Wild Ride: BBW Western Romance (Under Open Skies Saga Book 2) (21 page)

“
He makes you take care of his dry cleaning
?
”

“
No, his own fucking mistresses. You wanna go ruin a life, why not his? He is neck deep in shit you would
n’
t even begin to understand
.”
Vitriol spewed out of her mouth
.“
Just like your father, constantly womanizing
.
”

“
Do not talk badly about my father
.”
She annunciated every single world.

“
I
t’
s the truth
.
”

“
Get the hell off my property, now. You quit, fine. I accept. Leave. Before I have security escort you off
.
”

Alice stormed away, throwing herself into her car and driving off, her foot on the accelerator, she whipped out there faster than she should have.

Some people never learn. She dialed Han
k’
s number.

“
Yeah, hun
?
”

“
Alice just quit
.”
She did
n’
t know how to say it, so she just came right out with it.

“
Again? What happened
?”
He did
n’
t sound upset at all, instead, like he was expecting this kind of behavior.

“
Sh
e’
s done this before
?
’

“
Oh, yeah, what happened
?
”

Kat needed to know this, because it would have changed how she handled her. It was frustrating enough to be the new boss, but to not have all the missing pieces made it hard to run the company.

“
I went to talk to Samuel, thought he was the one embezzling, along with Alice. Found out they wer
e
…”

“
Yeah. I know what they were doing. You should have asked me
.
”

“
I, I did
n’
t know who I could trust, Hank. I feel like I am chasing a phantom
.
”

“
I know, kid, but you need to rely on me. So, what happened with Alice
?
”

“
He broke up with her
.
”

“
Probably looking for an excuse, typical Samuel
.”
Hank added
,“
kid has a bit of a reputation
.
”

They were all kids to him, Kat realized. A small smile crept in as she shook her head.

“
Exactly. But she blamed me. So she quit
.
”

“
She ca
n’
t quit. She needs the money, give her two days, she will ask for her job back
.
”

“
You are
n’
t worried
?
”

“
No, I just want to decide if I am going to let her come back this time
.”
She could hear the hesitation in his voice, so she spoke up for him.

“
Normally, I would say not, but she just got a big shock
,”
Kat could
n’
t believe she was defending a woman who screamed at her not seconds ago.

“
Now you are getting it kid, balancing the hard choices with the human aspect of it. Your father would be proud of you.
I’
m proud of you
.
”

“
Thank you, Hank
.
”

They both hung up.

She still needed to get over to see Wyatt, he would be a welcome distraction right about now. Especially because it would let her get focused on the one thing she could handle right now. Her job.

“
Where in the hell have you been
?”
Wyatt sounded more amused than irritated.

“
Seems I ca
n’
t step anywhere without landing in some bull shit
.
”

“
Ah, I get you there. It is pretty much a daily occurrence
.
”

“
I imagine it is
.”
She squared her shoulders and cleared her throat
.“
What is it that you needed me to look at
?
”

“
I have been having a hell of a time finding any records of construction online. Almost like they did
n’
t happen, you know? Luckily I have Lucy, my part time assistant, make a copy of everything and store it the old fashion way. She recycles it out every 6-12 months, but I asked her to save any invoices for construction, if she came across them
.”
Wyatt reached into a desk drawer and started rummaging around.

“
Well, she came across a couple of them yesterday, and I knew you would want to see them. One from when your dad was running things, and one from a few months ago
.
”

“
And you said they did
n’
t do the work
?”
she asked.

“
Someone came out, and they did something, but hell if I can tell you what. I get a lot of these orders, so I do
n’
t really look at them too seriously. That was always over my head, you know. I just needed to know where and when so that I could section off the area. These requests were
n’
t really in high traffic places, and I am willing to bet that none of them were
.
”

She nodded, trying to understand exactly what he was saying. Someone was placing, putting in, and paying for non-essential work orders. Someone who she knew forged her signature, and could have forged, or coerced her father. Especially if he was ill.

“
Let me see the invoices
.
”

He handed them over, the fuzzy copy of what mus
t’
ve  been little pink slips. It was darker than she would have liked, and blurred, so she could just barely make out the words.

R&J Construction was clearly written over the top of the page, along with a number. The details were a bit fuzzy, but she made out a number. Along with a work order.

“
This says they repaired some fencing over on the West Field
?
”

“
Where we keep some of the bulls, it is a series of fences that separate them from each other, with buffer space in-between. Except we had an issue there last week. One of the fences deteriorated to the point of collapse. Without the buffer space it would have been a nightmare. Very little, if any, work was done
.
”

“
Shit. You wanna take me to see it
?
”

“
Sure, horse or ATV
?
”

“
Horse, you got a good one for me
?
”

“
Clayton just sold us a couple the other day, one of them is a pretty little mare, the kind that might be just the right size for you, come on
.”
The handsome salt and pepper man stood up from his desk and led her through the office, out the back doors. They cut off to a small set of stables, nothing like the equine facility, not in scale or quality, but it was well built, and sturdy. It suited the place.

“
You ride a lot
?”
He asked as they followed the path away from the office and down to the stables.

“
I did equestrian in high school and college
.”
She was accomplished with a horse, and it was something she was fairly proud of. No reason to hide it.

