The Matchmakers

by Jennifer Colgan

  Chapter Seven

  I’ve got to be out of my mind, Nick thought as he strolled back into Farley’s with Callie. The worst part was, she’d fulfilled her promise. Everyone would think he was insane if he suddenly introduced her as the crazy girl he’d nearly run over on the exit ramp. Farley gave him a curious glance from under his bushy eyebrows when Nick offered his barstool to Callie. She slid onto the vinyl seat and crossed her legs at the knee, revealing a glimpse of creamy thigh beneath the ruffled hem of her skirt. Nick deliberately looked away. `Well, hello.´ Farley leaned on the bar, his massive chest expanding. `What can I get for you, miss?´ `Lemon soda with a twist,Ćallie replied. `You must be Farley.Ín response, the bear-like bartender actually blushed. `I certainly am. Welcome to my place, Miss Lemon-Soda-With-A-Twist.´ `I’m Calliope.Śhe held out her hand, and her delicate fingers disappeared into Farley’s paw. `I’m new here.´ `How fortunate for you that I’m Bayerville’s good-will ambassador. I am humbly at your service.´ `Ted ´ Farley ignored Nick and continued with his repertoire as he poured Callie her drink. `I give personal tours of all the historic sites in town. My specialty is Italian cuisine, and I’m licensed in Shiatsu massage. I bowl a one-ninety and I like long walks in the park and cuddling.´ `Ted Ćallie giggled and sipped her drink. `I see true love in your future, Mr. Farley.´ `Please, call me ´ `Ted!´ `Wait your turn, buddy. I’m with a customer.´ Farley waved Nick off with a mild scowl and turned his attention back to Callie. `I don’t normally flirt this shamelessly, but«´ `Yes, you do.´ Diane swung by then, her stern glance skipping over Nick. `Don’t let the big oaf snow you, sweetie. Farley tries to reel in any woman who’s breathing.´ The waitress slapped a written tab on the bar along with a stack of large bills. `I need change.´ `I’ll be back in a sec, and you can tell me all about yourself, Calliope.´ While Farley worked the cash register and Diane glared, Nick studied the impressive array of booze bottles stacked behind the bar and wallowed in his own miserable circumstances. He realized he still wore the alligator boots Callie had given him, and he wondered if anyone else had noticed. Farley reappeared with Diane’s change, and she whirled away without a word. While the bartender turned his attention briefly to another customer, Nick leaned over Callie’s shoulder and whispered in her ear. `If you promise to behave, I won’t tell them who you are.´ `Define behave ,śhe replied with a challenge in her eyes. Before Nick could think of a response, Farley returned, his smile wide. `Now, where were we? Calliope. That’s an unusual name.´ `I’m named after the Muse of epic poetry.´ `Fascinating. Where did you say you were from?´ Nick let his attention drift away from the conversation. With Callie occupied by Farley’s impromptu interview, he had a moment to take stock of the situation. He glanced at the pay phone on the wall in the tiny alcove next to the bar and considered what he would say to the police at this point. They wouldn’t believe him if he said he thought this pretty, personable young woman was dangerous because she’d magically changed his footwear. He’d have to play things cool until she actually did something else suspicious. Of course, right now, she was the most dangerous looking woman in the bar. In that little black dress, with her dark hair in delicate corkscrew curls atop her head, she was more trouble than a five-alarm fire. Nick took a fast count of the men who’d already noticed her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bud Wylie and Frank Griff moving in from opposite ends of the bar. He knew them both from Burns & Wright, and he’d spent a number of Friday nights with them in Farley’s back room playing darts and shooting pool. Under other circumstances, he would have judged both men harmless, but who knew if they could be trusted with«what exactly was she? Nick had to ask himself again if he thought, by the slimmest chance, that Calliope’s wild stories were true. She’d certainly done some inexplicable things, but a faerie on a mission from a goddess to unite three couples in true love? He’d have to get himself pretty drunk to believe that. There had to be another explanation for her sudden appearance and her actions, and he was growing more determined by the minute to find out what it was. `Let’s dance.´ Nick ran a flawless interception that interrupted Farley’s fishing expedition and cut off both Frank and Bud’s advances. Callie gave him a startled look. `Now?´ `Sure. This is a great song.