Ray: Riding Hard, Page 5

  She didn’t worry too much about Jules charging to Texas, because he owned a freight shipping business that he was sure would fall apart if he ever took a day off. Also, he hated to spend money on anything but said business.

  Jules had made it a policy to keep an eye on Erica—she was a blood relation, and he was big on family sticking together. But while he was lavish with advice that sounded more like commands, he was by no means a generous man with cash.

  “I’m meeting with my lawyers tomorrow,” Jules said. “There has to be a way for you to get the old man’s money without the ridiculous stricture about fixing up the property. Your grandfather had to have been insane—that’s what I’m going with. Not of sound mind when he put together the trust.”

  “I already talked to a ton of lawyers,” Drew said, holding on to her patience. “My grandfather knew what he was doing, apparently, and so did the trustees.”

  “These are my lawyers,” Jules said. “Used to finding every loophole possible. Don’t worry, Drew. We’ll get you out of this and sitting on a pile of money. You can come back to Chicago and live in a nice house in Park Ridge or someplace like that.”

  Jules was always suggesting they move west out of the city, never mind noise from O’Hare. Better for Erica, he said. He was possibly right, but commuting through traffic or even by train was tough. They’d lived ten minutes away from her library, five minutes’ walk to Erica’s school. Drew hadn’t had the money to move, not to mention the time, and as usual, Jules offered no help with the practicalities of his suggestions.

  “Is that guy a licensed contractor?” Jules asked. “I didn’t think they had them out in the boondocks.”

  “He’s fine.”

  Drew didn’t want to talk about Ray. About how she’d wanted to kiss him. How his hand on her back had been so comforting, how him simply being here made everything easier.

  When Ray had asked for them to accompany him tonight, her heart had leapt and then crashed down when Jules had called. She hadn’t wanted to talk to Jules in front of Ray, and Ray had understood and gone. Opportunity lost.

  “Seriously, Drew, you can get railroaded,” Jules was saying. “Make him show you his license. What company does he work for? I can look him up.”

  “He’s local, and it doesn’t matter.”

  “Well, you probably won’t need him after my lawyers look at the trust. You can leave the middle of nowhere and come home to civilization. Stop wasting time.”

  Similar words had gone through Drew’s head today as she’d looked over the shelves and shelves and boxes and boxes and junk downstairs. What am I doing? Why am I wasting my time on this?

  Drew glanced at the photo still clutched in her hand—the one of her young grandfather standing tall on the porch, her grandmother so pretty next to him. She thought of Ray telling her she was already thinking like a B&B owner, and her excitement about decorating the garage apartment as a romantic bower.

  “It’s not a waste of time,” she said brusquely to Jules, cutting off his diatribe. “It’s my B&B, and I think I’m going to keep it.”

  Erica, to her surprise, did a fist pump. No more glum complaining that the nearest mall was sixty miles away.

  Jules went off. He wasn’t a yeller, but he could assume a severely patient tone of voice and explain, in detail, why Drew was wrong.

  Drew held the phone away from her ear while he droned on, then she said abruptly, “Uh oh. I think the toilet’s backing up. Gotta go!”

  She clicked off the phone and met Erica’s gaze. Her daughter wore a grin and rolled her eyes. “He likes a good lecture,” Erica said. “Nice one, Mom.”

  She held up her hand for a high five. Drew smacked Erica’s palm with hers and then pulled her daughter into a tight hug.

  Ray didn’t return the next day. Drew didn’t like how her heart burned when the road to the B&B remained empty, how quiet it was without Ray’s rumbling voice or the low growl of his truck.

  He had his own life, she told herself. He had his brother to take care of, and he’d gone to the bar last night, probably with all his friends. She tried not to think of how many attractive women might have been there—ones who came without a rundown house attached.

  Besides, Drew had practically run him out, rudely, when Jules had called. Her brother-in-law sent all Drew’s rational thought out the window.

  Everyone she’d met in Riverbend so far was friendly and polite, including Ray. Very nice, but she couldn’t always tell what people were thinking. In her neighborhood back home, there had been no doubt. It was easy in the city to just push through and know everyone understood you were in a hurry, even if they snarled at you.

