by Tara Rose
Larry Wilson worked for Whitney Restorations as well as for Mateo, and he had fallen off a ladder while on a job for Van Whitney. Van had finally confessed to Mateo that Larry had been drunk at the time of his accident.
If Van were any other person, Larry would have been out of a job. But Van had played high school football with Larry and most of the other men on his crew, and he had cut Larry a break because he was such a good worker under normal circumstances. Mateo had agreed to do the same. Larry had broken his left femur in the fall, and while he was now healing and progressing in his physical therapy as expected, he was having a difficult time emotionally because he’d fallen off the wagon again.
Mateo’s father had been a mean drunk, but not everyone in town knew that. Mateo had been urging Larry to attend AA meetings, or get involved at Open Arms, without telling him about his father. He hated to see anyone go through what his father had, but there were some things the residents of Passion Peak didn’t need to know about the Alvarado family.
Bridget Lamb, a Passion Peak native, ran a non-profit support and counseling center on Blue Spruce Lane called Open Arms. Among the services they offered were alcoholism support and counseling. Mateo and his brother, Pedro, had tried to get their father to attend several years before he died, but he’d refused. Mateo had already reached out to Bridget and told her that if Larry sought treatment, he’d pay for it, but of course Mateo couldn’t tell Larry that either. It would break the man’s pride.
As Mateo walked toward his family’s ranch, he sucked in deep gulps of fresh, fragrant air. It was going to be another hot, sunny day. He loved this time of year, when birds sang all day and insects sang all night. The air was lush with the smells he’d grown up with, and the long days stretched out endlessly.
When he reached the outskirts of town and neared the billboard on the corner of Sandcherry Road and Apache Streets, thoughts of Larry vanished as he was reminded of Carma. The model advertising body lotion resembled her, with dark hair and chocolate-colored eyes. She had a body like he imagined Carma’s was, too—luscious curves and sexy as hell. Each time he passed this particular billboard he fantasized about what it would be like to make love to Carma.
Mateo’s dick grew hard as he turned onto Apache Street. Perfect. Now he’d have to walk the rest of the way with a fucking hard-on. That would teach him to linger downtown again. It was obvious she’d been dancing around the issue of whether he was available. So why was he always such a prick to her? He should have invited her out to the ranch tonight. They could build a fire under the stars and worship each other’s bodies, far away from prying eyes and the cares of everyday life.
Carmella Mandanici had been the woman of his ultimate fantasies for so long, he couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t invaded his dreams at night. But would she want to go out with him? Most women in this town avoided him because his ancestors had done such a great job of setting up the family as rich but aloof. He’d kept to himself so much in high school that it had only perpetuated the myth. None of them had any idea that Mateo had simply been shielding others from the chaos inside his own home.
When she’d asked him today how his dating life was going, he’d wanted so badly to tell her about his ex-fiancée, Fiona, but he couldn’t do that in the middle of the salon. Would telling her help him resolve this dilemma? It would more than likely help her understand why he was so closed off, but would knowing about Fiona cause her to pull away from him?
He wasn’t surprised she hadn’t heard about Fiona’s suicide two years ago. Not even most of his employees knew. He and Fiona had lived together at the ranch, but they’d kept to themselves a lot. Fiona had wanted it that way, although it had made Mateo feel isolated from the rest of the world.
They’d been together for only a year before her death, but if she had lived, her insistence that they never socialize would have eventually driven a wedge between them. Mateo needed to be among his family and friends, and he’d grown weary of avoiding direct questions and outright lying to everyone.
He’d been so enchanted with her that he’d asked her to marry him soon after they’d begun dating, and she’d moved in the next day. If his impetuousness had surprised his family and employees, they hadn’t said anything, but then again, Mateo’s family was known for keeping their feelings close to the vest. As for his employees, they were loyal and wouldn’t have felt it was their place to say anything.
After Fiona’s death, Mateo had arranged for her body to be taken to her hometown of Brighton at the request of her family. Detective Tommy Farley had promised Mateo he’d keep it out of the papers, and he’d kept that promise. Fiona’s death had been explained to his family and employees as the consequence of natural causes, and no one had questioned it, at least as far as Mateo had heard. Even in a town this small some secrets were possible.
