“Even before you came to live with me, I changed your dirty diapers. I had to take your crap then, not anymore.”
He couldn’t lie to his grandmother. She had his number and having her look at him the way she was right now made feel him five years old again. When did grandparents get around to not doing that anymore?
“I kissed Lydia,” he mumbled.
“You what?” She poked him again.
“I kissed Lydia.”
“Why would you do something like that?” With fists balanced on each hip, she glared up at him with her bull terrier look designed to put him in his place and keep him there.
Because he’d been dying to kiss her since he’d first seen her. “It seemed like the right thing to do...at that moment,” he half whispered.
Eyebrows arched over intense brown eyes, she glared at him. “Lydia has enough on her plate. She doesn’t need you sniffing around.”
“You make me sound like a dog.”
“You’re a man,” she said, one eyebrow raised. “Which means you should just know better.”
He thought again about the kiss, the softness of her lips, the faint scent of her perfume and the desire to protect her. “She seems so delicate.”
“Hmph,” Miss E. snapped.
“What does that mean exactly?”
“It means what it means,” she said.
Great. Now his grandmother was being cryptic.
A bus pulled up to the front door and opened to disgorge a line of seniors, who entered the lobby and made a beeline to the casino. The Mariposa was on the senior gambling route. Mostly the casino pulled in locals who preferred a smaller casino to a larger, more tourist themed one.
Thirty-seven elderly men and women trooped by in groups, laughing and talking. One woman held a roll of quarters in her hand. Another carried a round cookie tin that rattled. A man thumped by with his cane, gnarled fingers grabbing the handle tightly.
“Is big bad John doing his magic act today?” the old man asked Miss E.
“Yes, he is.” Miss E. pointed at the casino and the elderly man nodded and thumped inside.
Once the elderly patrons were gone, Hunter turned to his grandmother. “You think I should stay away from Lydia.”
She gave him that look that used to shrink his guts when he’d been a kid. He had to stand his ground.
“You’re going to do what you’re going to do.”
“I don’t understand,” he said in exasperation. His grandmother was so...so difficult to interpret.
“That’s your problem,” she stated simply and walked away.
“Having granny problems?” Scott asked from behind Hunter.
“Having woman problems,” Hunter half snarled.
“I’ll admit, she’s beautiful,” Scott said.
Hunter glared at his brother, holding in a spurt of jealousy. Scott had always had a way of getting women. Something about him just made them want to take care of him. He didn’t want his brother looking at Lydia. Scott had his own woman, he needed to leave Hunter’s alone.
“Your job is to keep her safe,” Hunter said, trying to keep the snarl out of his tone.
Scott’s eyes lit with amusement. “And what’s your job?”
“My job is to...is...my job.” Hunter spread his hands wide to take in the scaffolding being assembled, the workers repairing.
“Miss E. tried to warn you off, didn’t she?” Scott said.
“She’s protecting her investment.”
“No, she’s not,” Scott replied. “Miss E. has plans.”
Miss E. always had plans and woe to anyone who didn’t fall in line. “I don’t know what her plans are.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Scott said.
Hunter shrugged. Of all the grandchildren, Scott was the most like Miss E. He was manipulative, secretive and liked being a behind the scenes puppet-master. If anyone could find out what Miss E. planned it would be Scott.
Scott glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to go. I have a meeting with those people you laughingly call security here. So far, I’ve been able to swipe two thousand in merchandise from the gallery stores, pick-pocketed two gamblers and discovered gaps in security I could drive a herd of T. rexes through.”
“Why did you pick people’s pockets?” Hunter demanded, thinking his brother was setting them up for a lawsuit.
“Two reasons,” Scott replied, unperturbed. “One, pickpockets working the floor is one of things security is supposed to be looking for. Two, I made a detailed description of everything in each wallet before I turned it in to lost and found. I want to make sure the lost wallets find their way back to the proper owners with everything intact.”
“How are you going to find that out?”
“I have my ways.”
“You’re checking out the staff security with lost and found, too.” Hunter was impressed with his brother. Scott thought of things nobody else did. He was sneaky that way.
Scott nodded. “All I can say is that the security here is sub-par and that’s being polite.”
“If you weren’t my brother and working for the good guys, you’d make me nervous at your pride in all of this.”
Scott shrugged. “Best way to improve the system?”
Hunter didn’t answer. He watched his brother push open a door next to the check-in desk and head into the administrative offices.
* * *
Lydia walked into the lobby from the desert heat, two of Scott’s security men unobtrusively flanking her and Maya. He had assured her that they would be enormously discreet and she would barely notice them.
Coolness surrounded her and dried the sweat trickling down her back even though the walk from the car had only been a couple of minutes. She held Maya’s hand and listened to her daughter chatter about ballet lessons and her future riding lessons. Miss E. had found a stable that taught riding and Maya was excited. She would be starting her lessons in a week and rattled on and on about the ponies Ms. E. had taken her to see.