´ He took her hand, and the warmth of her skin surprised him. He tugged her off the barstool and guided her to the now crowded dance floor where half a dozen couples swayed to a sad country ballad. The girl by the jukebox shrugged and wandered off, and Callie’s gaze followed her as Nick twirled her slim body into his arms. `Do you know her?śhe asked. `Who?´ `That girl in the white sweater. She’s just leaving.´ `Nope.´ Nick didn’t even look twice. His mind had gone a little blurry when her hips bumped against his. Maybe dancing was a bad idea. Maybe he’d give her the wrong impression, but some tribal part of his soul had felt the need to rescue her from Frank and Bud and Farley. What bothered him more than the prospect of having to figure out how to get rid of her was the strange feeling of obligation he felt. Each time she showed up, thoughts of what might happen to her if some other man decided a faerie stalker was a good thing to have around plagued him. He told himself he was only keeping an eye on a potentially unbalanced individual, doing a good deed by seeing that no one took advantage of her. He reasoned he was down a quart or two on good deeds lately, anyway, so he owed some for the sake of karma. Why karma suddenly mattered to him, though, was another mystery. Callie tried to keep the pretty redhead in view as Nick guided her around the dance floor. The woman wore an all-too-familiar expression that drew Callie’s Fae instincts like a beacon. Her dark eyes looked haunted by broken dreams and unfulfilled wishes. Callie longed to help her, but Nick seemed determined to isolate her from the bar’s most promising contacts. She kept pace with Nick’s long strides and tightened her grip on his broad shoulder when the tempo of the music increased. She had to admit, he moved well. He paid attention to the rhythm of the song rather than just swaying to and fro like most of the other men around. Callie caught strong vibes from many of them. Dancing was nothing more than an excuse to get their arms around a woman and show her some moves that might entice her into bed. She stiffened at the thought that in this place, Nick Garrett was in good company. She tried to put a little distance between the two of them, but once the redhead left the bar, there didn’t seem much point, so she let herself relax in Nick’s arms. When the rhythm changed again to another slow, sad love song, he made a smooth transition from fast stepping to a surprisingly graceful glide. Callie gasped when he drew her in close and pulled her tight against his lean body. She felt the strength of his arms and the confidence with which he led their movements, and it made her wonder just how she would manage to complete her task. Changing Nick Garrett’s view of love enough to convince him to cooperate would be like moving a granite boulder uphill. When he bent his head close to hers, she found her eyes level with his open collar. She took in the masculine scent she remembered from his borrowed work shirt a stirring combination of fresh air, hard work and spicy, pine-scented soap. She felt his breath on the exposed skin beneath her right ear, and her body tingled traitorously. `Be careful, Sugar Plum. Some predators are on the prowl tonight.Ćallie surveyed the bar crowd as Nick whirled her in another wide circuit of the dance floor. She saw men watching her with naked anticipation and women with a certain recognizable suspicion. As a Fae, she had no fear of human avarice. Her only concern was completing her task and avoiding Freya’s promised punishment. To do that, she still had to win Nick’s trust and secure his cooperation, and stirring up rivalries among the locals was not a good start. She made a mental note to tone down the glamour she’d used tonight so that the women wouldn’t view her with jealousy and the men wouldn’t view her much at all. She looked up at Nick and met his ice-blue gaze as the song ended. `I’m safe with you, aren’t I, Nick?´ The question seemed to startle him. After a moment’s consideration, he replied, his chest swelling a fraction as large as Farley’s had, `Yes. You’re safe with me.Ćhapter Eight When Nick and Callie returned to the bar, Farley seem
ed to have lost interest in flirting, which Nick didn’t find surprising. The bartender had two older women vying for his attention, and he spared the faerie only a passing glance. Frank and Bud had disappeared, probably gone into the back room to play pool. Their absence made Nick a little calmer. He ordered himself a beer and Callie another lemon soda and motioned for her to follow him to a newly vacated table near the jukebox.

