Finding Hope (Nugget Romance 2)

by Stacy Finz

  She stiffened to the point that Clay felt her muscles tense. “I’ve got a lot of work. I should probably get back to it.”

  “It’s after six,” he said.

  “Deadlines.” She’d already begun to inch away from him.

  “Okay. I’ll get going then.” Because he could take a hint, Clay headed to the bathroom with his clothes, confused about why she’d suddenly erected walls again.

  By the time he came out, she’d changed into a pair of exercise pants and a T-shirt. Her hair was tousled, her lips swollen from their kisses and her cheeks stained with color. It struck him then that he’d never shared that level of intimacy with anyone but Emily. Not even Jennifer. And here she was practically throwing him out of her house. Or, if he wanted to be specific, his house.

  He grabbed his shirt off the bedroom floor, put it on, and snapped it closed. In the living room, Emily pretended to sort through her mail. They’d just had mind-blowing sex, and she was checking out coupons in a Costco mailer.

  “You interested in having dinner one of these nights?” he asked.

  She looked up from her pile of envelopes. “Maybe we should cool it.”

  “Is that what we were just doing?” He nodded at the bedroom. “Cooling it?”

  “No.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “That might’ve been a mistake.”

  “It didn’t feel like a mistake to me.” He started for the door.

  “Clay, you’re seeing other women.”

  He stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to face her. “As of now, I’d like to see only you.”

  At first her mouth hung open, then her entire face fell. “I can’t be with you like that, Clay. You have kids and I have . . . I thought we were both just fooling around. I mean, last week you were trying to seduce Della James. Having anything serious . . . well, for me it’s out of the question.”

  “Serious?” He raised his voice. “I didn’t hear me mention serious. We were good friends. We just became better friends. I thought we could hang out together, have good times, good sex, and see where it goes without the distraction of other people. I wasn’t proposing marriage.”

  He opened the door. “Why’d you get rid of your mourning clothes, Emily, if you’re just going to shut everyone out?” It was a harsh thing to say, but the truth.

  Then he walked the trail back to his house alone.

  The next day the check came in the mail. Emily tore open the envelope and stuck Clay’s three thousand dollars to the refrigerator with a magnet. Despite the awkward way their love tryst had ended, she’d have to give it to him and insist that he take it.

  She was still coming to terms with what they’d done. The lovemaking had been above and beyond, and even now she got shivers thinking about it. She’d never been with a man who could make her feel like that. Not even Drew. They’d had sweet sex, filled with love, admiration, and respect. But her ex-husband had never brought her to orgasm three times in a row. Frankly, she didn’t think it was normal. Great, but not normal.

  What shook her was how intimate it had been. Not just physical, but deep. Like they’d connected body and soul. She hadn’t expected it from Clay, who only seemed interested in collecting beautiful women, and she certainly hadn’t expected it from herself. Since Hope, she’d thought herself incapable of forging bonds. She’d hoped that a one-night stand with Clay would get sex out of her system, but all it had done was make her yearn for him more. Like constantly. She was obsessed with Clay McCreedy.

  But he came with complications that she couldn’t commit to. So why start anything that couldn’t go the long haul? Justin and Cody deserved better. They deserved someone who would love and care for them. Someone who would put them first. And she was incapable of that. No one could ever replace Hope in her heart. As far as caring and keeping them safe, she’d proven to be an abomination in that regard. Never would she take on the responsibility with someone else’s child.

  After a long shower, she put on one of the cute Western tops from the Nugget Feed Store and a pair of stylish jeans, which she tucked into the cowboy boots. She blow-dried her hair with the big round brush like the stylist had told her and critically assessed the results in the mirror. It was a great cut. She applied a light coat of mascara and lip gloss.

  The primping was now part of her daily routine. Even for a day of hanging around the barn, slaving over a hot stove, she’d decided that it was important to take a little time for herself. Just her.

