Roping the Wind (18 page)

His abrupt question made her reach out to touch his unshaven cheek.

‘No, I’m not. It’s just that this was supposed to be our little secret, right?’

His mouth tightened. ‘I don’t remember agreeing to that. I’m quite happy to show you off to my friends. Maybe you’re the one with the problem.’

Helen frantically tried to marshal her thoughts, never very coherent before her first cup of coffee.

‘Don’t sulk, Jay. I’m perfectly happy to be seen with you.’

‘Then prove it. Shower with me and then come meet my brother.’

She met his challenging stare with one of her own.

‘OK, I will.’

Jay pulled out a chair at the breakfast table and guided Helen into it. Grayson sat at the other end of the table, his hands wrapped around a mug of steaming black coffee. His shirt was half-unbuttoned and he hadn’t shaved. Jay sniffed and caught the unusual scent of hard liquor on his brother’s breath.

‘What’s up, Gray?’

‘Hey, sorry for busting in on you guys. I swear I didn’t see anything.’ Grayson’s attempt at a smile was diminished by his bloodshot eyes and the deep lines on his face.

Helen nudged Jay. ‘Aren’t you going to introduce us?’

Grayson’s smile widened. ‘Actually, I think we’ve already met.’

Jay frowned and swiveled around to stare at Helen. ‘You didn’t say you knew my brother.’

‘He does look vaguely familiar.’ She pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes.

Jay got two mugs of coffee and plonked one down in front of Helen. Grayson concentrated his considerable attention on Helen until Jay had to grip his coffee mug in an effort not to leap across the table and punch him right in the face.

‘You’re a doctor, right?’

‘Yes, I’m Helen Kinsale.’ She held out her hand and Grayson shook it. Helen smiled. Idly, Jay calculated just how fast he could throw his brother over the balcony.

‘You’re Jay’s doctor. I met you in Sacramento just after you’d operated on his knee.’

Jay put his coffee down. ‘You came to Sacramento?’

‘You probably don’t remember. You were in surgery when I arrived and in recovery by the time I left.’ Grayson nodded at Helen. ‘I knew you were in good hands so I didn’t wait around to see you come out of it.’

Jay swallowed hard. ‘And you knew I wouldn’t be pleased to see you either.’

‘There is that.’ Grayson refused to meet Jay’s gaze. ‘And I was in my usual rush to get to another meeting.’ He sighed, one hand raking through his thick black hair. ‘I’m done with all that.’

‘With what? Looking out for me?’

His brother’s smile was wry. ‘Nope. With the oil company. With Beau. With the whole fucking businessman-of-the-year deal.’

‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’ Jay sat down into the seat next to Helen’s and stared into his brother’s tired face.

‘I quit.’

‘Shit.’ Jay shifted on his seat. ‘What did Beau say?’

‘What didn’t he say? You know how he is. He even had his security detail throw me off the premises before I could collect my stuff.’

Jay sat back and studied Grayson. ‘Do you want me to move out?’

‘Why? I own this apartment, not Beau.’

‘That’s why you offered it to me, right? Beau already told me not to come sniffing around looking for some place to live unless I was prepared to come on his payroll.’

Grayson met his gaze. ‘Hell, I knew that.’

Helen cleared her throat. ‘I think I should go.’

Jay dragged his attention back to her as she rose from her seat.

‘It’s OK, Dr Kinsale,’ Grayson said. ‘You haven’t heard anything my father won’t be broadcasting to the entire world by tomorrow.’

Helen patted Grayson’s sleeve. ‘Good luck with everything.’ She glanced back at Jay. ‘I’ll call you later, OK?’

Impulsively, Jay drew her into his arms and kissed her hard on the mouth. She relaxed into him, her body molding itself to his. ‘OK, doc, you do that and thanks for being so understanding.’

She pinched his cheek and his cock jumped to attention. Her gaze dropped to his jeans and stayed there. ‘Bye, Jay.’

He reluctantly released her and watched as she grabbed her things and left the apartment. By the time the door closed, Grayson was engrossed in eating a huge bowl of kids’ cereal.

‘She’s a classy lady.’

Jay grabbed the choco puffs cereal and helped himself to a bowl as well. All that sex had given him an appetite. ‘Yeah, she is.’

