Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  Doug dropped his pen and looked Rhys in the eyes. “’Cause if it were budgeted, it would have been done by now. And it wouldn’t be you bringing it in.”

  He had him there. “Maybe you could do it out of the kindness of your heart?” It was a long shot. They both knew it.

  Doug scratched his head and looked down at the desk. “Seems I’m doing enough favors these days.” He nodded toward the window, and Kari’s car sitting out front.

  “Is it ready?”

  “Nope. And it ain’t ever going to be ready unless she gives me a credit card deposit. To order her parts. I ain’t no bank, Anderson. And I ain’t gonna start fronting Mercedes parts on my bankroll. Especially for no tourist.”

  “No, I get it.” Rhys shook his head and bit back a retort about Kari not being a tourist. The fact remained, he didn’t know what she was. “Did you call her? I’m sure she’ll give you a credit card and you can get moving on it.”

  “Nope.” Doug returned to his paperwork. “Said she’d pay cash. But she ain’t got it. Asked me to wait off on ordering anything for a while. Said she wasn’t in a hurry.”

  “Really?” A thrill went through him at the idea that Kari wasn’t in a hurry to get her car fixed. That meant she wasn’t going to be going anywhere anytime fast. But the story still didn’t make sense. “That can’t be right.”

  “It’s right. Said she was workin’ up at the resort and she’d pay me when she could.”

  “Well, if she’s not worried, why are you?”

  Doug dropped his pen and stared at him. “I ain’t gonna be responsible for no Mercedes on my lot,” he said. “I ain’t a parking lot. I told her I’d need to order in a week. Tops.”

  “Sounds reasonable.”

  Doug shook his head and grunted.

  “Okay then.” Rhys turned to leave and then, remembering why he’d come in the first place, turned back to face Doug. “So that’s a no on the A/C then?”

  “Tell ya what, Anderson. Come mid-October, if you’re still too hot in that cruiser of yours, I’ll take a look at it. On the house.”

  Rhys laughed. They both knew that in only a few weeks, the weather would change again, and fall would come to the mountains. It would be months before Rhys would need the air conditioner again. “It’s a deal.”

  He left Doug scribbling away at the stack of paperwork on his desk, and was almost out the door when the other man called out. “There’s one more thing, Anderson.”

  Something in his voice stopped Rhys. He looked slowly, his head tipped.

  “When I brought the car in, I couldn’t find any papers.”

  “What do you mean, papers?”

  “No registration.” Doug rolled his eyes.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. No registration, no insurance papers. Glove box was empty.”

  “That doesn’t seem right.”

  “Nope.” Doug gave him a wry smile. “That’s what I thought. Surely Officer Anderson would have checked that, right?”

  Rhys shot him a glare. The truth was, he hadn’t asked for her information. There hadn’t been any need to. It wasn’t a traffic violation, just a broken down car. Nothing wrong with that.

  “Well,” Rhys ignored the man’s implications, “something to ask her about next time she comes in.”

  “Yup. Sure seemed strange, though.”

  Rhys let himself out of the shop and slipped into the cruiser. It did seem strange that there wouldn’t be any papers in the car. The lingering thought that there was something Kari wasn’t telling him came back. What was she hiding?

  She still couldn’t believe her luck. It had been two weeks since Carmen had put Kari to work at the front desk. Just looking around the lobby area of the Springs, a sense of peace and calm filled her, which she knew was the point. The resort had been carefully planned and designed for serenity, and the designers had certainly hit their mark. Just standing at the reception desk had calmed her. And after only a few weeks, Kari felt like she could stay forever. It didn’t seem to matter that she suddenly found herself in charge of checking in guests and looking after their every need when only a few short weeks ago she would have been one of them. Her old friends, if you could really even call them that, would be appalled to see her doing menial labor.

  But not only did Kari not care, she loved it. She’d never been cut out for the luxurious, fake life that Brice had so carefully constructed. For him, it was the ultimate in success to be able to have every advantage, living a life that was more for appearances than actually living. That’s all Kari had ever been to Brice. An appearance. The blond and beautiful wife who presented just the right image to his business partners. That was, until she opened her mouth.

