Page 9 of Princess and the Ox (The Colby Brothers 1)

“I’ve been wanting to have a private word with you, Jay Colby.” Though his huge frame could be imposing, Erika stood before him with great assurance. “If you so much as lay a finger on my grandfather’s resort, or for that matter any property bearing the name Snowden, you will have to answer to me directly. And I guarantee you will regret it.”

This time she did get his full attention. He stared long and hard down at her, but Erika was not easily shaken. “That’s a fairly bold statement, and if I’m not mistaken, I believe you just threatened me, princess.”

She knew he was making fun of her, but she needed to get this across loud and clear. “You are not mistaken.”

To her surprise, he had the gall to actually smirk. Pushing himself away from the wagon, he proceeded to take one long stride to stand directly in front of her. Erika did not even budge. “Such a bold stand. Pity you didn’t put it to good use.”

“I disagree,” she said, holding her position even as his large frame came bearing down on her. “My grandfather worked hard to make this town the success it is.”

“Don’t you mean make him a success?” He reached into his wool coat, removed a cigar and placed it between his lips before giving a quick flick of a match and lighting it.

“Naturally, one is not possible without the other.”

He dragged hard on the cigar before blowing a cloud of smoke toward her person. She forced herself to remain still and refrain from fanning it out of her face. Erika would not give him the satisfaction of seeing any sign of weakness.

“That would have to be a matter of opinion.”

The cigar returned once more to his mouth. Irritated, she watched as once again he blew smoke toward her. She clamped her lips together, hoping to block out the disgusting fumes, but could not prevent the cloud-like substance from entering her nostrils. Unable to stop herself, she coughed and swiped irritably at the billowing smoke in front of her face.

“If you are under the delusion that my grandfather is a failure, Jay Colby, then allow me to be the first to inform you that you are sadly mistaken.”

“Interesting,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest as if to consider something of great importance. “You assumed it was your grandfather I was referring to.”

She frowned very hard at him. “Are you implying Placid is not a success?”

“Define success.”

“Don’t be a fool.” With eyes glaring, she reminded him, “Placid is a productive and thriving community.”

He took a long deep drag from his cigar before answering. “All right, for purely amusement sake, let’s explore this further. Tell me princess, as it is apparent you have all the answers, what in your vast knowledge qualifies as a thriving community?”

“My vast knowledge!” she exclaimed, hardly believing her ears. “From the lips of a man whose intellectual level is equal to that of an ox—must you smoke that blasted thing in my face!”

Just to irritate her more, he blew one final puff of smoke toward her before dropping it to the ground and stomping it out. “All right, just for the hell of it let me throw this out at you. If we were to compare a thriving community to that of a plant, then it needs to be treated accordingly. It needs stable roots and reliable nutrition to continue its continual growth. Otherwise, you can pretty much watch it wilt away.”

“I’m fully aware of what makes a thriving community.”

His head tilted as he arched a brow at her. “Really?”

“Most certainly.”

Turning his head, he studied the crowd of people milling about in the square. “How many people do you see?”

Erika frowned, glanced at the crowd then back at Jay. “What has that got to do with anything?”

His brows rose in mock surprise. “Everything, princess.”

She cringed at his tone of voice. So demeaning, yet it was she who was supposed to be doing the dressing down. Giving her spine a stiffening, she forced her willpower back and that self-control she prided herself on. There was no way she would let on he had the ability to upset her so easily.

“In the summer this square is tripled with the amount of people milling about.”

“Of course it is,” she said huffily. “Tourists aren’t interested in a cold winter retreat.”

“My thinking exactly.”

“Dare I ask, what exactly is your thinking? As it is apparently becoming very obvious you are making little sense.”

“To make certain your plant doesn’t wilt you must ensure you give it plenty of nourishment.” When she simply stared at him perplexed, he said, “It needs continual and on-going care, not simply a few months of the year.”

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