Chapter Ten
Kace pushed his eggs around on the plate. The sulfur smell made his stomach clench. The coffee had turned cold before he could get halfway through. Gus sat in the booth opposite him and rambled on about something. The morning sun bounced rays of light off the laminate table’s surface, causing stabbing pain behind his eyes. He usually looked forward to his breakfasts with Gus a couple of times a month, but today he couldn’t focus on the fork in his hand.
He had other things on his mind. Mainly, Tara Haden and the way her big gray eyes had stared up at him when he asked her out. Or the way she’d gnawed on her bottom lip until that dumbass of an ex-husband left. They had a story, and he should stay away from it because he had plans that didn’t involve a woman, her son, and an ex-husband. But he didn’t want to stay away from her for some reason, and it wasn’t just the massage. She gave off the impression she didn’t want to be screwed with, but there was something softer under that hard shell. He wanted to see what it was.
“Kace, are you listening?” Gus waved his hand and dragged him back to the rising voices and clattering silverware that made up the diner’s soundtrack.
“Um, yeah. Sorry. I have a headache.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.
Gus wiped his mouth with his napkin and tossed it on his empty plate. “What did the doc say?”
“I haven’t seen the doctor. I don’t need to. It’s just a headache. I’m probably dehydrated.” He dug the ibuprofen out of his pants pocket and downed two with his cold coffee.
“Are you sure that’s it?”
“What else would it be?” The doctor had said if the symptoms persisted, he should come back, but he hadn’t been doing his exercises. He always felt like shit afterward, sometimes for the entire day. He needed more time, and he’d be as good as new. He just wanted everyone to stop asking him how he felt. They weren’t making his recovery any easier.
Last night, when he drove from the main building to the employee cottages, he had been so focused on getting to Izzi none of the concussion symptoms bothered him. He couldn’t afford to make a mistake at the wheel because Izzi might have been in trouble. Once he saw she was fine and he could relax, the symptoms had surfaced almost immediately. He would protect Izzi at all costs, and before the accident he would not have doubted his ability to hit a target with his fists or a gun.
Since the massage, he could almost move his head in a full circle without wanting to get sick. That had to be because of what Tara had done to him. He needed her to keep working through the knots in his neck and back. Did he dare wonder what else those hands were capable of?
“Have you made any headway with the investment money?” Gus dumped a load of sugar and milk into his coffee.
“I want to sell my share of the ranch. That should give me all the funding I need.”
Gus raised his eyebrows. “What did your brothers say to that?”
“Jett hates the idea, but he’ll come around, and Lock will do whatever Jett tells him to.”
“Your mother will be heartbroken.”
“She’s ready to retire. She won’t care if some of the land goes now. I can sell off the back part that we don’t use for anything except some hiking and camping. Jett won’t even miss it.” Jett had said the opposite, but Kace couldn’t worry about that. His brother didn’t understand how desperate he’d become. The idea to sell wasn’t a simple one. He would not divide up his grandfather’s legacy on a whim. Before now, he hadn’t even considered selling his share. If only he had listened to Trevor. If only he hadn’t been so arrogant in those last seconds. He wouldn’t be sitting here with Gus and wishing his head didn’t hurt and wishing he didn’t have to let his brother down or dirty his grandfather’s memory.
Jenna Jones, the part-time server, ambled up to their table with the coffeepot in one hand and her cell phone in the other. Her hair was piled up on her head, but pieces fell around her face as if they’d lost their way to her bun and not as if she meant to wear her hair that way. Her denim skirt barely covered her ass—which probably helped with the tips—and the pink top dropped low enough he had a front-row seat to her black bra. Jenna was the owner’s niece. She often got the orders wrong because her head seemed somewhere else most of the time—like stuck in her phone.
She topped off Gus’s coffee and held the pot out for him. He shook his head. He handed her his congealed eggs. She shoved her phone in her apron with an exasperated eye roll, and she drifted away with nothing more than a snarl at his uneaten food.
“Nothing would make me happier than to see you drive again, but, son, I don’t think selling your land is a good idea. Did you think any more about my idea of Jett investing in the team?” Gus slurped some of his coffee.
“I won’t ask him to do that. This is my problem to solve. Jett needs to run his ranch.”
