“I’m not playing with you,” she insisted, trying to convince herself more than anything.
She was falling prey to his charms. His looks. His damn sexy cologne. It was so unfair to be in this position and to have to reject him. She literally felt his presence draw on her like a magnet, and it made her stagger. Was he aware of his effect on people? Women in particular? Did he use it to his advantage?
Caleb interjected from across the room, “He’ll give you $1,000 to play.”
“No, no,” protested John, motioning to Caleb to be quiet. “No, I won’t, Caleb. I only want one game.”
“Fine,” she said. “One game and then you’ll leave me in peace?”
“What if I win?”
She was the best pool player in Blackwood as far as she knew. But for a moment, she was nervous that maybe that was no longer true. What if John could best her? She was smart enough not to assume too much and had to allow for the fact that he might beat her. His question made her less sure of herself.
“Let’s cross that bridge when we get there,” she answered coolly, despite her doubt. She broke, scattering the balls across the table.
She sunk one, which meant she got another shot. Her hands trembled as she held her cue. It was tough doing this in front of someone who made her feel uncertain about everything in her life. She sunk another, and another. John rested on his cue as she delivered the message that he wasn’t going to play with her if she didn’t want him to.
She had the attention of the entire bar. Within a few minutes, she ran the table. There was only one more shot, and that was to sink the eight ball. She took a sip from her beer and finished the game.
“Nice,” he said but he didn’t sound like he meant it.
“Want to play another game?” she asked.
His eyes pierced her, giving her the same look he had when Kevin reached for his gun. Lucy was going to respond, but Deena breezed through the door. She was dressed in her ‘hot’ clothes. Tight jeans. Heels. A low-cut blouse. Her hair looked like she’d stepped out of a salon.
She dropped her head and laughed softly. She knew Deena was dressed the way she was and had made the sudden appearance because she was curious about the Blackwoods. She watched as the attorney scurried like a mouse to cheese through the tightly packed tables.
“I’m here,” she said to Lucy.
“I see that.”
Caleb got up fast and joined them.
“We were about to play doubles,” he said to Deena.
Deena took one look at the handsome Caleb and was instant smiles.
“No, we weren’t,” corrected Lucy.
John wrapped his arm around her.
“Dibs on Lucy,” he said. “She’s on my team.”
She was too stunned by the effect his touch had on her to protest. Her mind fought it, but her body wanted it so much it almost made her cry. Could I be that lonely?
“Okay,” said Deena not listening to Lucy at all.
Caleb couldn’t take his eyes off the new arrival.
“Deena,” she scolded. “These are the Blackwoods.”
Deena nodded as she studied everyone.
Lucy squirmed out of John’s hold and put her cue away.
“You got your way,” she told John. “You have the table now.”
“I don’t know what your problem is. I’m not without a heart. If you want a certain result, you will not get it by shutting me out.”
“You’ve already decided, right?” asked Lucy with a smile.
“Pretty much.” His shoulders lifted with a shrug.
“So, you shut me”—she looked around the bar—“all of us out first. I take it you haven’t gotten far telling people the news. I mean, everyone here is still being super nice to the two of you and any other Blackwood who might be around.”
“You’re talking like we’re some kind of sinister gang. We’re ordinary people like you,” said John.
In a flash, Lucy flipped through her smartphone, searching for pictures of John and Caleb on the internet. She hit the mother lode on the first try. Every article had the two brothers enjoying time with celebs at hotspots and resorts. She showed him.
“If you put my name in a search engine, you wouldn’t get any hits,” she said. “Do you think this actor would party with me? Oh, and look, the president of the United States, hanging out with you ordinary people. There’s not one person here who isn’t famous or ridiculously wealthy.”
“I think you’re being unfair,” interjected Caleb.
“Maybe, but I don’t think so,” she answered back. “You’re hitting on my lawyer, John is all friendly with me. You guys hoping to score some unincorporated tail before you sell?”
“Wow,” said John with wide eyes and a slack jaw.
She had gone too far with that one, and deep inside she regretted the accusation. Something told her despite their looks and wealth, the Blackwoods were good men.
“If you’re offering,” quipped Caleb.
“I’m leaving,” she said. “Stay if you want, Deena. I should be safe getting home. Lord knows I’ll no doubt have a police escort.”
“Kevin?” asked John gravely.
She rolled her eyes. “No, I mean the other cop who stalks me,” she replied. “Yes, Kevin.”
“I had him fired,” he said solemnly.
She didn’t know what to think. She found Kevin irksome, but she’d known him since grade school. She didn’t want him to suffer because of her. He was a good man and a good cop.
John looked to the ceiling. “Are you going to tell me it wasn’t as bad as all that? He almost pulled a gun on me for trying to help you.” He looked around the bar. “There probably isn’t a person in here who doesn’t have a story about the guy,” he said defensively.
