by Regina Duke
“See? Now I feel like I’m paying for your services. I’ve solved your fiancée problem.” She smiled brightly. “I’m going to bed. Good night.” She bounced out of the room.
Thor watched her go, his jaw hanging. Rocky nudged his hand. Thor looked down at the dog. “I should have worked pro bono,” he said. “Things are about to get scary, Rocky. You better sleep with me.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Once inside the master suite, Ashley exhaled noisily and leaned against the door to close it. All her bounce disappeared as the weight of the day dragged her down. She locked the door and contemplated a hot bath. The fake snake lay on the bed, staring at her with its red eyes.
“Not a word out of you, Mr. Hissy. You’d be exhausted, too, if you’d had the day I’ve had.” She moved to the bathroom. “You don’t have any relatives left in here, do you?” She moved the shower curtain gingerly. “All clear,” she mumbled. She was so tired, she couldn’t even appreciate the roomy tub or the brass fixtures.
Besides, she knew if she got comfortable in a tub of hot water, she’d probably fall asleep and drown. She opted for a shower.
The promised pajamas were in the chest of drawers. They were only two sizes too big.
“Too bad your female relatives didn’t leave a stash of new undies, in plastic wrap and just my size, Mr. Garrison.” It didn’t matter. She could survive one overnight without her suitcase. She’d retrieve it in the morning.
As she combed out her hair and blew it dry, she marveled at Thor’s tug of war with his mother. Was her mother like that? Would she have been manipulative and demanding if she’d stayed in Ashley’s life? Maybe all mothers had that gene. Or maybe Thor’s mother was crazy as a loon, just like her own. Did the insanity come with childbirth? Would she end up the same way one day, when she became a mother?
She hoped her straightforward solution to his mother’s meddling didn’t cause him too much grief. He must be a loving son to put up with all that nonsense. His thoughtfulness was another wonderful quality in a man whose physical attributes already put him high on a list of desirable mates.
Mates? Where did that come from?
Ashley stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. “Calm down, Ash. You’re thinking with your ovaries.”
But he was a very handsome man. His blond hair, blue eyes and chiseled frame made him a fitting match for his name. His mother must have had a crystal ball when she named her son.
Before her shower, Ashley had been exhausted. Now she was wide awake. She wondered if Thor was asleep yet. She had a yearning for a hot cup of tea, but she didn’t want to set off any alarms. Were they outside or inside? Or both?
“Crap. No tea. I’ll read for a while.” She browsed the book shelves that lined the walls. Two rows of thrillers, another of mysteries. She just wanted to get lost in a love story, not invite dreams of murder and mayhem.
At last she found a shelf of paperback love stories. They were old and worn, but she didn’t care. She picked a Regency and went to bed.
The mattress was perfect. The covers were fluffy. The pillows, so inviting. She fell asleep in the middle of chapter four, dreaming of marquises and spirited horses.
One of the horses had a strange whinny. It bee-bopped, like a European siren. That couldn’t be right. Did the book say the horse had a strange siren voice?
She fought her way up from dreamland and found the novel clutched in one hand and a corner of the comforter in the other. The bee-bop was much louder now.
The alarms!
Ashley sat straight up in bed. Something or someone had triggered Thor’s alarms.
Thor said to wait until he gave the all clear. She might wait, but not without shoes. What if she had to run? Shoes were a must. She threw the covers off and slipped her feet into her Nikes.
Then she heard a gunshot and a scream.
Was that Thor? Had he shot someone? Or had someone shot him?
She waited a full two seconds for his “all clear” signal before unlocking the bedroom door and bolting from the room into a throbbing chaos of sound and colored lights.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Thor watched Ashley climb the stairs to bed. He found himself following her long legs until they disappeared from view. He shook his head. Ashley was a fine looking woman, prettier than any he’d met in a long while. He snorted at himself.
“Prettier than any I’ve ever met, period. That must be why I’m acting like a schoolboy with a crush,” he said to Rocky.
