Wild Fire (The Fairy Tale Match Series) (33 page)

Her heart hammered in her chest, the
feelings of doubt melting away in the face of his tender love. Finally, she
could believe that she was the only one Jake loved and wanted. The feeling was
euphoric. Feeling giddy and drunk on his kisses, she clung to his shoulders,
wishing they were somewhere private to celebrate this momentous occasion.
Sighing blissfully, they finally pulled apart.

“I wish I didn’t have to work still,”
she admitted wistfully. “Right now, I’d like us to be somewhere special and
private.” She gave him a naughty look.

“Don’t go tempting me like that,” he
growled. “We’ll celebrate tonight. I have plans.” He wiggled his eyebrows at
her.

“More surprises?” she giggled.
“You’re spoiling me!”

“I think it’s about time that you
were spoilt a little,” he told her. “And I have something very special in mind!
You are going to love it!”

Laura sighed dramatically. “How am I
supposed to survive until then?” She kissed him one last time before he helped
her out of the car. She locked the door, running her hand once more over the
car in loving appreciation, her ring catching the sun again. “I can’t believe
you’ve done all this for me?” She felt slightly stunned. She’d never imagined
someone loving her that much. “This was all so completely perfect!”

“You are more than worth it,” he
whispered in her ear, making her shiver. Laura hated to see him leave, but she
knew she had to get back and help Alfie prepare for lunch. Reluctantly, she
said her goodbyes with a promise to get back home as soon as possible for
Jake’s next surprise. She could hardly wait to see what he had planned for them
next.

Laura headed back to the diner as if
she was floating on air. She still couldn’t believe all this was happening to
her! Everything she’d ever dreamed of and more. She knew now, no matter what
happened, she’d never doubt Jake ever again. Their love was real, strong and
forever.  She could feel it in every beat of her heart. There would never be
another man for her, not as long as she lived.

She entered the diner, her face
beaming in her joy. “It was a good surprise then?” Martha asked laughing.

“He bought me a car,” Laura said in
awe. “And this!” She held up her hand to show Martha the ring.

Martha gasped at the beautiful
diamond glinting in the light. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked
excitedly, grabbing Laura’s hand for a closer look.

Laura nodded, laughing and crying at
the same time. “He asked me to marry him and of course I said yes!”

“You’d be crazy not to!” Martha
cried, hugging her. “Congratulations!”

“What’s all the fuss about?” Alfie
inquired, coming out of the kitchen to find out what the noise was about.

“Laura’s got engaged,” his mother
informed him. Alfie beamed, giving her a hug. Laura could hardly concentrate as
lunchtime service began. She kept staring at the ring on her finger, her mind
wondering off into pleasant daydreams of her life with Jake. Alfie kept yelling
at her to keep her mind on the job. She giggled to herself at the changes
happening in him. Little by little her assistant was gaining confidence. In a
few months she could probably leave him to cook a full service.

Blissfully happy, Laura left the
diner once lunch was over.  She knew she’d promised Jake she’d be home soon,
but she dearly wanted to wear something special tonight and she didn’t really
have that much with her. She didn’t feel like wearing her little black dress
after the last time she’d worn it and the unhappy memories she associated with
it. She didn’t want anything to colour their evening together. Decision made,
Laura took some time to hunt through a couple of the boutiques in town. There
wasn’t many places to choose from, but Laura didn’t want to take the time to
drive to a bigger town.

At last she found a beautiful dress
in a soft romantic pink. The cut of the skirt flattered her figure and made her
waist look tiny. She adored the sweetheart neckline and the delicate lace that
covered the dress, giving it an elegant look. It was a little more expensive
than Laura would normally buy, but this was a special occasion. Laura wanted it
to be perfect. After all, how many times did a girl get to celebrate her
engagement?

