Fugitive Millionaire (Fugitive Millionaire Book One) (7 page)

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Fabian spots a silver Ford F-Series pickup truck heading right for them. He had used his newly purchased prepaid cell phone to alert the Burdett ranch of his arrival. He was told it would be about fifty minutes or so, and that’s about how long it took for their ride to show up. He is glad he decided to fly into an airport located near a smaller metropolitan area. It was an extra security step that is paying off. He had already had the good sense to ask his buddy Ryan to rent the plane, because he knew his own name would draw suspicion. Ryan didn’t hesitate to do this extra favor for his old friend.
 

The New York cops have probably already checked the airports by now and have come up empty. Fabian inhales the Colorado air deeply into his lungs. He exhales. Freedom feels good and smells refreshingly clean. Fabian glances over at Claire, who is looking at the same truck with minor interest. Asking her to come with him was such a spur of the moment thing. He had told Ryan it would be just him coming to stay at the ranch for an undetermined amount of time. However, he just couldn’t leave her behind.

Claire makes him feel more complete as a person, and as a man. He always knew the day would come when he would meet a special woman that would make him want to settle down and do the domestic thing. He just didn’t anticipate it happening at this time in his life. But, that’s how love works, right?

It comes over you when you least expect and turns your heart and brain into mush. Ordinarily, he would of just sucked it up and left her back in New York. But, nothing about their relationship so far has been ordinary, at least, not for him.

She looks so beautiful like that.

Claire’s hair is blowing around her head in the mild wind. Her face has a natural glow because she didn’t have time to put on any makeup. She doesn’t need any in his opinion. She’s wearing a casual blouse, jeans and hiking boots. She mimicked what he is wearing and he’s surprise how well she wears this look. He’s getting to see her in a totally different light, the city girl transplanted into the great outdoors. Claire seems even more beautiful to him amidst this magnificent mountain backdrop.

“Is that our ride?”

“I think so,” Fabian says as the pickup comes to a stop in front of them.

The truck window slowly moves down to reveal a lean, healthy but weathered, middle-aged man with a confident, laid-back cowboy demeanor. He smiles at the two city dwellers. “Hello there. Are you Fabian?”

Fabian nods. “Yeah, that’s me, and this is my girlfriend, Claire.”

The man’s eyes twinkle as he gives Claire a gentlemanly nod. “Name’s Clancy Jessup. I’m the manager at the Burdett Ranch. Grab your stuff and hop in.”

Fabian throws their suitcases into the back of the truck. He helps Claire into the back seat then takes the front seat next to Clancy. Fabian shakes Clancy’s hand to reassure him that he’s no stuck up big city jerk.
”Nice meeting you, Clancy. Do you ride horses and do all that cool cowboy stuff?”

“I’ve been known to ride a horse or two. I’m no cowboy, though. Don’t tell the Burdett’s,” Clancy says with a wink. “They’re paying me twice as much as I’d normally get because I told them I do rodeo riding.”

Fabian likes Clancy already. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with us, right Claire?”

“Yep. I’m good with keeping secrets,” she says cheerfully.

Clancy looks at Claire through the rearview mirror. “Are you now, ma’am? That’s good to know.”

“So, how long have you worked for the Burdett’s, Clancy?” Fabian asks.

“For as long as Ryan has had the ranch. I was there long before he got married to Mrs. Burdett.”

“Amanda.”

“Uh huh. She’s a pretty little thing, isn’t she?”

“Who? Amanda? She’s all right. I’ve got my own doll in the back here, so I’m not paying attention to anyone else.”

Clancy notices the chemistry between his two passengers. “I get you. Your eyes are trained exactly where they need to be, right?”

“That’s right. Did Amanda say anything negative about Claire staying there?”

“Nope. She’s totally cool with both of you being here. We got plenty of room.”

Fabian is relieved. He couldn’t tell over the phone if Amanda was really okay with having an extra visitor, especially someone she doesn’t know. “She mentioned that Ryan’s currently out of town. Something came up, I guess. Even so, I really appreciate him and Amanda letting us stay with them.”

“They’re a great couple. I’m happy to work for em.”

