by Addison Fox
“My father’s often said the same thing. He’s fond of saying the air out here is different.” Trey shrugged as he cut the engine. “I don’t know. I think maybe it’s the people out here who are different.”
Although she didn’t understand it when she was younger, as an adult Aisha had learned that Trey’s father, Calvin, had gone a different direction from the rest of his family. While his older brother, Russ, was busy building The Colton Empire, and his younger brother, Whit, was busy running after anything in a short skirt, Calvin had met and married Audrey Douglas and had settled down to raise a family.
“No Colton Manor for your dad?”
“Nope.” Trey smiled. “Not for Dad. He loves it out here and always has. Give the man a horse and my mother, not in that order, and he’s content to while away his days.”
“I think that contentment is what makes him so special. He knows who he is. Your mom, too. Once you have that, it’s a heck of a lot easier to accept others for who they are and where they’re at.”
“That’s a nice way to put it.”
“It’s true.” Aisha stared out at the horses beyond the windshield. “Do you think they’ll accept what we’re doing here?”
Although she had insisted they tell Calvin and Audrey the truth, now that the moment was upon them, Aisha’s feet had grown rather cold.
“They’ll understand.”
“Maybe. But I can’t help feeling they’re going to think we’re making a bad choice.”
“I don’t know.” Trey turned to stare at her, his gaze dropping to the slim band of emeralds she’d slipped on her left hand last night. “Do you think we’re making a mistake?”
“I didn’t think so last night.”
“And now?”
“I’m not sure. People don’t like being deceived. And while we’ll remain friends after this all goes down, someone’s going to get upset if they realize we lied.”
Trey’s hand snaked out and covered hers. “Then no one has to know the reason. We’ll simply say we ended the engagement. Not that we stopped being friends.”
“Do you think it’s that simple?”
“We’re going to make it that simple.”
She wanted to believe him. More than that, she wanted to believe in her own conviction that she’d do this, support Trey during this time and then they’d go back to the way things were.
Before.
Before she’d had a taste of telling the whole world she was in love with him.
* * *
Trey settled into one of the comfy deck chairs on his parents’ back porch and watched his dad work his magic with the grill. Although magic was probably a stretch.
Meals at the Colton farm were nearly always better in winter—when he was assured of a meal crafted by his mother’s deft hand—but his father was passable on the grill.
Usually because his mother made enough sides to fill them up and had figured out a few tricks with marinades that could offset his father’s insistence that anything formerly living was thoroughly cooked.
The man had never eaten a raw steak in his life and was determined no one else should, either.
“I’m glad you’re here, son. It’s been too long since we had a family dinner.”
“I know.”
“It’s my duty to stand out here and tell you that your mother’s worried about you.” Calvin set the large tongs he used to turn the steaks and burgers over beside the grill, picked up his beer and took the seat next to Trey. “That’s all true. But I’m worried, too.”
“I’m good, Dad. Honest.”
“Don’t mistake my meaning. You’re solid as a rock. Always have been. But this is unlike anything any of us have ever seen.”
“I know.”
“Russ and Mara—” Calvin broke off, Trey’s normally steady dad crumbling under the weight of the burden they carried as a family. “They’re sick over Skye.”
“We all are, Dad.”
“And those women. The news reports have quieted a bit now that there are not updates coming every day. I haven’t decided if that’s good or bad.”
Although the press coverage that had descended on Roaring Springs had been oppressive during the height of the discovery, the quiet over the past week or two had grown frustrating. Less active news coverage meant less time for the killer to see his crimes glamorized on TV. And less TV time meant he had the mental bandwidth to plot and plan for his next strike.
“We’re working as fast as we can,” Trey finally said, determined not to assume the worst over his missing cousin. “And the news media will be back when we have something to update them on. I’m not going to complain about the quiet in the meantime.”
“It wasn’t quiet the other night.”
“You mean Evigan?”
“Your mother’s run up against him a few times. He’s not big on any of the local activist groups. He’s made trouble, throwing his weight around at a few of the marches she’s done in town over the past few years.”
At the idea anyone had even looked sideways at his mother, Trey stiffened. “He do anything?”
Calvin’s eyebrows shot up. “You think he’d still be standing if he had?”
Trey couldn’t hold back the smile. “Course not.”
“All I’m saying is the man’s a troublemaker. Watch your back and keep your guard up.”
“Yeah, Dad. So about that...”
As the idea of sharing the news of his fake engagement materialized in more solid form, Trey realized he and Aisha hadn’t exactly discussed how they were going to handle things. Since it wasn’t an actual engagement, he had to assume it was okay to tell his father without her. In fact, Trey amended to himself, it was probably for the best. He could gauge his dad’s reaction and then figure out how to break it to his mother.
“What’s going on?”
“The governor sent one of his aides to visit me the other day.”
