by Lori Ryan
“You jest, but I’m telling you, these things are magic.”
She looked a bit surprised when he pulled out his schedule and added ‘Magical Crepes’ to the following morning.
“You’ll be there to show us where to find the magical crepes and unicorns?”
“I never promised unicorns.”
“I assumed unicorns would be drawn to things like magical crepes. My bad.” Kaeden looked back at his notes for the week. “I’ll just put potential for unicorns.”
Chapter 5
Kaeden left his cabin to see Jax Cutter and Dave Alexander, two of the guys on his team, sitting on the small front porch of Jax’s cabin. From the looks of it, they’d be rock climbing that day.
Jax still wore his hair in the same cut he’d had in the military, short and tight. His bright blue eyes stood out against a tanned face and he grinned as he checked over a climbing harness.
Dave’s eyes and hair were dark brown, his skin a lighter shade of the same color. He wore his hair short as well and was busy packing ropes and gear into a bag at his feet.
Jax called out to him. “Skip the crepes and come climbing with us. We’re hitting Ten Mile Canyon.”
Kaeden walked over, stretching his arms over his head as he did. He should have gotten up and gone for a run before breakfast.
Tomorrow he would.
“Sorry, have to be at the crepes. Jack stuck me in charge of shit so I can’t really skip out on shit like you assholes.”
Dave grinned at him. “How exactly did you land that job?” He looked to Jax. “We should get him a frilly uniform and a pretty little tag that says ‘tour guide’ or some shit.”
Kaeden shook his head at the pair and was about to ask where Mia was when she walked out of the cabin, long hair still wet as she braided it with quick fingers.
Jax snaked an arm out and pulled his wife against him, tugging her off balance and drawing a yelp from her. But she smiled when she batted at him and it was easy to see she didn’t mind the interruption.
She smiled. “Kaeden, if you’re planning to climb with these two, you should know they turn everything into a competition. You won’t just be scaling a rock face. You’ll be timed and judged on who took the hardest route or came up with the most unique handhold or whatever.”
Kaeden wasn’t surprised. Dave and Jax routinely competed in the office. Whether it was who could do the most pushups if they got bored during lunch or who could dig up some piece of information on a company fastest—even though Samantha always kicked their asses on that score—they turned everything into a rivalry.
Dave beat his chest with a fist and gave a mock growl. “Keeps us strong.”
Mia rolled her eyes.
The two were tougher than tough. Jax had been a Navy Corpsman to the Marines and Dave was an Army medic, though Kaeden suspected he’d been more than that. He was pretty sure the man had been a Special Forces Medical Sergeant, though Dave didn’t talk about it. He’d lost sight in one eye and had some pretty bad scars to one side of his face from whatever had taken him out of the job, so Kaeden knew whatever had happened had been bad. He didn’t blame the guy for keeping quiet on that.
Mia turned in Jax’s arms and kissed him before pulling loose and saying her goodbyes. She then headed up toward the main lodge.
“Lucky bastard,” Dave grumbled as Jax looked after his wife with a sappy puppy dog look.
Kaeden looked at Dave. Even though Jax and Dave had gone back to packing up their gear, Dave still looked like he wanted to say something more. Kaeden didn’t in a million years think it was about Mia specifically. Dave wasn’t like that. But he wondered if the man wanted a woman in his life more than he realized.
Kaeden wasn’t there yet. Hell, he probably should be since he was hitting his thirties, but he didn’t really think he could let anyone close enough to him for that. Probably never would.
He wasn’t going to let it get to him. If he did, he’d have to start analyzing his life and all that shit and that just wasn’t going to happen.
He was happy with chasing after his promotion for now.
And that meant getting up to the lodge.
“Have a good climb, guys.” He gave a nod of his chin when the two men looked up to say goodbye and then he hoofed it up to the lodge to meet the van.
He needed to put in the facetime Jack wanted if he was going to get this raise.
Chapter 6
Joy watched the group unload outside Crepes a la Carte and was glad when none of them looked put out by the long line that was already halfway down the block. The place was actually a cart not a restaurant, though they did have a small store front option on the other side of the street. She’d already told some of them they might want to cut through the alley that led to the storefront to see if there was a shorter line there, but they all seemed happy to get into line at the cart.
She saw Mia who she’d met earlier that morning talking to a woman she hadn’t met yet but thought was named Sarah if she went by process of elimination and the list of people she’d been given by her boss.
She was beginning to learn which kids went with which parents but it wasn’t easy. They all seemed like they parented each other’s kids as easily as they did their own, making it all the more confusing.
Jack’s auburn-haired wife, Kelly, smiled at Kaeden. “Crepes were a great idea. You’re not bad at this trip planning thing.”
Joy stifled a laugh as Kaeden glanced her way before brushing off the compliment and telling Kelly it had been Joy’s suggestion.
Kelly beamed her way. “Any fan of crepes is a friend of mine.”
Jack, Andrew, and Chad came up to the group just then and Joy’s recollection of Jack being Kelly’s husband was confirmed when he kissed her temple.
“Kel, it looks like there’s a small park a couple of blocks down the street. We’re going to take the kids down there while you guys wait in line. If you don’t mind waiting?”
