Trev didn’t seem to care. He shrugged. “Great. Hope he does,” he replied. “I’m not here to talk horses or racing. Not my thing. I thought you might want to come over later for a swim. I’ve invited over some people.” He was looking at me, so I met his gaze. “It would be a good chance for Madeline to meet everyone.”

  “Maddy,” I corrected him.

  Saxon’s gaze was on me then, and I gave him a small smile.

  “I go by Maddy,” I explained.

  “Mom knows this?” he asked.

  I nodded, and he rolled his eyes.

  “She’s got this thing about not shortening names,” he told me, then looked back at Trev. “What time?”

  “Around four,” Trev replied.

  “We’ll be tired and hot by then. You up for a pool party?” Saxon asked me.

  I wanted to say no and go find a place to be alone and read. However, Saxon’s eyes looked hopeful, like he really wanted me to go. Hiding in my room wasn’t going to make this any easier.

  I managed to nod. “Sure.”

  Saxon’s smile got bigger, and his dimples flashed. “Okay then, we’ll be there at four thirty.”

  “Excellent,” Trev replied, sounding pleased. “I’ll see you both later.”

  When he finally walked away, I felt relieved. I must have sighed that relief because I heard Saxon chuckle.

  “Don’t worry about him. He’s a flirt. It’s how he is wired.”

  I gazed out over the ranch and shrugged. “Other than the fact that he’s rich, I’ve dealt with guys like him before. It’s fine.”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s something you deal with a lot.”

  I turned my attention back to Saxon. “Why would you think that?” I asked, hearing the defensive tone in my voice. I hadn’t meant to sound like he had insulted me.

  He almost looked embarrassed, and I found that interesting.

  “Well, the way you look … guys notice you.”

  I felt certain that was a compliment and only that. There was no flirty gleam in his eyes.

  “Oh, um, thanks.” My response sounded awkward, and my cheeks warmed.

  Saxon nodded his head toward the stables behind him. “Come on. Let me show you around.”

  I fell into step beside him as he started walking. “Your mom mentioned that I needed to pick up some chores. I think you’re the one who’s supposed to give me some. She said I was needed out here more than inside or that I’d like it better. I’m not sure.”

  “How do you feel about working around the horses?” he asked me.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m certain I don’t want to ride one or get too close.”

  “Why’s that?” he asked.

  “Before Trev arrived, I was watching one of these four-legged monsters rear up like he was trying to throw the rider off. It was terrifying.”

  Saxon chuckled. “Iron War. He might be great one day. He has some emotional damage, but our best trainers are working with him now. Hopefully, they can turn him around. Don’t judge all horses because of him though.”

  I didn’t feel convinced, and apparently, I didn’t look it either because Saxon led us into the stables and directly over to some stalls with horses in them. I stayed a few feet back as he walked up to a horse and began rubbing him and talking to him, as if the horse understood him.

  “This is Rig,” he told me. “He’s brilliant, and he comes from a winning line of thoroughbreds. No first places for him yet, but he’s only two. He’s got a couple of third places and a second place.”

  Saxon took a carrot out of his pocket and fed Rig from his hand. “That’s a good boy,” he said, then patted his forehead. “Come on,” he urged me, waving me closer.

  Fine. I’d move a little closer.

  “She’s scared of you, Rig. Be a gentleman,” he told the horse.

  Rig made a sound, as if he were attempting to respond.

  I moved another step closer.

  Saxon reached out and took my hand, then pulled me close enough so that Rig could nudge me with his nose. I jumped, and Saxon laughed.

  “He’s trying to ease your mind.”

  “Oh. Well, it looked like he might eat me, like he did that carrot,” I replied.

  “You’re not orange and crunchy,” Saxon said. “Here.” He took my hand and placed it on the horse. “See, it’s easy.”

  When Saxon took his hand off mine, I began to slowly rub him the way I had seen Saxon do. Rig moved closer to me, and I felt a smile tug on my lips. He wasn’t scary at all.

