Undercover in Glimmer Creek

by Julianna Morris

  “I’m sure Patrick Connor would bail you out.”

  “I don’t want to be bailed out, I want to succeed. But as a return gesture of honesty, I’m willing to admit that while I hate micromanagers, I’ve been turning into one. So thank you for helping me to see that. I’m trying to...well...”

  “Let people do their job instead of doing it for them or looking over their shoulder every minute?”

  She tossed a wadded-up napkin at him. “Something like that.”

  He chuckled. It was a curious moment of closeness and understanding—even shared humor—that tugged at her heart. It was also unsettling, because she’d never experienced a moment like that with a man.

  Gabe gathered the trash from their meal and stuffed it in the bag from the deli. “By the way, I understand you think TIP can return in a couple of weeks? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I just told Rob today.”

  “But Milt already knows, too.”

  “Of course. Uncle Milt agrees that a sting operation is needed since industrial espionage is so difficult to investigate. He’s also talked to Rob about the letters, even though technically it’s out of his jurisdiction.”

  “I can’t see that stopping Milt.”

  “Nope.”

  Gabe stood up and stretched. “I’d better get going.”

  Tessa got up to open the door. The hum of several conversations drifted in from the garden and Gabe quickly put an arm around her.

  At first his kiss was more mechanical than sensual, but his lips slowly gentled. The mingled scent and taste of mint and chocolate drifted through her, and she relaxed against him.

  The men she’d dated in San Francisco had worked in an office, usually too busy to stay in shape. A few had exercised, but none of them had possessed Gabe’s sheer muscled strength. It was exhilarating, and she struggled to keep from encouraging more than a kiss. She didn’t think he’d refuse...his arousal pressed against her, hard and insistent. If they hadn’t been in semipublic view, she might have satisfied her curiosity about how he’d respond to a bold exploration.

  No, a voice whispered in her head.

  She didn’t want to fall for a man like Gabe. Yet her thoughts scattered as his fingers spanned her rib cage. She wriggled against him, pleased to hear him groan.

  The sound of nearby laughter was a cold splash of reality, and they both froze.

  “I’d better go,” he muttered, his arms dropping so fast she nearly lost her balance. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He left before she could find her voice again, which was a good thing or she might have suggested he stay.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  GABE WENT OUT for a run before dawn the next morning, furious with himself for nearly losing control with Tessa.

  Several miles outside Glimmer Creek, he stopped and wiped his face. Keeping in shape was a long habit, and exercise was a good way to work off excess energy.

  A wry smile twisted Gabe’s mouth.

  He had an abundance of excess energy with Tessa Connor in his life, however temporarily she might be there. She had a way of getting under his skin in more ways than one. While he might believe she was too open for her own good, there was something appealing about it, as well. No wonder people gravitated to her. She was like finding a spring of clear, fresh water in the middle of a desert.

  Yet as soon as the thought came to Gabe, he snorted.

  He wasn’t a blasted poet. Recognizing that Tessa had special qualities didn’t mean he was getting soft—it just meant he was being observant. And it was smart to see that she was someone who could get hurt if he wasn’t careful.

  Gabe set out on the return route to town, trying to let the steady rhythm of his feet on the pavement block out everything else in his head. He arrived at Glimmer Cottages shortly before 6:00 a.m. and saw Lance Beckley locking his door, clad in the clothes he wore while digging the new orchard.

  “Hey,” Gabe said, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing the other residents. “I thought you worked Monday through Friday.”

  Lance shrugged. “Jamie is switching to weekends so she can do more living history, so I asked to change my schedule, too.”

  “Have you thought more about going into the navy?”

  “I don’t know. Jamie might not want to leave Glimmer Creek.”

  Conflicting emotions flickered in Lance’s eyes, and Gabe figured there was something the boy wasn’t saying.

  “If you enlist you’ll be given an aptitude test. Depending on how you score, it could mean a lot of opportunities,” he urged. “More education, training, all sorts of things.”

