Brambleberry House

by RaeAnne Thayne

  He looked around with curiosity and found the shop comfortable and welcoming, very much in the same vein as Aunt Abigail’s Cannon Beach store. Something jazzy and light played on a hidden stereo system and the wall sconce lighting in the bookstore area made all the books seem mysterious and enticing. Plump chairs invited patrons to stay and relax and apparently they did. Several were occupied and he had the feeling these were regular customers.

  A long-haired gray cat was curled up atop a low coffee table in one corner. Conan hurried immediately over to the cat and Max braced himself for a confrontation but the two of them seemed to have an understanding.

  The cat sniffed, gave him a bored look, then sauntered away just as a woman with a name badge that indicated she worked at the store caught sight of them and hurried over to greet Anna.

  She looked thin and athletic, with long, salt-and-pepper hair pulled back in a ponytail and round wire-rim glasses that didn’t conceal her glare.

  “Excuse me, what are you doing here? Get out.”

  Anna tilted her head, much as the long-haired cat had done. “Last I checked, I still own the place.”

  The older woman all but shook her finger at her. “This is supposed to be your day off, missy. What do I have to do, hide your van keys so you take some time off?”

  Anna laughed and hugged the other woman. “Don’t nag. I know. I just brought the shipment of blown glass floats that was delivered to the other store. They’re all in the back waiting to be stocked. You should see them, they’re every bit as gorgeous as the few samples we received. I was afraid I wouldn’t have time to drop them off before court tomorrow and I know they’re already a week overdue.”

  “We would have gotten by without them for another day or two.”

  “I know, but it was a lovely day for a drive. Sue Poppleton, this is my new tenant, Lieutenant Harry Maxwell.”

  The woman gave him a friendly, curious smile, then turned back to Anna. “Since you’re here, do you have five minutes to help me figure out what I’m doing wrong when I try to cancel a preorder in the system?”

  “Of course. Max, do you mind just hanging out for a moment?”

  “Not at all,” he answered.

  He headed for a nearby display of local travel books and was leafing through one on local history when he heard the front door chime. He didn’t think much about it, until he realized the entire section of the store had gone deadly quiet.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “GET OUT,” HE heard Anna say with a coldness in her voice Max had never heard before.

  Conan growled suddenly—whether at her tone or at something else, Max had no idea but he now burned with curiosity.

  Not knowing quite what to expect, he stepped away from the display so he could get a clear view of the door.

  The man standing just inside the store didn’t look threatening at all. He was one of those academic-looking types with smooth skin, artfully tumbled hair, intense eyes behind scholarly looking glasses. Exactly the sort one might expect to find sitting in a bookstore on a Sunday afternoon with a double espresso and the New York Times crossword puzzle.

  So why the dramatic reaction? Conan was standing in front of Anna like he was all set to rip the man apart and even her employee looked ready to start chucking remaindered books at his head.

  The guy seemed completely oblivious to their animosity, his gaze focused only on Anna.

  “Come on, Anna. Cut me a break here. I was across the street at the coffee shop and saw your van pull up. I left an excellent croissant half-eaten in hopes you might finally give me a chance to explain.”

  “I don’t need to hear any explanations from you. I need you out of my store right now.”

  Her voice wobbled, just a little, but in that instant Max figured it out. This must be the bastard who had screwed her over.

  He took a step forward, thinking he could probably knock the guy out cold with one solid left hook, but he paused. Maybe it would be better to see how things played out.

  Besides, she looked as if she had plenty of help.

  “Call off your mutt, will you?”

  The dog Max had never seen do anything but enthusiastically lick anyone who so much as looked at him still stood in a protective stance in front of Anna, low growls rumbling out of him.

  “I ought to let him rip your throat out after what you’ve done.”

  “Come on, baby. Don’t be like this.”

  He raked a hand through his hair and gave Anna what Max figured he probably thought was some kind of melting look.

  Anna appeared very much frozen solid. “Like what?” she asked quietly. “Like a woman who finally found her brain about six months too late and figured out what a cabrón you are.”

  Max didn’t know much Spanish but he’d heard that particular term in the army enough to know it was not a particularly affectionate or flattering one.

  Sue chortled, which seemed to infuriate the man even more. His face turned ruddy beneath his slick tan and he took a step forward, only to pause when Conan growled again.

  His mouth hardened but he stopped. “How long did you have to practice that injured victim act you played so well in court when you testified?”

  “Act?” Anna’s voice rose in disbelief.

  “Come on. You knew what was up the whole time. You just preferred to look the other way.”

  Anna drew in a shaky breath and even from here, Max could see the fury in her eyes. “Get out. That is your last warning before I call the police. I’m sure the judge will just love to find out you’ve been in here harassing me.”

  “Careful, babe. Harassment is an ugly word. You don’t want to be throwing it around casually. Of course, sometimes it’s a perfectly appropriate word. The exact one, really. Like when a business owner coerces an employee to sleep with her.”

