“Sorry you were stuck out there so long.”
“Oh, no. I don’t blame you. You’re my rescue hero.”
Heath smiled and raised his eyebrows. “Get some rest. I’ll check in with Jed tomorrow and see if there’s been any progress. I’ll drop some hints about Jamison and Brigham’s family not being happy with his mistakes with business and make sure he’s protecting Jamison.”
“Thanks again.”
He strode out the open doorway. Hazel watched him go, wishing she could call him back. She went into the bathroom to start the tub. As it was filling, Gavin came by with a plate of chicken alfredo, broccoli, and a side of chocolate. She thanked him profusely and dug in. Food and a warm bath. Having her name cleared, kissing Heath, and getting home four days from now for Christmas morning were the only things that sounded better.
Chapter Nine
Heath settled in next to Austin, barely paying attention to the football game or the buttery popcorn he kept throwing in his mouth. His mind was upstairs with Hazel. Could she be interested in Gavin? Every woman was drawn to his older brother: the tough, untouchable hero kind of guy. Heath had tried to warn her away, but she hadn’t really given him a satisfactory answer, and then she’d called him “the sweetest.” Ugh. What guy wanted to be called sweet? Not him.
A commercial break came on and his disinterest grew. He leaned closer to Austin, “Watch this,” he whispered. Carefully, he tossed a piece of popcorn that landed on top of Gavin’s head. Gavin didn’t notice. Austin giggled.
Heath tossed another one, and it hit Gavin’s ear. Austin giggled louder as Gavin brushed at his ear. Heath grinned and picked up another one. He never acted playful like this, except around Austin. He really did need to fly the kid to him more.
“Heath,” Gavin said sharply, leaning toward the television.
Heath thought he was on to the popcorn prank and was telling him to grow up, but he glanced at the television also. There was an ad displayed for tonight’s news: “Attempted murder in a Park City airport hangar.”
Heath went ramrod straight and dropped the popcorn into his lap. Gavin sucked in a breath from across the room in his La-Z-Boy.
The teaser showed a picture of Hazel, and a voice said, “Could this woman have tried to kill a man twice her size? Find out more tonight at ten.”
Heath met Gavin’s eye. Why would an attempted murder that happened in Park City be on a Denver television station? Brigham’s tentacles were the only answer. The man suspected Hazel was with Heath and was hoping someone would see her and turn her in.
“That lady looks too pretty and nice to kill anybody, right, bro?” Austin glanced up at Heath with such trusting eyes. Heath adored his little brother.
The situation hit him once again. He also thought Hazel was too nice and pretty to kill anyone, and he didn’t trust Brigham London as far as he could throw him, but why was the woman even friends with scum like Brigham’s cousin? His stomach squirmed. He’d brought her home. What if she hurt Austin or one of his sisters or Mama?
Gavin tilted his head to the side.
Heath stood and walked to the kitchen. “I need some more chocolate.”
“It’s so yummy, but my belly hurts,” Austin moaned.
Luckily, the game started again, and Stetson and Austin were glued to the TV. Heath bypassed the kitchen and went straight for Gavin’s office. Gavin appeared and shut the door behind him, his face grave.
Heath got right to the point. “Why would Denver be sharing Park City news?”
Gavin shook his head. “The Brigham guy you told me about is on to you?”
“Exactly.” Heath glanced out the windows. Gavin only had blinds on the bedroom and bathroom windows; everywhere else was open. He suddenly felt like a sitting duck. Could the authorities already be heading their direction? He’d need to call and feel Jed out again, but what if Jed had ratted him out and it wasn’t Brigham at all? He couldn’t believe his best friend would do that; Jed hated Brigham more than Heath did.
“The other question is … do you really trust that woman?”
Heath didn’t know, but he thought he did, and his temper flared at the question. “Hey, just because you’re a cynical jerk doesn’t mean I have to hate women.”
Gavin grunted but didn’t respond to his barb.
This was no time to be worrying about it, but Heath wanted to know. Truly, he wanted to be part of Gavin’s life. “You haven’t dated anyone since Janielle. That was high school garbage, man. Move on.”
