Page 14 of Whirlwind

His brow was furrowed, his voice somewhere in between pleading for me to understand and knowing I did.

Oh, I did.

For Dad, this project was all wrapped up in his grief. He’d been wanting to build on that land, to create something lasting and significant there ever since Five’s death. Dad’s vision of a resort property had gone through several metamorphoses in the ten years since our family tragedy. The sudden news that the prime pieces of land he’d always dreamed of having would now be for sale had changed everything.

All systems go.

For the past year, I’d worked closely with him at the company and we’d done all the work necessary to prepare for finally owning that land and being able to develop and build. Once Ladd and his mom had joined us, the future had become brighter.

I touched his arm. “Dad, there will be a Powder Ridge. Nobody else can afford that land. No one else has use for it, either.”

“Violet, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s that you should always expect the unexpected. So until that gavel strikes in my favor…” He let out a huff of air, a hand brushing over his mouth. “Look, Ladd was stunned today. He couldn’t focus. He was upset.”

“And you felt sorry for him and brought him here so naked girls could cheer him up? Nice.”

Dad had a soft spot for Ladd, who’d lost his father in a skiing accident a few years ago. Ever since they’d started working together, Ladd had looked up to Dad as some sort of mentor, and Dad had eaten it up. They’d often golfed on the weekends, went hunting, fishing. And when Ladd and I had started seeing each other, well…all was right with the world.

“I brought Ladd here to help me entertain the locals we might irritate once Powder Ridge gets up on its feet. He needs to spend more time with them.”

“Right, good thinking.”

“Make it up to him tomorrow, Violet. And Monday morning, be at your desk.”

A lap dance began at a table a few feet away from us. The two men took out their bills, adjusted their legs, licked their lips. The dancer’s hips moved.

Transactions, contracts, fine print.

The acrid taste of the martini lingered on my tongue. “So until the auction happens, you want me to lap dance for Hildebrand & Hildebrand?”

“Why do you have to make everything so damn complicated, Violet? So dirty? Why?”

I’d always wanted to help make this project dream a reality for my Dad. Long ago, as a family, we’d ride our horses out to that particular plot of land where that massive ridge overlooked the beautiful rolling valley. Dad wanting to make that vision come true would mend him, surely. Make him feel whole again after being stuck in the muck of grief and regret these ten years. Maybe mend us all. Fill that black, black hole. Making it happen had become a driving force for him and for me.

I gestured lazily at Dad’s table. “You better go back to your business party. They’re having all the fun without you. I wouldn’t want you to miss out.”

He only shook his head at me and walked away, smoothing back his thick dark hair as he returned to his table. The polished gentleman. In control.

We all dealt with this grim anniversary in our own way.

I was a Hildebrand. I had a stake in both Hildebrand family businesses—the cattle ranch my uncle and grandfather ran, and the commercial real estate development company that Dad ran with a cousin of his. They were the two solid constants in the family for almost one hundred and fifty years. A constant when so much around us had burned to the ground.

Literally burned.

My older brother was supposed to have been Dad’s right hand prince. But Marshall Hildebrand V, Five as we’d called him, wasn’t here anymore. My teeth gnawed on my lower lip.Five certainly would’ve been here tonight enjoying himself to the hilt.

Sissy’s gyrations over Ladd came to an end. His head tipped back, lips parted. He was transfixed on her, mesmerized. I waited. Nope, not one tick of jealousy pricked at me. I let out a dry laugh as I wiped my hair from my face.

I’d always kept my boyfriendery separate from Dad. None of them were boyfriends anyhow. I never let it get that far. Ladd was the first guy Dad knew of, and he’d whole-heartedly approved, which, I must admit, had been nice. Not only was Ladd well-mannered and educated, but his family had part ownership in the last gold mine in the Black Hills, which abutted the property we needed for Powder Ridge. Huge win.

But I had seen where this “relationship” had been heading, and I didn’t want to go there. No. I wanted to fly with the wind, soar, ride the storm. Be the roar. See where I landed. I took in a breath. I’d said all that once out loud, hadn’t I? I’d meant it.

The music throbbed over me, and my aching head fell back against the wall. The audience had gotten rowdy and loud. Two other dancers now hovered over Dad’s table with trays filled with fresh booze, flirting with all the men as they served them. Striking deals at the money table.

I swallowed hard. My hot air balloon was deflating, dropping fast, about to slam onto dry, hard earth.

I couldn’t think anymore, couldn’t weigh possibilities or decisions. Tomorrow was another day, a new day. That worked for Scarlett O’Hara, didn’t it?

And tonight? Tonight was all mine.

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