“Delilah.” Even with her sharp tone, her stepsister had trouble tearing her eyes away. “Roll that tongue back into your mouth. Rule #1: we do not ogle, flirt with, or proposition clients.”
Delilah’s ruby red lips formed a perfect (and well-practiced) pout. “What’s the use of being surrounded by beefcake if you can’t have a nibble?”
“When you’re here, you’re a vegetarian. Got it?”
The pout morphed to a scowl. “You never were any fun.”
“And you’ve always been obsessed with the opposite sex.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
The dull throb at the base of her skull intensified. Mack loved her father, but really, what the hell had he been thinking when he hooked up with Catherine Barrington and her demon spawn?
Catherine was nothing like Mack’s mom. Mack’s mom had been loving and sweet, always ready with a freshly baked cookie and a warm hug at the end of the day, right up until the time she died. Short and ample with laughing blue eyes and a ready smile, she had simply been a beautiful person inside and out.
In contrast, Catherine was tall and slender with all the warmth of an icicle. Any hint of laugh lines was dealt with swiftly and severely; Catherine’s father was an internationally heralded plastic surgeon, after all. Mack doubted the woman had ever touched a cookie in her life, let alone baked one.
Catherine’s daughter, Delilah, was a real-life example of the apple not falling far from the tree. Mack and Delilah were as different as night and day. Tall, slim, blonde, and vain, Delilah’s sole ambition in life was finding a wealthy man to take care of her so she didn’t have to lift a finger.
Except, of course, to have it manicured.
And why wouldn’t she? That plan had worked well for Dee’s mother. Mack’s father was husband number three, and with him, Catherine had hit the mother lode.
The familiar anger simmered low in her belly. Mack was so used to it by now that it barely even registered. Anger at Catherine for being a gold-digger and taking advantage of a lonely man. Anger at Delilah for being such a spoiled, prissy little brat. Anger at her father for not seeing Catherine for what she really was and for bringing that woman and her daughter into their house.
The mother-daughter duo was one of the main reasons she’d joined the Marines, to get away from all that. From them. Despite her father’s dire warnings, she hadn’t regretted a single minute of it. Signing up had been the best thing she’d ever done, next to opening Seize. Now, here she was, more than ten years later and on the other side of the country, still having to deal with their shit.
If only she’d let the call go to voicemail. But she’d seen her dad’s number pop up and secretly hoped he was calling to say he’d finally seen the light and was flying out for a visit to see her and the new fitness center, the one she’d been pouring her heart and soul into for the past couple of years. She’d named the place Seize, inspired by her favorite saying—carpe diem—and the ideal of providing an affordable opportunity for people to take control of their life in terms of health, fitness, and discipline like she had.
Not only was her father not coming, but she was stuck with Delilah for an indeterminate amount of time ranging anywhere from weeks to months. How was she going to pull it off? Not even two minutes into her stepsister’s arrival and she already regretted agreeing to her father’s request. The next few weeks were going to suck.
Mack exhaled heavily and summoned her patience. One of the reasons her father wanted her to look after Dee was to provide a good example of responsibility and maturity, although the realist in her knew it was probably more a case of no one else being able to tolerate Dee for any length of time.
“All right. You’re here, so we might as well make the best of it. We’ll get you settled in at my place tonight and you can start first thing in the morning. What can you do?”
“Excuse me?”
“What job skills do you have?”
Delilah stared blankly back at her, and Mack realized her father had selectively omitted that little nugget about getting a job when he’d been shoving Dee’s ass on the plane.
“While you are staying with me, you will be working here.”
Dee laughed, then sobered when she realized Mack was serious. “You’re joking.”
“No. This isn’t not a brief weekend visit, Dee. If you’re going to be living in my house, I expect you to earn your keep.”
Dee’s eyes narrowed. “Doing what?”
“Let’s start simple. Can you answer the phone? Use a computer?”
Dee sniffed, looking down her perfect, surgically sculpted nose. “I suppose.”
