Just One Kiss (Fool's Gold)

by Susan Mallery

  She paused. “I shouldn’t have said that, right? It’s too soon. I’m not used to having girlfriends, either. My assignments in the military put me around men, and with the traveling...” She pressed her lips together. “Not that I’m implying we’re friends. We’ve just met and—”

  Patience had been prepared to really hate Felicia. She was too beautiful not to. But after five minutes, she realized that despite the incredible good looks and perfect body and apparently the genius mind, Felicia was just like anyone else. She wanted to fit in and wasn’t sure she would be accepted for who she was.

  Patience leaned toward her. “Felicia, we’re friends. Now relax. We’re all crazy here. You get to be crazy, too.”

  Felicia nodded. “Actually the health profession doesn’t use the word crazy as a definition for mental illness.” She paused. “That’s not what you meant, is it?”

  “No.”

  Felicia nodded. “Sometimes I have that problem. I know nearly everything you can learn in a book and very little that you learn in life. Like my fear of spiders. It’s silly, really. I’ve studied arachnids in an effort to get over my ridiculous overreaction, but still, every time I see one...” She shuddered. “It’s not pretty. I simply can’t control myself. A flaw—one of many.”

  “If you’re not perfect, then you came to the right place,” Charlie told her. “Fool’s Gold is a lively town with plenty of characters. You’ll get a crash course in how the little people live.”

  “I hope I can fit in.”

  Patience saw the concern in Felicia’s eyes and touched her arm. “You’re going to do just fine.”

  * * *

  FORTY-EIGHT hours and counting, Patience thought as she put mugs into the dishwasher.

  Melissa Sutton walked into the back room with a tray in her hands. “This is the last of the dishes,” she said. “I wiped down the tables and the chairs.”

  Patience took the tray and set it on the stainless-steel counter. “Thanks, Melissa. You’re great. I appreciate all you’re doing.”

  The statement had the advantage of not only being true, but sounding so rational. It sure beat “I’m going to throw up from nerves” or “Never, ever open your own business.”

  She’d reached the place of panic, which was a little scary. With two days left before the opening, where did that leave her to go? Extreme panic? Extreme, extreme, icky panic?

  Either Patience was doing a good job of pretending to be normal or Melissa was really polite, because the eighteen-year-old only smiled.

  “I’m happy to be working here,” she said. “It’s a cool job that’s going to be lots of fun.”

  “Saving money for college?” Patience asked. Melissa was working through the summer.

  “I am. I go in late August. UC San Diego. My mom is a little nervous about me going out on my own. I keep telling her I’ll be living in a dorm and not to worry, but you know how she gets.”

  Patience wasn’t close friends with Liz Sutton-Hendrix, but they’d known each other most of their lives. Liz was a few years older. Technically Melissa and Melissa’s younger sister, Abby, were Liz’s nieces. A few years ago Liz had moved back to Fool’s Gold to raise them when their dad went to prison and their stepmom skipped out on them.

  Complicating everything was Liz’s relationship with Ethan Hendrix and the fact that he had a son Liz had never told him about. They’d worked through their issues and were happily married. Patience understood Liz’s worry about her oldest going away to school. She didn’t think she would ever be emotionally prepared to let Lillie move out.

  “You might want to go talk to Isabel at Paper Moon,” Patience told the teen. “She had an unexpected experience at UCLA. You need to avoid what she did.”

  Melissa laughed. “It didn’t go well?”

  “She had beautiful highlights and a fabulous surfer boyfriend, but didn’t do so well with the going-to-class part.”

  “That’s never good.”

  “It’s not.”

  Melissa shook her head. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m big on being responsible. I would never blow off class for a guy.”

  “Good for you. Picked a major yet?”

  “I’m looking at a couple of different options. What I do know is that I’m going to law school. I’m thinking Harvard.”

  “Ambitious. You don’t want to be a writer like your mom?”

  “I think I have just enough of her skill to write a good brief.” Melissa untied her apron. “I’ll be here at four opening morning.”