  Her features paled and she looked vaguely queasy. “I never slept with you, thank the Lord.”

  “She didn’t coerce you into anything and you know it, you disgusting piece of vermin,” Sue snapped, and Fletcher blinked at her as if he’d forgotten she was there.

  “Every single employee of By-the-Wind could testify about how you were the one constantly putting out the vibe, hitting on her every time she turned around,” she went on. “Sending her flowers, writing poems on the employee bulletin board, taking credit for everybody else’s ideas just so you could convince her you were Mr. Wonderful.”

  Anna drew in a deep breath, not looking at all thrilled by the other woman’s defense of her. Instead, her color flared even higher. “Uh, Sue, maybe you should start unpacking those floats I brought so you can make sure none of them shattered in transit.”

  The other woman looked reluctant to leave but something in Anna’s gaze must have convinced her to go. With one last glare at Grayson Fletcher, she headed for the stockroom.

  As soon as she was out of earshot, Anna turned back to the man. “You are way out of line.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. But if, say, I spoke to the local newspaper reporter covering the case, I could probably spin things exactly my way. You wouldn’t look like the sainted victim then, would you?”

  Anna opened her mouth to retort, but he cut her off before she could. “Of course, I could always keep my mouth shut, under the right circumstances.”

  “What circumstances?”

  He shrugged. “If I am convicted on these bogus charges, maybe, just maybe, you could see your way clear to testifying on my behalf in the sentencing hearing.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “That sounds suspiciously like blackmail.”

  “Another ugly word. That’s not it at all. I would just think in the interest of making things right, you would want to tell the judge you’ve had second thoughts and have had time to look at things a little differently,” he said calmly.
>
  She gazed at him for a long time. Just before Max was ready to step forward and kick the guy out of the store, she spoke in a quiet, determined voice.

  “Go to hell, Grayson. Of course, I can comfort myself with the thought that by this time next week that’s exactly where you’re going to find yourself—the hell that passes for the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem.”

  The other man’s face turned a mottled red, until any trace of anything that might have been handsome turned ugly and mean. He took another step forward, not even stopping when Conan barked sharply.

  “You should have left things alone.” His low, intense voice dripped with rancor. “I would have paid everything back eventually. I was working on a plan. I tried to tell you that, but you were too damn uppity to listen. Well, you’ll listen to me now. I have enough dirt on you that I can ruin you. You harassed me, you assaulted me, you threatened to fire me if I didn’t sleep with you. That’s the story I’m going to be feeding the pretty little local reporter. And then you framed me to hide your own crimes. When my civil suit is done, you’re going to be lucky if I leave you with so much as a comic book. I’ll take this store and your other one and that damn house you love so much. Then where will you be? A stone-cold bitch left with nothing.”

  She seemed to freeze, to shrink inside herself. Max, however, did not. He stepped away from the shelves and faced the other man down.

  “Okay, time’s up, bastard.”

  Anna lifted shocked eyes to his, as if she’d forgotten his presence. Max had dealt with enough of Fletcher’s type in the military that he wasn’t at all surprised to see his bullying bluster fade when confronted with direct challenge.

  “Says who?” he asked warily.

  “Between me and the dog, I think it’s safe to say we can both make it clear you’ve outstayed your welcome.”

  Fletcher looked between Conan and Max, as if trying to figure out which of them posed the bigger threat, then he gave a hard laugh, regaining a little of his aplomb. “What are you going to do? Club me with your cast?”

  Max gave the same grim, dangerous smile he used on recalcitrant trainees. “Try me.”

  The four of them stood in that tableau for several long seconds until Conan barked sharply, as if to add his two cents to the conversation. Fletcher stared at them again then gave Anna one last look of sheer loathing before he turned and stalked out of the store.

  * * *

  SHE WANTED TO DIE.

  To walk down to the beach and dig the biggest, deepest hole she could manage and just bury herself inside it like a geoduck clam.

  Bad enough that she had been caught unawares by Grayson and had stood there like an idiot letting him rant on and on with his damning—but completely ridiculous—allegations.

  How much worse was it that Max had been a party to her disgrace?

  Not exactly the best way to seduce a man, to show him unmistakable evidence what an idiot she was. When she remembered how she had actually thought she was coming to care for that piece of dirt, she just about thought she would be sick.

  “Well, that was the single most humiliating ten minutes of my life.”

  Max moved closer and she alternated between wanting to bury her face in her hands so she didn’t have to look at him and wanting to curl against that hard chest of his.

  “You have no reason to feel humiliated. I’m the one who should feel humiliated. I didn’t even get one good swing with my cast.”

  His disgruntled tone surprised a shaky laugh out of her. “I’m sure you can still chase him down at the bakery with his half-eaten croissant,” she said. “Or send Conan over to bring him back.”

  “That kind of instant problem solving must be why you’re the boss.”

  She laughed again, then realized her knees were wobbling. “Excuse me, I need to sit down.”