The Doberman’s ears twitched and he grumbled deep in his chest.
“You’re a great listener. Come over here. I want to make sure that jerk in the parking lot didn’t hurt you.” He examined the dog’s legs carefully. “Well, you look okay. You’re a good dog.” He heard the water running upstairs. “How about a game of catch?”
Thor dug through the kitchen drawers until he found a cache of racquetballs. Rocky was instantly alert. Thor tossed the balls for his dog, trying not to make too much noise. After ten minutes, Rocky was panting and grinning like a maniac. Thor gave him a pat.
“That’s enough for tonight. We need to get some sleep.” He puttered about, picking up the papers and detritus from dinner. When he couldn’t find anything else to prevent the inevitable, he conceded, “Okay, it’s bedtime.”
He went into the bedroom, turned on a lamp, then emerged and made one last check of doors and windows. He turned off all the lights, then retreated again to the bedroom. A moment later he emerged again, flicked on the light under the loft and went to the kitchen to retrieve his phone. Through all of this, Rocky ambled at his side.
“I know, I know, I’m putting it off again,” said Thor. “Okay, into the bedroom.”
Rocky settled on a large pillow on the floor.
Thor sat on the edge of his bed and turned his phone on. “Mother is going to kill me in the morning, but Ashley’s right. I told her to do what she was going to do, even when she tried to warn me.” He thumbed the screen to see how many more messages had been left by his distraught mother.
None.
“I’ll be damned. It worked.”
He turned the phone off again and set it on his bedside table.
“It actually worked. The woman’s a genius.”
He went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. Rocky didn’t move from his cushion. He just watched Thor with adoring eyes.
“I’m doing it again. Don’t worry, I’ve got my sleeping pills.” Thor returned to the bed and opened the drawer of the nightstand. He took out a small bottle. “Daddy’s little helpers. I’ll give natural sleep a chance, but I need to be alert tomorrow. If I don’t fall asleep by one a.m., I’m taking a pill.” He wagged a finger at the dog. “Don’t try to talk me out of it. Okay. Good night.”
He turned off the lamp and stretched out fully clothed on the bed. He considered himself on the job. If the creep from the parking lot had followed them to the cabin, he didn’t want to be caught in his boxers. Instead, he folded a pillow under his head and pulled the blanket over himself. Then he sighed heavily and stared into the dark.
Sleep had become a risky activity, ever since that last fire. Moving to Colorado had put distance between him and his past, but it hadn’t made sleeping any easier.
Thor’s only ambition as a child was to be a fireman. He poured all his efforts into preparing for what he wanted to do. All his school reports and papers had something to do with fires or firemen unless his teachers forced him to research something else. After college he became a licensed paramedic to help his employment chances. He worked out constantly to make sure he would pass the physical fitness test. The day he finally and officially was hired as a fireman was the happiest day of his life.
Four years later, haunted by nightmares, he fled to Colorado, hoping that distance would erase the memory of the saddest day of his life. He knew he’d done everything he could, but that didn’t ease the horror of the decision he’d made that day. Even here, in the quiet woods thirty minutes
from Eagle’s Toe, Colorado, sleep was an iffy proposition.
He pulled the blanket up to his chin and forced his eyes to close.
He must have slept, because the bee-bop of the alarm system startled him awake.
Where did I leave my firearm?
It was in the pocket of his jacket, hanging on the coat tree by the front door.
He frowned. Why wasn’t Rocky barking?
“Rocky? Where are you?”
The Doberman’s big wet nose pressed against his arm.
“Good boy. If you’re not upset, it must be a deer. Bet we scared it out of its antlers. Let’s go look.”
The flashing colored lights he’d installed provided some illumination as he made his way to the coat tree and retrieved his hand gun. Then he headed for the kitchen and the control panel, to turn off the alarm. But halfway there, the front door opened.
Caught off guard, Thor turned and aimed his gun at the intruder.
Rocky bounded across the room, headed for the door.
At the last possible moment, Thor raised his weapon to the ceiling to keep from firing at his dog.
