neal exactly why that was highly unlikely, as in he’d been sleeping with Dani, which made his betrayal doubly painful to her—probably to the point that she was feeling vengeful—so he settled for, “When I last saw her, she gave no indication that she would cool off.”

“We have to salvage before word gets out and prices get out of hand. Go with plan B,” Stewart barked.

“Plan B?” Neal asked. There was no plan B and Stewart knew that, but he was so damned insistent on showing up Jeffries that he didn’t appear to be thinking much better than Gabe was.

“Come up with a plan B,” he amended. “Gabe—be here in the offices on Monday and lay it out for me.”

“What about the other sister—the one who was married to the deputy?” Neal asked. “Have you tried negotiating with her? She seems like the weak link.”

“There are no weak links, Neal.”

“There is always a weak link,” Stewart said. “We need to figure out how to work one sister against another. That’s our plan B.”

* * *

G
ABE FLEW OUT
of the Missoula airport late Sunday afternoon. Molly was at a horse-boarding facility—he’d had to rent a truck and trailer to get her there—and he told the owner that he was thinking of selling, so if she knew of any potential buyers, to let him know. The prospect of selling her bothered him, but he had to do what was best for the horse and if things continued as they were now, he wouldn’t be back to the Staley place except to pick up his belongings.

Was he giving up that easily?

He stared out over the wing of the 737. Maybe he was. He didn’t want to continue hassling Dani, had given up on the fairy tale that while it might hurt her to have been manipulated by someone she’d come to trust, she’d be happier on another property with more modern facilities.

No matter what happened, she was going to harbor bitterness against him.

He felt as if a hole was being eaten in his gut.

When he got to his Bloomington apartment close to midnight, he was overwhelmed by how stuffy and almost claustrophobic it seemed after he’d kicked around in that giant-ass house for over a month. He opened windows rather than turning on the air, then closed them again as the muggy heat rolled in.

Okay. Trapped in what had once seemed like a luxurious space with fake air and a giant load of anxiety. Oh, yeah. This was the life.

After a grand total of maybe two hours’ sleep, he was up again, showering and shaving. He forced himself to stop for coffee and a bagel before heading to the Widmeyer offices. His space, which he leased on a yearly basis from Stewart, was on the same floor as corporate, so it was just a quick walk down the hall to the boardroom after dumping a few things in his office.

Stewart was already there, seated at the head of the table, his computer set up in front of him. Gabe paused in the doorway, drawing a breath. This guy had saved his life.

“You’re early.”

“Yeah.” He walked forward and set the case containing his laptop on the table.

“Neal will be here in a few minutes.” Stewart typed a few words then looked up. “He moved back in with Serena.”

“How do you feel about that?” Gabe asked, surprised that the Crown Vic magic had worked so well. If only he could figure out a way to straighten things out with Dani so fast.

“They don’t seem to be able to let go of one another, so it’s just as well they work it out. Serena’s an asset to the team.”

“She’s joining the team?” Gabe asked.

Stewart looked up. “She’s only your part-time assistant, correct?”

“You pay most of her salary,” Gabe said, wondering if this was a nudge toward the Widmeyer door. “She’s whatever you want her to be.”

Stewart focused again on the screen in front of him, his body posture tense. He hated losing and most of all he hated losing twice to someone who’d betrayed him. And Gabe didn’t know how he could help him.

“Hey,” Neal said as he walked into the room. “Back from the Wild West.” His voice was friendly, but there was a reticence in his expression.

“Not with the outcome I envisioned.”

“We all knew that this approach was speculative,” Neal said smoothly.

“It’s a situation we need to rectify. Fast.” Stewart placed his palms flat on either side of his computer as he spoke, emphasizing the point. “Plan B?” he asked with a pointed look at both men.

“I’m not in for pitting one sister against the other,” Gabe said, making himself clear on that matter before taking his chair after Neal had closed the door. “There’s got to be another way.”

“Like showing up with a truck of money fast?” Neal asked with a smile as he took his seat.

“We’ll make another offer. Soon,” Stewart agreed.

Gabe gave a slow nod. It might work—but he sincerely doubted it would. Stewart was once again giving him the long hard stare and he felt a bit like he had that night he’d been bailed out of jail, which in turn made him feel like one hell of a failure. “I don’t yet have a viable plan B, other than looking elsewhere for property we can develop.”

“Next to skiing and water? Good luck.”

“Here’s my plan B,” Neal said. “We make another offer to the Brodys and also make it clear that whether they sell or not, the Staley property will be developed into a resort.”

“It can’t compete with Timberline.”

