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She nodded. “I told him.”
“And he was okay with it?”
“Not really,” she answered honestly. “But he understood.”
“Why shouldn’t he? He won—again. That’s the story of Blake’s life.” Eyes glittering with resentment, James stalked out of the living room and grabbed his coat and duffel bag. “There’s no point in dragging this out,” he announced from the doorway. “Let’s just call it a night.”
Devon followed him to the door. “I feel terrible about this. Especially if it hurts your relationship with Blake.”
“Not to worry. I’ll survive. As for Blake, nothing between us will change. It never does.” James yanked open the door. “It’s still early. You’ve got the house to yourself and half a bottle of Dom Pérignon. Call Blake. I’m sure he’ll be glad to pick up where I left off. Good night, Devon.”
THE DRIVER OF the maroon coupe was dozing behind the wheel when James stalked out, jumped into the waiting limo, and took off.
He punched up a number on his cell phone. “He just left. No way he’ll be back. He was pissed off. I’m surprised, too. I assumed—” He broke off, peering intently out his front windshield. “Wait. Talk about split-second timing. Montgomery’s back. No, not a chance it’s a coincidence. He must’ve been watching the place this whole time. It could mean a lot of things. Don’t worry. I’ll find out.”
CHAPTER 24
It was three thirty the next afternoon when Devon and Blake hiked across the grounds of the Pierson farm, heading from the house to the stables.
They’d driven up to Dutchess County at lunchtime and gone straight to Sally’s place. There, they’d checked on the animals and dropped off their overnight bags. They’d decided in advance to stay there rather than at the Pierson farm. Not only for privacy, but because it would eliminate the tension that would result from staying next door with both James and the elder Piersons around.
“Your grandparents looked less than thrilled to see me,” Devon commented as they crunched through the snow. “I guess they must associate me with Frederick’s death.”
“They’ll get over it.” Blake waved away her concern, then reached for her gloved hand, gripping it in his.
“And James looked like he wanted to choke me,” she added.
“That’s part jealousy, part hangover. I suspect he downed an entire bottle of booze last night before crashing. Needless to say, he doesn’t take rejection well.” Blake gave an offhand shrug. “Besides, the way he looked at you paled next to the way he looked at me. He would have beaten the crap out of me if he wasn’t seeing double.”
Devon blew out her breath, watching it emerge as a frosty mist. “I’m glad you made up that excuse about us going riding. The tension in there was so thick I could hardly breathe. Especially after Louise showed up with those legal documents. It’s like the gods conspired to make this day as tough as possible.”
Blake digested that thoughtfully. “You’ve been subdued since we left your mother’s place. Visiting there’s tough on you, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Another sigh. “I lived there as a teenager, and during my breaks from college and vet school. The place was always vibrating with activity. Now it seems so quiet, so eerily deserted. I just want things to go back to normal. I want my mother back.” Devon shot Blake a self-deprecating glance. “That sounds juvenile, doesn’t it?”
“Uh-uh. You had a happy home life. You want to keep it that way.”
“Well, not exactly the same way. I’d like one major change.” Devon’s smile was wistful. “As long as I’m making embarrassing, juvenile admissions, what I really want is for my parents to get back together.”
Blake’s brows arched. “Is that in the cards?”
“I don’t know. What I do know is that they’re crazy about each other. No matter how much they pretend otherwise.” Devon stopped talking and stiffened, peering ahead toward the stables. “Vista’s truck is there. Your phone call worked.”
“No surprise. When my grandfather says jump, Vista says how high. All I had to mention to Vista is that he was needed. I didn’t specify by whom. Oh, I did let it slip that James is up for a few days from Wellington. I’m sure that was the cake topper. Anyway, let’s get down there before someone clues him in to the fact that I’m the only Pierson coming to meet him and that you’re here with me. I don’t want to give him any prep time.”
“Good idea.” Devon nodded. “He’s either in the stables or in his trailer. Let’s start in the stables so I can poke around a little. If we run into him there, we’ll deal with him sooner rather than later. If not, I can check out the horses and see if Vista’s done anything unorthodox. Then we’ll check out his trailer and go for broke.”
“We should have the stables to ourselves. I called ahead and told the grooms to leave early.”
“That was smart. It’ll give us the freedom to thoroughly examine the horses without providing any explanations.”
They reached the stables, easing by Vista’s Suburban and trailer and making their way to the barn door.
“Look how low this thing is,” Devon hissed, pointing at the trailer. “It’s got to mean something. James nearly hit the ceiling when I mentioned it.”
“We’ll find out.” Blake pulled open the wooden doors, and the two of them hurried inside. “Watch what you say,” Blake muttered. “In case Vista’s in here.”
A silent nod.
