by Cora Seton
“Yeehaw.” The man gave her a toothy grin as he strode a bit lopsidedly toward the dining room.
Uh-oh. He’d been drinking during work hours again. She’d have to talk to him before Kendra found out. Not that her boss wasn’t aware of Billy’s problem, but they had a deal. As long as he could function in his position, Kendra would keep him on. He did well for a week or so and then would forget he couldn’t drink during work. Lacey made it her responsibility to sit him down and remind him. She couldn’t see anyone else hiring him.
In no time, Billy had his lunch and was meandering back to his golf cart. She watched him disappear down the hill and reappear on the other side of the ravine. At least he wasn’t weaving.
Turning away from the counter, she sat at her computer and ordered the food Selma needed for next week. The woman was a marvelous cook, but she didn’t even know where the “on” switch was when it came to computers.
She finished all Selma’s requested items then added a few more Adriana would need. The bartender didn’t write anything down, just walked by once in a while and hollered out what she’d need next time Lacey ordered “stuff.”
She hovered the mouse over the “send” button then moved it away and added another item. Popsicles. For some reason she craved popsicles. She hadn’t had them in months. Finishing her order, she sent it off through cyberspace.
The sun’s reflection off a tan golf cart caught her attention through the lobby’s floor-to-ceiling windows. Billy pulled to a stop before the front doors and dropped off another clothed person, probably another security guard candidate. She looked around the lobby. The other applicant wasn’t back yet.
As the new arrival opened the door to the lobby, her heart picked up speed, even as her muscles stiffened.
Cole took his hat off, his cowboy stride causing her gaze to drop to his blue jeans. Her cheeks flushed as her mind conjured up what his legs must look like underneath the denim material now that he’d grown up.
She returned her gaze to her computer, determined to ignore him. Why was he here again?
“Lacey.”
Her name coming from his lips had always made her want to melt, especially when he said it with such yearning, like he did now. Unable to be rude, she turned her head to look at him. She could keep this completely professional. “Yes, Cole.”
The right side of his lips quirked up a tiny bit, as if he knew she was trying to ignore him and losing her battle.
“Can you come out here so we can talk?”
“What do we have to talk about? I’m a little busy.”
His lips lost their slight curve. “It won’t take long.”
“Very well.” She heaved an exaggerated sigh and took her time getting up to walk toward the back room. Once beyond his sight, she smoothed down her pale-pink skirt that fell to the tops of her white cowboy boots. Quickly, she looked in the small mirror inside the broom closet to make sure her braid was still presentable, its golden color blending with the yellow and pink flowers on her blouse. She needed to remember he’d given up on her without even hearing her side of the story.
She closed the closet door and put one hand over her heart. “Now behave.” Straightening her shoulders, she stepped out to meet Cole.
When she came around the corner to face him, it was as if she were being pulled forward by a stampede of wild horses. It took all her willpower to stop a couple feet in front of him and not walk directly into his arms. Remember, he still thinks you set the fire. He dumped you.
He examined her from head to toe as if looking for something. “Are you okay?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” His look of concern was genuine. She’d give him that.
“I heard there was a theft and that you saw the perpetrators. They haven’t come back, have they? They don’t know you saw them, do they?”
It hadn’t occurred to her that the thieves would come back or might look for her. “I’m fine. No one saw me.” She tried to ignore his woodsy scent as the ceiling fans wafted it over her. It brought back so many memories.
He touched her cheek, startling her from her thoughts.
“But how are you holding up? I heard you are a suspect…”
Again. He didn’t say it, but she heard it in his voice. “So what? I’m used to that. Just remember, being a suspect and doing the deed are two very different things, Cole Hatcher.”
He pulled his hand away from her face at her tone and frowned. “Why was your sweater at the construction site?”
She tensed. “Why don’t you ask Detective Anderson? I already told him.”
“Because I want to hear it from you.”
Why? To judge if she was lying? Fine. “If you must know, I wore it that day against the chill of the air-conditioning in here as I had a sleeveless dress on. When I went out to visit John… You remember John Lockhart from lunch the other day? After talking to him for a while I grew hot, so I threw it on a pile of lumber stacked outside the building. When I returned to the front desk I forgot about it. That was the Friday before the fire.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “I had no reason to go back to the construction site since John wasn’t working the weekend. I didn’t realize it was missing until the day after the fire.” She shrugged nonchalantly, loving the way his mouth drew into a straight line at the mention of John. If Cole thought there was more between her and the construction worker, that was his fault.
He remained quiet like he expected her to start blabbing something else, but there was nothing else to tell.
“I believe you.”
Her eyes widened as her chest constricted, making her words come out in a whisper. “You do?”
Cole smiled sadly. “Is that really so hard to believe?”
That wasn’t exactly the answer she expected, but her heart completely overruled her head and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.
Every nerve ending in her body woke as if from a long sleep as Cole’s lips slanted over her own and his tongue met hers. Her world became whole again when his large arms pulled her against his hard chest. He was so familiar, his cedar scent, his deep kiss, the excitement that had her nipples paying attention, but he was new, different, and so big.
