by Tawny Weber
“No,” Caleb realized. “I don’t mind. I mean, he’s easy to like.”
“He really is,” she agreed, reaching over to brush her hand over his. He turned his fingers to capture hers, making her smile. “So is my mother. If you can get past her larger-than-life perfection.”
“Is that a bad thing?” he asked, using a method straight out of Witness Grilling 101. Ask open-ended questions that kept the other person guessing as to what you wanted to hear. They were more likely to go with an unscripted gut response.
“Not totally bad. I mean, she’s fun and always makes people laugh. She’s got flare and talent and, well, she’s just so exuberant and alive. She walks in a room and everyone automatically gravitates to her.”
“So why are you so unhappy with her?”
She sighed, staring blankly across the room as she considered that question. He noticed that there was now an actual hole in the knitted scarf from her digging at the yarn.
“Because of all those same reasons.” Her smile was a little shaky. “I mean, that’s a lot to live up to, you know? She’s larger than life. People all around the world know who she is. Then they look at me with this puzzled stare, like they are trying to figure out where she went wrong.”
Caleb gave a shake of his head.
“What?” she asked.
“You just described me and my dad.”
Her laugh was more a puff of air than amusement. She shook her head. “What are we supposed to do about it?”
He threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know. I mean, they do a great job of being who they are.”
“I think you do a great job of being who you are, too. So why is not being like them a problem? I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being measured by my mother.”
Thin ice. Caleb hesitated before going with his gut. “But I think the only one measuring you by that is, well, you.”
There went the sweet look off her face. She pulled back, her eyes narrowed and her lips tight. She looked as if she was seriously considering smacking him with that scarf.
“Me?” she asked in a tone so arch it was worthy of a queen.
“I guess I have an outsider’s perspective,” he mused. “I see a town that likes you, one that’s actually a little defensive of you, if all the warnings I got not to hurt you are anything to go by. I see an intriguing, attractive woman trying her hand at something new and succeeding. A woman who loves cats, cooks like a dream and always has a smile and a warm word for people. Maybe you’re not flamboyant and wild, like your mother. But you’re just as interesting, and even more beautiful.”
Her smile was bright enough to light the room. Caleb shifted uncomfortably in his chair, wanting to duck out until she stopped beaming at him. This gallant thing was more Gabriel’s style than his. But he hadn’t been able to stand seeing that dejected look on her face.
“So, I didn’t bring any treats,” Pandora said out of the blue, nibbling on her lip in a way that made him want to beg for a taste.
“Treats?”
“Yeah. Cookies or chocolate sauce or, well, you know. Aphrodisiacs.” She shrugged again, knotting together the frayed pieces of yarn to repair her scarf. “I really didn’t intend to come over. I was upset when I left the store and instead of walking home, my feet brought me here. To room seventeen.”
Her words ended in a wistful tone he didn’t understand. What he did understand was the look in her eyes. Sexy and appreciative. Warm and sweet. God, she was incredible.
Unable to resist, Caleb leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers. She tasted so freaking good. His tongue traced the full pillow of her lower lip, then he nipped lightly.
Her gasp was followed by a low moan of approval. She skimmed the tips of her fingers over his jaw, whisper-soft and so gentle. It was all he could do not to grab her by the waist and carry her over to the bed.
Caleb pulled away and jumped to his feet. Pacing, he shoved one hand through his hair.
What was he doing? She was the prime suspect in an FBI drug case. He should at least settle a few questions before he settled himself between her thighs.
“I can go,” she said quietly, her hand dropping away from the buttons of her silk top.
It killed him to see that hurt on her face. To hear the self-protective distance in her tone.
It really all came down to faith.
He’d told Hunter he was sure his old man was innocent. But a part of him, the part that knew that there was a potential criminal in everyone, had wondered.
But Pandora? At the moment, all evidence pointed toward her. With what he’d seen, what he knew and what he’d heard, he’d have felt solid making an arrest.
