Kentucky Groom (2 page)

“Well?” She lifted an elegant eyebrow in challenge.

Jay held out his arms, and she came into them as if she thought she belonged.

“Quite a nice step up from the travel agency,” Jay remarked, as he swept her around the room. He didn’t try to erase the sarcasm from his voice.

She seemed to take stock of him, glancing up at him through narrowed eyes. “Yes, and Carter is such a dear.”

“Isn’t he, though?” Jay mocked her sweet tone of voice.

Her fingers tightened on his shoulders like a snake coiling around its prey. “Don’t mess this up for me.”

Jay laughed at her warning. “You’re assuming a power that I don’t have.” Her lips thinned. “You forget I’ve seen women like you come and go. You think you have a hold on him because the sex is good right now, but don’t count on it. I hope you signed a good prenuptial agreement.”

“It’s different this time,” Lori said with a smug glance.

“That’s what number four said if I remember correctly.”

“You’re his only son. Carter values your judgment.”

“Carter values my judgment when it’s about the newest piece of software I’m working on, one that he hopes will make him another million. He certainly never consults me about his sex life or his choice of wives.” The very thought made him smile.

“You’re disgusting.” Lori’s voice was brittle.

“My sentiments exactly.” Jay inclined his head toward her.

Almost on cue, the orchestra completed its song. Jay dropped his arms while Lori shot him a threatening look, and then turned a sugary smile toward the approaching groom.

“Here we are, dear.” Carter gave Gloria back to Jay.

He felt Gloria slip her hand into his and watched as Carter favored them with a smile that never quite reached his eyes. Lori took Carter’s offered arm, and tipping up her chin, she looked down her nose at Jay as if to say, “I’ll show you.” Jay looked back blandly as she whisked away in a whoosh of satin.

Gloria tugged on his sleeve. “What time is it?”

Jay glanced at his Rolex. “Nine o’clock. I’ll take you to the limo.”

Holding hands, Jay walked his sister through the historic villa and down the wide steps to the driveway. They waited, drinking in the cool May air, the California sun just shutting down for the night. When the limousine arrived, Jay helped Gloria inside and gave her a kiss. All too soon his little sister drove out of his life one more time. He climbed the steps to the Mediterranean mansion, feeling the loss of her small, warm hand in his.

Not wanting to go into the reception, Jay almost turned away, his mood bleak, but he shrugged his shoulders and strolled back inside to take his same seat near the windows.

Somehow, the music seemed louder, the laughter more discordant. Jay crossed his leg over his knee and leaned back. What was the matter with his father? Why had he been unsatisfied with his mother’s love and loyalty? Martha had put him through college, for God’s sake, sacrificing her own education for his. And she’d loved him silently all through the years, never giving Jay any reason to hate his father. Carter had done that himself.

Sweeping a hand through his hair, Jay narrowed his eyes. For some time now, he had longed for that kind of devotion from a woman, the kind of devotion Martha had for Carter, even until her death. Watching his stepmother move through the thinning crowd, Jay wondered how he would ever know for sure he had inspired that kind of devotion.

The thought hit him like a poorly pitched baseball. He was Carter Preston’s son. Heir to the throne. A rich boy, and all the women he dated knew it.

Jay rubbed his ankle against his knee. He was fair-minded enough to concede being Carter’s son had helped get him into the business in the first place. Granted, his father’s company paid his large salary and gave him a bunch of perks, but it had been a fair trade. In return Jay had come up with the idea for Sampson, and he’d made himself indispensable to Carter and the business.

Jay expelled a deep breath. Who was he kidding? As much as he wanted to deny it, he was still Carter Preston’s son. His reputation always preceded him. Women knew about his father’s millions. And his own. That knowledge had colored their view of him.

Like the slap of cold air on a frosty morning, Jay realized he might never know the love of a good woman. A woman who would love him for himself. Too many of the women he had dated had resembled his new stepmother. They were after the Preston money, not the Preston man. Jay smiled at the irony. He and his father had more in common than he cared to admit.

Yet Jay rejected the comparison once more. He refused to behave like Carter Preston, chasing the phantom of happiness as if he were some sort of cat chasing a mouse. Sadly, Jay knew he would never find his true love as long as he was Carter Preston’s son. The realization deepened his foul mood.

