Baby, Don't Go

by Stephanie Bond

  “You could,” Nina agreed. “The reason you’re at this level, Alicia, is because you understand the importance of sacrifice. Keep those blog entries coming.”

  Alicia disconnected the call and rummaged for clean clothes in her borrowed wardrobe. Her stomach churned with excitement—not at the prospect of staying longer in Sweetness, of course, but at the prospect of having a nationally syndicated blog.

  With a national web presence, she’d be able to reach a larger audience and warn exponentially more women about matchmaking towns like Sweetness, Georgia, run by chauvinists like Marcus Armstrong.

  He needed to be brought down a notch.

  In fact, she practically had a duty to sleep with the man.

  But even as her chest thrummed with the thrill of the challenge, she worried her lower lip. She’d essentially had to double-dog-dare the stubborn man to kiss her.

  How would she ever get him into bed?

  17

  “Heads up, Marcus!”

  Marcus looked up in time to see a log swinging his way. He ducked, but felt the whiff of air on his cheek as it narrowly missed him. He swore under his breath and took a step back, then watched the boom operator lower the huge log onto a growing stack on a flatbed trailer. He could’ve been killed, or seriously injured.

  Kendall strode up to him. “You okay, bro?”

  “Yeah,” Marcus mumbled.

  “I yelled twice,” Kendall said, his brow creased.

  “I didn’t hear you.”

  Kendall gave him a tense smile. “Everything’s under control here if you need to get back to the diner.”

  Marcus frowned and checked his watch, then realized he’d been doing that all day—watching time crawl on his wrist. And tapping his shirt pocket to make sure Alicia’s bracelet was still there, like some kind of compulsive idiot. “No, I’m good,” he assured Kendall through gritted teeth. “Besides, the diner closed an hour ago.”

  His brother clapped him on the back and looked to the horizon. “No smoke cloud—that’s a good sign.”

  Marcus grunted his agreement. “I guess we’re going to have to advertise for a cook. I can’t believe no one in this entire town wants the job.”

  Kendall scratched his temple. “Amy told me everyone is afraid that Alicia will leave and Molly will come back.”

  His stomach cramped a little. “Why would Alicia leave?”

  Kendall shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “Dad!”

  Kendall turned and waved at Tony, who loped toward them wearing a big grin. “Mom asked me to come and get you for dinner.”

  “Okay,” Kendall said. “How was your first day on the job?”

  “I worked hard,” Tony said, his words tumbling out. “The air conditioner went out and Miss Alicia asked me to bring big fans out of the stockroom. That helped a lot. And when we ran out of clean plates, Miss Alicia asked me to go the General Store and buy paper plates for everyone to use.”

  “Good job,” Kendall said.

  Marcus bit down on his cheek. Why hadn’t she called him?

  “I like working for Miss Alicia,” Tony added in a lovestruck voice. Then his eyes flew wide. “I almost forgot—there was a fight at the diner!”

  Marcus did a double-take. “A fight?”

  Tony nodded excitedly. “Yeah—Miss Teri and Miss Gina got into a fight over some guy they were waiting on and Miss Alicia stepped in the middle of it and she got hit—“

  “Whoa,” Marcus said, alarmed. “Alicia was hit?”

  Tony gave another exaggerated nod. “She fell down.” His eyebrows drew together. “I was going to help her up, but that big Shawn Taylor helped her instead.”

  Marcus’s stomach tightened at the thought of Taylor’s hands on Alicia. “Was she hurt?”

  “She got a black eye, but Dr. Nikki said she was okay and she kept working all day.” Admiration shone on the boy’s face.

  Still, Marcus was seized with concern, although he schooled his face into mild disinterest. He looked up at Kendall. “I probably should go check on…the air conditioner.”

  “Absolutely,” Kendall said. “We’re finished here for the day anyway.”