Mateo shook his head to try and clear memories of Fiona and the reasons behind her suicide. Nothing would bring her back. But he wondered how long it would take for him to stop feeling guilty. He had no reason to, but he still couldn’t help wonder if there were signs he should have seen.
As he walked onto the property, he waved to the field hands separating the ewes from their lambs. It was carefully timed work, and by the time Mateo had taken over the business as soon as he graduated from Colorado State University, the procedures had already been in place. All he’d done was hire more seasonal workers, like Larry.
Now, he and his brother Pedro ran the business together, and since their father’s death, they’d increased the net worth of Mystic Ridge Enterprises by over two hundred percent. It was amazing what being sober and committed did for the bottom line.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he called to Brian Weller, his ranch foreman. Time to get to work. As he walked inside the main house and sprinted up the stairs to his bedroom to change clothes, his thoughts drifted back to Carma. If he didn’t take the plunge and ask her out, her soon-to-be newest customer, Blaine Peterson, most certainly would. Carma was his type.
He hadn’t actually recommended her as a stylist to Blaine. Blaine had never been to Passion Peak, and had asked about the salon, among other businesses, during one of their phone conversations after Blaine had started making plans to move here. Since it was the only salon in town, Mateo hadn’t had much choice but to mention it by name.
But Blaine had called Expressions on his own. Darlene was the one who had told him that Carma was their top stylist. When Blaine asked Mateo if he knew her, Mateo had told him he’d been going to her for years. What else could he have said, after all?
He’d been backed into a corner, and there had been no way out of it except to tell Blaine he’d let Carma know to expect him as a new client. Even if Mateo had recommended another stylist, it wouldn’t have mattered. Jocelyn Devlan, who owned Expressions, only employed four stylists. Sooner or later, Blaine would have spotted Carma.
If Mateo didn’t make a move soon, he’d lose his chance. Blaine had wooed girls away from Mateo all through college, but he’d be damned if he’d let him steal Carma out from under his nose.
It was time to move on. Fiona had been dead for two years now. He couldn’t bring her back, and Mateo was lonely. He was so lonely that at times the physical pain of his despair rendered him useless. He’d worshipped Carma from afar for too long. Blaine moving to Passion Peak was exactly the impetus he needed to get out of this self-imposed funk and live his life again.
Chapter Two
Carma always marveled at the sight of Van and Rowena’s house on Arapaho Lane. The home had belonged to Rowena’s great-aunt Lunette Gallagher, whom everyone had called Aunt Loony. Aunt Loony had left it to Rowena after she’d died three years ago, and Rowena had had it completely remodeled. Van’s company had done the work, and he and Rowena had fallen in love during the process.
The house had been styled after the Carson Mansion in California, but Rowena and Van had painted it teal, raspberry, and cobalt blue. Although that color scheme was much
bolder than the colors on the Carson Mansion, it fit somehow, and had certainly done a lot to brighten up this street.
She pulled into the driveway and squealed in delight at the sight of the car with Indiana plates. She sprinted up the front steps, opened the front door, and stepped inside where the smells of olive oil and pasta greeted her. Annalise’s pasta would taste perfect right now.
Snowball, Rowena’s cat, jumped out at her from behind a table in the foyer, and Carma picked up the white ball of thick fur to stroke under her chin the way she liked. She wandered into the kitchen, and the excited scream from Annalise spooked Snowball. The cat jumped out of her arms and Carma gave her cousin a tight hug. Annalise looked happier than Carma could ever remember seeing her. Finding Dustin and Chad had obviously done her a world of good.
“Come here.” Annalise took her hand and led her into the dining room, where Van and two men that Carma assumed were Chad and Dustin sat stuffing their faces full of angel-hair pasta coated with Annalise’s special red sauce. She and Annalise had both learned how to make it from their great-aunt Petronella, but only Annalise could make it taste as good as Aunt Pet’s. “I want you to meet my Doms. Stop eating and say hello to my cousin Carma, you two.”