The intruder screamed.
The gun went off.
The lights came on.
Standing in the doorway, her hand on the light switch, was Britney Beth Beale, her blond hair gleaming in the red-and-blue glow of the alarm beacons.
With an exaggerated Texas drawl, she greeted Rocky. “You darlin’ dawg. Your mama sent me to bring you home for a date with her favorite bitch.” She planted a kiss on the dog’s muzzle, then waved a finger at Thor. “Did you just try to kill me, Thor Garrison? What’s the point of me having a key to this place if you’re going to shoot me and set the alarms against me?” She glanced up at the top of the stairs and pointed. “And who is that woman dressed in your mama’s pajamas? Oh, good Lord. Is that the gold digger Polly texted me about a little while ago? Come down here, you skanky ho, and meet the woman who’s going to marry this man!”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Thor strode to the control box and turned off the alarms, just in time to hear Ashley speak.
“Did you call me what I think you called me?" Ashley stood at the top of the stairs, hands on her hips.
“Yes, I did,” said Britney Beth. “You know what you are. Staying here alone in the cabin with my fiancé. What else can I think?”
“It’s obvious that you can’t think at all,” snapped Ashley. “Especially when it comes to fiancés. A man has to actually want to be with you before you can get engaged.”
Britney Beth tossed her mane of golden hair. “Well, meee-ow.” She glared at Thor. “I didn't know you liked cats. You’ve always been a dog person.” She lifted her long nails to her red lips. “Oh, wait. Bitches are dogs, aren’t they?”
Thor’s brows shot skyward as the barbs flew. He wondered if he was going to have to use his gun for self defense before the girls were through. He felt sorry for Ashley. He should have warned her about how mean Britney Beth could be. But then he didn’t know she was going to show up in the middle of the night. Was this what his father tried to warn him about when he called? He’d said his mother and Britney Beth were cooking up a plot.
He decided he had to say something. “Britney Beth, my mother would be horrified by your language. Where’s the southern belle I went to Sunday school with?”
Britney Beth smirked knowingly. A dark emotion s hadowed her features as she purred, “That girl never made it out of high school and you know it. As for what Polly might think, well, she's not here, is she?”
Ashley’s voice was calm and in control. “No, but I am. And I have a very good memory. Especially when it’s backed up by the recordings from Thor’s new security cameras. Right, darling?”
Thor’s mouth dropped open. Half a second later he closed it and nodded compliantly.
Britney Beth drew an alarmed breath. A moment later she waved her own hostility aside and poured charm into her voice. “Oh Thor, honey, you know what a kidder I am. I’m just joking around. It’s just a little payback for you not telling me and Polly that you have a new lady in your life.”
Ashley folded her arms and watched the interaction between Thor and Britney Beth. It was obvious they shared some secrets. She wondered how deep and how dark those secrets ran. It was also obvious that Thor was taken by surprise by Britney Beth’s arrival. After Ashley’s text, his mother must have contacted Britney Beth immediately. But for her to arrive within a couple of hours of that message, she must have been very close already.
Her brows knit, Ashley asked, “Britney, have you lived in Colorado long?”
Britney Beth clamped her mouth shut on her instinctive venom, then forced a smile. “It’s Britney Beth, dear. And I live in Texas, not far from Thor’s mama. She’s best friends with my mama, and she’s practically family.”
“So you were on your way here before she got Thor’s text about me.”
Britney Beth froze. Then another forced smile. “Why, yes. I was.” She turned to Thor. “Polly sent me to fetch Rocky so she can breed him to her winning bitch.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” said Thor. “Rocky’s not a show dog anymore, and mother gave him to me. He’s been fixed.”
Britney Beth reacted with horror. “Are you mad? Your mother is going to be furious. I’m supposed to come home with her stud. What do you expect me to tell her?”
“You don’t have to tell her anything. She was the one who decided he was never going to be a champion, so I’m at a loss as to why she’d want to breed him. I’ll call her in the morning. From my office. I’ll explain the whole thing.”
