by Jill Sanders
He had a standard answer for every last one and had been fully prepared to supply Raven with his, ‘opinions.’
But Raven was very focused, and he had a difficult time keeping up with her. She’d taken a shopping cart and had started quickly placing items into it. About the only thing she was checking was the sizes of the items.
He wanted to tell her to slow down, to try on a few items, but he had to admit, the things she was picking out were nice. Very nice.
He tried to keep his tongue in his mouth when he watched her toss a sexy red dress and matching panties and bra set into the cart.
Before he knew it, she was standing at the checkout paying for everything, and his mind was still stuck on imagining her in the little number.
“That’s it?” he asked as he helped her cart the bags to her car.
“Hm?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.
“That’s how you shop? You didn’t even try anything on,” he practically whined. He really had hoped for a chance to see her trying on the dress.
She chuckled and shook her head. “I’m a pretty standard size. If something doesn’t fit, it’s not like I have to go far to exchange or return it.”
She shut the trunk of her car and glanced around. “Besides, I’m starved.” She motioned towards the diner. “Want to head over for a burger?”
“I’m impressed,” he said, taking her hand and walking across the street with her.
“At how I shop?” she asked with a chuckle.
“My gran or mother would have spent hours purchasing as much as you just did.” He leaned towards her and lowered his voice. “But don’t tell them I said so.”
She was laughing as they stepped inside. He watched her eyes move around the diner and noticed her smile slip. Glancing over, he realized why instantly when he spotted her aunt and uncle and cousin Liza sitting in the back booth. The three of them immediately spotted them, and he felt Raven tense beside him.
“Want to go someplace else?” he asked softly.
“No.” She lifted her chin and walked over to sit at the bar area.
They hadn’t even settled before Darby rushed out of the back room with a tray full of food. When Raven’s friend spotted them, her smile grew, then her eyes darted to the back booth.
Darby rushed over to them, tray and all.
“Hey, they’re done eating. I can give them a nudge if you want?” she said to Raven.
“No, it’s fine. Sooner or later, we’re going to bump into each other,” Raven said with a shrug. “It might as well be in public.”
“Okay, I’ll just deliver this and be back to take your orders,” Darby added with a smile.
It was as if the moment they’d walked into the diner, everyone had stopped talking and was waiting for the show to start.
Raven leaned closer to him and whispered, “It’s like they’re all expecting something.”
“I was thinking the same thing. Normally, this place isn’t this quiet.” He looked over the menu while trying to hide the fact that he was scanning the room.
“They’re getting up,” Raven said, tensing beside him.
He reached over and quickly took her hand under the table as her family approached them.
“You think this is over,” her aunt said when they stopped directly behind them.
Raven swiveled the stool until she was eye to eye with her aunt. He followed a little more slowly, his eyes squarely on her aunt. Her uncle appeared to be smart enough to keep his distance.
“What?” Raven said smoothly.
“You know what you’re doing to this family. To this town,” her aunt continued. When the woman started to move forward, he held up a hand, easily keeping her a few feet away from Raven. The older woman’s eyes narrowed at him before turning back to Raven. “The entire town knows who you are. What you are. I’ve exposed you.” Her aunt’s smile turned and twisted into something just short of evil.
Cade couldn’t remember seeing anything like it before, short of on a character in a movie. He’d known Roslyn Brooks for most of his life. Never in all those years had he ever witnessed the woman as pissed as she was now.
“Just what do you think you’ve exposed? I hope it’s not that silly affair story you tried to hit me with earlier?” Raven said smoothly. Then she leaned forward and lowered her tone. “Everyone who knew me back then knew how much I was in love with Reggie. As I said before, you have nothing on me.”
He felt his own heart skip a beat at the look her aunt gave Raven. A look that assured him that whatever her aunt had, she was positive that she would win the fight. There wasn’t any doubt that Roslyn had something. The only question was whether it was actually something true about Raven.
He tended to side with Raven, since they’d talked about it earlier. He had believed her story. Still did. Especially seeing the pure crazy look now in her aunt’s eyes.
“We’ll let the town decide.” Roslyn leaned closer. “Just as they decided your guilt long ago.”
With this, Raven’s aunt turned on her heels and stormed out of the diner. Her husband and daughter followed suit without so much as a word.
“That was fun,” Darby said loudly, gaining a chuckle from everyone still in the diner. “Now, who wants free water?” she asked, holding up a pitcher of water.
“Are you okay?” Cade asked Raven as they spun back around.
“I’m fine,” Raven said calmly.
He ran his eyes over her and, the strange thing was, he could tell she was fine.
“You are,” he agreed with a smile. “How about a burger and some fries?”
She smiled. “I was thinking I’d finish it off with a slice of chocolate cream pie.”
“Now that’s a plan I can get behind.” He squeezed her hand.
When Darby stopped to get their orders, Raven quickly told her what had happened to her that day.
