Page 19 of Tempting Fate
“Nugget’s population won’t support a big box store.” That was the other thing about the good residents of Nugget: they had delusions of grandeur.
“Tell Sam Walton that.”
“Last I looked, he was dead, Owen.”
“You know what I mean.” Owen pinned him with a look. “I’m personally concerned that one of those cults will come in, like them Branch Davidians.”
Where did he cook this shit up? “A Fantastic Sams would be a welcomed addition.” Gabe said it just to get a rise out of Owen.
Owen didn’t take the bait, rambling on about all the possible businesses that would vie for the land, including a pot farm, which Gabe thought was more likely than a cult or a Costco. Realistically, though, someone would probably want the land to run cattle. Gabe wouldn’t be surprised if the offer had come from one of the local ranchers. Clay McCreedy, Flynn Barlow, even Lucky Rodriguez was a good guess.
“That girl planning to stay?” Owen asked.
“Raylene? Nah, she’s going back to LA after the wedding.”
“She sure pulled the wool over our eyes. Back in the day, she was a sweet little thing. Rodeo queen, champion barrel racer, volunteer at the Elks annual pancake breakfast, real active in the community. Even so, Ray was hard on the girl, publicly laying into her enough times to make me wonder what was going on behind closed doors. But what do you do? You can’t go around telling people how to rear their kids.”
Nope, Gabe thought. Not unless you witnessed actual abuse. But in a close-knit town like this…someone should’ve known.
“Back then,” Owen continued, “she and Lucky were attached at the hip. Ray didn’t like his daughter trucking with a Mexican boy, especially since his mama was the help. He never made a secret about it, and to tell you the truth it made me sick.”
Ray Rosser sounded like a grade-A prick. As far as Gabe was concerned, Logan had dodged a bullet when Rosser refused to claim him as his son. Raylene, not so much. She’d had the misfortune of being groomed by Ray to be his protégée.
It told Gabe more than he wanted to know. He’d always had a soft spot for the misunderstood—not that he was ready to give Raylene the benefit of the doubt. But there was definitely more to the spoiled rich girl than everyone saw. Everyone but Logan. And Gabe had always found his partner to be a good judge of character.
“There you go.” Owen twirled the chair around and gave Gabe a hand mirror so he could get a view of the back of his head.
“Looks good.”
“You’ll pass muster.” Owen lathered up Gabe’s chin and reached for a straight-edge razor.
“Don’t get too wild with that thing.”
Owen laughed. “I’ve been shaving men since before you were born.”
The barber certainly knew his stuff. Closest shave Gabe ever had.
Outside, the cold stung his face as he walked to his SUV. It was still too early to head over to the farm, and he wasn’t in the mood for paperwork. Out of obligation—at least that’s what he told himself—he called Raylene.
“You at Logan’s?”
“I’m in my truck, in the driveway. Logan’s parents just got here.”
“Go in and introduce yourself,” he told her.
“Scared.”
Gabe’s lips tipped up. Nick was a badass, and could be daunting as hell, but that’s not what Raylene was afraid of, Gabe knew. It was Maisy, though Raylene had nothing to fear. Even if Maisy wasn’t the sweetest woman on earth, she was the one who’d been the so-called homewrecker. Raylene hadn’t even been born when Ray started his affair with Logan’s mom. “Meet me for lunch, then.”
“Why?”
“Gotta eat.”
“Okay. Where?”
“You’ve got two choices.”
Raylene groaned. “Fine, the Ponderosa. I’m not eating at the Bun Boy. Ever.”