“Great. You’re my new receptionist until Chrissy gets back from her honeymoon. Grab a seat and I’ll give you a quick how-to.”
“What, right now?”
“No time like the present.”
“But I just got here!”
“I won’t have time to show you in the morning.”
“Don’t I get a tour, too? I mean, if I’m going to work here—” her face scrunched up as if she’d just sucked on a lemon “—then I should at least be familiar with the place, right?”
From a normal job applicant, that would make perfect sense, but this was Dee, and there were only two reasons why Princess Dee would want a tour. One was, she wanted to avoid work and the other was, she wanted to scope out more guys. Both were equally probable and neither was acceptable.
“Tomorrow, when Margo comes in to take over, I’ll give you the grand tour.”
Mack demonstrated how to use the phone system to answer and transfer calls, as well as put people on and off hold. She also showed her the basics of the computer system so that Dee would be able to answer simple questions about hours, classes, and membership.
“Be pleasant, professional, and respectful to everyone. It’s all pretty simple and straightforward. If there’s something you can’t handle or answer, take their name and number and tell them I’ll get back to them shortly,” Mack concluded about thirty minutes later. “Now, let’s get you back to my place. I’m sure you’re tired and five a.m. comes early.”
“Make it two. I don’t get up until at least eleven.”
God, give me strength.
Chapter Five
~ Nick ~
“So, what are your fitness goals?” Carl asked as they pushed through a set of double insulated glass doors. “Strength? Endurance? MMA?”
Carl’s question brought Nick’s mind back to the present. The blonde’s bold actions had dredged up some unpleasant memories of another woman, one he didn’t care to remember. He shook them off, reminding himself that not all beautiful, bold women were crazies like Eve Sanderson. Regardless, he still held a strong personal dislike for the type and made a mental note to keep his distance.
“Strength and cardio, mostly, but MMA sounds interesting.”
“It’s not for everyone.” Carl gave Nick an assessing once-over as they moved. “Ever try it?”
“I know some basics, mostly self-defense and disarming techniques.”
“That’s a good start. We can build on that. I teach a couple of classes. When we’re done with the tour, I’ll grab a schedule for you. We encourage people to try new things, step outside their comfort zone. Membership gives you a free pass to everything Seize has to offer, no added fees, no hidden agenda. That includes use of all facilities, equipment, and classes, as well as one-on-one coaching.”
“Sounds great.”
“We believe that keeping things fresh and fun is the key to long lasting fitness.”
Carl took him through the facility, which looked new and well-maintained. The workout areas were clean and spacious with a staggering assortment of state-of-the-art equipment to choose from.
“You sure have a lot of options,” Nick commented as they moved from the group training rooms to the pool, where an aquatic spinning class was in the shallow end. On the far side, several lanes had been roped off for lap swimming.
&n
bsp; “Fitness is a very personal thing, Detective. We’ve got something for everyone, from hardcore professionals to senior citizen groups. There is no one-size-fits-all option. Our goal is to promote health and wellbeing at any level.”
They ended the tour back where they’d started, near the main entrance. Mack wasn’t there, which Nick found disappointing. “So, what do you think?”
“I think it’s great,” Nick answered honestly.
Carl nodded, as if that was the reaction he’d expected. “We’ve got a lot of cops here. Firefighters, too. Did Mack tell you about the service discount?”
“No, we hadn’t gotten that far.”
“Ah, well, Mack’s real big on giving back to the community. Public servants get a twenty-five percent discount.”
“How does the owner feel about that?”
Carl laughed. “Mack is the owner.”
Nick’s surprise must have shown, because Carl added, “Don’t worry, you’re not the first to make the wrong assumption.” Carl gave him a schedule and wrote his name and number across the top. “If you have any questions, give me a call.”
“I will, thanks.” Nick agreed to the two-week trial, but he’d already made up his mind. Seize was definitely the place for him.
