Two of a kind, p.1
Two of a Kind, page 1
TWO OF A KIND
TB MARKINSON
MIRANDA MACLEOD
Copyright © 2022 T. B. Markinson & Miranda MacLeod
Cover Design by Victoria Cooper
Edited by Kelly Hashway
This book is copyrighted and licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any forms or by any means without the prior permission
of the copyright owner. The moral rights of the authors have been asserted.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and
incidents are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely
coincidental.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Epilogue
Preview of Accidental Honeymoon
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
CHAPTER ONE
“VEGAS, BABY!” MAISIE THRUST HER BARE ARMS SKYWARD,
thrilled to be wearing a tank top in the unseasonably warm
December sunshine. She could hardly believe she was here.
Back home in Milwaukee, winter was beginning to wrap its
fingers around everyone’s throats. It was a joy to breathe in air
that didn’t burn her lungs with icy cold.
“What should we do first?” asked Donna, one of Maisie’s
coworkers from the marketing department at Taite and Greene
Specialty Packaging, Ltd., the leading manufacturer of food
containers and display products in the Midwest.
Yeah, thrilling stuff.
For the past eleven months, Maisie had occupied a cubicle
smaller than what was legally required for a prison cell while
trying to come up with new and exciting ways to make
cardboard boxes sexy. But it paid the bills, and for the next
three glorious days, she and two of her coworkers were being
set loose to staff their company’s vendor booth at the Las
Vegas Food Expo. It almost made the other three hundred and
sixty-two days of living like caged veal worthwhile.
Almost.
“What is there to do in Vegas, anyway?” As Maisie’s eyes
wandered the flashing lights of the Strip, which were glaring
even in mid-afternoon, the choices felt as endless as they were
overwhelming. “It’s my first time here, and I was so busy
prepping for the conference I didn’t do much research on the
sights.”
“You and your prepping,” Donna teased. “You should’ve
been a librarian.”
“I like to be thorough.” Maisie downplayed her response
with a shrug, but when it came to her job, she knew she had to
be extra diligent. Marketing assistants were a dime a dozen
back home, and Maisie couldn’t afford to give Mr. Taite an
excuse to let her go. Especially since she was no longer dating
his nephew. “What have you always wanted to do in Vegas?”
Donna grinned. “Get married in a tacky twenty-four-hour
wedding chapel by an Elvis impersonator.”
“Ugh.” Maisie grimaced. Even after two months, the
wound from discovering Nathan had been cheating on her—
with multiple women—was still a bit raw, and marriage was
the last thing on her mind. Like, ever. “I think you’d better
save that one for when you come here with Erik.”
“If only.” Donna sighed, staring pointedly at the blank spot
on her left ring finger where all her coworkers knew she was
hoping a diamond solitaire would magically appear. “Wait! I
know. What about that buffet we saw advertised on the
billboard near the airport?”
“The hundred-dollar one?” Maisie squeaked.
“Sure. Why not?” Donna’s enthusiasm was growing by the
second. “We’ve got per diems, after all.”
“For fifty bucks a day,” Maisie pointed out, positive she’d
never spent even that much on a meal in her life. With diligent
coupon clipping, fifty dollars in groceries could last more than
a week. “That’s supposed to cover three meals.”
“We’re at a food conference,” Donna said with a laugh.
“We can fill up on samples tomorrow to make up the
difference.”
Filling up on samples was already my plan.
Maisie chewed her lower lip as she tried to devise a
graceful way out. She didn’t want to be the party pooper, but
that extra one-fifty in meal money was earmarked for her
tuition fund. She would survive on granola bars and free
coffee from the vendor lounge all week if it meant finally
achieving her goal of going back to college in the fall. She was
so close. All she needed over the next six months was for a
few more things to go right and nothing else to go wrong.
“Maybe I should stick around here and double check that
the booth is all set up for tomorrow,” Maisie suggested.
Donna rolled her eyes. “The booth is fine.”
“But—”
“You don’t need to work all the time. It makes the rest of
us look bad.” Donna’s expression grew sympathetic. “If
money’s an issue, why don’t you put in for that product
manager position they’re hiring for? You’d be great at it.”