Her head fell forward. “You’re right. Everyone in here would have a story, but it’s not the type you’d expect.” She pointed to the old man at the end of the bar. “Kevin drives Mr. Bailey to Idaho Springs to get his meds each month.” She pointed to a couple on the dance floor. “He pulled their son from the lake last year when Joey fell through the ice.”
“So now he’s a saint and I should overlook his behavior?”
“No, he was out of line, but he didn’t deserve to be fired,” she said. “He doesn’t know you. Your eyes get beady when you’re mad, and that’s off-putting. He probably considered you dangerous.”
“You’re right. They do,” agreed Caleb.
“Caleb, will you shut it?” snapped John.
Lucy continued, “Maybe a stern reprimand would have worked, coming from you. But getting Kevin fired was going overboard.” That was her exit line.
* * *
John
John waited until she left the saloon before he talked about her.
“Can someone please tell me what just happened?” His voice was tinged with exacerbation. “I had the cop fired because he was a nuisance and now she’s mad at me?”
Deena let go of a deep, short laugh. “I’m not sure if you picked up on the fact that little Miss Lucy has a few control issues,” she explained. “This thing between Kevin and Lucy has been going on since she was in seventh grade. You guys have roots here. I’m surprised you haven’t run into each other.”
“Well,” said Caleb. “We had a home here, but we didn’t go to public school. We were shipped off to boarding schools. Summers were spent traveling.”
He and John exchanged looks.
“I guess we haven’t lived here for more than a few days or weeks at a time,” John said.
“Lucy grew up here. Her mom died and her dad raised her. She actually worked here in high school bussing tables and washing dishes.” Deena looked around the bar.
“Here? At the saloon?” asked John.
“She put herself through school with art and art scholarships by working here,” she said. “She’d always said she was going to live in your parents’ house one day. She is proud that she made that a reality and now you’re taking it
away from her.”
He nodded as he got a clearer idea of why Lucy had reacted so strongly with him. He was dealing with a person who’d made her way her whole life by fighting for what she had and wanted. What took her years to accomplish took him a moment to destroy.
“She has student debt,” said Deena. “It’s not like you or I who had parents or a trust fund to help us out. She struggles financially. Sometimes she comes here and eats the cocktail olives to survive.” Deena laughed and shook her head. “If she doesn’t fight for herself, who will fight for her? She’s learned to be self reliant.”
“How can she afford you?” asked Caleb, who had been quiet for an unusually long time.
“My work for her was limited to the lease for her office. I’ve also drawn up some contracts she uses with her clients, and I’ve done her taxes. She actually does a pretty good business. She has great ideas, but she has to wait for them to pan out,” said Deena.
“Like a prospector,” said Caleb.
John shot his brother a look.
“Not a gold rush joke,” promised Caleb.
“She is like that,” said Deena. “In some parts of her life she takes wild risks, but she doesn’t see them that way. In other parts of her life, she won’t risk anything—like with men.”
John nodded, thinking he wouldn’t mind being the one she took a risk with if even for a few hours. The more he heard about her as he saw her beautiful little face in his mind, the more he was interested.
Someone put another song on. It sounded like the next round of dancing was going to begin. Caleb looked at Deena and held out his hand. “Would you like to dance?”
Chapter Four
Lucy
With all that was on her mind, Lucy found it super easy to fall asleep. She sank into a deep, dreamless slumber.
Getting up, on the other hand, was rough and finding the motivation to go to work knowing she was losing her space was difficult.
Even under normal circumstances, summoning the discipline to work for herself when business wasn’t booming was a challenge. Her greatest achievement, her marketing plan for Blackwood, paid off in fits and spurts. She blogged on travel sites and got a few locals to open their houses for people who needed to stay overnight. It was nice to have the town involved.
She supplemented her income with artwork. Besides marketing services, she did portraits of people and pets. It wasn’t anything grand, but it blended with the simplicity of the town she loved so much. Her fellow Blackwood dwellers liked her art and supported her efforts.
After she showered, she threw on some clothes, and went to the office to open up shop. She skipped her morning yoga, though this would have been one of those mornings when she needed it most. She felt drained energy-wise and had nothing else to give.
She planned to do all the ordinary things on her to-do list, with the addition of touching base with Deena. By now, the Blackwood brothers would have informed members of the town that they were selling. She couldn’t pay Deena on her own to sue against the sale, but when others found out, she envisioned the town pooling together.
No sooner had she set up for the day when John Blackwood wandered inside her shop. He was in a suit and tie and she thought she would die from the sight of him. He was that handsome. All her plans to gather an army of citizens went limp, along with her spine. He made her melt. She thought button-down shirts and black jeans were made for him, but she got that wrong. Her breath hitched so hard at the sight of him, it hurt.
She tried not to give him the satisfaction of making a big deal of her reaction, but she felt her cheeks burn. He held out his hand and offered an olive branch. He’d brought her breakfast from the Blackwood diner. He must have asked how she liked her coffee and what her favorite thing for breakfast was—a yogurt with the puffed millet granola in the middle—because he brought her what she loved as if she’d ordered it herself. The only thing wrong was the flavor but she’d deal with it since she didn’t pay for it. She sighed heavily and stared at him.