Finally, she headed to her brand new
car, carrying her dress carefully in its bag. She stowed it on the backseat of
the car, before getting in the driver’s side. She sat for several moments,
trying to take everything in. She had no idea what Jake had planned, but she
could hardly wait! She was so lost in her happy thoughts, that it took her
several moments to realise she was staring at Walter. He was moving rapidly
down the street, every now and then glancing around him as if he was nervous to
be seen. Laura’s suspicions came flooding to the fore. He was definitely not
acting normal.

Jerking to attention, she slumped
down in her car, watching as he hurried through town, ducking down into a
narrow side street that Laura had never been down. Curious, Laura slid out of
her car, locked it and hurried to follow him. She glanced at her watch. This
was going to make her terribly late. She felt a tug of war start inside her.
Part of her wanted to forget Walter and go home to Jake and his surprise, but
the part of her that was determined to get to the truth didn’t feel like she
could pass up this opportunity to find out what was going on. The latter part
won.

She ran swiftly and silently down the
street she’d seen Walter disappear down. It was a quiet area that had several
old buildings no longer in use. Laura had never been to this part of town
before. Kerry had told her there used to be a large factory here at one point,
but they’d packed up years ago and moved to a more prosperous area. Now the
buildings lay dormant, falling into disrepair from lack of use.

Laura could not imagine what Walter
could possibly want in this part of town, unless he was up to something as
she’d suspected. Nervous chills raced over her body as she slowed, listening
carefully having lost which direction Walter had taken. Presently she heard a
scuffling noise from a small building to her right. Swiftly moving in that
direction, Laura hunched down to avoid being seen.

Creeping forwards, she stuck her head
around the corner just in time to see Walter entering the building through a
broken down door. Laura inched her way forwards, looking for a window she could
see through, but no such thing was in evidence. Frustrated, she realised the
building must have been some kind of storage shed.

Quickly, she scurried to the doorway,
leaning back against the wall, she strained to hear anything from the room
beyond. Her heart was banging so loudly, she felt sure someone would hear it.
Taking a calming breath, she listened. The sound of Walter’s annoyed voice soon
reached her ears. “I came as fast as I could. I couldn’t very well drop
everything the minute you texted. It would have aroused suspicion.”

“Oh do stop with your whining and
excuses!” came a woman’s voice. Laura frowned in confusion. She’d expected
Walter to meet with Victoria, but this woman was English from the sound of her
accent. Had someone else arrived in town that Walter knew? How did this fit
into everything? She leaned forward, wanting to get a look at the mystery
woman’s face.

Peering through the cracks in the
door, she could make out Walter’s back but the woman was standing out of her
view. Pursing her lips in annoyance, Laura strained to hear what they were
saying. “What the heck is this?” came Walter’s voice.

“What does it look like?” hissed the
woman. “It’s poison.”

“Again? But it didn’t work last time.
Charger survived.” Laura’s heart skipped several beats. She just about stifled
her gasp, covering her mouth with her hand. So it was Walter that had been
behind the poisoning, him and this woman. She knew there was something going on
with him, but she hadn’t suspected this. She would have sworn he’s only
involvement had been with Victoria to try and split her and Jake up. This was
something else entirely.

The woman sighed impatiently. “We’re
not poisoning food this time and I’ve got something a whole lot stronger. This
will kill a horse nice and slow, but the vet won’t be able to do anything for
the animals. It is totally incurable. I want you to take it and dump it in the
water supply for the breeding stock. Make sure you get every water supply they
drink from. It will take them ages to discover what the cause is and by that
time they will have lost most if not all their horses.” She laughed long and
low.

Something about the woman pricked at
Laura. She sounded familiar despite her accent. Pushing the feeling of
familiarity aside, Laura quietly pulled back from the door, ducking round the
corner again. She pulled her phone from her bag and quickly began to text Jake.
She had to warn him before it was too late. Hopefully he’d be able to set up a
trap and catch Walter before he could contaminate the water. Surely if he was
caught and in trouble, he could be persuaded to give up his female accomplice.

