Chapter Nine #2
Hayden raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you could get your friend, Buck, to help you. He’s supposed to be some kind of horse whisperer.
And I’ve seen how he looks at you. I’ll bet he’d do anything for you, even take on a crazy, killer horse.
Go ahead and ask him. I won’t be jealous.
If I can beat him in the arena, I can for sure keep him from stealing my girl. ”
“I’m not your girl, Hayden. I’m nobody’s girl except my own.”
“That’s not what you say to a man who just gave you a stallion with a pedigree as long as your arm.
” He chuckled. It appeared he was drunker than Cheyenne had first thought.
Maybe in the morning, when he’d sobered up, he would change his mind about giving her Fire Dance.
But she’d made up her mind about one thing.
She couldn’t turn her back and let him kill that beautiful horse.
“Come on, baby,” he said, reaching for her arm. “Let’s go back to the party. The night’s just getting started, and I know how I want it to end. You’ve kept me at arms’ length too long.” He whipped her against him, his mouth finding hers in a forceful but sloppy kiss.
Summoning her strength, she shoved him away from her. He staggered, then righted himself and stood wiping his mouth. “What’s wrong, honey? I could’ve had my choice of women tonight, and I chose you. You ought to be grateful.”
“Ask me out when you’re sober,” she said. “Tonight I’m not going anyplace with you. Enjoy the party without me, Hayden. I’m exhausted. All I want is to go back to my room and sleep.”
“But you said your mother would be showing up tomorrow. This will be your last night to have fun.” The implication was clear.
“Go on,” she said. “There are plenty of girls at the party who’d be thrilled to share your company.”
“I was hoping for something classier than a buckle bunny,” Hayden said. “And, hey, I just gave you a horse.”
“Good night, Hayden. If you’re serious about the horse, talk to me in the morning.” She turned away and started walking.
“No need,” he said. “The paperwork, with my signature, will be waiting for you at the front desk by tomorrow. Consider him yours.”
“Have a good time.” She kept on walking down the row of stalls toward the hotel lobby. She didn’t look around, but at some point she sensed that Hayden had headed back to the Arena Stage and rejoined the party.
Cheyenne felt vaguely ill as she crossed the lobby. She’d fended off her share of drunken cowboys, but Hayden was different. He was her friend. She’d liked him. But what had passed between them tonight was ugly. She wanted to blot it from her memory.
As she rode the elevator alone, up to her floor, a shadow of disbelief crept over her.
Had the past forty-five minutes been real?
Had Hayden actually given her Fire Dance—a horse so traumatized that no one could approach him, a horse that would be a nightmare to load and transport and who would most likely be too dangerous to keep?
Now the stallion’s life was in her hands—a burden she’d never expected.
As she left the elevator and walked down the hall, she passed Buck’s room. His kiss had left her weak and quivering—a feeling that returned as she paused outside his closed door.
She remembered Hayden’s words—“I’ve seen how he looks at you. I’ll bet he’d do anything for you.”
But Hayden was wrong, Cheyenne told herself. Buck was older than she was in years and experience. He saw her as an amusing child—maybe like the younger sister he’d mentioned. Even that soul-shattering kiss had been no more than an impulse—deeply felt but without promise.
Tomorrow, with the cutting competition ended, Buck would load his superb buckskin horse in the trailer and leave for home. And her mother would be arriving later that morning to take over her life.
What were the chances she would ever see Buck again?
She stood in front of his door, daring herself to knock. She wanted more time with the man who had so much to teach her. She wanted to ask him about training and hear his wise advice about Fire Dance.
And, fool that she was, she wanted to share one more heart-stopping kiss, even if it was only to say goodbye.
Summoning her courage, Cheyenne rapped lightly on the door and waited. There was no reply and no sound from the other side. Maybe he was asleep. She tried again, knocking harder this time and waiting even longer.
Was he downstairs having a drink at the bar, maybe trying his luck in the casino? Or had he found a woman willing and able to give him what Cheyenne couldn’t?
Never mind, she told herself as she fished out her key card and opened her own door. Buck was his own man. What he did for pleasure shouldn’t matter.
But it did matter. It mattered enough to hurt.
