Stand By Your Man

by Susan Fox

  Hmm. She wondered if the girl had a crush on her boss, even though he had to be ten years older than she was. As Dave said hello to a female server garbed in old-fashioned clothing, Cassidy peeked at his ring finger and found it bare. If he really was single, a handsome guy like him, a business owner, had to be one of the most eligible bachelors in this small town.

  Not that she was looking. Well, not for a marriage-minded man. That was the absolute last thing she wanted. For her, men were good for short-term fun, and that was it. And Dave Cousins, with that lean, fit body and hazel eyes, had the potential for being a lot of fun.

  The server seated them in a booth by the window. After Cassidy had ordered her capooch and Dave had asked for plain black coffee, she grinned at the man seated across from her. “Nice place you’ve got here. But I was expecting boots and cowboy hats. This is more like, uh, an old-fashioned gentleman’s club.” The dining room was attractive and classy, with lots of dark wood and brass, and the male and female staff were garbed like they belonged in the 1800s.

  “An upscale gold rush saloon,” Dave said. “Our bar next door is where you’ll find the boots and hats.”

  “Oh yeah, this must have been a gold rush town, right? I saw those old photos in the lobby.” She’d noticed sepia photos of miners and cowboys, which fit nicely with the attractively rustic furniture.

  “Yup. Caribou Crossing was on the Cariboo Wagon Road. A couple of miners struck gold in a big way in the early 1860s and a town sprang up, the same kind of thing as with Barkerville and Horsefly.” He cocked his head, asking if those names meant anything to her.

  “I’ve heard of Barkerville. It’s a historic site now, isn’t it? They restored the old mining town? It’s on my list to see.”

  “Yeah, it’s really interesting, but you ought to see our own Gold Rush Days Park as well. Anyhow, when the gold dried up, some other places became ghost towns, but that didn’t happen here. A few enterprising miners decided not to follow the lure of gold, but to start ranching. The land was ideal for it. And now Caribou Crossing is also a tourist town, playing up both our gold rush history and the Western ranching theme.”

  Cassidy nodded eagerly. “That’s why I came. For the horses.”

  “I’m curious. But you’re hungry.” He gestured to the menu lying on the table in front of her. “Order some food; then tell me what brings you here.”

  Listening to Dave had distracted her, but now her tummy growled, reminding her that she was starving. Confident that she’d find a job and pay this nice man back, she wouldn’t choose the cheapest thing on the menu but instead go with miners’ flapjacks served with bacon, maple syrup, and fresh strawberries.

  She accepted the frothy cappuccino the server brought her, then placed her order. “Fuel for job hunting,” she said cheerfully.

  While Dave added his order for a side of biscuits, she glanced out the window. Across the street were small shops: a toy store, a women’s clothing boutique, an arts and crafts shop, a drugstore. They were all attractive and well maintained. Each had its own style, yet they fit together comfortably. The town definitely was picturesque.

  A woman in a business suit, carrying a briefcase, strode briskly past a family of four who’d stopped to peer in the window of the toy store. An attractive brunette in an RCMP uniform stopped to chat with a middle-aged couple in Caribou Crossing T-shirts bearing a logo similar to a pedestrian crossing sign but with a stylized caribou.

  Dave’s voice drew her attention back from the view. “Go on, Cassidy. You came here for the horses?”

  She nodded, thinking how wonderfully different she felt from when she’d dragged in yesterday. A taste of her coffee had her giving two thumbs up, then taking another sip before launching into her story. “I was waitressing at a sports bar in Vancouver and the job itself was fun, especially on the nights when Canucks games were playing on the wide screen. Man, it got lively.” She grinned, remembering the cheers when the home team scored, not to mention the good tips.

  “But the manager was an asshole, kept coming on to me, wouldn’t take no for an answer.” The memory changed her grin to a scowl. “Sunday night, he crossed the line. I got away from him, but it was totally obvious I couldn’t keep working there.”

  Dave frowned. “That’s terrible. You should report the jerk.”

  “Yeah, well . . .” Maybe she should have, but it was easier to just move on. Besides, she’d been more than ready to leave the city behind. “I also wasn’t getting along with my roommate. I’d moved into her place and was paying half the rent, but I sure didn’t get equal rights. She filled the fridge with her crap, hogged the bathroom, always had her friends in the living room, even stored some of her stuff in my bedroom. We fought all the time. It was a freaking pain.”