  Diane sashayed by, her hips at Nick’s eye level, just as they sat down. Callie’s curious glance followed the waitress. `She wishes you had a crush on her.´ `I do, a little.´ Nick gauged Callie’s reaction to his admission. He liked Diane but had no desire to date her. He didn’t need magical intervention to sense a little desperation in her. She spent her weekends working here, surrounded by men who were looking for whatever they could get. She had as jaded a view of love as Nick did, and he had no doubt that while they might have easily fanned their flirtatious attraction into something more, it would only dissolve into a race to see who’d hurt whom first. Callie’s bright expression dimmed. `You won’t lead her on, will you?´ `Diane’s too smart for that. She knows me. Right now she’s got her dander up because of you, but she’s no love struck teenager.´ `Hmm. You’re very astute for a human. Why not put that intuition to good use and tell me who would be a good match for Diane? She’s looking for true love, but she thinks, like you do, that she’ll never find it.´ Nick laughed and took a deep draught of beer. `Farley,´ he answered without hesitation. `He likes to chat up all the women who come in, but I think that crap about long walks and cuddling is true underneath that Grizzly Adams exterior. He’d love to go home at night to a loyal woman who could forgive his schmoozing because it’s part of his job.´ Wow. Nick sat back and considered what he’d just said. It had come out of nowhere, like suddenly he was Dr. Phil or Oprah well, maybe more like Dr. Phil than Oprah. He’d never once considered Farley’s romantic needs. The very phrase gave him a slithery feeling, sort of like baiting a fishing hook with a particularly lively night crawler. This was not an avenue he wanted to explore. Callie looked delighted. She leaned forward over the tiny table, her eyes glowing in the light of the red glass votive candle that burned between them. `Tell me more.´ `Aw, come on. I’m just kidding. Farley and Diane? He’s her boss, for chrissakes.´ `So? There’s no law against it. Well, not here anyway. Then there’s Teresa and John. We’ve potentially got two out of three already. We just need to figure out a way to get them to realize it.´ `You’ve got all kinds of magic tricks, right? Why not get Farley and Diane locked in the storeroom over the weekend? If they didn’t kill each other, they’d probably come out married.´ Her eyes sparkled, and Nick couldn’t look away. `Now you’re starting to think like a faerie,śhe said. That thought bristled him, like rubbing a cat the wrong way. `I am not. I’m thinking like a man. Being locked in a small space with a pretty girl is a very straight male fantasy.´ `I meant faerie as in Fae, not gay, so don’t get your alpha male homophobia in an uproar.´ `I’m not homophobic.´ `Sure you are. By the way, a gay couple would count as one of the three, you know. True love is true love, no matter what form it takes.´ `Fine by me. I’m just not hitting on any guys.Ćallie laughed. `Noted.Śhe looked around the bar again and tapped her foot to the music. `This is good. We have an objective now. Why don’t we come back tomorrow night and get started?´ `Get started how? Shove Diane and Farley in the storeroom?´ She gave him a guileless look and shrugged. `Why not?´ `Once again, I was kidding. Who doesn’t have a cell phone these days? They could call someone to get them out in no time.´ `So we’ll have to be creative.´ `I’m not liking this idea.´ `Then come up with a better plan. I’m open to suggestions.´ `How about a butterfly net and a straitjacket?´ Nick muttered the suggestion under his breath, and somehow, over the loud music, the din of conversation and the sharp staccato of laughter, she heard him. She gave him an exasperated look and disappeared. Nick’s jaw dropped, and he scanned the bar, waiting for the flabbergasted reactions from those around him. No one blinked an eye or even glanced in the direction of Callie’s suddenly vacant chair. `Where did you go?´ he whispered to the empty air across from him, hoping she’d just turned herself invisible to piss him off. `Get back here.´ Nothing. `Callie?´ No reply. He couldn’t decide if her sudden disappearance did more to convince him she was indeed a Fae or an emotional loose cannon. He hadn’t meant anything by his remark after all. It wasn’t like she didn’t already know he thought she was crazy. How could she have been insulted? `Callie. Come back.Á woman at a nearby table leaned toward him. Her date had just gotten up and was strolling toward the men’s room. `Hi! Were you talking to me?´ `Uh«´ Nick produced his cell phone from his pocket and held it up. `Sorry. My girlfriend« I must have hit a dead spot in the reception.´ `Oh.´ The woman turned back to her drink, vague disappointment on her face. Another lonely heart. She had no interest in the man who’d just bought her a drink, but she didn’t want to go home alone. Nick grabbed his beer and took a long swallow. How the hell did he know that? Or was it just speculation? Was he projecting these sad details onto people because Callie wanted him to transform into some kind of Middle America version of Mr. Roarke, granting fantasies to love-starved singles? Next he’d be dressed in white, offering drinks with little umbrellas and speaking in an overblown European accent. He had to get out of here and get his head on straight before he started actually caring about someone else’s love life. If he’d known it would be that easy to get rid of her, Nick would have invoked butterfly nets and straitjackets a lot sooner. It bothered him that she’d vanished