Clancy turns on the radio. Country music fills the truck cabin. “Hope you all don’t mind a little music. It keeps me entertained during this boring ass drive.”

“No, we don’t mind at all,” Fabian says while knowing darn well he and Claire are not fans of this style of music. No matter. Clancy seems like a good guy and he’s going out of his way to drive them to Ryan’s place. The least he can do is pretend to enjoy listening to the earthy tales being spun by various country artists. Who knows? Maybe it’ll grow on him.

Nah.

*****

Amanda Burdett is a ridiculously pretty, petite brunette with a slamming body and great tan. Unlike Clancy, Amanda’s skin is smooth and free of wrinkles. For one thing she’s decades younger, another, she seems the type to do whatever is necessary to maintain her youthful beauty.

Fabian has known Amanda personally for about two years. She’s been married to Ryan for three and a half years. During that span of time he’s only been around her in person a few times. She accompanies him to New York on occasion. Mostly, he knows about her through private discussions he’s had with Ryan. Amanda has always come across as a nice person with a somewhat adventurous nature, but nothing too crazy. Ryan told him she enjoys traveling, hiking, riding horses and doing strenuous workouts.

Amanda greeted he and Claire with warm, friendly hugs. He noticed that Claire seems at ease around her, which is good. The last thing he needs is for some catty female rivalry to erupt. Both women have sized each other up and he hasn’t picked up any hint of jealously. He’s relieved that the two ladies are getting along so well.

Clancy drove the truck around back and hasn’t been seen since he dropped them off. Fabian figures he’s doing whatever a ranch manager does. He and Claire were directed to the upstairs bathroom where there were fresh washcloths and towels waiting for them. They took turns in the shower and changed clothes. Amanda invited them downstairs for lunch, which is why they are seated at the natural wood dining room table.

Fabian notices that Amanda has had a boob job since he last saw her. He assumes Ryan paid for it since she doesn’t work or have any real money of her own. On the subject of boob jobs, he has been with women with and without boob jobs. This form of surgical enhancement never really made much difference to him in how attractive he finds a woman. In fact, he thinks some women go overboard with it and look ridiculous.

He guesses that Amanda went from a B to a C cup in size. She looks okay, but he hopes Claire isn’t getting any ideas about plastic surgery. He likes her boobs as they are now. He’d be upset if she ever tampered with what God and good genes gave her.

“Claire, when Fabian told me on the phone that you were coming I was so happy,” Amanda says while digging into her salad. “Another girl to talk to is like, well, this may sound stupid, but it’s almost like a treat for me.”

Claire responds politely. “I guess it’s hard to have girlfriends come over when you live this far from town.”

“It is. Ryan thinks I’m just being whiny when I tell him I want a female personal assistant. Not that I really need one. I just want someone to talk to about girl stuff, you know?”

Claire nods her sympathy as she chews her food.

“Amanda, you’ve got Skype. Why not just chat with friends on your computer?” Fabian suggests.

“It’s not the same. I need to bond with someone. Damn, I really miss city living.”

“Why don’t you guys get a place in the city?” Claire wonders out loud.

“Because my husband is in love with this place. I’ve tried for two years to get him to sell it, but he won’t. He likes the idea of owning a ranch. The funny thing about his devotion to his beloved ranch is that he never does any upkeep work around here. Clancy does everything.”

“Come on, Amanda. A lot of people would kill to be in your shoes,” Fabian says.

Claire shoots him a look that lets him know he should have thought first before using the word kill.

“You’ve got lots of fresh air, beautiful horses, miles of acreage to walk and Clancy to wait on you hand and foot. What more do you want?”

Amanda is unmoved by Fabian’s accurate depiction of the ranch’s good points. “You always take his side, Fabian. I like this place, but I wish it were just a vacation home. When we married, I thought we’d be living in Boulder, but he changed his mind. When Ryan’s not here it gets lonely. If Clancy weren’t here every day I’d probably go bonkers.”

Fabian never thought about her predicament before. The ranch is miles away from the nearest town. Amanda is pretty isolated from other young women her age, and from people that share her interests in general. He might go bonkers too if he has to live out here full time for months on end. But, then again, he may just have to be here for longer than he wants. Everything depends on how fast he can uncover the mystery of Sloane’s disappearance.

