by Stacy Finz
“Thanks for having me. I’m sorry your leg hurts.”
He waved off her sympathy. “It’s a hundred times better than it was last winter.”
Hannah returned with the drinks. The doorbell rang and Mary jogged down the stairs to get it. Delaney could hear Deb and Foster, who joined them a few minutes later. Gray followed.
“I guess it’s too warm to make a fire,” he said.
Delaney thought Gray looked a lot like Colt, just an older version. He had to be nearing sixty, yet had stayed in amazing shape. Tall and broad shouldered, like his sons. No middle-age paunch. Not even a receding hairline. Colt came from excellent genes.
“Too warm for what?” TJ came in at the tail end of Gray’s conversation. He looked over at Colt. “How’d the rafting trip go?”
“Fine. Dad was thinking of making a fire.”
“Are you kidding me? It’s got to be eighty outside.” He scanned the group. “Where’s Win?”
“Late as usual,” Colt said.
Mary announced that dinner would be on the table in ten minutes and brought out a few appetizers. The Garner men dug in like they hadn’t eaten in days. Delaney supposed Colt had used a lot of fuel out on the river today.
“How’s Sweet Stems doing?” TJ asked Foster. Delaney had noticed that TJ was most comfortable talking shop.
“Business is good. A lot of weddings this time of year. How about Garner Adventure?”
“We’re killing it, right, Dad? It would be nice to get some more permanent guides, though. We’re getting too big to just hire seasonal.”
“You think?” Colt said sharply.
Deb seemed checked out, keeping a constant eye toward the front door. Delaney suspected she was waiting for Win. It appeared she wasn’t giving up on him, despite her earlier declaration to the contrary. If he really was seeing a blackjack dealer, Deb was just setting herself up for disappointment. But the heart didn’t always listen to reason. Delaney felt bad for Deb, who’d gone all out for dinner, wearing a short dress that showed off her gorgeous legs.
Colt got up to refill everyone’s glasses.
“Hey, are those different from the other pair you wore?” TJ cocked his head at Colt’s pants. The man had a keen eye, Delaney would give him that.
“Yep. Delaney made some adjustments.”
“According to Colt’s recommendations,” she added.
Both TJ and Gray stood up to take a closer look, fussing over the side zippers on the legs. It was funny having rugged, not-into-fashion men so intent on a simple garment. They were worse than her staff, who discussed every detail of a new design.
Just before the group sat down for dinner, Win showed up and Delaney saw Colt give him a dirty look.
“You’re late,” he said between clenched teeth. Win returned a sheepish expression and went off to talk to Josh.
At dinner, everyone talked at the same time as they passed dishes around the table. Every time TJ started to steer the conversation to his retail idea for the company, Colt and the others changed the subject, good-heartedly chiding him for talking too much shop.
A couple of times, Delaney witnessed Josh and Hannah laugh over something private one of them had whispered into the other’s ear. It was sweet but made Delaney feel a pang of loneliness. Colt must’ve picked up on it because she caught him watching her, his brown eyes a mite too perceptive. Later, he surprised her by squeezing her knee under the table.
After dinner, she, Hannah, Deb, and Foster went out on the deck to watch the sunset over the lake while Mary and some of the Garner men cleaned up in the kitchen. As guests, they’d been forbidden from helping.
Foster eyed Deb’s outfit and smirked. “A little overdressed?”
Deb flipped him the bird and addressed Hannah. “Why do you think Win was so late?”
She shrugged. “Maybe he was leading a tour.”
Delaney decided to keep the knowledge that he’d been in Tahoe to herself. Why upset Deb when Delaney didn’t even know what he’d been doing there?
“Deb, you need to move on,” Foster said.
“I know. Maybe I’ll ask Boden out.”
“I like him,” Delaney added, though she didn’t know much about the bartender other than he was nice looking and always friendly.
Deb nodded halfheartedly.