  Marcus gave a curt nod and headed in the direction of the diner. As his mind spun scenarios about Alicia’s injuries and just how much “help” Shawn Taylor had given her, his feet moved faster. He stopped by the diner to find it locked up tight, with nothing seemingly amiss. He made a cursory pass by the air conditioning unit to find it was running, but sounded sluggish. He made a mental note to have one of his electricians check it out, then headed across the street to the boardinghouse.

  He knocked before entering the front door. Most of the first floor was common area where residents and visitors roamed freely until the hour when men were supposed to be out, but he preferred to err on the side of caution in case one of the women was walking around in a state of undress.

  The thought slid into his mind that he wouldn’t mind seeing Alicia in a state of undress. And despite his best efforts to squash it, the image lodged in his brain as he scanned the common areas for her dark hair and flashing brown eyes.

  “Hey, Marcus.”

  Startled, he looked up to see Amy standing nearby, a quizzical expression on her face.

  “Something I can help you with?”

  He tried to be nonchalant. “I, uh, heard Alicia Waters was injured today at the diner. I just wanted to check on her…you know, liability and all.”

  “Right,” she said with a nod. “I saw Alicia earlier, she was headed to her room.”

  “Oh,” he said, inexplicably disappointed.

  “You should go up and knock on her door,” Amy encouraged, and gave him Alicia’s room number.

  He frowned. “Were her injuries serious?”

  “Nikki didn’t think so, but you should talk to Alicia yourself,” Amy said, turning to go.

  Marcus hesitated. “Amy?”

  She looked back. “Yes?”

  “Kendall mentioned you said no one was willing to take the cook’s position because they think Alicia will leave and Molly will come back to run the diner.”

  She nodded. “That’s the general feeling.”

  “Did Alicia tell you she’s going to leave?”

  “No, but…” Amy made a vague gesture. “She just doesn’t seem like the kind of woman who would be happy here.”

  His chest stirred with discontent. “What makes you say that?”

  She shrugged. “Call it intuition. She seems like someone who’s just passing through.” Then she gave him a pointed look. “Then again, I guess that depends on whether she thinks there’s something here worth sticking around for.”

  Amy walked away and a sudden headache settled between Marcus’s temples. He massaged at the pain, biting back a curse. Alicia Waters had been nothing but a strain on his mind and body since she’d driven into town. He glanced toward the front door, tempted to leave. After all, if Nikki thought Alicia was okay, that should be good enough for him. But something pulled at him—he wanted to set eyes on Alicia himself…

  And see if Shawn Taylor’s handprints were all over her.

  He patted his pocket that held her bracelet and brightened with an idea. If he gained entrance to her room, maybe he could leave the bracelet somewhere she’d find it. She’d never have to know she’d dropped it while she was playing mermaid in the creek. Or that he’d been watching.

  He made his way to the stairs, only to find his way blocked by the doe the women had domesticated, holding a tennis ball in its mouth. Marcus frowned—wild animals had no business being indoors with humans.

  He felt that way about himself sometimes, that except for his brothers, he had no business mixing with people. With Porter and Kendall pairing off and marrying soon, he—and everyone else—would probably be happier if he moved to a shack on the top of the mountain and lived alone.

  He sidestepped the deer, which followed him until a couple of children appeared to divert it. Marcus climbed the s
tairs, nodding self-consciously to women he passed. He’d never set foot on the second floor of the boardinghouse. He felt like an interloper in this alien space that was occupied by women and children. Walking toward Alicia’s room, his footsteps slowed, but his heart was pounding—he must’ve taken those stairs faster than he’d realized.

  When he reached her door, he stopped and jammed his hands on his hips. What if she misinterpreted his visit to her room? After goading him into that kiss, she might get the wrong idea. Marcus worked his mouth back and forth, then decided he was making a mountain out of a molehill when it came to her injury. If Alicia didn’t show up for work tomorrow, then he’d send someone to look in on her.

  With his decision made, Marcus felt relieved. He turned to go—but came up short when a hair-curling scream sounded from behind Alicia’s door.

  He pivoted back and knocked loudly. “Alicia? It’s Marcus. Are you okay?”