At 2:17, Darrin’s cell phone rang. He rolled over in bed and groped for it where it lay on the nightstand.
Beside him, Simone lay deep in slumber. She’d taken one of her prescription sleeping pills that tended to knock her out like a dose of chloroform.
Chloroform. The word jarred him fully awake. He grabbed for the jangling phone, knocking it to the floor. What if it was the police calling? What if Lila’s daughter had died or awakened with a vivid memory of the incident in the stairwell?
Scrambling to his feet, he located the phone partway under the bed. It was still ringing. The caller was unknown.
“Hello?” he muttered.
“Hello, Brother. Remember me?”
The disguised voice raised the hair on the back of Darrin’s neck. With a glance at his sleeping wife, he carried the phone into the bathroom, closed the door, and turned on the water in the basin. Until he knew more about this new development, he didn’t want to involve Simone.
“Who is this? What do you want?” he demanded, speaking into the phone.
“As I said, I’m your brother—actually your half brother. As for what I want, you’ll find out in time, when we get to know each other better.”
“But how can I trust you? How do I know whether you’re telling the truth?”
“We have the same father—Frank Culhane. His name isn’t on my birth certificate because my mother was married and so was Frank. But she told me the truth before she died. And I have the DNA test results to prove it. I can show you when we meet.”
“I know my father was no saint. But before I accept your story, I’ll want to have those DNA results examined by an expert.”
“That’s no problem. I’ve already prepared a copy. I’ll give it to you when we meet.”
“Not so fast. Before I agree to meet you, I need to know why you’re calling me now, in secret, in the middle of the night. Tell me what you want, or this stops now.”
“What I want is to help you. I know about your legal fight with Lila Culhane over the house and stables. Lila’s got the will. That gives her the upper hand. I can fix that for you—something you’ve had no luck doing yourself.”
“You mean—?” Darrin’s pulse lurched.
“I hope I don’t need to draw you a picture.”
“So what’s in this for you?”
“As someone who shares your Culhane blood, I think I’m entitled to a piece of the pie. Say, a partnership?”
Darrin had begun to perspire. Sweat oozed between his shoulder blades and trickled down his back. “What if I’m not interested?” he asked.
“Oh, but I think you will be. Especially when I tell you that I’ve looked into your business affairs and know enough about your tax evasion and investment scams to put you behind bars. We can talk more when we meet. But we’ll have to be careful. For now, we mustn’t be seen together.”
“Do you have someplace in mind?” Darrin could scarcely believe he was getting pulled into this scheme. The man was probably a con artist. But he needed to know more.
“Yes, a place and a time. If we go now, we’ll have the place to ourselves.”
“Now? But it’s after two in the morning!”
“So much the better.” The mysterious caller gave Darrin directions, which sounded simple enough. “Call me at this number when you get there. I’ll be close by. What about your wife?”
“She’s not part of this.”
“You’ve got the directions?”
“I’ve got them.” Darrin repeated the ones he’d been given. “One question. Why all the secrecy?”
“You’ll understand when you meet me. All right?”
“Fine. I should be there in about twenty minutes.” Darrin ended the call, turned off the tap, and flushed the toilet for good measure.
Simone had gotten out of bed to pee, only to find the bathroom door locked.
From the other side, she could hear running water and her husband’s voice, evidently talking on his phone.
At first, the one-sided conversation made no sense.
But as she pressed closer to the door, she could hear enough to discern what was being said.
Darrin was arranging to meet someone in the barn of the South Point complex, outside the stall where the Culhane horses were kept.
Was it a woman? She wouldn’t put it past Darrin to cheat, but his tone suggested he was speaking to a man. So why the closed door and the running faucet—unless he was keeping something from her?
Simone would make it her business to find out.
The water had stopped running, and now she heard the toilet flush. She raced back to the bed, burrowed under the covers, and pretended to be asleep while Darrin dressed and left the room.
As soon as he was safely gone, Simone sprang out of bed, threw on her sweats and shoes, grabbed her purse, and followed him.
Several taxis were lined up outside the main entrance to the Excalibur. Darrin took one to South Point. By the time he arrived, the sweat was dripping down his body. His pulse was a loud drumming in his ears. What if he was making a dangerous mistake?