Undercover in Glimmer Creek

by Julianna Morris

  “I know, Uncle Milt. All we can do is try.”

  After they got off the phone, Tessa brought up the latest fake document they’d created to use in catching the industrial spy.

  “I’ve told Rob to write notes in the margins,” Gabe said, “about keeping things confidential and mentioning Patrick Connor as the chief rival for the data.”

  “Nothing overdone,” Tessa warned.

  “Of course not, but I’ve seen some of the papers Rob prepares for speaking at meetings. He already writes ‘confidential’ on certain sections, which the thief must have seen. Actually, it probably highlighted what pieces of information were the most valuable.”

  “So with all the recent problems,” she said slowly, “it wouldn’t seem unusual to increase the warnings, as if Rob wants to urgently get the message across.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Then he could write a note that the contract needs to be signed and faxed before leaving Poppy Gold. That should prompt the thief into immediate action.”

  “Sounds good,” Gabe agreed.

  Tessa shot a look at him as she typed. For the past few days, they’d been excruciatingly polite, with no repeats of an afternoon or night in bed together.

  In the heat of the moment, it was easy to convince herself that sex didn’t have to be meaningful. But it wasn’t true; she was crazy about Gabe.

  “Could somebody working at Poppy Gold be using a false identity?” Gabe asked.

  Tessa wrinkled her nose. “I suppose it’s possible. But we check IDs and verify Social Security numbers when we hire anybody, and there’s even more checking to get employees bonded.”

  “It’s too bad you don’t run background checks on your guests.”

  She narrowed her eyes, torn between annoyance and appreciation. A few days ago, two of their visitors had tried to depart in the early morning hours with a pair of antique side tables. An alert had gone out on the radio, but Gabe had gotten to the thieves, even before the security staff.

  “How did you know what was happening?” she asked.

  Gabe unhooked the facility radio he carried on his belt and held it up. “I take this home and keep it on. I couldn’t let someone get away with theft.”

  Tessa typed another sentence into the computer, thinking about something she’d told Jamie—that men could do things that were far more romantic than a gift. While Gabe wasn’t trying to woo her, he was still tugging at her heart, in the same unceasing way the moon pulled the ocean tides back and forth.

  “Well, thanks,” she said, keeping her head down in case her face revealed too much.

  * * *

  “YOU’RE WELCOME,” GABE MURMURED.

  He watched Tessa, churning with emotions he didn’t want to examine too closely. While she wasn’t as naive as he’d thought, he couldn’t share her belief that most people were basically good. After all, she was helping him track down a thief and an attempted murderer, someone who’d violated her home and business.

  It didn’t help that he wanted to take her back to bed so badly, he was in a permanent state of arousal.

  “When do you want to send these to Rob?” Tessa asked without looking up.

  “By Saturday morning. He isn’t going to talk about the fake plans with his executives—that would cause its own problems—but he needs time to review the documents and write the notes in the margins. Also to make any changes he thinks are needed.”

  “Okay.”

  Gabe rose and paced restlessly around the living room. The apartment was small, but it retained the charm of Victorian architecture.

  “You’re making me dizzy,” Tessa complained finally.

  “I’m used to action, not sitting back and waiting for something to happen.”

  “We aren’t just waiting, we’re setting a trap. Surely there were extensive planning stages when you were a SEAL.”

  “It’s different with Rob involved.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Everything is different when family is involved. My family is just bigger than yours.”

  The statement took Gabe aback. He hadn’t thought about it that much, seeing only Tessa’s blind faith in her relatives and neighbors. But he might be just as blind when it came to his brother.

  Tessa got up and stretched. “Do you want to go for a walk?” she asked. “I’m ready for an activity that doesn’t involve composing fake business scenarios.”

  Gabe extended his hand and ran his thumb over her mouth, hating himself for giving in to temptation, yet unable to resist. “There’s another activity I’d prefer.”

  Her eyes darkened. “Aren’t you worried I’ll get ideas about us?”

  “I’m worried about hurting you, that’s all.”

  “Because we aren’t compatible.”

  “We aren’t compatible...except in bed. Or do you want to characterize our last encounter as simply ‘okay’?”

  She grinned. “Did that bother you?”

  He drew her closer. “You know it did. What I haven’t decided is whether it was a deliberate knock on my ego.”

  “Maybe subconsciously. Your gift for aggravating people is unparalleled.”

  Gabe kissed Tessa, trying to quell the voices clamoring in his head. She reached inside him and shook all the certainties he’d lived with so long...the certainties that had helped him survive.

  There were a thousand reasons to keep his distance, but only one to take her to bed...and that was the reason that won.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  FOR THE FIRST TIME, Tessa was having trouble focusing on Poppy Gold. Part of it was the sense of being in limbo until Rob and his executives returned. But it was mostly Gabe.

  She’d been determined not to sleep with him again, only to give in with barely a murmur.

  Tessa swallowed at the memory and pushed her grocery cart down the supermarket aisle in Stockton. She’d actually left Poppy Gold on a Friday afternoon, just to go shopping. It had felt as if she was escaping.