But his instincts said otherwise. They said she was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman. Sweet and hot and adventurous. And, dammit, innocent.
So while he might be suffering from plenty of burnout and his instincts were raw nerves at this point, he had to listen to them. Because without that, he was nothing.
He’d just have to prove the evidence wrong.
PANDORA WOKE THE NEXT morning with a feeling of absolute contentment. Eyes still closed, she stretched on the lavender-scented sheets and gave a deep sigh of satisfaction.
Yum. What a delicious night.
Shifting to the pillow next to her, she smiled and slowly opened her eyes. Caleb stared back at her, his gold eyes intense and, if she read him right, concerned. Why?
“Hi,” she murmured, shifting back a little to get a better look at him. Stiff shoulders, jaw tight. He seemed distant, as if a part of him wasn’t even here in bed with her.
Pandora shivered a little, then ran her tongue over her lower lip. What was going on?
But before she could ask, someone knocked on the door.
“Company?” she asked quietly, suddenly realizing she was naked except for the soft rays of morning light. She grabbed the sheet and quilt and pulled them higher.
“Probably Mrs. Mac with another delivery. Or muffins. She thinks I’m going to starve if I don’t start each day with a half-dozen blueberry crumbles.”
He sounded normal. But he still looked…fake.
“Hang on,” he said, shifting out of bed and pulling on jeans, commando-style. He zipped them, but didn’t bother with the snap.
Pandora’s mouth watered. God, he was gorgeous. Sleek, tanned skin. That wolf tattoo crawling down his shoulder to growl from the gorgeous muscles of his upper arms. She wanted to nibble her way down the small of his back, then bite him. Right there on the butt.
Grinning to herself, she shifted to a more comfy position. Starting the day with muffins and, hopefully, morning sex was a definite positive in her books.
“I could-”
“No,” he said, shaking his head as he reached for the doorknob. “Wait there. I’ll get rid of her. We need to talk.”
She wasn’t sure how scooting off to the bathroom for a very necessary morning function, to say nothing of hiding from whoever was on the other side of the door, would stand in the way of talking. But he sounded so weird that she didn’t argue.
She watched Caleb peer through the door’s peephole. He instantly pulled back and whispered something that sounded like a curse. Shoulders so tense his back looked like something in one of those men’s muscle magazines, she heard him suck in a breath, then release it before opening the door.
He only opened it a few inches, though. With his body shielding her view, she could only surmise that it wasn’t Mrs. Mac with muffins.
“Yeah?”
Her brows drew together at Caleb’s impatient tone. Then she heard a man’s voice. Deep, melodious and compelling.
“Party time,” the voice said.
“You have the invitations already?”
Invitations? Party?
“All but the party planner. I’m counting on you for that.”
Her frown deepened as she listened to the conversation. What the hell were they talking about?
“Let me in. We have to
talk.”
“Later.”
“Now. Time’s become an issue.”
Caleb glanced over his shoulder at Pandora. The look in his eyes made her shiver just a little, it was so calculating. She felt bad for the guy on the other side of the door, since she was sure he was the reason for it.
“The hall?”
“Unsecure.”
“You’re a pain in the ass. You know that, right?” But Caleb stepped back and let the door swing open. “The balcony. Not a word.”
Pandora gulped as the second man stepped through the door. Too stunned to be embarrassed, she just stared.
Holy cow.
Pure masculine intensity. He wasn’t pretty, his face was too strong for that. But still, the sculpted features, long-lashed blue eyes and full lips did make quite a picture. His black hair swept off his forehead, longer in front and short in back. He stopped just inside the door when he saw her. Those vivid eyes cut over to Caleb and he arched a brow. Pandora tried to read his body language, but he was a blank. She didn’t see even a hint of surprise on his part. Like walking into his friend’s hotel room and finding a naked woman in bed was the norm.
The man gave Pandora a slight nod, his eyes doing a quick scan of the room, then he stepped over and opened the sliding door to the balcony.
