“You so deserve a cookie. They’re really good too. Take two.” Hannah beamed at him.
“You can’t really turn Jonas into a toad, can you? I think Sabelia threatened Preacher with turning him into one the other day.”
Hannah inspected her fingernails. “I have considered it. It would certainly serve him right. He doesn’t like toads, especially in his house or around his precious cars. He might just be having a bad day.”
Player couldn’t help grinning. “You really are a badass, aren’t you?”
“Yep.” She said it smugly.
“And a troublemaker.”
“Sometimes. When it’s called for. And it’s called for. Do you like that scent? Do you think she will? It will really work well for massaging her body. And it’s edible. When you massage this into her skin, you use a slightly different technique. Let me show you.”
Player extended his arm to her, and Hannah poured some lotion from a small cup she had set aside on the table into her palms. “You have to rub it to activate it. Here, smell it now.” She held her palm under his nose.
The fragrance reminded him of Zyah, but set off his addiction for her. He could taste her in his mouth. He had to work very hard to keep his body from reacting. The tea shop was filled with women, his lady included, and her grandmother, and he was having lustful thoughts triggered by the scent of lotion. Great. Just great. “That’s amazing, Hannah. It smells just like Zyah. How did you manage to do that when you’d never met her?”
Hannah brought the lotion back to her nose and used her hand to send the scent to her. “I got it right? I’m so glad. I made one for her to massage you with as well. Actually, I’ll confess, it was a collaboration between Preacher and me. He really is talented. His gift is so strong. Sea Haven attracts many with various talents of different strengths, but truly, his is quite rare.”
“You said Sabelia was apprenticing under you. Is she like Preacher?”
Hannah glanced up to look at Sabelia, who was waiting on two ladies at a table close to the large one where Zyah was. One of the two women was the physical therapist from out of town. She was having an animated conversation with a woman who looked to be about fifty. The two were laughing and seemed very relaxed. The older woman clearly knew Sabelia and had been in the shop often.
A shadow crossed Hannah’s face. “No, Sabelia is more like me. Everyone has to choose their own path. We can’t choose for them. I grew up in a loving environment. I don’t know what I would have been like with the kinds of powers I had if I hadn’t had a moral compass. Life has not been as kind to Sabelia. She has yet to choose her way. I can only hope that my genuine caring will influence her toward a better path.”
She reached for his arm. “Let me show you the pressure you’ll want to use on her back and down her body when you start. This has a cinnamic-honey background, and it will begin to heat, which, trust me, is what you want. You really will like the taste.”
He already knew that. He had it in his mouth without bringing his arm up to his lips. The temptation was strong.
The bells jangled loudly, a burst of sound, and Player instinctively jerked his head up. Hannah stayed very relaxed, not turning around. Lana and Alena went on alert. Blythe put her hand over her mouth, hiding a smile. Player took the entire room in with one look. He didn’t jerk his arm away from Hannah, but that was only because he was so disciplined. Jonas stalked across the room, fire in his eyes.
Jonas stood a foot from the table, fists on his hips, glaring at them. His gaze encompassed his wife and her delicate hands as they continued massaging Player’s arm, Player sitting with his mug of coffee and the plate of cookies close to him, and then those fiery blue eyes swept back to his wife.
“This again, Hannah? What exactly is going on here?”
“What does it look like is going on, Jonas?”
Player winced at that tone. So very low and sweet. There was one tiny little note that should have been a warning to any male with half a brain to put the brakes on. Even though Jonas was the sheriff and technically it wasn’t a bad thing for him to get taken down, Player wanted to warn the man. Hannah was no one to mess with. Jonas should know that.
“It looks to me like you’re holding hands with that man, that’s what it looks like.”
“You’ll need to turn that firearm in immediately. Clearly, you’re going blind. I’ll make an appointment for you with the eye doctor when I’m on my next break.”
Her hands never stopped moving on Player’s arm, her fingers working their way down his forearm and, honestly, it felt more than good, so he just relaxed and took a bite of cookie, beginning to enjoy himself.
