by Debbie Mason
“To each their own, I guess.” She bumped him with her shoulder. “I’ll be at the Penalty Box if you get bored.”
He watched as she joined Sam. She said something to the younger man, and they glanced in the direction of the town square. As though they sensed Grayson’s attention, they looked his way. He smiled and raised his hand, then headed down the street. With Sam and Molly at the bar, it was the perfect opportunity to check their rooms at the lodge. The tree lighting shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. After it was over, he’d insist Chloe let him take her home. Maybe suggest she have a hot bath that he’d follow up with an even hotter massage once he got back from running his errand.
The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. What he should do is get his hands on Chloe’s phone and tell her sister to get her ass back here. Then he’d tell Cat who he was. He needed someone other than Ty to protect Chloe while he worked the case. If there’d been another attempt on Chloe’s life, he’d make the call. But there hadn’t been, and that was worrisome on a whole other level.
His grandmother carefully made her way toward him. She’d brought Fluffy along, dressing the cat in a red velvet, fur-trimmed cape. “Chloe and George are to the right of the podium,” she informed him.
A makeshift wooden stand had been set up to the left of the twenty-foot Douglas fir, which stood in the center of the town square. An attractive blonde in a white wool coat with a pink scarf around her neck adjusted the microphone. Two young girls stood behind her, the taller one holding a toddler dressed in a blue snowsuit.
“That’s the mayor, Madison McBride. She’s married to the sheriff, Gage. He’s Dr. McBride’s son, Chloe’s stepbrother. I think they know.”
“Know what?” Grayson asked as he took his grandmother by the arm, guiding her toward the podium.
She held up her pen. “I was behind them. Everything they said is on tape.” She clicked the pen. All you could hear was people singing “O Christmas Tree,” including a woman who sounded like a cat in heat.
GG scowled at the pen. “I’m going to send this back and demand a refund.”
“Did you catch what they said?”
She nodded, stroking Fluffy under the chin. “The sheriff told his wife not to worry. That he and Chance had everything under control.”
“I’m not sure why you think they know Chloe’s in danger from that.” He lowered his voice as they passed a group of people huddled by the tree.
“Chance is the sheriff’s brother. The big, blond man following Chloe and George. He runs a security firm in town.”
This was the best news he’d heard in weeks. He’d speak to the McBride brothers first thing tomorrow morning. He couldn’t risk someone overhearing them. Grayson leaned down and kissed his grandmother’s cheek. “Great job, GG. I’m impressed.”
“I have a vested interest in the case, my boy. I can’t have my future grand—”
Just when he was feeling like things had started to go his way. “For the last time, I’m not interested in Chloe.”
She held up her watch from Spies Are Us. “I have it on film. Cameras don’t lie. I knew, once her sister was out of the way, you’d see what I did. Chloe’s perfect for you. The other one’s bad news. Her last boyfriend ended up in jail, you know.”
“I do know. And he was bad news, not Cat.”
“Is that right? Well maybe you can explain to me why there have been no accidents since she’s been out of town. Don’t look so surprised, my boy.” She tapped her gloved finger on her temple. “I’m still sharp as a tack. Didn’t play Miss Marple for nothing. I know all the tricks of the trade.”
Sweet mother of God. “We’ll save this for another time, shall we, Estelle?” he said as they rounded the stand, smiling his thanks to the family of five who made room for them.
He had a clear view of Chloe. She stood beside George. Her white fur hat matched her coat, and snowflakes glistened on her long dark hair. A small smile played on her lips as she watched Ty, who stood gazing up at the man Grayson now knew to be Chance McBride. The security specialist spoke to a dark-haired man wearing a brown leather bomber jacket with a sheriff’s patch on the shoulder.
Interesting, he’d never found Chloe particularly friendly to the hairstylist. George was behaving oddly, too. Arms crossed over his navy wool coat, the actor looked bored—which wasn’t odd. What was, was the way he seemed to be distancing himself from Chloe. For the most part, George was attentive to his costar, overly so. It was one of the reasons he’d been on the bottom of Grayson’s suspect list. He couldn’t get a handle on his motivation. But as George was good friends with Grayson’s primary suspects, he didn’t plan to take the actor off his list just yet.