  She dreaded having to go to Clay’s house to deliver the check. Hopefully he wouldn’t be home and she could just leave the check in his mailbox.

  But Clay answered the door in a flight jacket, carrying a duffel, and came out onto the porch. Without his hat, his hair looked almost jet black in the sun. He hadn’t shaved, Emily observed, because the lower part of his face was covered in dark shadow, making his eyes seem bluer.

  “Oh,” she said, flustered. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “I’m on my way out,” he said, his eyes darting over her outfit. “I have to fly to Southern California for a business meeting. Something I can do for you?”

  He was being short and snippy. The man, who probably got every woman he ever set his eyes on, had a fragile ego. That’s all it was, she tried to tell herself.

  “I just wanted to quickly drop this off.” She handed him the check.

  He glanced at it, saw what it was, and shook his head. “I told you to keep the money. You want me to cash it for you?”

  “No. It’s yours. Buy something for the boys.”

  “Here’s a news flash for you.” He held up the check. “I don’t need this to buy things for my sons.”

  “I wasn’t implying you did,” she said, holding her ground. “You went to a lot of trouble allowing us the use of your property for the shoot. You let an army of people camp out in your house. You deserve this money, Clay.”

  “I know the concept is beyond your comprehension, but I wanted to help you, Emily.” He held her gaze, then apparently decided to say the meanest thing he could drum up. “I got plenty out of the deal.” Locking the front door, he tossed the check back at her and took off for his truck.

  She supposed throwing Della James in her face was one way of saying what they’d shared hadn’t mattered. Except she was pretty sure it had. His idea that they should see each other, see where the relationship went, when they practically lived on top of each other, with two children in the mix, was a terrible idea. But obviously, Clay McCreedy wasn’t the type who liked taking no for an answer.

  Emily put the check in Clay’s mailbox and walked home. With only a few days left to make her deadline on Della’s book, she had plenty to keep her busy. And by this time next week, Clay would have found some other woman to chase after.

  Unfortunately, the prospect of him with someone else made her thunder with latent emotion. Despite not wanting to get involved with the man, she didn’t want anyone else to, either. Now how selfish was that?

  Chapter 19

  The trust was irrevocable. Morris had come 532 miles to tell Griffin that Daddy Warbucks could never take away his money. Then he turned around and left. But not before giving him a lecture about the importance of family and all the different ways a wealthy man could get snared by a gold digger by thinking with his dick and not his head.

  “Unfortunately, having all that money makes you vulnerable,” he’d told Griffin. “You have to pick your friends and girlfriends wisely.”

  Griffin already knew the drill, as Morris had drummed it into him over and over again.

  Still, he’d tried to explain to Morris that Lina would never do anything like that. Understandably, Morris was dubious. Furthermore, he thought her way too young to be spending time with Griffin.

  Regarding the money, Manning had set up the trust so that it could never be broken. The bottom line: As long as the Wigluks continued to make bank, Griffin would never run out of cash. Knowing that Manning couldn’t hold the money over Griff’s head had ch
anged everything.

  As Morris had said, “You proved your loyalty to your mother when you were willing, in her name, to walk away from a fortune. Now everything is on your terms. I think if you don’t get to know your father, you’ll regret it someday. But it’s entirely up to you.”

  Yes, it was.

  Since talking to Lina about her father and brother’s relationship, Griff thought he might be willing to reach out to Manning with the understanding that they start small. First with monthly phone calls, then work their way up from there to an occasional visit. But he wasn’t about to become a loving son anytime soon. And maybe never. Manning would have to earn it.

  Besides, he had a real estate venture to run and a custom-motorcycle business to get off the ground. Today he was meeting Russ Johnson to do a walk-through and get the keys. Tomorrow he was flying down south to clean out his condo, pack up his shit, and drive his Range Rover to Nugget. With winter coming he’d need it. When he got back, he planned to start work on the Gas and Go. He wanted everything in tip-top shape by the first of December, and needed to hire a few people to work the gas station and the garage so he could focus on the bikes.