  “He’s like a big puppy,” I said in awe.

  Saxon laughed. “Now, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard a thoroughbred being compared to a puppy.”

  A phone started ringing, and Saxon pulled it out of his back pocket. I saw him glance at the screen before putting it to his ear.

  “Hey,” he said into the phone, then moved away from me, leaving the horse and me alone.

  I watched him walk to the other side of the stable. Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous. I glanced up at Rig. He was beautiful.

  My thoughts went to my mother. A woman I barely remembered. Dad had never told me about Mom loving horses or riding them. Just like he’d never mentioned Melanie or Florida. I wanted to know more about her, and maybe being around horses would do that for me. For now, I would stay and find out all I could about my mom and her past.

  Why had my parents left here? Why hadn’t Melanie come to see me sooner?

  There was so much I wanted to know.

  Three

  After spending my day at Moses Mile, learning to muck stalls, helping Mrs. Jolene prepare and put lunch on the table for the workers, and spreading fresh hay, I felt a little more like I understood the ranch. It was the first distraction I’d had since the accident. I found myself looking forward to tomorrow, and that wasn’t something I’d expected.

  Going to Trev’s pool party wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I showered and put on one of the six bathing suits Melanie had bought for me. I’d hoped Melanie had forgotten to buy me a bathing suit so I wouldn’t have to go to the party. There hadn’t been one in my closet. However, Saxon texted his mom earlier today to buy me one without my knowledge, and she went shopping. All six of the ones she had brought home were bikinis, so I chose the one I thought covered me the most, then put a sundress on over it.

  Getting out of the house without Melanie asking to see how it looked on me was pure luck. She wasn’t downstairs when I met Saxon at the front doors, and we went out to his truck to head to Hughes Farm.

  “You caught on quick today,” Saxon said to me as we left Moses Mile.

  “Thanks.”

  “Dad was impressed with the stalls when he got back from the auction. When I told him you did it, he said he looked forward to meeting you.”

  I started to ask what the auction was when I saw a massive arch up ahead with elaborate horses made out of iron standing on either side. Over the top of the arch, the words Hughes Farm appeared, gold-plated. Oak trees lined the entrance, and the pavement turned to red brick as we pulled to a stop in front of the closed gate.

  Saxon rolled down his window and reached over to punch in a code on an electronic screen. The gate then slowly swung open.

  “And this is the Hughes fortress. It’s a bit …” He paused.

  “Over the top?” I suggested. “I mean, it’s a horse farm, right?”

  Saxon grinned at me, then drove down the red brick road, lined with the old oak trees that shaded the path. “Hughes Farm has been breeding and racing thoroughbreds for a hundred years. They have put out more champions than any other ranch in the Southeast. It’s less of a family-run operation, like Moses Mile. This is more of a corporation. The Hughes have power.”

  I frowned, thinking about my interaction with Trev today. He hadn’t seemed like someone from a powerful family. He was more self-absorbed than anything.

  “Garrett Hughes, Trev’s dad, is someone you keep on your good side. You don’t want to make an enemy of him. My dad respects that, and we’ve always gotten along with them just fine.”

  As the shade from the trees broke, I was sure I gasped at the view of the house—no, that wasn’t a house. It was a mansion. “Whoa,” I whispered.

  “Insane, isn’t it?” Saxon said beside me.

  I managed to nod. The place had more square footage than the low-income apartment complex I had lived in the past ten years. Why would any family need so much space? How many kids were there?

  “Please tell me Trev has nineteen other brothers and sisters, and that is the reason they need this house.”

  Saxon let out a bark of laughter. “Uh, no. Trev has one older brother. Different mother though. Garrett is currently in search of wife number four. Trev’s stepmom left him a year ago.”

  “What happened to his mom?”

  Saxon shrugged. “Not sure. I remember her from when Trev and I were younger, but not much. She was rarely around, and the nanny took care of him. One day, she was just gone. We were about four, I guess. Trev didn’t seem to care, but he barely knew her.”