The mayor tapped the microphone. “Welcome to the seventy-fifth annual lighting of the town tree.” Once the crowd stopped cheering and whistling, she continued. “As you all know, along with hosting the wonderful cast and crew from our favorite daytime drama, As the Sun Sets, we’re honored that Lord Harry Halstead and his manager Dame Alexander have joined us.” She clapped, smiling down at Grayson and his grandmother. He gave a slight bow, waving at the crowd with Estelle.
A few moments later, the mayor once again tapped her microphone, and the applause died down. “Now, we were going to have Christmas’s favorite daughter, the incomparable Chloe O’Connor, light the tree this year, but she’s asked that the honor be given instead to Lord Harry and Dame Alexander. So if you would both please step up to the podium.”
“How lovely.” His grandmother beamed. “She’s such a thoughtful girl, isn’t she, Harry?”
“Yes, most thoughtful.” It was a considerate gesture, but it also seemed out of character for the attention-seeking actress. Then again, she was rather fond of him and his grandmother and the whole royalty thing. As he took Estelle’s arm to lead her to the stairs, he turned to mouth his thanks to Chloe.
“What is the meaning of this? I was told that you and I would be lighting the tree,” George blustered, glaring at Chloe.
She seemed as surprised as everyone else by her costar’s reaction and took a step back. Grayson moved to intervene, but Chance McBride was instantly at her side, placing a hand on George’s shoulder.
The actor seemed to realize he was making a spectacle of himself and tugged on his coat’s lapels. “I just think after all the work you did to bring our show to Christmas, you should have the honor of lighting this spectacular tree. But if you prefer to give it to Harry and his manager, that’s your business, I suppose.”
“Never a dull moment in Christmas,” Madison said from where she stood at the base of the podium. She extended her hand with a smile. “It’s lovely to meet you both.”
They exchanged pleasantries, and then Madison got them sorted on the podium. Estelle held one end of the plug, placing Fluffy’s paw on it as well. Grayson held the other end as the citizens of Christmas counted down from ten.
On one, they joined ends. An electric current buzzed through Grayson’s arms. Fluffy, hair standing on end, flew from GG’s now-lax hold and landed on Grayson’s head. Digging her claws into his scalp, she launched herself into the tree. Estelle stood in front of him in wide-eyed shock with smoke spiraling from her hair, as all around them Christmas lights exploded, shooting sparks into the night sky.
* * *
One minute Cat was smiling as she watched Harry and Estelle light the Christmas tree, and in the next, she was yelling Harry’s name. As she pushed through the panicked crowd to reach him, someone grabbed her by the arm. “What do you think—”
Chance lowered his mouth to her ear. “You’re Chloe, remember. Your sister wouldn’t run toward danger. She’d faint.”
“No, she—” Cat began to argue when someone hit her in the back of her knees, and her legs gave way.
“Room, give us room! Chloe fainted,” Ty yelled, pushing her the rest of the way to the ground. He crouched beside her, and so did Chance.
She glared at Ty. “I can’t believe you did that. Let me u
p. I need to see if Harry is okay.”
“He is. Gage is with them. And right now you’re safer here until we figure out if it was an accident.” Chance kept his voice low, then he slapped Ty on the back, nearly sending him face-first into Cat’s chest. “Quick thinking. I might just hire you after all.”
When Chance got to his feet, so did Ty, completely forgetting about his supposed best friend lying in the snow at risk of being trampled. “Are you serious? Oh my God, I don’t believe it. Did you hear that…” Ty glanced from her to George, who went down on his knees beside Cat, pulling her into his arms.
“Chloe, you poor darling. But for the grace of God, it could have been you up there.” Was it her imagination or did he sound like he wished it had been?