Jonas glared at him. “I believe you’ve got your hands on my wife.”
“She’s right about your need for glasses, Jonas,” Player said, waving the cookie around, making certain Jonas got a good whiff of the awesome aroma. “My hands are on the coffee mug and this really excellent cookie. Did you bake it, Hannah?”
“I did, Player.”
Jonas made a sound of pure exasperation. “There are toads in my car, Hannah.”
Player nearly spewed coffee across the table.
Hannah raised a casual eyebrow. “How is that my problem?”
“Woman, you know damn well you had something to do with putting them in my car. Get them out.”
“I’m working, Jonas. I don’t have time to catch toads and put them in your car. I believe you’ve had problems with them in the past. It seems to me that you attract the toads to you.”
Jonas leaned over her shoulder and reached for a cookie. The plate slid out of his reach, and sparks hit the ends of his fingers, zapping him. Player decided he needed to be back with the women at the large table, where it was safe. He stayed very still. There hadn’t even been a surge of power, but the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
“Hannah. Princess. You’re upset with me.” Jonas’s tone changed immediately. Gentled. Was conciliatory. “This is about last night, isn’t it?”
She kept her face averted, but her fingers on Player’s arm dug deeper. He wanted to find a way to gracefully remind both of them he was there so he could leave, but suddenly the two of them were locked into a tight intimate bubble where it was only the two of them.
“Hannah, I was out of line, but you know I lose my mind when I think you’re in any kind of danger. That’s the one thing I can’t handle. That’s no excuse for the way I acted.” Jonas ran both hands through his hair. “I think better when I’m eating cookies, baby, you know I do.”
Player was impressed. He was all about learning from the pros, and clearly Jonas was a pro. The plate of cookies floated straight to Jonas. He scooped up half the contents on the plate, smart enough to know if he blew it, he wouldn’t get a second chance.
“I want this for us, Hannah, but not at the expense of your life. We have to be safe.”
Hannah’s fingers dug so hard into Player’s muscle he was grateful he’d learned at a young age not to react.
“I’m not letting someone who wanted to hack me to pieces dictate whether or not I can have children, Jonas.”
The pain in her voice alarmed Player. The sorrow. It went so deep he was afraid if she let it loose, everyone in that shop would drown in it.
“No one will dictate to us, Hannah,” Jonas assured. “We just have to find a better way than last time. A safer way.”
Player cleared his throat to remind them both that he was there. “Jonas, if she cries, I’m going to pull that gun out of the holster and shoot you right in front of all these women here. So better I just go over to the table where some of my crew is leaving. I can say good-bye and you can grovel like you should without a witness.”
The love between the two of them was right out there where anyone could see. Unashamed. Strong. The way Czar and Blythe were. That was what Player wanted with Zyah.
Hannah let go of his arm immediately. “I’m so sorry, Player, you didn’t need to get caught up in our drama.”
“Anything to do with toads is always fascinating, Hannah,” Player said lamely as he slid off the chair. He nailed the last remaining cookies for himself, figuring he’d earned them. “We’ll be here for a while. Anat wanted to sample your luncheon special, so after the others leave, we’ll be eating.”
Hannah nodded. “That’s good. I can show you after and maybe work a little with Zyah.”
Player made his escape just as Soleil, Anya, Breezy and Scarlet left. Blythe and Zyah took Anat to the ladies’ room, leaving him to join Alena and Lana. As he did, Terrie Frankle, the physical therapist, waved them over to her table.
“Player, this is Lucy Bellmont. I was telling her that your club owns quite a bit of the properties in Caspar. She’s lived there most of her life. Lucy, this is Player. I met him at the Gamal house.”
Player gave the Bellmont woman a smile, all the while wondering what Terrie wanted. Terrie was always unfailingly sweet to Anat, but the moment Terrie had insisted she wanted to be alone with the older woman and Anat had clearly been in pain after, he had changed his mind about the physical therapist. Now, watching her closely, he wasn’t so certain anything about her was genuine.