  My life hadn’t been easy, and Dad wasn’t always the ideal parent, but he was there for me and Cole. Even on nights he hadn’t made it home or he had drunk too much and I had to go get him out of the bar, he had always been sorry. He would make it up to us.

  I felt sad for Trev, and I hadn’t expected to ever feel any sympathy for him.

  Saxon parked his truck in front of the house, where a circular drive was filled with other vehicles. Most of them expensive and flashy. There were only two other trucks that looked a lot like Saxon’s. I stepped down out of the truck and walked around the front of it to meet Saxon.

  He gave me a crooked grin. “Ready for this?” he asked me.

  I stared up at the house, then back at him. “No.”

  “Too late.”

  I sighed, and he started for the stairs leading to the front doors

  “You’ll be fine. Besides, you need to meet some people.”

  I disagreed, but said nothing. He rang the doorbell just as I reached the top step. The left door opened almost immediately, and a short, round woman appeared on the other side. The smile that lit her face made her dark eyes twinkle. There was a kindness in her expression as she stepped back so we could enter.

  “Hello, Saxon,” she greeted. “You’ve come to join the gathering out back, I suppose.”

  I followed Saxon inside, and her gaze finally met mine.

  “Oh, aren’t you a pretty thing,” she said to me.

  “Ms. Jimmie, this is Maddy. She’s a friend of the family who will be living with us,” Saxon told her. “Maddy, this is Ms. Jimmie. The best biscuit maker in the county, but don’t tell Jo I said that. She’ll never cook for me again.”

  I held out my hand toward her. “It’s nice to meet you,” I told her.

  She looked down at my hand, then up at Saxon, grinning before reaching out and taking my hand in hers. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too. Don’t let that circus out there scare you off.”

  “I’ll make sure she survives,” Saxon assured her.

  She let go of my hand and waved us on our way. “Go on then. You know how to find it. Follow the sound of bad music and high-pitched squeals,” she told us.

  Saxon laughed and looked at me. “This way.”

  I started to follow him through the grand entryway, my eyes taking in everything all at once. This house was unreal. They could hold a ball in the foyer alone.

  “GARRETT!” a deep male voice boomed, and I jumped. “WHERE THE FUCK IS MY HORSE?” the voice demanded, and then the body it belonged to appeared as he stalked toward us.

  He was tall with shoulders and a chest so wide that his black T-shirt stretched tight, leaving no question to the number of muscles beneath, paired with faded jeans that hugged his thighs. His skin was so deeply tanned that he had to live outdoors, and his dark blond hair was tucked behind his ears and covered with a worn cowboy hat. Stubble ran along his firm jawline, and his eyes were the color of the greenest grass. If the expression on his face wasn’t terrifying, he would be beautiful. The boots he was wearing clicked against the marble floor as he stalked past us as if we weren’t there.

  “Where the hell is he, Jimmie?” the man asked, his tone slightly softer when he spoke to her.

  “Well, now, Blaise, the last time I saw him was this morning. With the party going on out back, I don’t think he has plans to return today. Have you called his phone?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he growled out and took off his hat to run a hand through his messy blond locks. “He won’t answer the damn thing.”

  Saxon reached for my hand and tugged me, drawing my attention away from the scene in front of us. I started to follow him.

  “Sax!” the guy called out.

  Saxon froze, then looked back at him. “Yeah?” he asked.

  “Moses Mile know anything about Empire?” he asked him.

  Saxon shook his head. “Not a thing. Why? He missing?”

  The guy scowled, and even then, he was breathtaking. “Yeah. Fucking Garrett,” he snarled.

  “Language, Blaise. There are ladies present,” Ms. Jimmie scolded him, not appearing intimidated by the furious Greek god at all.

