Tahoe Blues Read online

  Cara walked away and began working the room. Anger surged through her veins but she plastered a smile on her face and soldiered on. She thanked so many guests for attending the gala and supporting their cause that her jaws ached, and her fingers begged to be saved from another crushing hand shake. She began avoiding the extended hands and affectionately touched the shoulders of their benefactors as she expressed her gratitude for their support instead.

  Her marriage might have ended in shambles, but Cara felt a deep sense of accomplishment. With her at the helm, the Blue Tahoe Blue Foundation had gained a strong foothold in the community, and their message was being heard all around the lake. Every lake side park had a sign which reminded visitors that the lake needed to remain clean and healthy. Cara especially enjoyed the little adage for the guests not to put anything in the lake that they didn’t want to eventually have to drink.

  According to Newton, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. When applied to the health of the lake, his third law of physics had never rung truer. The more work that was put into getting their educational message out, the less people polluted. City ordinances had been put into place to restrict when and where construction/renovation could be done, which in turn decreased the amount of hazardous runoff that would end up in the water.

  Great strides had been made, but they had a long way to go before the lake would be as clear and as clean as it had been in the past.

  Right on time, Inga Alexander stepped up to the microphone and welcomed their guests, followed by the request for everyone to find their tables.

  That was Cara’s warning bell. Two minutes to take a deep breath, fix her lipstick, and make her way to the Alexander table so she could take her obligatory walk to the podium. She owed Leah big time for making her big finale stunning as well as dignified. She could only imagine the walk of shame she would have endured had she worn the gown Duncan had picked out, and she had to wonder how much the man hated her.

  Approaching the family table, she saw that everyone was seated, and the only chair remaining was the one next to Duncan. He smiled and pulled it out. The look on his handsomely cold face dared her to defy him and make a scene. Not seeing a graceful way out of the situation, Cara accepted the seat and grudgingly sat down.

  Duncan leaned in for a kiss, but again she drew the line. Reaching in the opposite direction for a glass of water, Cara successfully gave him the cold shoulder once more.

  Duncan chuckled in her ear and piqued her ire again. It was still all a game to him, but this time it was one he didn’t have a chance in hell of winning.

  “Thank you,” Inga Alexander said at the podium. “Thank you for coming out this evening and showing your support for our Blue Tahoe Blue Foundation, a charity which is very near and dear to myself and our family. This gala began twenty-five years ago when my father, Viggo Hansen, saw the need to preserve this wonderful region we all call home. Although I love our winters and the business it brings to our ski slopes, I am very glad to have the snow melted away, and to feel the warm Tahoe sun on my shoulders once more.

  “I have the honor of introducing this year’s chairwoman. As you know, our beautiful daughter-in-law, Cara Lee Alexander, has worked diligently for years to help bring the incredible clarity we once knew back to our lake.” Inga directed everyone’s attention to the bank of windows which overlooked the vast sea of deep blue lapping gently against the wide expanse of Lake Tahoe’s shoreline. “Take a moment and cast your gaze upon the magnificent view of the sparkling waters just outside our backdoor. It’s hard to imagine the lake could be any clearer than it is today. The harsh reality is that a large amount of visibility has been lost.”

  Cara had stopped listening. When they last spoke, Inga agreed to leave out the title of daughter-in-law. She closed her eyes and tried to tamp down the rage she felt building inside. She was shocked that Inga would show just as much disregard for her feelings as her son.

  “Many factors have caused this reduction,” Inga went on, “luckily for you, I’m not going to bore you with a bunch of science this evening, but you are welcome and encouraged to sign up for our monthly newsletter. It will keep you up-to-date and informed while using words I’m sure most of you have never heard before.” The crowd chuckled. When they settled down, Inga nodded in Cara’s direction and said, “Without any further ado, I’d like to turn the floor over to our lovely, Cara.”

  The ballroom burst into applause, and Cara mindlessly rose to her feet. Duncan stood up right along with her and wrapped his arm around her waist. Cara gave a slight bow and felt Duncan’s strong arm pull her into his body. The room erupted in a clatter of tinkling glassware, urging the pair to kiss.

