“The sex or the dinner?” she asked.
“The dinner.”
She nodded her agreement, even as a voice in her head warned her against the plan. Hanging out with Tucker socially was trouble. They couldn’t seem to be alone together without some kind of physical reaction, at least on her part. Did she really want to take the chance?
Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her along, and she found herself going because backing out would make too big a deal out of it — and maybe, just maybe, she wanted something to happen, because he was Tucker and she’d never completely gotten him out of her system.
She drew in a deep breath, grateful one could think long thoughts without getting winded.
“What did you do tonight?” she asked.
“Got an early dinner, then saw a movie.”
“Still liking the town?”
“Sure. Everyone is friendly. They all know who I am, which is a little scary, but I’m dealing.”
She grinned. “Any more encounters with the ladies?”
“No. You are excellent protection. Which is why I’m paying for the drinks.”
The bar at Ronan’s Folly was only about half-full. Tucker led them to a small booth in the back corner. They both ordered cognac and leaned back against the leather bench seats.
“Did everyone like Max?” he asked.
She nodded. “He’s Montana’s boss, so it’s not as if he was a stranger. He’s basically a good guy. From what I can figure out, he knew my mom when she was a teenager and it was a pretty hot romance. Then she met my dad and she knew he was the one. So Max left town.”
“He didn’t fight for the girl?”
“I guess he knew he was going to lose. Dakota’s talked to Mom about it. She said Max knew he wasn’t ready to settle down. And Mom wanted a husband and a family.”
“It’s been a long time since your dad died. I’m glad she’s found someone.”
“Me, too. As long as I don’t have to be a witness to the hot monkey sex.”
The cognac arrived. She took a sip and felt the liquid burn its way down her throat.
“Come upstairs with me.”
The words and the request both caught her off guard. She looked at Tucker, but couldn’t figure out what to say. Her hands started shaking, so she tucked them under the table.
“Tucker, I…”
She pressed her lips together, mostly to keep herself from blurting out an agreement. She knew what going upstairs meant. That they would touch and give and take and make love. That she would feel his hard body against hers, his hands pleasing her. She wanted to know what he would be like inside of her, this time, when she was ready and hungry.
His dark eyes were bright with passion. She was sure hers were the same.
“I want you,” he murmured, then lightly touched the side of her face.
His fingers were warm. She was already melting inside. Imagine what would happen if she gave in.
“I really like my job,” she whispered.
“This has nothing to do with that.”
She knew what he meant — that giving in or refusing wouldn’t affect her employment. Tucker wasn’t going to fire her for saying no. But making love with him would change everything.
He leaned in to kiss her. She met him more than halfway and anticipated a deep, sensual, passionate kiss. Instead he barely touched his mouth to hers. The light brush of sensitive skin against her own trembling mouth aroused her more than nearly anything else she could imagine. The restraint and the promise weakened her resolve.
Her breasts ached for his touch. Between her thighs, she was already swollen. Just trying not to think about how it would feel to have him touch her made the image even more clear.
Give in, she thought. She wanted to.
“I can’t,” she whispered, against his mouth, then slid out of the booth. “I can’t.”
She stood beside the table, frustrated, near tears and yet determined. “This has to stay strictly business.”
“It’s already too late,” he told her.
Maybe, but for now she could pretend. She opened her mouth, then closed it, turned and fled the bar. She made it all the way home without once looking back, without admitting that she hoped he would follow her. He didn’t. When she reached her house, she went upstairs alone and faced a very cold, very empty bed.
TUCKER DIDN’T LIKE to lose. Not in business and not in his personal life. He’d spent a hellishly long night wanting what he couldn’t have. He was pissed off and didn’t care that all the reasons against it made sense, that Nevada had made the right decision.
What had started out being driven by having something to prove had turned into something else. Something more important. That didn’t ease the ache or the hunger. Sometimes, life was a bitch.
He stalked back to the trailer, thinking coffee would help his mood. When he arrived he faced not only an empty pot but a well-dressed, white-haired woman sitting in the chair beside his desk.
“Mr. Janack,” she said, coming to her feet. “I’m Mayor Marsha Tilson.”
“Mayor Tilson.” He held out his hand.
They shook. “Call me Mayor Marsha,” she said. “Nearly everyone does.”
“All right, Mayor Marsha. How can I help you?”
“I wanted to talk about the project out here. What you’re doing and how it’s going.”
Visiting local officials rarely brought good news, he thought. He crossed to the coffeepot and replaced the used filter and grounds. After flipping the switch to start, he faced the older woman.
“We’re still on schedule. Of course it’s been all of a month, so that could change by this afternoon. We’re current on all our permits. We’ll start excavating to put in the sewer and water pipes within a week or two.”
He leaned against the trailer’s counter and crossed his arms over his chest. Now it was her turn.
She stood and moved closer. Her light blue suit and fussy blouse were out of place in the construction trailer. The strange thing was, she wasn’t out of place. He’d met people like her — those who belonged anywhere. It was an important gift, especially in a politician.