Foster patted her head. “It wouldn’t kill you to at least give someone else a try. Worst that could happen is you wind up friends, or like my crazy client, divorced three times. She begged me to send the last one a floral arrangement of dead roses, spray painted black.”
Delaney’s eyes rounded. “Did you do it?”
“Hell no. But I told her I’d give her the dead roses so she could do it herself.” Foster peered through the French doors into the great room. “We should go back in. But before we do, spill, Delaney. What’s up with you and Colt? Is this a date?”
She shook her head. “He invited me for Hannah and Josh ... to support them.”
“Right,” Foster said, and rolled his eyes.
Deb slanted her a glance that said, You’re not fooling anyone, honey, and linked her arm through Delaney’s. “Let’s return to your nondate.”
They joined their hosts and listened while Win regaled them with a story about a rock-climbing expedition he and a couple of his buddies had taken last summer. Delaney could see how Deb would be dazzled by him. Win was boyish and charming. Colt sat next to her on the couch, his leg brushing against hers. Her pulse quickened, making her feel as if she were back in high school, sitting next to the class heartthrob. Not a date, she reminded herself.
When Lisa Laredo’s hit, “Crazy about You,” came over the surround sound, everyone suddenly stopped talking. The silence became so uncomfortable that Colt got to his feet and turned off the radio.
Win started to say something and Colt cut him off. “We’re not talking about this.”
TJ began to argue and Gray held up his hands. “It’s your brother’s call.”
Deb had been right the other day. Colt was nowhere near over his last relationship. Delaney felt a prick of envy. What would it be like to own Colt Garner’s heart the way Lisa Laredo did? She’d never know, which was another good reason not to get involved with him.
The party started breaking up around ten and Colt told Delaney he was ready to go. He had work in the morning.
“You okay?” she asked him on the way home. “You seem a little down. I was wondering if you’re nervous about Josh.”
He stared at the road for a while, then said, “Josh is tough. The surgery is nothing compared to what he’s been through. I’m more concerned about Glory Junction PD. Pond paraded a Fremont police captain around the department Friday. I’m pretty sure he’s getting ready to can me.”
“No way. You sure?” Delaney refused to believe it. Not with Colt’s dedication to the job.
“No doubt in my mind. He wants someone who’ll do his bidding, and that ain’t me. I at least have Garner Adventure to fall back on, but I’m worried about Jack and Carrie Jo.”
“Will you be okay working full time for your family’s business?” She got the sense that law enforcement was his calling. Chief Hottie from Hell.
“Playing for a living is not such a bad way to go and it sure the hell beats having Pond for a boss.” But it wasn’t his dream job. She could tell just from the wariness in his voice.
“You mind if I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead. I seem to tell you more than I tell anyone else.”
“Why is that?” she asked, momentarily forgetting her first question.
He shrugged. “I guess I feel comfortable with you. And then there’s the fact that I grew up with three brothers. Not exactly an environment for sharing feelings.” He said “feelings” like it was syphilis. “Women are easier to talk to, you in particular.”
“Thank you.” It was a nice compliment, especially because her ex had called her distant and cold. “You can tell me anything.”
He slid her a
sideways glance and smirked. “Yeah? Anything? Even if it’s X rated?”
She playfully smacked his arm. “Do all men have one-track minds?”
“Yep.”
“You do realize that you’re flirting again?”
“It seems to be a habit where you’re concerned.”
“But local women are off limits, right?” she said facetiously. “The question I wanted to ask before has to do with Lisa. You’re not over her, are you?”
He was quiet for a long time, which only confirmed to her that she was right. But then he said, “I’m over her, I’m just not over what she did.”
“The way you broke up?”
“Yeah,” he said, but she didn’t think he was being altogether honest with her, or himself.
“How come you don’t like to talk about it?” she pressed.
He took his eyes off the road for a second to look at her. “It’s the same as you not wanting to talk about what happened with you and your ex.”
