by Dylann Crush
“Yes. No thanks to you.” She summoned her best scowl, ready to chastise him for interfering in her business. It didn’t matter that much when they were kids, but he needed to see her in a different light now. She was the mayor, after all, not the same scrawny, bucktoothed little girl who used to follow him everywhere.
“I’m just as surprised as you.” The look in his eyes proved he was telling the truth. She’d never seen that particular mixture of anger and frustration, and she was pretty sure she’d been exposed to all of his moods. “Dad didn’t say a word to me about this and I spent the holidays over at their place, surrounded by the family.”
“Well, you and your dad aren’t exactly bosom buddies, now, are you?” She gathered her purse and shrugged on her jacket before heading down the hall to the back door of the building.
Bodie followed, taking one step to every three of hers. Damn heels. She would have been much more comfortable in a pair of ropers, but her new assistant never would have let her step in front of a microphone without looking the part of mayor. Which was precisely what Lacey paid her to do.
“Hey, you can’t punish me for something my dad and my pops decided to do.” Bodie stopped in front of her, his muscular frame blocking the door, his head nearly touching the low ceiling.
Lacey clamped a hand to her hip, ready for a throwdown. “I’m not trying to punish you. I just don’t understand how all of a sudden, after a century in business, they decided they can’t make a go of it anymore. And breaking the news right after the holidays?”
Bodie shrugged. “I don’t know, Sweets.”
“Stop calling me that. I’m the mayor now.” She pursed her lips. Why couldn’t he take her seriously? She’d figured the childhood nickname would have disappeared, along with her aggravating attraction to the man who’d been her big brother’s best friend all her life. But here she was, back in Idont where nothing had changed, especially the way her traitorous body reacted to Bodie Phillips.
“Aw, come on, Lacey. You’ll always be Sweets to me.” He grinned, dazzling her with his million-dollar smile. Well, maybe not million-dollar, but she’d been there when he had to go through braces twice, so it had to be worth at least five or six grand.
She resisted the pull of his charm. He’d always been able to tease her back into a good mood when hers had gone sour. But this was different. The only reason she’d run for mayor was because her dad had been forced out of office after a particularly embarrassing public incident. In which he drove a golf cart into a pond. A stolen golf cart. While drunk.
His stunt earned him his third DWI and twenty-four months of house arrest. During her tenure as mayor, she hoped she could polish off the tarnished family name and turn the tide of public opinion about the Cherish family. That, and she couldn’t find a real job. Evidently a degree in communications wasn’t worth much more than the paper her diploma was printed on.
“What am I going to do, Bodie?” She shook her head, her gaze drawn to a section of chipped linoleum on the floor. The whole town seemed to be falling apart.
“Maybe it’s time to consider merging with Swynton.”
Lacey jerked her head up, causing one of her fake eyelashes to flop up and down. “Please tell me you didn’t just suggest we wave good-bye to our roots and hand our town over to that obnoxious man.” She tried to reattach the line of lashes against her eyelid.
Bodie didn’t bother to suppress his smile. “Come on, Lacey. You’ve got to admit, their economy could run circles around ours. I know you don’t care for Buck, but he’s doing something right over there.”
She pressed her lips together. The only thing Mayor Buck Little was doing was turning the once-semicharming town of Swynton into a hot pocket of cheap housing and seedy businesses. “Have you seen how many building permits they’ve issued in the past three months? If he had it his way, we’d end up with empty strip malls and low-rent apartment buildings all over town.”
“At least that would create jobs and give people some affordable housing options.” Bodie leaned against the wall. “My family’s business was our biggest employer.”
“I know.” Lacey gritted her teeth, wishing with all her heart she had someone to talk to about this. Someone who might be able to offer a realistic option, not just confirm everything she already knew about what a sorry situation they were in. “I need to think.”
Bodie pushed open the door leading to the back parking lot and swept his arm forward, gesturing for her to go first. “You want to grab lunch over at the diner and talk?”