Her heart pounding, she desperately
tapped out her message, feeling like her fingers had grown into big clumsy
sausages that kept hitting the wrong keys. Biting her lip, Laura had almost
finished when the phone was suddenly whipped out of her hand. Gasping in shock,
she found herself staring into Walter’s stony face.

“I’m sorry Laura, but I can’t let you
send that text.” He said it so quietly and calmly that it sent a bolt of terror
straight through Laura. She sprang into action, darting around him and running
for the main part of town. She had to reach people as fast as possible. Her
heart hammered loudly in her ears. All she could think was she had to get to
Jake and tell him what Walter and that woman were planning. She couldn’t let
them win. Her breath sounded ragged and loud in the deserted street, her lungs
burning with her exertion and fear.

 She was only five feet from the
entrance back into the main street when a piecing pain filled her head.
Shocked, she turned to see Victoria standing behind her, a triumphant smile on
her blood red lips. Laura had one moment of realisation that the woman she’d
heard with the English accent had in fact been Victoria after all, before she
slumped down into unconsciousness.

*****

Jake was in seventh heaven. Things
couldn’t have gone better for him. He whistled a happy tune as he mucked out
the stalls. Laura had been totally taken by surprise and best of all, she’d
said yes to his proposal. His heart tripped over in his chest as he thought of
the future. Finally, he could see a happy one with a family of his own. Kerry
had been right. He would have missed having a wife and children to share his
life with. He couldn’t wait to tell her the news. She’d been out when he got
home, a note telling him she’d gone to sort out the accounts from the guest cottages
as some discrepancy had been spotted by Miss Porter.

He smiled as he thought back on the
conversation he’d had with his mother. He’d called her as soon as he’d got back
to the ranch, knowing he couldn’t put off telling her any longer. She’d been
thrilled after she’d scolded him soundly for keeping her in the dark. She’d
insisted on him giving her every little detail about how they’d met and
peppered him with hundreds of questions about Laura. Jake hadn’t minded really.
He enjoyed talking about the woman he’d come to love more than life itself.

Finishing in the stall, he went back
to the house for a quick shower. He could hardly wait to take Laura to the
romantic restaurant he’d booked a table with. She was going to love it. The
place was beautiful, set into the mountains with incredible views over the
valley. The food was excellent also, which he knew Laura would particularly
enjoy! He tingled with excitement at the thought of her expression when she saw
the place.

Heading into the kitchen, he put the
coffee maker on, wanting a snack to keep him going until dinner. Taking a
plate, he stuck a big slice of cake that Laura had made onto it. He was just
about to pour himself a big mug of coffee to go with it when Bill strolled in.
He sniffed the air appreciatively and eyed Jake’s cake.

“Any chance of a coffee and some of
that cake boy?” he asked, patting his stomach in anticipation.

“Do you have a built in radar or
something?” Jake laughed. “You always seem to know exactly when someone has
made coffee and there’s cake available!”

“It’s a gift!” Bill quipped. “Where’d
you get to this morning? I missed you at feeding time.” He took the plate and
mug Jake handed him. Both men sat at the table to enjoy their food.

Jake felt slightly bad, knowing he’d
left Bill to deal with ensuring the horses were fed uncontaminated food again.
The poor man had shouldered most of the burden since the incident with Charger,
Jake having ended up with one drama after another, thanks to Victoria.

“I’m sorry about that Bill. I know
I’ve been dumping a lot on you lately. I will make it up to you, I promise.”

Bill waved him off. ”As long as
you’ve sorted things out with Laura, that’s the main thing.”

Jake grinned mischievously. “I’d say
it’s better than just sorted out.” He was just about to tell Bill his good news
when Kerry came bounding in.

“Where’d you get to this morning?”
she asked, grabbing a mug of coffee and a slice of cake. She plonked herself
down on a chair next to Bill. “I expected you back straight after dropping
Laura off. Speaking of which,” she glanced at her watch. “Shouldn’t you have
gone to pick her up already?”