Page 11 of Shine On Oklahoma

She glanced at his zipper and said, “Is thatwhat you’re calling it these days?” He was blushing before she gavehim a wink to let him know she was kidding. “I knew what you meant.And yes, I’mdyingto see what Joey’s got going outthere.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were standingbeside a carbon copy of The Long Branch, about a third the size ofthe original. Its overhead sign spelled out “The Twig” in the samewestern font. Dax opened a metal panel on the outside wall, flippeda lever, and the place lit up like Christmas, inside and out. Talllights on poles aimed down from above, and he took her hand like itwas an ordinary thing to do and tugged her a few trotting stepsaway from the building.

“Mini-golf course,” he said, pointing. Theobstacles were bucking broncos and bad guys, saloon doors and ajailbreak scene. Everything cowboy.

She barely had time to see all that before heled her around to the back of the building, pointing out a widearea that looked like a ghost town. There were one-dimensionalstore fronts with fake broken windows and missing doors, brokenfences, empty watering troughs, square bales of hay stacked hereand there.

“Paintball course,” he told her. Then he keptgoing around to the right of the building, on the side nearest TheLong Branch. It was a worn patch of dirt with a wide path windingaround it. “Racetrack. There’s a fleet of little electric cars.” Hepointed and she spotted eight mini-cars parked along one side ofthe track inside a locked paddock.

“Did you help Joey plan the racetrack?” sheasked.

“No, no, he came up with it all himself. Heand Emily. You have her to thank for all the roses in your room bythe way. She’s very into decorating and themes.”

“Oh. Yeah, it’s uh…a lot of roses.”

“It is. She did a few rooms cowboy themed.They’re not as bad.”

He pulled out a keyring and started to unlockthe door. She said, “I only asked if you planned the racetrackbecause of your years working at one. The one your father owns. Orowned, I guess.”

He paused in unlocking the door, blinkedtwice, then swallowed hard, finished unlocking it, and swung itopen. “The big room on the left here,” he leaned in, flipped alight switch. “contains the ball pit and bounce house.” She lookedpast him, gave a nod. He turned that light off and moved on. “Thewhole back of the building is an arcade.” Again, he leaned in andflipped the light switch. Rows and rows of arcade games five deepand four wide, took up every bit of available space. He shut thelight off. The room they were in held a service counter, and thespace behind it, a walk-in cooler.

“This is where you rent your equipment forthe games, buy tokens for the arcade, and get soft drinks andsnacks, including soft-serve ice cream. Dips and sprinkles areextra.”

She nodded her approval. “Nobody spends moneylike a parent,” she said. “This is gonna be a goldmine. Hell,between what Joe’s doing here and Holiday Ranch, Big Falls is goingto start being a destination for low-key, kid-friendly fun.”

“Not to mention the birthday party business,”Dax said. “Joey put a lot into it, but I think it’ll pay off, if hefigured out how to promote it properly.”

She nodded, and this time as they went backoutside, him turning off lights on the way, she took hold of hishand as he locked the door behind them. “Seems like Joey’s foundhis calling,” she said softly. “Kiley and Rob, too.” She tugged himaround the building, found the control panel, turned the lever off,and closed the lid. “What about you?”

“Whataboutme?”

“Have you found your calling?”

“Working with horses. Training them. That’swhat I love doing best.”

“And what about the track? Your dad’sbusiness. It’s yours now, isn’t it?” She searched his face as hestood there, stone silent. Then she widened her eyes and said, “Hedidn’t disinherit you, did he? Because of me?”

So her visit wasn’t about Kiley at all. Itwas about the track and the fortune that came with it. Dax stoodthere, trying to work out the best answer, but it was impossible,because he was reeling. He shouldn’t be. He knew her. He’d figuredshe was here for a reason. He’d just been hoping he was wrong.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

He’d believed the emotion in her eyes whenshe’d been with her sister, and the empathy in them when she talkedabout his father’s death. But her mention of the track just blewthe cover off her lies.

In a kneejerk reaction, he decided to repaydeception with deception and said, “Yes. He disinherited me.”

She frowned as if that didn’t quite compute,and then plastered on a look of sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Dax.”

“I’m not. I don’t mind at all. I like my lifejust fine.” And he did. And he figured that probably answered thequestion that had been plaguing him ever since he’d watched his oldman die. What to do about the inheritance. Now he knew. He’d meantwhat he’d said. He didn’t want it, and it was a load off his mindto know that for sure. He still couldn’t refuse it until he’d foundwhatever surprises were hiding in the books and figured out a wayto protect his mother from the repercussions of them. But at leasthe knew for sure that he didn’t want it.

She lowered her head. He thought he sawdisappointment in her eyes, but she was so good at hiding herfeelings that he didn’t get a long enough glimpse of it to be sure.When she lifted it again, her eyes were bright and her smile wascounterfeit. She changed the subject with ease. “It’s odd beingback home again. My sister being a pillar of the community now. Me,too, by extension. That’s just…it’s weird.”

“I meant to ask about that. You’re using yourown name now. Last time you were here, you were pretending to bedead.”

“Oh, that. Yeah, that’s all cleared up.”

“Cleared up? They made faking your own deathlegal, and I missed the memo?”

She nodded. “Dad convinced the cop on thecase that it was an accident. That I’d run away from the halfwayhouse before the fire and wasn’t aware one of the bodies had beenidentified as my own.”

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