Gus held his hands up in surrender. “No more talk about Jett lending you money.”
Jenna came back and dropped the bill on the table. “Can I get you fellas anything else?”
“We’re good. Thanks.” He grabbed the check. “Let’s get out of here if you’re done.” He was done. Done with this headache. Done with not driving.
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m ready. I can pay today.” Gus pushed out of the booth.
“You paid last time.” He thumbed through his cash and handed it over to Tony manning the register.
“But you’re not working.” Gus stuck his hand in his pocket.
“Please don’t treat me the way my family does.” He grabbed Gus’s arm.
“Fair enough.” Gus didn’t wait for him to get his change but went out the door and stood in the parking lot.
“Where’s the Porsche?” Kace sidled up to Gus.
“Thought it might rain. Didn’t want her to get dirty. Guess I was wrong about the weather.” Gus glanced at the sky, then back at him. “This idea you have to sell your land. What if you can’t find a buyer or your brothers fight you?”
A Range Rover pulled into the lot. The black paint gleamed in the sun, and the tint on the windows kept the driver a secret. The chrome was polished and winked as the vehicle bounced over the uneven asphalt. He had seen that SUV before.
“Your family worked hard for that property. Are you sure you want someone other than a Ryker owning any of it?” Gus’s hand shook. He dropped the keys, and they bounced under the car.
“Are you okay?” He dropped down on his stomach. The gravel bit through his shirt, but he snatched the keys. His head only protested a little. The ibuprofen must have started working.
“Fine. Why?” Gus held out his hand, and he slid the keys on it.
“Your hands have been shaking all morning.” Gus had sloshed his coffee around a few times while they ate.
“That’s nothing. Forgot to take my medicine this morning.”
“If something was wrong, you’d tell me, right?” He tried to meet Gus’s gaze, but the old man looked toward the Range Rover and the driver closing the door.
He bit back a curse. The driver was Drew Paxton. Drew gave a nod in their direction.
Gus turned back to him. “Is that Drew Paxton, the football player?”
“Yeah, but forget him. Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You look tired.” Maybe it was the sunlight, but dark circles bruised the skin around Gus’s eyes. He had missed that inside because he was too caught up in his own problems.
“Stop worrying, Nancy. As for you selling your land, I think that’s a mistake. Find another way to invest in this team.”
“It’s my land, Gus. I can do what I want with it. I don’t have to wait until Jett wants to sell. He may never sell, and I’m never having kids to leave it to. Racing is my life, and that property will give me my life back.”
“That land is part of your family. Family always comes first. If you sell it now, you’ll regret it later.”
“You’re wrong.” He needed Gus to be wrong because he didn’t have any other options. His family would have to understand investing in a team was investing in a business. Sure, it was a risky business, but anything worth having always held a little risk to it.
“Good morning, gentleman.” Drew waved as he passed by, his dark sunglasses hiding his eyes. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“It’s a fine day,” Gus said.
Drew stopped. He turned his head away as if he was trying to think of something, then back at them. “It’s Kace, isn’t it?”
He responded with a nod.
“It’s nice to see you again. I enjoy meeting Tara’s friends. Thank you for her job opportunity, but I don’t know if she’ll need it much longer.” Drew removed his glasses and fixed a pointed glare on him.
“Do you think you should be speaking for her?” His fists clenched at his sides. The twisting pain behind his eyes accelerated.
Drew spit out a laugh. “I suppose not. I’m just glad to have my family back together again. Didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation.” He continued inside the diner with an ease in his stride and a whistle on his lips.
“That sweet woman I met at dinner the other night is his wife?” Gus said.
“His ex-wife. And something strange is going on between them. She never said anything to me about wanting to resign.” And why would she? She just started working for them. She didn’t seem like the type of person who would take a job where living arrangements were included only to turn around faster than a turbo-charged engine and quit.
“Wouldn’t that be a discussion for her to have with Jett or Lock?”
“I hate to run, but I need to find my brothers.” He patted Gus on the shoulder, ignoring the question, but Gus was correct. If Tara were going to leave the ranch, she should be telling Jett or Lock or even his mother.
He waited to make sure Gus got in the car okay, but once Gus pulled away, he spun his tires on the gravel and took off.
Tara couldn’t resign. He needed her.