Scaffolding blocked their way and Lydia darted to the left, keeping to the path outlined by glaringly orange cones. Hunter stood in the center of the lobby, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the workmen as they plastered the wall. Lydia suggested they find someone to paint a mural in that spot instead of putting the painting back. All she had to do was decide what the mural would be.
While Maya had been at her lesson, Lydia had taken the time to head to a carpet store and pick up some samples of good quality commercial carpet in the colors she thought would best compliment the paint she’d chosen. Miss E. had approved the colors and once Hunter finished the blueprints with room sizes, she would start figuring out what furniture she wanted and where it needed to go along with deciding how the various massage rooms would be decorated. She planned to visit some of the different spas in Reno to see how they achieved the calm serenity that made spas so popular.
Hunter glanced at her. Her first impulse was to avoid him as she’d been doing all day, the kiss foremost in her mind, but instead, she walked up to him, Maya trailing her and looking around curiously while the two security men stationed themselves at a discreet distance. “You look very serious,” Lydia said.
“I just had a long conversation with my brother.”
“About?”
He told her about Scott’s thefts and security’s ineffectiveness.
“How horrible,” Lydia replied. “What are we going to do?”
“Leave it to Scott. He’ll fix it. That’s his specialty.”
“Yes,” Lydia said with a quick glance at Maya’s security detail. Maya had something in her hand and was showing the security guard. He nodded cordially, but didn’t relax his security. She was surprised how well Maya accepted the two men who overlooked her every move.
/>
The elevator doors at the end of the lobby slid open to reveal Leon and David. Lydia tensed. She’d managed to avoid them since the night in the lounge. And with the new security measures in place, they’d ceased stalking her.
David continued on into the casino. Leon caught sight of her and Maya. He walked across the lobby, dodging casino patrons, and squatted down in front of Maya. The security guard immediately tensed. Lydia quickly crossed the lobby to stand behind Maya.
“Hey, little sister,” Leon said. “Have a kiss for your big brother?”
Lydia wanted to drag Maya away, but Maya did have a level of affection for her half brothers, even if they were considerably older than her.
She gave him a peck on the cheek. “Hello, Leon.”
The two security guards went on high alert, shifting their stance, their eyes wary. Leon didn’t seem to notice them.
“How’s your mom treating you? Has she spanked you today?”
Even Maya looked surprised and then she laughed. “Mommy doesn’t do that.”
“Oh. Does she lock you in the closet?”
Lydia frowned. “Leon, that’s inappropriate.”
He gave her an innocent look. “Just checking on my little sister’s welfare.”
Hunter stepped up to Leon. “Leon, I hear you like the blackjack tables.”
Leon stood, giving Hunter a superior look. “I don’t think your dealers are to be trusted.”
“Thank you for your input. You know we’re revamping the resort. Every piece of information you can give me is helpful.”
Leon snorted. “Your housekeeping staff is abominable. They never leave enough towels or soap samples. And two times the maid made the bed, but didn’t change the sheets.”
“All you have to do is ask for more towels,” Hunter said.
Leon snorted again. “I have filed more complaints about this place in the first couple of days of my stay than any other hotel I’ve ever stayed in.”
“So you like to file complaints.”
“I expect compliance and respect when I ask for something. And I don’t appear to be getting any of that from the staff in this hotel.” He glanced at Lydia as though his discomfort was her fault.
Hunter rocked back on his heels. Lydia was grateful he’d shifted Leon’s attention from Maya. She wanted to grab Maya and flee, but worried if she did it would draw Leon’s attention back. So she stood, trying to look unobtrusive as she edged her way closer to the security team, who had stepped forward to flank her, their eyes attentive.
She never felt safe around Leon. Even when Mitchell was alive, Leon worried her with the way he’d look at her as though she belonged in his bed rather than his father’s. He’d groped her once and she’d stabbed his hand with a fork she happened to be holding. He never done that again, but she knew he wanted to hurt her back.
“One of the most important lessons my grandmother ever taught my siblings and me is that being ‘nice’ goes a long way toward getting what you want.”
Leon sneered. Lydia snickered and put her hand over her mouth. Leon darted an angry glance at her. “It’s your fault.”
“What’s my fault?” Lydia wasn’t sure she wanted an answer.
“The reason we had to come to this fake cowboy wilderness is because of you,” Leon said. “If you’d stayed in New Orleans like a proper woman, I wouldn’t have had to trudge after you.”
Lydia opened her mouth to say something, but Hunter held up his hand. “A good little woman.” He pointed his finger at Lydia. “Shame on you, Lydia, for wanting to be independent, having your own life, setting a good example for Maya. Why ever would you give up a life of servitude to your stepson?”
Lydia felt a giggle in the back of her throat. She repressed it hard knowing Leon would hate her even more if she laughed at him. “I’m so sorry for wanting a better life.”
Leon’s mouth gaped open like a fish.
