One Hundred Ways: An Aspen Cove Romance

by Collins, Kelly

  The autumn air was brisk at night, and he was glad the fire was fully engaged. It would warm them up when the temperature dropped into the forties, like it often did in the mountains. He searched the crowd for Riley but didn’t see her. He wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or relieved. One thing was for certain, he was torn. She was attractive but temporary. Maybe temporary wasn’t such a bad thing after all. It could certainly make his nights less lonely.

  He looked over his shoulder at the homes lit along the shoreline. All his friends lived in these houses. They were either married or close to it. The holdouts were Samantha and Dalton, but that was more logistics than anything else. She spent a good deal of time on the road, so it was hard to pin a day down. The latest news was, she was done touring for the year and would be recording at the studio she’d built at the Guild Creative Center. That meant there would be an influx of people coming to Aspen Cove for the winter. Her band would arrive next month, along with her assistant.

  Luke wondered if that would change the dynamics of the town. New people were arriving all the time. He both hated it and loved it. With growth came change. The last being a pretty thing named Riley. He wasn’t sure if her arrival was something to celebrate or dread.

  “You want a beer?” Thomas stepped away from the fire and pulled a bottle from the open cooler beside him.

  It came rushing at Luke like an arrow, but his reflexes were good. He twisted off the cap and pocketed it to toss in a trash can later. “When did you get here?” Thomas helped man the fire station. He was as close to a deputy as Luke had. He came over from Silver Springs, so he was familiar with the mountain landscape.

  “Someone had to make sure the fire was safe.” He watched the flames lick several feet into the air.

  “Leave it to a firefighter to build an inferno.”

  Thomas lifted his bottle in a toast. “Go big or go home.”

  “Speaking of home, have you found a place of your own?” Thomas had been bunking at the fire station. It was equipped to sleep six, but it wasn’t a home. Most of the crew had places of their own. Thomas was the holdout, looking for something that would serve him long-term.

  “I’ve got it narrowed down to two places. One on Hyacinth, and one on Pansy. I’m leaning toward the first place because I can’t bring myself to live on a street called Pansy.”

  Luke laughed. “I live on Bark Lane.”

  Thomas took a long drink of his beer. “Yeah, but you’re not committed for life. It’s a rental, right?”

  Luke nodded. “Can’t decide if I want to live in town or get a ranch.” He knew he was going to stay in Aspen Cove, but he wasn’t certain where he wanted to plant roots. He took a glance at the lot behind them. Not too long ago, there was a cabin there, but an arsonist had sent it up in flames. Samantha owned the land, and Luke wondered if she planned to add on to the house where she and Dalton lived, or if she’d consider selling the lot. Land like that wouldn’t come cheap, but it would be worth it. Waking up to the sun glinting off the lake each morning would be amazing.

  “I hear we have a new hottie in town.” A few more of the team crowded around Thomas the minute he mentioned a new woman. In a town where men outnumbered the ladies, a new, pretty face was like hitting the lottery or finding a unicorn.

  Luke didn’t care for the interest that was being shown to Riley’s arrival. He hadn’t traded any words with her yet, but somewhere deep inside, he didn’t want someone else to swoop her up before he got a chance to meet her.

  “Speak of the devil,” Thomas said and nodded toward Dalton’s house. Dressed in the same flowing white skirt and top was Riley. She’d walked out of Dalton’s house laughing with Samantha.

  James, the youngest of the group, let out a low whistle. “That’s no devil. You see the white? She’s an angel.”

  Thomas tapped the bottom of his jaw. “Close your mouth before you drool.”

  The group fell silent as Riley and Samantha passed.

  Luke turned to look at her and found her staring back at him. Her eyes were as blue as a robin's eggs. Not even the sunset could steal their beauty. When a hint of a smile curved her lips, his lungs ceased to work. When his heart boomed in his chest, he was reminded that nothing worked without oxygen, and he inhaled deeply. There was a hint of citrus on the air. Was it her or someone else? She spun around when Sage and Katie approached.