  His eyes swung toward me for the first time, as if he just realized someone else was here. That stung a bit, considering I had been ogling him since he stalked by us. His gaze scanned my body, then came back to my face. There was a flash of disgust in his eyes, as if what he had just seen turned his stomach.

  “Come on,” Saxon said to me.

  Still holding on to my hand, he led me through a hallway and into a large, open room full of expensive furniture and paintings. I had no time to focus on any of it though. Saxon was walking quickly, as if he was trying to escape the force that Ms. Jimmie had called Blaise. Two more turns, and we were exiting the house. Saxon let go of my hand while we were walking out onto a back patio. Loud music, too many people, and a pool that looked as if it belonged at an exclusive resort greeted us.

  I wanted to ask Saxon about this Blaise, but Trev was already walking in our direction. Teal-blue swim trunks hung on his hips, and his dark hair was wet and slicked back while his chest glistened with drops of water. If I hadn’t just seen a remake of Adonis inside his house, his chest might have been impressive.

  “You made it,” he said, his eyes locked on me.

  “Have you talked to Blaise?” Saxon asked him.

  Trev frowned. “No. It’s been a lucky day. Why?”

  “He’s looking for Empire.”

  Trev shrugged. “That’s horse business. Not my thing. He can call Dad.”

  “He said he wasn’t answering,” Saxon told him.

  Trev flashed him a bright smile and held up the drink in his hand that I was sure wasn’t just soda. “I don’t care. His issue, not mine. I got a party to host.”

  “You’re late,” a brunette with the body of a runway model said as she reached us. She pressed her chest right up against Saxon’s and placed her hand against his cheek before leaning in to cover his mouth with hers.

  “Maddy, meet Declan,” Trev said, then held out his hand to me. “Now, let’s leave these two alone to grope and go find you a drink.”

  I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice. I knew two people here, and standing beside the one who was currently making out seemed awkward. However, I wasn’t going to hold Trev’s hand either. Instead, I moved to stand beside him, and he smirked at me, as if my not touching him was something I would get over soon.

  “I’ve got it all. What’s your poison?” he asked me, and I walked with him toward a bar with an actual bartender.

  “Club soda?” I asked him.

  He rolled his eyes. “Come on, Maddy. You can do better than that. What about some vodka in that club soda?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t drink.” Because my dad had been an alcoholic, and because of his addiction, he and my brother were both dead. I didn’t say the last part though.

  “Club soda,” he told the bartender, then leaned on the bar and studied me. “You want to give me the sundress? I’ll make sure it’s kept dry.”

  I looked around at everyone else and realized I was the only one in clothing. My bikini was modest compared to most of what I was seeing. I gasped when a girl with long blonde hair turned around and her bare breasts were on display. I scanned the others in the pool and found two other topless girls.

  I shook my head. “I’m okay.”

  He groaned but kept his smile in place. “You’re going to tease me with that sundress?”

  I shrugged. That wasn’t why I was keeping it on, but if that was what he wanted to think, then fine. My bikini would be more coverage than what the other females here were wearing, but I preferred to stay covered.

  My gaze moved back over to Saxon, who was now talking to the girl Trev had called Declan. She had her arm wrapped around his and was tilting her head back to look up at him. Her hair hung in thick, luxurious waves down her back, barely brushing her waist. She was beautiful, and it was clear Saxon thought so too. She had his complete attention. She was also still wearing her bikini top.

  “She’s going to hate you,” Trev said, drawing my attention back to him. He handed me a glass with ice and club soda.

  “Who?” I asked, taking it from him.

  “Declan Delamore,” he replied, grinning as he took a drink of the dark liquid in his glass.

  I recognized the smell of whiskey. When my father had had a good week, he’d splurge on a bottle of cheap whiskey.

  “Why is she going to hate me?” I asked him.

  “Because you’re gorgeous and living in Saxon’s house. Right down the hallway.” He shrugged. “Granted, Saxon has never once cheated on her in the year they’ve officially been together. But she’ll still see you as competition.”