Mistletoe Rodeo (Welcome to Ramblewood) (13 page)

Nola wanted Kay to explain how the idea had come about and why it was so personal to her. Although she had originally agreed to cover the Mistletoe Rodeo to help defer Chase’s loss in Las Vegas, that hadn’t proved to be an issue once he had arrived back in Ramblewood. He was a hometown hero whose reputation and good name remained intact.

“We’re clear—head back to the studio.” When George didn’t start the van, Nola looked through the windshield, trying to figure out why they weren’t moving. “Is something blocking us?”

“Look at me,” George demanded.

“What?” Nola overturned her palms. “I heard you before. I’ll think about it, okay?”

“It’s more than the job. You perpetually ignore what’s right in front of you.” George slapped the dashboard for emphasis. “You have a man in your life who truly cares about you. Okay, you can’t have your own kids, but you can adopt. You can use a surrogate. You have so many options and you refuse to look at them because you’ve told yourself you don’t deserve to have kids. I don’t believe that crap for a second. And speaking of crap, you hate this job. Get your butt out there and do what you really want to do. Self-sabotage is what this is. You continuously punish yourself for something you did seven years ago. You did your time. Stop settling and start living.”

Nola turned away, covering her mouth. George’s words stung—stung because they were true. “I don’t think I know how.”

* * *

“T
HIS
IS
A
SURPRISE
.”
Cole turned on the remainder of the lights in the offices above the stables. “When did you get here?”

“I don’t know.” Chase was on his fifth cup of coffee and heartburn was beginning to set in. “I came up here to see if I could figure out something with this whole Scott David mess. If I stayed up at the house any longer, I would’ve had a Christmas meltdown. I swear Mom did twice as much this year as she did last year.”

Cole pulled up a chair next to Chase at the conference table. “Did you come up with anything?” Cole sifted through the papers Chase had taken from Nola’s condo yesterday. “You found all this?”

“No, Nola did. She first noticed Scott after I blew it in Vegas, but he’s been gunning for us for a year.”

“I didn’t realize he’d gone after us publicly before now, or even to this extent.” Cole removed his phone from his back pocket. “Jon said he didn’t think Scott would do this, at least not yet anyway. I need to clue him in. I wish you’d told me yesterday.”

“If I hadn’t been so stubborn we would have known about it the night Nola overheard us talking in Daddy’s office. That’s what she wanted to tell us.”

“And then Jon made that comment about her being a reporter,” Cole said.

Chase nodded. “Jon didn’t trust Nola, and a part of me wondered if she was fishing for a story, as well.”

Cole held up a finger for Chase to hold on. “Jon, it’s Cole. When you get this, give me a call back on my cell. I have some information you may not be aware of regarding Scott David.” Cole placed his phone on the table. “Is this all she has or is she able to dig up more information using her sources?”

Chase shrugged. “We broke up yesterday. I’m sure she won’t want to be bothered helping us at all now.”

“Doesn’t Mom have that studio interview with her tonight?” Cole’s brows furrowed. “Nola doesn’t seem the type to blow off part of a story she’s worked so hard for, but you may want to touch base with her. The Mistletoe Rodeo’s your baby, too.”

“I completely forgot about that interview.” Chase didn’t know whether he should call Nola or if his mother should. Technically, it was her interview, but he had planned to accompany her as cochair.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry to hear about you and Nola. I hope you two can find a way to work out your differences, because you complement each other very well. I know Tess and Ever adore her.”

“It’s a complicated situation.” Chase leaned back in his chair. “She confided in me and I could have reacted better. I’ve been wondering all night how to apologize.”

“I can help you with that.” Cole tore off a piece of paper and began to write on it. “Follow these instructions to the letter.” Cole slid the paper across the table.

Chase looked down at the words:
Just say I’m sorry.

“It’s that simple, and Mom’s interview is the perfect excuse,” Cole said.

If only his relationship with Nola was that simple. They both wanted family, just not in the same way. In his vision of the future, he had always seen a little boy with his eyes or a little girl with his future wife’s smile. Wasn’t that everyone’s dream? To have a miniature version of themselves running around? The resemblance between Shane and his son, Hunter, was remarkable. Chase wanted that so desperately for himself, but that desperation may have cost him the best thing that had ever happened to him.