  Their orders arrived. Dave’s steaming biscuits were the same kind she’d savored last night along with the rich beef stew, though this morning they were served with butter, honey, and strawberry jam. Her own flapjacks were a golden-brown stack surrounded by crisp bacon and sliced strawberries. The server placed a ceramic jug of maple syrup on the table.

  “Mmm, thank you,” Cassidy’s nose twitched happily at the scent of bacon as she dug in.

  For a few minutes, she ate happily, taking an occasional sip of her cappuccino. Dave ate and drank too, seemingly content to wait for her to pick up her story when she was ready. She liked that. Most guys were so self-involved they’d fill any silence with talk about their jobs, their cars, their favorite sports teams.

  She’d also liked the intentness with which he’d listened to her, and the concern and indignation in his eyes when she’d told him about her former boss. A nice guy, this Dave Cousins.

  After downing half her meal, she carried on. “I was tired of Vancouver too. I mean, I love cities and it’s a great one, but I was ready for something different. I’d been there almost two months and I rarely stay anywhere much longer than that.”

  His brow furrowed as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. Lots of people didn’t relate to her gypsy lifestyle.

  “Anyhow,” she went on, “this woman I met when I was getting my hair done one day, she was talking about how much fun she had at a resort ranch near Caribou Crossing.”

  “The Crazy Horse?”

  “Yeah, that’s it.” She accepted the server’s offer of a second cappuccino, then told Dave, “I’ve done a little riding and I have a craving to do it again. And to breathe nice fresh country air.” City days were long and demanding, what with work, friends, partying. She was only twenty-seven, but she’d been feeling her years. Tired, run-down. And then there was that stupid thing with her left leg. She must have strained it somehow, probably from working a double shift, because ten days ago it had gone all tingly, then numb. The problem had lasted more than two days, then more or less cleared up though she still got occasional pins and needles and numbness. Like last night, when that crazy-long exhausting day culminated in her embarrassing face plant.

  She’d strained her leg, and she was run-down, that’s all it was. It was nothing like what had happened to Grand, who’d ended up unable to walk, unable to speak properly, incontinent—

  No, she wasn’t going to think about her great-grandmother. No way did she have Grand’s debilitating disease.

  “So”—Cassidy summoned a grin—“yesterday morning I told my roomie I was leaving. She bitched about it being almost month’s end. She said I owed her rent because I wasn’t giving notice, so I gave her the few hundred dollars I had and just kept twenty for myself. That was kind of dumb. I should have kept at least a hundred, but she was yelling and I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I tossed everything I own in my backpack, and hit the road.”

  Dave frowned, like she wasn’t making sense. “You must have money in the bank, though.”

  “Nope. I’ve never been big on saving. Life’s for living, right?”

  “But you have to think about tomorrow, next month, next year.”

  “Maybe you have to, but
I don’t. Tomorrow comes, I’ll decide what I want to do. Next month, I’ll decide where to go. Next year”—she shrugged—“I could be in India, Albuquerque, or Cuba.”

  Now he was looking at her like she’d descended from outer space. “Where’s your home?”

  She was tempted to say Alpha Centauri but figured the truth would freak him out enough. “Wherever I hang my backpack.”

  “But you must come from somewhere.”

  “Born in Victoria, but I haven’t lived there in a long time.”

  “Your parents are there?”

  She shook her head. “They’re in Acapulco right now. But that won’t last.”

  “Why not?”

  “They split up when I was a kid, got back together, split again, got back together a couple years ago. I give them another year or two.” She polished off the last of her late breakfast. “That was delicious.”

  “You have no home, no money in the bank, and everything you own is in your backpack?” His face bore a glazed expression, like she’d laid too much on him too quickly. The guy probably lived in the same town he’d been born in, and she figured a man who owned an inn must be into stability.

  “That’s me.” When the server came to clear their empty plates, Cassidy said, “Bring me the bill for both of us, please.”

  The woman whipped it out of her apron and placed it on the table. When she left, Cassidy added a twenty-five percent tip, then passed it over to Dave. “I don’t have a credit card either. If you pay for this, I’ll pay you back the moment I get my first paycheck.”

  He glanced at it. “You’re a generous tipper.”

  “Good service deserves it. And now I need to pick your brain about where I might find work. You think the Crazy Horse might be hiring?”

  “I doubt it, but I’ll give you Kathy and Will’s phone number and you can ask. What kind of job are you looking for?”

