Intoxicated By You_An Exposed Hearts Novel

by Kristin Mayer

  I clapped him on the shoulder. “Deep breaths, Hollis. I thought you weren’t attracted to Devney.” Giving him a wink, I walked back into the office and took the papers from Devney.

  “I just confirmed with Hollis; the pay is twenty dollars an hour.”

  “Oh my! I was only expecting half that. I appreciate it. This will help immensely. Thank you so much.” Her eyes turned to the doorway, where I was sure Hollis had joined us. “Dr. Fritz, thank you again.”

  “You’re… welcome. I’m—” Hollis started fiddling with this stethoscope. “I’m glad to have you…” Somehow in the next second, the stethoscope was wrapped around his neck. “Damn it. This thing is trying to kill me.”

  He tossed the stethoscope across the room, and we all watched it land. The clank of the metal hitting the ground was the only sound to be heard. “Well, that’s one way to get it off,” I said.

  Devney gave a small giggle but then remembered herself. An awkward silence filled the room. I was about to speak when Devney said, “I had lunch with Marlena today. She’s excited.”

  “Excited?” Hollis asked, perplexed.

  Devney’s eyes grew wide, and she looked at me. I had no idea what she was talking about. “Umm about your date this Friday?”

  “What?” Hollis’s volume had us jumping. “What date?”

  Devney looked to me for help. She probably thought that Hollis was a crazy loon. Sometimes he didn’t have the demeanor of a doctor. The last time she was here, he’d shut his hand in the drawer. Now he’d nearly strangled himself with his stethoscope and was screaming questions.

  “I… uh… I’m going to be heading out now. Thank you, Dr. Fritz. I’ll see you Monday, Alexa. Thank you again.”

  I waved, saying, “Bye, Devney.”

  The door closed behind her, and I turned to Hollis. “You may want to make her feel a little more welcome. You might have scared her.”

  “What? I didn’t… damn it.” Hollis took off toward the front door, nearly tripping on his own feet. I heard him say, “Thanks for taking the job, Devney. We’re looking forward to Monday.”

  That was a little better. Now he just sounded like a stiff. I wondered if he liked her more than I’d originally thought. Hollis was affected by her in a good way.

  Back inside, Hollis leaned against the wall. “Is it hot in here? I thought we lived in the frozen tundra.”

  Yeah, he looked a little out of sorts. I poked at him a little more because it was exactly what he would have done. “Or it’s the lovebug.”

  He ignored me. “She starts Monday?”

  “Yep.”

  “And the entire town thinks I’m going out with Marlena?”

  “Yep.”

  He dragged his hand through his hair. “You Alaskans are crazy. And by association, I’m becoming crazy.”

  “I thought you wanted to be one of us except—for the coffee.”

  “Only on the manly front. All this other stuff… I’ll stay a New Yorker.”

  I put my arm around his shoulder. “Let me go make you a soy milk latte with a hint of vanilla and chocolate with a double espresso. We don’t have another patient for thirty minutes.”

  “You might have just redeemed yourself as my best friend.”

  Well, I was probably about to un-redeem myself. On the way up the stairs, I asked, “Do you want me to call in sick on Monday?”

  “Why?”

  Oh, man. This was as easy as taking candy from a baby. “I figured you might want to play doctor with Devney?”

  “Make it a triple espresso and bring me my hammer. I need to feel Alaskan.”

  I laughed as we entered his kitchen. Yep, Dr. Hollis Fritz had been bitten by the lovebug. Hard.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Drake

  The welcome party was a hit; people relaxed and enjoyed the good food and the company of friends. I waved goodbye as all our friends cleared out. The city council had congratulated me on saving the day. People were happy that we’d been able to redeem ourselves after the Fall Festival. The party had been all about being part of the community and just enjoying the company.

  Because of this, it looked like my reelection was in the bag. What had started off as a way to distract myself from losing Lex had turned into something I actually enjoyed. Skagway was important to me, and keeping our sense of community was something that would always be close to my heart.