‘Not sure what she’s doing with you, though.’

Jay glanced up sharply, just in time to see the hint of a smile on Grayson’s lips.

‘She’s just taking patient aftercare to a whole new level, bro.’

‘I liked her the first time I met her and I liked her even more today. She looked hot in those tight black pants.’

Jay pointed his spoon at his brother. ‘Keep your filthy hands and your even filthier thoughts away from her or I’ll fucking kill you.’

Grayson’s spoon remained suspended near his mouth. ‘You like her too, then?’

‘Yeah. So keep away.’

‘What’s with the Tarzan act, Jay?’

Jay mumbled something crude through a mouthful of cereal before swallowing. ‘Just leave her alone, OK?’

‘Will do. I don’t have time to be worrying about chasing women at the moment. I have a whole new life to plan.’

Jay wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘What are you going to do?’

Grayson smiled. ‘Don’t worry, little brother. I’ve got it all planned out. For the last year or so I’ve been trying to work out why I was so pissed off with everything. There was all that stuff with Anna, but that wasn’t the real problem. I realized I just didn’t want to end my days sitting in a big old office acting just like Beau.’

‘I can understand that.’

‘I’m going back to the life I always dreamt of.’

‘Which is?’

‘Owning a ranch and training horses.’

Jay slowly nodded. Yeah, in some weird cosmic way, it made sense. As kids, he and Gray had sometimes been allowed to visit Beau’s parents on their ranch. God, sometimes he yearned for that life himself. A good horse under him, miles of untamed land to ride over. Shame he might never be able to ride again.

Grayson rubbed his unshaven jaw. ‘It’s not going to be easy but I’m prepared to make a go of it.’

‘It costs a lot of money to set up a ranch and training facility.’

‘Hell, the one thing I have is money. I earned enough when I ran my own company and Beau paid me even more for owning my soul.’

Silence fell between them. Jay studied his empty cereal bowl. ‘I could help out.’ Grayson didn’t reply and Jay pretended to shrug. ‘Not that you need me or anything.’

He met Gray’s eyes and quickly looked away. Shit, this was getting way too emotional. The hint of vulnerability in Gray’s expression made him all too human. Jay stood, picked up the bowls and headed for the kitchen sink. He rinsed out the bowls and slotted them haphazardly into the dishwasher.

‘Where are you planning on setting up?’

‘I’ve bought a parcel of land in Applegate Valley in Oregon, not far from the California border. There’s room for a house and a decent training set-up.’

Jay shut the dishwasher and took his time wiping his hands. ‘Are you sure you don’t want me out of here?’

‘Not until the end of the year at the earliest. The lease is up for renewal then. I’m not sure whether I’ll keep this place or not.’

That was fair enough. Six months to get his shit together and move on. A familiar panic spread slowly in his gut and he forced it back. He wasn’t going to fall into that pit of despair again. He had prospects, he had a new life.

‘Like you said, you could always come and live with me at the ranch. I need a barn manager.’

Jay forced a smile. ‘Yeah, you really need a crippled ex-rodeo cowboy around telling everyone about his glory days.’

‘I need someone I can trust.’

Jay met Grayson’s steady gaze. ‘Then I’m not the right guy for you. I still have some stuff to do on my own before I’m ready to take on any more responsibility, especially from a member of my family.’

‘Fair enough, but the offer still stands.’ Grayson helped himself to another cup of coffee. ‘Now tell me what you’ve been up to.’

Chapter Fifteen

Helen was late. But enduring Nancy’s loud comments for being tardy seemed a better alternative to being seen coming into work wearing the same clothes she left in the day before. She’d also had to go home to feed Tiger, who showed his contempt by refusing to acknowledge her presence while still managing to consume the family-sized can of tuna she’d guiltily offered him.

She leant up against the door and sighed. Her desk already had three charts on it. Saturdays were usually busy. She was often called to consult in the ER where, in her opinion, too many kids played too many sports and broke too many bones.

Despite the files on her desk, she went and got some coffee. Her night with Jay hadn’t included much sleep. If she didn’t start to mainline some caffeine, she suspected even five minutes sitting at her desk would result in her taking a nice long nap.

