Читать книгу The Bad Boy - Leah Vale - Страница 10

Sara was out of breath by the time she reached the bottom of the sweet-william-lined brick path behind The Big House. And it had very little to do with the speed in which she’d descended the rise. The hurt she felt from Joseph’s easy dismissal of her warnings crowded the space normally occupied by her lungs.

But she had no choice other than to put her feelings aside for now. She had to tell Alexander McCoy what was happening.

She’d known Alex long enough to realize that when he hadn’t been in the study with his father, awaiting the arrival of the first of his half brothers to be brought home, then there was only one place he could be on such a monumental—not to mention potentially emotionally difficult—day.

The stables.

If he didn’t have such a love of and an innate knack for corporate business, she’d bet Alex would have focused entirely on breeding and racing Thoroughbreds. As it was, he could spend no more time on it than one would a hobby, but she’d seen plenty of proof that being around the horses relaxed him, maybe even soothed him, the way nothing else could.

He’d spent the past two days—since the reading of Marcus’s will—out here, not going to the office at all.

Very, very telling as far as Sara was concerned, and her already besieged heart ached for him.

She continued down the walkway, passing through the honeysuckle arch that provided a visual and aromatic buffer between the house and the stables, but the sharp, sweet scent of the buff-yellow flowers and the subtle buzzing of bees did nothing to calm her nerves. She didn’t want to think about what she’d do if Alex was too upset to listen to her about Cooper.

She entered the stable through the wide doorway on the closest end of the long, low structure, built to match The Big House, with redbrick, white shutters and a miniature version of the white dome. Pulling in a lungful of the earthy, straw-and-horse-scented air that was such a contrast to the flowers outside, she looked immediately to the stall where Alex’s favorite saddle horse, a former racer retired to an easier life, was kept.

The big bay was there, but his attention lay firmly on the tack room across from him on Sara’s right, just inside the stable door. Sure enough, through the interior window she could see Alex, dressed for riding and replacing the cheek strap on a bridle at the workbench.

She stepped into the small room, the stable smells usurped by the heady scent of well-oiled leather. “Alex, I need to talk to you.”

He turned enough to glance at her, but then went back to what he was doing. She’d known him all her life, like a cousin if not a brother, but she’d never seen him look the way he did—weary, disillusioned. It was little wonder. Good heavens, to find out you were actually your brother’s son?

“What can I do for you, Sara?”

She couldn’t speak for a moment, stunned even more by Alex and Cooper’s similarities, despite the four-year difference in their ages. Alex’s black hair was shorter than Cooper’s, so she’d never really noticed it was equally thick and glossy, though not enough to make her fingers itch to burrow into it as Cooper’s did. Alex also had the same strong, square jaw and well-proportioned nose Cooper possessed, as well as a similar build.

How could these two men grow up in the same town and no one notice their resemblance?

Because the improbable rarely occurred to people. They were of different worlds. Plus, Joseph had worked hard to establish himself as the symbol of high moral standards in town, so any connection would have seemed impossible. But clearly Marcus hadn’t followed his father’s standards, at least in private. He’d been so much older and traveled so often that she really hadn’t been that well-acquainted with him. Maybe he’d been secretly lashing out at his father. Or overexcelling at the one thing he was good at—charming women—though too self-absorbed to consider the consequences.

When she still hadn’t said anything, Alex turned to her again, a familiar black eyebrow arched, though not quite as high or as sardonically. His eyes also had more gray in them, which softened the blue, and his mouth wasn’t quite as sensuous. Or tempting. At least to her. She’d known him too long, too closely, to be attracted to him.

“Sara?”

She blinked a few times to focus. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little stunned. You and Cooper Anders look a lot alike.”

His mouth hardened and he went back to working on the bridle. “So he’s here?”

She took a step nearer. “Yes. I just left him and your father.”

He stilled. “You mean my grandfather.”

She cringed at her mistake. To change a lifetime’s way of thinking would take effort. So much in their lives had changed. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “This must be very diffi—”

“Were you sent to fetch me? Because if you were, I’m busy.” His posture was stiff, and his tone was as sharp as Joseph’s had been when he’d reprimanded her.

