by Cassie Hayes
“Did you fall asleep in here, Alexandria?” her mother called from the hallway. Lex pulled herself away from the window and was placing the lid on the dispenser by the time Charlotte entered the kitchen. “We’ve got men and women out there who need some fuel. I have Teddy and his friend hauling out cases of bottled water too.”
“Just finishing up,” she said, fighting the urge to look out the window again.
Charlotte did it instead, as Lex busied herself with unnecessary adjustments to the dispenser, fiddling with the lid and wiping imaginary drops of coffee from the unit. She had no idea why, and it shouldn’t have been so, but simply standing near her mother gave her some comfort. She was also comforted knowing Grayson would have made sure Sophia was safe before coming here to help.
“Look at my boys go,” Charlotte said, impressed with her sons’ show of manliness. “All four of them.”
Huh?
“Four?” Lex asked, looking over her mother’s shoulder.
“Why…Grayson of course. Boy doesn’t know a hoe from a hammer, but he’s digging like his life depends on it. I couldn’t be prouder of him than if he was my own son.”
She wanted to ask her mother if she’d lost her mind, but Teddy and a strapping young friend of his came in to retrieve the coffee. When they finally disappeared, Lex had gathered her senses enough to not intentionally insult her mom.
“Mom, you know he’s going to tear this place down, right?”
Charlotte sniffed in response.
“Honestly, I don’t understand it,” Lex continued. “Letting it burn to the ground would solve all his problems and save him the cost of demolishing it later.”
Charlotte slowly turned to her, her soft grey eyes simmering with pity…and something that looked suspiciously like contempt. “Do you really think Grayson Conrad is capable of such a thing?”
Lex suddenly felt like a teenager caught making yet another bad decision. And like a teenager, she shrugged and wouldn’t meet her mother’s hard gaze. “I dunno.”
“You should, young lady! And if you don’t…well, maybe you don’t deserve a man like him after all.”
Lex stared after her mother as she strode out of the kitchen, completely confused and more than a little irritated. Spinning around, she threw the rag she’d been holding into the sink and tried to figure out how a woman could be more loyal to a stranger than her own daughter. Wasn’t it Grayson who’d tricked Lex into selling the inn? Wasn’t he the one delaying the closing? Wasn’t he the one who broke her heart?
Yes, he was. So why couldn’t she stop staring at him?
Chapter Eleven
By late afternoon, the blaze was contained and volunteers sat around the back lawn of the inn, sipping bottled water and munching on sandwiches the Bubbie Brigade had brought. The heavy smell of dead smoke lingered in the air, but not a wisp could be seen anywhere. They’d caught it in time. Relief over saving the inn and quenching the fire created a particularly jubilant mood among the crowd as they rehashed the day’s events.
Looking out over the charred section of his property that would soon become a parking lot, Grayson breathed a sigh of relief, but he was having a hard time feeling cheerful. A series of “what ifs” plagued him.
What if the wind had been blowing and fanned the flames? What if he and Sophia hadn’t moved to the resort the night before? What if it had started in the middle of the night and the alarm hadn’t been sounded until it was too late to evacuate the inn, much less save it? And the one that kept nagging at his conscience: What if Lex thought he had something to do with this?
She had a justifiably low opinion of him at the moment, thinking all he’d been interested in was buying their inn to build his stupid overflow lot. He couldn’t deny that it had seemed like a win-win for both of them in the moment, but he really should have thought it through. He should have tried harder to find a better solution.
“Grayson, dear,” Grace — or Bubbie Number Three, as he liked to think of her — called, drawing him out of his own head. “Have a wet wipe to clean off some of that soot.”
“I think he’ll need two,” Ada said as she sat a little too close to him with an open package of the towelettes. Her gaze dropped to his bare chest and very slowly traveled up to his face. When she finally met his gaze, he dropped her a wink and grinned.
“Thanks, beautiful.”
He would never have suspected a sassy woman Ada’s age still had any blush left in her, but she turned flaming red and giggled like a little girl. Past her, he saw Paul Dolan talking to Brett and excused himself.