DRIVING TO THE CHIEF’S house on Saturday afternoon, Nick’s thoughts roamed back to the intriguing owner of Seize. It wasn’t the first time. Images of those flashing eyes and smirking lips — the ones that suggested she knew something he didn’t — had been popping into his mind repeatedly.
What was her story, he wondered? She had an interesting one, of that he was certain. Where had she come from and what made her decide to set up shop in Covendale? Did she have family in the area? Was she involved with anyone?
More importantly, why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?
Only one other woman had managed to hijack his thoughts so quick and thoroughly. Freshman year of high school. Second period. Mr. Kartofski’s earth science lab. He remembered it as if it was yesterday. Annie Sullivan had smiled at him from across the room and he’d been lost.
He sighed. He was getting ahead of himself. He wasn’t that same awkward, hormone-riddled adolescent he’d been then; he was a fully-grown man with too much life experience under his belt to go jumping to conclusions. That flash in her eyes might have been nothing more than a trick of the light and perhaps some subconscious, wishful thinking on his part. Maybe she wasn’t even interested.
But what if she was? Now that he was moving forward again, wasn’t the possibility worth investigating?
‘Maybe’ was the best answer he could come up with. Instant chemistry or not, he’d been out of the game for a long time and it was quite possible he was totally misreading the situation. Bottom line: he needed to proceed with caution.
That decided, he turned his thoughts to the present. He found a parking place on the street around the block and took a deep breath, preparing himself for an afternoon of being ‘the new guy’. Even though his family had been in the area for decades, he hadn’t been, and it was as good a place as any to start re-introducing himself to the community.
There was already a decent-sized crowd at Chief Brown’s when he arrived. Gail greeted him with a warm, friendly smile and immediately took him out back where most of the action was. Nick recognized some guests from the station. Kent Emerson was there, as well as Joe Hibbs and Cybil Galligan and half a dozen guys he pegged as uniforms. Many appeared to have come with spouses and kids. A few, like Emerson, had a plus one. Others, like him, were flying solo. Some looked vaguely familiar, as if he might have gone to school with them or seen them around the garage where he worked during the summers.
The chief waved him over to one of the largest outdoor grills Nick had ever seen, waving a spatula toward a massive tub of ice filled with bottles of beer and soda. “Glad you made it! Help yourself.”
“Thanks. Nice grill.”
Sam beamed with pride. “This here’s the Flame Master 5000. Best grill money can buy and envy of every man here. Not that I’ll let any of them near it,” he said on a laugh.
Nick grabbed a beer and twisted off the top and looked around, feeling some of the tension ebb away. He’d missed these kinds of cookouts. When he’d been growing up, barely a summer weekend had gone by without his parents or one of their neighbors having one. Adults would talk and chill and the kids would spend all day running around, splashing in the pool, grabbing ice pops, then lighting sparklers and catching lightning bugs at night until their parents dragged them home. They were good memories.
Gail reappeared with a plate piled high with hamburger and hot dog buns and set them down on a table near the grill. “Come on, Nick, let me introduce you around.”
“Behave yourself,” Sam warned her, then looked at Nick and lowered his voice. “My Gail is a notorious matchmaker.”
“Oh, go on with you,” Gail waved her husband off, but her eyes were twinkling. “I’m just being neighborly. Anything else is up to fate.”
“Fate, huh?” Nick chuckled as Gail looped her arm through his and led him away from Sam and his Flame Master 5000.
“Absolutely. I’m a strong believer in fate. There’s a reason you came back to us now,” she told him.
An image of Mack flashed in his mind. “Yeah, what’s that?”
She laughed softly. “Darned if I know. Despite what Sam says, I’m not a meddler. All I’m saying is, keep your head and heart open to the possibilities and everything will work out.”
They approached a couple, mid-fortyish, sitting comfortably in large deck chairs beneath the canopy that had been set up. “Nick, this is my sister, Marianne and her husband, Tom Keller. Marianne, Tom, Nick Benning.”