Gavin’s dark eyes flashed dangerously. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
“Then tell me what I’m talking about.” Heath folded his arms across his chest. Yeah, Gavin was built, but so was he. It would be a decent fight.
“Why should I? You come home once every few months for a token visit.” Gavin shook his head. “I don’t know you anymore, and I’m not sharing any secrets with you—if I even had any,” he added hastily.
Sometimes Heath really despised his brother. Forget sibling bonding. “You know how busy it is running one resort? Try four.”
Gavin smirked at him. “You’re a big shot success, bro. Deal with it.”
Heath’s neck grew hot, and he really wanted to hit his brother. “I’ve worked night and day for that success.”
“I know that, and I’m proud of what you’ve done. You’ve more than proven yourself, Heath.”
“Thank you,” he managed. Heath could hardly compute the rare praise from his tough older brother. Gavin didn’t want to share anything with him, but he’d admit to being proud of him. It was at least an attempt at growing closer.
“We’re all proud, but you have to admit you’ve also turned away from all of us. I understand how busy you must be, but do you think it’s easy being here? Mama taking care of Papa round the clock, all of us watching him waste away, me trying to raise Austin to not be a spoiled punk, and still run the resort effectively?”
Heath fought a rush of emotion. He knew all of this, but he didn’t know how to help, how to be around more. He backed down, appreciating that Gavin had admitted to being proud of him, and realizing they just got under each other’s skin sometimes. “I’m sorry it’s all on your shoulders, but Gav …” He blew out a breath. “Most of the time you act like you want all the responsibility. There wasn’t enough room in this valley for both of us.”
There was nothing Gavin could say to any of that, because they both knew it was true.
Heath studied the darkness outside and said, “I told Austin I’d fly him to be with me on some weekends.” He felt like they were a bitter divorce couple discussing custody. This was his brother. Could they mend their relationship?
Gavin gave a forced smile. “He’d love that. You’re great with him.”
“He brings out the little kid in me. I love being around him.”
“He’s the best part of my life,” Gavin said as if in agreement.
Heath thought that was great but also kind of sad. At twenty-eight, almost twenty-nine, Gavin should have a wife and family of his own. Yet he was raising his little brother and married to Angel Falls Retreat. Heath was a couple years younger than Gavin, so he figured he had time, but maybe he was kidding himself. He wasn’t any closer to getting a grip on his work schedule or finding time to date seriously than Gavin was.
“So what do we do about your girl?” Gavin asked, changing the subject.
His girl? Heath wouldn’t mind that. There was an awful lot about Hazel that was appealing, but she was in a mess, and even if she wasn’t, she lived in London. He didn’t know if she was willing to pull up roots to date him, but he certainly wasn’t moving across an ocean. He shook his head to clear it. Gavin had asked what they should do, referring to the news report, and he’d gone all the way to a serious dating commitment. “Let me call Jed and feel him out,” he said.
“Your police buddy?”
“Yeah.”
“What if you reveal something and he has to turn you i
n?”
“She’s innocent, Gav. If I need to, I’ll charter a plane in an assumed name and fly her to South America or back to England so they have to extradite her to try her. Jed’s great at finding the truth. I just have to give him time.”
Gavin arched his eyebrows. “You always were the trusting one.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Gavin slapped him on the shoulder and headed out of the office. “No, it’s good. Just not something I can get a handle on.” He disappeared out the door, shutting it behind him.
Heath reached for his phone but realized he didn’t have it. He’d handed it to Hazel when she was in the back of the Audi. He followed Gavin out the door and headed for the stairs. Scaling them quickly, he paused outside the bedroom door and rapped it softly. No response. He knocked just a bit harder and leaned close, listening.
“Why are you knocking on your own bedroom door?” Stetson said from much too close.
Heath jumped and whipped around to face his brother. “Game over?”
“Yeah. I’m going to bed so I can fit a workout in before we go skiing tomorrow.”
