Executive Desires (The Blake Boys Book 10) (2 page)

Bo shook his head. “No, this is your moment—breaking ground for the new house.”

“It was Mama’s idea to have the ground breaking today to get you here. She knew you scheduled your vacation to escape having a surprise party.” Channing laughed.

Bo put his arm around Cassie. “Hey, how’s my favorite attorney?” Bo enjoyed the leering look Channing was sending him when he put his arm around her.

“I’m doing great,” Cassidy answered. “I already have two clients—the boys, and your dad. I’m going to do some estate planning for them.”

“That’s great. You can keep an eye on my inheritance.” Bo grinned.

Channing squeezed between them like a two year old. “Hugging time is over.”

“Years of payback, my friend. I do recall you ruining every tender moment I ever had with a girl back in high school. Cassie, did he ever tell about the time—”

“She doesn’t want to hear about that,” Channing interrupted.

“Oh, but I do. We’ll talk later, Bo.” Cassie gave Channing a playful side-eye.

“Hey, old man.” Tyler approached. “I see the boys had to help you out of the car. No worries, I got you a cane for your birthday.”

Bo punched him in the arm. “Mind your elders, Ty.”

Michelle giggled. “I can tell you your present is something of a culinary nature to help you get ready for your next appearance on my show. I’m still getting fan mail from women asking if you have a girlfriend.”

He’d had so much fun that day cooking with Michelle, he’d forgotten all about the cameras. “Is it that fancy stand mixer I wanted?”

“Maybe. The ladies and I also chipped in and got you a special gift.” Michelle gave him a sly grin.

“You did?” Bo gave her a quizzical look.

“What do you get the man who has everything?” Morgan placed an envelope on the table and gave him a hug.

“Something he didn’t know he wanted.” Isabelle’s eyes sparkled.

He searched their faces. “Ladies, what did you do?”

“John Jacob and Bo Senior are here. Let’s get this celebration started,” Teri-Lyn yelled from the food table.

* * *

It was seven o’clock when the party began winding down. Tyler and Channing both made heartfelt speeches about why they chose the location and thanked everyone for supporting them. Michelle and Cassidy were excited about the prospect of living in new spaces. Bo knew it wouldn’t be long before the couples were married.

He received a barrage of gifts and couldn’t wait to open them all. One in particular piqued his interest. John Jacob gave him a weighted box and told him they’d be talking soon.

He was staying at his dad’s house tonight. He had his bags in the car and would get an early start on his road trip. Father and son settled in on the couch and had a drink.

Bo wiggled out of his boots. “Did you get everything you needed for your fishing trip?”

“Yep. I got a new deck of cards and poker chips. I’m going to take John Jacob for all he’s worth.”

“That’s ambitious. He’s worth a gazillion dollars.” Bo laughed.

“No matter, I got the time.” Bo Senior sipped his moonshine.

“You plan on bringing any fish back?”

“I’ll do my best. When you leaving for New Mexico?”

“Tomorrow morning. I’ll be staying at a hotel near mom’s house, but I’ll have my cell phone if you need me.”

“Why you staying at a hotel?” His father scratched his temple.

“Because I don’t want World War Three with Wyatt and Corbett.”

“Things haven’t gotten any better with them?”

“Silence is golden.” Bo swirled his drink in his glass. “The last few summers I spent there as a kid were torture. Thank you for not making me keep going.”

“Well, it was clear visiting was stressful for a so-called vacation. But I always wanted you to spend time with your mama.” Bo patted him on the shoulder.

“I know, Dad. She knows that too.”

“Is she still going by Evangeline or did she come to her senses let everyone call her Bonnie again?”

“She said once she left you, a wave of maturity overcame her, and she wanted to use her first name again. But I think Bonnie just sounds too much like Bo for her tastes.” He laughed.

“Well, it’s her middle name. I didn’t make it up.”

“You still call her Bonnie to torment her.”

Bo Senior huffed. “Has she started on marriage number four yet?”

“No. I think she’s decided three times was enough. Besides she probably can’t find any more men who look like you.” Bo flashed him a cheesy grin.

“What are you talking about?” Bo sputtered.