But this was Alexander, whom she’d played with in the small lake on the property on sweltering summer days and who’d kept a stash of tissues in his pocket for her in the weeks following her father’s death. She planted her hands on her hips. “I swear, if one more person interrupts me today…”

He glanced at her, eyebrows raised curiously, then away.

She inhaled deeply and tried to calm down. “That’s not why I came to find you. Joseph understands your…your…” She trailed off, not wanting to put to words his obvious turmoil. That would not be the way to secure his help. “I’m here because I need to talk to you. About Cooper.” His name alone was enough to bring the heat back to her cheeks and the dampness back to her palms. Damn the man for rattling her so.

“What about him? Is he buying stuff already? Beats winning the lottery, if you ask me. He doesn’t have to wait all that long to get his money.” Alexander looked at her over his shoulder, his lip curled into an expression she’d never seen on him. “I imagine he’s in hog heaven.”

Thinking of a similar expression on Cooper’s face—a contempt born of hurt and betrayal—she shook her head adamantly. “No. Just the opposite. When I took his letter to him this morning he told me he plans to ruin the company.”

Alex heaved a sigh and faced her. “He plans to ruin the company? Why in the world would he say something like that?”

“He says he’s known since he was thirteen that he was Marcus’s son.”

Alex’s brows shot up.

She repeated what Cooper had told her on the county-jail steps—nearly word for word, because she really was a very good listener.

By the time she’d finished Alex was rubbing his temple. “Why didn’t you tell my da—my grandfather this?”

She heaved a similar sigh, unaccustomed to being brushed aside by the man who’d given her a top spot in the company despite her being only thirty. But Alexander had been needed to fill Marcus’s shoes while Marcus gallivanted around doing client relations. Now, there was a euphemism.

“I did. Sort of.” She pointed toward the house. “But he got to Joseph before me.”

“He?”

“Cooper. He arrived at the house first after I’d bailed him out of jail.”

“Jail?”

“Yes. The county lockup. Alison Sullivan—the private investigator Joseph hired—had been on her way out of town early this morning to deliver the Colorado letter—”

A muscle twitched in Alex’s jaw at her offhand mention of yet another half brother.

Sara swallowed and forged on. “When she noticed Cooper’s truck in the parking lot of a bar that should have been closed, and people were hauling broken chairs out the door. Clearly, there had been a ruckus of some kind. She stopped to check it out and was told that Cooper had been one of the people arrested last night for being involved in a fight at the bar. Joseph thought it best if I went immediately to get him out as discreetly as possible and give him his letter rather than waiting until the other letters were delivered.”

Alex closed his eyes and shook his head. “Jail. Beautiful.”

“Anyway, he gave Joseph some cock-and-bull story about telling me he was worried his inexperience would cause the company harm. Now Joseph thinks I just misunderstood Cooper.”

Alex leaned back against the workbench. “Could you have?”

She crossed her arms over her chest and raised her chin. “No. Absolutely not. He was very succinct.”

“Fine. So what would you have me do about it?”

She let her arms fall to her sides again, confused about why he’d ask such a question when the solution was obvious. “Stop him!” What was with these McCoy men?

“How?”

She started to pace, sorely limited by the small size of the tack room. “I don’t know…keep him from going to work for McCoy Enterprises or something.” Maybe that would protect the company her father had helped build at Joseph’s side.

Alexander shook his head again and turned back to the workbench to resume fixing the bridle. “Marcus’s will was equally succinct, Sara. Cooper is to be given a job at McCoy Enterprises befitting a ‘Real McCoy.’ We couldn’t keep him from the company even if we wanted to.”

She wrapped her arms around her middle to still her churning stomach. “Then what do you suggest we do about him?”

He waved a negligent hand. “You can baby-sit him.”

That stopped her dead. “What?” she croaked.

“You keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn’t do any damage.”

Her lungs refused to work properly and a feeling akin to panic spread through her. “Me? How? No!” Not after what had happened on the jail steps and in Joseph’s office. She couldn’t think clearly around Cooper “McCoy” Anders.

Alexander set the bridle down with a clatter and let out a noisy breath as he faced her. “Why not? If he really told you what he did—”

She unwrapped her hands from around her waist to plant her fists on her hips again. “He did. Why won’t any of you take my word for it?”