* * *

N
OLA
SILENCED
THE
ringer on her phone. Chase had called three times since she’d been back in the office and hadn’t left her a single voice mail. It couldn’t possibly be about his mother’s interview, because she’d already confirmed it with Kay.

Closing the door to her office, Nola rehearsed her questions. She rarely had the opportunity to interview somebody in the studio, and if it turned out well, she wanted to use it for a résumé reel.

George’s words replayed in her head. Giving up her career was not an option. It wouldn’t be practical to start over after all her training.

Children, however... She hadn’t put much thought into adoption because of her criminal record. What adoption agency would give a woman who’d killed her unborn baby a child? Her only remote chance of being a parent was if she married someone who already had kids of their own. But then they would never truly be hers. And the surrogate option was definitely out of her financial reach.

But it wasn’t out of Chase’s.

Even if he was willing to discuss the possibility with her, the fact that he’d walked away after Nola had shared her deepest, darkest secret with him spoke volumes.

There was a knock on the door and George popped his head in. “I just wanted to check on you.”

“Thanks, George—I’m fine. Be my guinea pig.” It was always best to rehearse on a real person. “I need to make sure these questions are good enough for my interview with Kay.”

George crossed the room and sat in front of Nola’s desk. “I see you still have his flowers.”

“They hovered over the garbage can twice this morning.”

“Yet you decided to keep them. That says something.” George tugged at the hem of his shirt where it had crept above his beer belly.

“The roses make my office smell nice.” Nola waved her pen toward George’s stomach. “You need to cut out the fast food.”

“Nah, Betty must’ve shrunk this shirt in the wash.” George wriggled in his chair. “Let’s hear your questions.”

By the time five o’clock rolled around, Nola was primed and ready to go. Her producer let her know Kay had arrived and was waiting in their makeshift green room. He’d neglected to tell her that Chase was there with his mother.

Maintaining her composure, Nola acknowledged Chase with a brief lift of her chin and gave Kay a welcoming hug. If the woman knew anything about what had happened with Chase, she didn’t let on.

“Don’t be nervous.” Nola felt the slight tremble in the woman’s body. “The set itself will be lit, but the studio lights will be down low, so you’ll hardly even see the cameras or the crew.”

“Cameras?” Kay’s gaze shifted from Nola to Chase and back again. “Multiple cameras?”

“There will be one behind you, one behind me and one straight ahead of us.” Nola checked her watch. “Let’s take a walk down there so you can get more of a feel for how this will work. The set resembles a plush living room.”

Leading Kay down the hallway, Nola felt Chase’s eyes sear into her back. After Kay saw where they would be conducting the interview, her nerves seemed more at ease. Nola’s, however, had amped up a few notches thanks to Chase’s presence.

As Nola reviewed the questions with Kay, Chase managed to squeeze in beside her despite her best efforts to keep a piece of furniture or other object between them.

“Can we talk afterward?” Chase asked when he could get a word in.

“Not if you’re going to walk out on me again,” Nola whispered, not wanting Kay to overhear their conversation. “I know I didn’t exactly handle things perfectly, but still.”

“How about I start with I’m sorry?” Chase’s warm breath fell upon her neck.

“I think that would be a good starting point.”

“Nola, phone call.” One of the stagehands waved her over.

“Excuse me a moment. And yes, we can talk later.” Nola looked toward Kay. “I’ll be back in a minute. Just have a seat here.”

Nola ran down the hallway to her office and picked up the phone. “Nola West speaking.”

“Nola, it’s Tommy over at the
Times
.” Tommy was one of her go-to sources at the newspaper who always had her back when she needed it. “I just wanted to let you know that Scott David guy you asked me about came in here earlier making claims that your boyfriend’s family stole his land. There was no way I could stop the story from running. It’ll be in the online edition in an hour or so and they plan to run it as a front-page story in the morning.”

“How can they do that without even speaking with the Langtrys? Why aren’t they fact-checking? There’s a lot more to this story than meets the eye.”

“They’ve already sent a reporter over to their ranch. You may want to give them a heads-up.”

“Thank you, Tommy.” Nola squeezed her eyes tight as she hung up the phone. Her head began to throb.