“We were just lucky to get the call so early,” Paul was telling Brett, who’d been joined by Nash. From the corner of his eye, he saw Hale, Charlotte and Lex hurrying over to hear the official word from the fire chief. “The fire had barely started. If we’d been even fifteen minutes later, things could have easily gone a different way.”
Grayson’s gut clenched at the very suggestion. “Any idea what caused it, Paul?”
Paul nodded with a grimace. “It’s no mystery. Looks like the person who called it in is the same one who started it.”
They all glanced at each other, wondering who it could be. Grayson couldn’t help noticing Lex avoided eye contact with him. He’d been so worried about her, all he wanted to do was gather her in his arms and kiss every inch of her to make sure she was okay. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason he wanted to kiss her.
“All the signs point to Bender.” Paul said.
“What signs?” Grayson was impressed that evidence of anything remained after the flames caught hold in the dead, dry grass.
“It was pretty easy to pinpoint where it started. Big, blackened rectangular patch with tire treads leading to and from the fire zone. Doesn’t appear accelerants were used, so my guess is that it was accidental. Probably a hot muffler on that wreck of his.”
Lex stepped forward, frowning. “But that doesn’t mean it was Bender. Could have been a work truck, couldn’t it?”
For the first time since he heard the sirens that morning, she looked directly at him. His heart skipped a beat or three, and not for the first time, but he wished he hadn’t been such an idiot. If his dad came through for him though, there might be hope of at least redeeming himself. Maybe.
Paul shook his head. “Well, unless someone on the construction crew left a pickax with ‘Bender’ carved deep into the handle at the scene, I’m pretty confident in my conclusion. Plus, I had the 911 call traced to Bender’s cell.”
Nash barked out an astonished laugh. “Hot damn! The idiot’s gonna get himself killed searching for that gold.”
“God watches over drunks and fools,” Brett grumbled. “And Bender’s a little bit of both.”
Charlotte blanched visibly. “I just can’t believe how close we came to dying,” she said, her voice quavering. Lex also looked a little pale as she wrapped her arms around her mother in a comforting hug.
A fierce protectiveness raged through Grayson that Bender’s carelessness had threatened the lives of people he loved. One in particular.
He turned a heated look on Paul. “Where can I find this guy?” he snarled through clenched teeth.
“Now, Grayson—” Paul started, but Nash cut him off.
“Oh, this is happening, Paul. You in or out?”
Paul looked between the four men, who all stared back with grim determination. He finally sighed, “Let’s go. But if anyone touches him, I’ll have you arrested. Understood?”
Fifteen minutes later, three trucks and Lex’s Benz pulled in front of the single-wide “The Bobs” lived in. The property resembled a junk yard, with piles of scrap metal scattered around and three — no, make that four — rusting hulks of Detroit iron lurking in the waist-high grass surrounding the mobile home. A small sign on the side of it matched the one on the beast of a truck parked at an odd angle in a dirt patch. It simply read Bender’s Welding.
Grayson had wanted to ride with Lex and Charlotte, if only to be near he
r, but Brett had recruited him to ride with him in his new black pickup. Grayson liked Lex’s oldest brother for his quiet thoughtfulness. Today, he liked him even more because they barely said two words on the ride to Bender’s. Neither of them were in the mood for chit-chat, it seemed.
Deputy Sheriff Rick Mason and his partner pulled in as they all climbed out of their vehicles. Grayson itched to pound on Bender’s door, but he’d promised Paul to let Rick handle it. He also didn’t doubt for a second that Paul would make good on his threat to have them arrested if things went south. That didn’t stop him from wanting to show the idiot exactly where he could shove his pickax though.
“Bender!” Rick shouted as he pounded on the flimsy aluminum door. “Come on out now.”
