by Cassie Miles
“No way,” Jeremy said. “Not my dad. Throwing drinks is too girlie, and he never wastes his single malt.”
Skip was keeping score. “Care to make it interesting, Sarah? Fifty bucks?”
“Why not?” She shot them all a stern gaze. “Don’t say anything about this to Emily.”
Upstairs, they went to the bedrooms on the left. Sarah had thought far enough ahead to house the general and his aides in the right wing on the opposite end of the house. The last bedroom on that side would be occupied by the twins, who were moving in later today to provide full-time security until after the wedding.
When they unloaded and shuffled things around, it became apparent that the Laytons’ luggage would require its own room.
“We’re going to need a full-length mirror in here,” Rebecca said. “And a freestanding rack to hang the gowns.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Emily said.
“Don’t worry,” Sarah reassured her. “Blake can help me move things around.”
He nodded agreement. Until now, his primary concern had been security for the B and B. He hadn’t realized how much effort had gone into the wedding preparations. He’d gotten off easy. His only duty as best man was planning the bachelor party, and he’d delegated the finding of a stripper to Alvardo. Maybe he ought to check with Sarah about beer and snack food.
“The B and B is almost full,” she said to him. “If the snow gets bad and the women I have helping with the cooking and housekeeping have to stay, I’ve got one vacant room downstairs and one at the end of this hall.”
“Plus the dormitory space in the attic where the band is staying.” He stood beside her and watched as Emily and her mother tried to divert the senator with unpacking duties. “And you’ve got that big bedroom in the downstairs south wing.”
“That’s the nicest suite in the house,” she said. “I’m keeping it open, just in case.”
“In case of what?”
“If we get hit by a blizzard, the airport will close down and the newlyweds will have to stay here after the ceremony.”
“And the big bedroom becomes the honeymoon suite.”
She nodded. “Not as good as their planned trip to Jamaica. At least, they’ll have some privacy.”
The senator had changed from his parka to an argyle sweater vest worn over a dark brown turtleneck and jeans. He straightened his narrow shoulders and hitched up his belt. “I’d like to meet General Hamilton now. Jeremy, does your father go by Charlie or Chuck?”
“You’ll have to ask him, sir.”
Blake suppressed a chuckle. If the liberal senator marched up to the general and called him Chuck, the odds were good for a slap fight.
With the senator and Jeremy leading the way, they filed down the staircase and went into the front room. The general sat in the heavy leather chair beside the fireplace. Alvardo was opposite him. Maddox was nowhere in sight, and Blake assumed he’d taken a position in the office where he could monitor all the camera feeds.
The general rose to his feet. He wasn’t a particularly large man, but he was solid as a brick wall. His neatly trimmed white hair caught the light from the fire. His nondescript expression reminded Blake of a man facing a potential foe, ready to smile or to snarl.
The senator approached with hand outstretched. “I’m Henry Layton. Call me Hank.”
The general darted a glance at Sarah, perhaps recalling their first meeting when she teased about his name. Calmly, he said, “I’m Charles.”
When they shook hands, the air in the room felt electrified. Blake wouldn’t have been surprised to see sparks flaring between them, but the handshake ended without incident. Hank introduced Rebecca and his speechwriter, Skip. The general did the same with Alvardo.
Then it was quiet—the icy silence Jeremy had predicted.
Emily tried to start a nonconfrontational conversation. “Jeremy and I thought we could have the ceremony in this room. The justice of the peace can stand right over here, and I can come down the staircase.”
Hank hadn’t moved away from the general. He stood a few inches taller. His graying hair was longer and fell across his forehead. There was something of the trustworthy small-town lawyer about him, and Blake remembered Jeremy telling him that Hank Layton liked to think of himself as a modern-day Atticus Finch. Though his argyle sweater vest was more casual than Charles’s tweed jacket, the senator held himself with an air of authority. After all, he was a senator, and it took a high degree of determination to reach that political station.
Likewise, the general was a leader, accustomed to having men jump to do his bidding. They faced off like a couple of old lions. Not growling at each other, but wary.
Hank spoke first. “I want you to know that I don’t blame you for the attempted kidnapping, Charles. In fact, I’m not sure that the perpetrator wasn’t coming after me.”
The general lifted his chin. “You have enemies. I’m aware of that.”
“Some are violent,” Hank said. “I’m not accusing anyone, but I’ve angered some groups that are armed and dangerous. You see, I’m pro–gun control.”
“Of course you are.”
Blake could see the gloves coming off. His bet on a slap fight was looking more likely.
“I’d like to suggest,” Hank said, “for the duration of the weekend, that we follow the example of Emily and Jeremy. We can agree to disagree, without discussion or rancor.”
“You’re quite a little mediator,” Charles said.
“That’s my job.”
“Glad you told me. I’ve often wondered what you people do in the Senate.”
“As opposed to what you do in the Pentagon.” Hank’s gray eyes turned to flint. “That’s pretty damned clear, isn’t it?”
