Jonah had married his college sweetheart, a Finnish supermodel, and the couple had bought a place on Lake Tahoe near Desmond’s casino resort. Jonah was the only one of the ranch’s owners to tie the knot so far, maintaining a reasonably normal life in spite of the tragedy that had marked their boarding school days. When their mutual friend Zach Eldridge had cliff-jumped to his death during a horseback riding trip, their lives had changed forever. Thanks to Gage’s powerful father, the story had been kept out of the papers so it wouldn’t reflect negatively on Zach’s surviving classmates, but it haunted them anyway. Gage had been particularly troubled; thanks to his father’s interference, Zach had never been properly mourned by the school. Gage’s father didn’t want the good Striker name associated with a death some viewed as a suicide.

Alonzo Salazar had been their class adviser at the time and had helped them weather the aftermath. For Gage, that had meant Alonzo convincing him to stay in school when he’d been determined to quit to spite his dad.

“How does that help us?” Miles asked while Desmond kept typing away.

“Jonah told me Chiara plans to spend a few days with Astrid after leaving Mesa Falls. Gage can take the reporter to Jonah’s place in Tahoe for a couple of days so Astrid can introduce her to Chiara. It’s win-win. This will get the reporter off ranch property and hand her a story that will net her a bigger payout. With any luck, she’ll go back to LA afterward and forget all about us.” Desmond spelled out his plan without ever glancing up from his phone. He obviously wasn’t concerned that the last thing Gage needed was to spend more time in close proximity to his ex.

“I need to be here,” he insisted, figuring that was an argument his friends could appreciate. “We decided I’m the new point man on-site now that Weston’s distracted. I can’t just take off the day after I dig into the new role.”

“Managing a persistent reporter is more important than being at Mesa Falls,” Miles countered, draining his drink and setting the glass on the tray. “I can stay until you get back.”

Desmond swung to look at Miles at the same time Gage did, mirroring his surprise.

“What about Rivera Ranch?” Gage asked, knowing he wasn’t getting out of this assignment if Miles was ready to abandon his own spread for the sake of managing Mesa Falls for a few days.

“I hire good people so I don’t have to be there every second.” He shot to his feet, looking uncomfortable with the topic and ready to change it. “Are we sure Astrid will share her pseudocelebrity friend long enough to give Elena an interview?”