“Nola, you’re on in five.”

What am I going to do?
Mentally she ran through her list of options. She couldn’t pull Kay from the interview. It was a live segment. She needed to give the woman a chance to defend her husband before the media ran wild with it. There was no time to warn her.

Nola’s mouth went dry and a lump formed in her throat when she realized there was only one choice—Nola had to break the story first.

Chapter Eleven

Chase watched Nola arrive on set with only seconds to spare. A stagehand practically tripped over her as he clipped a microphone to her suit jacket.

Nola leaned toward Kay and whispered, “There’s been a change. Just follow my lead and please trust me.”

Panicked, Kay looked toward Chase standing off set. She clasped her hands tightly in front of her as the floor manager counted them down. And she began.

“Hello, I’m Nola West, here today with Kay Langtry of the Bridle Dance Ranch in Ramblewood. Welcome to our show.”

“Thank you for having me,” Kay said.

“For the viewers who aren’t already familiar with the Langtry family, Bridle Dance is one of the state’s largest paint and quarter cutting horse ranches, in addition to a winery and a sod farm. Two years ago, Kay, your sons opened the Ride ’em High! Rodeo School and you are the CEO of the Dance of Hope Hippotherapy Center. Can you tell me a bit about Dance of Hope?”

“Hippotherapy utilizes a horse’s movements to treat people with various injuries and disabilities. Dance of Hope is a nonprofit organization that welcomes everyone—nobody is ever turned away because of their inability to pay. We have guest cottages where families can stay while their loved ones go through therapy. Many members of our staff reside on the ranch, so there is always somebody there to provide the best possible care.”

Chase had to hand it to his mother. As nervous as she was on the inside, she appeared confident throughout her responses. He wondered why Nola had led off with that particular line of questioning.

“Your initial investment in Dance of Hope came from your own pocket, is that correct?” Chase furrowed his brow; Dance of Hope’s finances had nothing to do with the Mistletoe Rodeo.

“Bridle Dance funded a large portion of it and I added to it.”

“Let’s talk about your husband, Joe Langtry. You’ve said during previous interviews that Dance of Hope was his vision before he died three and a half years ago.”

At Nola’s mention of his father, a bad feeling developed in the pit of Chase’s stomach.

“It was. He originally became interested in hippotherapy through our granddaughter, Ever.”

“Ever is the little girl your son Cole and his wife adopted. She has cerebral palsy, correct?” Nola nodded her head slowly, encouraging Kay to answer.

The smile plastered across Kay’s face had begun to falter as Nola revealed more personal information than was necessary. It was no secret that Ever had been adopted or that she had cerebral palsy, but this was not the time or place to discuss it.

“Yes. But I don’t see—”

“Let’s talk about the acreage your family has purchased over the years. Your husband acquired a large portion of it because your neighbors were facing foreclosure and Joe stepped in, offering them much higher than market value for their property so they wouldn’t walk away with nothing.”

No! No! No!
Chase knew where Nola was heading and he was furious. “Mom, don’t.”

“He—he did.” If she’d heard her son, Kay didn’t acknowledge it. “And he leased it back to them if they still wanted to farm or ranch on it.”

Kay exhaled slowly, maintaining steady eye contact with Nola. Chase wasn’t sure if his mother was trying to get a read on Nola or if she was trying to frighten her, but either way, it wasn’t a good look and it definitely came across on the monitor.

“Joe Langtry was a very generous man,” Nola continued. “Known for his charitable contributions throughout the state, not just in Ramblewood. How do you feel when you hear that there’s a man out there making claims that your husband stole mineral rights from his grandfather?”

Oh, no she didn’t.

Chase watched his mother’s face begin to redden. “I think it’s a bunch of bunk,” Kay said matter-of-factly. “The man in question was in competition with my husband for two decades. He still has a bug up him because my Joe outbid him on numerous land acquisitions over the years.”

“Over the past year this person has made frequent personal attacks online targeting your family and has increased them this week. What are your thoughts on that?”