  Sierra Heights didn’t need much. As part of the sales price, he’d paid off the subs and got the liens removed. Now all he had to do was hire a crew to chemical bomb the pool and mend the grounds to make them pretty again. The models needed to be cleaned from top to bottom. Then he would take out ads, open a sales office, and hope that vacationers with deep pockets found Nugget as charming as he did. Morris had also suggested that he bring in a rental agency, enabling new owners to rent out their homes when not in use. Turn the place into a resort of sorts.

  Griff felt pretty psyched about all the potential. Also, he was looking forward to having a place of his own. As soon as he got the keys, Griff planned to pick out a house. When he got back from LA, he could move in.

  He wished his momma were alive to see the development. This was the kind of life she’d always envisioned for Griffin. A real home with a yard and a split-rail fence.

  By the time he got to Sierra Heights, Russ and Griff’s inspection guy was waiting. The three of them took a golf cart around the property to check the agreed-upon fixes. Griffin would do the cosmetic stuff, but he wanted the place up to code before he took ownership.

  “You got yourself one hell of a deal here,” Russ said, sounding resigned to the fact that according to Morris, Griffin had gotten the development for less than value. Griff’s inspector was off checking electrical boards that originally hadn’t been wired properly. “You planning to live on-site?”

  “That’s the idea. Any recommendations on which house I should take?”

  “The one on the tenth hole has always been my favorite.”

  Griffin knew the one. It was a lot of house for one guy. Maybe five thousand square feet. “It’s just me. I’m thinking one of the smaller houses.”

  “There’s one on the southern part of the property that’s a beaut. It doesn’t have a golf-course view, but it backs up to national forest, while the front of the house gets a lot of sunlight. It’s laid out real well for a bachelor. I’d turn the loft into a media center, game room type of deal.”

  Russ was obviously very familiar with the property. His words, “I got in over my head on this project . . . and with other things,” reverberated in Griffin’s head.

  “It’s not my business, so feel free to tell me to butt out, but what went wrong here?” Griffin asked. “How did you get in over your head? Because according to my research, you got a great price on the land and had plenty of investors.”

  Russ exhaled and gave Griff a wry smile. “It was a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Spread too thin on other projects, we took money from Sierra Heights to pay those bills. It eventually caught up with us.”

  “Sounds illegal,” Griffin said, though he didn’t know a lot about high-stakes business deals like real estate developments.

  “Yep. We almost got indicted. After a personal tragedy, I went to the feds and promised to liquidate all my assets to pay back the investors, which I did. Selling this place concludes the settlement.”

  “You okay now?” Griff wanted to know. Even though the guy messed up, if he was telling the truth, he’d made amends.

  “Financially?” Russ shrugged. “It’ll take time to recover, but I’m good at making money. Unfortunately, I made other critical mistakes that can’t be fixed.” He stared out across the golf course, and Griffin could tell that he was lost in regret and sorrow.

  The inspector returned to the cart and told Griffin, “Everything looks good.”

  “Then I think we’ve concluded our business.” Griffin stuck out his hand to Russ, who in turn pulled a bottle of chilled champagne out of the back of the cart and three glasses.

  He popped the cork, poured the bubbly, and toasted, “To Sierra Heights and your prosperity. Hopefully you won’t muck it up the way I did.”

  The inspector took off for another job, but Russ and Griff polished off the bottle, continuing to sit in the cart and gaze at the property.

  “You driving back to Sacramento?” Griffin eyed their empty glasses.

  “No, I’ve got one more matter of business before I leave Nugget for good.” Russ handed Griffin a key ring. “Those are the masters. One fits all the houses, the other the lodge.” He went down the list. “I’ll empty whatever files and personal stuff I have in the office. It’ll take me about an hour or so.”

  “Sounds good. In the meantime, I’m on my way to check out that house you told me about.” He got out of the cart, leaving it for Russ to shuttle his boxes back to his car, and hoofed it to the south side of the property.

