by Jo McNally
She doesn’t need a man
But she could use a friend
When the new director of security, Nick West, arrives at Gallant Lake Resort, Cassie Smith’s carefully protected life is turned upside down. The handsome ex-cop insists on teaching her self-defense, and as Cassie learns she can indeed make it on her own, she starts wondering if she wants to! But when Cassie’s safety is threatened, she must choose: continue running from her past...or take a stand for a brighter future.
“Why are you armed with pepper spray? Did something happen to you?”
Cassie didn’t look up.
“Yes. Something happened.”
“Here?”
She shook her head, her body trembling so badly she didn’t trust her voice. The only sound was Nick’s wheezing breath. He finally cleared his throat.
“Okay. Something happened.” His voice was gravelly from the pepper spray, but it was calmer than it had been a few minutes ago. “And you wanted to protect yourself. That’s smart. But you need to do it right. I’ll teach you.”
Her head snapped up. He was doing his best to look at her, even though his left eye was still closed.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ll teach you self-defense, Cassie. The kind that actually works. Pepper spray is a tool, but you need more than that. If some guy’s amped up on drugs, he’ll just be temporarily blinded and really ticked off.” He picked up the pepper spray canister from the grass at her side. “This stuff will spray up to ten feet away. You never should have let me get so close before using it.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Exactly.” He grimaced and swore again. “I need to get home and dunk my face in a bowl full of ice water.” He stood and reached a hand down to help her up. She hesitated, then took it.
GALLANT LAKE STORIES:
At home on the water!
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Gallant Lake, New York! This fictional lakeside town nestled in the Catskill Mountains has definitely seen better days. But the newly renovated Gallant Lake Resort is back in business. That means the town is back in business, too. New faces. New jobs. New opportunities...for love.
Nick and Cassie have each come to Gallant Lake for a fresh start, and they end up working together at the resort. Cassie is a jumpy, defensive bundle of nerves. Nick is loud and restless, always off kayaking or hanging from some mountain cliff. After a pepper spray incident, Nick, an ex-cop, offers to teach Cassie self-defense, which puts them in close, sweaty contact. When Cassie’s past threatens to send her on the run again, they both have to set their fears aside to take a stand for love.
I’m so excited to bring the setting of Gallant Lake to Harlequin Special Edition! The town got its start in my Lowery Women series for Harlequin Superromance, and some familiar characters make an appearance in this book. If you want to know their stories, please check out She’s Far From Hollywood, Nora’s Guy Next Door and The Life She Wants. I look forward to sharing more Gallant Lake Stories with you in the coming months.
In this book, Cassie is a victim of domestic abuse—and so is Nick, in a way. This subject is extremely important to me personally. If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, please reach out for help. Don’t let anyone steal your sense of security and self-worth.
Wishing you forever love,
Jo McNally
A Man You Can Trust
Jo McNally
Jo McNally lives in coastal North Carolina with one hundred pounds of dog and two hundred pounds of husband—her slice of the bed is very small. When she’s not writing or reading romance novels (or clinging to the edge of the bed), she can often be found on the back porch sipping wine with friends while listening to great music. If the weather is absolutely perfect, Jo might join her husband on the golf course, where she tends to feel far more competitive than her actual skill level would suggest.
She likes writing stories about strong women and the men who love them. She’s a true believer that love can conquer all if given just half a chance.
You can follow Jo pretty much anywhere on social media (and she’d love it if you did!), but you can start at her website, jomcnallyromance.com.
Books by Jo McNally
Harlequin Special Edition
Gallant Lake Stories
A Man You Can Trust
Harlequin Superromance
Nora’s Guy Next Door
She’s Far From Hollywood
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
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This book, with a Genuine Good Guy as a hero, is dedicated to the memory of a Genuine Good Guy—my dad. He was quietly, yet fiercely, devoted to the people he loved.
I love and miss you, Dad.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Excerpt from This Time for Keeps by Rochelle Alers
Chapter One
The resort parking lot was quiet.
That was hardly surprising, since it was seven o’clock on a Monday morning.
But Cassandra Smith didn’t take chances.
Ever.
She backed into her reserved spot but didn’t turn the car off right away. She didn’t even put it in Park. First, she looked around—checking the mirrors, making sure she was going to stay. Pete Carter was walking from his car toward the Gallant Lake Resort. He waved as he passed her, and she waved back, then pretended to look at something on the passenger seat as she turned off the ignition. Pete worked at the front desk, and he was a nice enough guy. He’d offer to walk her inside if she got out now. And maybe that would be a good idea. Or maybe not. How well did she really know him?
Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel. She was being ridiculous—Pete was thirty years her senior and happily married. But some habits were hard to shake, and really—why take the chance? By the time she finished arguing with herself, Pete was gone.