  “Whatever. Server, bartender, salesclerk, cashier. Receptionist, clerk, admin person. Nanny, companion, housekeeper, chambermaid. Flag girl, shelf stocker, dishwasher. Basically, anything that doesn’t call for a degree or certificate, I can do.”

  Seeing skepticism on his face, she said, “I’m good at that stuff, honest. And I don’t just up and leave jobs. Yeah, I’m not into putting down roots, but I give fair notice. Unless the boss harasses me.”

  “I hear you.” His tone said he was reserving judgment.

  “It’s summer and you said this is a tourist town. Businesses must be taking on extra staff, right?”

  “You have references?”

  “Sure. On my flash drive. I just need to find a place to print the file. And I have a decent set of clothes to wear to an interview.”

  He studied her, his brow furrowed. “You really are good at all those things? Waiting tables, bartending, cashier, receptionist, chambermaid?”

  “Believe me, I have loads of experience. I’ve worked across Canada, the States, Europe, Asia. I speak fluent Spanish—learned from my dad—and a smattering of French, German, and Italian.”

  “Huh.” His eyes had an inward look.

  She tilted her head. “There’s an idea brewing. How about you share it?”

  That almost-dimple flickered for a moment. “The Wild Rose could use someone to fill in as needed. Like when the daytime receptionist takes a break, or we need to turn over a bunch of rooms fast, or a server or bartender is on holiday or calls in sick.”

  She leaned forward eagerly. “You bet I could do that. I’m totally flexible about what hours I work, just as long as I can find some time to go riding. How about I run upstairs and get my flash drive, and then we can print out my resume and references and you can take a look?”

  Cassidy liked everything she’d seen of the Wild Rose. Plus, Dave Cousins sure didn’t seem like the kind of boss who’d sexually harass anyone.

  She wondered how he felt about dating his staff. The guy was seriously hot, in an opposites-attract way.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Award-winning, international best-selling author Susan Fox (who also writes as Savanna Fox and Susan Lyons) is a Pacific Northwester with homes in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia. She has degrees in law and psychology and has had a variety of careers, including perennial student, computer consultant, and legal editor. Fiction writer is by far her favorite, giving her an outlet to demonstrate her belief in the power of love, friendship, and a sense of humor.

  Visit her on the web at www.susanfox.ca.

  HOME ON THE RANGE

  In this exciting new series, author Susan Fox

  welcomes you to Caribou Crossing, a small Western town

  made for love and adventure . . .

  For Evan Kincaid, the best thing about his dusty hometown

  was watching it fade into the distance. Jessica Bly was the

  only one who didn’t treat him like an outsider, and their

  friendship ended with one mind-blowing night of young

  passion. Now they’ve both got the lives they planned—

  Evan in New York, Jess with her beloved horses in

  Caribou Crossing. But business has brought Evan back

  to Jess’s Crazy Horse ranch on a mission that could

  destroy whatever’s left of her trust.

  Ten years ago, Jess wanted one perfect night to remember

  Evan by. What she got was a broken heart

  and a secret that’s kept them strangers ever since.

  The boy she knew was sexy and sweet; the man he’s

  become leaves her breathless. And no matter how much she

  tells herself that country girl and city boy

  don’t belong together, in her heart she wants to believe

  his home has been right here all along . . .

  Also features the full-length prequel novella

  “Caribou Crossing.”

  GENTLE ON MY MIND

  In her latest contemporary romance,

  Susan Fox welcomes readers back to Caribou Crossing,

  the ruggedly sexy Western town

  that seems made for starting over . . .

  Brooke Kincaid knows second chances don’t come

  cheap. She’s spent five years repairing past mistakes

  and making her life in Caribou Crossing steady and

  predictable. But now a stranger’s Harley has shattered her

  fence and her peace of mind in one swoop.

  Because Brooke is drawn to everything about

  wounded undercover cop Jake Brannon . . .

  By rights, Brooke should curse Jake for complicating her

  life. Instead she’s offered him a place to heal and a cover

  story as he searches for a wanted man.

  Jake knows she’s vulnerable, but she’s also strong,

  kind, and hotter than hellfire. It’s a combination

  that could make even a die-hard loner long

  to put up his boots and put down roots at last,

  and show her just how good a second chance can get . . .

  ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2014 by Susan Lyons

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  Zebra Books and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  First Electronic Edition: July 2014

  ISBN: 978-1-4201-3580-0

  Published in the United States of America

 

 

 
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