  On his way across the parking lot, Griffin saw Lina’s International Scout pull in. She drove up alongside him and rolled down her window. “Is it yours?”

  He held up the key ring and shook it like a rattle. “Wanna help me find a house?”

  Her eyes glittered and she immediately parked the truck and jumped out. “Any one you want?”

  “Within reason,” he said, smiling at her enthusiasm. “The developer says there’s one he likes over near the woods. Let’s take a look.”

  They walked together in companionable silence until finally she said, “What if you can’t sell them?”

  “Then I’m screwed. But Morris thinks there’s a market.” Morris also thought Griffin shouldn’t be hanging out with Lina.

  “Maybe you could turn it into a resort or a time-share. That was Maddy’s brother Nate’s idea. You could also charge locals to use the place like a country club—the pool, golf course, tennis courts.”

  All pretty good ideas, Griffin thought. “We’ll see what happens.”

  When he found the house, Griff unlocked the door and they went inside. Unlike the models, which were all furnished, the place was bare, but freakin’ fantastic. It was an open floor plan with sweeping ceilings and pine log walls. The enormous windows looked out over acres and acres of rolling hills and forest.

  And Russ’s idea about using the loft, a huge room that was cantilevered over the downstairs foyer, as a game room was perfect. It already had a wet bar up there.

  “It’s gorgeous,” Lina said, exploring the master bedroom and bath.

  “I’m taking it.”

  “Don’t you want to look at some of the others first?” Lina unlatched the slider, stepping out onto the covered porch.

  Griffin had already seen a good number of the others. He knew what he liked. Why waste time? “This one is perfect. It’s got a place for my big screen, a couple of bedrooms, space for an office. What more do I need?”

  She came back in and shut and locked the door. “I guess. It just seems like you should make an informed decision.”

  Leave it to a woman, Griffin thought. “I’ll move my stuff in as soon as I get back.”

  “Where you going?” she asked, surprised.

  “To pack up my Malibu condo and get my SUV.”

  “Oh.”
She bit her lower lip. “But you’ll be back before I leave for school, right?”

  “Sure,” he lied. He didn’t want their goodbye to be a big production. Best to be gone when she left.

  She looked around the big bedroom. “Want to break the place in?” To make sure he didn’t misconstrue her meaning, Lina pulled her tank top over her head and shimmied out of her shorts.

  In a white lace bra and thong, she struck a sex-kitten pose, trying to look grown-up and provocative.

  “We’re not doing this again, Lina.” It was the vulnerability behind the vixen act that kept him from getting visibly angry.

  The first time her little striptease had been sweetly sexy. Now Lina was trying too damn hard. Didn’t she know that all she had to do was smile at him and Griffin was gone?

  He leaned against the wall. “I’m crazy about you, Lina. I really am. But what we did last time isn’t going to happen again. If we’re still single in a few years, and you still want to be with me, we’ll resume where we left off.”

  Lina’s cheeks turned red and she scrambled for her clothes. “Why?” She sniffled, clearly mortified. Even more proof that she wasn’t cut out to be a teenage temptress.

  “Because this time I’ll take everything you’re offering and I won’t offer anything in return. Is that what you want?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve never met anyone like you. I want us to be together.”

  “You mean you’ve never met someone rich and you’d like to get you some of that?”

  Lina blinked, her expression turning stricken. “I don’t care about your money. Is that what you think?”

  “No.” Griffin banged the back of his head against the wall. “But I figure if I make you mad enough, you’ll walk away. Because you’re wearing me down, Lina.”

  “I am?” She’d finished putting on her clothes, moved in on Griffin, and threw her arms around him.

  “Not the soap-opera seduction,” he said. “I don’t like that. It feels staged. But when you’re you, sweet and charming, I’m putty in your hands. Like right now, I want to say forget college, come live with me in this big house.”