“The town is very happy with your work,” she told him. “You pay attention to local regulations and you don’t cut corners. Your employees are respectful.” She smiled. “They’re also generous tippers.”
He raised an eyebrow. “An interesting fact to keep track of.”
“This is my town. I care about what happens here, and very little happens that I don’t know about.”
He wondered if she was going to take him to task for trying to sleep with Nevada. Although if she were a man instead of a grandmother, she would be congratulating him on his good taste and wishing him luck.
“We appreciate what the resort will bring to Fool’s Gold,” she continued. “Business, jobs, tourists. There will be complications, of course. Something this big will have a settling-in period. We’ll get through it — we always do.”
He sensed there was more and waited.
“Your company won’t be running the resort.”
She wasn’t asking, but he answered anyway. “No.”
“But you do have a say in who is hired. Janack Construction is part owner.”
“We’ll have input. Why? Do you have a nephew you want me to recommend?”
She smiled. “No. But I would like to be consulted when the upper-level management decisions are made. People have to fit in, respect the town. I’m not interested in an us-versus-them mentality.”
On the surface she looked like the kind of old lady who got her hair done once a week, baked cookies and clucked her tongue at “young people today.” But he could tell those assumptions were wrong.
“You’re pretty tough, aren’t you?”
“When the situation calls for it,” she admitted. “Will you do as I ask?”
“Sure. But in return I want to know why Jo Trellis keeps blowing off Will. He’s only trying to get to know her.”
&nb
sp; “You’re assuming I have that information.”
“I’m not wrong.”
The mayor shook her head. “No, you’re not. There is a reason.”
“Are you going to tell me what it is?”
She picked up her purse and walked toward the door. “No. It’s not my secret to share.”
“So, there’s a secret.”
“Everyone has secrets, Mr. Janack. Even you.”
CHAPTER NINE
MAX LEANED IN and kissed Denise on the mouth. They were lying in bed, where they spent a good part of their time together. She found it kind of nice to know that, even at her age, the hormones were alive and well. Being around Max made her feel all tingly and happy.
“My kids really liked you,” she said, staring into his blue eyes and smiling.
“Did they have a choice?”
She laughed. “They could have been difficult, not that I expected them to be. You’d already won over Montana. She loves her job.”
“She’s great to have around. She’s responsible and inventive. A combination that’s hard to find. Nevada avoided looking at me all evening.”
“Can you blame her?”
“No. We really need to start locking the doors.”
“I agree.” She snuggled close, her legs tangling with his.
She’d spent the first few years after Ralph’s death wondering how she was going to survive. Even though her kids were grown, she’d kept busy. Recently, she’d thought it would be nice to start dating again. She’d hoped to find someone who interested her. She’d never thought she would be lucky enough to fall so completely for a man as amazing as Max.
“I never stopped thinking about you,” he told her. “Wondering how you were, what you were doing.”
“I thought about you, too.” She had, fleetingly. After all, she’d been taking care of Ralph and their six kids. There hadn’t been a lot of time for speculation.
“Not the same,” he told her lightly. “You were married to someone else.”
“You never married?”
He shook his head. “Didn’t want to. There were women,” he added.
She smiled. “Dozens. Hundreds.”
“At least.”
He kissed her.
She felt a twinge and pushed the jealousy away. She had no right. She’d been off being happy and she should want the same for Max. Thirty-five years was a long time.
“I wanted to come back when I first heard about Ralph,” he admitted. “But I knew that would be a mistake.”
“You’re right. It would have been. I wasn’t ready. I grieved for him for a long time. Plus with the kids…”
He kissed her again. “I wasn’t ready, either. I knew I had to change, to be the man you deserved. Grow up, I guess. But it’s different now. I can be that guy.”
She traced the shape of his jaw, then rested her hand on his bare shoulder. “You were always that guy.”
“No, but I had potential. I love you, Denise. I want to marry you.”
She heard the words, followed by a rushing sound. The room tilted, then seemed to spin out of control. All she could think about was when she’d married Ralph. How proud he’d been when the minister had introduced them as Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix. How she’d known then she would love him forever.
“No,” she said involuntarily, sitting up and pulling the sheet with her. She scrambled out of the bed, wrapping the sheet around her. “I’m sorry. But no.” Her breath came in short gasps as her lungs constricted.
She stared at him, strong and handsome and naked in her bed. In her bedroom. What had she been thinking?
“I’m sorry,” she repeated, giving in to the panic.
Max got to his feet and came around the bed. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
She touched her face and was surprised to feel tears. “You’re a good person. No, a wonderful person. But this would be all wrong.” She knew she wasn’t making any sense, but couldn’t stop herself from speaking.
“Getting married would ruin everything,” she said, backing away from him. “There’s more to a relationship than great sex. More to marriage. Haven’t you figured that out by now? We’re having fun. Just two people having fun.”