  “Maybe. I’d better go. I don’t want to be late.”

  Gabe went to his cottage. The kid had to make his own decision; it wouldn’t help to push. Ordinarily he would have kept his mouth shut, but he must have been infected by Tessa’s do-gooder attitude. Or maybe it had nothing to do with her being a do-gooder; maybe it was an extension of small-town nosiness.

  Despite having gone away to college and worked in San Francisco, Tessa knew plenty about her Glimmer Creek neighbors. Perhaps getting involved in their lives was a natural extension of that knowledge.

  Gabe made a face as he scrubbed his hair in the shower, deciding the sooner he could leave Glimmer Creek, the better.

  * * *

  JAMIE WAS SITTING on a bench eating lunch when she saw her cousin leave Old City Hall and head across the park.

  “Tessa,” she called.

  Tessa looked up and smiled. “Hi, Jamie,” she said, walking up. “You look terrific. Is that a new costume? I especially love the hat.”

  “Isn’t it great? Mom finished it last night. Did Uncle Liam tell you about the nugget that Lance found in the creek?”

  “Yes, it must have been exciting. Has he decided what to do with it?”

  Jamie shook her head. “Not yet, but he gave it to me for safekeeping. It’s funny, I told him about that big lump of gold someone thought was a cow patty, and now he’s found one, too.”

  Tessa sat next to her on the bench. “I think the cow patty story happened before either of us was born, and it might be just a very tall tale.”

  “Naw, I bet it’s true.” Jamie held a bunch of grapes out to her cousin, but Tessa shook her head. “What do you think?”

  “I suppose anything is possible.”

  Jamie fidgeted. “Tessa, do you think guys from the city are different from the ones from Glimmer Creek?” she asked finally.

  “How do you mean?”

  “I don’t know exactly, but Lance doesn’t talk much about growing up, and he can get weird sometimes.” Jamie cast a sideways glance at her cousin, wondering how much she should say. “Like the day you fell—he was uncomfortable when I asked if Uncle Milt had talked to him.”

  “Uncle Milt talked to everyone. Lance was probably just remembering the day he arrived in Glimmer Creek. An officer gave him a ticket when he drove around Poppy Gold on his motorcycle. He said he didn’t see the signs about private vehicles being prohibited.”

  Jamie frowned. “He didn’t tell me about that, though he says the police don’t like the bike. Maybe that’s what he meant.”

  “I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm,” Tessa assured her. “He’s been very respectful since then, and I doubt anyone is concerned now.”

  “Mom asked me not to ride with him,” Jamie admitted. “I kind of agree with her, but I don’t know how to tell Lance. He’s really proud of his motorcycle. He got it at a junkyard in Sacramento and did all the repairs himself. Before that he had to take the bus to work and it took forever.”

  “The longer you wait, the harder it will be,” Tessa advised. “There’s no saying how he’ll react, but he might wonder why you didn’t tell him sooner.”

  “I suppose. A
re all guys so hard to understand?”

  “A few may be less difficult than others, but pretty much. And to answer your first question, I don’t think where they’re from makes much difference when it comes to men being stubborn.” Tessa sounded as if she’d been thinking about it recently, which probably meant she was talking about Gabe McKinley instead of Lance.

  Jamie laughed. “Oh.”

  She felt better knowing her cousin was having guy trouble, too. Everybody knew Tessa and Mr. McKinley were dating...well, almost dating. The family kept hoping she’d fall in love and get married, but they weren’t sure about her choosing Gabe McKinley. He was awfully stiff and didn’t smile very much. Even at the ice-cream social he’d mostly stayed quiet and watched everyone.

  “Being in love is wonderful,” Jamie said after a minute. “Lance is awfully sweet. He’s always giving me stuff. He says it’s because he never had anyone to spoil before, but I bet he’s had a bunch of girlfriends.”