  Working fewer hours gave Tessa a faint sense of panic, as if things were spinning out of control. Yet in many ways it was better. But it was Gabe who was giving her the biggest headache.

  His protectiveness would be endearing if it wasn’t so frustrating. Did he really believe that seeing terrible things should close him off from love and warmth? Her father had witnessed his share of horrors and had still been able to fall in love and believe in people again.

  Not fair, Tessa’s conscience screamed. She’d never experienced any of the things Gabe had. How could she criticize the way he dealt with his memories if it helped him survive?

  Of course, there was one thing she knew for certain—it didn’t matter how wary you were of falling for the wrong man. When you fell, you fell. The heart made decisions the brain knew were insane.

  Depressed, she stared at a display of barbecue supplies. Fun in the Sun declared the cheerful banner hanging from the ceiling. There were beach balls and elaborate barbecue tools, myriad bottles of sunscreen lotions, more kinds of charcoal briquettes than she’d ever thought existed, along with grills, skewers, sauces and seasonings of every type.

  And right in the middle was a book titled Barbecuing for Beginners.

  A gremlin in Tessa made her put it into the cart.

  She could imagine what Gabe would say if he saw the extravagant display. Despite growing up with wealth, he was a no-frills guy. If he’d ever barbecued, it was probably to survive in some distant part of the world. But for her, barbecues meant family gatherings and community fund-raisers, teenage trips to the beach with the church youth group and picnics along the meandering creek that the town had been named after.

  “Which one do you think is best?” asked a voice, startling Tessa from her reverie.

  “Excuse me?”

 
“My husband told me to get charcoal, and I don’t know what kind he uses.” It was a mother with a toddler belted into her cart, a small boy holding her hand and a significant bulge in her midsection.

  Tessa picked up the book she’d put in her own cart and displayed the title. “I have no idea.”

  The woman laughed and the little boy next to her laughed, too, though he probably didn’t know what was amusing.

  “That’s the one my dad used to get.” Tessa gestured to the brand her father had bought before getting a gas grill.

  “Looks good to me.” The young mother reached for the bag, but Tessa insisted on loading it for her. “Gosh, thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Tessa watched the three make their way down the grocery aisle, her throat tightening painfully.

  Did Gabe’s warnings mean he was starting to care about her? Her own heart was committed, but she didn’t expect him to change his mind about having children. He truly believed it was wrong to bring kids into a society with so many problems, unable to see that every child offered the chance to solve those problems.

  And just as important...could she spend a lifetime with someone who had such a different outlook on the world, no matter how much she loved him?

  Tessa finished her shopping and loaded everything into her car, unable to get Gabe out of her head. They were different, but her mom had also fallen for a former soldier, the son of a business mogul. Her parents’ marriage hadn’t been perfect, but it had been extraordinarily happy for the time they’d shared.

  If only...

  The familiar grief rose through Tessa at the memory of losing her mother. She was on the little highway that led toward Glimmer Creek, and when her eyes began watering too much to be safe, she pulled off the road.

  Stop, she ordered.

  Yet the waves of pain didn’t stop, and she finally turned off the engine. With the need to put up a brave front with Pop, it seemed harder than ever to stop thinking about her mother and how unfair her death had been.

  She’d wanted to be strong for her father, but Gabe was right. She was hurting, too. Finally Tessa closed her eyes, letting memories and tears flood through her in a way she hadn’t allowed since the week of the funeral.

  * * *

  LANCE DECIDED TO work on the rock wall for a few minutes after his shift. He’d gotten more of the quick-setting concrete and was trying to make it as nice-looking as possible.

  He hadn’t said anything more to Jamie about the navy, but he knew she was thinking about it. She got a faraway look in her eyes and was even quieter than him most of the time.

  Finally he gave the apple trees extra water and trudged back to Maintenance.

  Gabe was still in the locker room when he got there. “Hey, Lance.”

  “Hey.” Lance put away his gloves and started to leave, then turned around. “Uh, Gabe...?”

  “Yes?”

  Lance shuffled his feet. “Jamie is worried I could get killed in the navy. I’m not scared, but what happens if you have a family and you die?”

  Gabe closed his locker. “A recruiter can tell you more about family benefits than I can.” He seemed to hesitate. “But somehow I don’t think that’s what bothers Jamie. She doesn’t want to lose you, any more than you want to lose her.”

  Lance nodded and walked home to shower before meeting Jamie. He rounded the corner and sucked in a breath. She was waiting in front of his cottage.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey. May I come in?”

  “Uh, sure.” Lance fumbled as he stuck the key in the lock and opened the door. “It isn’t like your place,” he said uncomfortably. Even though the studio was nicer than anywhere he’d lived before, it couldn’t compare to the Fullertons’ big house.

  “Is that why you haven’t wanted me to come here?”

  He shrugged. “Partly. It also didn’t seem right, you know, because you’re a preacher’s daughter.”

  “I told you, being a PK doesn’t make me any different from other girls.”

  “Don’t get mad. You are different.”