  Ray had a slow politeness, an easy smile, a drawl that said he had all the time in the world for her.

  Drew could call him, ask him for help, but whenever she picked up the phone, she’d look at his name on her contacts and put the phone down again. She didn’t know how she’d feel if she asked and he brushed her off.

  He’d left enough tools and supplies that Drew and Erica could continue cleaning the garage with no trouble. He’d have to show up sooner or later, she reasoned, to ask for his ladder back.

  But Drew didn’t see Ray all that day, or the next, or the next. By then, she’d given up looking for him.

  On the third day after Jules’s call, she and Erica took Cinders to Anna Lawler’s vet office for the shots that Dr. Anna had recommended.

  Anna’s assistant greeted them with a cheerful smile and asked how Drew was settling in—Riverbend hospitality again. Drew waited only a few minutes before Dr. Anna’s previous patient emerged, a small dog with its owner, an older woman called Mrs. Kaye. Mrs. Kaye stopped in front of Drew and beamed up at her.

  “Hello, Miss Paresky. I knew your grandfather.”

  The simple statement made Drew still. Most people she’d met in Riverbend referred to her grandfather as “Old Man Paresky,” or “that crazy old guy with the B&B,” when they didn’t think she could hear them.

  “You did?” was all Drew could say.

  “Oh, yes,” Mrs. Kaye said. “Such a handsome young man. We were all surprised when he married Abby. She was ambitious, always saying she’d shake the dust of Riverbend from her feet. And she did. Lonnie—your grandfather—took it hard.”

  “I remember my grandmother,” Drew said, a lump in her throat. “She took me to museums and art galleries, showed me I could read for the pleasure of it, not just as a school assignment.”

  Drew pictured her grandmother’s soft blue eyes as she’d said, “Never let anyone tell you what to read and more importantly, what not to read. What you read is your business. And if you find that book of your heart, it’s yours. Never let anyone take that away by scoffing at it or saying it’s bad for you. How do they know? Read to fill your soul.”

  Drew had taken the advice to heart, and it had been one reason she’d become a librarian—to help others find those books they loved.

  Mrs. Kaye leaned closer. “Your grandmother was unique. We knew she wasn’t long for the small-town life. Lonnie, on the other hand, adored Riverbend and his family home. He let it go to wrack and ruin, though. A symbol of his broken heart, I always believed.”

  Drew thought about the sad and rundown house, waiting for someone to love it again. “You could be right. I hope I can cheer it up.”

  “You can.” Mrs. Kaye patted Drew’s shoulder then leaned down and picked up her dog, a cute thing of indeterminate breed. “You’ll bring life, and love, and laughter back to the B&B. You’re a Paresky, but you have a lot of your grandmother in you. I can see it.” She gave Drew a long gaze then turned and waved at Dr. Anna’s assistant behind her desk. “See you, Janette. I’ll email you that cookie recipe.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Kaye,” Janette answered. “You take care, now.”

  Mrs. Kaye breezed away, the dog’s tail wriggling its entire body.

  “She discovered email a couple years ago,” Janette, a college-age young woman with dark hair, sai
d to Drew. “And she emails everyone in town. I think she and Craig Fuller’s grandpa have an online relationship going, but no one can prove it.”

  Drew laughed, but she’d been warmed by Mrs. Kaye’s words, her belief that Drew would succeed. Ray had a similar confidence …

  Drew shut off the thought. She didn’t want to think about Ray right now.

  “Hey, Drew. Erica.” Dr. Anna came out from her exam room, official in her white coat. “Cinders ready for her shots?”

  “We didn’t tell her,” Erica said seriously. “Didn’t want to scare her.”

  “Good thinking.” Anna smiled, but distractedly. She looked a bit wild around the eyes, as though trying to keep calm about something.

  “Dr. Anna has a date tonight,” Janette announced. “With Kyle Malory. She lost a bet.”

  “We heard about that,” Erica supplied as Anna flushed beet red. “Ray told us a little anyway.”