“I… I did, actually.” The mere mention of it sent Maisie’s
pulse skyrocketing even as her spirits took a nosedive. It was
exactly the opportunity Maisie had prayed for, especially since
it meant a bigger paycheck, but it had been made clear to her
on more than one occasion that she’d been beyond lucky to get
her foot in the door in the first place. Although, her ex was the
one who’d said it, and he only had his job because of his
uncle. Maybe his opinion wasn’t so trustworthy, after all. “Do
you really think I have a chance at it?”
“Absolutely!” Donna exclaimed without a trace of doubt.
Maisie wanted to believe it, even though she’d spent
enough time scouring the requirements on new job postings to
know that landing something better was a long shot without a
degree. It seemed a silly technicality, given her real-world
experience. Another reason to get back to school—so she
wasn’t stuck in a dead-end job for the rest of her life.
“Is this about Nate?” Donna put a hand on her hip. “Don’t
let that jerk scare you. You may have gotten the initial
interview because you were his girlfriend, but you’re the best
assistant in our department, and you’ve earned that all on your
own. No one’s going to listen to him bad-mouthing you. I
mean, what kind of family names a kid Nate Taite, anyway?
That tater tot’s a waste of space.”
“I can’t argue with that.” But it wasn’t only her ex’s sour
grapes that worried her.
It had been nine years since her father’s death had forced
her to drop out of school. If she didn’t have the funds to re-
enroll by this fall, she’d lose the ability to graduate under the
requirements that had been in place when she’d started. That
meant potentially losing credits and having to retake classes. It
also meant she’d be required to do an internship, the very idea
of which terrified her. The way she pictured it in her head, it’d
be like wrangling alligators and lions while simultaneously
walking on a tightrope that was literally on fire. But if she
made a big splash at the Expo, she’d be sure to get that
promotion and a big enough raise to cover tuition.
Please let Donna be right about my chances.
“Look what I got!” Cheryl, the other coworker on the trip,
approached Maisie and Donna on the sidewalk, waving what
looked like tickets in the air. “The rodeo’s in town, and these
here are three front row seats.”
“Rodeo?” Donna looked unconvinced. “I was thinking
more along the lines of drinking and gambling. How ’bout
you, Maisie?”
“Well…” As Maisie saw it, there were two problems with
Donna’s plan. The first, obviously, was that despite dreams of
winning big in Vegas, gambling tended to cost more money
than it brought in. Then there was the fact that Maisie’s
alcohol tolerance was laughably low. She’d once had to be
escorted home from a baseball game during the fourth inning,
propped up between two friends, after only two cans of Old
Style. Talk about embarrassing.
“How about we rein in some cowboys and then go
drinking and gambling? Bucking broncos and guys with big…
hats.” Cheryl waggled her eyebrows, making Maisie laugh.
“Come on. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
It did. And Maisie was desperate for a little fun.
“What do we owe you for the tickets?” Maisie asked,
hoping her financial woes were less obvious this time. It
couldn’t be any worse than Donna’s hundred-dollar buffet,
right?
“My treat,” Cheryl said, waving a hand to dismiss further
argument. “It’s the least I can do for such great team
members.”
“Really? I can get down with that!” Relief flooded Maisie,
and with it came a sense of lightness. It was exhausting being
the poorest friend in the group, always having to pretend she
had her shit together while simultaneously doing mental math
to make sure she could cover the smallest expenditure. She
wrapped an arm around Cheryl’s shoulder, grateful to put her
worries aside. “I knew there was a reason you’re my favorite
coworker.”
“Hey!” Donna cried, feigning hurt feelings.
“Okay, okay. You two are both my favorites,” Maisie
conceded. “You in, Donna?”
“I’m not exactly a country western kind of gal,” Donna
said, “but you can’t go wrong with hot cowboys. And after
that, drinking and gambling, bitches!”
“Hell, yeah!” Cheryl’s face radiated excitement.
Maisie plastered a wide smile on her face even though she
knew she’d be heading back to her hotel room long before
they reached that part of the evening. One beer at the rodeo
and maybe a hot dog to keep her from getting blitzed. No
gambling. She had to pace herself if she planned to work an
eight-hour shift at the conference bright and early the next
morning.
“Okay, lady,” Maisie said to Cheryl. “Where are these
cowboys you promised?”
“Let’s see. All the banners I’ve seen said the Thomas and
Mack Center.”
“That’s not too far of a walk,” added Donna, who had been
to Las Vegas several times before and knew her way around.