“Oh.” His father’s exhale suggested the news wasn’t lost on him.
“Yeah. I’m not surprised they’re keeping tabs on what’s going on here with the Avalanche Killer investigation, but I was surprised when the aide pushed the conversation in a new direction.”
“He’s not questioning your judgment, is he?”
That same fierce pride Trey had seen in his father’s defense of his wife was as equally rabid for his son. It warmed Trey and was a visceral reminder of all the reasons he worked so hard. He’d rather cut off an arm than disappoint Calvin and Audrey Colton.
“No, but he suggested my status as a bachelor sheriff might contribute to Evigan’s arguments against me.”
“You’re joking.”
“No. And neither was the aide. Which got me thinking.”
His father’s eyes narrowed but he remained silent as Trey dived into the details. “I mean, I want to get married but there hasn’t been a lot of time lately to form romantic attachments. Or to even go on dates, for that matter.”
“You’re a young man. You should be out enjoying yourself.”
“I’ll enjoy myself later. After—” Trey stopped himself, the reality of what remained unsolved looming as large as ever. “The point is, I’m not currently married and don’t exactly have a quick way of fixing that. Or, I thought I didn’t.”
“What’s going on?”
“I talked to Aisha and she’s going to go in on it with me.”
“In on what?”
“She’s going to play my fiancée. From now until the election. We’ll make a show of being engaged, planning a wedding, all that. It should ease people’s minds that somehow I’m not as solid a choice for reelection because I’m not a family man.”
“That is ridiculous.”
“Is it?” Trey waited until his father’s initial shock wore off and took a sip of his beer to let the news settle in.
It did seem ridiculous on the surface and for all the reasons Aisha listed for him the night before. Yet even knowing all that, he’d been unable to come up with an alternative that would settle public sentiment until the election.
“Look at it from the voters’ perspective. I’m the one in an elected position and I haven’t gotten the job done.”
“You’ve kept law and order in this county for nearly four years. A serial killer is uncovered, one who the Feds can’t even get a bead on, and somehow you’re chopped liver?” Calvin shook his head. “I’m not buying it, Trey.”
“People need a scapegoat when they’re scared.”
“But you’re above reproach. You’ve handled this by the book every damn step of the way.”
“And there’s still a killer at large.”
His father opened his mouth, then shut it again. He seemed to weigh his words before finally speaking. “I love Aisha. Your mother and I both do. But is this really a good thing for the two of you?”
And wasn’t that the heart of it all?
Although he could think of no one better to fake his way through the next three months with, he was misguided if he didn’t think there’d be some consequence to their actions.
He believed their friendship was strong enough to withstand it. Knew it, really. And still, he worried. “She knows me.”
“And you know her.”
“We’ve been friends since childhood.”
Calvin nodded. “That, too.”
“We’ll figure it out. It’s not like we’re going to do anything different in private.”
The thought was out before he could contain it and his father didn’t miss the slip. “You’d like to be doing something in private?”
“With Aish? Come on.”
“I don’t know, son. She’s a beautiful woman. Sharp, too. Any man would be lucky to have her.”
His father was right. Any man would be lucky to have her. And someday, he was going to have to accept the moment when another guy did. But that wasn’t today, and for now, he had to focus on the present. “I know.”
“So maybe you should make the most of these three months. You two might surprise yourselves.”
“Calvin Colton, are you burning those burgers?” Audrey’s voice floated out to meet them as she marched onto the back porch. “I know you like a well-done burger but quit jawing with your son and get those off the grill.”
A lifetime of farming had kept his father in prime shape, but he moved even faster than Trey would have given him credit for. Calvin leaped out of his seat and rushed back to the grill, lifting the lid to remove the burgers.
“Whew! Just in time.” His mother shook her head before sidling up next to her husband. “I’ll finish those. Go on in and say hi to Bree and Rylan. They just got here. And I think Aisha needs a fresh drink.” She softened the instructions with a kiss on the lips, then patted his butt. “Get.”
Trey waited until his father was out of earshot before stating the obvious. “I think he’s grateful.”
“Of course he is. If he cooked these much longer we’d be eating bricks.” His mother carefully lifted each burger off the grill, transferring them to a fresh plate beside the silver monstrosity that still couldn’t magically correct his father’s cooking. “As it was, I put dinner at risk by giving the two of you five extra minutes.”
“You gave us time?”
“He’s wanted to talk to you. I had to talk him out of driving into town yesterday.”
Although both his parents were observant and involved in his and Bree’s lives, Trey tread carefully as he tried to navigate around his mother’s sixth sense when it came to her kids. “It’s been a difficult time, of course. But I can handle it. I’m doing fine, Mom.”
“You are handling it but you’re not fine. We’ll argue that subject at a different time.”
Trey sighed. “I knew what I was getting into when I signed on for the job.”