Less than five minutes later, Carrie showed up and Darby took a break from work. The four of them moved to a booth, and Raven filled both of them in while they ate.
They didn’t pay any attention to the looks or the gossip surrounding them for the rest of the night in the diner. Oh, he knew that she understood it was going on behind her back, but he could see the strength she felt when surrounded by her friends.
Only once did he notice something bothering her. After they had paid and he was walking her back to her car, she tensed as two men walked by them and said her name loudly.
He eased her mind by reaching over and taking her hand in his again and felt her instantly relax.
“You okay?” he asked when they stopped by her car.
She took a deep breath before answering. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
“If you need—”
She stopped him by leaning against his chest.
“Cade, I’ll be fine. I knew that coming back here was going to be rough. I had a feeling I’d have to deal with my family. My grandmother had prepared me for her son’s… shenanigans.”
He enjoyed the feeling of her body against his and wondered if he should push his luck and invite her back to his place again. Then she glanced down at her phone and sighed.
“I’d better go. I have an early morning meeting with the kitchen staff.” She leaned up on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “Thanks for… last night and for today.”
His hands ran slowly up her sides as he kissed her again. “Call me if you need any help putting your new things away.” He smiled, remembering the sexy items she’d purchased. “Especially that little red number.”
She chuckled. “I bought that with our next date in mind.”
“Friday,” he blurted out, causing her to laugh.
“Saturday?” she countered.
“I’ll pick you up at six.”
“Make it six thirty.” She kissed him again. “Good night.”
“Night.” He watched her drive away before climbing into his own truck and heading home.
When he got there, he sat out on the back porch and wait
ed while Blue enjoyed the dying sunlight as night fell around them.
He had to admit, he felt the emptiness of his home for the rest of the night. Even Blue’s company couldn’t break him out of his loneliness.
What he wanted was someone to spend the rest of his nights with. Someone to talk to. Someone to hold.
Lying in his bed alone, his mind kept playing over how different tonight was than last night. Finally, he gave up trying to sleep and pulled out his cell phone and sent her a text message.
“Did you get settled in your new room okay?”
He was happy to see an almost immediate response.
“Yes, I’m in room four-eighty-two. It’s smaller than the last room, but it will do until the west building is up to date.”
He was still reading her response when another text from her came in.
“Thanks again for being there for me today. I don’t think I could have handled that alone.”
“Something tells me you could have handled it just fine. But I’m happy I could help,” he texted back. Then he smiled. “So, what are you wearing?”
She sent him a little emoji that looked a lot like her with a bunny suit on, which had him laughing.
“Sexy,” he replied.
“It keeps me warm.” Then she added, “I’m saving the red number for Saturday night.”
“Looking forward to it.” He realized he really was anxious to see her again. To be with her again. And not just for sex, even though it was really great sex.
How long had it been since he’d felt excited to just spend time with someone? With Julia, he couldn’t even remember wanting to spend time with her. In his mind, that relationship had been purely sexual. She’d been the one to drag him around for dates.
“I’d better get to sleep. I have an early meeting,” she texted.
“Good night,” he replied.
“Night.”
He shut off his phone and sat it in on the charger. Suddenly, he felt tired and lay back in the bed. Blue was snoring at his feet, and he was just drifting off when Blue jerked his head up and started growling, then barking.
His dog normally didn’t turn on his security dog mode at night. During the day, Blue would bark at squirrels or racoons, but at night…
Cade climbed out of bed and followed Blue to the glass door that led to a small balcony that sat off his bedroom. He glanced out and was reaching for the light switch when a dark figure darted across his side lawn.
“Shush.” He nudged Blue slightly and twisted to get a better view of the figure, who had disappeared behind his garage.
Rushing to the bathroom, he looked out the window and watched, but when he didn’t see anything, he headed to the guest room and looked out that window. Blue had lost interest and had climbed back up in the bed. Since he was up, Cade grabbed a flashlight, put on his mud boots and jacket, and headed out to see if he could figure out who was sneaking around.
He flipped on all the flood lights. The moment he stepped outside, Blue was on his heels, looking excited to be going out in the middle of the night.
He made two rounds around his place and couldn’t find anything out of place. He didn’t spot so much as a single footprint.
Maybe he’d dreamed it? Either way, when he finally climbed back in bed, he was totally exhausted and fell asleep immediately.
The following morning, when he and Blue climbed into the truck to head to work, he realized what had happened.
The piece of paper on his windshield hadn’t registered with him at first. He’d had to climb back out and gather the note. The words were slanted and had obviously been written by a very drunk person, but he continued reading.
“Tell the stupid bitch to get out of my business. The slut actually thinks she can take over! This is my town. I’ll do whatever it takes to get her out of my way.”
He felt his anger grow.
* * *
He decided to swing by his uncle’s office before heading into work.
“I found this on my windshield this morning.” He tossed the note down on his uncle’s desk. “Saw someone sneaking around my yard last night around one,” he added as he sat down.