She was about to tell him he could stop squeezing the life out of her, but realized that wasn’t something Chloe would say. She let her body go lax and pressed the back of her hand to her brow. “Don’t remind me, George. The thought of all those electrical currents going through my body.” She shuddered, touching her hat. “I might have lost my hair. It’s too terrifying to think about. I can’t… I can’t talk about it anymore.”
Chance and Ty stared at her. Okay, maybe she’d overdone it a bit. “Can you help me up, please? I need to check on Harry and Estelle.” Despite Chance’s reassurances, she had to see that Harry was all right for herself. If something happened to him because he’d taken her place on the podium…
George released her, then stood and reached for her hand. He pulled her up with such force that she pressed a palm to his chest to avoid smacking into him. “Too bad about Harry, he seemed to be enjoying his time on our show. Phil will probably need to hire a replacement now,” he said with a smile. In the dim light cast by the streetlamps, it looked more like a sneer.
She whipped her head around. Harry and Estelle were no longer on the podium. She went up on her tiptoes, but she couldn’t see over the heads of the crowd. “I should go—” she began, fighting against a wave of panic.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You might step on a live wire, and where would the show be then? You are the star after all.”
He was really starting to get on her nerves. “Thank you for your concern, George. But—”
“Chloe, oh darling, are you all right?” Her mother pushed people out of the way as she ran toward her with Paul on her heels.
Cat held back a groan. She’d done a good job of avoiding her mother up to now. “I’m okay, Mommsy. Just shaken up. But Paul should check on Harry and Dame Alexander. They were electrocuted.” She choked back a fake sob, burying her face in her mother’s suede coat.
“Chloe’s being a little dramatic, Dad. They seem to be fine,” Chance said.
Paul rubbed Cat’s shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay, honey?”
“Yes, yes, I’m good. I’m just worried about Harry.”
“I’ll go check on both of them right now. Chance?”
“I think I’d better stay with Chloe in case she faints again, Dad.”
Now, instead of wanting to strangle George, she wanted to strangle Chance. “I didn’t faint, Paul. I just had a bit of a weak spell.”
“That’s twice in a couple of days, Chloe. I think it would be best if you came in for a complete physical.”
Shooting Chance an are-you-happy-now look, she opened her mouth to assure Paul she was fine, but her mother cut her off. “Do not think about arguing.”
George looked from Cat to her mother with a slight frown furrowing his brow. Then he said, “Seeing as you’re in good hands, I’ll head to the Penalty Box. I could use a drink after all the excitement.” He leaned in and gave Cat a tender kiss on the check. “You take care of yourself. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to my Tessa.”
Cat stared after him, totally confused. From the looks on Chance’s and Ty’s faces, she wasn’t the only one.
* * *
“Are you sure you’re all right, Harry?” Cat asked as she turned onto the one-lane road to the ranch. After his ordeal, Cat insisted she drive. Paul had checked both Estelle and Harry over before giving the okay to take them home. Neither had been burned, and other than Estelle being shaken up and her hair singed, they were all right.
“Chloe, I told you I’m perfectly fine. But how are you, my dear? I heard you fainted.”
He sounded irritated. She supposed she couldn’t blame him. After all, he’d been the one who had nearly gotten fried, not Chloe. “Ty overreacted. It was just a weak spell.”
It was time to end the charade. She couldn’t keep up the pretense any longer. At least not with Harry. Wondering if it was her he was interested in or Chloe was driving her crazy. She glanced in the rearview mirror. She had to go with her gut. She could trust Harry to keep her secret, but she wasn’t sure she could trust Estelle. If she was asleep… The older woman’s eyes met hers in the mirror. Okay, so she’d have to wait until Estelle went to bed.
“How are you and Fluffy doing back there?”
“I’ll be all right, my dear. I’m tougher than I look. But I’m concerned about Fluffy.”
Once the firefighters had finally managed to get the cat out of the tree, Paul had examined her, too. “I can call the vet if you’d like. I’m sure he’d make a house call.”
“Thank you. But Fred already called him. We have an appointment in the morning.”