“Protecting human rights,” the general said, “making the world safe for democracy. That’s what I do.”
“Agree to disagree.”
Emily attempted to insert herself between them. “Okay, you two. That’s enough.”
The general squared off. “If you senators took the time to understand what we do at the Pentagon, you wouldn’t be so quick to chop our funding.”
“If you learned to spend responsibly, we wouldn’t have to treat you like spoiled children.”
“Unbelievable. You’re lecturing me about responsibility when you can’t even pass a budget.”
“Stop it,” Emily said.
“Take off the blinders, Charles. The army works for the people of this country, and that’s who I represent.”
“Don’t do this.” Emily stamped her foot.
“Honey,” her father said, “I’m being more than fair.”
“For a change,” Charles said.
“Don’t interrupt when I’m speaking to my daughter.”
“Stop.” Emily grabbed the general’s drink from the table and threw it at her father. “Listen to me.”
Charles smirked. “You heard the little lady.”
She swung around and punched his arm hard enough that the general involuntarily winced.
“I’m talking to both of you,” Emily said. “This is my wedding, and I’m not going to put up with this behavior. We’re family. Whether you like it or not, we’re all going to get along.”
Blake watched in amazement. A drink in the face. And a slap fight. Both delivered by Emily. He hadn’t seen this coming.
Chapter Thirteen
Other than gagging the two men and locking them in rooms on opposite ends of the B and B, Sarah didn’t know how she could keep them from arguing. She hoped the combined goodwill from everyone else would keep a lid on this simmering volcano, but it was hard to entrust that job to others. This was her inn, her responsibility. I can’t control everything. The trick was to find a way to calm down and maintain her equilibrium.
When the Roses and Ribbons truck arrived, she enforced her threat to Alvardo to make him do the unloading. Emily and her mother told him where to place the various centerpieces of white and red roses combined with calla lilies and bright green foliage. Though the roses were supposed to be a variety that didn’t smell too much, the fragrance was overwhelming. She told them to store the arching display that would be used in the ceremony in the honeymoon suite with the door closed.
After fielding a call from the caterer, who was nervous about the snow, she agreed with him that he and his two-man crew should plan to stay after they arrived. That meant three more people for Friday night and Saturday. Then she checked on the progress of dinner with the two women she’d hired to help out. There were a dozen more tasks that needed to be done. It was time to start delegating.
Sarah tapped Blake on the shoulder. “Grab your gloves and jacket and meet me at the kitchen door. I need some help.”
“You got it, lady.”
In the mudroom, she zipped up her parka and unlocked the door. Outside the gently falling snow brushed her cheeks. The cold refreshed her. She inhaled a deep, moist breath. “How about that Emily,” he said. “I didn’t think she had the guts to stand up to her dad and the general.”
“She might look like a cupcake, but she’s not all sweetness and fluff.” Otherwise, their friendship never would have lasted. “Emily is one of those people who can’t bear to see injustice. When she’s standing up for the underdog, she can take on the world.”
“Like you?”
“In a way.” Sarah hadn’t thought of that similarity. “It’s odd. We’re kind of alike, but I tend to think of me and Emily as being very different.”
“How so?”
“For one thing, she’s the world’s biggest optimist, and I tend to see the glass as half-empty.”
“You’re analytical,” he said.
“And cynical.”
“You look ahead and see the problems before they occur. That’s a positive trait.”
“Which is much nicer than saying that I’m a big grump.”
A covered breezeway spanned the area between the kitchen and a triple-wide garage. An inch of snow had already accumulated on the concrete. She pulled on her gloves, opened the lid on a storage box under the eaves and dug into a bag of eco-friendly deicer, which she scattered across the area.
Blake did the same. “What is this stuff?”
“Deicer made of dried corn and the organic clay product that goes into kitty litter. Not great for the environment but less damaging than rock salt. This back door is where all the supplies for the wedding are going to be delivered, and I don’t want anybody to slip and fall.”
He followed her example, going all the way to the driveway. “What other ways are you and Emily different?”
“She comes from a privileged background, and my family is frugal. Some might say the Bentleys are cheap.”
“Owning one of the classiest bed-and-breakfasts in the Aspen area isn’t a poor man’s occupation.”
“That shows how much you know.” She scattered the deicer near the garage door. “When the economy started to fail, the hospitality industry took a big hit. People were afraid to spend their hard-earned dollars on vacations. All the hotels were suffering. I’ve been lucky.”
“How so?”
“The B and B isn’t a big operation, and I don’t have much overhead. Even so, I’ve had to cut back. Carrie—the woman who I called to help out in the kitchen—used to be full-time. Now I only contact her when I need extra help.”
“Didn’t you have Emily working for you one summer?”
“Yes, but she didn’t take a full salary. She was more of an intern and a great help.” They’d been like sisters, rising together and working together. After college, Emily had needed to put distance between herself and her high-powered parents. And Sarah had needed a friend to make the transition from being part of a family to the sole proprietor of the B and B. “That was a couple of months before she met Jeremy.”