He raised his hands at her indignation. “Okay, he did. But why would he? Why would he admit such a thing to you, of all people.”

She rolled her eyes at the rough-beamed ceiling. “He thinks I’m some secretary the ‘McCoy machine’ sent as ‘eye candy’ to further sweeten the deal.”

She returned her attention to Alex in time to see him make a face and give a little shrug that said the assumption seemed a reasonable one to him.

“Alex!” Heaven help her if he and his newfound half brother proved to be more alike than she’d thought possible.

He rubbed a hand over his eyes, the weary air about him returning. “Sara, I need you to handle this. Considering…everything, I can’t deal with this, too.”

Her anger and frustration left in a rush. Everyone thought Alexander had moved on from being Marcus’s brother to his son with his usual aplomb. But it was clearly a struggle for him. His entire world had been shaken and stirred. The least she could do was deal with the issue of Cooper Anders.

She spread her hands in capitulation. “Any suggestion how?” The image of a muzzle and leash popped into her mind. But a bar-brawling guy like Cooper would probably like that, so she nixed the idea.

“I’ll think on it,” he said resignedly.

She started to leave, then stopped. As gently as she could, she said, “You’re going to have to meet him sometime, you know.”

He turned again and picked up the bridle. “I know. And I trust you to keep him from causing trouble.”

His faith in her filled her with warmth and renewed her determination. “I’ll do my best, Alex.”

“You always do, Sara.”

Sara left the tack room and stable nevertheless feeling as if she’d just been ordered to keep Judas in line. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

How was she supposed to thwart Cooper when, despite her best intentions, all she could do was think about how attractive and rightly tormented he was?

The memory of his handsome face near hers sent an unwelcome tingle along her skin and brought her up short at the beginning of the brick path. She took a deep breath and forced herself to concentrate.

An image of Alexander’s pain-filled eyes came to mind.

So like Cooper’s.

Something in her heart shifted.

Maybe thwarting Cooper wasn’t the right approach. Maybe she should try to soothe his wounded psyche. Once Cooper was no longer tormented by the circumstances of his birth, she could win him over to the McCoy team and give Joseph what he craved—the love of at least one of his newly found grandsons.

Without becoming involved with him, of course, having learned her lesson with Rob Ward when it came to mixing business with pleasure.

COOPER ONLY HALF LISTENED to Joseph rambling on about what a good boy his son Marcus had been. The old guy seemed to have conveniently forgotten what a sleaze of a man Marcus had grown up to be. Instead, Cooper focused on formulating a game plan.

Revealing his intentions to the woman who had to be the best-looking secretary he’d ever had the pleasure of meeting had been a tactical error. But with her being ordered to treat him like a McCoy, she wouldn’t be able to hamper him much. Though she did have the advantage of undoubtedly knowing the workings of the family company, which would take him a while to figure out himself.

He ran a hand over his whiskered jaw, considering his options, none of which would earn him any Boy Scout badges. He mentally scoffed. As if he had ever fit that upstanding mold. There had been one too many Dumpster fires and sweet cars in need of momentary liberation in his background.

But he had to keep Sara distracted. Maybe he should ask Grandpa Joe if he could have her as his very own personal secretary. Who knew? Maybe with a little encouragement, a big desk like Joe’s and long lunch hours, they could redefine the term personal.

A tapping sounded behind him, halting Joseph’s ramble down memory lane and pulling Cooper from his raunchy thoughts. He glanced over his shoulder to find the star of his fantasies standing between the doors she hadn’t bothered to close behind her when she’d stormed out.

The color was still high in her sculpted cheeks and her rich, brown hair wasn’t as sleek and controlled as it had been earlier. Her full breasts rose and fell rapidly beneath her sweater as if she were out of breath.

Hopefully, from thinking of him. The power to ruffle her would definitely be an asset to him.

“May I?” she asked Joseph.

“Of course. Come in.” Joseph indicated for her to take a seat in the other chair facing the desk. Right next to Cooper. “Did you find Alexander?”

She settled herself in the chair and crossed her legs with a distinct air of determination. Even though she was wearing slacks, there was no doubt her legs were shapely. It was all Cooper could do not to smack his lips.