It took a minute of shuffling and cursing before the door opened. Bender stood in the doorway in nothing but his tighty-whities for the world to see, the other three Bobs peering over his shoulder. He clearly loved Pabst Blue Ribbon because, not only was he wearing the same branded hat he’d worn when Grayson first met him, but he was holding a can of the stuff too. He scanned the angry group before tipping the can back for a long swallow and settling his bleary gaze on Rick.
“Yeah?” The end of the word was cut off by the mother of all beer belches.
Under other circumstances, Grayson would have cracked up laughing, but he reminded himself that he was mad at Bender. Still, he couldn’t stop a half-chuckle. Neither could the others. Even Lex hid a smirk behind her hand to keep up appearances. He hadn’t seen her smile in weeks.
“Okay, Bender, go put on some pants,” Rick said, averting his gaze from the man’s nearly eye-level crotchal region. “I gotta take you in for questioning.”
Bender looked very put out. “Whuh? I called it in! Don’t I get no credit for that?”
“Not when you’re trespassing and the cause of the fire, you know better than that. Now hurry up.”
Bender rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he huffed, grabbing a pair of filthy jeans and a soot-stained t-shirt.
Grayson felt a grudging respect for Bender. He didn’t try to deny that he was at fault. In the city, even in the face of such overwhelming evidence, the perpetrator would have claimed his innocence. Not in Yosemite Flats. And not Bob Benson Jr. Jr.
“I have to know,” Grayson said, stepping forward, then stopping when Rick shot him a warning glance. Bender gave him the side-eye as he hiked his jeans up over his scrawny hips. “What happened?”
Bender narrowed his gaze. “What happened was that you wouldn’t let us go out there during daylight hours. I wouldn’t have parked in a patch of grass that dry if I had light. Obviously couldn’t use my headlights or someone would have seen me.”
“Obviously,” Grayson agreed soberly, trying not to smirk at Bender’s twisted logic that this was somehow Grayson’s fault.
Mollified, Bender continued. “Heard you was gonna pave over that section any day, and I been itching to search it.”
“For the lost gold?” Grayson asked.
“‘Course. What else?”
“Did you find it?”
Bender looked at him like he was the world’s biggest moron, then spread his hands wide, gesturing at his property. “It look like I did? Nah, I barely got my metal detector fired up before I smelled smoke. Tried to stomp it out, but weren’t no use. Called it in as I tore outta there.” He dropped his eyes to the ground and glanced up at Grayson, looking abashed. “Sorry ‘bout that. Didn’t mean for nothin’ like that to happen.”
Any anger left in Grayson faded away. He honestly felt for the guy, and couldn’t help but like him, in spite of the trouble he’d caused. After all, he had saved his daughter. But he stopped short of offering him forgiveness. If asked, though, he vowed to not press charges. The guy was harmless. Mostly.
After Rick bundled Bender into his cruiser, and the other Bobs followed in their rattletrap truck, Lex walked over to him. He held his breath, his heart rate speeding up. She hadn’t willingly instigated a conversation since she came to his room the night before.
“I just wanted to say thanks,” she said, surprising him by her sincerity.
His heart nearly broke at the tightness in her voice. She’d built up a wall between them, and for good reason. It would take more than a few hours digging a fire trench to tear it down. He sent up a silent prayer that his father could help him with the “more” part. But he’d better hurry up or Grayson would lose a quickly closing window.
“It was the least I could do.” He meant every word.
She gazed up at him, and he could feel her resolve weakening. “How’s Sophia?” she finally asked.
“She’s fine. Jacob’s wife took her into town. Completely safe and probably having a great time shopping for new clothes.”
“That’s good,” she said, glancing away from him. “Well, I think my brothers can handle the clean-up. Just call Brett when the papers are ready.”
“Wait.” Grayson frowned and reached for Lex, but pulled his hand back when she yanked her arm away. “You’re leaving?”
She couldn’t leave yet. Not yet.
“There’s nothing keeping me here. It’s time for me to go.” Lex shrugged and looked him in the eye.