“We’ll get to that. If the Brodys choose not to sell, they need to understand the impact this will have on their lives. Traffic across their property, close to their house, will increase exponentially. I foresee developing the acreage where the two properties adjoin—also close to their house—into an area where we can hold weddings and other large-scale affairs. Privacy fences, landscaping, will keep out guests from being troubled by the view of their property, however, the noise... Sometimes the noise can get out of hand. Parties late into the night. That kind of thing.”

“Your plan is to convince them we’re going to be a nuisance?” Gabe asked.

“I plan to convince them that their lives on the ranch will not be as private or as quiet as they were before.” Neal tapped a finger on the table. “They are used to isolation.”

“Dani lived in the city.”

“Then why isn’t she still there?”

Stewart cleared his throat. “I think we need to start building a structure—”

“A water slide!” Neal interrupted. Stewart frowned and Neal continued, “An
adult
water slide.” He leaned his head back and laughed. “We could make an adults-only playground out of the place.”

Stewart actually smiled a little. “I’d prefer a resort with a golf course, but if push came to shove...”

Gabe rolled his eyes. This was turning into a bona fide nightmare.

* * *

“
I
NEED TO
talk to you.”

Maybe Gabe needed to talk to her, and he seemed convinced that he did, since this was his fourth message in a day and a half, but she didn’t need to talk to him. Dani pushed Delete on her answering machine, wondering how much longer this would persist. She’d already blocked him on her cell phone, but this was her business phone and she couldn’t block calls on the landline. All she could do was screen via the answering machine.

She had new clients and two of her previous clients were so pleased with the first thirty days that they’d asked for another stint. She’d explained to Jolie that her extended internship was the result of pulled strings and likely to evaporate at any time, so soon her sister would return home and they’d continue with their plans to build the Lightning Creek Training Facility.

No matter what, they would not sell to Widmeyer Enterprises. She’d rather burn the place to the ground.

It was close to ten o’clock when the phone rang again. Dani jerked awake, the book she’d been reading when she fell asleep slipping to the floor. Gabe. Again. Only this time it took over a minute for the message light to start blinking.

Leaning her head back against the chair cushions, she closed her eyes, debated. What could he possibly have to say to her that mattered? Or would change how she felt about him?

Nothing. She didn’t care if he crawled across the state on his belly, she was done.

If you’re done, they you should have no problem listening to the message.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t so much done, as she was wishing she was done.

She inhaled deeply, then exhaled as she acknowledged the truth. It ripped her up to hear his voice—and not only because the guy had lied to her, betrayed her. But part of her was also still grappling with the fact that he wasn’t who he said he was. Part of her was in mourning.

Listen to whatever it is he has to say.
Hopefully it would outrage her, give her the kick in the ass she needed to wipe him out of her mind.

Yeah. Good plan.

But her hand was shaking as she pushed the play button and gingerly put the phone to her ear.

“Dani, hear me out before you hang up.” The words came out rapidly and then his voice slowed to its normal cadence. “Widmeyer is going to send someone else to talk to you about selling, and now that word of the proposed resort is out, I wouldn’t be surprised if other people contact you to buy, with the hope that Widmeyer might need the property someday. Just a heads-up. And, Dani—they probably aren’t going to play nice.”

Just a heads-up that you’re about to be further harassed
. Dani pushed her hair back from her forehead, determined to stay on the line until she heard the message end.

“I wish I hadn’t helped bring this into your life. I didn’t expect...” Dani sat up a little straighter, dropping her hand as the utter sincerity of his words stabbed at her.

This is what he does. He’s very, very good.

He cleared his throat. “That’s no excuse. Anyway, if you ever want to talk about this, you have my number.”

That was when Dani hung up. As if she would ever call him.

* * *

D
ANI WAS SWEEPING
the porch when a car pulled into the drive—a Lexus she’d never seen before. She leaned her broom against the wall and headed down the walk, expecting to give directions or greet a potential client, until the woman got out of the car. Tall with angular features and her silvery hair pulled into a chignon, she fit the description of Gabe’s assistant—the woman whose appearance had tipped off Kyle as to Gabe’s duplicity.

If this woman hadn’t visited Gabe, if Kyle hadn’t recognized her, would Dani have ever known how she’d been played? Would Gabe have really told her the truth as he’d said he’d planned to?

She didn’t believe so.

And then the bigger question—would she have been happy not knowing? Blithely unaware that the man she thought she’d loved had manipulated her? It smacked too much of trusting Chad while he was screwing Megan on the side. She hadn’t known. She’d been happy—but once she’d discovered the truth, the memory of those happy, oblivious days made her feel humiliated and stupid.

Dani stayed where she was on the porch as the woman opened the gate and strode up the walk, moving pretty damned well considering both the state of the sidewalk and the height of her heels. The muscles in Dani’s jaw tightened as she prepared for whatever she was about to face.