He pulled his tantalizing mouth away and gazed into her eyes. “Lacey, I want to help.”
Huh? He could help by bringing his strong lips back to hers.
“We need to discover who started the fire.”
In a split second her brain had control again and she tried to pull out of his arms, but he wasn’t letting go.
“Wait, Lacey. What’s wrong?”
“Let me go.” She couldn’t believe he was thinking about the fire while kissing her. Had he developed a one-track mind? She liked him better when he was younger and the track he was on was more to her liking.
“I believe the lady told you to let her go.” The deep voice behind her stopped her struggles and she looked over her shoulder.
“Oh, Mr. McKade.” She glanced back at Cole. He looked ready to tear the man apart. An exquisite and purely feminine thrill sped down her spine.
She turned back to Mr. McKade. He didn’t show any emotion at all, even more stoic than Kendra before Wade came into her life. This man was too calm and yet very alert. “It’s okay. Cole and I go way back.” She wrapped her arms as far around Cole as she could.
The man moved his gaze from her to Cole, who looked like he would happily pound Mr. McKade into the floor.
“Cole.” She had to use her hand to tap his cheek in order to catch his attention. “Cole. Mr. McKade’s presence reminds me that another candidate is due to come out of Kendra’s office at any moment and it’s not exactly appropriate for us to be, um, engaged with each other in the lobby.”
Her pretty little speech made no impression on him at all and as soon as she finished talking, he raised his gaze. “Where’d he go?” In that instant, he let her go and turned to look around the lobby.
Mr. McKade was gone. She shoo
k her head. As if a disappearing job candidate weren’t bad enough, she couldn’t recapture Cole’s attention. She threw her hands up and walked to the back room, so she could man the front desk again.
“Lacey.” Cole’s cowboy boots clicked along the tile floor behind her, his stride long and confident.
There was way too much to like about Cole Hatcher, especially now that he believed her. She yearned to give into him, but could she trust him with her heart again? She shivered. That wasn’t something she wanted to contemplate.
Cole stepped into the back room.
She held up her hand. “You can’t come back here.”
He strode toward her. “Why not? We need to talk and you can see the front desk from here. Besides, I’m not leaving until I set Mr. Cash straight.”
“Mr. Cash?”
Cole motioned toward the lobby with his head. “The disappearing man in all black out there.”
“Oh, Mr. McKade. I probably should look for him. It’s almost time for his interview.” She stepped toward the door, but Cole wouldn’t let her pass.
“No. He can find his own way to the interview, if that’s really why he’s here. You and I need to figure out who set the fire at the new construction site.”
She stepped back. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want you accused again. Please, work with me on this. I know about your sweater—”
“Shrug.”
“Okay, shrug. That is the strangest name for a piece of clothing. I understand an empty bottle of tequila was found at the site as well. Did any of the construction workers drink on the sly?”
She frowned, taking a seat at the small table. “If you’re asking if John drinks, the answer is yes, but he prefers beer and no, he didn’t drink on the job.”
“I didn’t mean just him.” Cole squinted at nothing in particular. “What about the other workers? When you brought Selma’s snacks, did you notice anyone drinking?”
“Oh.” Had anyone left the group when she brought the food? “No, no one slipped away while I was there, but I didn’t stay long. Maybe twenty minutes.”
“That’s all the time you needed to flirt with John?”
She flushed, thrilled by his irritated voice. There was definitely jealousy behind it. “If it wasn’t one of the construction workers, it may have been the same people who stole booze the other night. I told Kendra I think it’s college-age people.”
Cole flipped the chair next to her around and straddled it to face her, his large forearm crossed over the top. “Can you think of anyone who would have an issue with the new building being built? What was it anyway?”
“It was one side of an Old West town.” She smiled, excited to explain the project she’d suggested to Kendra. “The idea is to have it look like a real western town from the 1800s but instead of a brothel, we have a massage station. Instead of a bank, we have a workout room. Instead of a saloon, we have Native American gifts.”
“So this would bring more staff to Poker Flat.”
She shook her head. “No. These would be rented out spaces. Kendra doesn’t want to have to oversee that as well.”
Cole sat back. “So if someone didn’t like the fact that Kendra was planning to rake in more money, they might burn it down.”
“I guess. But I’m not sure how many people know her. She’s stayed away from town officials since Wade became manager. She only deals with the contractors. She’s a hard negotiator. I even heard Mr. Price complaining about how tough she was.” Lacey grinned, her pride in her boss growing every day.
“Price didn’t like his contract?”
“I think he just liked to complain about it, though he said he would negotiate differently when it was time to rebuild. I’m glad we insured the new construction. At least we won’t lose money on rebuilding.”
“But Price will make more money. He’s a small construction company. Have you heard how stable he is?”
Lacey clasped her hands. It felt like she’d be betraying a confidence if she told Cole what John had said. “I know he has a clean-up business on the side. He complained more about the timeline than anything else. He seemed pretty stunned when I told him there’d been a fire.”