Skiing. He’d been looking forward to skiing with his siblings, but now he didn’t know how he’d leave Hazel. She’d probably be fine, able to roam the house without anyone around, but what if Brigham or the police showed up and carted her away? He couldn’t leave her alone.
“Your coach is gonna let you ski?” He remembered that last year Stetson hadn’t been able to ski with the family, and he’d felt bad about it.
“Yeah. When you’re the superstar, they make concessions.” He grinned. “Plus I did a bunch of research showing him how rare it is to blow a knee with the new bindings on skis, and I promised to be safe.”
“Sounds great. Good night.” Heath didn’t want Stetson to come around to his original question, so he pushed the handle down and hurried into the room.
It was dark in the bedroom. His eyes slowly adjusted, and the glow from the exterior lights gave him enough to see. Hazel was curled up under the covers. He found himself easing closer; she was so beautiful and so peaceful-looking. Her dark curly hair appeared almost black against the white pillow, and her smooth skin seemed translucent. Her full lips looked pouty and irresistible in sleep. What Heath wouldn’t give to bend down and just press his lips to the softness of hers.
He jolted and backed up. Feeling like a loser for coming into her room without permission while she slept, but with the excuse that he’d done it to avoid Stetson’s questions, he hurried to the bedroom door and back out.
Austin was just coming up the stairs, prattling away to Gavin. “And then the receiver jumped so high in the air and the cornerback undercut him. It was vicious, bro. Stetson said the dude probably jacked his knee.”
They both stopped when they saw Heath. He smiled and said, “Um, I, can’t find my phone. Would you call it?” he asked Gavin.
“Sure.” Gavin pulled his own phone out and pressed on it. He tilted his head. “It’s ringing.”
Austin hurried to the bedroom door and pushed on the latch. “I’ll go look in your room.”
“No!” Gavin and Heath said together.
Austin glanced over his shoulder at them. His brow furrowed.
“It’s not in there,” Heath said quickly. “I didn’t bring anything up yet.”
Austin’s eyes were still confused; then they cleared. “Oh yeah. We went out to get your suitcase, but then we made the snowballs and you probably totally forgot. Did you leave it in the car? Do you want me to help you look?”
“You’re right.” Heath snapped his fingers. “I did leave it in the car.” He hoped. Now that he thought about it, Hazel had probably left the phone in the car, because he didn’t remember her bringing her purse inside. “Thanks, man. Get some rest so we can hit the slopes tomorrow.”
“Yes!” Austin yelled, and Heath winced, hoping he didn’t wake Hazel. “You’re gonna die at how fast I am. I only do the black diamonds now. No wasting this boy’s time on blue.”
“What about the green?” Gavin teased.
“Those are for babies,” Austin said with disdain.
Heath chuckled. “I can’t wait to see how fast you are … if I can keep up.”
“You can try.” Austin grinned. He gave Heath and Gavin each an impulsive hug and skipped to his room. “See ya, bros.”
He didn’t shut his door, so Gavin whispered to Heath. “She asleep?”
“Yeah.”
“Let her sleep. She’s been through a lot today.”
“Yeah.” Heath loved that his brother agreed that Hazel was innocent. If he’d seen how angelic and attractive she looked lying in that bed or the sweetness and appeal in her clear green eyes, he’d know she could never hurt anyone. Well, maybe emotionally she could hurt and discard men, but that was another story that had nothing to do with murdering someone. His blood boiled as he thought about Brigham. “I’m going to see if my phone’s outside.”
“Do you want me to call it again?”
“Yeah. Give me a minute to get to the Audi.”
Gavin nodded, and Heath hurried off down the stairs. When he and Gavin were on the same page, he liked his brother.
Heath went out the front door, rushed across the snow, and opened the rear hatch of the Audi sport utility. His phone was lighting up and buzzing next to Hazel’s purse. He answered the phone. “Thanks, got it.”
“Sure.” Gavin hung up.
Heading back inside out of the cold, he carried his suitcase, his computer bag, Hazel’s purse, and his phone into Gavin’s office for some privacy.
“What are you doing with a girl bag?” Austin asked from the bottom of the stairs.