  She plopped down on the nearest couch, still fighting the greasy nausea in her belly, the sheer mortification that she had once been stupid and gullible enough to be attracted to a slimy worm like Grayson Fletcher.

  “I told you my life was a mess.”

  “You’ve still got By-the-Wind.”

  “For now.”

  “Any chance he can make good on those threats?”

  She sighed and pressed a hand to her stomach. Sexual harassment. How low could the man stoop?

  “He can try, but there’s absolutely no evidence backing him up. I refused to even date him for months. I didn’t want any appearance of impropriety. The other employees can all confirm that. But he was so damn persistent and I was...flattered. That’s what it comes down to. I only dated him for a month, but I swear I never slept with him.”

  Oh, why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut? Did she really need to share that particular detail with Max?

  “Then don’t worry about it. I know his type. He’s all bluff and bluster up front but the minute you confront him, he runs away like the rat he is.”

  “I’m just sorry you were tangled up in the middle.”

  “Funny, I was just thinking how glad I am that I was here to back you up.”

  She stared at him for a long moment, at the solid strength of his features, the integrity that seemed so much a part of him. The contrast between a sleazy, dishonest slimebag like Grayson Fletcher and this honorable soldier who had sacrificed so much for his country and still bore the scars for it was overwhelming.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  With a full heart, she leaned across the space between them to kiss him softly. Compared to their heat and passion of the night before, this was just a tiny kiss of gratitude, just a slight brush of her lips against his, but it rocked her clear to her toes.

  She was crazy about this man. She was aware she had only known him a few days but she was in serious danger of falling head over heels.

  She eased away from him, feeling shaky and off balance.

  “You’re welcome,” he murmured, and she wondered if she imagined that raspy note in his voice.

  “What did I miss?”

  At the sound of her employee’s voice, Anna tried to collect her scattered wits. She took a deep breath and found Sue had come out of the stockroom carrying two of the colorful glass floats.

  “Not much. He’s gone.”

  “Good riddance. I don’t care what you say, I’m calling the cops the next time he has the nerve to come in here.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Anna said. “Did I answer what you needed to know on canceling an order?”

  “Yes. And now you need to get out of here and enjoy the rest of your day off.” Sue had on that bossy mother-hen voice that Anna was helpless to fight. “Go have some fun. You deserve it.”

  She rubbed her hands on her slacks and turned back to Max as a customer came up to Sue and asked her for help locating an item.

  “You’re welcome to look around more if you’d like.”

  “I think I’m done here,” he answered.

  “Are you ready to go home, then?”

  A strange light flickered in his eyes and she wondered at it, until she remembered his transitory life. The concept of home probably wasn’t one he was used to considering.

  “Good idea,” he said after a moment, and his words were punctuated by Conan barking his approval.

  * * *

  DUSK WAS WASHING across the shore as they reached the outskirts of Cannon Beach and the setting sun cast long shadows across the road and saturated everything with color.

  Brambleberry House on its hill looked graceful, welcoming, with its gables and gingerbread trim and the wide porch on all sides.

  “I love coming home this time of day,” she said as she pulled into the driveway. “I know it’s silly but I always feel like the house has been waiting here all day just for me.”

  “It’s
not silly.”

  “Abigail used to say a house only comes alive when it’s filled with people who love it.” She smiled, remembering. “She used to have this quote on the wall. ‘Every house where love abides and friendship is a guest, is surely home, and home, sweet home, for there the heart can rest.’”

  He was quiet for a long time, gazing as she was at the house gleaming in the fading sunlight. “You do love it, don’t you?” he asked, finally breaking the silence.

  “With my whole heart. Rusty pipes, loose shingles, flaking paint and all.”

  “She knew what she was doing when she left it to you, didn’t she?”

  It seemed an odd question but she nodded. “I hope so. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed with the endless responsibility of it, especially when the rest of my life seems so chaotic right now. I have no idea why she left things as she did and bequeathed Brambleberry House to Sage and to me out of the blue, but I love it here. I can’t imagine ever leaving.”

  He let out a breath, his eyes looking suddenly serious in the twilight. “Anna—”

  Whatever he intended to say was lost when Conan began barking urgently from the cargo area of the van, as if he had expended every last ounce of patience.

  She laughed. “Sorry. That sounds dire. I’d better take him down the beach a little to work out the kinks from the car ride. You interested?”

  She thought she saw frustration flicker across his features but it was quickly gone.

  “Sure. I’ve got kinks of my own to work out.”

  Conan leaped out of the van as soon as she hooked on his leash and practically dragged her behind him in his eagerness to mark every single clump of sea grass on the beach trail.

  Just before they reached the wide stretch of beach, Max reached for her hand to help her around a rock and he didn’t let go. They walked hand in hand with Conan ahead of them and warmth fluttered through her despite the cool spring wind.

  She didn’t want to the day to end. Even with the humiliation of the encounter with Gray Fletcher, it had been wonderful, the most enjoyable day she’d spent in longer than she could remember.