  “Me, too,” Patience said. “You sure you can get up that early, then go to class?”

  Until high school was over in June, Melissa would work mostly on weekends and a couple of evenings. But she had wanted to work on opening morning.

  “You’re going to be super busy. You know how the town loves a grand opening,” Melissa said. “I can be sleepy for one day.”

  “Thanks.”

  The teen waved, then left.

  Patience watched her go, thinking Liz and Ethan must be so proud. They had three great kids.

  She finished loading the mugs and plates, then turned on the dishwasher. Their last practice run had gone well. She’d kept the numbers small and by invitation only, and they’d worked out a few kinks with the espresso machine. The rest of her coffee would be delivered tomorrow morning, along with most of the food.

  Patience pressed a hand to her stomach and wondered how she was going to get through it. Talk about being on edge.

  But despite her nerves, she knew she’d made the right decision. Great-Aunt Becky had given her a wonderful opportunity. The store had been her dream for a long time. She wanted to be a part of the fabric of Fool’s Gold. To be one of the small businesses in town. To have a place in people’s memories.

  Because that’s what this place was about—making memories. Mrs. Elder, the head librarian, had been the one to hand Patience her first Judy Blume book. Years later, Patience had been in Morgan’s Books when she’d realized her feelings for Justice weren’t just friendship. She’d been fourteen, it had been a Tuesday and they’d been browsing. He’d turned to tell her something. She remembered how blue his eyes had been and how his hand had accidentally brushed against hers. She’d felt the tingles clear to her heart.

  Later, in high school, she’d had her first kiss in Pyrite Park, after the Fourth of July fireworks show. A couple of years later, when she’d realized she and Ned would have to get married, she’d gone window-shopping at Jenel’s Gems. Not that they’d bought her ring there. Ned had claimed it was too expensive and why did she need an engagement ring? He’d purchased a plain gold band somewhere in Sacramento and she’d convinced herself it was enough.

  Good and bad memories, she thought. But all in this town, and she wanted future generations to remember being at Brew-haha. Which meant she was going to have to pull herself together and survive the terror of opening in the first place.

  She walked into the main part of the store only to find someone stepping through the unlocked front door. Patience recognized the tall, beautiful redhead at once.

  “Felicia. Hi.”

  Felicia gave her a tentative smile. “I know you’re not officially open, so don’t worry. I won’t try to buy anything. I just wanted to talk to you. Or check with you. Check in would be more accurate, of course.” Long, slender fingers twisted together. “It’s about the dinner the other night when I shared far too much information. When I get nervous, I talk too much. Overexplaining and babbling are a way to show a person isn’t dangerous or trying to obtain higher social status. Animals do that all the time, in their own ways.” She pressed her lips together. “And I’m doing it right now.”

  Patience pointed to one of the chairs. “Have a seat.”

  “Thank you.”

  Felicia sat down gracefully. Patience settled across from her.

  “You’re unique,” Patience said. “I’m now picturing you as a very elegant dog, maybe a poodle, showing your belly to u
s.”

  “That’s a good description. Not the poodle part. I like to think I’m more like a pit bull.”

  “Sorry, no. You’re all poodle. Besides, they’re considered very intelligent.”

  Felicia nodded, her expression resigned. “Yes, there is that. But I would like to be intimidating and tough.”

  “If it helps, you’re intimidating.”

  “But only because I’m freakishly smart, right?”

  “Isn’t that enough? I’m not intimidating at all.” Patience wasn’t sure how they’d gotten into this line of conversation, but she found herself having a good time. Apparently she really did like Felicia.

  “You’re very warm and welcoming,” Felicia told her. “I can see why Justice likes you so much.”

  “He does?”

  “Yes. I can see it in the way he looks at you.” She leaned forward. “He never looked at me that way at all. He sees me as his baby sister. I like it. He’s my family. But back when I was younger, I desperately wanted to belong in a more romantic way. I thought my virginity was the problem. I was twenty-four years old and I’d never even been kissed. So one night I begged Justice to get drunk enough that we could have sex and...”

  Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened. “I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

  “Yes, you are,” Patience said, not sure if she was more stunned or amused. She supposed that because they were discussing Felicia trying to sleep with Justice, stunned won. “And you’re going to tell me what happened.”

  Felicia seemed to crumble in her seat. “Nothing. Nothing happened. He wouldn’t even consider it. He put his arm around me and told me one day I would find a man who would appreciate all of me. Then he walked away. I was crushed.”

  “I’m sorry,” Patience said, and found she actually was. She wouldn’t have liked knowing Justice and Felicia had been intimate, but she could understand the other woman’s pain. No one liked being rejected, no matter the circumstances.

  “I got over it.” Felicia shrugged. “I went to the local bar where the security guys hung out and got one to buy me a drink. He took me back to his room and...”

  This time when she paused, it was to smile. “Let me say I discovered I was very fond of orgasms.”

  “Virginity cured.”

  “It was.”

  “And the guy?”

  “That was an unhappy ending. Justice and one of his friends broke down the hotel room door the next morning. Justice thought he was saving me, but he wasn’t. I never saw the man again.” She hesitated, as if she was going to say more.

  When she didn’t, Patience spoke. “Justice really broke down the door?”

  “Yes. He’s quite strong. All the Special Forces guys are. If we were in a pack, Justice would be the alpha male. There’s both status and safety in belonging to him, you know.”

  “And here I thought all the good news was about the orgasms.”

  Felicia laughed. “That, too.” Her smile faded. “I want to ask you a question and I’d appreciate you being honest with me.”

  “Sure.”

  “Do you think it’s possible for me to fit in here? In Fool’s Gold? I’m going to help Justice and Ford get their business started, but after that’s done, I want to get out of the security business. I want normal.”

  “Normal can be boring.”

  “That’s okay. I’m so tired of not belonging.”

  Patience leaned toward her. “I hope you decide to stay here, Felicia. Fool’s Gold would be lucky to have you.”

  Felicia flashed her a dazzling smile. “Thank you. I was thinking I could be a teacher. Maybe kindergarten.”

  “An interesting idea.” Patience had a feeling Felicia would bring her unique brand of brilliance to whatever it was she decided to do.

  “You don’t think I’d frighten the children?”

  “No, but you’d terrify their parents, and that’s not a bad thing.”

  Felicia drew in a breath. “Thanks for talking to me today. I feel better. I know I’m a little awkward and you’ve made me think I can do all right here.”

  “You’ll be fine. You’ve already started making friends.”

  “I have. Justice said I’d do well here. He said everyone was very welcoming when he was here before. When he was a teenager.”

  “Right. That was the strangest thing.” She still couldn’t believe she’d known someone who had been a protected witness. “One day Justice was here and the next he was gone.”

  “You know his father had been sighted in the area?”

  “Uh-huh. Now. But back then all I knew was that I’d lost a close friend.” And the first boy she’d ever liked. “I guess his dad was really scary.”

  “Bart Hanson was a sociopath,” Felicia said flatly. “Justice worries he has too much of his father in him. I’ve told him that pathologically, they’re nothing alike, but he won’t listen. His concerns aren’t rooted in fact.”

  “That doesn’t make them any less real.”

  “I know. The human mind is a constant surprise. All the logic and facts available can be meaningless when put up against a visceral emotion. Like my fear of spiders. I try to stay focused on reality rather than feelings, but I’m not always successful.”

  “Welcome to my world,” Patience told her. She hesitated, then asked, “Do you think Justice will stay?”

  “He’s said he will.” Felicia nodded. “You’re attracted to him.”

  “Very much so. But I don’t want to get my heart broken.”

  Felicia tucked her long, wavy hair behind her ears. “You know the heart doesn’t really break.”

  Patience laughed. “Yes, I know.”