  * * *

  “PRESENTS ARE NICE, but some of the things guys do can be more romantic,” Tessa murmured.

  “Like what?”

  “I think it’s different for every relationship. In high school, one of my boyfriends was a fanatic about skiing. He talked the church youth group into planning a ski trip, then two days before we left I sprained my ankle. I told him to go anyway, but he stayed home, saying it wouldn’t be fun without me. We spent the entire day watching old movies, eating popcorn and drinking hot chocolate.”

  “That was nice.”

  “I thought so.”

  Jamie fidgeted with the sleeve of her costume. “The thing is, I thought being in love would be easier.”

  “I know. Love may conquer all, but it takes a while to get there.” Tessa patted her arm and wondered how she’d gotten old enough that a teenager would ask her for advice. Not that thirty was old, but it probably seemed old to an eighteen-year-old girl in love.

  She tried to think how her own mother might have felt if she had dated a boy like Lance Beckley. It would have caused concern. Lance wasn’t a bad kid, but he was socially awkward, moody and never talked about his past, which suggested it must have been unhappy.

  The thought led back to Gabe, and Tessa stifled a groan. She’d gotten far too personal with him, talking about his parents and childhood.

  As for what her mother would have said about Gabe? She would have worried he was too closed off and emotionally distant. Pop, on the other hand, obviously appreciated the company of a man who’d gone through some of the same things he’d experienced in the military.

  “Do you think Lance and I are too young to get married?” Jamie asked out of the blue.

  Tessa scrambled for something to say that wouldn’t sound preachy. Finally she chose complete honesty. “I have no idea, Jamie. The statistics are against you, but my parents married young and were extremely happy. Are you two considering marriage?”

  “No, but he talks about making it big so he can take care of me. I wouldn’t mind getting engaged, but I don’t think we should get married until I’m out of college.”

  Gabe’s comments about Lance spending so much money on Jamie flitted through Tessa’s head, much to her frustration. She didn’t think Lance was guilty of wrongdoing. He’d shown he was honest, and it wasn’t unusual for a kid to dream of financial success.

  Looking up, Tessa saw Gabe across the street watching them and let out a resigned breath. He must have gotten his background checks, and Gabe being Gabe, he didn’t want to wait to discuss them.

  “I’d better get back to work,” Jamie said, dusting her fingers and adjusting her hat. It was a frothy number with pink grosgrain ribbon and lace, but no feathers. Elsie Lyman on the historical society was also a member of every wildlife organization on the planet. She was always quick to mention that the style for having feathers on women’s hats had destroyed millions of birds in the 1800s. Nobody would dare to even put a fake feather on a Poppy Gold costume for fear of getting “the lecture.”

  Jamie tucked a “reticule” over her arm, along with the small wicker basket she’d used to carry her lunch, and set off for the train depot. Tessa sighed, hoping her cousin could avoid some of the heartaches that life could bring. She’d feel the same when she was a parent someday, worrying about her children and wanting all good things for them. She didn’t have time for sentiment, however. Gabe was descending on her like a heat-seeking missile.

  “Hello,” she said sweetly. “How are you today?”

  “Fine. Do you have a computer at your apartment?” he asked. “I have the information on a flash drive.”

  She thought about the work she’d planned to do, but the sooner the spy was caught, the better, and right now there was little else she could contribute to the investigation.

  “Sure.”

  They walked to the Victorian Cat, and she unlocked the door, unable to keep from recalling their heated kiss the previous night. How much had been pretense and how much real? Men had a harder time than women concealing their arousal, and he’d definitely responded to her, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. An old cliché floated through her head—a woman needs a reason to make love; a guy just needs a place.

  “My office is upstairs,” Tessa said.

  Her parents had started their renovations with the Victorian Cat, partially because it was close to the edge of Poppy Gold, and partly because it had been easiest to carve out a private apartment in the back of the house. The first floor had a kitchen and living room, and on the second floor was a bathroom and two tiny bedrooms opening off a small central parlor.