“They’re good together.”
Dusting off his gloves, he moved closer to her. His nearness reminded her of feelings she’d put aside. Her attraction to him was palpable, a magnetic force, and she didn’t want to give in to it. Not yet, anyway. She stepped away from him. “I brought you out here because I have a job for you.”
“Okay.”
“I’m putting you in charge of the fire.” Baby, won’t you light my fire.
“No problem,” he said. “What other ways are you and Emily different?”
She avoided looking up at him, fearful of letting her guard down. “You’re like a dog with a bone. Don’t you ever give up?”
“Never.” His deep, rich voice struck just the right chord inside her. “You don’t talk much about yourself, and I want to follow this thread to the end.”
“Here’s the big difference,” she said. “Emily is beautiful, stunningly beautiful.”
“And so are you.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have low self-esteem, and I know I’m not bad-looking. But Emily is special. She’s the sort of woman who can stop traffic.”
In short, she was a princess.
“And that’s what you want to be.”
“Maybe,” she admitted.
Sarah would never trade her self-sufficient, strong personality for a tiara, but she wouldn’t mind being pampered, praised and adored for a little while. Didn’t every woman want to be cherished above all others? If Emily got to be gutsy, it was only fair for Sarah to have a moment when she was Cinderella at the ball.
In the meantime, there was firewood to be managed. She grasped the knob on the garage door. Before she could turn it, Blake stopped her.
“Do you keep the garage locked?” he asked.
“No. Why?”
“Anyone has access. This is the first time I’ve noticed poor security at the B and B.” He drew his handgun and stepped in front of her. “What’s in there?”
“My truck and an SUV that Emily’s been driving are parked at the far end.” She let him take the lead. It had never occurred to her that someone might be hiding in here. “When you walk in the door, there’s a tool bench in the front and firewood in the back.”
“It looks bigger than a regular garage.”
“There’s an extra space on this side for storage.” The garage didn’t seem dangerous, except for the saws, the chisels, the screwdrivers and the axes she used for splitting logs. Axes? Why hadn’t she thought of this? “I’ve been in and out of here a half dozen times over the past couple of days.”
“And you didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.”
“Not really.” She’d been preoccupied. There had been so much happening with the wedding preparations and the kidnap attempt that she might have strolled past a dancing hippo without paying attention. “I wasn’t looking for anything.”
“I am.”
He yanked open the door and charged into the dark interior. She followed and hit the light switch beside the door. The extra-large garage served the same purpose as a barn on a ranch, creating a space to store the equipment needed in a remote location. Though it wasn’t heated, the garage was sealed tightly against the snow and had only a few high windows to let in the light.
She watched as Blake expertly searched the large space, checking under and inside the vehicles and poking into every corner. With his long-legged stride, he covered the area quickly, and he didn’t waste a single motion. Returning to her, he tucked his gun into the holster on his hip.
“I had a call from Kovak,” he said. “Franks isn’t awake yet, but he’s not in a coma. We might get information from him. If he doesn’t talk, Kovak is working with a cop in Denver to get some background on our kidnapper.”
“Do they know an
ything? Like if he’s married or lives with someone?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Will you keep me posted?” she asked. “I know there’s nothing I can do, but I want to be aware.”
He gave a nod. “Kovak also said that they never located the backpack with the bomb.”
That threat came much closer to home. “Is it dangerous?”
“Any unexploded device is dangerous.” His blue eyes darkened, and his expression was serious. “Franks said the bomb could be detonated using a cell phone.”
She remembered the phone number on the screen. “How does that work?”
“The bomb is hooked up to another cell phone inside the device. When the number is called, it’s like lighting a fuse.”
“But it can’t accidentally just go off, right?”
“It depends.”
He’d been in the rangers for years. He had seen and experienced a war she couldn’t imagine, and he knew firsthand what it meant when a bomb or an IED exploded. Her heart went out to him. Though she could never fully understand what he’d gone through, she respected his courage.
“Firewood,” she said, bringing her focus back to the present. “As you can see, I have plenty of split wood stacked inside the garage. It’s going to be your job to keep the fire in the front room going. That means taking wood from here and bringing it to the box in the mudroom. From there, you take it to the fireplace.”
“Why bother with the middle step of dropping it off in the mudroom?”
“If we have a real blizzard, you won’t want to go outside. Not even to make that little hop from the kitchen door to the garage.” She picked up a chunk of wood. “Hold out your arms.”
Loaded up with as much split wood as possible, she led him back into the mudroom and opened the lid on the large, half-empty bin. “This should be plenty for today and tomorrow.”
After being out in the snow, the warmth of the house wrapped around them like a big, cozy comforter. The aroma of beef stew was a tantalizing reminder that dinner was only an hour and a half away.
“I noticed that you have a snowblower,” he said.