“Wait. The tickets say the South Point Arena, which is…”
Cheryl pulled out her phone. When the map came up, her face
fell. “Oh. It’s seven miles from here. That’s way too far to
walk.”
“A short ride, though.” Maisie activated the ride-share app
on her phone, punching in the destination and noting with
gratitude that the cost was reasonable enough she could cover
it without the embarrassment of asking her coworkers to pitch
in. It killed her having to be that person, especially when
Cheryl had sprung for the tickets. “Our car will be here in one
minute.”
Donna put a hand to her forehead, shading her eyes as she
searched the traffic along the Strip. “What’s the make and
model?”
“It’s a…” Maisie paused, squinting at her screen in case
she’d read it wrong. She hadn’t. “The app’s telling me it’s a
pink Cadillac.”
“No way.” Donna’s eyes grew round as one hand flew up
to cover her mouth. She pointed to a bubblegum-pink spot in
the distance that was growing larger by the moment. “Oh, my
God. It really is.”
“Just like Elvis had.” Cheryl grabbed Maisie’s hands and
began to bounce. “This is going to be the best Vegas
conference ever!”
All Maisie could do was stare as the classic convertible
eased to the side of the street, and a drag queen in full regalia
motioned for them to get in. It was possibly the most Vegas
thing ever, but Cheryl was right. They’d been in town less than
a day, and this already had all of Maisie’s expectations beat by
a mile. It might be back to the daily grind in less than a week,
but she was determined to have as much fun as possible while
she was here. She’d had more than her share of rough times,
but things were finally starting to look up.
CHAPTER TWO
“HEY THERE, HANDSOME FELLA!” DREW HELD OUT HER HAND,
biting back a laugh as the snow-white horse’s velvety nose
tickled her fingers while he sniffed the carrot she’d brought
him. “You ready to win this thing, Stormy?”
Crunching his carrot, the three-year-old Arabian stood with
a quiet confidence that soothed Drew’s jangling nerves. He
was a good horse, and she’d trained him well. Besides,
considering the competition would be starting in half an hour,
there wasn’t much left for her to do but trust that what she’d
already done was good enough.
“This your horse?” asked a man’s gravelly voice from
outside the stall.
“Sure is.” Drew turned quickly, noting the man’s look of
surprise when he saw her face. She suspected she knew the
reason. Standing nearly six-feet tall, with a muscular build,
and her long ponytail tucked inside her Stetson, this wouldn’t
be the first time Drew had been mistaken for a man. She held
out her hand. “Name’s Drew Campbell. This here’s Riding the
Storm, but I call him Stormy.”
“Emmett Walker.” The man touched his fingers to the brim
of a cowboy hat that was too shiny and new to have ever seen
a day’s hard work under the broiling sun. This and his
distinctive gray handlebar mustache had clued Drew in to the
man’s identity even before he’d given his name. Emmett
Walker owned the biggest horse training facility in Texas.
“That was some fine riding in the qualifying round. Just
wanted to come by and tell you.”
“Thank you, sir.” Drew had no doubt he wouldn’t have
gone to the trouble of seeking her out if he’d realized her name
wasn’t short for Andrew, but now that he was here, she might
as well take advantage of it. “Anything I can help you with?”
“Well, uh…” He shifted a little, looking uncomfortable at
being put on the spot but seeming to realize if he didn’t go
ahead and say what he’d intended to when he’d thought Drew
was a man, it would be pretty damn obvious. “Actually, I
wanted to ask if you’ve ever considered working as a full-time
trainer. I’ve got a little operation outside Abilene, and I’m
always looking for fresh talent.”
A little operation . What an oddly humble description for
such a massive horse training empire. Drew was a rancher at
heart and had no intention of doing anything else if she could
help it, but she also knew her father would skin her alive if she
didn’t at least press this nice multi-millionaire for a few
details.
“What did you have in mind?” Drew reached for a brush
and began smoothing it over Stormy’s sleek coat.
“Now, that depends. You the only trainer for this horse?”
Translation: Is there a brother or daddy I should be talking
to instead?
“Ever since I pulled him out of his mama.” Drew
continued with her brushing but couldn’t resist sneaking a
glance to catch his reaction. She was rewarded with a
begrudging look of respect.
“In that case, and assuming you place in the top twenty-