  She crossed her arms and looked mad anyhow. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah. But it’s mostly...well, because I haven’t cared that much about any other girl.”

  He must have said the right thing because Jamie smiled. “That’s how I feel about you. I mean, that I haven’t cared about any other boys the way I love you. But we have to talk about real things, Lance, not just something that might happen someday. No secrets. I’m going to love you no matter what, but if we don’t trust each other, then I don’t know how we can make anything work.”

  Lance sighed. Maybe he hadn’t trusted her enough to love him if she knew the truth.

  “I’ll go first,” she said, her cheeks turning pink. “My mom says women don’t have to wait to be asked out, but deep down I felt funny about it—as if I’d broken a rule or forced you to go out with me because you were too nice to say no.”

  “But I liked it,” he said, astonished. “Only the popular guys in school got asked out by girls.”

  “Maybe, but Glimmer Creek is old-fashioned. Anyhow, I think it made me feel better when you gave me presents or talked about taking care of me because it seemed to prove it wasn’t important that I’d made the first move. It was dumb and selfish, and I’m sorry.”

  Though Jamie’s confession was small in comparison, Lance could see that she’d hated admitting it.

  He let out a breath. “Okay, my turn. That stuff I told you about my family wasn’t true. My father went to prison for killing someone when my mom was pregnant, and she died when I was born, so I never even met them. But I heard she was in trouble before that. I grew up in foster homes. Most of them were okay, but the last two were lousy and I got knocked around a bunch,” he continued hurriedly.

  “Oh, Lance, I’m sorry.” Jamie started to reach for him, but he held up a hand to stop her. He needed to get through the rest of his confession.

  “Anyhow, I left the Stantons’ a year ago when I turned eighteen. But my old foster sister was still there, and I talked to her sometimes. In December, she called and said she was hiding in the basement because Stanton was drunk and looking for her.”

  “So you went over to help.”

  “Well, yeah. Maggie is just a little squirt, and she was crying, sure he’d kill her this time. But when I got there Stanton called the cops and claimed I’d broken in.”

  “What a jerk.”

  Lance had called Denny Stanton much nastier things. “Anyhow, the cops arrested me, but they let me go when Stanton didn’t come in to sign a complaint. I didn’t hear more about it, and Maggie got moved to a new home right away, so I left Sacramento and ended up in Glimmer Creek.”

  “Why did you keep it a secret, Lance? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Nobody believes a foster kid, especially when their dad is in prison. My old boss even fired me when he found out, so I didn’t think the navy would want me with that on my record.”

  “I believe you. And I bet Gabe did, too.”

  Lance was startled. “How do you know I told him?”

  “Isn’t that why you talked to him first about enlisting?”

  A huge weight seemed to roll from Lance’s chest, and he hugged her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I should have told you, but I was afraid it would ruin everything.”

  * * *

  JAMIE TRIED NOT to cry.

  “Lance, you don’t have to go in the navy for me. Is it something you really want to do?”

  “I don’t know,” he admitted. “It seems like a good way to take care of you, and getting to be a flier would mean I could make a bunch of money after I got out.”

  Jamie hesitated. “I’m not trying to change your mind, but...uh, Aunt Jessica’s first hus
band died flying a navy jet in a stupid training flight. So it re...really scares me to think about you doing that.”

  “Jeez, Jamie. I forgot about that.”

  She looked at him, feeling more grown-up than she’d ever felt before. “If you enlist, it has to be what you want, not because you think it’s best for us.”

  “But I promised to take care—”

  “I know,” she interrupted quietly. “But isn’t it all right if we take care of each other?”

  * * *

  LANCE BLINKED, REALIZING Jamie was right. He could count on her; it didn’t have to be all up to him. It sounded stupid, but it was like a door had opened, and all he had to do was step inside.

  “Okay.”

  Jamie’s smile was brighter than he’d ever seen it, and he hugged her close. He still didn’t know how her parents would react; he just knew she’d feel the same way about him, no matter what.

  * * *

  AS TESSA DROVE back into Glimmer Creek, she hesitated about going home immediately. The town’s private animal rescue group had called that morning to say they had a cat newly available for adoption. They kept an eye out for potential VC residents, and Poppy Gold reciprocated by referring guests who wanted to adopt.

  She decided to stop at the shelter. Inside she was introduced to Rocky, a long-haired brown tabby who’d been found abandoned on the highway near Glimmer Creek.

  “Whoa, he’s enormous,” she exclaimed. “Part Maine coon?” she asked the attendant.

  “The veterinarian wrote Maine coon crossbreed on his chart, but that’s just a guess based on his size.”

  Rocky settled in her arms, purring madly and looking up with apparent adoration. While his fur had the faintly sticky, dull texture that came from living in a kennel, it was long and thick.

  The volunteer looked at the file again. “Rocky has been in the medical section for the usual shots and tests, et cetera. This says he’s around two years old and quite mellow.”

  Tessa scratched behind the feline’s ears, his purr doubling in volume as he arched against her chest. “I’ll take him,” she said, already in love.