  “Help me!”

  Her voice was panicked. He put his hand on the doorknob, but it was locked. He put his shoulder to the solid wood door and slammed into it until the lock gave way and the door flew open. He had conjured up all kinds of scenarios, from the room being on fire to her lying in the floor with a life-threatening injury. Smoke or blood he was prepared for.

  What he wasn’t prepared to find was Alicia standing on the bed in spitting-good health with only a towel covering her voluptuous curves. He stopped, momentarily paralyzed…and mesmerized.

  But Alicia was animated. Her big brown eyes were wide as she pointed to the closet. “Kill it!”

  Alicia’s finger shook. She distantly registered that she was wearing a towel and Marcus was staring at her, but her quaking fear overrode everything else. “Hurry, it’ll get away!”

  Marcus blinked then moved closer to the closet. “What is it?”

  “It’s a scorpion! A real, live scorpion! There, on top of my laundry,” she said, pointing.

  But Marcus didn’t seem to be intimidated as he stared down at the vile creature…which she now conceded was much smaller than she’d first thought. But still—it was a scorpion, curled and bristling, poised to pump lethal poison into her from its stinger at the end of its wicked curled tail. She shuddered when she remembered how close she’d come to picking it up with her laundry.

  “Kill it dead,” she said evenly.

  Marcus looked up and the man was…smiling? “I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”

  She frowned. “Why not? Is it some kind of scorpion imposter, like that second-rate rattlesnake?”

  He laughed, and the sound caught her by surprise. “No, it’s a scorpion, all right. But our scorpions here in Georgia aren’t aggressive. And if they sting you, it’s not dangerous unless you’re allergic. It feels kind of like a wasp sting.”

  Alicia lifted her chin. “Even so…that can’t feel good.”

  “No,” he agreed, smothering a smile. “But scorpions are good for the environment—they eat their weight in insects.”

  She scowled. “But aren’t they better able to do their job if they’re outside?”

  He grinned. “Yes.”

  She realized she’d never seen the man so congenial, and it only spiked her ire. “I’m glad you’re enjoying this.”

  His gaze skated over her from her shower-damp hair to her curled toes, as if to indicate he was enjoying some parts of the situation more than others. Alicia tried to gather the towel around her more closely, but when she covered one patch of skin, she only revealed another. She didn’t dare try to climb down, lest she flash him. As it was, she could feel air on her private parts. The way he was looking at her with those hooded blue eyes triggered a full-body flush starting at her knees. Her midsection tightened with desire; her nipples budded.

  “I can deal with this,” he said. But his words held such vehemence, she got the feeling he was talking to himself…and not about the scorpion.

  He stared.

  She stared.

  He was still wearing his work clothes—a leather belt held up rugged jeans and a collared shirt with the sleeves rolled above his elbows revealed muscular forearms. Dusty work boots were planted in a wide stance. His hands looked large and capable. He was so sexy and so masculine, he literally took her breath away. Alicia wet her lips.

  He abruptly turned to retrieve an empty paper cup and her order pad from her dresser, then used them to scoop up the intruder. “I’ll take it outside,” he announced without looking at her, then walked out of her room and closed the door behind him with a bang.

  Alicia remained standing on the bed for a few seconds until she regained her wits. As she climbed down unsteadily, she wasn’t sure which creature had affected her the most—the scorpion or the man. Now that the crisis was over, she wondered briefly how Marcus happened to be outside her door…and she chided herself for not seizing the moment. Since hanging up with Nina, she’d been racking her brain for ways she could take it to the next level with the town’s caretaker. Yet he’d been in her bedroom and she’d been nearly naked and her womanly wiles had completely abandoned her.

  She sighed and walked over to the door to examine the splintered jamb. Her chest buzzed with an unfamiliar sensation. She usually hated male bravado, but admitted it had been thrilling when Marcus had burst into the room. She’d never had a man break down a door for her before.