“This is Alena and Lana,” he introduced his Torpedo Ink sisters and waited for Terrie to have her say.
“Lucy is interested in a job at the grocery store in Caspar, Player. I know Zyah works there and Inez has something to do with the store. Do you have any idea if Lucy should just go into the store and get an application or does she have to go into the one here in Sea Haven? That was what she was going to do.”
Terrie liked to be in the know. Or was she trying to determine whether or not Torpedo Ink owned the store with Inez? It was a safe bet that they did, since they owned a good deal of the downtown properties, just as Terrie had pointed out.
“I think if you put in your application at either of the stores, Inez would be fine with it,” Lana answered for him. “I happen to know she’s working at the Caspar store today, so she might even interview you on the spot. Another woman was going there today in the hopes she had time to interview. They need a lot of help.”
Lucy broke into a smile after looking a little strained, as if she hadn’t been so happy that Terrie had asked Player for help. “Thank you.”
“Inez really does own the store, then?” Terrie asked.
“That’s the word on the street,” Lana said. “Torpedo Ink has been helping her out with stocking until she can get it up and running. Good help isn’t easy to find.”
Player’s gaze flicked to Terrie’s face. She’d definitely been looking for information. “Enjoy your lunch, ladies.” He stepped back to make room for Anat’s wheelchair to get through the aisle back to her place.
“Did I miss anything important?” Anat asked.
Player leaned over and brushed a kiss on her cheek. “Only that I saved you a cookie and I refrained from shooting the sheriff. I think his wife put a bunch of toads in his car. That’s a gift that could come in handy.”
Sabelia cleared the empty hat cups from the table, pausing to agree. “I believe you’re right, Player. I’ve been trying to perfect that one. I do need something to practice on. You wouldn’t give me the make and model of the vehicle Preacher drives, would you?” She used her sweetest voice.
Lana swung around. “Is my brother deserving of toads in his personal truck?”
“Preacher is your brother?” Sabelia straightened to her full height, which was a little ridiculous next to Lana’s tall figure. “I mean aside from being Torpedo Ink.”
“Yes.”
Sabelia flashed an impish smile. “He was extremely rude and called me a moron along with a wealth of other things. But I also was just as rude back, and he didn’t get me fired, so we’re even, and I don’t know how to put toads in his truck unless I catch them, which I have no intention of doing. I just thought if I was going to practice something like that, he might be a good one to practice on. At least his vehicle.”
“If you decide to pursue your craft, let me know. I’ll do all I can to assist you,” Lana said.
Sabelia laughed. Player thought the sound lifted some of the darker shadows talking with Terrie had given him. Sabelia’s laughter had a similar tone to Hannah’s when it was real.
Lana slipped into the seat across from Anat, intent on striking up a conversation with her and Blythe. Player didn’t blame her. Anat was a gift, and just being close to her could brighten anyone’s world. He wanted to be near Zyah. He looked around for her. Alena and Zyah stood by the window, looking out at the street. He joined them, crowding close to his woman, inhaling her scent, breathing away the last traces of gloom.
Zyah leaned into Player when he wrapped his arms around her waist. She loved the feel of his body against hers. His strength, and the way he was unflinchingly so possessive, so proud to let everyone know she was with him, made her feel inexplicably happy. She didn’t need a man to be confident. She knew who she was, but being with Player brought her joy.
He had given Anat a wonderful time with so many visitors. Her grandmother was in her element when she was regaling others with tales of her past and her colorful homeland. She was a good listener as well, encouraging others to tell her everything about themselves. Those qualities made her popular among old and young alike.
Player and Zyah hadn’t wanted to tire her out on her first real day out, so they had chosen to take her to the Floating Hat for tea and a luncheon. Blythe, Alena and Lana were going to join them. She didn’t know if it was a coincidence, but it was wonderful that Breezy, Anya, Soleil and Scarlet had happened in for tea as well. Anat had really enjoyed meeting them.
