Susan Mallery Fool's Gold Series Volume One: Chasing PerfectAlmost PerfectSister of the BrideFinding Perfect

by Susan Mallery

  She rose and walked down the hall to Marsha’s office. Her grandmother sat at her desk. She smiled when she saw Charity.

  “How’s it going?” Marsha asked.

  Charity tried to smile, but couldn’t. Tears she could usually hold back with ease filled her eyes.

  Marsha stood. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Charity said, going to her and holding her close. “I’m so grateful you’re my grandmother. I don’t think I said that before, but I wanted you to know.”

  Marsha hugged her back. A fierce hug full of love and promise. “I’m happy, too,” she said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

  Charity straightened. “I won’t go away. I’m not like my mother.”

  Marsha touched her cheek and smiled. “I know that. We’ll both stay right here. Together.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  THE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR the special session city council meeting didn’t come with an agenda, which Charity thought was odd. Usually there was an entire list of subjects to be covered. She didn’t like not being able to prepare and as the announcement showed up in her e-mail a mere thirty minutes before the meeting itself, she didn’t have time to ask around. So she was stunned to walk into the conference and find Josh sitting at the table. Why would he be at a city council meeting?

  Gladys sat next to him, batting her false eyelashes. Charity sat across and down a couple of seats, concerned about being too close and giving away her body’s predictable reaction whenever he was near. He gave her a quick grin as she took her seat. She smiled back, trying not to let anyone see she was baffled and a little annoyed. They were involved—shouldn’t he have said something?

  When everyone had arrived, Marsha called the special session to order. Then she motioned to Josh.

  “Thanks for coming today,” he began, then passed out a blue folder to everyone. “I want to talk about starting a bike racing school in town.”

  Charity stared at him. Since when?

  “I’ve been approached by a few people in town over the years,” he continued. “I never considered the idea until a few weeks ago. Then I started doing some research. Not only is there a need in the area, but a successful school brings in big money to the local community. Not just the taxes paid by the business itself, but through visitors and races.”

  “Gotta have those heads in beds,” Pia said. “We need the tax revenue.”

  “I’ve also been talking to some potential corporate sponsors. They’re very interested.”

  Marsha didn’t look surprised by any of this, so Charity had the feeling Josh had discussed it with her.

  “What would you want?” Gladys asked.

  “Land. I have a few sites picked out. I have a couple of acres I could donate and Marsha owns two more that neighbor mine. The last plot is owned by the city.”

  He got up and dimmed the lights, then flicked on a projector that lit up the screen on the far wall.

  An aerial view of the town showed the land in question. With the exception of the bit owned by the city, it was just outside the limits of Fool’s Gold.

  “We’d want to be annexed,” he said. “The taxes will be higher for us, but that will be offset by city services.” He clicked and another picture appeared. This was a rendering of a large building.

  “We’re thinking indoor and outdoor tracks. Weight rooms, simulators. There would be two or three small houses where students could live while they trained. Kids still in high school would be a problem. Tutors are an option but then there’s a lack of socialization. If we could work something out with the board of education, they could attend local classes while they’re training.”

  He continued to talk, explaining his well-thought-out plan. Charity listened, impressed but still a little hurt for being left out of the loop. Apparently she thought they had more of a relationship than they actually did. But she didn’t let that get in the way of her vote. She gave the idea a yes vote, as did everyone else.

  When the meeting was over, she returned to her office. Josh walked in a few minutes later. He was grinning and obviously pleased with how things had gone.

  “What did you think?” he asked.

  “I was surprised. How are you going to have a training facility here and not ride?”

  “I can’t,” he admitted. “I’ll have to be a part of things. One way or the other, I’ll beat this.”

  “By boxing yourself into a corner?”

  “Whatever works.” He moved toward her desk. “Did you think the presentation was well done?”

  She didn’t understand the question. If he was anyone else, she would assume her opinion mattered. That he wanted to hear she’d been blown away. But this was Josh. Everyone loved him. Why would her praise matter?

  “I didn’t want to say anything to you,” he continued. “Actually I did. I could have used your help. But I didn’t want to take advantage of our relationship and put you in an awkward position. If you hated the idea, I didn’t want you to feel you had to support it.”

  He’d been thinking of her? Being considerate?

  Her irritation faded, replaced by a reminder that it was always better to get all the facts before jumping to conclusions.

  “You did fine on your own,” she told him, grateful she hadn’t been snarky about any of it. “It’s a great idea. And hey, it should bring in a lot of men, right? Gladys will be thrilled.”

  “Pleasing her is what I live for.”

  Charity laughed. “She’ll be delighted to know that.” Her humor faded. “I’m not sure throwing yourself in the deep end is the best way to fix the problem, though.”

  “Nothing else has worked. That’s who I am. That guy who races to win. I don’t intend to do it for the rest of my life, but I want to go out on my terms. If I’d been injured, then it would be one of those things. I could accept that. But there’s nothing wrong with me. At least not on the outside.”

  She could see his determination. “Okay. Apparently Fool’s Gold is getting a riding school. Are we naming it after you?”

  He grinned. “Of course. I was thinking of something like ‘The Golden Institute.’”

