Page 15 of Shine On Oklahoma

“Yeah,” he said with a weighty look. Then hesighed. “It’s scary, that’s all. I don’t like being more than a fewyards away from her these days.”

“And she hasn’t skinned you yet?”

Rob blinked as if Dax was speaking a newlanguage, and then something dawned on his face. “Am Ihovering?”

“Hovering. Maybe smothering. Who am I to say?But I do know that women have babies every day without any help atall from the daddies. Aside from that fun part in the beginning.”He tried a friendly grin, in case the truth hurt.

Rob sighed. “You’re right. I’m acting like acrazy man.”

“That’s the thing about crazy—you can’t seeit when you’re in it.” He shrugged. “I might be close to slippinginto a whole other kind of crazy, myself.”

Rob looked away from the colt he’d beenbrushing, a still spindly brown fellow with a mane just at thatspikey stage that made him look like a punk rocker. His eyes werewide and worried. Rob’s, not the colt’s. “Kendra?”

Dax nodded. “For what it’s worth, I’m sureher coming here had nothing to do with Kiley. She was legitimatelyshocked to find out about the baby.”

“Then why is she here?” Fireball, named forhis resemblance to theRudolfcharacter, craned his neckaround and nickered.More, please.

“I’m not sure yet, but she knows about myfather, and has been asking about the track. Whether he left it tome. And uh…I’ve got reason to think there’s something going on withthe books there.”

Rob shot him a worried look. “What do youmean, ‘something going on with the books?’ Are you okay here,Dax?”

“I’mokay. I’m not an owner. But mymother is. Rob, this has to stay between us. I trust you.”

“You can trust me absolutely. You’re myfriend, Dax.” He grinned. “Even if you did kick my ass when wefirst met.”

“Hey, you held your own. Don’t sell yourselfshort. You put a hurtin’ on me, too.”

“And that’s how good a friend you are,” Robsaid, clapping him on the shoulder. “Letting me believe that.”

They shared a laugh, and it died gradually.Dax took a deep breath, and then he went on. “My father’s dyingwords warned me that letting the track go puts my mother at risk.He said she’d go to prison. Something about the books.”

“Holy…. What are you gonna do?”

“If I inherit, I’m culpable. If I refuse, myhalf goes to the SRA, they go over the books, Mom goes toprison.”

“This is rough, Dax.” Rob rubbed the back ofhis neck with one hand.

“I’ve got someone going over the books on thesly. Mom gave me access, though I didn’t tell her why I neededit.”

Rob nodded. “That’s a start. You’ll knowwhere you stand.” Then he blinked. “You said Kendra was askingabout the track. You don’t think she’s…mixed up in all this, doyou?”

He didn’t want to think it. “It would be apretty big coincidence, otherwise,” he said. “But even if she’s nottangled up in my father’s crimes, I imagine she’s got some kind ofplan to get her fingers into the Aurora Downs pie. She’s up tosomething. She’salwaysup to something.”

“Ah, hell, Dax. I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “Nothing to be sorry about. I’mgonna get to the bottom of this. It’s just hard, being around herand not….” He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to. Rob had triedpretty hard not to fall for Kendra’s twin. He must know exactlywhat Dax was going through.

“Is there anything I can do?” Rob asked.

Dax shrugged. “I told her Dad didn’t leave mea nickel and I wouldn’t have taken it even if he had. She’s stillhere. Maybe….”

“Maybe because she knows it’s bullshit? Don’tyou think she did her research and knew the truth before she evencame here, especially if the track iswhyshe camehere?”

“It’s not bullshit. I don’t want it. Sheknows that now, so even if thatiswhy she came, maybe it’snot why she’s still here.”

He shrugged. “And why do you think she’sstill here?”

Dax lowered his head. “Not for me. I don’tthink that. I’m not stupid.” Although shehadseemed near toblissful on that ride with him this morning. She’d seemeddifferent. She’d seemed real. And she’d seemed to be enjoying hiscompany as much as he’d been enjoying hers.

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