Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? (26 page)

Grayson’s fist came up and caught Simon right on his chin. With hardly a whimper, Simon arched backwards with all the grace of an Olympic high-board diver. His left hand flew out and his plate disappeared.

With savage satisfaction, Grayson watched the back of Simon’s head slice through a cake piled high with strawberries. Frosting went everywhere but the thick sponge slowed his descent until he reached the cake plate and stopped moving. An avalanche of strawberries slid down his unconscious face. With his eyes closed, he looked remarkably peaceful. The cake remaining around his ears supported his neck like an airline pillow.

Grayson flexed his hand. Damn, that felt good. After dealing with his father and Anna, he’d needed to hit something. His triumphant smile faded as he caught sight of Lauren standing two feet away from him. Her blue silk dress was splattered with white frosting. Her face and hair looked like she’d been hit by a plate of salmon.

‘Grayson, what on earth have you done?’

He stepped over Simon’s outstretched legs and propelled Lauren down the corridor. He found himself in the master suite.

‘Let’s just say, I cleared up a few misunderstandings.’

‘You knocked Simon out, didn’t you?’

He ushered her into the bathroom and locked the door. She gasped when she saw herself in the mirror and spun around.

‘You enjoyed that?’

‘So what if I did? I’m a guy – that’s what we do.’

‘We’re in the twenty-first century now – don’t you think it’s time to stop grunting and start talking?’

‘I talked.’

Grayson closed the space between them and started picking flakes of salmon out of her hair. She smelt weird. Sweet and fishy at the same time. He was glad Simon hadn’t slathered the salmon in mayonnaise. He hated mayonnaise.

Lauren grabbed his wrist. ‘Stop doing that! I’m waiting for an explanation.’

Grayson looked down at her. A huge dollop of white frosting was wedged between her breasts. He loved frosting. His mom had always let him lick out the bowl. He reluctantly returned his gaze back up to Lauren’s.

‘Let’s just say that I was defending your honour.’

Lauren let out a breath. ‘You were? I wish I’d heard the whole conversation.’ Grayson was glad she hadn’t. She stood on tiptoe to kiss his mouth. ‘I’m all for equality, but somehow that makes me feel very . . . female. If anyone deserves to be knocked out, it’s Simon Tilney. He’s been making my life hell for the past year.’

Grayson resisted an urge to thump his chest and make Tarzan noises. He kissed her back and decided he could ignore the scent of salmon. By the time he’d licked all the frosting off Lauren’s breasts, everything would taste as sweet as candy.

She caught his chin in her hand before he could get close to her. ‘We need to talk, Grayson.’

He fought a groan. ‘Dammit, woman, weren’t you the one who wanted to leave all the talking till later?’

She stepped back from him and fussed around at the sink until every trace of salmon had disappeared from her hair and face. ‘Don’t you think it’s strange that both your father and Anna Paulson just happen to turn up at my mother’s birthday party?’

Grayson studied her resolute expression. ‘I have no idea why Anna is here,’ he said. ‘I did contact my father but I didn’t expect him to wangle an invitation here.’

‘What did you want to talk to him about?’ Lauren asked. ‘I thought you hated his guts.’

‘I wanted his advice about someone, I mean, something.’

Lauren crossed her arms over her chest. ‘And by the way, how come you didn’t mention that your father is Beau Turner, the legendary football player?’

Grayson shrugged. ‘Because I hate his guts.’

The silence lengthened between them. Grayson held her gaze for as long as he could and then turned away. What was it with women that they expected you to spill your emotions whenever it suited them? He hated talking about his father. He hated the mess his father had made of so many innocent people’s lives.

Lauren’s quiet voice halted him at the door. ‘You’re always telling me that I should face my problems with my father. You don’t seem to be doing such a great job of it yourself.’

Grayson wrenched the door open and marched down the corridor. How dare Lauren compare her weird relationship with her father to his perfectly understandable relationship with his? Dammit, he’d only contacted Beau to help him make a good impression on Lauren’s father anyway. His footsteps slowed as he reached the dining room. Someone had cleared away both Simon Tilney and the ruined cake. Lauren’s father stood by the door, his arm around his wife. He smiled.