“I can’t now. I’m late for my shift at the Burger Bonanza.” She jammed her sunglasses on her face, crushing them against the stupid lashes as she brushed past him through the door into the sunny, but chilly, February day.
“When are you going to quit that job, Lacey Jane? The mayor shouldn’t be flipping burgers and mixing milk shakes.”
She turned, jabbing a finger into Bodie’s chest. “I’ll do what I have to do to pay the bills.” She jabbed harder. “And I’ll do what I have to do to keep this town afloat.”
Despite her effort, the concrete plane of his pecs didn’t budge. Damn him.
He grabbed her hand, twirling her around like they were doing a two-step instead of sparring about the future of their hometown. “That’s one thing Idont has going for it that Swynton never will.”
“What’s that?” Lacey stumbled as he released her, not sure if she was dizzy from the spin or off-balance because of the way her hand had felt in his.
“You.” Bodie tipped his cowboy hat at her as he walked away. “You’re determined, I’ll give you that, Mayor.”
She adjusted her purse strap and tried to compose herself as he climbed into his pickup and drove away. Bodie wasn’t one to dish out compliments, especially to a woman he’d considered a pesky nuisance most of his life. Either that was the nicest thing he’d ever said to her or he wanted something. Knowing him, it was the latter.
That would give her two things to think about while she worked her shift at the Burger Bonanza . . . how to save the town of Idont, and why in the world Bodie was trying to butter her up like a fresh-baked biscuit.
* * *
* * *
“You’re late.” Jojo stood at the counter, loading her arms with blue plate specials. “Watch out for Helmut, he’s on a bender.”
“Thanks.” Lacey slipped off her heels and slid her feet into her flats before tying an apron around her waist. “Where do you need me today?”
“Why don’t you start on the floor and take over the grill when Helmut leaves?” Jojo had been waiting tables at the Burger Bonanza since she and Lacey started high school. If Helmut had taken the time to name a manager, Jojo would be the natural choice. But instead he paid her the same as the rest of the waitstaff and expected her to keep everyone in line.
“Sounds good.” Lacey grabbed her order pad and made her way to the front of the restaurant.
“Table twelve just got seated.” Jojo nodded toward the corner booth.
“Got it.” Lacey headed that way, her eyes on her notebook. “Hey, can I get y’all something to drink?”
“Well, look who it is.” The voice that had squashed a thousand of Lacey’s childhood dreams drifted across the table.
Lacey lifted her gaze to stare right into the eyes of her high school nemesis—Adeline Monroe. “Oh, hi, Adeline. It’s been a long time.” And thank God for that. Adeline lived over in Swynton. It used to be the only reason she’d cross the river that divided the two towns was if she was on the hunt for some too-good-to-pass-up gossip. What was she after now?
“It sure has. And look at you. I heard you came back.” Adeline leaned over the table, lowering her voice, that familiar glint in her eye. “Is it true you got yourself elected mayor?”
Lacey nodded. “Yep, sure did. Now, what will it be? A round of Burger Bonanza Banzai Shakes? Or can I st
art you off with a basket of buffalo bites?” She tried to pull a smile from deep down, but it seemed to stick on the way to her face. Half of her mouth lifted, the other half slid down, probably making her look like an undecided clown, especially with the damn lashes still glued to her eyelids.
Adeline turned to the man next to her. A quick glance at the giant rock on her left hand confirmed he was probably her fiancé. What happened to the curse Lacey had cast at graduation? Adeline was supposed to be hairless and withered by now, or at least well on her way. Instead she looked like she’d just stepped out of a salon. Every highlighted hair was in place. Her eyebrows were plucked to perfection and there was no sign of premature aging.
“Lacey, I’d like you to meet my fiancé, Roman.” Adeline put her hand on Roman’s arm, obviously staking her claim. As if Lacey were going to try to hump the man right there at table twelve.