Kelly sent him a look that said he was crazy. “Do I mind getting to hang with my girlfriends in line while you take the kids off our hands?”
Jack laughed and squeezed her close for a minute, dropping another kiss to her cheek before he and the others began herding the kids toward the park.
Kaeden watched them go. “Don’t you need to get their orders?”
Now Kelly directed her look toward him. “The kids will take anything sweet and the men will take anything so long as it’s food. Besides, crepes. There’s no way to go wrong with them. At all.”
Joy had to try to cover her mouth with her hand in a half-assed casual way to suppress her laugh now. Kaeden just didn’t get crepes, but clearly the women in front of him did. There was the blonde Joy thought was Jill and another blonde she thought was Jennie, but it was entirely possible she was switching the two. She had only met them that morning.
“Tell me you’ve had crepes.” That was maybe-Jill talking, hands on her hips as she looked at Kaeden.
Maybe-Jennie joined in. “Crepes are ah-may-zing. Gooey and light and perfect. The reviews for this place say they’re incredible.” She put a hand on her stomach as they inched forward in the line. “My stomach is going to revolt if I don’t give it one soon.”
Samantha walked up to the group and nudged maybe-Jill. “Men never get the draw of a good crepe until they’ve had one. It’s just above their heads.”
Kaeden snorted and all the women swung their heads comically in his direction. Joy lost the ability to hold in her laughter. She couldn’t help it.
He pointed in her direction. “No I-told-you-sos. I get it. They like crepes.”
“Love,” the women said in unison.
Kelly said, “Like luuuuv love.”
The women ended up chatting together while they all moved up in line and Kaeden and Joy were left paired together while the line crept forward.
She tried to ignore the fact that to keep half the sidewalk clear for pedestrians he was standing close enough to her that their arms w
ere almost brushing. Close enough to feel that heat of anticipation at the almost contact.
“You look like you’re not going to hold it in.”
Joy shook her head. “What? The I-told-you-so? It’s staying in me just fine.” She could only grin at him as he scowled at her and Joy realized how good it felt to laugh, to be playful. And how surprising it was that it was happening with this man.
She hadn’t had this kind of laughter in a while and she wouldn’t have it again for a long time. Not when she had to move on soon. There would be nothing but strain and unease and the insecurity of trying to find a new situation for at least a month or two. She remembered when she thought her job at a tech firm was stressful. It was nothing compared to living in a car or a seedy motel and wondering if you’d be safe through the night.
None of the places she’d holed up in the last two years had been like this and she doubted wherever she went to next would be either.
Kaeden cut into her bleak thoughts. “So what kind should I get?”
They were getting closer to the front of the line now and Joy looked at the sign with the list of options. “The monte cristo and the lemon souffle are my favorites. Strawberry shortcake is really good too, though. But the women were right. You can’t go wrong with any of them.”
Samantha shouted back an “amen” to Joy before stepping up to place her order.
Kaeden laughed but he nodded. “Alright, I’ll get those ones.”
“What do you mean, those ones? I was giving you choices not a list. You can’t eat three crepes.”
His brows went up. “I thought these things were gold. Why wouldn’t I eat three of them?”
“They’re big.”
“And?”
Twenty minutes later Joy was still shaking her head at him but now it was because she was watching him take the last bite of his third crepe.
“So you liked them?” she asked.
“I think the word you’re looking for is luuuuuuv,” he said drawing the word out like Kelly had.
“I can’t believe you ate three of them.”
Kaeden patted his stomach. “I’ll nap it off.”
“That’s not the way that’s supposed to work. Napping it off is supposed to send it straight to your thighs.” She let her gaze travel the length of his body. Not that she hadn’t already been noticing it. It was hard not to with the way the man looked. He was hard in all the right places but trim, too, like maybe he was a runner or something. There was definitely nothing going to his thighs but muscle.
“Besides,” she said, “You have a trail ride after this. Remember your schedule?”
Kaeden made a face. “I’m not riding. I’m just going to get everyone started and then hang out at the barn and wait to drive them home when they get back.”
“Oh that’s crap. Get yourself a horse and go with them. You’re supposed to be on this retreat, too. Not just running everything. Besides,” she couldn’t help poking at him, “can you really leave everyone alone that long? Who will micromanage them?”
Now he was scowling at her again and she could only laugh.
Yeah, this felt entirely too good. And damn if that wasn’t just another reminder that it was all about to end for her. That she was about to be on the move again.
The interns, Bethany and Callie, chose that moment to interrupt. Bethany held a clipboard but it was Callie who spoke.
“Mr. O’Shea, if we’re going to give people a chance to run back to their rooms and change or grab anything they might need for the trail ride, we’re going to need to get them back in the vans in ten minutes.”
Kaeden raised his head and called out to the group around them. “Ten-minute warning.”
Now Bethany took her turn speaking. “We also talked to the stable in charge of the trail ride. They have a horse drawn wagon they do hayrides in during the winter season. They said if some of the younger kids want to go on a ride in that while the bigger kids and the adults do the trail ride, they’re happy to pull that out for us.”