“You better believe you will,” said Britney Beth. “I’m not touching that powder keg. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m very tired, and I’ll just head up to bed.”
Thor held up a palm. “Ashley’s in the master suite. You’ll have to stay in one of the guest rooms.”
Britney Beth tipped her nose in the air and headed for the lower hallway. “I won’t forget this, Thor. Be a dear and bring in my luggage.” She tossed him her car keys, ignored Ashley, and disappeared into the guest bedroom corridor.
Ashley wagged her brows up and down. “Wow. Dramatic.”
Thor’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “You have no idea.”
“Oh, I’m getting a glimmer.”
“I’ll get her bags.”
Ashley raised a hand. “Question? Is there a reason you don’t send her to a motel?”
Thor looked uncomfortable. He averted his gaze. “Britney Beth and I have a convoluted history. She’s not a forgiving person. And her mother Darlene is my mother’s best friend, so we kind of cater to her.” He glanced in her direction, half apology, half seeking approval. “See you in the morning.”
“Right.” Ashley returned to the master suite and closed the door. After a moment, she locked it. “Guess my family isn’t the only one with secrets. Glad I’m not really marrying into that mess,” she mumbled. She pulled her shoes off and crawled into bed. “Too bad. Thor is really gorgeous.” She smiled into her pillow, remembering the look on his face when Britney Beth was calling her names. “And so clueless.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Monday morning
Thor managed to doze off again for a couple of hours, but by six a.m. he was in the shower. He needed to get to the office. Ashley wasn’t his only client.
Strictly speaking, she wasn’t exactly a client, but then again, maybe she was. She was certainly paying her way, although not with cash. Between stunning his mother into silence on the phone and the reactions she elicited from Britney Beth, she was exhibiting a set of skills that he didn’t even know he lacked.
He dressed quickly in pressed jeans and tidy but casual layers of blue, from tee to shirt to sweater. October in Colorado could mean anything from sunshine to snow flurries.
Rocky waited patiently as Thor dressed, but pranced with excitement when he pushed the buttons to lift the rolling shutters to the deck. Thor let him out and sniffed the
air. He loved the scent of pine. And coffee.
Coffee?
He looked around the kitchen. The coffee pot had been loaded and brewed.
A moment later, Ashley appeared, quietly descending the stairs. She was fully dressed.
Thor kept his voice down. He didn’t want to wake Britney Beth.
“I have you to thank for this?”
Ashley smiled and nodded. She set her purse on the table and began tidying the boxes of letters. “I didn’t want to slow you down this morning,” she said. Her gaze moved momentarily to the door behind which lay the guest rooms and the unexpected guest.
Thor poured two mugs of coffee and handed her one. “If you don’t mind, I thought we’d get on the road and pick up breakfast in town.”
“I love that idea,” said Ashley sweetly. “Can we take the coffee with us?”
Thor grinned. He pulled a couple of dog biscuits for Rocky out of a box on the counter, closed the rolling shutters, and the three of them eased out the front door.
Once they were in the SUV and moving down the driveway, Ashley asked, “Will she be mad?”
“She won’t even be conscious for another couple of hours. I can’t rearrange my schedule every time she pops up.”
Ashley nodded and sipped her coffee. “Your property is quite the setup. Beautiful. The landscaping is exquisite. Do you do all of this in your spare time?”
Thor laughed. “No. I hire people to keep up the outside.”
Ashley turned to take in the idyllic sight. The red tin roof, the luxury log cabin, the decks, the fading fall flowers, all nestled in a glen surrounded by majestic trees, looked like something out of a movie. “This is amazing. If anything, the outside is more magnificent than the inside.”
“That’s my dad’s doing. He wants to make a statement, but he likes cozy comfort.”
“Not easy to do in a place that size.”
Thor nodded. “I like it, too.”
“Must be quite a drive when there’s snow on the ground.”
“I have a place in town for that.”
Ashley gawked. “Why did we come all the way out here, then?”