  They climbed the steep, narrow stairs to the second level, and Gabe looked around with obvious curiosity.

  “Something wrong?” she asked.

  “I was just wondering if one or more cats are in residence.”

  “They’re all in their suites. Do you have something against cats?”

  He shrugged.

  “I bet you prefer dogs...adoring, faithful and blindly obedient.”

  “I don’t believe in blind obedience.”

  Tessa tried not to smile. “How about adoring and faithful?”

  “How about checking those files?”

  She gestured to her office. “Fine, but the room is small,” she warned. “I hope you aren’t claustrophobic.”

  “Not a problem.”

  * * *

  THOUGH GABE HAD seen some of the apartment on his first day at Poppy Gold, he’d gotten only a few impressions; his focus had been on Tessa as a potential suspect. Now he was curious...particularly when he saw bold outlines of friendly dragons and other fantastical creatures on the yellow walls in Tessa’s office.

  “Interesting decor,” he commented.

  She flushed. “This used to be my nursery. I was too busy to paint it when I moved in last year.”

  “The apartment was sitting empty until then?”

  “More or less. It isn’t suitable as a rental since the staircase is too steep. Actually, my mother used to say we must have a ghost on the stairs.”

  Gabe frowned. From everything he’d read, Meredith Connor hadn’t sounded the type to have outlandish ideas.

  “Oh?”

  “Uh-huh. She nearly fell one day, but something grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her upright.”

  Tessa’s expression was so challenging, he decided to take a safe route. “I see. Lucky for her.”

  “That’s right.”

  She sat in the chair in front of her computer and turned it on.

  Gabe didn’t have a vivid imagination, but as he sat on the padded window seat next to the desk, he could easily envision a cheerful toddler in the room, bright-eyed and filled with expectation. His mental image was no doubt prompted by the picture hanging on Liam’s office wall... Tessa as a little girl
. Tessajinks. She’d probably had a sunny disposition and an iron will.

  Tessa took the flash drive he held out and inserted it in the computer. “I still don’t think the thief could be someone from Glimmer Creek,” she said.

  “I appreciate your loyalty to your family and neighbors, but even criminals have relatives.”

  “Except contrary to what you seem to believe, most people aren’t budding criminals, looking for an opportunity to illegally profit at someone else’s expense.”

  Tessa opened the only file on the flash drive and began looking at the background checks provided by KJ’s security firm. Most were innocuous. In fact, with few exceptions they were downright boring, and looking at them gave him entirely too much time to think about Tessa. Nothing about Tessa Connor was boring.

  He could see how a woman like her could tempt a man to consider marriage and family. The idea was seductive. But it would be a mistake for Tessa, if nothing else. He was too hard and had seen too much to ever be with a woman like her.

  Yet it was difficult to think clearly. The warmth was building in the small office and her skin was releasing a faint, elusive fragrance. Gabe had noticed the refreshing scent before, mostly when they were kissing. The pressure behind his zipper began building, and he shifted uncomfortably.

  * * *

  “THAT’S UNEXPECTED,” TESSA said after a while, frowning as she read the file on her cousin’s boyfriend.

  “What?”

  “This business with Lance Beckley. Arrested for unlawful entry? That doesn’t sound like him.”

  “I saw it early this morning and made calls to some people who made calls,” Gabe explained. “My contacts tell me that Lance was caught in an impossible situation, attempting to protect his former foster sister from a beating. Denny Stanton, his ex-foster father, is a piece of filth who ought to be in jail.”

  Tessa shivered, suspecting she was going to hear something that wasn’t pleasant. “I have a terrible feeling you’re going to say that Lance was an abused foster kid.”

  “Looks like it. He was trying to do the right thing, but Stanton called the cops and demanded that Lance be arrested for breaking and entering.”