  Janette went on before Anna could speak. “Yeah, Dr. Anna promised Kyle she’d go out with him if she couldn’t stay on the mechanical bull at Dino’s. Such a tragedy, having to let a gorgeous Malory take her to a fancy restaurant.”

  Drew hadn’t seen Kyle yet, but if he looked anything like Ray, then Janette was right—no reason to feel sorry for Anna.

  “I lost fair and square,” Anna broke in, her voice weak. “I’ll deal with it. Now, let’s get Cinders in here before she loses her nerve.”

  Erica readily scooted into the exam room to which Anna ushered her. Anna bustled after her, ready to be professional vet, personal life left behind.

  Janette and Drew exchanged knowing looks, Janette giving Drew a wink.

  Anna steadfastly avoided all talk of dates or the Malory brothers while she examined Cinders and quickly vaccinated her, happy to give the cat a clean bill of health. She kept up a running chatter about the B&B as she walked Drew and Erica out the door, then quickly beckoned in the next patient. Janette was still laughing.

  The drive back home was lovely—sun shining in a blue sky dotted with clouds, green hills sweeping to the horizon. Beautiful. Not a traffic jam in sight.

  A BMW sedan waited in the drive next to the garage when Drew pulled in. As Drew stopped her little car, which looked like a dilapidated antique next to the sleek BMW, a woman emerged, as sleek as her car. She wore a black linen business skirt suit with a white blouse, and had long shapely legs and blond hair.

  “Hello there,” she said with barely a trace of Texas accent. “You’re Drew? I’m Karen Marvin. Ray sent me. He said we need to talk.”

  Chapter Six

  Ray?” Drew repeated, hoping she didn’t sound like an idiot. “I haven’t seen him in a few days.”

  Drew’s clothes were dusty and paint-splotched, and now covered with cat hair from helping Erica load Cinders into her new soft-sided cat carrier. Karen, in her spotless suit and perfect hair, looked like a supermodel turned successful businesswoman.

  The woman’s answering look was as poised as the rest of her. “Ray’s a busy man. He told me all about your predicament.” She waved a slender hand at the house, one silver ring clasping her finger. “It’s what I do, honey. Help work miracles.” She gave Drew a wise look then broke into a surprisingly friendly grin. “I love saying that. Let’s go someplace less hot and dusty and have some iced tea or something. But you have no idea what I’m talking about, do you? Ray can be a little cryptic.”

  She sounded as though she knew Ray well, and Drew’s dart of jealousy dismayed her. She’d only recently met the man—he could have six girlfriends and a wife for all she knew. Okay, maybe not, because she was sure someone in town would have told her already.

  “Come on.” Karen motioned to the garage. Erica openly stared Karen, but she darted inside with Cinders, crooning to the cat still in the carrier.

  Once they entered the apartment at the top, Erica banging into her bedroom to release Cinders, Karen made her way to the living room window, glancing around with cool appraisal.

  Drew ducked into the bathroom to wash hands and face then returned to the kitchen to fetch the iced tea she’d brewed this morning out of the refrigerator. A full pitcher, in case Ray came by and needed something to drink.

  “It’s not for sale,” Drew said as she poured. “My grandfather’s trust is very specific. I can’t sell until I have it up and running.”

  Karen turned. “Oh, I don’t want to buy it, honey. I’m not into real estate. At least, not anymore. No, I’m on the board of AGCT Enterprises.” She waited while Drew finished pouring tea and brought out an ice tray, but when Drew didn’t answer, Karen shook her head. “You haven’t heard of it? Ray really needs to open his mouth more. Not that I don’t love a dark, handsome, silent type. My current sweetie likes to talk, mostly about himself, though his body makes up for his incessant chatter. Ray now—mmm, mmm.”

  Drew dropped ice cubes noisily into the glasses. “What is AG … whatever you said … Enterprises?”

  “AGCT.” Karen moved to the counter where Drew placed the glasses and lifted one, ice cubes clinking. “It’s a charitable organization, started by the Campbell family to help local businesses. A way to keep the big developers out and family-owned stores in. I run it for them. The Campbells are stunt riders—except Ross, who’s trying to be elected sheriff. The Campbells are some beautiful men, my friend. But also smart, with big hearts.”