“I didn’t know about that. Scott David—let’s just call him by his name, shall we—tried to fleece my family for a hundred million dollars this past weekend with these ridiculous claims of his, but he didn’t get his way. Scott David is nothing more than someone with an ax to grind because he couldn’t get the land he wanted. He claims his grandfather had Alzheimer’s when he sold the mineral rights to his land to my husband. I don’t see how any attorney in the world would have allowed their client to sign away such a significant thing as mineral rights if he wasn’t of sound mind and body.”

Chase’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Jon’s number appeared on the screen. No sooner had he answered than he heard Jon screaming, “Get her off camera now!”

Chase motioned to Nola to end the interview, slicing his hand back and forth in front of his neck. But she continued to question his mother. When Chase attempted to step on set, one of the stagehands grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“Let go of me!” Chase shouted, shoving the man backward into one of the cameras. Nola and Kay both stood on seeing the commotion. “This interview is over.” Chase locked eyes with Nola. “And so are we.”

* * *

“I
T
’
S
NOT
WHAT
you think,” Nola tried to explain as she followed Chase through the studio hallways, making his way to the parking lot with Kay. “I had to do it. Please stop—you need to listen to me. This is going to be front-page news tomorrow morning and there’s a reporter on the way to your house.”

“Only because you made it that way!” Chase shouted over his shoulder. “You either stay away from me and my family or I’ll have a restraining order issued against you so fast your head will spin. And don’t think I can’t do it.”

Nola stood motionless at the cruelty of Chase’s words. After his SUV drove away, she trudged back through the studio’s entrance, removing her microphone and throwing it in the trash outside her office as she walked by. She opened her desk drawer and removed her handbag and keys.

“Nola!” Pete Devereaux burst into the room. “Amazing work. That is exactly the hard-hitting story I was looking for from you. I knew you could do it. I think I’ve made my decision on the co-anchor position.”

“Give it to Dirk.” Nola squeezed past him. “Because I quit.”

“What?” Pete followed her out of the office. “Nola, come on. I know he was your boyfriend and all, but you can’t mix love and war. The news is war.”

Nola spun on Pete, stopping inches from his face. “Don’t you dare talk to me about war. I’ve been there. While you were sitting here in your cushy air-conditioned office, I was trying to escape enemy shellfire. You don’t know anything.”

She turned and continued walking. “You’re making a big mistake!” Pete shouted after her.

That might be so, but at least she’d still have her dignity.

Nola pulled out of the parking lot, refusing to cry. She had more self-worth than that. She needed to get to the Langtrys and explain what had happened. She knew Chase wouldn’t listen to her—he’d probably even throw her off the ranch—but she had to try something.

She pulled off to the side of the road and dug through her bag for her phone. The moment she found it, Kylie’s number appeared on the screen. “I was just about to call you.”

“What is going on?” Kylie’s voice was frantic. “Jesse is furious.”

“Jesse? How would you know Jesse was mad?”

“Aaron works for Miranda and Jesse. We were over at their house watching the interview. Jesse flew out of there and I don’t know if he’s heading to the ranch or if he’s looking for you. But he’s furious, Nola. You can’t go home.”

“I hope he does find me,” Nola said. “Then, maybe someone will listen. I need your help. Minutes before we went live, I received a phone call from one of my sources. He said Scott David had already told his side of the story and this stolen-mineral-rights thing was going to be all over the internet in an hour—more like a half hour now. It’ll be front-page news tomorrow. I had no choice but to allow Kay to set the record straight before the media destroyed the Langtry name. I was trying to protect them.”

“Where are you right now?” Kylie asked.

“Parked at the side of the road. Maybe I’ll go home and see if I can intercept Jesse.”

“No, meet me at my house. Aaron and I will be there shortly.”

Nola started her car and continued on toward Ramblewood. When she pulled into her aunt and uncle’s driveway, they were waiting for her on the front porch. They ushered her inside, offering her a shoulder to cry on if she needed one.

“I’m fine, Aunt Jean.” Nola sat on the edge of the couch and accepted the scotch on the rocks her uncle handed her. Swirling the amber liquid in the glass, Nola tried to figure out her next maneuver.

“You remind me so much of your father when you have that look on your face,” Dan said.

“Lieutenant General August West.” Nola tried to remember when she had last seen her father smile, realizing she didn’t think she ever had. “He’s a hard man. I hope I’m not too much like him.”