Both rose to greet him. “Nick! So good to meet you in person!” Marianne said as Nick shook hands with Tom. “I was hoping to see you here. I think I’ve found the perfect place for you.”
Nick lifted his brows in surprise. “Already?”
“It’s a terrific Cape Cod on the edge of town, two acres, garage, and ready for immediate occupancy. The owners moved rather quickly; the husband got a temporary transfer to North Carolina to help set up a new office and they’re looking to lease the place out for the cost of the monthly mortgage payment. It comes furnished with the basics, but they’ve already put most of their stuff in storage, so it won’t feel too weird. We can look at it as soon as tomorrow, if that works for you.”
She paused to take a breath and her husband laughed. “You’ll have to forgive my wife’s enthusiasm.”
Nick laughed, too. “No problem. It’s nice to meet someone who loves what they do. And tomorrow would be great, thanks.”
The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly enough. People were polite and friendly, though he did catch the curious glances and occasional whispers. It wasn’t unexpected. Covendale was a small-town community, and small-town communities tended to have long memories.
Proof of that came later as Nick made his way into the house to seek out the bathroom.
“So, what do you think of the new guy?” Nick paused in the kitchen, recognizing the voice of the redhead who’d been hanging around Emerson.
“He seems nice. He’s got that whole “still waters run deep” vibe going on, which is kind of sexy. Don’t tell Joe I said so, though.”
Emerson’s date — Nick thought her name was Cameron — laughed. “Agreed.”
Nick pegged the other woman as Stacy Hibbs, Joe’s wife.
As much as his male ego enjoyed hearing that, eavesdropping on a private conversation wasn’t his thing. Nick was just about to backtrack when Cameron’s next words made him hesitate. “Kent says the guy has some dark history here.”
The other woman said nothing.
“Something about a big scandal,” Emerson’s date pushed, “and that Nick skipped town after his fiancée died.”
“It wasn’t like that.” Stacy said quietly. “And Kent wasn’t even around then.”
“No, but Kent said—�
�
“Look, Cameron,” Stacy’s voice was quiet, yet firm. “I don’t mean to be rude, but Kent shouldn’t be talking about things he knows nothing about, and you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.”
The redhead stormed out of the bathroom and made a beeline for the patio. Stacy came out a few moments later and spotted him. Genuine sympathy crossed over her features.
“You heard that, didn’t you? I’m sorry. Some people don’t know when to keep their big mouths shut.”
Nick nodded. Stacy wasn’t wrong. “Thanks.”
“You don’t remember me, do you?”
“No, I’m sorry.”
“We went to high school together. I was Stacy Leonard then.”
Nick searched his memories for the name, coming up with a picture of a skinny girl with thick glasses and braces, but it was hard to reconcile that image with the slightly plump, radiant-faced beauty standing next to him now. “Ms. Opelka’s algebra class, right?”
Her smile was brilliant and genuine. “You do remember!”
“I do now, but in my defense, you look a little different now than you did then.”
She laughed. “Contact lenses and three kids will do that to you. Listen, can I give you a piece of friendly, unsolicited advice?” Nick nodded. “Watch your back around Kent, okay?”
Nick had already figured that out. Though Kent was outwardly friendly when others were around, Nick kept picking up a distinctly unfriendly vibe, one that seemed to extend beyond simple office politics. It felt personal, which didn’t make any sense. Nick hadn’t even met the guy until a week ago.
“Yeah. It’s the why of it that eludes me.”
Stacy’s eyes widened. “You don’t know? Kent Emerson is Eve Sanderson’s cousin.”
Well, that explained a lot. “No, I didn’t know that, but thanks for the heads-up.”
Chapter Six
~ Mack ~
“Why are you eating dried ball sacks?”
Mack glanced up from the table to see her housemate, Jay, looking at her with an expression of abject horror.
Seizing Mack: A Contemporary Love Story (Covendale Book 3) Page 3