  God forbid she have an opinion about Brice’s business dealings, especially if it was an unfavorable one. He’d underestimated her, not bothering to hide his conversations while he was scheming and plotting against his longtime partner, Louis Taylor. Brice never had a problem stepping on others to get ahead, but it was a low move, even for him, to set up Louis to take the fall for an embezzlement charge. He’d pleaded out, like Brice knew he would, but it didn’t mean his career wasn’t over, his life ruined. It wasn’t right and Kari told him so, threatened to expose him if he didn’t make it right.

  And she would have, too. Except instead, he’d offered her the one thing she couldn’t refuse. Or so she’d thought. But nothing comes without strings. Especially not a divorce.

  “You must be Kari?” A voice startled her out of her daydream. She spun around to see the woman who’d been with Rhys outside the Grizzly Paw on her first morning in Cedar Springs. She was a very attractive blond woman, dressed in scrubs. Her smile was warm, but there was an edge lingering behind it that Kari didn’t miss.

  “I am.” She extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “I’m Beth. I’m the physiotherapist here. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Kari kept the smile fixed firmly on her face. “You have?”

  A look Kari couldn’t quite identify crossed Beth’s face. “Of course,” she said. “News of a fresh face in Cedar Springs is certain to get around. I was hoping to meet you last Sunday at the Grizzly Paw. Sam told me you were going to join the group.”

  “I did.” Kari nodded, remembering the fun afternoon she’d spent with her new friends. “I’m sorry I missed you. I can’t believe we haven’t had a chance to meet yet.”

  “Yes,” Beth said. “My daughter wasn’t feeling well, so I needed to stay home.”

  “Oh, Jules?” Kari’d seen the girl around a few times since meeting her at the beach, and every time, she’d decided she liked the girl a little more. “Is she okay?”

  Beth’s smile was cautious. “She is. It was a touch of the flu. And Rhys brought over some of Archer’s soup later that night; that seemed to help. You know that Rhys is—”

  “Kari, I’m so glad I found you.” Dylan, Carmen’s boyfriend, and one of the owners of the Springs, called across the lobby and jogged toward them. “Sorry to interrupt,” he added when he drew closer. He looked between the two women. “Hey Beth.”

  “Hi, Dylan. I’ll leave you two to it,” she said. “It sounds important.” Beth waved and took off across the tile floor. Kari wanted to call after her and see what she had to say about Rhys. She’d enjoyed spending time with him over the last few weeks. He seemed to spend a lot of time at the Grizzly Paw. That was the thing about living above the pub; people were always around. But she liked to think Rhys’s frequent visits had more to do with her than with Archer’s great food. It was ridiculous, given the circumstances, but Rhys had started to occupy Kari’s thoughts. And the desire to see him again surprised her with its intensity.

  “Are you okay?” Dylan’s question pulled her back to the present.

  “Of course, I’m fine.” She shook her head and forced a smile. “Sorry, I was just thinking about something. What can I do for you, Dylan?”

  “Carmen’s sick.” His face turned down
into a frown. “I made her stay in bed and sleep. She’s too busy right now and it’s not a good time to be sick, but…anyway, I need you to help.”

  “Of course. What do you need?”

  “Come with me.” Dylan waved to Sara, another desk attendant, and told her he was taking Kari for another job for the rest of the afternoon. Sara was more than competent enough to handle the desk on her own, and to Kari’s relief she didn’t seem to be annoyed that Kari was leaving.

  Dylan led her down the corridor with the window wall that looked out over the mountain backdrop, to a small hallway with offices located inside. “You can use this space.” He led her into a conference room. “There’s everything you need. And if there’s something else, just ask.”

  “This is great.” Kari giggled a little, trying to swallow her concern, and stopped Dylan before he left her alone. “But you haven’t told me what you need me to do.”

