The blood drained from her face and the room started to spin. “I see,” she said stiffly. “I’m sure you’re happy about that. I know how much you liked the house. Excuse me. I think I need to visit the ladies room.” She fled like the hounds of hell were on her heels, not caring what he thought. Words from long ago chased through her memory. “Marry me, Charley. Someday I’ll buy the house for you, I promise. We’ll spend our life there, together.” God, she had been so happy, and so stupid.
She slammed through the bathroom door and leaned her forehead against the mirror, trying to force the words away. At least he’d kept part of that promise, she thought, a sob escaping from deep inside. He’d bought the house. He just hadn’t bought if for her. He was going to be living in it alone. How was she going to go back in there and face him, knowing they would both be remembering? She had to, and she couldn’t let him see how much it affected her.
Turning on the cold water, she splashed it on her face, then dried and looked at her image in the mirror. She was way too pale. Pinching her cheeks until they were red, she checked again. Better. Not perfect, but better. At least she didn’t look like death on a platter now. Taking a deep breath, she left the bathroom.
Cole was standing with his hands in his pockets, his back to the door, studying some old flyers that were tacked to a bulletin board on the wall. Something about his stance made her hesitate in the door.
“Yoo-hoo! Anyone here?”
“Frannie!” Charley almost sagged with relief at the sight of her cousin. She wouldn’t have to face him alone after all. Cole had turned at Frannie’s voice and a flash of annoyance crossed his face, gone so rapidly she wasn’t even sure she’d seen it.
Frannie came to a halt by her side. “I stopped by your house. When you weren’t there, I figured you must be shredding the books again, so I thought I’d drop by and give you some moral support.” Frannie winked at her.
Charley grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the room. “Actually, we were just having a business meeting. Frannie, this is Cole Jordan. He’s the man I sold half of the Red Dog to. Cole, this is Frannie Hart, my cousin. She moved to Canyon Bend a few years ago from Texas.”
“I know you,” Frannie said. “You were here last night.” Charley watched as Frannie gave him her best ‘you’ve-come-to-the-right-place’ smile.
“That’s right. If I remember correctly, you informed me that not all women were panting to grab a husband.” Cole’s expression was bland.
“Oops.” Frannie had the grace to blush. “You really can’t blame me for that. I thought you were hitting on Charley.”
Charley felt Cole’s gaze run over her. When she looked at him, he was studying her face.
“I suppose that’s understandable.” His glance moved back to Frannie. “So tell me, Frannie. Can you type?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Know anything about computers?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Congratulations. You have just been promoted to Charley’s executive assistant. With an appropriate increase in salary, naturally.”
“I have?” She looked at Charley in confusion. “I have?”
“Looks like it.” Charley glared at Cole. “You do know this means I’m going to be short a waitress?”
Cole picked up a pad of paper and pencil and handed them to Frannie. “Start writing. First thing on the agenda, put an ad in the paper for a new waitress. Then, order lunch. We can eat while we work. After lunch, I want you to go buy office furniture. Also, buy four computers. Tell them you want everything here tomorrow.” He pulled his wallet out and extracted a credit card. “Here, put everything on this. Oh, and while you’re at it, get cell phones for both of you. I want to be able to reach you at any time.”
Charley watched Frannie write furiously, trying to keep up with the orders, and sighed. When had she lost control? Had she ever had it? She took a quick look at Cole. He was watching her again, and the intense look in his eyes made her go still. Suddenly, he smiled. Her heart and stomach collided, landing in a pitiful heap somewhere near her toes. Oh, God. She was in so much trouble.
Chapter Four
“Well, that’s the last of them.”
Charley looked up as Cole parked the dolly next to the storage room. “Good.” It had taken them most of the afternoon to empty out and clean the three rooms that he wanted to turn into office space. They had been long, agonizing hours for Charley, watching the ripple of Cole’s muscles as he hoisted box after box and loaded them on the dolly.
She glanced at her watch. “I need to run. I’ve got just enough time to shower and change before opening tonight.”
“Isn’t there someone else who can handle it? You’ve been at it all day. Why don’t you take the night off?”
“Well, I suppose Frank could cover for me. It is Thursday, so we won’t have that much business.” She chewed her lip, thinking. Not only was she physically exhausted, she was mentally ready to collapse. The lure of a long, hot soak in the tub was more than she could stand. “Okay, I’ll call him as soon as I get home.”
Cole nodded. “I’m on my way out, too. I’ve still got some things to take care of at home.”
Home, Charley thought. To the house that should have been theirs. Feeling like she’d spent most of the day on the emotional equivalent of a tilt-a-whirl, she followed him out, waiting while he locked the door.