Her phone rang and she glanced at the caller ID. What did Peter Hart want now?

‘Ah, Helen, dear. I just wanted to make sure that you received your invitation to the barbecue at David’s house tomorrow. You left the party rather abruptly.’

‘I did, but it’s OK. David made sure he invited me personally.’

‘You are planning on attending, aren’t you? It wouldn’t look good if you were the only candidate not to show up.’

Helen made a face at the phone. ‘I’ll be there, although from the way David was talking you’d think he’d already been given the job.’

‘That’s definitely not the case. In fact, our little drug company was very interested to hear you had applied for the job.’

‘Little drug company? Nifenberg is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world. And by the way, how did they find out about my job application?’

He chuckled. ‘Perhaps a little bird told them. Anyway, if you get the job, they are considering offering a substantial grant to the hospital. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?’

Helen closed her eyes as visions of a million dollar bills flooded her senses. Money was often the key to promotion, whatever career you decided on. And to a university hospital, money was as vital as supplies of blood and underpaid, overworked student doctors.

‘Joel Franken, the vice president of their surgical division is over from Switzerland this weekend. I plan to bring him to the barbecue. Make sure you wear something pretty so that he remembers you.’

‘How about a bathing suit? Would that work?’

Peter Hart’s laugh was indulgent. ‘Now, Helen, I know I can trust you to do the right thing. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

Helen slammed down the phone. It took at least five minutes of focused breathing to get the urge to scream out of her system. She studied her fingers, which were splayed out on the desk in front of her. It was vital she had a date for the barbecue. There was no way she was turning up alone so that David could feel sorry for her.

Helen started to smile and picked up the phone again. Jay was bugging her about including him in her life. Here was the perfect opportunity for him to strut his stuff.

Jay took the old cowboy boot from Grayson and placed it reverently back on the glass shelf in the walk-in closet.

‘That’s what I want to make. Cowboy boots that last a lifetime.’

‘And are pieces of art.’

Jay glanced up at Grayson in surprise. ‘Yeah, that’s exactly it.’

Grayson’s eyebrows rose. ‘I’m not a complete philistine, you know.’

‘A complete what?’

‘Jay, do you do this dumb kid thing with Dr Kinsale?’

‘Yup.’

‘Does she let you get away with it?’

Jay grinned. ‘Nope.’

‘I said she was a smart woman.’ He punched Jay’s shoulder. ‘Hey, I have to go. I’ve got a plane ticket for seven o’clock.’

Jay followed him back into the kitchen. He’d spent four hours telling Gray about his new career. Not once had his brother put him down or laughed. He’d actually been quite helpful, suggesting ways Jay could turn his talent into a profitable business, how to find the markets and use his old connections.

Grayson shut his briefcase. He’d changed into well-pressed jeans and a checked shirt borrowed from Jay. A new black Stetson sat on the countertop beside him.

‘Feel free to use my stuff. I don’t think I’ll be wearing designer suits and handmade shoes where I’m going.’

‘Thanks, I’ll do that.’

Jay stared guiltily down at his feet. He’d already liberated a pack of new underwear and several pairs of socks from Gray’s closet. Of course, he’d intended to replace them, but never had. Now it looked like he’d gotten away with it.

The buzzer sounded and Jay headed for the door and pressed the button.

‘Did you call a cab, Grayson?’

‘Yeah, but . . .’

Jay held up a finger. ‘Oh shit, the concierge says it’s Beau. He wants to come up.’

Grayson shrugged and checked his watch. ‘You might as well let him. He’s such a tenacious bastard that he’ll just keep coming after me until he gets his chance to shout at me again. Why not now?’

Numbly, Jay pressed the buzzer to allow Beau to access the elevators. He left the front door ajar and went to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brother in the kitchen.

‘So this is where you’ve been hiding.’

Beau glowered at Jay as he slammed the door shut behind him. He wore a blue shirt and tie that matched his eyes, khaki pants and an unbuttoned sports jacket over his rapidly expanding gut. His abundant hair was still the same color as Jay’s.

‘Afternoon, Beau. Are you talking to me or Grayson?’

Beau advanced into the kitchen. ‘I’m talking to both of you. You’re both cowards.’