Just Home for the Holidays - Deborah Cooke Page 0,54
his eyes that hadn’t been there before. A bit of uncertainty. It kept her from going immediately to him and maybe it was keeping him from coming to her.
Kyle looked back at Hunter and cleared his throat. “I don’t suppose there’s a reason you’ve suddenly decided to visit.”
“There’s always a reason,” Hunter said quietly, his gaze still clinging to Chloe’s. “I thought it was time to visit my sister in Silicon Valley.”
“If you want a job out here,” Kyle began but Chloe headed for Hunter. They both ignored Kyle so completely that his voice faded. “Let me know,” he said, then shook his head and left them there.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Chloe said, when Hunter didn’t seem to know how to start.
“I had to tell you something.” He frowned and averted his gaze, then quickly looked into her eyes again. “I told you that you didn’t take chances but the truth is that I’m the one who didn’t take any risks. You were right. I don’t know how to take a chance on anyone, but I’d like to learn.”
“Are you moving out here, then?”
His smile was immediate. “Actually, I was hoping to tempt you back east.”
“Really?”
“Really. I have an investment opportunity that might interest you.”
Chloe’s heart sank. “An investment?”
“Well, you’re all about the money and I know you’ve saved a bunch. I have some put away but it’s not nearly enough. In fact, I’m hoping that Char might chip in, too.”
Chloe frowned. “Well, thanks for thinking of me, but I have all my investments managed...”
Hunter dropped a fingertip to her arm. “Reg’s dad offered to sell Duchess to me.” His voice was low and intent, his tone revealing that this was really important.
“Are you going to buy her?”
“Well, that depends.” His gaze flicked across the lobby. “Did you ever ride?”
“No. My sister was the one who loved horses.”
Hunter nodded. “You see, there’s no sense, at least not to me, of owning a horse that you can’t ride every day. You have to board it and pay for someone else to brush it, clean it and feed it. So, if I bought Duchess but boarded her at Reg’s family farm, it wouldn’t be any different for Duchess than me coming out to ride her a couple of times a month. The difference would mostly be in the money, and I don’t have that much that I wouldn’t notice it being gone.”
Chloe folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not going to invest in a horse.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to,” Hunter said easily. He raised that finger again, his eyes sparkling in a way she didn’t trust. “But, Reg’s dad told me that the Sinclairs were going to sell their stable and riding school. They want to retire and move south, and none of their kids are interested in taking on the farm. It’s a little smaller than my parents’ property was, but I went to talk to them, and they offered me a very sweet deal. Essentially, they’re excited to potentially sell to someone they know and to have the horses stay on. They’re offering me financing plus an option in five years on the acreage with riding trails if I keep up the grooming during that time, etc. etc.” He fell silent and took a shaking breath. “It’s an awesome deal.”
Chloe understood. “So you want me to invest in you?”
“Not quite.” He looked around as if his explanation was hiding somewhere in the F5FW lobby, then his gaze collided with Chloe’s again. “I’m inviting you to invest in the future,” he said, all in a rush. “In our future.” He continued on before she could speak. “You see, my parents each had their strengths and that’s why their business was a success. My mom knew horses. She’d grown up with them. She loved them. She read their minds and gave them just what they needed. She had the touch. My dad, in contrast, was never much of a rider, but he understood money. They met when he decided to learn to ride, after he had a heart attack and his doctor told him to get more exercise. Instead, he met my mom, married her, and kept the ranch in the black. Their strengths were perfectly complementary, and they were madly in love, too. Same with Char and her husband. She has mad skills when it comes to software engineering. He’s a chef, and when they got pregnant, they sat down and worked out all the various scenarios.