  Cara felt like wood in his arms. She kept her arms glued to her sides and resisted the urge to automatically wrap themselves around his shoulders. Duncan’s lips touched her clenched mouth and his tongue lapped at her lips trying to coax her into compliance.

  Unable to take any more, Cara opened her mouth just wide enough to clamp her teeth down hard on his lower lip. Duncan responded by running his fingers through her hair.

  The roar of the crowd grew louder, and Cara applied more pressure. She tasted blood in her mouth, and after what seemed an eternity, Duncan released her.

  He leered down at her and blotted a few droplets of red from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “I can’t wait to open up the dancing with you.”

  Her voice dripped with sarcasm when she replied, “Sorry to disappoint you, babe, but your mother broke our agreement. I am no longer under any obligation to dance with you ever again.”

  Cara turned away from the man she had vowed to honor and cherish and wondered how she ever thought she loved him. Despite having dodged the bare-assed beaded disaster bullet, Duncan had found a way to humiliate her. He was cruel and heartless.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Mark had risen out of his chair to intervene, but his wife tugged firmly on his hand and insisted he retake his seat.

  Not quite sure how she accomplished it, Cara made it to the podium. When the applause died down, she made her little speech. The moment she introduced Cameron Caldwell she stepped gratefully out of the spotlight.

  ~~~**~~~

  The music began to play and couples began to make their way to the dance floor. Cara made a point of directing the band to begin playing at their scheduled time without a word. She strictly forbade them from introducing her and Duncan and threatened their paycheck if they failed to follow her precepts.

  Duncan was the first one out on the floor with his mother on his arm. His eyes searched for Cara as he twirled his elderly partner around the room. When their gaze finally connected, Duncan gave her a nod of acceptance. Cara couldn’t believe he had given in gracefully and without a fight. Part of her expected him to haul her kicking and screaming out on the dance floor. She didn’t for a moment believe she would get off that easy and knew Duncan had something even more debasing in store for her.

  Cara didn’t plan on hanging around to find out what that might be. Right before she was about to make her escape she realized the magnitude of her drunken folly when Blackjack Barbie, Lisa Hill, appeared at the bottom of the Gone with the Wind style staircase looking frightfully unsure of herself. The voluptuous redhead scanned the hall, looking for her rich sugar daddy. Her hair was teased too big, her makeup too stagey, and the blue-beaded gown was too much of nothing. The fact that Barbie knew she was out of her element was written all over her face.

  Cara felt pressure on her arm as Duncan angrily spun her around. Without a word he shot her a nasty glare, then slowly shifted his rage in Barbie’s direction. In all their years together Cara had never seen him so irate.

  The girl never even tried to maintain her composure. Duncan’s glowering scowl bore deep into her, and she crumpled under the pressure. Barbie dashed back up the stairs. The mounds of her scantly covered rear end bounced with degradation and embarrassment up every single step of the mountainous stairw
ay. With tears flowing freely down her face, Barbie pushed her way into the lady’s room.

  Cara was disgusted and gave him a furious shove. “Nice one, Duncan.”

  Duncan pulled her back roughly and smashed her body tightly against his. Venom poured out of his mouth, “This is your fault, Cara. What did you think would happen? I would never ask her to a family function. I bought that dress for you.”

  Cara turned her head away from Duncan’s scorn. Inga stood a few feet away. The disdain she felt for Lisa Hill clearly written on her face. Cara was livid, not only at Duncan but the entire Alexander family. “Are you kidding me?” she cursed back, a little louder than she intended. “You bought that dress to humiliate me. You wanted to degrade me and make me look like your whore. All I did was give it to the person who had actually earned the title!” Cara softened when she thought of the look on the redhead’s face. “I regret it now. Not because you didn’t deserve it, but because she probably didn’t.”

  She pulled out of his grasp and headed after Barbie Blackjack and the bare-assed beaded disaster.