Ted and Fred had been beside themselves with worry over Estelle. So much so that Cat was surprised they weren’t following them to the ranch. “I’m sure the three of you will feel better after a good night’s sleep,” Cat said as she drove through the gates. She sensed Harry watching her as she shut off the engine. “Is something wrong?”
He studied her intently. “You seem…” He gave his head a slight shake. “No, it’s nothing. Done in is all.”
Maybe it was selfish of her, but she wanted to get this over with. She joined him at the passenger-side door as he helped Estelle out of the SUV. “Harry, I, uh, have something I need to talk to you about. In private. Do you think you could spare me a few minutes?”
“I really am knackered, Chloe. Can it wait until morning?”
“Harry, where are your manners? Of course he can…” Estelle trailed off when the front door flew open.
Chloe, as Chloe, ran down the steps. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you for the last hour.”
Chapter Fourteen
He’d been played. Again. Only it was worse this time because he liked Cat. He really liked her and had been beating himself up because he thought he was attracted to her sister, too.
Chloe, the real one, flung herself into his arms. “Oh, Harry, I never should have listened to Cat. I never should have gone to London.”
He glanced at Cat, who stared open-mouthed at her sister. She raised her gaze to his and winced.
Yeah, guess he wasn’t doing such a good job hiding that he was pissed. Everything began to make sense. His reaction to her at the Penalty Box during taping, her sultry citrus scent, the way he’d responded to watching her ski. Jesus, the way she skied, and that kiss they shared. And there must be something seriously wrong with him, because right now he wanted to kiss her again, wanted to strip her down to bare skin and memorize every inch of her. Maybe it was the relief that it was her, and her alone, that fueled his insane desire.
He needed to get a grip. Because despite the relief that he no longer had to feel guilty, he had to put Cat back on his suspect list. And that really grated. He wanted to trust her. But there were questions that needed to be answered, and they needed to be answered now.
“I don’t understand,” his grandmother said, rubbing her eyes. Obviously worried that she was suffering double vision after her near-electrocution. Something else that put Cat under a cloud of suspicion as she had been the one to insist they have the honor of lighting the tree.
“It seems the O’Connor sisters put one over on us, Estelle.” It didn’t escape him that he and his grandmother were doing the same. But
at least they had a legitimate reason for doing so.
“This had nothing to do with you and Estelle, Harry. Well, not really. And Chloe, how—”
“I see,” Grayson cut her off, looking down at Chloe. “So it really is you. And you would be the imposter, then.” He lifted his chin at Cat.
“Of course I’m me. Surely you can tell the difference now that you see us together,” Chloe said, seemingly offended.
“To be honest, no. You’re identical twins. I can’t imagine anyone being able to tell you apart.” It may be perverse of him, but he wanted to get a reaction from Cat.
She averted her eyes before he could read the emotion in them, and gestured to GG. “Look, you want to talk about this, let’s do it inside. Estelle had a shock earlier, no pun intended, and should probably be resting.” That said, Cat moved past them to walk up the front steps.
“Cat, what did you do, roll around in the dirt? My coat is filthy.”
Standing on the front porch, Cat whipped off the hat then the coat. She turned, stomping back down the steps, her face flushed, her eyes flashing with temper. “No, I was forced to pretend I fainted, because that’s what you would do, instead of checking on Harry and Estelle like I wanted to.” She shoved the coat and hat at her sister. “I also had to go heli-skiing in your place, but I bet you knew that, didn’t you? And let’s not forget the scene we taped today that I totally blew.”
All Grayson could think as she stalked away in the high-heeled boots, brown leather pants, and tight sweater, was that the burst of fiery temper suited her. She was magnificent.
Chloe apparently disagreed. “What do you mean, you blew it?” she called to Cat who ignored her and stormed inside the house. Chloe looked up at him. “How bad was it?”
“I wouldn’t say it—”
His grandmother cut him off. “It was a bloody disaster. I should have known it wasn’t you, my dear. You would never be so ill prepared.”