  She had a thing for good-looking guys, Drew surmised. She wondered how many had succumbed to Karen’s slick beauty. “Are you offering to help me with the B&B?”

  “Maybe offering. I need to do some research, of course, on the value of the property, the cost of fixing it up.” Her voice took on a businesslike tone. “We don’t want to pour money into a black hole. I also need to assess your dedication to the project and what you bring to the table. We can help but won’t do all the work for you.”

  “And you don’t want me taking whatever money and running off into the sunset,” Drew finished for her. “I understand.”

  Karen’s hard-as-nails expression abated. “From what Ray says there’s not much chance of you doing that, or quitting halfway through. If you did, you’d have to pay the money back.”

  Drew felt a qualm—there already was a lot at stake. “What if I can pay nothing back? What are the terms of this loan?”

  Karen delicately sipped iced tea, her slim fingers embracing the glass. “Not a loan. A grant. We can do loans as well, but I’d wait on that until you have a chance to make money on the B&B. The grant can cover materials, labor, that sort of thing. So you don’t max out your credit cards.” Karen’s raised brows told Drew she suspected that was already the case.

  “I can’t lie. Money would be truly helpful right now.”

  “Good. I can get your application started today, if you’d like. I haven’t discussed this with the Campbells yet—won’t until I finish my research. I’ll need your personal information as well. Will you be free tomorrow …” Karen set down her tea and whipped out her phone, scrolling through it with her fingertips. “Say two-thirty?”

  “Sure, that sounds great.” Drew had no other appointments, for anything, for the foreseeable future. A great big blank, filled with a ton of physical labor and hair pulling.

  “All right, you are scheduled.” Karen tapped the phone. “I’ll send you a reminder.”

  “Thank you.” Drew breathed out in some hope. If Karen and this charity could give her a grant, she might actually have a chance at making this work.

  “Thank Ray.” Karen slid her phone into her very expensive black leather purse. “I’d heard about your predicament, but didn’t know the extent of it. I’m not a Riverbend native, as you can probably guess, so I didn’t know much about Paresky and the B&B. He apparently loved the place.”

  “Apparently.” Drew gazed out at the house that now always filled her view. “He could have sold it—I wonder why he never did.”

  Karen shrugged. “People can be funny about family homes. I’ve never had one, so I wouldn’t kno
w.”

  Did Drew detect a hint of wistfulness? Hard to say. Karen was incongruous in a town where most people wore jeans and boots, or shorts and casual wear. The climate was warm, and bare legs and sandals abounded.

  Why would Karen, who’d be right at home in a Chicago skyscraper, move to the middle of nowhere? Or if she’d come here because of business, family, or friends—why stay? Was she running from things, like Drew?

  Karen sipped more iced tea and gave Drew a cool smile, not about to impart her secrets. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. See you tomorrow. No need to walk down with me.”

  She waved her fingers and strolled out, stepping carefully on her high heels.

  “She’s pretty,” Erica said as they watched from the window. Karen gracefully entered her car and just as gracefully drove it away. “What was she talking about, grants and stuff? What’s a grant?”

  “It means she might give us money to fix up the house.” Drew felt a nugget of hope. “No guarantees, but maybe. Fingers crossed.”

  Erica made a show of crossing all her fingers, wrapping her thumb around the others. “Toes too.”

  Drew pulled her daughter into an impulsive hug. “Are you all right, Erica?” She released her and looked into her eyes. “With being here, I mean? You haven’t said much about it in the last couple days.”

  Erica did a quick shrug. “Well, we have Cinders now, and Ray’s really nice, and I might get to take horseback riding lessons. I guess it’s okay.”

  Drew squeezed her again. “Everything will we fine, sweetie. When you start school, you’ll see.”

  Erica wrinkled her nose. “Then you had to go and ruin everything by saying the S word.”

  “I know. I’m evil that way.” A flash outside caught her attention, and her heart leapt high. “Oh, it’s Ray.”

  Why did her hands go straight to her hair, and why did she rush to the bathroom and its mirror? She was pathetic.

  Erica watched with wry humor. “You look great, Mom. Even with paint in your hair.”