  Dylan looked at her blankly for a moment before he groaned and said, “I’m sorry, Kari. I’m not thinking right today.”

  She could see exactly where his mind was and it was very obviously located with the love of his life, back in her room.

  “We’re having a cocktail reception for the employees on Friday. There’ll be some guests, but it’s really just for the staff. Kind of a thank-you for all the hard work they’ve done getting things running the last few months.”

  “Okay.” She spoke slowly, drawing the word out. “But what do you need me to do?”

  “I need you to organize it.”

  Kari blanched. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Most of it’s done, but Carmen made me promise to get you to finish up the details.”

  “Me?” Her hand fluttered to her chest.

  “She said you looked like you knew what you were doing when it came to parties.”

  Kari almost burst into laughter. True, she’d been to more than her fair share of parties, and she could probably fake her way through this assignment, but she was far from a socialite. Even if it was the role she’d played for the last few years. “I got this,” she said.

  “Thank you.” Dylan breathed a sigh of relief. “The details are all in a file labeled ‘cocktail’ and of course if you have any questions, you can call Carmen.”

  Kari waved him away, much to Dylan’s obvious relief, and once he was gone, she fired up the laptop and got to work, grateful for the trust he’d placed in her. She’d never been a big fan of fancy parties, but maybe Rhys would be there, and if he wasn’t going to be, maybe she could invite him as a thank-you for everything he’d done for her. Yes, as a thank-you, she repeated to herself. Nothing more.

  But even as she tried to convince herself of it, even she knew it was a lie.

  Chapter 5

  Rhys had been trying to find time to pop into the Grizzly Paw, or even better, the Springs resort, with some sort of guise that he had work to do, but much to his frustration for the last few days, he did have work to do and despite his best efforts, he couldn’t find any time to drop in. Or see Kari. That didn’t mean the intriguing blond beauty didn’t occupy every single one of his spare thoughts. She did. There was something about her that drew him in. Every time he did manage to see her, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  He pulled into the gravel parking lot of the Grizzly Paw and slammed the door of his beat-up old truck. There’d never been much point in replacing it since he spent most of his time in the cruiser. Besides that, there was a lot of nostalgia tied up in his old Ford. He couldn’t ever imagine a time when he’d get rid of it.

  On a Thursday night, the Grizzly Paw was packed, with locals mostly. Ever since tourism had hit Cedar Springs full time, Thursday had been the unofficial time for the locals to unwind. He walked through the doors and was instantly greeted by half a dozen friendly faces shouting their hellos and waving him over for a beer. But Rhys’s eyes were locked firmly on his target.

  Kari.

  She sat at the bar. She wore the same cut-off shorts that’d showcased her slim, toned legs the morning after they’d met. Instead of the tied blouse, she wore a simple tank top. Her blond hair was pulled back in a messy bun that looked extremely sexy, with a few tendrils dangling down onto her neck.

  Despite the fact that he hadn’t seen her in a few days, there was no denying the powerful attraction between them. Nor did he want to.

  “Good evening.”

  She turned and the smile she gave him was worth every moment he’d spent away from her. The warmth coming from her heated him thoroughly, and his body hardened instantly.

  “Rhys.” Her voice smoothed over his name like honey and filled him with desire to hear her say it again, in a very different setting. “I haven’t seen you in a while,” she said. “Where’ve you been?”

  She’d missed him. The idea that she’d thought of him increased his heart rate, and he had to force himself to take a deep breath and stay cool.

  “It’s been a busy few days,” he said. “I haven’t had a moment to stop by, but I wouldn’t miss a Thursday night, especially if Archer’s making prime rib.”

  “Busy in Cedar Springs?” She smiled at him, challenging his reasoning. “I wouldn’t think there’d be a lot of crime in a place like this.” Kari gestured to the seat beside her, and he wasn’t about to turn down the invite.