  “Although there have been studies that show the sadness of losing a loved one can physically damage...” She cleared her throat. “Never mind. No one finds that sort of thing noteworthy except me. Justice keeps a lot of his emotions to himself. He doesn’t trust easily. He would die for someone he cares about, but I’m not sure he’s ever admitted to loving anyone. He wants to settle here. He’s never wanted to put down roots before. I realize these are disjointed facts, but I believe they point to a logical conclusion.”

  “That while Justice might be staying, he’s also a risky man to fall for.”

  Felicia sighed. “Yes. I need to learn to be more succinct and colloquial.”

  “I like you just as you are.”

  “You’re very kind.”

  “Not really. Ask anyone.”

  Felicia laughed. Patience joined in and knew that whatever happened with Justice, she’d just made a friend. And that meant today was a very good day.

  * * *

  THE TOWN OF Fool’s Gold relied on tourists for a steady stream of income. There was skiing in the winter, the wineries and lakes in the summer. Hiking, biking and all the adorable shops in town. But what drew the really big crowds were the festivals. They were well-known and much loved.

  The town didn’t just celebrate traditional events like the Fourth of July or Christmas. There was the Great Casserole Cook-off and the Sierra Nevada Balloon Festival.

  Patience knew that being a part of the town’s festivals would mean more tourists in her store. To make sure that happened, she’d set up an appointment with Pia Moreno, who was in charge of all things festival.

  She climbed the stairs to Pia’s office two minutes before the time of their appointment and knocked on the half-open door.

  “Hi,” she said as she entered.

  Pia, a pretty woman in her early thirties, looked up. Her curly hair was mussed and her hazel eyes seemed slightly glazed.

  “Hi, Patience. Did we have a meeting today?”

  “Yes. My store opens tomorrow and I wanted to talk about how I could support the festivals. You know, advertise in my windows and be a part of things. Tulip-shaped cookies for the Tulip Festival and a special Fourth of July iced coffee drink. That sort of thing.”

  Pia stared at her. “That’s great. Clever. Sure. It would help us and your busine
ss. We’re very supportive of new businesses in town. I hope you know that. How much we’re going to support you.”

  Without warning, tears filled her eyes. “Oh God, I just can’t do this.”

  Patience froze in the center of the small room, not sure what to do. “Pia? What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well? Has there been some bad news?”

  Pia shook her head and dug a tissue out of a drawer. “I’m fine. Seriously, it’s okay.” She drew in a breath and let out another little sob. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m just so tired all the time.”

  Patience inched closer. “Can I get you something? Water?”

  “No.” Pia waved her hand toward the chair on the other side of her desk. “I’m running in circles. The twins are two and Peter is thirteen. Raoul is so great and supportive, but he’s busy with his work and I’m tired all the time. Do you know the festivals are every month? I used to love that, but lately I’m constantly scrambling. I feel like I’m failing everyone and if I could just sleep more I’d be fine.” Tears trickled down her face. “I’m so sorry. I’m frightening you.”

  “No. I want to help. Just tell me what to do.”

  Pia blew her nose. “I’m a disaster. Let’s reschedule this for when I’m sane, okay? I’ll make sure Brew-haha gets added to the list of stores taking posters. And I’ll add you to our business email loop. I’m in charge of that, too. I swear, I need to tell Mayor Marsha we need a new business-development person. And we’re out of milk. I knew I forgot something at the grocery store.”

  She scribbled a note, then glanced up at Patience, her expression perfectly blank. As if she’d completely forgotten she was there.

  “We’ll reschedule,” Patience said, coming to her feet. “When things calm down.”

  “Thank you. I’m sorry for the meltdown.”

  “No problem. I’m opening my business tomorrow. Come see me at three. I’m sure I’ll be hysterical.”

  Pia offered a slight smile. “Right. We can bond.”

  Patience let herself out, then walked down the stairs to the street. Whatever was going on with Pia, Patience hoped it got straightened out and soon. The poor woman sounded as if she couldn’t take on one more thing.