‘Hey, Grayson, is that Lauren behind you? Come on out here with us. We need to cut the birthday cake.’

Lauren blinked as she stepped out into the sunlit back yard. Guests stood in an obedient circle around a table on which sat a yellow-frosted cake complete with candles. Lauren’s father clamped his hand on her elbow and manoeuvred her and Grayson into position beside him.

‘Let’s sing “Happy Birthday” to my beautiful wife!’

Lauren mouthed the words of the familiar song as her mother carefully blew out the candles. Grayson sang loudly beside her, his mellow voice a pleasant surprise. Then the cake was cut and waiters began to distribute slices on yellow china plates, which matched the cake. Lauren tried to step back. To her annoyance, her father wouldn’t release her arm. She looked at Grayson but his attention was fixed on Beau and Anna who stood together at the front of the crowd.

‘Before you all go off to get some of this great barbecue, I have another announcement to make.’

What had her father triumphed over now? Lauren tried to look interested. She flinched when he slid an arm around her shoulders.

‘My daughter Lauren is a very naughty young lady.’ He squeezed hard. ‘Earlier this year, in order to escape a big wedding, she skipped off to Las Vegas to get married to Mr Grayson Turner, here.’

A few of the crowd began to clap as waiters circulated with champagne. Lauren watched in disbelief as her father shook Grayson’s hand.

‘Welcome to the family, son. We’re lucky enough to have the groom’s father with us today as well.’ He gestured at Beau. ‘Come on up and join us.’

Flashbulbs exploded as Beau and her father exchanged handshakes. Lauren felt sick. The only good thing was the appalled expression on Anna Paulson’s face. Why was her father doing this? She’d expected the complete opposite.

‘Mrs Redstone and I are in the process of persuading Lauren and Grayson to have a proper wedding here in San Francisco to celebrate their marriage. When we’ve sorted out the details, you’ll all be invited.’

More clapping followed as her father proposed a toast to the bride and groom. Lauren held her champagne glass so tightly she feared it would shatter. Someone took it out of her hand.

Grayson bent low to whisper in her ear. ‘That didn’t go as badly as I thought. I’m glad you told him the truth. We’ll sort this out.’

Lauren could only stare at him. He probably thought she’d been lying about her father’s potential reaction to the news of her wedding. He probably thought she was delusional.

She pulled away. ‘I didn’t tell him,’ she said and Grayson’s relieved expression disappeared. ‘Excuse me, I’ve got to . . .’

She didn’t bother to complete her sentence. Grayson was unlikely to come after her now that she’d spoiled his party.

Lauren sat in front of the mirror in the master bathroom suite and stared at her pale reflection. The way things were going she might as well lock the door and stay in here all day. Perhaps she could crawl into the bed, pull the covers over her head and pretend everything would be all right in the morning.

She should’ve known her father would find out about the wedding. The question was, why had he decided to publicly acknowledge it? What was it about Grayson that made him acceptable when all her other boyfriends had failed?

‘I thought I’d find you hiding in here.’

Lauren straightened as Anna Paulson appeared in the doorway. She knew she should’ve locked the door.

‘What do you want?’

Anna shut the door and sauntered over to Lauren. ‘You know why Grayson married you, don’t you?’

Lauren pretended to straighten the items on the vanity. ‘Because he fell in love with me? That’s the usual reason.’

‘Don’t be so naïve. Even
you
can’t believe that. Grayson’s first and foremost a business man. And now, with your stupid help, he’s trying to screw me and his father again.’

Lauren zipped up her make-up bag. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. And frankly, I couldn’t care less.’

Anna put her hands on her narrow hips. ‘You should care. Grayson’s using you. I tried to warn you off when you were at the ranch, but you didn’t get it.’

Lauren chucked her bag into her purse and got to her feet. Suddenly things were becoming clear. ‘I got it. You used Marcie’s jealousy over Grayson to get her to trash the ranch. How very mature of you.’

Anna blocked Lauren’s exit line to the door. ‘Marcie will get over it. She’s just a kid.’

Lauren shook her head. ‘She’s not a tool to serve your petty disputes, Anna. Perhaps in the future you should fight your own battles and not involve vulnerable kids.’

Anna backed off until she was directly in front of the door. ‘You don’t understand what’s at stake here.’