  “Earth to Luke,” Thomas said.

  He shook his head and faced his team. James pretended to wipe Luke’s chin. “Looks like I’m not the only one salivating over the new girl in town. Who is she?”

  “That is Riley Black,” he said.

  “As in Dalton’s sister?” Thomas tossed his empty bottle into a nearby trash can. “Damn, it’s a good thing she doesn’t look like him.”

  Luke shook his head. “She’s his cousin.”

  “Damn,” James added. “I wonder what she’s hiding under that skirt.”

  Luke had the same thoughts, but he kept them private. “Watch it,” he warned. “You’re a public servant, a pillar of the community, people look up to you. Act respectable.”

  James laughed. “Don’t tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing.”

  “Thinking is different than saying. Mind your manners.”

  He took a drink and turned around to catch another glimpse of Riley, but she was gone. A crowd of locals was filling up the beach and the buffet table. Soon, it would be hard to find her anywhere. One thing about Aspen Cove was, they loved their potlucks and bonfires.

  Luke decided to change the focus of the conversation from women to work.

  “Keep your eyes open. Looks like the latest idiot has come into town.”

  “Worse than Tilden Cool?”

  No one was worse than Tilden Cool. He made lazy look downright criminal. In fact, in most places what Tilden Cool did would be considered criminal, but not in Colorado. He helped old man Tucker make moonshine. They couldn’t sell it because that was illegal, but they bartered it for stuff they needed, like groceries and services. He’d already put out three still fires since he arrived.

  “Could be worse. Some idiot driving a Jeep came into town with oxygen and acetylene tanks in the back seat. Worse yet, they left them in the car with only the window cracked open a hair's width.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No, I’m serious. I came out of the diner, and there it was. A piece of shit car that probably rolled in on a prayer and was filled with junk and gas tanks.”

  Thomas shook his head. “That’s the problem with being a private hire. We don’t have the authority to enforce. All you can do is talk to Aiden or Mark and hope they can track down the owner.”

  Luke tossed his empty bottle into the trash can.

  “I left a note. It may not be a summons, but I hope it gets the message across.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. While he wanted to grab another beer, he had a one drink limit. “What I wanted to do was take whoever the idiot was behind the tool shed for an ass beating and a lesson in safety.”

  He waited for his crew to chime in, but they were all silent. Their eyes focused behind him. Someone tapped his shoulder, and he turned around to meet the stare of Riley.

  “Hey,” he said and pulled his hands from his pockets. “I’m Luke Mosier.”

  He offered his hand, which she took in hers.

  “I’m the idiot. When should we schedule my public flogging?”

  Chapter Five

  Riley thought the handsome man would be a nice distraction on a tough day, but holy hell, she never expected him to be the person who’d left the note. What was even more surprising was her comeback. She rarely, if ever, stood up for herself, but here she was standing in front of a man who was no less than half a foot taller than her, and she’d actually confronted him.

  He stood there holding her hand, which wasn’t unpleasant given his demeanor. Who would have thought the man with the pretty green eyes could spill such vitriol from those kissable lips?

 
“I’m sorry you heard that.” He looked down at where his hand had completely covered hers and let go.

  “Are you sorry?”

  He shifted back and forth on his feet. Behind him, several men stood watching—waiting to see what would happen.

  He glanced over his shoulder then turned back, pinning her in place with his gemstone eyes.

  “No, I’m not sorry. As the town’s fire chief, it’s my duty to make sure those around here aren’t posing a safety issue for others.”

  “I’m a safety issue?” She didn’t know what to do with her hands. Fisted up at her sides, she wanted to lash out and sock him in the nose. “I’m a pacifist. I’d never do anything to harm anyone.” Funny how a word with fist in it meant she’d never use hers. How many times had she closed her eyes and imagined defending herself? But in the end, she’d lowered her head, apologized and walked away. Not today.