She checked the mirrors one last time before getting out of the car, threading the keys through her fingers in a move as natural to her as breathing. As she closed the door, a warm breeze brushed a tangle of auburn hair across her face. She tucked it back behind her ear and took a moment to appreciate the morning. Beyond the sprawling 200-room fieldstone-and-timber resort where Cassie worked, Gallant Lake shimmered like polished blue steel. It was encircled by the Catskill Mountains, which were just beginning to show a blush of green in the trees. The air was brisk but smelled like spring, earthy and fresh. It reminded her of new beginnings.
It had been six months since Aunt Cathy offered her sanctuary in this small resort town nestled in the Catskills. Gallant Lake was beginning to feel like home, and she was grateful for it. The sound of car tires crunching on the driveway behind her propelled her out of her thoughts and into the building. Other employees were starting to arrive
.
Cassie crossed the lobby, doing her best to avoid making eye contact with the few guests wandering around at this hour. As usual, she opted for the stairs instead of dealing with the close confines of the elevator. The towering spiral staircase in the center of the lobby looked like a giant tree growing up toward the ceiling three stories above, complete with stylized copper leaves draping from the ceiling. The offices of Randall Resorts International were located on the second floor, overlooking the wide lawn that stretched to the lakeshore. Cassie’s desk was centered between four small offices. Or rather, three smaller offices and one huge one, which belonged to the boss. That boss was in earlier than usual today.
“G’morning, Cassie! Once you get settled, stop in, okay?”
Ugh. No employee wanted to be called into the boss’s office first thing on a Monday.
Blake Randall managed not only this resort from Gallant Lake, but half a dozen others around the world. It hadn’t taken long for Cassie to understand that Blake was one of those rare—at least in her world—men who wore their honor like a mantle. He took pride in protecting the people he cared for. Tall, with a swath of black hair that was constantly falling across his forehead, the man was ridiculously good-looking. His wife, Amanda, really hit the jackpot with this guy, and he adored her and their children.
Blake was all business in the office, though. Focused and driven, he’d intimidated the daylights out of Cassie at first. Amanda teasingly called him Tall, Dark and Broody, and the nickname fit. But Cassie had come to appreciate his steady leadership. He had high expectations, and he frowned on drama in the workplace.
He’d offered her a job at the resort’s front desk when she first arrived in Gallant Lake. It was a charity job—a favor to Cathy—and Cassie knew it. It took only one irate male guest venting at her during check-in for everyone to realize she wasn’t ready to be working with an unpredictable public. She’d frozen like a deer in headlights. Once she moved up here to the private offices, she’d found her footing and had impressed Blake with her problem-solving skills. Because Blake hated problems.
She tossed her purse into the bottom drawer of her desk and checked her computer quickly to make sure there weren’t any urgent issues to deal with. Then she made herself a cup of hot tea, loaded it with sugar and poured Blake a mug of black coffee before heading into his office.
He looked up from behind his massive desk and gave her a quick nod of thanks as she set his coffee down in front of him. Everyone knew to stay out of Blake’s way until they saw a cup of coffee in his hand. He was well-known for not being a morning person. He took a sip and sighed.
“I was ready to book a flight to Barbados after hearing about the wedding disaster down there this weekend, but then I heard that apparently I—” he emphasized the one-letter word with air quotes “—already resolved everything by flying some photographer in to take wedding photos yesterday, along with discounting some rooms. Not at our resort, but at a competitor. I hear I’m quite the hero to the bride’s mother, but I’ll be damned if I remember doing any of it.”
Blake’s dark brows furrowed as he studied her over the rim of his coffee cup, but she could see a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. The tension in her shoulders eased. Despite his tone, he wasn’t really angry.
“The manager called Saturday looking for you,” she explained. “Monique was in a panic, so I made a few calls. The bride’s mother used the son of a ‘dear family friend’ to organize the wedding, instead of using our concierge service. The idiot didn’t book the rooms until the last minute, and we didn’t have enough available, which he neglected to mention to the bride’s mom. Then he booked the photographer for the wrong date.” She smiled at the look of horror on Blake’s face. “We’re talking wrong by a full month. It was quite a melodrama—none of which was our fault—but the bride is some internet fashion icon with half a million followers on Instagram. So we found rooms at the neighboring resort for the guests we couldn’t handle, and convinced the wedding party to get back into their gowns and tuxes for a full photo shoot the day after the wedding, which was the fastest we could get the photographer there. Mom’s happy. Bride’s happy. Social media is flooded with great photos and stories with the resort as a backdrop. I assumed you’d approve.”
Blake chuckled. “Approve? It was freaking brilliant, Cassie. That kind of problem-solving is more along the lines of a VP than an executive assistant. You should have an office of your own.”