“Nice to meet you both.” She shook hands with both Dustin and Chad as fresh jealousy coursed through her body. Everyone in this house, except her and Snowball, were having sex. And Snowball probably had a tomcat hanging around outside, just waiting for his chance.
Dustin had dark hair and dark eyes, and Chad was blond and blue-eyed, like Van. Both men were gorgeous, and while Carma was very happy for her favorite cousin, she couldn’t help but let her mind wander to Mateo. Would she ever introduce him as anything other than a client?
“That’s amazing,” said Dustin, eyeing her first and then Annalise. “You two look so much alike you could be sisters.”
“We used to pretend we were,” said Carma. “When I would spend summers in Bellefontaine, Ohio with Annalise and her parents, we’d always fantasize that we were actually long-lost sisters who’d been separated as infants.”
“I always wanted a sister,” said Annalise, perching on the edge of the dining room table.
Carma rolled her eyes. “I told you that you could come live here and share my room with Coco anytime you wanted. I’d have gladly taken your big corner room in Ohio for my own.”
Annalise laughed and pushed her curly dark hair out of her eyes. “What a damn slob she was.” She addressed Dustin and Chad. “We used to come here for Christmas, and I although I loved seeing the mountains and being with Carma, I couldn’t wait to get back home. You know how you two leave the toilet seats up and don’t hang up wet towels, well imagine that mess times ten. That was Coco. I’d always use the bathroom her brothers did because it was cleaner.”
“I know how to cure them from leaving toilet seats up.” Rowena walked in, carrying a steaming bowel of pasta, and placed it in Carma’s hands. Carma took the seat next to Van at the table.
Van raised his eyes from his bowl long enough to hand Carma a clean fork, and then he addressed Dustin and Chad. “Don’t listen to her. If Rowena had her way, the damn toilet seats would be glued down.”
Carma nearly choked on her food. She’d always loved Van’s sense of humor.
Rowena gave him a droll look. “Annalise, just start leaving your used tampons all over the place. And when they complain, tell them that you’ll start properly disposing of them as soon as they learn how to put down toilet seats and hang up wet towels.”
Annalise and Carma laughed, but Dustin and Chad looked like they’d just been caught jerking off. Carma wondered if Annalise had warned them beforehand about Rowena’s tell-it-like-it-is attitude.
“And as for sisters, you can keep them,” said Rowena. “Emma was not only a slob, she took up ninety percent of our room with all her crap.”
Carma nodded in agreement. She’d always despised Rowena’s older sister. She was bossy and condescending.
“I’ll bring in the rest of dinner,” said Rowena.
Carma rose from her chair. “Let me help.” Annalise also rose to join them in Rowena’s huge kitchen.
“Carma,” said Rowena, “when I said I’d love to have Annalise stay here with Chad and Dustin, you forgot to warn me her Doms were so damn gorgeous.” Rowena addressed Annalise. “How did you end up with both of them? What’s going on in Indiana that we should know about?”
Carma laughed. “I just met them. I didn’t know they were gorgeous. And I want to know details, too. How did all this happen, Annalise?”
Annalise gave Carma a desperate look that she recognized well. It said Annalise would talk about it on her own terms, in her own time. “It’s a long story. So, not that I want to change the subject or anything, but what’s going on with your love life, Carma?”
“What love life? It’s not going anywhere.” Carma picked up the bowl of roasted veggies that Rowena had placed a large spoon into. “I live vicariously through you and Rowena.” She wanted to talk to Annalise and Rowena about Mateo, but not in front of Van, Dustin, and Chad.
Rowena grabbed the basket of garlic bread and left the room. Annalise took the salad bowl, and as she started to follow Rowena into the dining room, Carma spoke, forcing her voice to remain neutral. “Do you know if Michael will be at the funeral or the will reading?”
“No clue. Last time I spoke with Nadine she said she hadn’t heard from him in about a year, and I don’t think he was ever in touch with anyone else. At least, that’s how she’d made it sound.”