“I wish I could have seen that.”
“But even if he was tight on money, that doesn’t mean he caused the fire. Lots of small businesses struggle and never do something like that.” Mr. Price’s reaction to the news of the fire was too honest for her to think he had something to do with it.
Cole rose. “That’s true, but it could go toward motivation. I need to talk to Wade about the horses he ordered, but I was wondering if you were free tonight. I’d like to catch up on all that has happened to you since I last saw you.”
Part of her wanted to squeal, but the other part was too afraid to trust herself being with him. “I don’t know. Maybe after this fire investigation is over.”
He opened his mouth to speak but closed it. Instead, he walked to the door before turning to look at her. “Be careful. There are still too many unanswered questions about who did this. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I will.” She gave him a small smile, but her insides were somersaulting over his concern for her.
Chapter Six
‡
She held still until she heard the outside door close then jumped up. “He believes me!” She’d waited so many years to hear him say those words and he finally had. Her heart pounded now that she allowed herself to revel in his support. Cole Hatcher believed she had nothing to do with the fire. If he believed her about this one, then he would soon realize she hadn’t started the Orson fire.
She fairly skipped to the front desk as a guest approached. After sending a message to Rachel about the guest’s husband’s birthday, Lacey sat in front of her computer to approve the payroll. But she couldn’t concentrate. If Cole believed her, there may be hope for them yet.
The question was why? Why did he believe her on this fire but hadn’t when they were younger? What was different? She grinned. He was physically a hunk now, but beyond that he’d matured and so had she. The old Lacey would have jumped into his arms and told him to take her home with him.
A piece of her still wanted him to, but she was afraid. That’s why she’d put him off. If he really wanted to see if there was a future for them, he would return. If he didn’t, she’d be upset, but better that than being devastated…again. Now that her head was satisfied he supported her, her heart was afraid to trust him fully.
“Excuse me, I’m here for an interview.”
She snapped her head around at the sound of another man’s voice. How could she have been so engrossed in her thoughts not to hear him come in. “Hello. I’ll be there in a minute.”
She picked up the interview list then glanced at the clock. She must not have seen Mr. McKade leave while she was with Cole. “Are you Mr. Palmera?”
At the man’s nod, she smiled. “Have a seat and I’ll be right with you.”
As the man strode to a lobby chair, she relaxed that he’d done as she suggested. Quickly, she headed for Kendra’s office to let her know her next candidate was waiting. After knocking, and being bid to enter, she opened the door and hesitated. Mr. McKade stood behind the chair facing Kendra.
Kendra nodded toward the man. “Lacey, meet one of our new security guards. Hunter says he can start as early as tomorrow. Could you get him the necessary paperwork?”
“Of course.” She tried to smile but couldn’t. There was something about the man that bothered her, yet he’d been given Kendra’s approval. What second chance could he possibly need?
He offered his hand. “I look forward to working with you, Lacey.”
She looked past him at Kendra, who waved her hand in dismissal. He couldn’t be that bad if Kendra hired him. She mustered a kind smile. “I look forward to having you here. We definitely need someone who can protect this place. If you could come this way?”
He opened his arm to indicate that she precede him, s
o she did, looking back once to be sure he followed. The man moved too quietly. Then again that could be a good thing in his line of work.
Getting him settled in the back room, she left him to his forms. What would Cole think about the man working at Poker Flat? On the other hand, it shouldn’t even be a concern. Cole didn’t work here, she did.
She returned to her computer to focus on payroll. No one would understand if they weren’t paid because she was mooning over Cole. After getting the payroll approved, she printed out one more form to give to Hunter.
As she stepped into the staff room, he picked his hat up off the table and slammed it back on, but not before she noticed the scar that marred the back of his head, no hair growing from the healed skin.
Understanding for their new employee relaxed her. One reason Kendra hired the man had just become obvious. With a new appreciation for him, she settled in to making him feel welcome.
*
Cole couldn’t find Billy, so he caught a ride with one of the guests, who was picking up his wife after her trail ride was over. The naked man had a large belly and joked his wife only tried the ride to make googly eyes at the resort manager. He, on the other hand, didn’t plan to risk his balls for such a trivial pursuit.
Cole bit the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing. The man had a point. After all, his wife had to be old enough to be Wade’s mother.
As they approached the barn, a very curvaceous woman with fake breasts and legs longer than an ostrich talked with Wade, her hand on his arm as she flirted, proving her husband right. When they came to a stop, the man stepped out of his cart and slapped the woman on her bare ass.
Her yelp was followed by her switching her attention to the older man and linking her arm with his.
Cole shook his head as the two entered the cart and drove back to the other side of the resort. He watched them go then looked at Wade, who wore a fake smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Cole laughed. “It’s safe now. You can stop smiling.”
Wade rubbed his hands down his face. “That was a very long half-hour ride.”
“You mean an hour-long thirty minutes?”