Chapter 10 #2
“Thanks.” Sawyer and his cousins didn’t always agree, but they always backed one another up.
It had always been that way, even when they were little kids.
When Jace’s family had been killed in the auto wreck, they’d spent an entire summer on the ranch, comforting him.
When Jace’s wife, Mary Ann, deserted him and their kids, Sawyer and Cash were back at the ranch to support him.
When the FBI fired Cash for a case his bosses screwed up, they’d rallied.
When Angie went missing, his cousins pooled their law enforcement experience to help find her.
They were Daltons. Cowboy strong.
They moved to the living room, but it was the eighth inning and the Giants were so far behind that the game was too painful to watch.
“They suck this season,” Jace said, grabbing the remote off the coffee table and flicking off the TV.
“By the way, I gave the flower girls their options with the numbers we agreed on. They went for the pricier number one—we supply the water. I’m just waiting for the signed contract, but it looks like a thumbs-up on the land lease and shop. ”
“Is that what we’re calling them? The flower girls?” Sawyer suppressed a laugh.
“Yep. I guess we’re farmers now.”
Cash feigned a shudder because no self-respecting rancher called himself a farmer. “What do you think Grandpa would’ve thought of what we’re doing?”
“He would’ve liked it a hell of a lot better than a golf-course community, I can tell you that,” Jace said.
They were saving the legacy and that’s what mattered. And to Sawyer’s mind, Grandpa Dalton would’ve appreciated the creative way they were going about it. Aubrey and Charlie’s design studio and furniture shop. Even the flowers.
“I met a saddlemaker who might be interested in studio space and a small storefront.” Cash swung his arm over the back of the sofa. “He’s a hand at one of the ranches I inspect. Does beautiful work and is ready to make a go of it full-time. Good guy; you’ll like him.”
“I can get behind a saddlemaker.” Jace walked back to the kitchen and stuck his head in the fridge. “You have anything to eat around here that isn’t kale?” Cash was a bit of health nut.
Cash returned to the kitchen, pulled a bag of chips down from the pantry, and tossed them at Jace. “Here, go ahead and give yourself a heart attack.”
Sawyer eyed the chips. He hadn’t eaten anything since lunch and was starved. He remembered Gina’s leftovers in the fridge and got to his feet. “I’m heading out. See you guys tomorrow.”
As he started for the trail that cut across the field to his place, he stole a glance at Gina’s cabin.
The lights were out and her car wasn’t in the driveway.
It appeared that she was still with Charlie and Aubrey at Jace’s house.
All for the better, he told himself as he crossed the moonlit pasture.
But the whole way home he thought about their kiss.
* * * *
Gina had had three glasses of wine and a margarita and was feeling more than a little tipsy.
Her pie, strawberry shortcake, and homemade ice cream had been the hit of the evening.
But Charlie’s cheesy beef quesadillas were nothing to sneeze at.
In fact, Gina planned to borrow the recipe and put her own spin on it.
It would be a nice venture outside the box to cook something other than Italian food, even if it was just for a dinner, alone.
Danny had called her two more times. But on Sawyer’s advice, she’d let his messages go to voicemail. She agreed with Sawyer. Until she and Danny had a safer way to communicate, she wasn’t taking any chances.
Sawyer.
Her thoughts had drifted to him throughout the evening. She suspected he’d met up with his two cousins to watch the ball game at Cash’s place. That’s where Jace had gone, according to Charlie, so the women could have the ranch house to themselves.
Or maybe Sawyer had a date. He probably had a whole private life she knew nothing about. Right at this very minute, he could be hooking up with one of the locals.
But there had been the kiss.
“Maybe FoodFlicks did it to drum up publicity,” Aubrey said, interrupting Gina’s visit down memory lane. Because that kiss was something to remember.
She’d given them the 411 on her and Danny Clay. Why not? She had done nothing wrong and wanted to shout her innocence from the rooftop. Shockingly, her new friends believed her. If only the rest of America would. But how did you prove something didn’t happen when all the evidence said that it did?
“Nah, that’s not the kind of publicity a family-friendly network wants.” Charlie uncorked a second bottle of white and refilled their glasses. “Maybe it was one of those tabloids. Don’t they do stuff like that just to get readers?”
Tabloids certainly played fast and loose with the truth, at least in Gina’s experience. But make things up wholesale? That seemed like a multimillion-dollar lawsuit waiting to happen.