“There you are.” Carter’s booming voice startled him. Jay climbed to his feet. “What are you doing?”

“Thinking.”

Carter placed a forceful hand on Jay’s shoulder. “Are you ready for the Ballard meeting on Monday? It’s your first time to meet with a client alone. I’m sorry I won’t be there.” His father winked. “I’ll be on my honeymoon, you know.”

“Obviously.” Jay held his gaze steady.

Carter slightly shook his son’s shoulder. “You know this is a wonderful opportunity for us.”

What was he fishing for? “Maybe the meeting is too important for you to miss,” Jay suggested.

Carter winked. “And miss my honeymoon?”

“I could use a break too.”

“A break?”

“Yes, a vacation. I’m burned out.”

“I didn’t get a break when I was your age. Worked day and night to put myself through school and then went right into the business,” Carter said, his voice rising.

Jay broke away from his father’s grip and turned to confront him, his gaze strafing the older man’s face. “And right into the bed of another woman.”

Carter frowned. “What kind of crap has your mother been feeding you?”

“My mother is dead, remember? And she never fed me anything. I’ve always had two eyes.” Jay stood his ground, his heartbeat soaring in his ears,

Carter’s eyes narrowed and his voice lowered. “Have you got something to say to me, boy? What is it?”

“You make me sick,” Jay spat. “You run around like some horny tom cat, bedding women and leaving them when your fancy turns. You don’t care about the children you leave in your wake, or the other lives you hurt.”

“Is that all?”

“No.” Jay should have heard the warning in his father’s voice, but he couldn’t stop himself. “I’m not even sure I like computers, let alone want to spend my whole life developing computer systems for your stupid company.”

“You ungrateful little bastard,” Carter said through clinched teeth.

“Bastard? No. I was born three years after you married my mother. I seriously doubt that I’m the bastard.” The audacity of his words shocked even him. A strange exhilaration surged up Jay’s spine, and he lifted his chin in defiance.

That’s when Carter slugged him. A sudden pain reeled him backward from the well-delivered punch to his jaw. It took less than a second to realize what his father had done, and even less time to maintain his balance and right himself. Jay glared at the man who had fathered him but who had never been a father. Heart in his throat, Jay balled his fist, wanting to strike back. He squared his shoulders.

“I guess the truth hurts,” he said quietly.

Lori had rushed to her husband’s side, and now clutched his arm. “Carter, what’s wrong?”

Carter stood like stone. The only movement was the flex and release of the fist that had hit his son. There was something in his eyes akin to regret, but whatever it was, he didn’t act upon it. Instead Carter turned to his wife.

“It appears that my son doesn’t appreciate the opportunities I have given him.” He did not look at Jay. “Since that’s the case, I wash my hands of the ungrateful son of a bitch.”

Lori’s look of triumph was obvious. Carter turned and drew her away—never looking back.

“He can find out what it’s like to make it on his own” Carter said to his new wife loud enough for all to hear.

“So build your kingdom without the prince,” Jay shouted at the retreating back.

His father’s words left him reeling more than the blow to his chin. Had Carter disowned him? A sluggish, fearful pain crawled through his stomach. Jay slowly opened his balled fist, splaying his fingers out wide.

As suddenly as the fear came to him, Jay experienced a great surge of relief. The mantle of the Preston fortune was gone. He had a chance to discover for himself if he could make it on his own merit in a field far away from computers.

Somewhere in the crowd, the bride threw her bouquet. His father didn’t know it, but he had just thrown his son a symbolic bouquet. Maybe he could find someone who would love him for himself alone.

For the first time in his life, Jay Preston was free.

Chapter Two

Wildwood Stables
Near Prospect, Kentucky

“I think you’ll like my mommy,” a small voice said.

Jay glanced from the horse he was brushing into the sincere blue eyes of a blond-headed girl. She was taller than his sister Gloria, and looked older, maybe by two years. But, like Gloria, she had a seriousness about her that made her seem more mature for her young years.

“What makes you think so?” Jay asked.