“Come on, now. Don’t play dumb. Buck and Pete could have been your stunt doubles. She even made them wear brown Stetsons and convinced them to smoke cigars. I don’t think she ever got over you.”

“When your mother stormed out of here, her last words were that she never wanted another bullheaded, conceited, pain-in-the-butt man like me ever again.”

“Maybe that was what she loved about you.”

“Maybe. I know that’s what I loved about her.” Bo Senior chuckled. “We did do one thing right. The best parts of both of us went into making you.”

“I don’t know what it is with you two. She said she’d never forgive you after that accidental bigamy incident years ago.”

“That was all a big misunderstanding.”

It had seemed like both his parents had moved on until the day his mother was sifting through her important papers and discovered she never received the final divorce decree from her marriage to Bo Senior. Unfortunately, she’d already been married to Buck for three years. Turns out Bo Senior never had it filed and they had been married all that time. Each accused the other of intentionally not following up with the final stage of the divorce. After a lot of yelling and getting lawyers involved, they were truly divorced and she remarried Buck.

“She asks if you’re seeing anyone when she calls.” Bo noticed his father playing with a loose thread on his work jeans. A telltale sign something was up. “Are you seeing someone?”

“I’ve been on a few dates with Francine.”

“Francine? The waitress at the Bright Star?”

“She’s a nice lady, and we have a lot in common. You think you’re the only Jamison getting lucky these days?”

“Dad!”

“Unlike my good friend John Jacob, my foot doesn’t slip.” He winked.

“I thought we agreed that he was…changing a light bulb.” Bo did air quotes with his fingers.

Bo Senior chuckled. “You gonna open those birthday presents?” He pointed to the dining room table.

“How about I cut us another piece of cake and we can go through them together?”

“Sounds good.” Bo Senior stood up. “Listen, Cassie is going to be helping me set up an estate, and I’d like you to take a look at some papers. I want you to get an idea of my…what do you fancy finance guys say? Net worth?”

Bo smiled. “Sure, I’ll take a look.”

Bo went into the kitchen and got the cake, forks, and something else to drink while Bo Senior went into his bedroom. When he got back to the living room, there was an old shoebox and some papers spread out on the coffee table.

Bo handed his dad the plate. “Let’s have a look.”

Bo sifted through the documents, not really knowing what to expect. His father had worked on the Twelve Horseshoes Ranch most of his life and wasn’t frivolous. He was a salt-of-the-earth man with basic needs. His father had owned one pick-up truck his entire life and his prized possession was his horse Sundance. Bo never wanted for anything, and his father never made a fuss when he needed something. Bo Senior didn’t bat an eye when he got accepted into four expensive Ivy League schools. He told him to pick the one he wanted to attend and he was on his way.

As Bo perused the papers, it was becoming clear that the seemingly random pieces of paper were anything but. Bo Senior had a hefty sum of shares in Blake Enterprises. He assumed they lived on the ranch in the house rent-free, but his father had a deed to the house. There were statements from an investment firm and a battered old savings passbook from the local bank. He flipped through it to the find that his father had millions of dollars in the bank.

“I don’t know what to say.” Bo sank down on the arm of the couch.

“That’s pretty much everything and it all goes to you. The ownership papers for Sundance and the recipe for my moonshine are in the cookie jar.” Bo Senior forked some cake into his mouth.

“If I knew you could make this kind of money being a ranch manager, I wouldn’t have bothered going to college.” Bo shook his head. Just when he thought he knew everything about his father, something new would crop up.

“Nonsense. College was a good investment. You put all that book smarts to good use. Look at you now. CFO of Blake Enterprises. John Jacob wouldn’t trust just anybody with that job, even if you are family. Now let’s get to opening those presents.”

Bo ripped into the boxes with fervor to find culinary utensils, electronic gadgets, books, cologne, and clothes. He put the gift from John Jacob off to the side. It was a tradition that he opened his gift from his surrogate uncle together. There was an envelope with a red ribbon on it from the ladies, who’d all had jaw-breaking grins when they’d handed it to him. He cautiously opened it.