  Of course, Irene and Raquel hadn’t shown up. Neither had Chazz. But I think Lex had worked through a lot of it. They’d never truly been her family, though she’d held out hope in the same way she had with Teagan. At this point, I believed Teagan had been missing so long that all we’d find was a body. No way could she survive this long. And I knew it bothered Lex she couldn’t save her.

  Regardless of how nasty the person was, Lex wanted to help them.

  So far this week, nothing else had happened. Kane was in the back, reviewing the tapes from the cameras he’d set up. Anything to get out of socializing.

  Lex came up and bumped my hip. She’d been helping serve at the bar since I’d given Crete the night off to enjoy himself. “Poor Hollis.”

  In the corner, Hollis was sitting at a table, surrounded by girls. He looked like he wanted to get the fuck out of there.

  Devney approached the bar. I noticed she glanced over her shoulder nonchalantly before looking our way. “It was a great party. Thanks for inviting me. Can’t wait to start Monday.”

  “Neither can we,” Lex replied, giving her a sweet smile. “You’re going to be a great addition to the team.”

  Again, she gave another glance. Yeah, she liked Hollis. Lex had been right. Fidgeting with her hands, she nervously asked, “Will you tell Hollis good night for me? I don’t want to interrupt him.”

  “I’m sure he’d love to be saved from that mess if you wanted to say goodbye. He’s probably going to kill me because I left him over there with Samone and Jane.”

  I got a genuine smile, then she winked. “Have a good night. Don’t make him suffer too long. We don’t want a grumpy boss on Monday.”

  “You’re probably right,” Lex replied. “I’ve had a grumpy Hollis on my hands, and it resulted in me throwing a book at his head.”

  “Oh my.” Devney’s eyes were wide as saucers. “Well, I’ll leave the book-throwing to you.”

  Lex laughed. “Deal.”

  As Devney left, I rapped on the bar three times and said, “Last call!”

  When that happened, more people cleared out until there was only a handful left. Ol’ Man Rooster approached the bar, strutting like a proud granddad. “Looks like I may have Marlena married off soon.”

  Uh. Oh.

  Lex was apparently at a loss for what to say, so I asked, “What do you mean?”

  Putting his hands in his overall pockets, he gave a shit-eating grin. “Oh, you can tell by the way your doctor fellow is looking at her that he’s smitten.” He tapped the counter. “My work here is done. Night, guys.”

  “Night,” we called out in unison.

  I glanced over to Hollis, who looked anything but smitten as he stood. Marlena waved her fingers before walking toward her grandfather. Lex looked at the door, then at Hollis again. Oh, I knew where this was going. I put my hands around Lex’s waist and brought her a little closer. “I can see the wheels spinning.”

  She gave him an innocent look. “Whatever could you be talking about?”

  “I wonder.”

  Before Lex could reply, Hollis was at the bar, pointing at Lex. “Why didn’t you come save me?”

  I busied myself putting a few beer glasses up.

  “You looked smitten as a kitten,” Lex said with a giggle.

  Hollis glared, but I noticed he kept looking around the room as if searching for someone.

  “She left,” Lex said.

  “Who?” Hollis put on the worse fake innocent look. Yeah, he liked Devney. He and Hayden should get together and compare notes on what not to do. And the first was not to let t
he girl slip through your fingers.

  Lex countered, “Well, who are you looking for?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. So, Drake, ice fishing?”

  Oh, hell. I was being brought into this. Casually, wondering where he was going with it, I asked, “What about it?”

  There was no telling with Hollis. For all I knew, he wanted his own ice hole. I wondered if the guy had ever been fishing before, much less ice fishing.

  “I think we need to get a group together. You know—be Alaskan men in an ice hut. Catch fish. Drink beer. I don’t know… be manly.”

  I chuckled. This guy grew on me more and more every day. You’d never know he was a doctor just from talking to him. “Well, I go every December with my brothers. Want to join us?”

  Hollis slapped the counter. “Count me in. I’ll order the gear. Night.”

