Joker's Wild by Sandra Chastain Read Free Book Online Page B

surrounded the golf course. He couldn’t see the lizard-shaped rock that was as much a part of the sports complex as the mineral springs that bubbled to the surface and collected in the natural basin, but he was proud that they’d saved it. He knew that telling King he cared about a woman was opening himself up to the brotherly teasing that was an easy part of their successful relationship, both in business and as a family.
    He hadn’t thought this far ahead, but now he realized that he expected King to understand. After all, from the moment the Pretty Springs Golf and Tennis Retirement Community had started and King had met Kaylyn Smith, he’d been a changed man. Joker had watched in amusement as King fell in love and began to view the world through Kaylyn’s sympathetic eyes. Whether the Vandergriffs believed in the healing properties of Kaylyn’s mineral waters or not, King’s falling in love had forced all of them to come up with a plan that would allow the local citizens to continue to use the springs.
    “I’m serious this time, King, as serious as you were when Kaylyn chained you to Lizard Rock to keep us from destroying the springs. I helped you come up with a solution then. Now I need your help.”
    King put his feet under the desk and sat up straight, a serious expression replacing his amusement. “You mean it, don’t you? Who is she?”
    “Her name is Allison Josey.”
    “Josey? As in the Josey estate, that run-down old house and gardens that you’re buying from the old lady in the nursing home?”
    “Allison is her granddaughter, yes. She’s an ice skater, was an ice skater. She won an Olympic gold medal in pairs skating. She’s come home, and she’s … well, she’s been hurt.”
    “Hurt?” King groaned. “Not another one. I think you should have studied medicine, brother, instead of horticulture.”
    “I might have,” Joker agreed wistfully, “if the dean of admissions in the school of medicine had takenan interest in me and put my feet to the fire the way Ellen did.”
    “Leave it to you to find a woman who would offer you free room and board for four years. As it turned out, horticulture was the perfect choice for you. And I suppose Ellen was good for you too, although I’ll never understand your relationship with her.”
    “I resent that, King Vandergriff. I cared for Ellen, more than you’ll ever know. She made me realize that I could be somebody. You may not believe it, but our arrangement was a fair exchange. If she hadn’t died, I might have … Forget it.” Joker’s voice didn’t hide the hurt he still felt about Ellen.
    “Sorry, I didn’t intend to open a can of worms, Joker. I wouldn’t dream of insulting anyone. I’m glad that Ellen was Dean of the Department of Horticulture. Once she took you in, you settled down and graduated, and I thank her for that. But,” King allowed a hint of amusement to color his voice, “one of these days I’m going to get to the bottom of those field trips to Vegas and every racetrack in the west.”
    “I’d never do anything illegal, King. Let’s just say I have a kind of understanding about certain things, and I’ve always believed in sharing. Sharing, brother, as in one family member stepping in and helping another when he asks.”
    “All right. We’ll manage. After all, you already have everything planned out and ordered. I’ll get Diamond to oversee the project. I trust you’ll be by now and again, for consultation purposes?”
    “Sure. I’ll check in with you every day. But, King, don’t come to the estate—not yet.”
    “Oh, I wouldn’t think of ruining your little interlude.”
    “Allison Josey is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
    King was frowning. “Allison Josey.… That name sounds familiar. I can’t remember the details, but it seems to me that there was some kind of publicity about her a few months ago. I remember seeing a picture on the cover of a magazine.” His forehead was furrowed