  And the way he’d looked at her in her towel…

  Alicia shook her head to clear it of romantic nonsense—cozying up to Marcus Armstrong was simply a means to an end. She jammed a chair under the doorknob to compensate for the broken lock, then padded to her closet to remove a soft cotton dress while keeping an eye out for stray scorpions. After pulling the dress over her head, newly inspired, she returned to her laptop to type in another blog entry, this one about Marcus Armstrong unexpectedly coming to her rescue while she stood on the bed. Her fingers flew over the keys, then she read the ending aloud.

  “The next time I have a chance to get close to Matthew, I’ll have to be on my toes. Of course, considering the fact that he was in my bedroom and I was short of clothing, there might never be a better time. Matthew is so distant and so aloof, it’s not as if he’s going to just knock on my door.”

  Then a knock sounded on her door.

  18

  At the knock on her door, Alicia’s heart lurched in her chest. “Who is it?” she called.

  “Marcus.”

  She hastily sent the blog entry to Nina, then closed her laptop. On the way to the door she touched her tender eye, wishing she had time to apply concealer, then chastised herself for allowing the man to bring out her vanity. She removed the chair wedged under the knob and opened the door.

  From the threshold, he held up her order pad, his blue eyes twinkling. “The scorpion is safe.”

  She smirked and took the pad. “Well, that’s a relief.”

  Then he sobered. “I’ll fix your door tomorrow. Will you be okay tonight?”

  “Unless there are more scorpions lurking about.”

  “I can check if you like.”

  Here was the opportunity to get him back into her room, and she was suddenly nervous. “Uh, sure,” she said, then opened the door wider to allow him in. She closed it behind him, and the room seemed to shrink. He was so big…and so sexy. Her heart thudded in her chest.

  He turned to look at her and to her surprise, he reached for her. She was a split second away from falling into him when she realized he was merely reaching past her to flip the light switch. The overhead light went out, casting the room into relative darkness. She went still as all of her other senses kicked into overdrive.

  “What are you doing?” she asked with a little laugh.

  The round beam of a small flashlight clicked on. “Scorpions are translucent, so they’re easier to spot if you shine a light on them in the dark.”

  “I’m picking up all kinds of helpful tidbits,” she murmured dryly.

  As her eyes acclimated to the soft light of dusk coming through the win
dow, she watched him move methodically around the room, shining the light under furniture and into corners. That same strange sensation from earlier suffused her chest, the feeling of being protected. No man had ever made her feel that way…it was a powerful aphrodisiac. When he worked his way back to where she stood, she was trying to calm her galloping nerves.

  “I just need to check your bed,” he said. “They like to burrow in fabric, which is why you found it in your laundry.”

  “Go ahead,” she agreed readily.

  But there was something intimate about him lifting the pillows and shining the light over the covers on her bed. She had a vision of them lying in the sheets together, naked and sated.

  “All clear,” he said finally.

  When he turned back to her, the space between them hummed with electricity. In the dark Alicia could feel his big body pulling on hers. The light from the window emphasized the hard angles of his face—the sharp cheekbones and strong jaw. Alicia was torn—Nina’s voice encouraging her to up the ante reverberated in her head…yet she felt something akin to fear, like when she was tumbling down the creek bank, about to fall in over her head. Except instead of saving her, Marcus Armstrong would be the one pulling her under.

  He shifted his feet, then reached past her for the light switch…but somehow his hand was diverted to her face. The warmth of his fingers was a shock to her system. Her throat convulsed.

  He caressed her bruised cheek. “I heard you were in a brawl today.”

  She gave a little smile. “You should see the other girl.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she said. Except for the fact that she was practically trembling under his touch.

  “What happened?”

  “It was silly. Teri and Gina were quarreling—over a man, no less. It turned into a shoving match and I stepped in, then I fell and caught a chair on the way down.”

  His jaw hardened and he dropped his hand. “I hope you fired them.”

  She shook her head, again thinking how she didn’t want the women to be out of a job when she left. “They were remorseful. Besides, we’re shorthanded the way it is.”