The Last Cowboy In Texas (4 page)

“Yes I do. Can you give me a little hint about the deal you think will go south?”

“Nope. Not until I know for sure.”

He shuffled off to his office. She knew he wouldn’t give up until he’d wormed it out of her.
Well, he can worm away all he wants. I’m not telling him until I’m ready.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon and she’d stayed at her desk since arriving. No lunch after no breakfast and she was ravenous. Ozzie stepped into her office.

“Time to head for home, young lady.”

“I’m almost done, Dad. I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay. Now don’t disappoint your mother tonight.”

“I won’t.” She looked up and smiled. “I’m famished.”

Minutes later, the phone rang. It was Missy.

“Paige? Wait ‘til you see the cute outfits I got today.”

“I can hardly wait.”

“Why don’t you come over tonight?”

She was about to decline when she had a thought. Dying to share what she knew with someone, Missy would be perfect. “I’m going home for dinner. How about seven?”

“Fine. See you then.”

* * *

Her Volvo crunched gravel in the Coward’s drive at five past seven. Missy had been waiting at the top of the steps. “Hi, Paige. They’ve got the neatest sales going on in Branson. Wait’ll you see.”

“As they say, Missy, if you can’t find it in Branson, you can’t find it.”

“Well, they’ve got that right. Come on up.”

She followed Missy up to her bedroom. Actually, her bedroom suite. The Cowards were the wealthiest family in the lakeside town and their home gave testament to that.

Trailing her friend into the huge walk-in closet, she dropped into one of two easy chairs in the elongated room. Missy pulled out one pastel dress after another until she’d laid six of them across Paige’s lap, a rainbow of soft colors.

“What do you think?”

“They’re all lovely and they all favor you. I think I like the lavender one the best. Or maybe the pink.”

“Me, too.” Missy hung the dresses back into place and sat in the other chair. “So tell me, what’s the story you’re on?”

“What makes you think I’m on a story?”

“The glow in your eyes. You don’t get that bright-eyed bushy-tailed look unless something’s cooking in there somewhere.”

“Well, you’re right.” She laughed. “Oh, this is so cool.
Troy
has got hold of something even he can’t get out of this time.”

Missy’s eyes reflected a hint of mystery but whatever it was, it evaporated. “He’s in trouble?”

“Not trouble, exactly. He’s buying a huge land parcel to develop for Branson’s finest. The thing is, an environmental scientist has discovered endangered species on it so he may not be able to develop it. And the best part is, the environmentalist is a woman so sexy he’s stepping on his tongue around her. Isn’t that sweet?”

“I suppose, but I don’t get it. Branson’s finest? Endangered species? Can you simplify it for me?”

“Sure.
Troy
wants to develop private tracts for wealthy entertainers. But, get this, Aggie’s found the Gamies on the creek that runs through the place he’s buying.”

“Aggie? Gamies? I still don’t get it.”

“Aggie Kingfisher is an environmentalist from
St. Louis
. Gamies are the tiny frogs my dad and other fishermen use for fish bait.”

“Oh... Oh! And you say Aggie is sexy?”

“Yeah. She could be a fashion model.”

“
Troy
’s hormones have got him in the hunt, huh?”

“Bigtime. Only, he knows she could blow his investment to hell so he has to be really careful. What’s more, her boyfriend is her mentor and he’s going to show up in
Flanders
any day now.”

Missy’s look was far away when she smiled softly. “This could be what finally knocks
Troy
off his high perch.”

“I’d say. So now you know why I’m bright-eyed.”

“Yeah.”

They spent two hours trying dresses on. Nearly identical in size since middle school, it was something they did often. Alike in size but opposite in coloration. Unlike Paige, Missy was blonde, fair-skinned and blue-eyed.

Before leaving, Paige said, “Promise you won’t tell what I told you.”

“I promise. You know me, Paige. Not a word to a soul.”

“Right. I’ll let you know when the rubber hits the road.”

“Or when the stuff hits the fan?”

“That, too.”

* * *

Back home in her bedroom, she wasn’t ready for sleep. Her thoughts had turned during the evening to a new fantasy she just had to write down. She went to her dresser and pulled out the locked journal; her deepest secret.

Like her father, Paige was an aspiring novelist. But unlike the adventure novels he’d struggled with early in life, her goal was to write regency historical romances. Long dreamy will-o-the-wisp fantasies she wove about strong-willed heroes who someday would come and rescue her from the dungeon where she languished. Oddly, the heroes always bore an uncanny resemblance to Troy Roberts.

She lifted her pen to the page and began to write.