“You guys like your grilled chicken salad?”

“It’s delicious, Amanda. Thank you so much for being a gracious host,” Claire says sincerely.

“My pleasure. It’s so nice to meet you, Claire, and, great to see Fabian again. I’d forgotten how good looking he is in person,” Amanda says with a glint in her eyes.

“I don’t know, Amanda,” Claire says. “I saw a photo of Ryan and he’s pretty hot too.”

“Yeah, he is, isn’t he?”

This girly conversation is making Fabian feel awkward. “Enough about looks. Hey, Amanda. Did Ryan mention to you why I’m staying here?”

Amanda looks at him blankly. “No. He just told me you needed a break from city living for a little while. I figured you were feeling stressed out. Why? Is there another reason?”

“No. You’ve got it pegged right. This was the best place I could think of to come and rejuvenate my mind and body.”

Claire clears her throat. “Amanda, do you watch the news much?”

“News? Nah. I don’t like watching negative stories. There’s always something bad happening to someone.”

“You’re right,” Claire agrees. “There are too many crazy things happening to good people in the world.”

Amanda shifts in her chair. Fabian could swear she just gave him a flirty look. She’s never flirted with him before so it seems out of character. Anyway, it doesn’t matter because he’s with Claire.

“Fabian, by the way, you guys will be staying in the guest cabin behind the house. I already had Clancy put your things in there.”

Fabian likes this cabin idea a whole lot better than staying inside the house. He and Claire will have plenty of privacy to do what comes naturally to lovers. They won’t have to worry about disturbing Amanda with their passionate outbursts.

“Great,” Fabian says enthusiastically. “It will be almost like we’re not even here. Except, we’ll be available to hang out when you want someone to talk to. Claire’s bound to get sick of me and need some female company.”

Claire kicks his foot underneath the table. “I’m sick of you now,” she teases.

*****

“This is so cute!” Claire exclaims as she surveys the efficiency-sized cabin. “It’s got a dinette, mini kitchen, living room, bedroom and front porch. I love this. Fabian, I feel like we’re playing house.”

Fabian can’t relate to Claire’s enthusiasm over the cabin. To him it’s just a nice place to eat, sleep and watch TV. One big plus is that this cabin can be considered a real hide out. No one knows they are here except his close buddy, his buddy’s wife and the ranch manager. There may be a ranch hand or two helping out Clancy, but he’s not concerned about that. It’s times like this when he understands and appreciates the huge advantage of having money and connections. The average fugitive gets caught pretty quickly because they don’t have the resources to disappear completely without a trace.

He knew Ryan would have his back. Of course, he had to tell him the truth about what is going on. He couldn’t ask his friend to get involved without telling him what’s at stake. Ryan immediately offered to put him up at the ranch, and wants nothing in return. He also believes in his innocence, which means the world to Fabian.

Fabian assumes that Ryan held back the details of his legal plight from Amanda to protect her just as he wanted to do with Claire. That’s okay with him. It just validates his opinion even more that Ryan is a stand up guy.

“Which dresser do you want?” Claire is asking him from the bedroom.

“I don’t care, honey. You pick for me.”

“Okay. I’m putting your clothes in the left one.”

“Thanks, sweetie.”

He’s even sounding like a husband. Funny how quickly he’s fallen into the couple’s mentality. Most of his girlfriends are here today, gone tomorrow type affairs. When things get hot and heavy fast, it usually is more of a situational thing. He hooks up with a hot girl he likes for a few days or a week or two. They have a great time together, and then it’s over. He’s hoping that his whirlwind romance with Claire proves to be a happy exception to his normal relationship pattern.

Fabian strolls into the bedroom. He eyes the bed and its solid wood headboard. Yep, it looks sturdy enough to handle their lovemaking. He wraps his arms around Claire, who is busy putting his socks into a drawer next to his underwear. “Leave that for later.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?”

“Um, I don’t know.”

“You don’t, hum? Maybe this will clue you in.”

Fabian picks Claire up and carries her over to the bed, where he dumps her.

“Fabian!”

“Claire.”

Claire rolls off the bed and playfully throws a sock at him. It bounces off his chest.