She was testing him, and he knew it, so he wouldn’t allow his gaze to waver. He leaned in closer, trying to catch one last whiff of her Chanel N°5. All he could smell was her essence, the same scent that had burned into his memory at their first meeting. When his fingers brushed along the back of her arm, he felt the shivers ripple across her skin. She still wanted him.
In a blink of an eye, his world shattered as Lex pulled away, then hurried off to her car without looking back. Charlotte stared after her daughter, shaking her head and frowning. Her brothers watched her progress, all three glancing at each other with worry. Without even pausing to say goodbye to her family, Lex climbed in her car.
If Grayson didn’t stop her now, he’d probably never see her again. But what more could he say? He’d explained, apologized, all but groveled, yet she couldn’t be moved. Only a miracle could save them now.
Tears blurred Lex’s vision as she started her car. Her brothers gathered around her mom, watching and frowning as Lex fumbled to get out of there as fast as she could. One more second of staring into Grayson’s eyes and she would have thrown herself into his arms, right there in front of Bender’s mobile home.
Maybe Charlotte was right, maybe he really was smitten with her. That didn’t mean they were right for each other, or that she could trust him to be totally honest with her. Her heart broke as she shifted into reverse.
Sunlight glinted off something metallic and moving in her rearview mirror. She threw the transmission back into park to avoid hitting whoever had pulled in directly behind her. Jacob and his wife Marissa clambered out of the front of an older Volvo. When Marissa opened the back door and a tiny, pink-clad figure with sparkly shoes jumped out, Lex’s heart lurched. How could she have thought about leaving without saying goodbye to Sophia?
As Jacob hurried over to Grayson, Lex jumped out and scooped up Sophia. Little arms wrapped around her neck tightly, and she buried her face in fluffy brown hair. It didn’t seem fair that her heart was breaking twice.
“Grayson, I believe you were waiting for these,” Lex heard Jacob saying, but she was too focused on the bundle of spunky love in her arms. Pulling back, she brushed a stray curl from Sophia’s forehead and tried not to let the tears fall.
She failed.
“I think I’ll miss you most of all, Scarecrow.” Lex sniffed and fiddled with a button on the front of Sophia’s designer dress. Always the fashionista, even at six.
The little girl’s shoulders hitched, and she sniffled as she wiped a tear from Lex’s face. “Don’t cry, Tinman. You’ll rust so dreadfully.”
They touched foreheads, tears flowing. She’d never imagined that she’d fall so deeply in love with a little girl — or her father, but in a totally different way of course. For a moment, she wondered if she
would have agreed to be Sophia’s nanny if she’d known the pain leaving her would cause.
Definitely. No doubt about it. Her life was better for having known Sophia — and her father, but in a totally different way, of course. Still, leaving was killing her.
Like a Band-Aid, she said to herself, steeling her ragged nerves. Taking a deep breath, she set Sophia downthen straightened to find herself face-to-face with Grayson. Her fingers itched to trace the path of his smiling lips. She tried to smile back, but couldn’t muster the strength. It had taken all she had to let go of Sophia.
“Here,” he said, thrusting a manila envelope at her.
Confusion wrapped her brain in a thick fog, but her trembling fingers managed to take it. Grayson rocked back on his heels, thumbs cocked in his pockets, looking happy and hopeful. She hadn’t felt either in far too long.
The first page of a stack of papers had an official state emblem emblazoned on it, but the rest was mumbo jumbo to her overtaxed brain. “What’s all this?”
Grayson stepped closer, into her personal space. It was still too far away for her taste, yet far too close. The fog grew even thicker.
“I asked my father for a favor,” he said, his voice low and gentle.
Specific words on the paper jumped out at her. Register of Historic Resources. Alpine Inn. Application approved.
“I still don’t understand. Explain it to me using small words.” Her head was spinning from either exhaustion, confusion, or from Grayson’s nearness. Deep down, she knew which it was.
“The Alpine Inn has been designated by the State of California as a historic landmark,” he said, grinning down at her as if all of this made perfect sense.
“But—“
Hale interrupted her. “This means we can get that low-interest loan for the repairs, sis.”