“I’
m not surprised. Did you do any other kind of riding, beside the fancy kind
?”
He did
n’
t sound like he was judging her, but like that was what he really thought of equestrian. That it was fancy. The truth of it was, the act itself was freeing, but the people, the ones he thought were so pretentious, were nothing more than catty and spiteful. At least most of the time.

“
You mean like trail riding? I did, especially in the summer, when I was with my dad
.”
She remembered the rides she used to take, relaxed, on the back of a horse while her father showed her all that the Ohio wilderness had to offer. It was flatlands, sure, but the small valleys, and the waterways made it beautiful. They were some of the best memories she had, and she guarded them like a treasure.

“
You spend a lot of time with your old man
?
”

“
Unfortunately, no. Even in the summer, that was his busy season, so our time together was spread out, a couple of days here, a lucky weekend break there. He came home to the lake for holidays, though. Most of the time
.
”

It was hard for her to admit, especially because she looked up to her father, but he was very rarely there for her. Not when she needed him most, like when she broke up with her boyfriend for the first time, or when she needed him to go to the father-daughter dance in high school, and certainly not now.

It was hard to swallow.

“
Sounds like it was a rough growing up
.
”

“
Not really, I had most of the things I wanted, did
n’
t really have to do more than ask, unless it was a luxury or something outrageous. But within reason, I got everything I asked for
.
”

“
Yeah, but what was it you really wanted
?
”

How could he reach in and pull out essential pieces of her soul like that? Ask the questions that made her want to scream and cry? It was too difficult, and yet, she felt compelled to answer him.

“
No. I wanted him. I wanted her to stop hating him. I wanted a happy family, but is
n’
t that a myth? The happy family
?
”

“
For a lot of people. Some of us are lucky, though. It happens
.”
Wyatt leaned against the barn doors and looked down at her
.“
Your father was a good man. It does
n’
t mean he was a great man. Or a great father. But he loved you. I know, because he talked about you. No matter what you did, he was proud. So many people do
n’
t even get that much from their parents
.
”

“
Very true
.”
She cleared her throat, unwilling to talk anymore about this subject. It was emotionally draining
.“
My horse in there
?
”

He turned and lifted the latch, opening the stable doors, a large pathway framed two rows of horse stables on either side. Only moderately sized, but it was still impressive.

“
This is beautiful
.”
It held a simple, a rustic kind of beauty, one that made her feel like she was a kid again, in her grandfathe
r’
s farm, picking out a horse for a ride. Simple, and country. Two things she absolutely loved.

“
Thank you, I designed it, your father approved it. Especially when I explained how more horses would be a great value to the facility
.
”

“
Has it been
?
”

“
Oh yes, riding horses is something that helps the guys relax, but it helps with work too, you know. This is
n’
t just a place to train, this is their second home. Even the younger kids come out. You know the kind, the on
e’
s who go to high school, they come after, ride some bulls. Sometimes we do a five dollar ride night, and those who stick around, it helps. You know
?
”

This was
n’
t just about being a training facility, or a middle man between the big sponsors, it was about creating a community. She was starting to get it. Her father was up to so much more than making a profitable business.

He wanted to foster an entire lifestyle. It hurt a little that she was
n’
t included in it growing up, not really. He paid for her horse riding lessons, her equestrian gear, all of it, but he never really brought her into the fold. All these men and women, they were more his children than she was.

Somehow that made her feel lonelier than anything else in the entire world.

“
This is the one I was thinking about for you
.
”

She looked at the small mare, not much coming to her as she checked it up and down, it would do, but it was nothing like she was hoping. Not that she should be hoping. It was only an animal, one that she was just going to use here on the facility grounds.

“
Which one are you riding
?”
She asked.

When he pointed, she had to fight to catch her breath.

The dark gelding just about took her breath away. He was black, with just that little spot of white right on the forehead, the kind of horse she always dreamed about owning as a kid. Her equestrian horses were important to her, but she never felt tha
t…
instant connection. Not like she did with him.

“
Wow. He is gorgeous
,”
she said as she walked across the pathway. She stroked his head, completing the nuzzle as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“
Guess I just got demoted
,”
Wyatt chuckled, grabbing the tack for the mare she was to ride, and getting it settled
.“
How about I take Pokey, and you ride Scream
?
”

“
Scream
?
”

“
Yeah, that was his name. Apparently when they first got him, he liked to whinny, really, really loud. Still is a bit of a talker, that one
.
”

She did
n’
t care what he said about Scream. That horse spoke to her.

She saddled him up and walked him out of the stable, hopping on him like a pro.

“
See you do
n’
t need any refreshers
.
”

“
Nope. Which way we going
?
”

“
Just follow me
.
”

“
What if I want to lead
?
”

“
I would
n’
t be surprised, that is for sure. You sure you are
n’
t just a copy of John
?”
He was lighthearted as he said it, but she could see the pain in his eyes.

“
Were you two close
?
”

“
I did
n’
t have much of a dad, you know. So when I met your dad, he was towards the end of his career and I was beginning mine. Still in high school. He kinda took me under his wing. Did that for a lot of guys.
I’
d say we were close, he hired me as soon as I retired. But my story is
n’
t any different from a lot of guys around here
.
”