He looked concerned rather than angry. “Are you feeling all right?”
“No.”
She ran into the bathroom and closed the door. “I’m not feeling very well,” she yelled to him, through the door. “I think you should go.”
“Denise, you’re not making any sense. We have to talk about this.”
“We don’t. Please, just go away.”
She sank onto the floor and started to cry. Guilt attacked her as she realized she’d betrayed the man she truly loved. She’d cheated on Ralph. She’d allowed herself to believe she could be with someone else.
She heard noises from the bedroom, followed by silence. Seconds later, the front door closed. Max was gone.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She was cold. And alone.
NEVADA WATCHED all the equipment being off-loaded.
“Makes your heart beat a little faster, doesn’t it?” Charlie asked.
The fire department engineer stood next to her, at the job site.
Nevada grinned. “Oh, yeah. I can’t wait to try it all out.”
“Tell me about it. I don’t technically have to be here, but I couldn’t help coming to watch. How’s the surveying going?”
“Great.” Nevada shoved her hands into her back pockets. “We still use tripods for housing construction and remodels. It’s fast and cheap. Here we’re using GPS. We can get within an eighth of an inch using a satellite twenty thousand miles away. You gotta love technology.”
“If only those satellites could put out fires,” Charlie said, watching a track loader being moved off to the side. “That one is going to be fun to ride. No wonder the guys want to keep it to themselves.”
They weren’t the only ones watching the equipment arrive. Several members of Nevada’s team were standing together, supposedly to help should something happen. Nevada caught a couple of them eyeing Charlie with a fair degree of interest.
“I think a few of my guys are going to ask for your number,” she told her friend.
“Don’t bother giving it to them.” Charlie didn’t even glance toward the cluster of men. “I’m not interested.”
“You sure? Some of them are pretty nice and a few are cute.”
“Let me guess. None of them are both cute and nice.”
Nevada grinned. “I can think of one or two who meet that criteria.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m not very successful at relationships. It’s easier to avoid them. So let’s talk about something more fun. The permits for the explosives have been approved. You can go ahead and order the dynamite.”
“I get all quivery at the thought.”
“You should. It’s going to be a hell of a day.” Charlie’s phone beeped. “I can’t believe you got a cell tower out here.”
“It was delivered last week. Janack Construction has friends in high places.”
“So I’ve heard. Let me take this, then we can go into town and have lunch.”
They were meeting Annabelle and Heidi at Jo’s Bar for a quick meal. Something they’d started doing weekly ever since the incident with the flat tire.
While Charlie talked on the phone, Nevada went back to the trailer to grab her car keys. She walked up the stairs and opened the door, only to breathe a sigh of relief when she discovered Tucker wasn’t there.
She wasn’t exactly avoiding him, but she’d been staying out of his way ever since that night at his hotel. When he’d told her he wanted her and she’d turned him down.
She didn’t regret her decision. She sighed. Perhaps she regretted it a little, but she knew she’d made the right choice. Getting involved with Tucker was a complication she didn’t need. Better to focus on what was important rather than what felt good. Although being with Tucker fe
lt really, really good.
She set her hard hat on her desk, then picked up her purse and met Charlie outside.
Twenty minutes later they were sitting in Jo’s Bar with Annabelle and Heidi. They’d gone girly and had all ordered salads, with a plate of fries for the table.
“Don’t let me have more than three,” Annabelle was saying. “I don’t have the advantage of being tall like all of you. Every extra pound shows at my size.”
“Next she’ll complain about being too rich, too,” Charlie grumbled, sipping her iced tea.
Annabelle didn’t look the least bit intimidated. “You try being the size of a flea and we’ll see how you like it.”
“You try being taller than ninety percent of the male population.”
“At least you can kick their butts if they annoy you,” the librarian said with a smile.
Charlie grinned back. “You got that right.”
The women laughed.
Nevada joined in, pleased to be with her new friends. Recently her social life had gotten a little stagnant. She’d mostly hung out with her sisters. As they were moving in a different direction than her — getting married and, in Dakota’s case, starting a family — it was good that she’d branched out. Being the last single triplet was going to mean her sisters wouldn’t have as much time for hanging out.
Reality intrudes, she thought, happy for them but a little sad for herself. While change could be good, it wasn’t always easy or comfortable.
Jo walked over with their salads and fries.
“How’s it going?” Annabelle asked. “I saw Will here the other day. He’s such a cutie.”
“We’re not going out,” Jo said flatly. “I don’t care what anyone says. I’m not dating him.”
The four of them exchanged a look. Nevada found herself feeling badly for her coworker.
“You know he’s a nice guy,” she said quietly. “On the job site all the guys respect him, but they like him, too.”
Instead of looking relieved, Jo scowled. “You think I don’t know he’s nice? Did it occur to you that his niceness is the problem? I’m not going to get involved with him just to screw up everything.”
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