“Congratulations. Nice to meet you, Roman.” She managed to correct her awkward expression and forced a smile. “Are you ready to order?”
Adeline’s smirk faded. She ran a manicured nail down the side of the menu. “We’ll take two Burger Bonanza baskets with fries. Diet for me.”
“Do you have iced tea?” Roman asked.
Lacey nodded. She’d been afraid the man couldn’t speak. She wouldn’t have put it past Adeline to marry a man incapable of talking back to her. He probably didn’t get a word in edgewise most of the time. “I’ll be back in a minute with your drinks.”
She tucked her order pad into the front of her apron. First the news of the Phillips business closing, now an unexpected visit from Adeline. Bad news usually came in threes. What would happen next?
It took less than a minute to find out. As she approached the soda station to grab two cups, someone grabbed her arm.
Bodie.
“Mayor Cherish, you’ll need to come with me.” His voice was all business. The commanding tone sent a shiver straight through her. But his lips twitched. A hint of humor shone in those deep gray eyes. She’d spent way too much of her life thinking about what it would feel like to lose herself in those depths.
“What are you doing here? I’ve got a shift.”
“I’m aware of that.” His fingers closed around her elbow, eliminating any argument, propelling her toward the door. “But we’ve got a problem that needs your attention. Now.”
two
Bodie gripped Lacey’s elbow a little tighter as he led her outside. He wouldn’t admit it, but he kind of enjoyed spending time with Idont’s new mayor—much more than he expected, and a lot more than he should.
“Stop, Bodie. I’m not taking another step until you tell me what’s going on.” Lacey planted her feet as she wrapped her arms around her middle. It was chilly, even for Texas. He should have grabbed her coat, but now he didn’t want to take the time to go back inside.
“Here.” He slid his jacket off then draped it over her shoulders.
“I don’t want your jacket.” She shrugged it off and tossed it back at him. “I want to know why you dragged me out here during my shift. Helmut’s going to pop a blood vessel over this. What’s so important?”
“There’s a protest down at the warehouse. Seems Jonah Wylder has chained himself to the front doors. Says he’s not leaving until someone gives him his job back.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She tilted her head back, giving him a full-on glimpse of the smooth ivory column of her neck.
When did the little girl who used to bug the hell out of him turn into such a beauty? Seemed like she’d always been underfoot as a kid. He and her big brother, Luke, couldn’t go anywhere without her tagging along. Since she’d been back he hadn’t paid much attention to her—he’d been too focused on trying to figure out a way to get out of Idont himself. But now with her taking on the doomed role of mayor, he started to wish he hadn’t ignored her for so long.
“So what do we do?” Her jaw set, she leveled her gaze on him. “I suppose I need to try to talk some sense into him.”
Bodie tried to suppress a smile. “Good luck with that. Jonah’s not exactly known for keeping a level head.”
“Let’s go. I’ll ride with you so we can talk on the way.” She didn’t give him much choice but to follow behind her as she crossed the parking lot to his truck.
Should he try to open the door for her or let her handle it on her own? He wavered as they got closer. He’d never treated Lacey as anything but a kid. But now, there was no trace of the freckle-faced teen. He increased his pace to make it to the passenger door before her.
“Thanks.” She barely glanced at him as he held the door while she climbed into the truck.
While he waited for her to get settled, he couldn’t help but notice the way her skirt rode up on her thighs. Rubbing a hand over the scruff on his chin, he chastised himself. This was Luke’s sister he was undressing in his mind. He needed to shut that shit down. Fast. He closed the door and stomped around the truck to get behind the wheel.
They rode in silence for the first few minutes, giving him a chance to sort out his thoughts.
“So how do you suggest I handle Jonah?” Lacey swiveled in her seat to face Bodie.
“Let him sit out there and freeze his ass off.” Bodie took a sip of water from his travel tumbler. “Jonah’s a hothead. He’ll make a scene but once everyone goes home and the excitement wears off he’ll slink back to the rock he lives under.”