She still wasn’t used to receiving compliments, and her cheeks warmed. When she’d first arrived, she’d barely been able to handle answering calls and emails, always afraid of doing something wrong, of disappointing someone. But as the months went by, she’d started to polish her rusty professional skills and found she was pretty good at getting things done, especially over the phone. Face-to-face confrontation was a different story.
This wasn’t the first time Blake had mentioned a promotion, but she wasn’t ready. Oh, she was plenty qualified, with a bachelor’s degree in business admin. But if things went bad back in Milwaukee, she’d have to change her name again and vanish, so it didn’t make sense to put down roots anywhere. She let Blake’s comment hang in the air without responding. He finally shook his head.
“Fine. Keep whatever job title you want, but I need your help with something.”
Cassie frowned when Blake hesitated. “What is it?”
“You know I hired a new director of security.” Cassie nodded. She was going to miss Ken Taylor, who was retiring to the Carolinas with his wife, Dianne. Ken had taken the job on a temporary basis after Blake’s last security guy left for a job in Boston. Ken was soft-spoken and kind, and he looked like Mr. Rogers, right down to the cardigan sweaters. He was aware of Cassie’s situation, and he’d made every effort to make sure she felt safe here, including arranging her reserved parking space.
“Nick West starts today. I’d like you to work with him.”
“Me? Why?” Cassie blurted the words without thinking. She laughed nervously. “I don’t know anything about security!”
But she knew all about needing security.
Blake held up his hand. “Relax. I’m not putting you on the security team. He’ll need help with putting data together and learning our processes. I need someone I can trust to make sure he has a smooth transition.”
“So...I’m going to be his executive assistant instead of yours?” Her palms went clammy at the thought of working for a stranger.
“First, we’ve already established you’re a hell of a lot more than my EA. And this is just temporary, to help him get settled in the office.” Blake drained his coffee mug and set it down with a thunk, not noticing the way Cassie flinched at the sound. “He’s a good guy. Talented. Educated. He’s got a master’s in criminal justice, and he was literally a hero cop in LA—recognized by the mayor, the whole deal.”
A shiver traced its way down Cassie’s spine. Her ex had been a “hero cop,” too. Blake’s next words barely registered.
“I’m a little worried about him making the shift from the hustle of LA to quiet Gallant Lake, but he says he’s looking for a change of pace. His thesis was on predictive policing—using data to spot trouble before it reaches a critical point.” That explained why Blake hired the guy. Blake was all about preventing problems before they happened. He did not like surprises. “It’ll be interesting to see how he applies that to facility security. His approach requires a ton of data to build predictive models, and that’s where you come in. You create reports faster than anyone else here.”
Cassie loved crunching numbers and analyzing results. She started to relax. If Blake wanted her to do some research for the new guy, she could handle that.
“I also want you to mentor him a bit, help him get acclimated.”
“Meaning...?”
“Amanda and I are headed to Vegas this week for that conference and a little vacation time.
Nick’s going to need someone to show him around, make introductions and answer any questions that come up. He just got to town this weekend, and he doesn’t know anyone or anything in Gallant Lake.”
“So what, I’m supposed to be his babysitter?”
Blake’s brow rose at the uncharacteristically bold question.
“Uh, no. Just walk him around the resort so he’s familiar with it, and be a friendly face for the guy.” He leaned forward. “Look, I get why you might be anxious, but he’s the director of security. That’s about as safe as it gets.”
Her emotions roiled around in her chest. She hated that her employer felt he had to constantly reassure her about her safety. Yes, the guy in charge of security should be safe. All men should be.
“Cassie? Is this going to be a problem?” The worry in Blake’s eyes made her sit straighter in her chair. What was it Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War? The latest in a long line of self-help books she’d picked up was based on quotes from the ancient Chinese tome.
Appear strong when you are weak...
“No, I’m sure it will be fine. And the data analysis sounds interesting. Does he know...?”
“About your situation? No. I wouldn’t do that without your permission. I only told Ken because you’d just arrived and...”
She was hardly strong now, but she’d been a complete basket case back then.
“I understand. I don’t think the new guy needs to know. I don’t want to be treated differently.”
Blake frowned. “I don’t want that, either. But I do want you to feel safe here.”
“I know, Blake. And thank you. If I change my mind, I’ll tell him myself.” She was getting tired of people having conversations about her as if she was a problem to be solved, no matter how well-meaning they were. “When will I meet him?”
“He’s getting his rental house situated this morning, then he’ll be in. I’m planning on having lunch with him, then giving him a quick tour. He dropped some boxes off yesterday. Can you make sure he has a functioning office? You know, computer, phone, internet access and all that? I told Brad to set it up, but you know how scattered that kid can be.”