  “You endanger the entire town by driving a mobile bomb. Do you have any idea what could happen if someone hit your car? If the tanks got jostled around and became unstable, or what would happen if they overheated?” He balled his hands together and pulled them apart, adding in explosive sound effects. “You’d be hamburger meat.”

  He had good points if in fact she had been an idiot, but she was weak, not stupid, and standing in front of him and being admonished for something she wasn’t guilty of felt too reminiscent of her life in Butte.

  Her brother always told her she had no backbone and that was a problem. It was why at twenty-seven, she had still lived near her parents. The truth was, what she lacked in backbone, she made up for in heart. There was no way she’d abandon her father. Leaving him with Kathy was like leaving a cat in charge of the parakeet—uncaged.

  She stood up to her full five foot five inches and pulled back her shoulders. She shook out her hair and smiled. The smile was the best defense against tears.

  “You said Luke, right?” She stared up at him.

  “Yes, Luke Mosier.”

  She took a step back. Wasn’t sure if it was a step for her or for him. She didn’t know him and therefore didn’t know what he was capable of doing.

  “Mr. Mosier, I’m not the idiot you assumed I am. In fact, I’m versed on how to travel with flammable materials, and I can assure you those tanks were in fact purged prior to my travels. Only an idiot would carry unsecured fuel tanks inside a car.”

  He shoved his hands back in his pockets and turned around to face the men still standing and staring behind him.

  “Don’t you have beer to drink or a fire to tend?”

  A man as big as Luke stepped forward. “Nope, boss, we’re enjoying the show. This is a good lesson for the boys to learn. Nothing like on-the-job training on how to deal with… what did he call you?”

  Riley smiled. She liked the man in front of her. Liked the way he pushed Luke’s buttons. Liked the way he put him on the spot. There was no fear from him even though it was apparent he was talking to his boss.

  “An idiot.”

  The man stepped forward and held out his hand for her to shake. “I’m Thomas, and if all idiots were as pretty as you, we’d be happy to have a townful, but something tells me you’re not as stupid as he claims.” He turned to Luke. “Carry on with the lesson, boss.”

  Luke looked at her and pointed toward the empty lot. “Can I speak to you in private?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. You called me an idiot in public, and I feel it’s my right to defend myself in front of the masses.”

  She looked around and noticed several people had moved closer, their eyes focused on the showdown.

  “Fine. You and I both know if those tanks had in fact been purged, they would have been tagged accordingly. Given they held no tags, I can only deduce you’re not being completely honest.”

  She looked around at the faces and saw they had already convicted her of a crime she hadn’t committed. She had hoped her experience in Aspen Cove would be different than what she’d grown up with in Butte. Why did one person’s opinion become fact?

  It was time to set the record straight once and for all. If she was going to have a life here, people needed to know who she was, not who someone else told them she was.

  “I drive a Jeep that is, in fact, a piece of crud, but it got me here. I coasted into town on fumes and luck. It was an eleven-hour trip in temperatures that reached the nineties. Not pleasant without air conditioning. Have you ever listened to a tag flap in the wind caused from open windows?” She paused until he nodded. “Then you’ll understand why I removed the tags.” She reached down and grabbed a beer from the open cooler. “I think you owe me this and an apology.”

  Riley didn’t wait for the apology because in her experience they never came, so she spun around and looked through the crowd for a friendly face.

  Standing next to the water, she saw Samantha, Sage and the pregnant woman she’d watched cross the street earlier.

  She popped the top on her beer and walked over to join them.

  “What was that all about?” Samantha asked.

  “Oh, you know, making new friends.” She’d met Sage a few minutes before the confrontation. “Did you say you owned the bed and breakfast?” In her experience, it was always better to get people talking about themselves. It drew the attention away from her.

  “Yep." She pointed over her shoulder to the place with the big deck where everyone was dropping off dishes of food. “I also work as a nurse for Doc Parker and my sister, Lydia Covington.”