“That’s one of my constituents you’re talking about.” Lacey adjusted the vent on the dash.
“Yeah, I feel sorry for you about that. He was an asshole when he was younger and he’s grown into an even bigger asshole now.”
“Great. How long is my term again?” She twisted a strand of hair around her finger as she gazed out the front window.
“Four years. But as long as you don’t get arrested, you’ll probably get reelected.” He meant that as a joke, a little bit of humor at her dad’s expense, but Lacey didn’t smile. Bodie glanced back and forth from the road in front of him to Lacey’s profile. Her pulse ticked along her jaw as she drummed her fingers on her knee. “You know I didn’t mean anything by that, right?”
Her breath came out on a long sigh. “I know. Wish I knew what Dad was thinking when he decided to go on a joyride.”
“If it’s any consolation”—Bodie gave her an apologetic grin—“I really didn’t enjoy arresting your dad that day.” Her dad had been more of a father figure to him growing up than his own flesh and blood.
“Nope.” Her mouth quirked into a half smile. “That doesn’t make me feel any better. I don’t know why I thought it would be a good idea to run for mayor. What was I thinking?”
“You want me to answer that?” He could tell her if she really wanted to know. Lacey was a fixer. Always had been and always would be.
“No.” She closed her eyes and let her head roll from side to side, like she was trying to ease some tension. “I just wish I’d thought it through. Seemed like the thing to do when Dad had to step down.”
“Idont is lucky you stepped up. If you hadn’t, can you imagine where we’d be right now without a mayor?” He slowed the truck to make a right.
“Probably annexed into Swynton by now. I’ve heard Mayor Little works fast.”
He’d heard that, too, and even experienced it firsthand. The mayor of Swynton had definite ideas about how things should be done. They’d had their fair share of run-ins during the few years he’d been working as deputy sheriff. Mayor Buck Little wasn’t someone to cross.
“Have you had time to think about what you’re going to do yet?” he asked.
“You mean in the fifteen minutes I had in between my dealings with you?” Lacey shook her head, sending her wavy, shoulder-length hair bouncing.
He caught a whiff of something flowery. Had to be her. Although he didn’t recall her ever smelling like anything but horses when
they were younger. Horses and the butterscotch candy she always seemed to have in her mouth. That’s what earned her the nickname of Sweets in the first place. “You warm enough?”
“No.” She clamped her arms around her middle. “But I’ll be fine. What should we do with Jonah? A little ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine?”
“Sure, I’ll rough him up then you sweet-talk him into going home.” He slid his gaze her way to catch her reaction.
“Really? Does that kind of stuff work?”
“Only on TV.”
She let out a groan. “Maybe I should just let you handle it, then. I can wait in the truck while you take care of Mr. Wylder.”
“And miss out on the fun?” He’d known her all her life and had seen her in action time and again. She’d no more be able to step aside in a moment of crisis than he’d be able to ignore someone purposely breaking the law. The only difference was, he got paid to maintain law and order while she spent her life trying to fix things whether it fell under her job description or not.
“Yeah, I suppose I ought to at least try to talk to him.”
“That’s the spirit.” Bodie pulled the truck into the long, tree-covered drive leading to the warehouse. Once, the land had belonged to the founder of the town, his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. He’d built the giant Victorian house first. When he decided to become a printer, he put up an outbuilding just down the drive. Over the years the Phillips family had expanded until the outbuilding became the warehouse it was today.
“You mean him and the mob he’s got with him?” Bodie asked.
“What?” Lacey turned toward him. “I can’t imagine Jonah inciting a mob.”
As he eased the truck to a stop, Bodie pointed through the windshield. “Okay, maybe not a mob, but he did bring some friends.”
“Oh, come on. When am I going to catch a break?” She opened the door and climbed down, looking out of place in her slim skirt and blouse among the flannel-and-denim-clad crowd.
