Crime at Cripple Creek (The Sisters Week Series #1)

by Elizabeth Sherry

  Chapter 2

  Beth found her seat on the plane and made herself comfortable. She watched the other passengers board the flight and saw the nice looking man who watched her when they waited at the gate earlier. He was about six feet tall, dark hair and rugged looking. Exactly the type of man she was attracted to.

  She knew the chances of the two of them getting to know each other were slim since long distance relationships rarely worked. What were the chances that he was from the Atlanta area? He was probably from Denver or somewhere else and he had a connected flight to some other city when he arrived in Denver.

  She changed her line of thinking and retrieved her kindle from her oversize purse. She planned on reading a new book that hopefully held her attention for the duration of the flight.

  Someone sat down in the seat next to her and as she glanced over, she saw it was the handsome man she noticed earlier. This flight might be more interesting than she originally thought she silently told herself.

  “Excuse me. I didn’t mean to bump you. The seating is kind of close together. Guess the airline wants everyone to get acquainted,” the man politely smiled at Beth. “I’m Tyler and I’m harmless, believe me.”

  “It’s nice to meet you Tyler. I’m Beth, but I’m not sure if I’m harmless or not,” Beth laughed as she said this. She also noticed that the man did not wear any rings of any kind.

  She decided she wanted to find out a little more about Tyler. “Are you going back home to Colorado?” She asked.

  He smiled, knowing what Beth really wanted to know but she didn’t want to ask outright. “No, I live outside Atlanta. I’m visiting a friend and taking a much needed vacation.”

  “I know exactly what you mean regarding a much needed vacation. I’m meeting my two sisters in Denver for a week of fun and laughs,” Beth told the stranger, but she didn’t want to give too much information since she knew nothing about this person at all.

  “Can I ask what type of business you’re in that you need to get away from?” Beth decided to be a little nosy.

  The gorgeous man pulled his wallet out of his corduroy jacket pocket and opened it to show Beth.

  Beth let out a slight gasp as she saw his credentials and badge, “You’re FBI?” She asked, unbelieving.

  “Yes I am, Agent Tyler Thompson, but you can call me Tyler. I am on vacation as of now,” he laughed.

  Beth sat in silence for a few minutes. She heard Tyler asking her a question, but her thoughts ran slowly through her brain so she didn’t hear what he asked. “Excuse me, I didn’t hear you. I guess I was thinking of how much you probably need to get away from the job,” she told him.

  “I asked what type of work you do, if I can be just as curious as you are.” He had such a beautiful smile when he talked.

  “Nothing as interesting as yours, I manage a major grocery store. Even though it’s nothing like your job, it does get very stressful; therefore this vacation is long overdue,” she answered him.

  Beth told him a little more about her vacation plans, and hoped to hear more about his. “We are getting a large cabin up by Cripple Creek and planning on relaxing, eating, and possibly a little gambling at the Cripple Creek Casinos.”

  He smiled as he told her “I’m also staying up by Cripple Creek. I have a cabin and between fishing and relaxing, I’m also visiting a good friend in the area. We just might run into each other, which I would find very pleasant,” he saw the look on Beth’s face, so he added, “Being an agent, I’m trained to read people and I can see the questions in your eyes. Don’t worry, I’m not married, engaged, nor otherwise attached.”

  Beth felt the relief wash over her expressions and she also felt the blush that rose and turned her checks red. She smiled back at Tyler and told him she was none of those things either.

  During the flight they exchanged thoughts on different subjects, and told each other some strange things that had happened on their jobs. It was actually two hours into the flight when Beth realized she hadn’t read one word on her kindle. She smiled to herself. Finding an interesting male to talk to was more exciting than reading, especially such a good looking male.

  “I see that secret smile of yours. Want to share what brought it to those luscious lips of yours?” He laughingly asked.

  For a moment, Beth was stunned into silence. She found it unbelievable that he thought her lips luscious. She knew she was attractive, but she herself believed her lips were too thin. She jerked back to the present when she felt his hand on her arm.

  As she looked into his all seeing green eyes, she answered him, “I’m just thinking to myself, that I had planned on reading a new book on this flight. But the company has been so pleasant, I haven’t opened my kindle.”

  He laughed. Beth found his laugh very sexy. So far she saw nothing or heard anything she would consider a turn-off.

  “I was planning on a three hour nap on this flight but I seem to be wide awake,” he said and added, “Would you think it too forward of me to ask you for your phone number?”

  Beth was in a dilemma now. She didn’t give out her phone number till she felt like she knew that person a little. She only talked to this man for over two hours. Although she found him very intriguing she still felt she needed to guard herself. “Would you mind if instead of a phone number, I gave my email address? I would feel more comfortable with giving that information, other than my phone number.”

  Beth saw the look of disappointment on his face which made her regret her question. He recovered quickly and told her, “In the business I’m in, I understand not giving strangers too much information. But you do know I could look it up myself, although I won’t. I’ll respect your need to stay guarded but I‘d like to be able to contact you, and possibly see you again. Maybe we can meet for lunch or dinner in Cripple Creek, so I will accept your email address.”

  Beth breathed a sigh of relief and retrieved her small notebook from her purse. She wrote down her email address and handed it to Tyler as she said, “I check my mail multiple times per day.”

  The flight captain announced their descent into Denver and the excitement of seeing her sisters put a big smile on Beth’s face. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Tyler had entered her email address information into his phone which also made her smile. She had little hope that they would see each other again while in Colorado, but maybe they would get together when they were both back in Atlanta. This gave her something to look forward to when this week ended.

  While the plan unloaded, Tyler stepped back into the aisle to let her go first. She reached up to grab her small black carry-on bag but he got it for her and placed it on the seat next to the aisle.

  As they both walked through the airport to baggage claim, Tyler talked about the first time he was in Denver. Apparently he was on a case then but fell in love with Colorado and had returned every year to vacation here.

  Beth saw her sister, Joy as soon as she reached the baggage claim area. After big hugs Beth introduced Tyler to her sister. Joy gave Beth her devious smile. Beth knew she would have to tell all when they got in the car.

  “Beth, here’s my card with my email address written on the back, and my personal cell phone number. I meant it when I said I’d like to meet you for lunch or dinner. I’ll email you. Enjoy your vacation, and Joy, it’s nice to meet you,” He gave Beth a long look, and then smiled. She saw the promise of meeting soon in his eyes.

  “Thanks for making the flight so interesting. And I agree lunch or dinner will be nice. You enjoy your vacation and try to relax,” Beth replied.

  “Oh, I know this will be the best vacation I’ve had in years. Bye for now,” he gave Beth a knowing smile as he turned and left the airport.