“She’s very pretty,” the girl answered quickly. She paused a minute, as if trying to figure out why a guy like him would be interested in her mother. “And she’s smart.”

Jay answered in a seriousness to match the girl’s own. “I like smart women.”

The girl brightened at his comment. “She’s very good, too.”

“It’s important for a mother to be good,” Jay agreed.

“She doesn’t date much.”

“Oh?”

At that moment, the horse Jay was grooming snorted and stamped an impatient hoof. Turning back to the big animal that was cross-tied in the spacious stall, Jay raked the hard brush over the horse’s dark brown coat.

“Do you like being a groom?”

Jay looked down once more, this time not pausing in his work. He found the question intriguing, for in the week he had been at Wildwood Stables, an American Saddlebred show barn, he had not thought about liking the job. He’d just been grateful Mary Wilder had given him one and not asked many questions.

Pausing, Jay glanced at the little girl. He did like the hard work and long hours of a caretaker’s job. He didn’t mind rising early or the minimum wage. He had wanted to change his life, and he’d done that—big time. The physical work beat sitting behind a computer for ten hours a day.

“Yes, I like being a groom.” Jay nodded and extended the hard brush toward the child. “Hand me the soft brush, will you?”

As they exchanged brushes, they exchanged smiles. The little girl blushed.

“What’s your name?” Jay turned back to the show horse.

“Jessica Mercer, but you can call me Jesse.”

“Nice to meet you, Jesse. My name is Jay.”

“I know.” The girl’s timid giggle gave away her obvious interest in him. She turned and scampered away.

Jay smiled to himself. Was he the object of a pre-teen crush?

Finished with the soft brush, Jay began to gently pull a comb through the animal’s black tail untangling the coarse strands of horsehair. It was a good thing he liked children, because this new job brought him into close contact with several horse-crazy little girls whose parents had bought horses for them to show.

Jay shrugged at the irony. If Carter hadn’t insisted on riding lessons and competing in shows, he would never have gotten this job in Prospect, Kentucky, as far away from Silicon Valley and Carter Preston as he could get.

“Mommy, come meet Jay.”

The little girl was back, and she had her mother in tow. Glancing over the rump of the horse, Jay watched Jesse haul the reluctant woman toward the open stall door. Give the lady credit. A matchmaking daughter might be embarrassing, but the mother met Jay’s gaze directly with a friendly smile.

At the moment of eye contact, Jay was speechless.

Jesse’s mother had honey blond hair, long and straight, with sun-streaked highlights running through it. She wore it pulled back from her face, caught at the nape of her neck by a thick band. Her bangs touched her darker eyebrows, setting off expressive eyes, blue like those of her daughter. She had a fair complexion, also tanned by the sun. What struck Jay most was the unaffected aspect of her appearance, the sincerity in her eyes, and the way her hand strayed to her daughter’s shoulder, supportive and loving. Much as his mother Martha had supported him.

When she spoke, Jay heard the woman’s words as if from a distance. They were soft, like the fluttering of angel’s wings, with a touch of a Kentucky accent.

“My daughter tells me you’re the new groom.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, wondering why his own voice sounded like a shrill schoolboy.

The horse chose that instant to grow restive. He kicked out with a hind leg, a metal shoe striking the wall with a resounding bang.

“Hey,” Jay complained to the bay gelding, glad he’d been standing away from the offending hoof.

“Are you okay?” the mother asked.

“Yes. You can never take one of these horses for granted. I wasn’t anywhere near his hoof.”

“I warn Jesse all the time, but she sometimes forgets Dr. Doolittle weighs a thousand pounds.” She ruffled Jesse’s hair.

Jesse shook her head in protest of her mother’s touch. Jay moved around the horse and ducked under the cross ties.

“Dr. Doolittle is your pony?” He dropped the comb into the grooming box on the ground.

“Yes, isn’t he wonderful?”

“He’s the best five-gaited pony in the barn.” Jay grinned, knowing Doolittle was the only one in the barn. “Will you hand me that rag?”

Jesse’s mom picked up a terry cloth towel from where it hung across a saddle. As she handed it to him, her fingers brushed his. Started by the touch, Jay glanced at her.