“I’ve gone through every person I’ve ever met or done business with and no one stands out. In fact, everyone—my investors, my staff, my producers, and the companies I represent—stand to lose. That’s why I can’t figure this out.”
“Maybe whoever did this is out to get Danny. Or maybe Candace. This has got to be worse than awful for her…Not that it’s not awful for you too.” Charlie began clearing their dinner dishes from the table. “But you know what I mean.”
“Charlie has a good point. This whole thing could be designed to hurt Candace and you’re just a means to the end. Her husband, her show, her public humiliation all in one fell swoop.” Aubrey shook her head in commiseration with Candace.
“It would help if I could talk to her and compare notes,” Gina said. “But according to Danny, she’s holed up somewhere and refusing to talk to anyone. I assume when she does, I’ll be the last person on her list.”
“Uh-uh,” Aubrey said. “I’m with Sawyer on this. You can’t talk to any of the Clays until the three of you are a united front. Otherwise the press will find out and it’ll look like you and Danny really are an item.”
“I’m one-hundred percent with Aubrey on this.” Charlie sliced herself a sliver of strawberry shortcake and gave both of them a sheepish grin. “It’s so good I want seconds.”
“Hey, no judgment here.” Gina was about to go in for thirds. She no longer had to worry about the camera adding ten pounds.
“I know you’re right,” she continued. “But I’m dying to talk to Candace. First, to plead my innocence. Second, to see if the three of us can figure this out together.”
Aubrey licked a drop of whipped cream frosting off her finger. “Having once been falsely accused of cheating on my ex-fiancé, I speak from experience. Don’t do anything to fuel the flames. People will believe what they want to believe until you have solid proof.”
“You were engaged to someone before you married Cash?” It was the first Gina had heard of an ex.
“It’s a long story.” Aubrey waved her hand in the air dismissively. “What I’m saying is that without proof that the pictures and texts are fake, you’re—”
“Screwed,” Gina finished. Aubrey was right and it was beyond frustrating. “But how do I get solid proof when I can’t even talk to the other victims?”
Both women murmured their understanding.
It was a challenge, to be sure. But having two women friends to share her angst with was a bonus she’d never expected from hiding away in the boonies.
Besides Sawyer, who’d become the object of her late-night fantasies, Charlie and Aubrey had become one of the best perks of temporarily making her home at Dry Creek Ranch.
She now had pals, which in her former life hadn’t been the case.
No time for girls’ nights out or gossiping on the telephone.
Or maybe she hadn’t let herself make the time.
That protective shell she wore like armor wasn’t exactly a friend magnet.
But it sure the hell kept her from getting hurt.
It took ten years of therapy to learn that she wrapped herself in her accomplishments, instead of human connections.
Dr. Peggy Regis, her two-hundred-dollar-an-hour shrink, attributed most of Gina’s fear of relationships to her father’s death and her mother’s disapproval.
The bottom line was Gina had—among other neuroses—abandonment issues, according to Peggy.
In high school, Sadie had never approved of her friends.
Not that she ran with a bad crowd, just mid-listers in Sadie’s eyes.
The children of Hollywood and Beverly Hills parents who weren’t household names.
Some of Gina’s inner circle didn’t even live in Beverly Hills, but had used the address of employers or relatives to get into the 90210 school district.
Sadie considered those kids leeches, too beneath a DeRose.
So when Gina went to SDSU her mother directed her to rush the most prestigious sorority on campus, a consolation for not getting into USC and for making shitty friend choices in high school.
Gina’s heart wasn’t in it. Not really. Not when she had next to nothing in common with most of the girls other than wealth and privilege.
She’d even overheard two girls in the sorority house whisper behind her back that she wasn’t Alpha Chi material, which everyone knew meant she was either not pretty enough, not popular enough, or not rich enough.
Lord knew the last one didn’t apply, leaving Gina to assume it was the first two.
It came as no shock when she didn’t make the cut. Still, it ruined her freshman year. Her peers’ rejection and Sadie’s stinging displeasure had been overwhelming.
The experience set Gina’s social course for the rest of her college years.
Keep my head down, my mouth shut, and get out as fast as I can.
She’d graduated in four years, a major feat given that it took most students that long to find parking in the overcrowded lots.