* * *

Saturday was usually a day she reserved for herself, but today she’d gone by the paper to ensure that the presses were rolling out Sunday’s edition. Only sixteen pages, it wasn’t much but this was one of few small
Missouri
towns that bragged a Sunday edition of any kind and
Flanders
residents were happy to have it.

She was on the way to her car when a voice hailed her. Aggie. The woman wasn’t smiling. “Paige Turner, I need to speak to you.”

“Morning, Aggie. Did you want anything in particular?”

“Yes. An explanation. Why didn’t you tell me Troy Roberts was the very realtor I said I had to stop?”

“I thought he should have shown enough courage to do that himself.”

“Oh? Well, you’re right there. That’s why he looked like he’d just swallowed a-”

“A frog?”

Aggie giggled. “Yeah, maybe one of those Gamies. When I told him who I was, I wondered why he reacted so strangely.”

“Well, now you know.”

“This isn’t going to stop me.”

“Why should it?”

“It shouldn’t and it won’t. I need to know something else. How powerful is
Troy
around
Flanders
?”

“Politically?”

“Yes. And financially.”

What do I tell her? The truth? Or do I cover for
Troy
? No way I’ll do that.

“Politically, he has friends. I’m not sure how effective they’ll be in opposing you. Financially, he’s not in any trouble that I know of but he’s not independently wealthy, either. Does that help?”

“Yes. I think so.”

She gave Aggie the once-over. Dressed in khaki pants and a very revealing over-worked halter top, the woman was stuck between outdoorsy tomboy and sexy urban babe.

If she’s dressed for battle, I’m curious to see what kind of war she’ll fight

Chapter Three

Troy
came out of the bank smiling, pleased that his banker hadn’t heard the rumor about the Gamies. He’d leveraged assets to manage the loan but three sales from the new project would balance that and he had at least six clients he knew he could count on. He’d stepped off the walk and started across the street when he noticed Paige talking to Aggie in front of the Herald.

Uh-oh. Don’t want to get stuck talking to those two.

Paige said something to Aggie and turned away, leaving the redhead standing there.
Troy
saw his chance and headed for his car. He’d almost made it before Aggie spied him and waved. Maybe she didn’t know yet. She didn’t look angry.

He approached cautiously. “Morning, Aggie.”

“Well if it isn’t Mister Courageous, himself. How are you Mr. Roberts?”

“Fine... I was. About the courageous part, I-”

She cut in, “You don’t have to explain yourself, Mister Roberts. I understand. Most realtors I’ve met are lily-livered pansies.”

His smile shattered into a dark scowl. “Now just a minute. I may have given you the wrong impression the other night but that doesn’t give you leave to call me names.”

“I wasn’t calling you names. Just stating a fact.”

“You really think I’m a coward? Look Miss Kingfisher, I was very impressed with you when we met. The fact that you’re engaged in an exercise that runs counter to my enterprise notwithstanding, I took a liking to you. The last thing I wanted was to get the two of us into an argument.”

“Well, we’re in one now.”

“So it seems.” He paused to give her a gentle smile. “Isn’t getting us anywhere, is it?”

“Not really. Do I take it, then, that you’re apologizing for deceiving me?”

“Yes. I’m sorry for that. Now, may I make it up to you by buying you a cup of coffee while we discuss our differences?”

“Yes. I think that would be nice. A step in the right direction, at least.”

* * *

The pair headed down the sidewalk toward the bakery as Paige looked on in disbelief from her car. She’d relished the thought of watching Aggie strip the flesh right off
Troy
’s frame. But that hadn’t happened for some reason.

When
Troy
and Aggie disappeared into the bakery, she drove away slowly, dying to know when the fireworks would begin. She’d seen a hint of Aggie’s temper and knew firsthand about
Troy
’s penchant for verbal pyrotechnics. She was about to turn back to spy on them when Missy hailed her from the sidewalk. She stopped and let her friend into the car.

“Hi, Missy.”

“What’s happening?”

“Our female environmentalist and
Troy
are in the bakery.”

“Fighting?”

“I don’t think so. Not yet.”

“Wow. You think
Troy
’s charm has already won her over?”

“I can’t imagine that. I suspect Aggie is drawing him out, looking for his Achilles heel.”

“Why would she be interested in his foot?”

“Oh Missy, that’s just an expression. I mean she’s trying to find his weak spot. She’ll find it. When she does, I’d hate to be Troy Roberts.”

“Yeah.” The look on Missy’s face showed she still didn’t appreciate the full import of the situation.

“I don’t suppose you’d like to do a little spying for us, would you, Missy?”

“I’m not much good at that kind of stuff.”

“You don’t have to be. Just go in for a cup of coffee and sit as close to them as you can. Then listen to what they’re saying. I’d do it but Aggie already knows me.”