“This might be a while,” Caleb said, grabbing his sweatshirt off the footboard before following his friend to the balcony door.
“It’s okay. I have to get to the store anyway,” she told him with a warm smile. “I’ll see you later, right?”
He gave her a long, intense look that made her stomach swoop into her toes. Then he nodded and stepped through, closing the curtain along with the door.
It wasn’t until both men were on the other side of the glass with the door firmly closed that she realized Caleb hadn’t introduced his friend.
Not that it mattered. She had her man.
And she missed him already.
Grinning at her own goofiness, Pandora tugged the sheet loose from the mattress to wrap it securely around her body, then slid from the bed. She padded over to the sliding glass door that led to the balcony and peered around the curtain.
Yep. Gorgeous and sexy. Both of them.
Giggling a little to herself, she did a mangled skip-step hindered by the sheet on her way to the bathroom.
Time to start her day. She had a feeling it was going to be an excellent one.
“TACKY, BLACK.”
Caleb shrugged, tugging the gray fleece over his head in a useless attempt to ward off the morning chill. California or not, winter mornings were damn cold here in the mountains.
“What broke?” he prompted. He wanted the reason for Hunter’s unexpected, and untimely, arrival. He did not want to discuss Pandora, his rotten choices, or what a jerk he was.
“I tugged a few more strings. Ran some numbers, looked at a few different accounts.”
As if his toes weren’t freezing, Caleb patiently waited.
“I know who the ringleader is,” Hunter declared.
Caleb crossed his arms over his chest and arched one brow.
Hunter gave him a long look. Then, his fingers stuffed in the pockets of a very warm-looking overcoat, he nodded.
“You already know.”
Even though it wasn’t a question, Caleb answered anyway. “I’m pretty sure I do. Did you run the records I asked?”
“Yeah. All the names you provided had arrests that led back to the same person. Why didn’t you email me with your suspicions?”
“I figured they might. These guys aren’t local to Black Oak, so they had to have connected somewhere. Jail was the easy answer. I figured that’d be a good place for a clever drug dealer to recruit his team.” Which was true. But it didn’t answer Hunter’s question. So Caleb admitted, “I didn’t let you know because I don’t know if he’s working alone or not.”
“You’re worried about your girlfriend? I couldn’t clear her.”
Faint though it was, layered there beneath the official tone, Caleb could hear the regret in Hunter’s voice. His old friend was hard-line about the law, but he didn’t enjoy hurting people. Caleb flexed his shoulders and shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter. Whatever you’ve got, it’s bullshit. Because I know Pandora. She’s not involved. Not knowingly.”
Hunter didn’t say a word. He just offered up that enigmatic stare of his. Caleb had lost a lot of poker money to that stare over the years. He wasn’t losing Pandora.
“Just wait,” he said, wincing, but unable to resist the cliché. “I’ll prove it.”
12
PANDORA WAS ALMOST skipping when she stepped into Moonspun Dreams an hour later. A night of wild sex with a gorgeous man without any aphrodisiacal aid had done wonders for her attitude.
Well, that and the little pep talk from Caleb the night before had made her realize she needed to come to terms with her issues. After a night of sweet, sexy loving, she figured she was in just the right mood to try to make nice with her mother.
“Hi, Paulie,” she said, bending down to rub her fingers over the silky black fur of the cat’s purring head. “You having a good morning, too?”
“Hey, Pandora,” Fifi greeted, coming out from the back room with an armful of fluffy handwoven blankets. “We can’t keep enough of these on the sales floor. I’m blown away at how much demand there is for all this homemade, organic stuff you’ve brought in.”
“I think it’s a cyclic thing,” Pandora said, straightening up and crossing over to give Bonnie’s ears the same loving attention she’d offered Paulie. “Twenty years ago, holistic was all the rage. I’ll bet in ten more, it’ll be back to New Age glitz.”
Something she’d do well to remember.
