A Cowboy in Manhattan(69)
“The door was open,” came Danielle’s unexpected voice from the kitchen doorway.
“Always is,” Reed responded without turning.
Her high heels clicked on the deck as she made her way to him.
“I get why you did it,” she told him without preamble. “What I don’t get is why you did that.”
He set down the bottle. “You want to toss a few nouns into that sentence?”
“You’re obviously in love with Katrina.”
Reed wasn’t about to deny it. Danielle was his lawyer, after all. It wasn’t like she could tell anyone.
“That’s why you wanted to help her,” she finished.
“Go to the head of the class.”
She waited for him to elaborate. When he didn’t, she stepped into the silence. “But why such a huge gesture. Ten million dollars? Were you hoping to win her back?”
“Hoping to win who back?” asked Caleb from the same spot where Danielle had just appeared.
Reed twisted his head at the unexpected sound of his brother’s voice.
“Hi, Danielle,” Caleb added. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey, Danielle,” said Mandy as she breezed past Caleb onto the deck. Then she grinned at Reed. “You’re back.” She dropped a quick kiss on his cheek before plunking down in one of the four empty Adirondack chairs.
“So are you,” Reed responded to Mandy, hoping against hope they hadn’t overheard Danielle’s revelation. “How was Chicago?”
“Noisy. How was New York?”
“Noisier.”
She chuckled.
“Get who back?” Caleb repeated, glancing from Reed to Danielle.
Reed knew there were parts of the situation that shouldn’t stay a secret, and parts that couldn’t stay a secret. He decided now was as good a time as any to get the basics out of the way.
“Danielle helped me out with some investments while I was in New York,” he opened.
Caleb’s glance went to Danielle. “Yeah?”
She nodded.
“That’s great.” Caleb’s posture relaxed. “Anybody else need a beer?”
Mandy raised her hand.
“What the heck?” said Danielle, moving to sit next to Mandy. “I’ll take one.”
Caleb disappeared, while Reed tried to bring some order to the riot of emotions coursing through his body. He was normally cool under pressure, calm under stress. He could hold his own under physical danger and in the toughest of arguments. But his feelings toward Katrina took him to uncharted waters.
“How’s Katrina doing?” Mandy asked. “Did you see her dance?”
“I did,” Reed responded as Caleb returned, passing beers to the two women.
Then Caleb held his up in a toast to Reed. “Welcome to the world beyond Lyndon Valley.”
Reed couldn’t help a harsh chuckle at that. The world beyond Lyndon Valley hadn’t worked out so well for him.
“So, tell me about these new investments.”
Reed looked his brother square in the eye. The bakery, the tailor and the limo service were irrelevant. “I set up the Sasha Terrell Endowment Fund with ten million dollars.”
Caleb blinked.
“It’s for the benefit of the Liberty Ballet Company,” Reed continued.
Mandy reached over and grasped his upper arm. “For Katrina?”
“For Katrina,” Reed confirmed, reaching for his warm beer, swallowing it against his dry throat.
Caleb’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”
“I just told you what I did.”
“Reed, are you sure?” asked Mandy, sitting forward in her chair and leaning toward him. “I mean, it’s great and all. And what a wonderful tribute to your mother. But that’s a whole lot of money.”
“You slept with her?” Caleb accused.
“Back off,” said Reed.
Caleb paced across the deck. “What is the matter with you? I specifically—”
“It’s to protect her,” Reed stated.
“From you?”
“Give me a break.” Reed rocked to his feet. “She doesn’t need protection from me.”
“Then why the ten million?”
Reed was tired of having his motives questioned. “There’s a guy in New York, Quentin Foster. He’s made a lot of large donations to the ballet company, and he seems to think it gives him the right to sleep with Katrina.”