  Tentatively, Cara pushed open the restroom door and found the young woman crying softly. She was huddled in the far corner of a small burgundy settee with her legs pulled to her chest. The beads and sequins were not meant for anything other than standing, so Cara gandered a lot more of her husband’s paramour than she bargained for. Cara shook it off, thankful that Lisa had on at least a little more clothing than the last time the two of them had been in the same room together.

  Hoping to get this over as quickly as possible, Cara reached out and gently touched the woman’s shoulder, “I owe you an apology.”

  Barbie looked up, blinked a couple of times, and gasped in horror.

  Cara rolled her eyes and sat down beside her. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” The following sentence didn’t come out quite so easily. “However, I was the one who sent you that dress.” She paused, not wanting to continue, but she forced her mouth to form the words. “And I made it appear as if Duncan had given it to you.” The heat of shame glowed bright red on her cheeks, but she went on. “I wanted to get back at Duncan for everything he put me through. I didn’t consider the fact that you would end up taking the brunt of it and for that, I am very sorry.”

  Barbie shook her head in despair, “I don’t blame you. I blame that bastard,” she wailed. “How could I be so stupid?”

  That was it. Cara was done. She wasn’t up for a Duncan bitch session. She had apologized for her part in making the woman cry, but she wasn’t about to sit down with the woman who had willing rocked the casbah with a married man and commiserate about how he had broken both their hearts.

  With a quick pat to the girl’s shoulder, Cara stood to leave, “Good luck. If you stay with Duncan, you’re going to need it.” She gave Lisa a sad smile and left.

  Cara surveyed the Grand Hall one last time. She had done her part. The gala was a success. It would bring in a ton of money for the Foundation and her presence was no longer needed. A smile filled with a huge amount of relief washed across her face.

  “You look mighty proud of yourself, Cara Lee Greene Alexander,” a warm voice spoke beside her.

  It was her tool-man, Tanner Reed. The scruffy look had its charm, but seeing him all decked out in his dark tailored suit made Cara’s heart skip a beat. The grin that parted her lips was instinctively coy and flirty. “Come Tuesday morning, ten-thirty Pacific Standard Time, that will no longer be the case. My days as an Alexander are numbered.” She tilted her head and twirled a lock of her straight dark hair around her finger. “What about you, Mr. Reed?” You are a bit more than our complex caretaker. I believe you must own the place.”

  “My friends call me, TJ.”

  He took a step closer and Cara inhaled his scent. “Not according to Leah,” Cara countered. “She knows you as Tanner.”

  Tanner chuckled and brushed the strand of hair she abandoned away from her face. “That was a long time ago. I saw Leah wandering around making notes on all the gowns she didn’t design. I’m glad she’s doing so well.”

  At a loss on what to say next, Cara pulled out the same schmooze she’d been dishing out all night. “Thank you for your generous support the last few years. It means a lot to us.”

  “It’s an important cause. I’m glad I’m in a position to help.”

  The man looked too good to be true. His hazy blue eyes were soft and slightly lustful. She hadn’t missed the intimate way he adjusted her hair or how his fingers brushed lightly down her arm. Tanner Reed had flirted back. Cara was a little overwhelmed. It had been a long time since she had given another man the idea that she might be interested, and it had been even longer since a man had intrigued her in such a way.

  Cara turned away and gazed out over the ballroom. In the middle of the dance floor she found Duncan dancing with the blonde who had been on Tanner’s arm earlier in the evening. Cara pointed in their direction and sighed. “Don’t look now, but my soon-to-be-ex is dancing with your date.”

  Tanner followed her finger and scowled.

  “She’s very pretty, and young,” Cara said, trying hard not to sound envious or jealous.

  “Yes, she is,” Tanner confirmed with exasperated resignation.

  “I saw the both of you earlier. She absolutely adores you.”

  “The feeling is mutual.”

  It appeared as if Leah’s estimation of the couple’s relationship had been spot on. With just a small sense of regret, Cara gave up on forming anything other than a friendship with the handsome and well-off, TJ Reed. She nudged Tanner’s arm and urged him into action. “If I were you, I’d cut in. Duncan can be extremely irresistible when he wants to be.”