“You want me to like you, don’t you?”
“Will you at least hear the proposal?” he asked with mild exasperation. “You only heard I’m selling, but you haven’t listened to the plan.”
“Are you delivering breakfast to everyone?” She didn’t know why she wouldn’t let up on him. She couldn’t back off. It wasn’t like gorgeous rich guys were beating down her door—including this one. He was only at her door because he carried an eviction notice of sorts.
“No,” he said plainly. “I’m not.”
She leaned back and studied him. “Am I the only one giving you a hard time about this?”
He nodded.
There went her plan to unite and conquer. She couldn’t win if she were an army of one.
“Everyone is selling out?” She choked on the emotion that welled up inside of her without notice. She would not cry in front of this man. Of course, the tears that dripped from her eyes ruined that plan. “This town is my life,” she confessed. “Please don’t sell it.” She turned her head, but not before she snatched the coffee and sipped it.
“Do you need sugar?”
He did it again, she thought. He said something innocent and made it sound sexy. Sugar from him would make her feel a lot better. It sucked being emotional because it meant she couldn’t be creative, and that was her job. This stupid change was going to get in her way. It frustrated her more than anything when something thwarted her progress.
He turned in a circle. “You know, your stuff is good,” he said, eyeing pieces of her portfolio she’d hung on the walls.
Sharing her drawings made her feel exposed. She was at ease sharing them with the folks in town, but his looking at her work made her uncomfortable. Especially since he was a guy who had hung with the rock stars of art or with people who collected it. He likely owned some himself. Would there be a Rembrandt hanging in his entry? A Dali in his living room? She’d bet her next paycheck he was the kind of guy to have a Warhol original gathering dust on the shelf of his garage. People like John Blackwood couldn’t appreciate simple art.
There was no pretense about what she created. It was to give people pleasure—she wasn’t trying to be deep or meaningful.
“It’s okay,” she said, going to his side and shooing him away from the pictures. “You don’t have to say that.”
He stared her down. He had this familiarity about him that made it like he was no longer a stranger, but part of the town in more than name only. Though he seemed entitled, he did have the earthy thing down pat. He didn’t seem conceited about his looks or wealth at all, except for when he drove up in his fancy, over-the-top sports car. He was a conundrum to her. She expected him to be one thing, but maybe he wasn’t.
“Just stop, okay?” he asked softly. “Nothing will happen to you. You’ll still have your business. You’ll have a nice place to live. With what I’m prepared to offer you, you should be fine.”
“If you’re going to give everyone this neat little severance package, it must be worth it for you. You’ve got to be making out like a bandit. Who’s buying?” She moved away from her drawings. “I mean, only someone as wealthy as you can buy a place like this,” she said, sniffling. “It makes little sense.”
She reached for a tissue on her desk before a drop fell from her nose. Even if she was upset and miffed at the man, he was still cute and she had too much pride to let her nose run in front of him.
She noted that her question made him uncomfortable because he didn’t answer.
“I will find out,” she said. “You might as well tell me.”
He had a guilty look on his face. “I’ve got to go. I have a meeting.” He leaned in close, intimately, like he might kiss her. His voice was smooth like he was trying to turn her on. “You know, I don’t have to offer you a thing,” he reminded her. “You either talk to me or forget it.”
She put the yogurt in her purse, picked up the coffee and followed him out the door.
“Where are you
going?”
“I’m going to that meeting with you,” she announced.
He stooped down, since he was a good foot taller than her. His face was but a breath from hers.
“No, you’re not,” he whispered. His eyes were stern as he stared into hers. He was so, so close. If she moved a hair, their lips would touch. She hated that she wanted them to. How could she want him and want him gone at the same time?
“I’m calling my lawyer.” It was the only thing she could think to say. As smart and as hardworking as she was, Deena was no match for anybody on the Blackwood payroll.
“You do that,” he said and patted her on the head like she was a child. “We’ll talk later. Eat your breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day.”
She texted Deena and followed him anyway. John walked a few steps, then looked over his shoulder, and walked a few more.
“You don’t want me to know where you’re going?”
He didn’t respond. He walked a short distance and gave her his sternest glare.
“Are you going to have me fired like you did Kevin?” she taunted. “You know I work for myself.”
“He deserved it, Lucy.” He stopped and she ran right into him.
She was stunned. This was twice, including the night before when he’d put his arm around her. The physical contact with him did crazy things to her body. Without a doubt, he’d set her up to collide with him. Being a full-breasted woman coming into contact with his forearm was unavoidable. If he was affected he didn’t show it, but her body tingled from the touch.
“Stalking is a criminal offense,” he continued. “But because you spoke up on his behalf last night, we amended Kevin’s termination to a warning. He’s promised to leave you alone, but if you don’t stop following me—”
What If: A Small Town Big Love Novel Page 3