Heath whipped around. They’d only had Hazel here for a matter of hours, and already he he was lying and keeping secrets from everybody. After he called Jed, he was going to Google and see what the news outlets were saying about the attempted murder and Hazel fleeing.
He set the purse down on the floor. “It’s a present for Mama for Christmas.”
Austin looked it over. “Hmm. I think the one she has right now is nicer. Gav bought it for her, and she thinks it’s so fancy.”
Heath forced a smile. “Dang. Maybe I’ll give it to Ella or Cassie, then.”
“Cassie. She doesn’t care at all about fashion.” He grinned.
“Sounds good. I thought you were going to bed.”
“My stomach got rumbly again.” He flexed his skinny arm. “It takes a lot to keep up this physical physique.”
Heath laughed. “Where did you get that?” he asked, referring to the expression.
“My muscles?” Austin grinned. “I exercise with Gav almost every morning. I’m ripped!” He bent forward and flexed both arms. “Yeah, baby.”
“Nice. Go get a snack; I need to make a phone call.”
“Work, work, work all the time, right, bro? Guess that’s the price you pay to be a Richie.” Austin darted off to the kitchen.
Heath arched an eyebrow. Most of the world focused on success, but since he’d been home, he’d gotten more flak for it than anything. He shut the door, set Hazel’s purse down, and pulled up Jed’s number. Nerves assaulted him, which was crazy. He was rarely nervous about anything, but Hazel was coming to mean a lot to him, and he didn’t want her to be wrongly prosecuted.
Jed answered the call. “Hey. You get home?”
“Yeah.”
“How is it?”
“Great. My family’s great. My little brother is hilarious and says the craziest things. He just told me works out to get this ‘physical physique’ and flexed for me.”
Jed laughed. “Sounds like a funny kid.”
“I told him I’d have him fly to stay with me some weekends, so if I’m in Park City, I’ll bring him by.”
“Sounds great.”
“You okay? You sound … exhausted.”
“Today has kicked my butt.” Jed pushed out a heavy breath and said, “I really don’t know what to
do about the fugitive that you’re definitely not harboring.”
Heath sank down into the closest chair. He was ninety-eight percent sure Hazel was innocent and being framed by Brigham London. Yet the way Jed had said that, he’d be going to jail if he was wrong, or maybe even if he was right. What if Brigham succeeded in framing Hazel? Was Heath willing to risk his reputation, jail time, and maybe his businesses by continuing along the course he was on?
“Definitely not harboring,” Heath muttered, which they both knew was an admission.
Jed grunted. “I keep thinking that maybe if Hazel Longhurst was here, I could have a better chance of proving she was innocent.”
“Or you could lock her up and one of Brigham’s mafia henchmen would come by and plug her.”
Jed half laughed. “You’ve been watching too much Kingpin.”
“I’ve never watched Kingpin,” Heath protested.
“I caught you watching it when you were supposed to be working.”
“You can’t prove it.” He paused, then admitted, “That was a really rough day.”
Jed finally stopped laughing and said, “Thanks, man. I needed to laugh today.”
“Nothing to prove Brigham did it?” Heath guessed, sobering the conversation completely.
“Nope. The entire group collaborates his story, but I don’t trust the dirty jerk, and I’m glad Hazel’s not here.”
Heath’s stomach clenched. What could he do or say to help Jed, and more importantly Hazel? “I may have heard that there was friction between Brigham and Jamison.”
“Oh yeah?” Jed soundly mildly interested.
“And the character witnesses for Hazel are outstanding.”
Jed chuckled at that.
“Hazel and the attempted murder were on the news down here,” Heath remembered to add.
“Really? That must be Brigham-influenced.”
“That’s what I wondered.”
“I can’t believe you’re in the middle of this mess.”
“I can believe that you’re a very good friend to me,” Heath returned.
“That’s for dang sure. Plus I’d do about anything to have Brigham behind bars. Chief and I have quietly been working on angles to expose him, and anyone in our department who might help him, for a year.”
Don't Fall for a Fugitive: Strong Family Romances Page 8