  I waved goodbye. Only one person remained at the bar. I did a double take, surprised to see Chazz sitting there. When did he slip in? He was watching us, and it was obvious from the way he tracked our movements that he wanted to talk to us. Lex stiffened beside me. What the hell kind of game is he planning? I put Lex slightly behind me before I said, “Sorry, man. I’m closing up.”

  “Understood.” He looked around the room, not moving an inch. Apparently, he didn’t understand. I was about to say something when he said, “Alexa, may we talk?”

  “Whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of Drake.” Her voice was cold, distant.

  Chazz adjusted his suit jacket, then his cuff links, taking his time. He was about to get booted out, forcefully if needed. “Very well. How shall I put this? The information you recently received—what do you plan to do with it?”

  Lex took a step toward him, and I moved, too. “So far I don’t have any plans. Why?”

  “I’m prepared to pay a sizeable amount for your discretion.”

  Asshole. I had to grit my teeth to keep from saying anything. This was Lex’s fight, and she was strong enough.

  She shook her head. “I don’t want your money, Chazz.”

  Her words were met with only silence. Fucker. He was trying to intimidate her, but it wouldn’t work.

  He steepled his fingers and asked, “Then what do you want? There must be something.”

  “The B&B,” she said without hesitation. Lex was trying to piece her father’s land back together and get what was rightfully hers.

  He let out a breath. “Anything else?”

  “I wouldn’t mind the piece of land Raquel sold.”

  He laughed. “That’s not happening.”

  The door opened, and Dixon walked in. They were like night and day. Chazz looked like he was ready for an executive meeting while Dixon was casually dressed. “I just picked up dinner. Are you ready?” He looked up at us. “Drake. Alexa. Good to see you guys again.”

  We greeted him back.

  Chazz continued to stare at Lex, and I wanted to punch him.

  Dixon prompted, “Chazz?”

  “Coming.” Chazz nodded to himself before looking Lex straight in the eye. “I’ll get your B&B back for you, but I don’t want you to ever reach out to your mother or Raquel again. We’re moving to Ketchikan, and I have objectives I’d rather not have thwarted this time.”

  “Then make sure they stay out of my business, too.”

  Chazz looked me in the eye for the first time. “You let you girlfriend do all the talking?”

  “Lex doesn’t need me to speak for her. But I will say this.” I stepped closer to the counter and leaned in. I towered over him. “Don’t fuck with her, me, or my family. Or there won’t be a place in this state you can hide.”

  I felt Lex’s hand on my back, but he needed to understand where I stood. There was only so far he could push me.

  “Is that a threat?” he scoffed.

  “No, it’s a fact.”

  I dared the motherfucker to say anything else. He adjusted his cuff links again. “Well, your boyfriend’s little stunt may have just cost you the B&B, Alexa.”

  She pulled out her phone. “Funny, that threat may have my finger twitchy to send something to the Twiner sisters along with another piece of information you haven’t even seen yet.”

  That’s my girl.

  Chazz gave a snort. “I’ll be in touch. Good evening.”

  And with that he left. Beside me, Lex threw her bar cloth on the counter. “He’s such a… turd bucket. Ugh, he and Raquel deserve each other.”

  “Turd bucket?” I couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “Whatever, you get the point.”

  She was so damn adorable as she scowled at the door. Truth be told, she was probably itching to send the report to the Twiner sisters regardless of what Chazz said.

  Sighing, she flexed her fingers. “I may get the B&B back.”

  “Let’s hope.”

  Kane came out from the back. “I just got done reviewing all the footage. There’s nothing new.”

  Hayden was with him. I imagined at some point during the party, he’d gone back to give him shit.

  “That’s good.” Whoever it had been was staying away from my place, which meant from Lex, too.

  Beside Kane, Mariah gave a low growl, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Kane knelt down and asked, “What is it, girl?”

  Her growls became a little more intense, and she touched Kane’s hand. I swore those two spoke some kind of secret language.

  He stood. “The asshole was here tonight.”

  Shit. The entire town had been there tonight. “Think she can get the scent outside? Figure out which way he went?”

  “Yeah.”

  The door opened, and Chazz walked back in. My eyes shot to Mariah, but she stood still and only watched him. “My apologies. I forgot my coat.”

