They remained in the barn for over an hour. Beau worked with Ben and Jeb bringing in the horses, and Nickie helped by throwing them their hay and making sure their water buckets were filled. With the horses safe in their stalls, Beau and Jeb began securing the barn doors while Ben hurried to Nickie’s rescue; she was wrestling a hose that was doing an impressive imitation of a python.
“What’s wrong with this thing?” she exclaimed.
“It has a mind of its own,” Ben laughed, “the expensive ones do. It’s a trade off, the thin ones kink, and that’s a real pain, but these thick ones can be difficult to handle. There, that’s done it,” he sighed managing to get the last coil set right.
“You done?” Beau asked walking towards them.
“We are, and I had the best time,” Nickie grinned.
“It was great havin’ another pair of hands,” Ben remarked. “You can come and help out any time.”
“Okay, boys. I’ll check the horses around six and again at nine. You guys take the midnight and four a.m. shifts. My phone will be on if you have any problems.”
“Thanks, boss. Stay safe.”
They went their separate ways, the boys through the regular door at the end of the barn, and Beau and Nickie through the tack room and into the yard.
“It seems so serious,” Nickie frowned as they headed to the house.
“It is,” he replied, and as if on cue the wind made itself known with several short sharp gusts.
“I assume this is how The Devil Wind starts,” she said staring up at the waving trees just as Ben had earlier.
“Yep, this is how it starts,” Beau nodded. “In an hour or so it’ll be blowin’ pretty hard. Give it a couple more hours, right when the sun sets, and it really gets to whippin’ things around.”
Entering through the kitchen door they found the table had been set for three, and smelled a delicious aroma of something cooking in the oven.
“I thought we should have a hearty meal tonight,” Gina smiled, “prepare us for The Devil Wind.”
“Whatever it is, it smells amazing,” Nickie commented guessing it was something rich and Italian.
“Vegetarian lasagne, I didn’t know if you eat meat. So many people don’t these days.”
“I haven’t had lasagne in ages, it sounds wonderful, thank you.”
“I need to start shutterin’ the windows,” Beau declared. “Shouldn’t take more than half-an-hour. I’d better do it before the wind gets much worse.”
“Before I forget, you got a message earlier,” Gina said. “Someone called, Joseph Pantera, said he’s staying at the Hollister and to call him back.”
“What the f…?” Nickie exclaimed, catching herself before saying the forbidden word. “Wait, you don’t look surprised,” she added staring up at Beau.
“I knew he was comin’ in,” Beau admitted, “but I didn’t know he’d arrived.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Would you have had such a fun day if I had? You were gonna know soon enough, and now you do. I’ll call him from my study.”
“Wait! You’re not calling him back, are you? Why? All he’s going to do is-”
“Hey, calm down, I don’t know what he wants, and after I talk to him I’ll tell you everything, absolutely everything. Trust me, Nickie, we’ve gotta face this thing head on.”
“That almost got you killed when you tried it with Gerald,” she declared.
“I don’t think your dad is gonna pick up a lead pipe and threaten me,” he said steadily. “Sit down, catch your breath, and I’ll be right back.”
“Does someone want to tell me what’s going on?” Gina piped up.
“Fill her in, Nickie. It’ll give you somethin’ to do while I call your father.”
“I’m coming with you,” she argued.
“No, you’re not, you’re gonna sit your butt down and tell Gina what’s been goin’ on.”
Why would you tell your maid about your personal life, I mean, I get that you like her and everything but-?
“Nickie!”
“Okay, okay,” she frowned.
As he strode from the room he heard Gina suggest they share a cup of coffee over the story, and satisfied Nickie was going to do what he’d asked he entered his study and closed the door behind him.
Sitting behind his desk he picked up a pen and opened a pad of paper in case he wanted to jot anything down, then placing the call to the hotel he didn’t request the Holmby Suite, he asked to speak with Amy.
“Hi, Beau. What can I do for you?”
“Hi Amy, the bigwig in the Holmby Suite, is he travelin’ alone?”
“No, he arrived in a big Mercedes driven by a chauffeur. The chauffeur is in a different room.”
“Anyone else with him? Have you see the guy that was driving the black Mercedes and who checked out early this morning?”
“No, just the chauffeur. The other guy, Harris I think his name was, I haven’t seen him since he left.”
“Thanks, hon. Put me back to the switchboard, please.”
“Sure, hold on.”
Feeling somewhat reassured he waited while the operator connected him to Joseph Pantera, and the voice that answered took him by surprise. It wasn’t heavy and deep as he’d imagined; it sounded like the voice of an elderly man.