“Now if you’ll excuse me.” She put her hands over Maya’s ears. “I’m going to spank Maya for no reason and lock her in a closet with no dinner. Assuming I can find a closet that locks. Of course I’m kidding, Maya is impeccably mannered, always polite and rarely needs correction.” Unlike her brothers.
“I am, you know,” Maya said to Leon with a wide smile. “You really don’t need to worry about me, Leon.” She fluttered her eyes at Leon the same way Lydia used to flutter her eyes at Mitchell when she wanted something.
Lydia hid a smile. She took Maya’s hand and walked her to the elevators, the security detail on her heels.
* * *
Hunter watched Lydia enter the elevator. He turned to Leon.
“Interesting play, Mr. Montgomery. Can I call you Leon?”
Leon’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You have no hope in hell of getting custody of that child unless you prove Lydia’s an unfit mother.”
Leon glared at Hunter. “And what mother takes her child away from everything she knows to live some wild life in some desert city like Reno, Nevada.”
Hunter studied the mother man. “That argument doesn’t hold a lot of water. After all, there are a lot of mothers already living in Reno and their ability to mother isn’t being called into question because they live here.”
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know plenty,” Hunter said. “I know Reno is considered one of the safest cities in the United States and has one of the better educational systems.” Not that Hunter knew for sure. He was making this up as he went along. He didn’t think Leon was going to research the city anyway. “And I know a happy kid when I see one.”
“Maya is just pretending,” Leon growled.
“She’s too young to pretend. And I can tell when some bozo is hunting for straws.”
He reached out to push Hunter away. Hunter grabbed his hand. “You are a soft, weak little man. Your best bet is not to start something I’m going to have to finish.”
Leon jerked away and stomped toward the casino.
“You bully, you,” Miss E. said. “I’m so ashamed of you.”
Hunter whirled around, wondering where she’d come from. “He’s lucky that’s as far as I took it. I wanted to wring his scrawny little chicken neck.”
“Losing your temper isn’t going to help Lydia.”
“When did we take on this family drama?” Hunter asked.
“Lydia has become a part of this family,” Miss E. responded. “She needs us. And we’re going to do what we can to keep her safe and our family together.”
“There is no hope in hell that that doofus would ever win custody of a child.”
“You never know. Just is unpredictable.” Miss E. glanced at the entrance to the casino. “I read an article where several states in this great country allow rapists to visit their children derived from the rape. Any court that thinks that is in the best interests of the child is just as capable of giving custody of Maya to an incompetent half brother. We’re going to do this right and we’re going to get rid of them forever.”
“How forever are you talking about?” Hunter said.
“They’ll still be breathing,” Miss E. said with a slight smile. “But credibility is never going to be in their corner again.”
Hunter chuckled. Leon and his brother didn’t know what they’d gotten themselves into when they started tangling with Miss E. They thought she’s just a sweet, little old lady who played cards, which was exactly what she wanted most people to think about her. Leon was lost. Miss E. had been a showgirl, a gambler and owned a well-respected poker school. She had more street cred than poor little Leon could ever hope for.
Hunter leaned over and kissed his grandmother on the cheek. “Thank you for being you.”
She patted him on the cheek. “I know you don’t think pur
chasing this casino was my brightest idea, but this is going to be a game changer.”
“I learned a long time ago to never question what you do too loudly or too long.” Even though he thought it a lot.
A loud crack sounded behind them. Hunter whirled to find the scaffolding slowly collapsing to the ground in a series of cracks and pops and thunderous bangs. Someone screamed. Hunter raced toward the scaffolding, trying to see if anyone had been on it, but dust rose to obscure his vision. Miss E. coughed. She dug in her pocket for her phone. More screams and then silence.
* * *
The area around the scaffolding was cordoned off. Hunter spoke with the job foreman.
“Thank heaven no one was on it,” Hunter said.
Eli Burgess was a big burly man, solidly built with narrow blue eyes and close-cropped brown hair. He wore an orange hard hat that perched on his head like an afterthought. He’d been managing the maintenance department at the hotel for several years and Hunter assumed he knew what he was doing.
Burgess toed at a piece of lumber. “Never had nothing happen like this before.” He studied the collapsed scaffolding.
“You don’t seem too concerned.”
Eli shrugged. “Nobody got hurt.”
“But somebody could have.” Hunter felt a stirring of anger at the man’s nonchalance. “We have a lot of people moving through the lobby all the time. What are you going to do to insure their safety?”
“I’m doing my job, Mr. Russell.”
Hunter didn’t like this guy. His attitude was a little too casual and blasé. “My job is to make sure things get done on time, as safely as possible. That safety includes both the workers and our patrons.”
“Is it possible the scaffolding was not done properly?”
“Are you saying I can’t do my job?” Eli looked angry.
“What I’m saying is that things don’t always work the way they should no matter how careful you are.” Hunter may not like Eli Burgess, but he didn’t want to antagonize him.
“I inspected everything as it went up,” Eli said. “Nothing was wrong.”
“Accidents do happen,” Hunter replied. “The next time I inspect every piece of scaffolding with you.”
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