  “Sounds like a place you go to get a tan.”

  “Show a little respect or I’ll tell Gladys you’re not treating me right.”

  “You’re threatening me with a woman in her sixties?”

  “She could take you.”

  “I’m afraid she could.”

  He walked around the desk, gave her a quick kiss on the mouth, then stepped back. “You have to work. Want to go out to dinner tonight?”

  “Very much.”

  “Seven?”

  “I’ll come to your place,” she said, anticipating the time they would spend together.

  “I’ll be the handsome guy. In case there’s someone else in the room.”

  “Thanks for the heads-up.”

  Charity watched him leave, then sat down behind her desk. While she appreciated that Josh felt he had to fix the problem, she was worried there was more at stake. Were his actions about leaving the sport on his terms, as he claimed, or was this about becoming that famous guy again? The star.

  Because a world-class athlete wouldn’t be staying in Fool’s Gold. He would be out in the world. Far, far away from her.

  * * *

  CHARITY DRESSED FOR DINNER, then left her room to walk the few steps to Josh’s. But as she closed her door, she saw a pretty teenager knocking on his. The girl was eighteen or nineteen, wearing a frilly sun-dress, looking more defiant than happy.

  He opened the door. “You’re right on—” His look of pleasure faded. He glanced past the teen to Charity, who raised her eyebrows.

  “Haven’t got a clue,” he said, then returned his attention to the girl. “Yes?”

  The girl made an attempt to smile. “It’s me. Emily.”

  “Okay.”

  “Emily. We met a couple of months ago at Jo’s Bar. You bought me a drink. Well, more than one. Then we came back here…” Emily
glanced at Charity. “Who are you?”

  “His date.”

  Emily looked startled for a second, then squared her shoulders. “Whatever. This is private. Maybe you should come back later.”

  “Not a chance,” Josh said, sounding certain.

  Charity did her best to keep from racing to the worst conclusion.

  “Why don’t you both come in?” Josh said.

  Emily pushed past him and entered the suite. Charity hesitated.

  He held out his hand, his gaze steady. “It’s not what you think.”

  She was remembering him telling her how long it had been since he’d been intimate with anyone. At the time, she’d believed him. Did she now? Did she go with the evidence, or trust her gut? Because right now her gut was saying that Josh was someone special. Someone she wanted to get to know better.

  She put her hand in his. He pulled her close.

  “Thank you,” he murmured in her ear, then led her into the suite.

  Emily stood behind the sofa. She looked less certain and a whole lot younger. Her hair fell in dark curls. Her eyes were wide and carefully made-up.

  “Are you sure you want her here?” Emily asked, looking only at Josh.

  “Yes.”

  “You’ll be sorry.”

  “A risk I’m willing to take.”

  Emily drew in a breath and tossed her head. “I’m pregnant.”

  Charity pulled back her hand. Josh didn’t let it go.

  Her mind whirled and spun. Pregnant? Meaning she really had had sex with Josh?

  “I’ve never slept with you,” Josh said calmly.

  “You were drunk but I didn’t think you were that drunk.” Emily’s large eyes filled with tears. “I can’t believe you don’t remember. You do it with everyone. I know that. But that night meant something to me and now I’m pregnant.”

  The tears began to fall in earnest. “I was supposed to go to college in the fall. How can that happen now? This is your baby. You need to take responsibility for it.”

  Charity felt sick to her stomach. She jerked her hand free and was grateful Emily had shown up before dinner. If she’d eaten a big meal, she would be throwing up right about now.

  “How far along are you?” he asked.

  “S-seven weeks.”

  “Do you remember the date we had our special night together?”

  There was a hint of annoyance in his voice. Not concern or worry. He obviously didn’t believe Emily. Josh was a lot of things, but he wasn’t irresponsible. She knew that much. So if he was certain the baby wasn’t his, then she would guess he hadn’t been with Emily at all.

  She drew in a breath and reminded herself she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  “It was a Tuesday,” Emily said, still crying.

  Josh folded his arms across his chest. “Here’s what we’re going to do. The three of us will walk downstairs to the gift shop where we’ll buy a pregnancy test. Then you and Charity are going to come back here where you’ll pee on the stick.” He narrowed his gaze. “With Charity watching.”

  “What?” Emily demanded.

  “I want confirmation that you’re the one doing the peeing.” He glanced at Charity. “To make sure she’s the one who’s pregnant. I had a woman do this a few years ago. She came back with a positive pregnancy test, but it turned out she’d brought her friend’s urine in a container. The friend was pregnant.”

  “You’ve been through this before?”

  Weariness invaded his eyes. “You have no idea.”

  Any lingering doubt faded. She moved next to him and put her hand on his back. “Let’s go get the test.”

  “I’m not peeing in front of her,” Emily said.

  “Would you rather pee in front of me?” Josh asked.

  “Fine.” Emily marched past them and out the door.

  They all walked to the elevator and rode down. The three of them entered the gift store where the clerk, a woman in her thirties, took one look at Emily and rolled her eyes.

  “Hi, Josh,” she said.

  “Lisa. We need a pregnancy test. Please put it on my bill.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Lisa turned around and studied the collection of sundries. She grabbed a box and passed it to Josh.