Kaeden looked impressed. He called over to Sam who was wrangling a toddler. “Sam, do you and Joey want to go in a horse drawn wagon instead of going on the trail ride?”
The toddler put his fists on his hips, then stuck one thumb in his mouth before popping it out to put back on his hip. He looked like he couldn’t decide which gesture to go with and Joy found herself suppressing a laugh again. No matter which gesture he went with, she was sure he wouldn’t appreciate being laughed at.
Syllables came out of his mouth but Joy wasn’t sure what they meant.
Sam apparently did, because she knelt down and spoke to him. “I know Maddy and Ella aren’t going in the wagon but JJ will probably go with you. And mommy and aunt Kelly can come.”
He pounded his fists on his hips again. “No waggy.”
Sam turned to Kaeden. “I guess that’s a no. Can he ride on my horse with me and JJ can go on with Jack or Kelly?”
Kaeden turned to the interns and they were both nodding their heads. Bethany consulted her clipboard. “I’ll call the stable and let them know we’re going to have two riding double.” She looked over to where the other kids were sitting and finishing their crepes. Or rather, finishing the parts of their crepes that weren’t smeared across their cheeks and mouths. “Do you know if the older kids will want their own horses? The stable said the older kids can have their own to ride but the wranglers will pony them, which I’m told means they hold a rope and the ponies would trail behind them.”
Sam went to confer with Kelly and Jennie, the mothers of the two girls who looked to be about five or six. She nodded at Bethany after a minute and gave her a thumbs up.
“I’ll go call the stable and let them know,” Bethany said.
Callie looked at Kaeden. “Time to get everyone on the van.”
Joy wasn’t surprised when he tipped his head back and called out, “Load up!”
She also wasn’t surprised when everyone around him listened to him. He seemed to be the kind of guy people listened to. Uptight and controlling, yes. But people listened.
And she was starting to realize his kind of controlling wasn’t the type she’d thought it was. It wasn’t like Turner who had needed to control everything about the woman in his life, from clothes, to opinions, to friends. This was different.
It was almost like Kaeden was using this control freak thing to keep himself from letting anyone in.
Or maybe she was reading more into it than there was and he was just a jerk.
Still, she felt a hell of a lot more than she wanted to when Kaeden’s arm brushed her as they stood and she took a step back, avoiding his eyes. She didn’t need this right now. Didn’t need it at all.
She felt his eyes on her and she chanced a look his way. That was stupid. Because she saw heat in his eyes and it made her stomach flip and her heart get that kind of hopeful feeling you get when you realize a guy you like might like you back.
She took another step backward. Hope was another thing she didn’t need. There wasn’t room for sexy men or hope or anything like that in her world. That time was over.
She turned and tossed the trash from her breakfast in a nearby can and then moved to the vans. Away from Kaeden and the temptation to hope for something normal in her world.
Chapter 7
Evan Willows looked at Turner Carson over the man’s oversized desk. Steel gray hair and eyes that were almost black on a face that had probably once been called chiseled. It was softening now with age, but the man was still tall and formidable.
Where Turner was over six feet, Evan was just grazing five feet eleven inches on a good day. He had never been athletic either, always staying a hair over what was considered a healthy weight. Turner looked like maybe he could have played sports once upon a time. And where Evan could have used a hat on his head to cover his bald spot, he knew Turner wasn’t covering one with his cowboy hat. He’d seen plenty of pictures of the man at big events mugging it up for the camera with a thi
ck head of hair. It might be gray now, but it was all there.
The desk and all of the rest of the furniture in the room was what you’d expect to find on a Texas ranch of this size. Rustic but not cheap, with horses carved into the sides of the desk and couch.
Of course, the man had entered the room wearing a cowboy hat, though it was one that looked like it had never seen the dusty side of a pasture. The boots he wore with his suit were polished to a shine. From what Evan had read on the man, he’d bought the ranch ten years earlier and the place was prospering, but it looked like he wasn’t involved in any of the heavy lifting.
Turner Carson was a business owner. He was born into a wealthy family, inheriting several of the companies he still ran today, but also acquiring more with each year.
Evan couldn’t say he liked Turner but the man was paying him to do a job and that was something Evan couldn’t turn away. Not now.
“I think your previous PI has been chasing planted leads,” Evan said.
“Explain.”
Evan kept his face neutral at the man’s barked order. “Every time your stepdaughter pops up on any system, it’s a single credit card transaction and there’s never any sign of her in the area. No hotel rooms in her name, no one using her social security number for work, nothing.”
Evan knew Turner had paid the previous investigator to fly out to those locations the first few times they’d had a hit. The guy hadn’t come up with anything more than a waiter who vaguely remembered the woman who used the card and a convenience store clerk who remembered the woman using an ATM machine who might or might not have been Jane Walker. Not much to go on for nearly two years of work.
“So what does that mean?” Turner asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“All the hits you’ve gotten have been in major cities.”
Turner added a frown to his stance. “I’d guess cities are easier to hide out in. It’s not a stretch to think she might be there. Probably easier for her to steal to support them there. You can’t get away with that as much in a small place where everyone knows who you are.”