‘I’m a grown woman, explain it to me.’

Anna smiled. ‘OK, my husband and I have been buying up land around Springtown for quite a while now.’ She gave Lauren an innocent smile. ‘Grayson’s daddy is a partner in our business venture as well.’

‘So?’ Lauren tried to look calm.

‘So, when Grayson put forward his stupid scheme to build a measly business park at the edge of his ranch, we knew what he really wanted.’

‘You think?’ Lauren tried sarcasm. It didn’t seem to dent Anna’s enthusiasm.

‘Grayson must have realised we were planning to develop the area into a massive mining and industrial complex.’ Anna shrugged her elegant shoulders. ‘He obviously wanted in on the project and was just negotiating to get our attention and demand a bigger piece of the pie.’

Lauren began to shake her head.

Anna held up her hand. ‘Why do you think Grayson contacted Beau? He hasn’t spoken to him for three years. It must be about the industrial project.’

Lauren swallowed hard. Grayson had told her he’d spoken to his father about something. Had he been specific about what? Dammit, she knew he hadn’t.

‘OK, Anna, you’ve had your moment of glory.’ Lauren reached for the door handle. ‘I’ll talk to Grayson and see what he has to say about all this.’ She gazed right into Anna’s eyes. ‘In the meantime, keep away from my husband. He doesn’t like you and I have to agree with him about that. You’re a spoilt selfish bitch.’

Anna refused to budge. ‘I haven’t finished yet. By marrying you, Grayson’s obviously decided to move things in a different direction.’ Anna pouted. ‘It seems he still bears a grudge about what happened before our wedding.’

Lauren tugged on the handle. ‘When you slept with another guy and let Grayson walk in on you? Hmmm, I wonder why that would still, upset him?’

Anna grabbed Lauren’s wrist. ‘It wasn’t just another guy. It was Beau. Grayson’s decided to get his revenge on us by replacing us in the business deal with you and your wealthy father.’

‘You slept with Grayson’s father?’ Lauren wrenched Anna’s hand from her wrist. She felt sick. How come Grayson had omitted that part of the story?

Anna seemed too intent on her own grievances to register Lauren’s distaste. ‘Grayson’s obviously going to ask your father to co-finance the whole business venture now that he’s got all the information from Beau. I should’ve known he was up to something.’ She flicked Lauren a glance of disdain. ‘Otherwise, why on earth would he have taken up with you?’

Lauren wasn’t sure which scenario she preferred least. Either Grayson was lying to her purely on a business level or he was lying to her, period. Even worse, it might explain why her father was so keen to welcome Grayson into the family.

Lauren closed her fingers around the door handle and pulled hard, sending Anna staggering back into the wall. She gave Anna her coolest smile, the one she used on her father.

‘Thanks, Anna, you’ve given me a lot to think about.’

Lauren kept her expression pleasant as she walked along the corridor. Her next step was to corner Grayson and find out the truth. It had to lie somewhere in Anna’s dramatic self-centred lies.

‘Lauren? Is that you, darling?’

The last person she wanted to see approached her from the dining room.

‘Dad.’

He linked his arm through hers and walked towards his study. Inside, the pale coastal colours were banished in favour of strong reds and heavy dark furniture. Cigar smoke lingered along with the scent of barbecue from outside. The walls were covered with photographs of her father with the rich and famous.

Lauren waited until her father took up his usual position seated behind his desk. For the first time in her life she refused to allow the setting to intimidate her.

‘What’s going on, Dad? Why didn’t you tell me you knew I’d got married?’

She was amazed at how calm and detached she sounded. Long-held slow-burning anger tried to push its way out of her chest. It almost choked her to hold it back.

‘I suppose like most fathers, I was waiting for you to tell me yourself.’

Lauren studied his self-satisfied face. ‘You know why I didn’t tell you. You have a track record of interfering in my love life.’

He looked hurt. ‘I’ve only tried to protect you as any man would protect a beautiful daughter. I’ve always had your best interests at heart.’

Lauren rested her palms on the front of his leather-topped desk. ‘That’s the bit I don’t understand. You’ve always had
your
best interests at heart. Why are you willing to accept Grayson?’