Her attention studiously off him, she answered, “I did. In the stable.”

Joseph nodded. “Not surprising. Will he be joining us soon?” Gramps appeared eager for Cooper to meet his half brother. His hope was plain to see. As far as Cooper was concerned, Joe was definitely alone in that hope.

Sara finally looked Cooper’s way, and he was shocked by an unexpected softness that warmed her pretty green eyes to a deep jade. “I don’t think so.”

His stomach muscles clenched and he pulled his chin back. Here he’d been expecting some high-sticking from her after his earlier shenanigans. The squishies surprised the heck out of him.

Joseph let out a heavy breath, which drew Cooper’s attention. The old man’s disappointment was palpable.

Cooper had to fight not to tell him that was what he got for making Alexander’s life one big, fat lie. But Cooper needed Grandpa Joe on his side for his plan to work, so he kept his mouth shut.

Pushing to his feet, Joseph grumbled, “He should be here so we can discuss the role Cooper will take in the company. Excuse me for a moment.” He rounded the desk. “Sara, why don’t you go over our corporate structure with Cooper. Maybe one of the divisions will sound especially appealing to him,” Joseph suggested as he walked to the doors.

Cooper looked at her in time to see her press her full lips into a thin line, as if Joe had suggested she hop up onto the desk and give Cooper a show.

Thinking it a shame, he propped his elbow on the arm of his chair and leaned toward her to lessen the two-foot gap between them. He really should make an effort to smooth things over with her. “Aw, come on, now, I’m not all that bad.”

Challenge sparked in her eyes and she mimicked his movement, bringing herself face-to-face with him in a way that made Cooper’s body hum. “I’m not going to forget what you said, Mr. Anders, and we both know darn well I didn’t misunderstand you.”

Her expression softened again and she gently put a hand over his, the slight contact enough to warm his blood. “But I want you to know that I understand other things, also.”

While the last thing he wanted was anyone’s understanding, he smiled, liking her spirit. Whether or not she had the power to make things difficult for him, he had to keep her focus elsewhere. His gaze strayed to her full mouth. She hadn’t put on more lipstick since he’d been a breath away from her earlier, so her lips were a dusky pink that tempted him like nobody’s business. Julia Roberts had nothing on this pretty woman.

He pulled a lopsided smile. “Wouldn’t it be something if you ended up working for me? We could have a lot of fun, you know.”

Those pink lips parted and she reared back, wide-eyed, wedging herself against the far arm of her chair. Before he could decide if the flare of her pupils meant the notion aroused her or horrified her, she narrowed her eyes and skewered him with a speculative look. “You were arrested for what again?”

Appreciating her spunk, he settled back in his own chair. “Disorderly conduct. Should have been nothing more than a ticket, but it took them a while to sort everything out due to varying levels of intoxication and trustworthiness.”

She made a very indelicate noise. “I can imagine. But didn’t you say something about sitting on the biggest guy in the place? Not exactly the most masculine way to fight, is it?”

Loving that she was trying to take him down a notch or two now instead of coddling him, Cooper grinned at her. “‘Sitting’ isn’t a very accurate description of what I did.” He stood up and stepped in front of her. “Here, let me show you.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

She gasped, then protested, “No, that’s okay.”

She tried to sit down again, but he turned her so her back was to him, slipped his arms under hers and brought his hands up behind her satiny neck to link his fingers, which forced her to raise her arms above her head.

“Cooper!”

Her sweet scent filling his head again, he put his mouth next to her ear. “It’s your basic wrestling move. Quick, effective and painless—right?—though I have to confess I wasn’t as gentle with the bozo in the bar.”

He felt her spine stiffen. “But he could still peel you bald.” She demonstrated her point by burying her hands in his hair on both sides of his head and gathering a handful. But the tug she gave him reminded him more of what would happen in a bedroom rather than a barroom. His blood pressure rocketed.

He unlinked his fingers so he could move his hands into her silky, thick brown hair. “He was a heck of a lot taller than you, honey, and couldn’t reach me. The more he tried, the more I tightened my hold.”

He brought his elbows up just a bit, and she arched her back in response to the pressure, her full breasts straining against her sweater. Suddenly, he found himself doing some straining of his own. The woman could sure heat him up.