“You have his strength and determination.” Dan smiled. “That’s where the similarities end. Although you do look a little like him around the eyes. At least in his younger days.”

“Was the military always my father’s dream?”

“Your father wanted to be a pilot. That’s all he talked about growing up, and when he went into the Army, that’s what he thought he would become. But his vision wasn’t good enough. He certainly made the best of it, though. He’s done very well for himself and he’s proud of that.”

“Pride comes at a price,” Nola said. “I missed so much of my childhood. I hadn’t even realized it until I started spending time with the Langtrys and saw how things are supposed to be. I’m not saying their life is like everybody else’s, but I’ve learned that our home was not normal. Now that I’ve had a taste of it, I don’t want to let go. Everything I did today was to protect the Langtrys.”

“We know that, honey,” her aunt reassured.

Kylie and Aaron arrived a few minutes later and Nola explained to the four of them the events leading up to Kay’s TV appearance.

“Kay said things during that interview that Chase hadn’t mentioned to me before. I don’t know if he chose not to tell me or if he just didn’t know. I need to clear my name with them. There has to be some way for me to make them understand. Chase even threatened me with a restraining order. Do you know how that makes me feel?”

“If any man ever threatened me with a restraining order, that would be the last time he ever saw me.” Kylie turned her head toward Aaron.

“What are you looking at me for?” Aaron gave his fiancée a kiss on the cheek.

“I know you have strong feelings for Chase, and because I know him so well, I’ll give him a pass this time, but only this once.” Kylie turned toward Aaron again. “Do you think you could talk to Jesse and get him to see things from Nola’s perspective?”

“Sure,” Aaron agreed. “Although I think Miranda is my better bet. She was attempting to calm Jesse down. I think she realized there was more going on than what we saw on television.”

Nola slumped against the back of the couch. If Miranda had suspected something was up, then maybe Kay had, too. Nola hoped she’d given Kay enough body signals to let her know she wasn’t purposely being malicious.

“Something about Scott David keeps nagging at me and I can’t put my finger on it. I’ve followed every lead I could think of and things just don’t add up. My sources told me Scott hadn’t spoken to his grandfather in over twenty years. It was only when Nate David went into a nursing home that Scott showed any interest in the man. That leads me to believe the issue was financial all along, but Scott’s net worth is a million times more than Nate’s. I can’t get the puzzle pieces to fit together, and I feel like the Langtrys are running out of time. With the Mistletoe Rodeo in a few days, they can’t afford to have their name dragged through the mud. If that event fails, the people who are in such desperate need of the food bank’s assistance will be the ones who suffer the most.”

“I know someone who can help,” Aaron said. “I’m sure if we go there right now, he’ll do whatever he can.”

“We all will.” Jean took Nola’s hands in hers. “I know we haven’t spent a lot of time together over the years, but we’ll do anything to help you.”

Nola wished she had made more of an effort with her aunt and uncle before now. They were supporting her despite the distance she’d maintained, and she was glad.

Nola actually did have a family, one she could count on.

* * *

A
FTER
K
AY
’
S
DISASTROUS
INTERVIEW
,
the entire Langtry family met back at the ranch. Chase was so mad at Nola, he had difficulty seeing straight. If this was her idea of revenge for the way he’d treated her at her condo, then he wanted nothing to do with her.

“How much damage did that do to us?” Cole asked.

Jon perused his iPad before setting it down. “Actually, Nola may have done you a favor.”

“She broke a scandal about our father on the six o’clock news and you think she did us a favor?” Shane spat. “It’s all over the internet already.”

“Have you actually read what’s online?” Jon scanned the room. “Because I have, and what’s there doesn’t match what Nola said in her interview. Actually, Nola didn’t say much about Scott David at all—it was Kay who let the details out of the bag. I don’t know if that was clever planning on Nola’s part to get Kay to divulge information, or if she genuinely didn’t know as much as she thought she did.”

Chase fumed. Regardless of what she knew, the interview should have been about the Mistletoe Rodeo. Instead, Nola had used his family so she could advance her career. He hoped it was worth it to her.

“This was coming out whether we wanted it to or not,” Jon continued. “The timestamps on the online articles are minutes after Nola’s interview. There’s too much additional information in there for the interview to have triggered those articles.”