Carma gripped the bowl tighter so she wouldn’t drop it as unease spread through her limbs. Nadine was Michael’s sister, and had been the one to let the rest of the family know that Michael had fled the country two years ago. Carma suddenly wished she had a valid excuse to avoid all this, but if she didn’t show up, it would invite questions she couldn’t answer. There was no way out of it.
Her thoughts were pulled out of the past when, as she entered the dining room and took her seat again, Chad addressed her. “Annalise tells us you’re a cosmetologist.”
“And no doubt she made it sound more glamorous than it is.”
“Are you kidding?” said Rowena, touching her hair. “Who do you think makes these cinnamon-colored tresses look so freaking amazing?”
“Your genes do that, not me.”
“Yeah, but the color is your creation.”
“That’s true.” Carma smiled. Rowena always cheered her up, no matter how bleak things seemed.
“I need a haircut,” said Dustin.
“Well, come on in while you guys are here. I’ve got all sorts of new business these days. Mateo Alvarado told me today that he’s referred a friend of his.”
“I know who that friend is,” said Van. “Larry Wilson told me.” Van cut his glance toward Annalise, Dustin and Chad. “Larry is on my crew, and he works for Mateo on his ranch as well from time to time. Larry fell and broke his leg three months ago. Mateo’s former roommate from Colorado State University, Blaine Peterson, is moving to town, and he’s been asking Mateo about where to shop, doctors, dentists, et cetera. Mateo referred him to Carma for his hair.”
Blaine Peterson. The name sounded very exotic. Should she ask Van if he knew more about him?
Annalise gave her a pointed stare. “Mateo has been one of your customers for a long time, hasn’t he? I’ve heard you mention him before.”
“About two years.” Carma stuffed in a mouthful of veggies so she could collect her thoughts in case Annalise started asking more questions. She couldn’t do the girl talk thing in front of the men. If only Van were here, perhaps. She’d known Van her entire life. But not around Dustin and Chad, as nice as they seemed to be.
“Mateo is an odd character,” said Van, reaching for the garlic bread.
No one reacted. They were all busy eating. Had she been the only person who had heard him? And what the hell was he talking about? “What do you mean, Van?”
He fr
owned for a second. “Jorge is his cousin and talks about him all the time.” Van glanced at Dustin, Chad and Annalise again. “Jorge Fuentes, on my crew.” He turned his gaze back toward Carma. “I guess he doesn’t talk much about himself while you’re cutting his hair, eh?”
That was an understatement. “What does Jorge say about him?” Her heart was hammering. She shouldn’t be asking, but how could she help it? All that dancing around questions, trying to get information about Mateo’s life, when all she would have had to do was ask Van? Why hadn’t she known this before today?
“Mateo owns Mystic Ridge Enterprises,” said Van, still directing his conversation toward Annalise, Dustin, and Chad, “and he’s easily one of the wealthiest men in town. Old family money from his sheep ranch. Anyway, he’s always lived like a hermit, but especially for the past couple of years. Mateo is a very private and closed-off person. Doesn’t open up to family, employees or anyone, from what I hear.”
“Do you know why he’s like that?” asked Annalise.
Van shook his head. “I never asked, and Jorge never said for sure. I’m not sure he knows why. That’s just Mateo’s way, I guess. But no one seems to know anything about him, and in this town, well…you know how it is in a small town. That’s considered odd.”
Carma ate her food and joined in the conversation around the table as it moved on to other subjects, but her mind kept conjuring up all sorts of horrible tragedies in Mateo’s past to explain why he was so mysterious and didn’t talk about his life. She’d been down this road before, and wondered how close to the truth she’d come about Mateo, or if she’d simply romanticized his past and he was just that way for no discernible reason.
But now she was determined to end this game by his next appointment. She’d simply ask him out for coffee or a drink. The worst that could happen is that he’d say “no” or finally tell her that he was involved with someone. And if he gave her either of those responses, then she’d accept it and move on, knowing nothing was ever going to happen between them. At least she’d have a definitive answer.