“Mr. Pantera, Beau Chambers here, I’m returning your call.”
“Thank you, may I call you Beau?”
“Sure,” Beau replied slightly taken aback by the man’s impeccable manners.
“I would prefer that we speak in person. Would you be so kind as to swing by the hotel. I’m sure you know it. Perhaps we could break bread, I’m eager to try the restaurant here. I’ve been told they have locally caught fish.”
“When would you like to do this?” Beau asked.
“Perhaps in about an hour? I’m tied up for a while, but let’s say 4 p.m., if that would be convenient.”
“Sure, that would be fine. I won’t be able to stay too long, we have a windstorm comin’ and it starts to get real bad around five or so, when the sun starts settin’.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about this. Sounds quite exciting. I’m sure an hour will be plenty of time for our chat.”
“Then I’ll see you in the restaurant at four,” Beau replied.
Ending the call Beau sat for a moment, pondering the man’s attitude and voice.
Just because the guy’s polite doesn’t mean he’s not an arm twister. You don’t run a big company like Pantera, and keep it on top of the charts by bein’ a nice guy. Don’t let your guard down, not for a second.
Sitting for a minute, thinking about what had happened with Gerald and the coincidence of Joseph Pantera’s arrival, he decided on an ounce of prevention, and picking up the phone he called Tyler.
“What time is your shift over?” he asked when Tyler answered the call.
“The usual time, four p.m. Why?”
“I’m meetin’ Nickie’s father at the Hollister at four. I’m not happy about leavin’ her here by herself. Gina’s with her but-”
“Say no more. George and I will come by when we log out. We’ll probably roll up about ten after.”
“I’m leavin’ for the hotel 3:55 p.m. so she’ll have a fifteen minute window. I’ll make sure she and Gina have your number just in case, but as long as I know you’ll be there shortly after I leave that’s great.”
“If I can get us there earlier I will,” Tyler promised.
“Thanks, Tyler. I’ve gotta get the shutters up. I’ll let them know you’ll be here.”
A howl of a wind caught his attention as he hung up, and hurrying from his office he returned to the kitchen.
“It was no big deal, Nickie. Your dad was extremely cordial and I’m meetin’ up with him in an hour.”
“You are? Why? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“It’s fine, I’m a big boy,” he replied grabbing a jacket from the coat rack. “Tyler and George will be comin’ over after their shift, so you’ll only be by yourselves for a short time, and right now I have to get the shutters closed up. I’ll be right back.”
“You know,” Gina said kindly, seeing the worry on Nickie’s face, “your dad is doing what all dads do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Rich or poor, all dads want to keep their little girl close to home. This Gerald guy sounds like a total jerk, and your father probably doesn’t want to see you jump from the fire into the frying pan.”
“I think dad likes Gerald,” Nickie retorted, “besides, he has no idea I’m seeing Beau. As far as he knows, and Gerald too for that matter, Beau’s just my new contractor.”
“That may be true of your father, but not Gerald, not after what you just told me. Anyone seeing the two of you together…well…it’s obvious you’re crazy about each other.”
“Do you think he told my dad?”
“I don’t know, maybe your father wants to meet Beau just to talk to him about the house. You’ll find out soon enough, and why do you think he likes Gerald?”
“He pushed me into marrying him,” Nickie frowned, “and then he tried to talk me into staying with him. I think that’s proof enough.”
“Your father probably supported the marriage because he’s old-fashioned. He didn’t know how it happened, right?”
“Of course not, I wasn’t going to tell him it was a one-night stand.”
“Exactly, so he gave you his blessing because Gerald is from a family he knows, and he thought you two could make a go of it. He’s probably mystified that you want a divorce so quickly, and thinks you’re being hasty and over-reacting. I have a feeling you do that, right? Shoot first?”
“Well, yeah, kind of.”
“My advice, trust Beau, and give your father the benefit of the doubt. He might surprise you.”
“Huh, maybe, I’m not completely sold, but maybe.”
“One step at a time,” Gina said warmly.
“Maybe you’re right. I can see why Beau likes you so much.”
“Well, thanks, Nickie, I appreciate that. You want some more coffee?”
“I want that lasagne, I wish he’d hurry up, but sure, I’ll take some more coffee while we wait.”
As Gina rose from the table to fetch the coffee pot, Nickie stared out the window just as Beau was closing the shutters. Catching her eyes, he paused to wave at her.
My dad will like you, how could he not? Maybe this is going to work out after all.