Peter’s first drive hooked into a nearby field. As he and his caddie trailed to where the ball had gone in, Kate took out her field glasses, keeping them hidden in her hand. When they reached the field, Peter waved to her and went to find his ball. Kate brought the glasses up and saw him kick the ball back out of the rough.
“I do believe that my opponent’s ball just took another bounce,” she murmured to her caddie.
“Your opponent’s balls tend to do that,” her caddie said.
“Do they, now? I’m Kate.” She offered him her hand.
“I’m Mark,” he said, taking it.
“The bartender,” Kate said, remembering. “Is there anything you don’t do here?”
“Not much,” Mark said cheerfully. “I’m studying hotel management, and Will wants me learning from the ground up.”
Kate surveyed the hill straight ahead. “Well, the ground here certainly goes up.”
“The better to cheat you on.” Kate looked back at him sharply, and Mark nodded. “Unfortunately true. I think you’re going to lose a hundred dollars.”
“Oh, no,” Kate said. “I’m used to righting uphill battles. And I was brought up to be a winner. Daddy wouldn’t settle for anything less.”
She teed up her ball and hit it sweetly onto the green.
“I’ve got a feeling I’m going to enjoy this round,” Mark said.
“Oh, me, too,” Kate said.
She realized early in the game that she could have beaten Peter easily if he’d played fair, but his cheating evened things up considerably. Kate wasn’t surprised. That was probably how he’d gotten where he was today. After all, most rich men didn’t get that way by refusing to cut corners; they took every advantage they got. That’s what she’d liked about them. They were aggressive. Hard-hitting.
God, I’m dumb, she thought.
Peter smiled at her condescendingly.
But she wasn’t as dumb as he was. She smiled back. Two could play that game. With that thought in mind, on the fourth hole when she sliced into the rough, she kicked her ball back out without any compunction at all.
Peter looked astonished when he saw her ball. “Weren’t you in the rough?”
“Lucky bounce,” Kate said.
Mark nodded solemnly.
Peter scowled at her and went back to his ball.
“This is getting nasty,” Mark said. “Personally, I like it. Too bad Jake isn’t here to see this.”
Kate frowned at him. “Jake?”
Mark opened his mouth and closed it again.
“Tell me,” Kate said, and Mark shrugged.
“Jake sent me out here to look after you,” he said. “He figured you wouldn’t listen to him, so…”
“So you’re baby-sitting.” Kate sighed.
“Don’t mention I told you,” Mark said.
“Told me what?” Kate widened her eyes at him. “Now, get out of my way, sonny. I’m a woman on a mission.”
The game degenerated into the kind of game the CJA would play-covert golf. They both preferred to hit when the other’s back was turned. As the game progressed and the cheating grew more blatant, Kate shook her hair out of her chignon and laughed, and Peter began to look frantic.
“This is the only way to play golf,” Kate said to Mark. “And it took me until now to discover it. I’m going to take this jerk to dinner tonight in gratitude.”
“I don’t think he’s going to make it to dinner.” Mark watched Peter, frowning. “He’s never lost before. And he’s never turned that color before, either.”
“He’s fine,” Kate said. “There’s only one more hole.”
Peter choked on his swing again, and his ball disappeared into the brush. He stalked off after it, leaving his caddie in the lurch with Kate and Mark.
The problem with men like Peter was that they always got away with their slimy little tricks. That wasn’t fair. Something had to be done about that.
“Let’s go watch this time,” Kate said, and the three of them trailed silently after him.
They got to the edge of the course just in time to see Peter kick his ball savagely back onto the green.
“Why, Pete,” Kate said brightly. “That’s cheating.”
He jerked back at the sound of her voice and stared at her in anguish, and his face went gray. “Kate,” he croaked, and then he collapsed.
“Peter?” Kate bent over him. “Peter, it’s a dumb game. Nobody cares. Peter?”
She went down on her knees beside him. He wasn’t breathing.
“Call 911,” Kate ordered Mark and bent to give Peter mouth-to-mouth.
Half an hour later, Jake stood beside her on the green and shook his head as the ambulance pulled away. “First Lance, now this,” he said.
“We gave him CPR. He’s going to be all right,” Kate said. “The doctor said so.”
“Dating you is like dating death,” Jake said.
Kate looked exasperated. “Nobody has died.”
“Not yet.”
Kate started to say something cutting and then remembered that Jake had sent Mark to look out for her. She was used to men who said nice things to her and left her to fend for herself. A man who implied she was a menace and then took care of her was a new experience.
“I forgive you,” Kate said. “You’re a good person.” She patted him on the arm and then strolled off in the direction of her cabin.
“What?” Jake said, confused, but she was gone.
“You should have been there,” Mark told him and Will later. “That woman needs protecting like Rambo needs a bodyguard.”
“I didn’t think she’d listened to me,” Jake said. “My mistake.”
“I don’t think she misses much,” Mark said.
“Well, don’t tell her I sent you,” Jake said. “I don’t want her getting any ideas.”
“Right,” Mark said, turning swiftly away. “I sure won’t. Well, gotta go.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Jake asked as Mark ducked out the office door.
“What’s wrong with you?” Will countered. “What do you mean, you don’t want her getting any ideas? You should be so lucky.” He shook his head. “I worry about you sometimes, bro. Kate Svenson’s a damn good-looking woman and you don’t seem to have noticed. You’re getting close to legally dead, here.”
“I’ll be a lot closer if I get interested in her, and so will you. She’s the one who put Lance in the pool last night, remember?”
“Good for her,” Will said.
“Well, I don’t intend to be her next victim.”
“I don’t know,” Will said, considering. “She’s something else. It wouldn’t be a bad way to go.”
“Hey,” Jake said, annoyed. “You stick to Valerie. If anything happens to you, I own all of this monstrosity instead of just half.”
“With any luck at all, Valerie will unstick herself,” Will said. “That idiot Donald Prescott who’s been telling everybody that he’s a stockbroker is really the scout for Eastern Hotels. He’s trying to get her under contract.”
Jake raised his eyebrows. “And how did you find this out?”
Will shook his head in disgust. “I met him at that convention in New Orleans last year. He, of course, doesn’t remember since he has the mental capacity of a gnat.”
Jake grinned. “And it doesn’t bother you that the gnat is trying to steal your woman?”
Will sank down into his desk chair and put his head in his hands. “I should be so lucky. Do you know what her latest harebrained idea is? To put in a new bar and drive Nancy out of business.”
Jake snorted. “And just how does she plan to do that?”
“Oh, she wants to build a real country bar,” Will said, shaking his head. “Can you imagine anything so dumb? Nancy ’s has been a real country bar for more than thirty years. So Valerie wants us to build a fake country bar to drive her out of business. Even assuming I’d go along with it, which she must have known I wouldn’t, this is a dumb idea.”
“So what did she say when you said no?”
“She got that look,” Will said. “The old ‘We’ll see’ look she gets every time I don’t agree with her.”
“I hate that look,” Jake said.
“You know, I really appreciate what Valerie’s done for this place-”