  They made the return trip to the third floor and walked back into Josh’s suite. He handed the pregnancy test to Charity. “Do I know how to show you a good time or what?”

  She took the test.

  Emily glared at them both. “I’m not doing this.”

  He shrugged. “Then I have nothing to say to you. Come back when the baby’s born and we’ll do a DNA test.”

  Emily’s determined expression crumbled. Tears filled her eyes, then began to pour down her cheeks. She dropped to the sofa and covered her face with her hands.

  “I’m sorry,” she said with a sob. “I’m sorry.” She looked up. Her makeup stained her skin, making her look like a little girl. “You win. I didn’t sleep with you. I’m not pregnant.”

  While Charity wasn’t exactly surprised, everything about the moment was still surreal.

  “What do you need the money for?” Josh asked.

  Emily sniffed. “College. My dad took off years ago and I have two younger brothers. Mom does the best she can, but there’s nothing left over. I have a partial scholarship. Enough to pay for tuition, but I need living expenses, too.”

  “You thought I’d be an easy mark?” Josh asked, sounding more conversational than angry.

  “Everybody says you’ve, you know, been with a lot of girls. I figured I could pretend and you’d pay me off.” She glanced down at her hands. “It was pretty stupid, huh?”

  “It’s not a moment you’re going to remember with pride,” he said. “What’s your major?”

  Emily glanced up, frowning. “What do you mean?”

  “What were you going to study in college?”

  “Oh. Nursing. I want to be an RN. Pediatrics.” She smiled. “I like kids.”

  “Have you looked at grants?” he asked.

  “A couple. It’s confusing. I really don’t want to get a bunch of loans, if I don’t have to.”

  “You take the SATs yet?”

  “Uh-huh.” She smiled again. “625 on English and 630 on Math.”

  “Impressive.” He was silent for a minute. “After school on Monday, I want you to go to my office. You know where it is?”

  “Sure.”

  “You’re going to talk to a lady named Eddie. She’s my assistant.” He hesitated. “She sounds a lot meaner than she is, so don’t let her scare you off. She’ll help you with the grants. As for the rest of it, you can work for me this summer. Part-time. I’ll pay you minimum wage, if you want. Or I won’t pay you anything, but I’ll put away twenty dollars for every hour you work. At the end of the summer, I’ll send that money to the college of your choice. But if you start and then quit, you get nothing.”

  Emily’s eyes widened. “You’re really going to help me, even though I lied to you?”

  “You have to do the work. If you’ll see it through, I’ll know you’ve learned your lesson.”

  Charity felt as surprised as Emily looked. She’d figured Josh would lecture the girl, then let her go. Instead he’d offered her a way to get everything she wanted, while still having to be responsible and show initiative.

  Emily stood, rushed to Josh and hugged him. Then she stepped back. “I’ll be there,” she promised. “I’ll do whatever you say. I swear. I’m so sorry.” She turned to Charity. “I am sorry. I was desperate and that’s not an excuse. Please don’t be mad at him.”

  “I’m not,” Charity told her.

  “Thank you,” Emily said again. She hurried to the door and let herself out.

  Josh walked over to a small cabinet by the wall, pulled out a bottle of Scotch.

  “Want some?” he asked.

  “I’ll wait and have wine with dinner.”

  He poured himself a glass, then set down the bottle a
nd took a long drink. “Welcome to my world.”

  “Does that happen a lot?”

  “Every now and then, in different forms. People get desperate, I’m an easy target.” He looked at her over the glass. “You know I didn’t sleep with her, right?”

  “Of course. I knew it before she confessed everything.”

  He put down the glass. “How?”

  “You told me there hadn’t been anyone for a while and I believed you. Plus, she’s not really your type.”

  He crossed to her and put his hands on her waist. “What’s my type?”

  “I’m not sure exactly, but I’m confident you’re not into girls still in high school.”

  “You know me well.”

  He kissed her.

  As his mouth claimed hers, she realized that tonight she knew him a little better than she had before. He could have simply thrown Emily out after her confession. There was no reason for him to help a girl he didn’t know who’d tried to blackmail him. Josh was a complicated man. He was also someone she liked. A lot.

  The thought terrified her. Not only did she have to worry about the stupidity of falling for a man like him, she had her own hideous track record looming. Still, it was too late to run for cover now.

  He drew back and smiled at her. “How hungry are you?”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him. “Dinner can wait.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  * * *

  JOSH WARMED UP WITH the high school team. They rode slowly for a couple of miles, mostly talking and laughing without paying attention to anything beyond getting ready for the real workout.

  Josh didn’t listen to the conversation. He couldn’t. Every bit of his attention, every ounce of self-control, was focused on not freaking out like a kid at a monster movie.

  The students rode in a pack, which wasn’t unusual. What made the event incredibly different for Josh was the fact that he was part of the pack. Not in it, exactly, more on the outside, but still riding with the others. At least he was doing it.

  Maybe the slow pace helped. There was no sense of being out of control. He knew nothing bad was going to happen. At this speed, the worst result of a fall would be a skinned knee or elbow.