“You have been selected to receive a week-long vacation at Executive Desires, an exclusive all-inclusive luxury resort for discerning wealthy businessmen. Please call your personal travel assistant Amber when you are ready indulge in your wildest fantasies.”

Bo Senior grinned when he read the card. “Sounds fancy
and
frisky. You have time to book that vacation?”

“I’ll be in New Mexico for a week and then I’m headed back home.”

“You have a month off, don’t you?”

“No thanks to J.J.,” he replied.

“I say go for it.”

* * *

Bo got on the road in the wee hours of the morning. He liked driving when traffic was light. He blasted what he called traveled music, upbeat tunes that got the adrenaline pumping while he settled in for the long ride. And if he needed a nerdy fix, he brought a few audio books he got for his birthday. He promised himself he wouldn’t obsess about work. The company wouldn’t go out of business while he was away, but Blake Enterprises was ingrained in his blood. J.J. had reminded him that he needed to balance work with pleasure too, and he felt like he was making up for lost time with his dating adventures.

He looked at his phone display. There was another voice mail from Connie, the woman he took out last week. They’d had dinner, saw a movie, and had a great time. But when Connie sent out the signals that she was interested in doing it again, he backed off. Dating was fun but he wasn’t making a soulful connection with anyone. The minute he talked about the latest tech devices or the economy, their eyes would glaze over like they were watching paint dry.

The minute Bo crossed over the New Mexico border a knot formed in the pit of his stomach. He could do this. It was only a week and he hadn’t seen his mom in ages. He was certain Wyatt and Corbett would be stopping by, if only to shoot him their trademark looks of disdain for being away so long. He thought about what Teri-Lyn had said. It didn’t have to be a total train wreck of a reunion. He could make an effort; he was the older brother after all. J.J. made it look so easy. Bo took a deep breath. He could survive this blended family debacle for a week.

* * *

Bo pulled into the expansive driveway of his mother’s two-story Spanish-style home to find her waving from the doorway. She was wearing a pretty pink top, jeans, her favorite hat, and a pair of cowboy boots.

“What have you done with my son?” Evangeline scrambled down the walkway to his car and gave him a big hug.

“I wasn’t aware I’d changed that much. I told you I got contacts.” He kissed her.

She looked him over. “You also got a new haircut and a whole bunch of muscles. How long had I been telling you to lose the glasses and get that new laser surgery?”

“I’m not letting anybody go near my eyes ever since that incident with Tate and the blow torch when we were kids.” It had seemed like a good idea at the time to weld the cracked chrome bumper on John Jacob’s truck in the middle of the night when they’d got home from that party. Too bad they forgot to wear eye protection. Bo Senior and John Jacob were spitting mad and they would have been punished had the hilarity of their singed eyebrows not lightened the mood.

“Still, you look different. I noticed it when you appeared on that cooking show with your friend Michelle.” She stepped back and got a look at him again. “You look just like your damn daddy.”

He’d noticed it too. Bo had gone into the kitchen for a glass of water in the middle of the night to find his father had fallen asleep on the couch. Barring the graying at the temples and the weathered lines on his face, Bo was a chip off the old block. He wondered why he hadn’t realized how similar they were before. Perhaps it was because for years, he thought he was the odd man out at the ranch. When everyone else was making repairs or helping with the horses, he’d had a book in his hand.

“Is that good or bad?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll let you know. How was the drive?”

“Peaceful. I never get tired of the scenery. I just wanted to let you know”—he shuffled his feet—“that I booked a hotel room a few miles away.”

“Why on earth did you do that?”

“Because,” Bo clamped up when he saw his brothers Corbett and Wyatt had exited the house. He put his hands on his mother’s shoulders. “I’d like a peaceful visit.”

“You will do no such thing.” Evangeline looked at her approaching sons. “Boys, tell your brother it’s ridiculous to stay at a hotel.”

He had five years on his younger brothers, who’d grown tremendously since the last time he’d seen them, and they weren’t kids anymore. At first glance it wasn’t obvious they were brothers. Corbett and Wyatt both had their father’s strong features.

From what his mom had told him during their conversation the other day, Corbett had a great job with a brokerage firm and he’d gotten engaged last month. Wyatt was a sophomore in college and hadn’t declared a major yet.