“Is my mother here?” she asked, heading back to the office to put away her purse.
“Um, no,” Fifi said with a grimace.
“Something wrong?”
“I’m not sure. I mean, I know you’re running the store now, but I’d thought that, you know, when Cassiopeia was back in town, she’d be involved. At least to do readings or something.”
“Well, yeah,” Pandora agreed slowly, turning to face her assistant. “Of course she will. That’s what she does. We’ve had dozens of calls while she was gone, and people are going to be lining up to see her now that she’s back. So what’s the problem?”
“Well, you left right after your mother, so I didn’t get to mention it. But I asked Cassiopeia on her way out if she wanted me to start booking readings. She said not until she found a place to do them.” Fifi scrunched her nose, looking as if she might cry. “What’s going on?”
Pandora shrugged a shoulder that was suddenly as heavy as lead. Like the fragile flame of a candle, her happy, upbeat morning disappeared into a puff of stress.
“What do I tell people?” Fifi prompted. “I’ve already had a few calls and I don’t know what to say. Is she going to come back?”
Pandora almost said that Fifi should tell them to find a new psychic. Lying on the counter with her black-and-white face looking so patient, Bonnie caught her eye, making her wince. Besides being immature and spiteful, doing something like that would sink the store.
“I don’t know,” Pandora said, biting her bottom lip and trying to figure out how they were going to deal with this. “I guess she’s upset about…” Pandora being an ungrateful brat who blamed her momma for her problems instead of pulling up her big-girl panties and facing them herself. “Something or other. I can call her later, see if we can get this fixed.”
As soon as she said the words, the throbbing in her temples faded and her earlier euphoria returned. Yep, all she had to do was take charge and have a good attitude. No more hiding and running.
“I’m glad. I was telling Russ about the readings last night, how totally accurate they are.” Fifi’s grin made it clear that she’d been sharing a lot more than store gossip with the new guy. “He’s a little scared to get one, but maybe after he sees how mu
ch people like them, he’ll change his mind.”
Pandora’s gaze cut to her newest employee, who stood out like an awkward third wheel as he tried to help a customer choose between tumbled carnelian or a citrine spear. At least she supposed he was trying to help. It couldn’t be easy with his hands hidden behind his back.
“Um, Fifi,” she said with a grimace, nodding at Russ. “I know he’s only been here a couple of days, but he’s got to get past that skittish thing he’s got going on.”
Fifi scrunched her nose and gave a little sigh. “He’s great with some of the customers. Younger ones, you know? He’s bringing them in left and right. But with our regulars…” She winced as he held out a handkerchief to take the handful of stones the customer had chosen. “Maybe I told him too many stories about how powerful you and your mom are?”
“Sorry, what?” Pandora asked. The rest of the room faded as she stared at Fifi with wide eyes.
“Well, you know. You’re the Easton women. Your gramma was a witch, right? And your mom is a famous psychic. You’re so amazing with reading people, and then you made an even bigger splash with the café and all those aphrodisiacs. You always know just what to offer the customers, and how to keep them from getting all silly about it. Everyone talks about it. You’re almost as big a legend now as Cassiopeia.” Fifi glanced at Russ, who’d rung up the crystal purchase and was now by the books with a young guy who looked as though he should be shopping in the herbal-bath section. “I’m betting Russ is a little freaked, you know? I mean, he’s a believer, so it’s all kinda intimidating.”
Pandora couldn’t care less about Russ anymore. She was too stunned by the rest of Fifi’s words. She thought Pandora was on the same level as Cassiopeia? Fifi and the customers considered her one of the gifted Easton women?
It was like being enveloped in the biggest, brightest hug in the world. Pandora’s heart swelled. Her smile spread from ear to ear and tears sparkled in her eyes.
“You okay?” Fifi asked, her own eyes huge with worry.
With a shaky sigh, she forced herself to focus and pull it together. There was nothing empowering about sniveling like a baby over validation.