Nothing he could tell her about Lisa could be more humiliating than what Robert had done. “Perhaps. To new beginnings, then.” She mimed a toast.
“You thinking about your new beginning in LA?”
She sighed. “Yep. I’ve got to sell my house first and find new office space. Right now, the small staff I have is working out of a warehouse.”
“How long you think it’ll take for a sale?”
“I don’t know. The agent assures me the house will go fast, but she’d probably say anything to get the listing. It is a beautiful place, though, and in an excellent location.” She crossed her fingers. “Until I get investors, I’ll need some of the money to start over.”
“So, you’re stuck here until then?”
“I wouldn’t call it stuck. I love it here, much more than I ever thought I would. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly the center of the fashion world.”
“Nope.”
He turned into the easement road and pulled over. “I’ll walk you to your door.”
“Colt, I’m fine. If it’ll make you feel better, you can sit here until I get inside.”
He got out anyway and escorted her onto her deck. As she unlocked her door, he moved closer and leaned in. For a second, she thought he was going to kiss her. It seemed like he wanted to, just like he had in his mother’s kitchen. But then he abruptly backed off, shoved his hands in his pockets, and waited for her to get inside.
“Good night,” he said. “Thanks for coming with me. I know it meant a lot to Hannah.”
Hannah? She bit her tongue.
Before she even shut the door, he turned on his heels and headed back to his truck. A few seconds later, she heard his engine start and the squeak of his garage door opening. A light went on in his house and she let out a sigh. The man was proving to be more temptation than she’d bargained for.
Delaney went upstairs and changed into her pajamas. Too late to work, she stretched out on her bed with a new book. Not five pages into it and her phone rang.
“Hello.”
“What are you doing?” Colt asked.
“Reading. Is there a problem?” Maybe she’d left a lamp on somewhere.
“Can’t sleep.”
“Colt, you’ve been home all of ten minutes.” He couldn’t seem to make up his mind about her. She wasn’t going to let him play this on-and-off thing he was doing. He needed to fish or cut bait as her father liked to say.
“I know, but I’m not tired.”
“You were the one who hurried to leave. We could’ve had a drink but I’m in my pajamas now.”
“Pajamas? What do they look like?”
“Seriously? You’re doing the what-are-you-wearing thing now? I’m starting to think you’re schizoid.”
“Me too,” he said, letting out a long, suffering sigh. “Against my better judgment, you make me want to break my own rules.”
“No worries. I’m going to do you a favor and save you from yourself,” she said as gently as possible, and hung up.
“You make me want to break my own rules,” she mimicked. As if it was her fault that he had a split personality.
A little while later she told herself she was thirsty and got out of bed. On the way downstairs, she stopped in her studio, pulled the shade back, and took a peek. Colt’s lights were out.
* * *
The next morning, Colt got called out on a GTA—grand theft auto. Morris Finkelstein, who was older than dirt, said someone had lifted his Buick right under his nose. This was not the first time he’d reported it stolen. The problem was Mr. Finkelstein had a penchant for leaving his car in places, walking home, and forgetting that he’d driven.
Colt didn’t think he had Alzheimer’s or any other kind of dementia, he was just absentminded. And stubborn as hell, because no matter how many times Colt suggested that he’d probably lost his car like he had the last time, Mr. Finkelstein insisted that no, it had been parked in his driveway before he went to bed.
Colt finally gave up trying to convince him otherwise, took a report, and put out a BOLO. As had happened in the past, one of his officers would eventually find the Buick in a parking lot or on Main Street, covered in bird shit. Then Colt would have to go and fetch Mr. Finkelstein’s car keys and deliver the heap home.
On his way back to the station, Colt swung by Tart Me Up. The morning called for a cherry turnover and coffee that wasn’t Jack’s sludge. As usual, a long line for breakfast snaked around the bakery and Colt took a number. Rachel must’ve been in the back because the kids from the Island of Misfit Toys were working the counter. When it came his turn, he got his Danish and a cup of joe and took it to go.