  “Wow, you obviously keep busy.”

  Samantha laughed. “She's like a leaping leprechaun. She’s in a ton of places at once. If you don’t see her here or the clinic, she’s drawing pints at the bar.”

  “Says the woman who tours, builds centers for the arts and a fire station.”

  “Don’t forget I’m holding a concert next month and starting a new album.”

  The pregnant woman rested her hands on her belly. “I’m baking two babies. I’m not that busy.”

  All three of the women next to Riley laughed.

  Sage added, “Oh, and running the veterinary clinic and putting up with Trig.”

  “I met him earlier today, along with Bowie. He seems nice.”

  The young woman beamed. “I’m Charlie, and Trig is my husband and baby daddy. Doc is my father.”

  “Seems like you’re getting acquainted with the best Aspen Cove has to offer,” Samantha said.

  “I’m definitely meeting people, that’s for sure. Is Katie around?”

  They all turned to look at the house behind them.

  “She’s probably trying to get Sahara down for the night. She’d be your niece, I think.”

  Riley thought about it. If her Aunt Maisey was married to Ben and he was Bowie’s father and Bowie was Katie’s husband, that would make Sahara her first cousin once removed. She hadn’t considered Katie was actually family by marriage.

  “She’s been kind to me, giving me a place to stay, and I wanted to thank her for such a generous gift.”

  Even in the duskiness of the approaching night, she could see the smiles on everyone’s face. It was Sage who spoke next.

  “It’s the way of Aspen Cove. The town is the gift that keeps on giving.”

  Riley opened her eyes wide. “That could be said of herpes too.”

  All three women looked at her before they broke into laughter.

  Riley looked around to see if anyone else had heard her. She sometimes came out with the strangest analogies. Had no idea where her brain pulled those quips from. The townsfolk had paid her no mind, but she did catch the glint of green eyes watching her from afar. Luke stared in her direction, never taking his eyes off her. She could almost feel the heat of the fire reflecting from the flames of his eyes to hers. The warmth that filled her body was a cross between irritation and attraction. More so irritation at herself for being attracted to such a jerk.

  Sage proceeded to tell her how a woman named Bea Bishop had given her the bed a
nd breakfast and had given Katie the bakery. They felt it was their responsibility to pay it forward.

  “Even if you hadn’t been family, you would have been taken care of, because we take care of our own. You’re Maisey’s, so that makes you ours too.”

  For the second time since she arrived in Aspen Cove, she felt welcomed. Standing next to three women who appreciated her presence was almost as good as the hug from her aunt—almost as good as how Luke’s warm hand felt wrapped around hers.

  Chapter Six

  Luke woke up with a headache. Not the kind a person gets from drinking too much beer, but the kind from thinking too hard and not sleeping enough.

  “Because you’re pissed at yourself doesn’t mean you have to punish the rest of us,” James complained.

  “It’s Saturday. We always polish the rig on Saturday. Stop complaining.” Luke believed nice things stayed nice if they received tender loving care. Every weekend, whoever was on shift got to wash the truck and make it shine.

  “What’s the point? You make us get it all clean and shiny, then you allow the kids to climb all over it.” Jacob was another youngster. He’d come to Aspen Cove from Copper Creek. He was a highly motivated man until it came to sponges and soap.

  “We are role models to these kids. They see you work hard and share the fruits of your labor. It’s important to build community relationships.”

  Thomas rounded the corner with a mug of coffee. He wasn’t on shift today, but since he bunked at the station, he was always around.

  “Is that what you call that interaction with the hottie last night? Were you building a relationship by publicly humiliating the woman?”

  “Drop it. I feel bad about calling her an idiot, but until I see those tags, which I’m sure will never surface, I’m not buying her story.”

  “I believe her,” James piped in.

  “Me too,” added Jacob.

  Luke looked at Thomas. “You want to bust my balls too?”

  He shook his head. “Nope, but I’ll stand back and watch her do it.”