Alena slung her arm around Zyah. “I could have used you at the restaurant last night—we were slammed.” She nodded toward Jonas. “He had to come in last night because that little weasel Perry Randall wouldn’t answer his cell phone.”
“What was wrong? He was having dinner with Francine.”
Suddenly, there it was, all over again: that terrible dread Zyah had been feeling from the night before. She’d thought the premonition was over her grandfather’s drawing, but the feeling had hit her long before she’d gotten home. It had started right when Francine had driven up to the curb drunk in her grandmother’s prized Cadillac. She found herself pressing her body closer into Player’s.
“Perry’s parents were robbed and attacked last night,” Alena continued. She half turned to keep her body slightly at an angle away from Anat.
Player tightened his arms around Zyah’s waist, and she was grateful for his support.
“Why did Jonas come looking for him so quickly? How bad was it?” Player asked Alena the question Zyah had wanted to ask but couldn’t get the words out. She was terrified of the answer.
“His father is in a coma, Player. I don’t think he’s going to make it. And his mother isn’t in much better condition. Honestly, from what I understand, Perry could lose both his parents. Jonas, of course, didn’t tell Perry that, only that it was bad and Perry needed to get to the hospital. Blythe told me this morning when I asked. She’s got connections at the hospital.”
Zyah pressed her hand to her stomach, afraid she might vomit. Who in the world would beat older people to such an extent that they would put them in the hospital? Almost kill them?
“The thieves are escalating just the way Jonas said they were. I don’t understand why they aren’t leaving town the way they have every other place they’ve robbed,” Player said.
“Did Perry go to the hospital right away?” Zyah asked. “He never seemed very close to his parents, and from what my grandmother implied once when she talked about him, he didn’t treat them very well; he acted kind of mean to them. Still, I would hope he would have gone.”
There was a part of her that wanted him to be the informant. The local man helping the robbers. She wanted him to be vile enough to serve his own parents up to the robbers in order to keep the cops from looking his way, not realizing the thieves would kill him before they l
eft town.
Alena nodded. “He turned almost white. He looked shocked. The weird thing was, Francine didn’t look so shocked. She must have been drunker than I thought, because it seemed to take a good while before it sank in that Perry’s parents were in the hospital. She kept chattering away and acting like they had all the time in the world before they had to leave. She even had her phone out and was texting. She pouted because she was going to miss dessert. He finally got exasperated and told her to catch a ride home with someone else, that he had to go right then. She left with him, but it only seemed to sink in right before they left that something was wrong.”
Zyah froze, everything in her going still. She had been missing something all along. Francine was texting. She’d been angry when Zyah refused to have Player come to dinner with her. When Francine was angry, she always struck out verbally—which she had. She was already fairly drunk. The robbers had an inside person—someone close to the elderly community. No way would Francine ever condone hurting her grandmother. Would she anyone else? Francine might not like Zyah, but she did like Anat. Didn’t she? And what about Lizz’s other friends?
Surely the things going through her mind couldn’t possibly be the truth. She didn’t want to even consider such a possibility. Had Francine been trying to get Zyah out of the way, taking her to dinner so someone could get back into her grandmother’s house? When she’d learned that Player was with her grandmother, had she insisted that he come to dinner with them in order to get him out of the house? Zyah didn’t want to think those thoughts, but they wouldn’t stop.
“What is it, baby?” Player asked, his lips against her ear.
She shook her head. She didn’t want to voice her doubts out loud. Certainly not in the tearoom, where someone might overhear her. She could barely allow herself to consider that Francine would really set Anat up to be beaten and robbed. Not just Anat, but all of Lizz’s friends in the community. Could she really sit at dinner with Perry, knowing his parents were being robbed? Would she go to a motel with him? Or worse, go to the guesthouse on his parents’ property and have sex with him knowing his parents were being assaulted? The idea sickened Zyah. Was Francine really capable of that kind of behavior?
Reckless Road Page 35