“I did, too. That’s why we’re not getting into it.”
He moved up next to his mother and pulled her close. “I love you for that.”
She turned into his hug and the no-nonsense demeanor and tough attitude faded as her arms came around his waist. “Don’t mistake our worry for questions about your ability. You make us proud every single day.”
“Thanks for that.”
“Now tell me something else.”
He tightened his hold and pressed a kiss to his mom’s head. “Sure.”
“Why is Aisha wearing a ring on her left hand?”
Chapter 7
Trey stepped back from his tight hold on his mother and dropped his arms. Damn, the woman was scary. She took the concept of “a mother’s intuition” to new heights.
“Uh...you noticed that?”
“I’m not the artist your sister is, but I usually observe the world around me. And I notice new jewelry. I’d have gotten around to the question eventually but I saw her glancing down at it more than once while we talked. It got me wondering.”
“It was her grandmother’s.”
“Oh.”
Trey took the briefest moment of satisfaction at stymieing Audrey into thinking the ring was a simple fashion choice before he fessed up. “But your superscary intuition is still right.”
“About?”
“Some rather powerful government officials think I would be harder to beat in November if the voters saw me as a family man.”
“You are a family man.”
“No. I’m a Colton and there’s a difference.”
Where he might have expected argument, all he got was a heavy sigh. “Yes. A fact no one around here likes to forget.”
“Also a fact my opponent has been using to his advantage. Evigan hasn’t exactly been subtle about using the Colton name as a target. Or punching bag,” Trey added.
“What does this have to do with Aisha?”
It’s like pulling off a bandage, he thought, before diving in. “She’s agreed to pretend to be my fiancée for the next few months. Just to get past the election.”
“Trey Douglas Colton. You’re going to lie to everyone?”
His mother didn’t pull out his middle name often, so the fact that she did only added to the lingering questions he hadn’t quite answered satisfactorily in his own mind.
“Aisha and I are good friends. It’s no one’s business just how close we are, or how we choose to spend our time.”
“But you’re using the ruse to ensure votes.”
“I’m using the ruse to ensure a thoroughly unqualified ass doesn’t get into office.”
Audrey’s battle stance wavered before the arms at her hips fell to her side. “I want to stay on my soap box over this, but I’m having a hard time. That man is awful. And while I’d believe no one was a worthy opponent against you, I’m not so bewitched by own son not to recognize there are other qualified people in the world.”
“So you understand?”
“I understand. I don’t have to like it.”
“I don’t like it, either,” he confessed. “But I really don’t see any other way. And if this will take the pressure off the election I can focus all my attention on catching a killer.”
“And you really think this is the only way?”
“Can you think of another?”
His mother’s formidable stare stayed firmly in place, the rich brown eyes he loved so much never faltering. Until something obviously clicked and she nodded. “No.”
“Aish and I are strong. We’ll get through this and go back to normal in no time.”
Whatever conclusions his mother had satisfied herself with shifted at his words. “You think it’s that simple?”
“Sure it is. We’ve been friends for nearly my entire life. We know each other. And we spend enough time together. She’s the o
bvious choice.”
“Hmm,” Audrey whispered. “Obvious, you say?”
“Yeah. Everyone knows we’re friends. How big a leap is it to say something more developed?”
And how hollow did it seem to think that people would actually believe their ruse and then they’d go back to normal, like nothing had happened?
Even if something had happened.
A fake something, but something all the same.
“Do you think you can do this? Without your heart getting involved.”
“My cold heart’s the problem here. And my lack of a wife.”
“You’re sure about that?”
Was he? Especially because he felt neither cold nor sure when he was around Aisha. Swallowing back the prevarication, he projected a calm he absolutely did not feel. “Of course.”
“Then what about Aisha’s?”
“She’s fine. You know Aish, she’s solid.”
His mom reached out, laying a hand against his cheek. “Oh, baby. Do you hear yourself?”
“It’s an op, Mom. It’ll be fine.”
Her dark eyes searched his and even with the fading summer light, he saw her skepticism. But it was her quietly voiced question when she finally spoke that pulled him up short. “What if it isn’t?”
“Why wouldn’t it be fine? Why would you think that?”
“You two are close. You always have been. It would be unfair to parade her around town, telling people how much you care for her.”
“I do care for her.”
His mother’s hand dropped away. “Like a man loves a woman, Trey.”
Once again, his mother’s intuition twisted the kaleidoscope, shifting the landscape seemingly before his eyes. “But we’re friends.”
“What if one of you develops feelings?”
The unsettled thoughts that had accompanied him since his engagement idea first came to light returned once more. Only this time, instead of assessing his own emotions, he had to wonder about Aisha’s. “You think she’ll do that?”
“How often does she date?”
“I don’t know. Often, I suppose.”
His mother zeroed in on that one. “You suppose? Don’t friends talk about those things?”