He had to swallow before he continued. “Which really annoyed him. I didn’t have much choice but to keep a hold of him until someone took him off my hands. Unfortunately, that someone happened to be the law.”

“Very nice. Now, let go.” Her voice was airy. And she still had her hands in his hair.

Cooper chuckled. Knowing it would probably be a while before he could convince her to let him this close again, he murmured, “Do you have any idea how good you smell?” and indulged himself by rubbing his cheek against her hair, remembering too late that he hadn’t shaved since before he’d gone to watch the ball game at the bar.

She relaxed against him and her fingers started moving in his hair. He could have sworn he heard her murmur, “Oh, crap.”

Footsteps sounded on the hardwood floor out in the hall, clearly heading toward the den, and they both froze.

Cooper released her and stepped away, but a few strands of her hair followed him, leaving her looking like someone had rubbed a balloon against the side of her head. She fixed her wide, surprisingly censure-free gaze on him just before Joseph reentered the room.

“Hopefully, Alexander will be joining us soon,” Joseph said, returning to his chair behind the desk and allowing Cooper and Sara time to regain their respective seats. His smile of encouragement suggested he was oblivious to what had just been going on in his den. “Do you have a better grasp of things now, Cooper?”

A cough sounded from the chair next to him, but Cooper simply smiled and shrugged. “There’s still so much to know. But I’m eager for the chance to feel my way along.”

Old Joe nodded sagely, definitely oblivious to what Cooper was really referring to. “You’ll get to it all, I’m sure.”

Cooper couldn’t keep from glancing at Sara, who was staring straight ahead, doing a bang-up job of appearing only mildly interested, aside from the raging blush on her cheeks and elegant throat. He added, “One can hope.”

She didn’t look at him, but her nostrils flared and her chin went up a notch.

Joseph asked, “Did any of our divisions snag your interest?”

Cooper cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “Well…”

From the doorway behind them a deep voice said, “I know the perfect place for him in the company.”

Cooper’s pulse jumped and he turned in his seat, seeing Alexander McCoy up close for the first time.

In the past, Cooper had always thought of Alexander’s physical appearance as nothing more than a younger version of Marcus’s, though their similarities weren’t striking. Now he realized Alexander was more an older version of himself. They were roughly the same size and put together the same way. Definitely the same hair and eyes. Guilt and remorse sparked white hot. How could he have doubted his mother for a second?

But because of that doubt, he’d generally tried to avoid anything having to do with the McCoys, doing his damnedest to pretend they didn’t exist. Though he was aware that the media had portrayed Alexander as the serious, down-to-business McCoy, well equipped to take the corporation into the next era.

Jaw tight, he stood and met the other man’s gaze.

Alexander’s expression was just as wary. This man didn’t trust easily. No big shock there, considering recent revelations. He wasn’t going to embrace anyone without question for a long time, if ever. Maybe making the McCoys pay wouldn’t be as easy as Cooper had thought. Alexander looked as though he wouldn’t miss much.

But Cooper never could resist a challenge.

Apparently equally clueless to the tension between the two younger men, Joseph said, “Excellent. Where?”

Not breaking eye contact with Cooper, Alexander answered, “With his construction experience, he’d do well handling the new stores—”

Sara made an odd sort of noise, but Cooper couldn’t tear his gaze away from his half brother’s. There was so much of himself in the other man’s eyes, and so much he’d never seen before. Primarily, what it was like growing up a McCoy in name, as well as blood.

Cooper thought it amazing that Marcus had looked at this guy every damn day and lied like the dog he was.

Shifting his attention finally to Joseph, Alexander concluded, “Under the guidance of the VP of Operations, of course.”

“Of course,” Joseph concurred, sounding pleased. “At least, at first. So what do you think, Cooper? You interested in working for Ms. Barnes?”

Cooper glanced at Joseph. “Ms. Barnes?”

Alexander came to stand behind Sara’s chair, a suspicious glint in his steel-blue eyes. “Let me guess—no formal introductions were made. Allow me. Cooper Anders, I’d like you to meet Sara Barnes, vice president of Operations. Your new boss.”

Cooper had to snap his mouth shut for the second time that day.

Damn. He’d nearly felt up his boss.