Sean opened the note and frowned down as he read the threats.
“Stupid son of a…” Sean shook his head and then glanced up at him. “I’ll swing by and have a talk with Colin.”
Cade glanced down at the note and felt his anger rise again over the threats Raven’s uncle had aimed, not at him, but at his niece if Cade didn’t back away from her.
“So, you and Raven?” Sean said, changing the subject.
“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair. “What of it?”
Sean held up his hands as if in defense. “Hey, don’t aim that anger at me. I’m all for it. Her parents were my friends. Her uncle and aunt”—he tapped the note from Colin— “not so much.”
Cade relaxed slightly. “How can two people be so…”
“Selfish?” Sean finished for him.
“I was going to say stupid, but they both apply. I mean, the man practically signed his name to a death threat.” Cade waved his hand, motioning towards the note.
“Which is why I’m going to head over there and have a nice chat with him right now.” Sean stood up.
“You’re heading to Redding?” Cade stood as well.
Sean’s eyebrows shot up. “Redding?”
“Isn’t that where they’re staying?”
“No, Colin and Roslyn rented the old Ellington place just outside of town,” Sean answered.
“You mean, they’re staying only a mile from the resort?” Cade felt his entire body shake with anger.
“Yup.” Sean nodded. “They moved in yesterday.” Sean stopped him from storming out by placing a hand on his arm. “Son, let me deal with them. You head on into work. I’ve got this.”
Cade wanted to argue, but he knew better and instead headed to work.
Chapter Nineteen
Life, like a fire, begins in smoke and ends in ashes. ~ Arabian Proverb
Raven stayed too busy during the week to really think about anything other than work.
David had hired a special certified crew from Redding to start replacing the fire system in the west building. His workers moved up and started on all the guest rooms.
There were five massive dumpsters delivered to the back entrance of the building. In just two days, most of them were filled to the top with the old carpet they had pulled out of the rooms.
She couldn’t wait to see what the rooms would look like with the fresh paint and flooring. They had received a massive shipment earlier that week with all the new bedding, furniture, and room accessories. The huge boxes were all sitting just inside the loading dock, along with the rest of the modern furniture that would fill the lobby and other public areas.
Some had been immediately unpackaged and put into place. She had happily helped with the work and enjoyed seeing the new furniture in the lobby.
Already, the resort was looking classier and more modern, and she could feel the excitement from the employees. She couldn’t wait to start having guests walk through the doors.
She was looking forward to it as much as she was looking forward to her date with Cade on Saturday night.
So much had changed since she’d returned home. There was so much she hadn’t planned for. Cade being at the top of that list.
Even though her aunt and uncle were huge problems, she remembered that they had always been the black sheep of the family.
Her grandmother had told her stories of how Colin had been growing up. There was one thing that had been obvious from the moment she’d returned: Colin hadn’t changed.
She had been thankful when she’d heard a rumor that her uncle and aunt had moved all the way to Redding. Then Cade had mentioned that they’d moved back into town the morning after the break-in.
After that, she was fairly sure it had been her aunt who had broken into her rooms. She couldn’t see her uncle trashing the place
out, but her aunt? Totally.
She doubted that her cousin knew about it. It wasn’t in Liza’s DNA to trash anything. Other than human souls. Besides, Liza never did anything if there was a possibility that she might break a fingernail.
In one of their calls one day during lunch, Cade had mentioned to her about the note he’d found on his windshield.
He hadn’t told her what it had said, only that it had directly threatened her. He’d asked her to be on a lockdown of sorts.
Whenever she left the resort, Cade wanted her to text him and let him know where she was going. Not that she had any place to be. Other than a few errands or quick runs into town to get more personal items, her entire life centered around the resort.
Not that she was complaining. At least for now. Once the doors opened, she was hoping to have some sort of normalcy.
Such as more time to go on dates with Cade. Maybe a few trips into the city? Or someplace tropical?
Either way, until the resort was back under control, she was staying put. She hadn’t expected to love the work or to fall back in love with the resort itself.
Every time she turned a corner, memories of her childhood played in her head. The nostalgia was so strong, and she wished she had more pictures of her childhood. Her grandmother had given her a handful of pictures, which she kept on her phone. The originals were tucked away in a safe back in San Diego, along with her great-grandmother’s pearl necklace and earrings and the deed to the resort itself. It had legally been changed over to Raven’s name shortly after her parents’ deaths.
The bar area restoration had succeeded in bringing people in each night. Normally, Raven didn’t enjoy the bar scene, but she spent Thursday night sitting in the bar area, her eyes scanning the room and the guests as she tried to figure out what improvements would enhance the place even further.
After the first busy night, the staff hinted at the need for another beer fridge behind the bar. The next morning, she’d ordered one, along with more custom printed coasters with funny little sayings or games on the backside. They had been a huge hit. She even thought about starting a trivia game night once a week to drag in more of the locals.