“You get me anything?” Carrie Jo asked when he came in the door and she spied his Tart Me Up bag.
“You’re always on a diet.”
“I’m starting on Monday.”
Colt tilted his head in confusion. “This is Monday.”
“I’m giving myself a week’s grace period, then I’m going on the Mediterranean diet. Studies say it’s the healthiest and, uh, this is California, land of fruits and nuts.”
“Okay, I’ll split this with you.” He pulled out the pastry and started to break it in half.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll walk over in a few minutes and get one for me and Jack.”
Colt’s brows winged up. “Jack, huh?”
“He likes their cheese Danish.”
Colt left it alone. He didn’t know what was going on between those two but he fervently hoped Jack didn’t get hurt. Carrie Jo went for stockbroker, banker types, like her dickhead ex-husband.
“Any calls?” He stood by her desk drinking his coffee and eating his turnover.
“Nope. Any more intel on the creepy guy Pond brought by the other day?”
“My friend from SFPD’s supposed to get back to me.” He licked cherry filling off his fingers, threw away the bag, and as he started for his office, called over his shoulder, “Let me know if anyone finds old man Finkelstein’s Buick.”
Colt signed on to his computer while he finished his coffee and then checked his private e-mail. Nothing yet from his former partner. He swung his feet up on the desk, grabbed the phone, and called the city attorney.
“Hey, Ben, happy Monday. I wanted to ask you about the terms of my contract with the city.”
“Funny, because you’re the second one to call me about that this morning.”
Colt sat silent while he absorbed that information. “My contract?”
“Yep. We’re friends, otherwise I wouldn’t be telling you this, so let’s keep it on the down low. Pond called a few minutes before you did and asked me to fax it over to him.”
“He’s getting ready to fire me, isn’t he?”
“He didn’t say that, but I’m reading between the lines here.”
Colt told him about Brian Dooney. “Do I have any leverage?”
“Let me go over your contract and the city charter. If the mayor asks for my legal opinion I’m going to tell him it’s
a bad idea. Knowing him, though, he won’t. Pond likes to keep his own counsel and he’s extremely aware of how popular you are to the residents of Glory Junction. I’m guessing he sees you as a rival.”
“I have no political aspirations, but maybe I’ll run for mayor to piss him off.”
Ben laughed. “I’ll be your campaign manager. Hang tight, I’ll get back to you on your contract ... but there may be something else.”
“Like what?” How much more could Pond throw at him?
“For legal reasons I really can’t talk about it.”
Then why bring it up? Colt thought, but then acquiesced and said, “All right.” He knew that if there was any way Ben could help without violating his fiduciary duty to the city, he would.
For the rest of the morning Colt holed up in his office to work on the proposal for a new hire. On the slight chance that he still had a job in a month, he wanted two days off a week, like a normal person. As he worked, his mind wandered to Delaney.
She’d hung up on him, which had served him right for running hot and cold. Maybe if they just did it, he’d get over his infatuation with her and could move on. It wasn’t as if he had to be on his best behavior anymore. His job was in jeopardy anyway and he hadn’t done anything wrong.
Around noon, Jack came in and asked if Colt wanted to go to lunch. They walked over to the Morning Glory for sandwiches. Deb must’ve been off because they got a new waitress, someone Colt had never seen before. He wondered what Delaney was doing for lunch. Probably sitting up in her studio, working on her designs. He thought again about her hanging up on him and laughed to himself. The woman kept him on his toes, whether it was fighting over a parking space or the light from her studio window.
He never thought she would’ve fit in around here—well, at least not with the old guard. But she seemed to have won over Hannah and her clique of friends. Even his brothers accepted her as part of the crowd. At dinner last night, she’d been right at home at his parents’ house, even though he was pretty sure that in LA she trucked with the jet set.
“Hey.” Jack snapped his fingers in Colt’s face. “Where’d you go?”