so abruptly, but as the hour wore on, he began to think maybe he’d imagined her presence here tonight after all. Nevertheless, if she wasn’t real, why could he still recall the scent of roses and the feel of her in his arms when they danced? Nick dismissed his sudden melancholy as a lack of alcohol. He returned to the bar, but when Farley lumbered over, Nick decided he wasn’t as thirsty as he thought. He said good night and left, catching Diane’s eye on the way out and giving her a crooked grin. She didn’t smile back, but he took the miniscule nod she gave him as acknowledgment she was over her snit, a snit that was entirely Callie’s fault. Was his imaginary faerie going to turn every woman he knew against him? Well, in all fairness, he didn’t need any help in that department. Most of the women in his life turned against him eventually, as soon as they found out they wanted more than he could give. Out in the parking lot, a cool-edged breeze chased the first few dry leaves of autumn across the gravel. The crackling sound reminded Nick of a wood fire and settling in on a cold night. The end of summer came fast in Bayerville, and Nick didn’t mind at all. He’d already decided when the day came that he stopped moving around, he’d pick a place up north where the seasons changed and the snow fell at the proper time of year. Who needed bugs and heat and relentless humidity all year long? The crackling sound grew louder as Nick approached his truck, and for a moment, he feared he might actually be hearing flames. He looked around for smoke, hoping no one’s car was on fire or vandals hadn’t started a blaze in Farley’s dumpster again like they had back in June. Nothing looked amiss, but he decided to do a quick circle around the truck just to make sure. He found her kneeling in the gravel by the back wheel of the compact Chevy parked next to him. Dressed once again in her Pepto-pink coat and blue jeans, she smiled guilelessly at him. Her frothy gloves sported grease smudges, one of which transferred to her left cheek when she reached up to brush a lock of hair from her eyes. `What the hell are you doing out here?´ `Getting started. This is Diane’s car, right?´ `You’re vandalizing her car?´ Nick lowered his voice after his initial outburst and did a quick scan of the parking lot. The last thing he needed was someone to think he was out here by himself slashing tires. `Are you out of your mind?Śilly question, he realized after he asked it. `I’m not vandalizing anything. She has a flat tire.´ The challenge in her eyes might have made him really angry had it not been for that grease smudge. The dark mark on her porcelain cheek made her look beguiling and young and guilty as sin. All he wanted
to do was reach down and smooth it away with his thumb. Instead he leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest and gave her his best skeptical glare. `Oh really? How convenient. Let me guess, you’re fixing it for her?´ `No. Farley’s going to fix it.´ `No, he’s not.´ `He’ll have to. I did a little recon and found out that Diane never leaves before he does, and most nights he walks her to her car. Isn’t that sweet?´ `And how did you find all this out?´ `I talked to Hayden.´ Farley’s other waitress, twenty-two-year-old Hayden, had a nickname. The locals called her River, because her mouth ran like one. Nick sighed. `That’s what you’ve been doing all this time? Why didn’t you tell me where you were going?Śhe dusted off her dirty gloves and hoisted herself back to her feet before answering. `You didn’t seem interested. I don’t know how closely Freya is going to be watching us, but I figure if you won’t help me, I’ll do what I can myself. I can always say you gave me the ideas, and I carried them out. Not that I normally operate that way. I should be the one giving you ideas, but regardless. Now Farley can change Diane’s tire and ´ Nick shook his head. `She can change a flat better than he can. You should have done this to his car.´ `Now you tell me.´ `Well, you didn’t give me a chance. If I’d known you were coming out here to slash tires ´ `I didn’t slash them. I just let the air out. I guess I’d better take care of the spare, too, so he’ll have to give her a ride home. Stand here and cover me while I open the trunk.´ `I will not be your stoolie. I went to high school, Tinkerbell. I know it’s always the guy with his head up looking around who gets in the most trouble.´ `Chicken. Fine, I’ll be the lookout and you ´ `No.´ He took her arm at the elbow and pulled her away from Diane’s car. `This is unbelievable. I’m not going to help you do this. What happened to the idea about locking them in the storeroom? Not that it’s a better idea, but I thought that was your big plan.Śhe gave a long-suffering sigh. `You’re right about cell phones and besides, an arthritic pixie could break down that door. They’d be out in no time.Śhe shook her head in disgust, and it was Nick’s turn to sigh. The crunch of gravel caught his attention again, and he slid his gaze over his right shoulder, careful not to move too quickly. A black and white patrol car was just turning into the parking lot, hitting one of the PD’s regular stops on their Friday night beat. Instinctively, Nick shielded Callie from the arc of brilliant headlights as the patrol car made a lazy circle around the lot and eased back onto the road. Thanks to the dumpster fire, Farley had arranged to have regular drive bys on the weekends. `What if that cop had seen you crawling around by the tires?´ When he turned around, Nick’s demand fell on empty air, but Callie’s cheerful voice reached him through the ether.