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But Daniel was shaking his head, answering in a firm voice, “I was never angry about that. I just want you to be careful who you talk to while you're here, that's all. You never know who's working with Drake.”
There was still something off in his expression. Cocking her head, B.J. studied his face. “How did your meetings go today?”
He shrugged ruefully. “Not well.”
So that explained it. She reached into the insulated, ice-pack-lined hamper and began to pull out covered dishes, thinking maybe he would open up more during the meal. Maybe he would finally tell her more about what he was involved with now that they were completely alone.
“This,” she said a few minutes later, “is not what I would call a picnic. I don't think I've ever had such fancy food from a picnic basket.”
Perhaps remembering that B.J. enjoyed seafood, Drake had provided a virtual feast for them. Cold cracked crab, huge prawns marinated with lemon and spices, potato salad niçoise, marinated asparagus spears. An assortment of cheeses and crackers and thinly sliced cold meats, with fresh fruits and delicate pastries for dessert. Nothing chocolate, she noted with a sigh.
Daniel looked up from his plate—a real china plate rather than the paper plates that made up her typical picnics back in Texas. “Drake takes great pleasure in showing off. This spread is meant to demonstrate for us that he is accustomed to the best of everything—for himself and his guests.”
“So where did he get his money?” B.J. asked, though she doubted she would get a straight answer. “Did he inherit it?”
“Hardly. Judson Drake is what you would call a self-made man. Including his name, by the way.”
“I had already guessed that. There's nothing about the guy that rings true to me.”
Daniel shrugged and popped a bite of crab into his mouth. “Yes, well…”
She glared across the table at him. “I'm fully aware that he's not the only one creating an entire persona out of thin air.”
Daniel smiled and lifted his glass to her before taking a sip of the expensive wine Drake had provided with the meal.
She shook her head in bemusement. “This whole situation is just bizarre.”
“You have no idea how much,” Daniel muttered, draining his glass.
“Tell me what you've done since I left the ranch,” Daniel urged a few moments later, resting his forearms on the table to study her face. “Did you go to college? Have you always worked for your uncles?”
She didn't even pretend to herself that he was all that interested in her life. More likely, he was trying to keep her talking about herself as a means of preventing further questions about him. But since she knew how stubborn he could be about not answering anything he didn't want to answer, she figured she might as well let him lead the conversation. For now, anyway.
“I went to college. The University of Texas. I majored in accounting—like my father and my brother.”
“You didn't care for accounting?”
“No. I worked in my father's office for a year, then had to quit before I went slowly insane. So I tried retail, working in a department store. That lasted six months. Since then I've worked in various computer-oriented jobs, and went to work for my uncles just over a year ago. Supposedly they were going to train me in the business, but mostly they've taken advantage of my computer skills. Tracking you down was the first field assignment they've given me.”
Daniel looked somewhat stunned. “You found me that easily and it was your first assignment?”
“I didn't say it was easy,” she corrected, though she took some satisfaction from the chagrined look in his eyes. “I was about to give up when I stumbled across someone who thought he had seen you with Drake and directed me toward the farmhouse.”
“Who? And what led you to St. Louis in the first place? That isn't where I live.”
“I know. You move around a lot. Three weeks ago, you sent your aunt Maria a birthday card postmarked St. Louis. She showed it to me. She also gave me a snapshot of you. If you looked through my wallet when you lifted it, you must have seen the photograph. She said she took it herself last time you visited her—about three years ago.”
“I didn't rifle through your belongings,” he said a bit defensively. “I simply put them away for safekeeping. And you went to see my aunt?”
“Yes. She's your only living relative, so I thought you might contact her occasionally. It seems you do more than that. She told me you've been sending her money in increasing amounts every month since you left her home when you turned eighteen.”
Daniel looked uncomfortable. “I've tried to help her out a little.”
“According to her, it's been more than a little. She told me that if it hadn't been for you, she'd have ended up in a state-run home a long time ago.”
Scowling now, Daniel wadded up his linen napkin and tossed it onto the table. “Sounds like you had quite a chat with her.”
And he didn't like it….