  He slid onto the bench and grinned. “Oh, you never know when some suspicious blond is going to roll into town.” He was joking, but the smile on her face faltered, and he instantly regretted his choice of words. Particularly because he’d decided he wasn’t going to ask her about the car. He liked her, even if it didn’t make sense, and she might just be passing through town and out of his life in a few days or weeks. And treating a woman like a suspect was not good for a relationship of any kind. Even if it was a temporary one. He’d made that mistake once. Never again.

  “How’s the Springs?”

  She smiled again, and Rhys breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to keep her smiling, and he said a silent vow to do everything he could to make sure that happened.

  “It’s absolutely beautiful,” she breathed. “Of course, you’ve seen it.” He nodded and she continued. “Every time I set foot in there, I instantly feel relaxed.”

  Did she have any reason to feel stressed or anxious? The question was on the tip of his tongue. Maybe because of the car? Or wherever it was she’d come from? Once again he tamped down his investigative nature. Whatever it was or would ever be with this woman—and there was something between them, of that he was sure—he would not allow anything to ruin what could potentially be.

  “It was nice of Trent to give me a job,” she continued. “The car’s going to be a little more expensive than I thought it would be, so the extra money will be nice. And I really do like it up there. The work is busy and Dylan put me in charge of—and I’m rambling, right? Sorry. I’m sure you don’t want to know all the details of...”

  “No.” Rhys took a chance and put his hand on her arm. “I like hearing the details.” He looked into her eyes, the spark between them palpable. “I’m glad you’re settling in.” He still hadn’t moved his hand, and she hadn’t made any motion to remove it for him.

  “I don’t know about settling in.” She smiled and ducked her head. She was hiding something, of that much, Rhys was certain. He ignored it and let her continue. “But I really do like it. And everyone here has been so nice. Sam, Trent, Dylan, Beth.” She said the last name tentatively, but her smile gave nothing away.

  “You met Beth?” Rhys pulled back his hand and picked up the beer Kylie, the bartender on duty, had put in front of him without question. He took his time sipping his drink. The flash of guilt he’d felt at the mention of Beth’s name from this woman he wanted nothing more than to pull into his arms and kiss was irrational, but distinctive. He didn’t owe Beth anything. They weren’t dating, hadn’t been for years, and even if he had entertained the thought, it didn’t mean anything. It had been a reach. They both knew it, didn’t they?
/>   “Yes.” Kari eyed him. “She works up at the resort, but you know that.” He nodded. “She’s nice. Everyone here is.”

  Rhys offered a grin and put his beer down. “They are. That’s one of the reasons I like it here so much. And really, I’m glad you’re making out so well.” He looked down into the froth of his beer. Should he ask her about the car? He knew he should, but technically he wasn’t on duty, and that was police business. And it’s not like she’d done anything illegal. At least not that he knew of. If he didn’t ask, they couldn’t continue enjoying their evening. But it would eat at him if he didn’t.

  “Kari?”

  She turned her pretty head toward him, her eyes full of question and something else. Did he dare assume there was more behind her gaze, too? He wasn’t new to this; he knew what it meant when a woman looked at him that way, with lust in her eyes. She’d looked at him that way from the very first time they’d met. If he asked her what he knew he should, that look could go away.

  “I checked on your car today.” The words were out of his mouth before he’d even decided to ask her about what Doug had told him.

  Her expression changed, but Rhys held tight to her hand, determined not to lose the good feeling they’d shared.

  “And?”

  “Doug told me you weren’t in a hurry to get your car fixed.”

  Her smile returned cautiously. “I’m not. I don’t have the money right now, I told you that.”

  He nodded. She had mentioned it. “So how do you have a Mercedes and not have the money for repairs?”

  Kari pulled her hand away from his and shook her head. “Are you asking me this as Officer Anderson? Or as Rhys? Because—”

  He held his hands up. “Whoa. I’m just asking. That’s it.” He took her hand back in his. “Doug mentioned there were no registration papers in the glove box and I started thinking.” Rhys could feel her trying to pull away again, but he held her fast. “If you’re in any kind of trouble, or you want to tell me something, I’m on your side, Kari.”