  At that point, Dixon stepped into the doorway.

  Mariah’s low growling increased. Dixon? Kane looked over at me and nodded. He gave some sort of gesture, and Mariah settled.

  I cleared my throat. “Listen, why don’t we all have a drink? I heard Dixon was leaving in a couple of days. I know we’ve had our differences, but maybe we can put those aside.”

  Chazz stopped. “Sure.”

  From the tightness in Dixon’s eyes, it was clear he didn’t approve.

  Well, too fucking bad. It was about time for him to face the music.

  Chapter Forty

  Drake

  The first thing I needed to do was get Lex out of there. Just in case. I needed to make sure she was safe. Think of a reason. I grabbed a few glasses and a bottle of my top-of-the-line whiskey. From the scowl on her face, I could tell she wasn’t pleased about Chazz and was probably looking for an excuse. Just give me a few minutes, baby. I’m going to get this sorted. Kane and Hayden struck up a conversation with the Hennington brothers.

  That was my first priority—getting Lex away. I put my hand on her shoulder and whispered, “Would you mind closing the books for me? I need a few minutes to sort something.”

  She glanced at me in confusion, and I widened my eyes. “Please,” I mouthed.

  Even though she was confused, she said, “Sure. I’ll get that taken care of.”

  Turning to Dixon, she gave him a genuine smile. If she only knew. “Night, Dixon. Be sure to stop by before you leave town.”

  “Will do.”

  Kane excused himself. “I left my phone in the office. I’ll be right back.”

  No one suspected anything or caught the small, almost indiscernible gesture he made. Mariah stayed and stared almost unblinking at the brothers.

  Dixon chuckled as he took off his coat. “That’s an intense dog. She’s amazing. But I wouldn’t want to be on her bad side.”

  “Yeah, she gets it from Kane,” I replied.

  He shook his head. “Yeah, those two are tight.”

  Hayden held up his glass. “Man, it’s not every day I can talk my brother into breaking out the good stuff. Cheers.”

  “Yeah, it’s only when
I’m feeling exceptionally good about something. Cheers.” We clanked glasses and sipped.

  Kane came back from the office. “Pour me some of that shit. I’m feeling good, too.”

  Hayden obliged, and with another surreptitious gesture, Mariah moved to the front door. Hayden took a seat at Chazz’s side, and Kane sat next to Dixon. These assholes were effectively caged in.

  Kane threw his drink back and said, “Good shit.”

  I took another sip and sat the glass down. “So, I have a question.”

  “Shoot,” Dixon said.

  Looking him straight in the eye, I said, “Tell me why you were at my place the other night, Dixon? You nearly scared the shit out of my girlfriend.”

  The glass he held stopped for a split second on the way to his mouth. It was enough of a pause, and I could see his wheels racing to buy some time. “What are you talking about?”

  I scoffed. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. I’m going to ask again. Why. Were. You. At. My. Place?”

  “I wasn’t. I think it’s time we go, Chazz. It appears we’ve outworn our welcome.”

  Dixon stood, and Kane’s hand shot out to grip his shoulder. “I think you’re just fine in your seat. My brother asked you a question. It’s rude to not answer.”

  Begrudgingly, Dixon lowered himself into the seat. I folded my arms over my chest and stared. Chazz looked like he might be sick. He hadn’t tried to move, but Hayden was ready for him. “Now, now, buddy. I think the same goes for you.”

  Chazz’s eyes flew open and he looked uncomfortable as hell. Dixon was trying to remain cool and unaffected, but he knew he’d been caught. When the silence was so thick the tension could be tasted, I went on to say, “There’s one of two ways I see this going down. One is you tell me why you were at my place. Or two…”

  Kane picked up where I left off. “We take a nice trip out to the woods.”

  Dixon tried to push away from the bar, but Kane was faster and clamped down on his shoulder. Mariah growled, her teeth showing, and inched closer to the bar in warning. Dixon looked back and commanded, “Call her off.”

  Tsk-tsking, Kane said, “Nah, I don’t feel like it today.”