  Tanner watched his girlfriend dance with Cara’s husband a moment longer, then thoughtfully nodded his head. “I just might have to do that.”

  Wanting to touch him just one more time, Cara gave him a soft smile and squeezed his firm bicep. “It’s nice to finally meet you, but it’s time for this Cinderella to leave the ball.” She tilted her head in the direction of the dance floor. “And you have a date that needs attending to.”

  Tanner frowned at his adoring blonde and Duncan as they danced wrapped provocatively in each other’s arms, and asked, “Is he as much of a dog as the papers say?”

  That was a loaded question. She thought about telling him about the redhead crying in the restroom, instead she simply said, “I wouldn’t dally if I were you. He’s actually much worse.”

  Reluctantly, Cara stepped away from the hold Tanner held on her and headed for the extravagant oversized gateway to freedom. She lifted each foot and removed the last pair of Jimmy Choos she would ever be able to afford and hooked their straps onto her fingers. In a moment of pure unadulterated vindictiveness, she turned and flipped the lavish Grand Hall the bird, and walked out of the Cascade Bay Resort and Casino for the very last time.

  From inside the gala, she heard Cameron Caldwell express his jubilation over the exorbitant bid Brett’s roller coaster, clown laffin’ monstrosity had brought in, and she knew she had lost the bet.

  Damn, she owed Brett five bucks.

  Chapter Two

  Tanner Reed sat across the table of his favorite tenant and sipped a cup of freshly brewed, just for him, coffee while he sleepily stuffed his face with her latest batch of blueberry muffins. Mrs. Grimes might have had about forty years on him, but her baked goods and easy conversation more than made up for the age difference, and Tanner enjoyed being her friend.

  The elderly septuagenarian had called him at the crack of dawn to complain about her garbage disposal, again. It was the third time this week it had suddenly quit working. Tanner feared the faulty disposal was a symptom of a much larger underlying problem.

  Most of the units at Granite Gates Estates had been remodeled and updated as they became available. Mrs. Grimes’ unit as well as the one next door, which temporarily housed the beautiful Cara Lee Greene, had not been made accessible to him. The two long ti
me tenants, Mrs. Grimes and Beth Rainy, had been resistant to change, but Tanner knew he had better take a look at Mrs. Grimes’ electrical box sometime in the very near future, and that change was about to come looming down on her, whether she wanted it or not.

  He didn’t usually mind being at the old woman’s beck and call, but he and his little sister, Erin, had been at the gala until the wee hours of the morning. Tanner’s eyes had just closed when his phone went off asking for his assistance. He was so groggy, he wasn’t sure it was a good idea for him to stick his fingers into the belly of the meat grinder. The last thing he needed was to lose a finger.

  Tanner yawned and blinked hard as Mrs. Grimes prattled on about her cute new neighbor. Forever the match maker, Mrs. Grimes spouted Cara’s attributes like a car salesman. He swore if Mrs. Grimes made one remark about low mileage he was out of here. With all her knowledge, Tanner doubted Mrs. Grimes could add to the research he had done after he watched the local celebrity carry a box of her belongings up the front steps. At the time, he hadn’t known Cara was moving in. Beth Rainy failed to inform him of the agreement she made with the soon-to-be-ex Mrs. Duncan Alexander. Subletting one’s apartment was prohibited in the leasing agreement, but Cara had been gossiped about and humiliated in every newspaper, blog, and coffee shop in town. That alone would have convinced him to loosen up on the rules a bit, but when the bottom of the box of precious cargo she carried dropped away and scattered an extensive array of phallic shaped sex toys out over her small front yard, he knew he would never have the heart to kick her out.

  The edge of his weary lips smirked a grin when he recalled the horror on her beautiful heart-shaped face, and the flying of her straight cocoa-colored hair as she raced around the yard trying to retrieve her goodies. Luckily she hadn’t known he had been watching from across the street in the unit he was working in. Tanner had jumped off the ladder and was about to help her, but stopped short when he saw the appliances on the ground were not ones which were typically found inside a kitchen.