“Nice car.” She stared at the Jag. Why did it seem so awkward to just get in the truck and leave?
“Thanks. I’ll let you drive it sometime.”
Her gaze snapped back to his. Was he serious? She’d only been trying to make conversation.
“Don’t look so shocked. It’s only a car.” He smiled slightly and opened the truck door for her. “See you tomorrow evening.”
“Evening? I thought you were going to work here tomorrow morning, getting the offices ready?”
“I am, but it won’t take long. Frannie will be here, so there’s not much sense in you standing around all day and then working all night, too.”
“You may be sorry you sent Frannie on this particular errand. She has, well, let’s just say ‘odd taste’ in some things. Her apartment looks like a refugee from a hippie commune lives there. To her, an easy chair is one of those god-awful, lime-colored beanbag things, and she has beads hanging in every doorway.”
Charley stuck the key in the ignition and gave it a turn. The starter clicked, but the motor refused to respond.
“As long as she gets the basics, I can live with the decor.” He was watching closely as she tried to start the truck.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She turned the key again with the same results.
“Pop the hood.”
“That’s not necessary, really. It’ll start in a minute.” She tried again, and then pulled the hood release in resignation.
Cole moved around to the front and vanished from sight, but she could hear him tinkering with something on the engine. His head reappeared. “Try it now.” The motor turned over on the first try, and he shut the hood.
“What did you do?”
“You had a loose battery cable, but if you plan on keeping this thing, you really need to have the points and plugs changed and the timing set.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” She backed up and headed out of the parking lot. In her rearview mirror, Cole’s image watched the truck until she turned onto the highway.
* * * * *
Charley leaned back in the now cool water, her head cushioned on the pile of hair she’d pinned up. Instead of relaxing, she’d spent the whole time in the tub going over every word Cole had spoken and every move he’d made. When she closed her eyes, he was there, his face tormenting her, making her tenser. All she had managed to do was get waterlogged.
She pulled the stopper out with her toes then reached for a towel. After sliding into a pair of jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, she padded into the kitchen. Nothing in the fridge looked appealing, and she didn
’t feel like going out again. Just when she’d decided to open yet another can of soup, the back door flew open and Frannie danced in.
“Put that can opener down. I come bearing gifts.” She held up a pizza box with one hand and waved two bottles of wine with the other. “We are going to celebrate!”
Charley eyed the wine. “Celebrate what?”
“My promotion and salary increase, and the fact that you are going to be one rich lady.”
“Somehow, I doubt I’ll ever be rich.” She watched Frannie pour the rich red wine, and then sat down at the table, taking the glass nearest her. “Did you go by the saloon?”
“Yep. As your new executive assistant, I thought it was my duty,” she said loftily. “Besides, that’s where I got the wine. Frank has everything under control. Dig in.” She scooted the pizza box closer to Charley.
“It’s going to take two full bottles of wine to celebrate?”
Cheese strung onto Frannie’s chin as she took a bite. “You, dear cousin,” she mumbled around a mouthful, “need to relax.”
“I’m not tense.”
Frannie guffawed. “If you were wound any tighter, your panties would cut you in half. I’m here to see that you ease up, even if I have to get you drunk to do it.”
“We can’t get drunk. We both have to work tomorrow.” Charley sipped the wine and Frannie immediately refilled her glass to brimming.
“They aren’t delivering the office furniture until eleven, and Cole told me not to come in until then. You don’t have to be there until tomorrow night. Now, no more excuses.”
“Fine. You win.” Charley drained her glass and let Frannie fill it again. “But I am not tense. What possible reason could I have? Everything is going just fine.”
“Oh, come on. Who do you think you’re kidding? This is Frannie, remember? Every time Cole Jordan looked at you today you got goose bumps the size of Mt. Everest. And when he touched your arm while showing you where the pantry would be in the restaurant? Your eyes bugged out so far you looked like one of those cartoon characters.”
“Oh, God.” Charley dropped her face into her hands. “I’m so humiliated. Do you think he noticed?”
“Is he blind, deaf and stupid?”
“No.”
“Then my guess would be, he noticed.” Frannie stood, grabbing the wine and both glasses. “Let’s move into the living room so we can prop our feet up.”
The room spun a little as Charley followed, but it was a pleasant sensation, and she could feel her tight muscles beginning to ease. “How much of that stuff have I had?”
Frannie looked at the bottle critically before sinking onto the couch. “About three glasses, I think. You did drink them kind of fast though.” She patted the couch next to her. “Now, sit down and tell me all about it.”
Charley flopped onto the sofa and picked up her glass. “What am I going to do, Frannie? I’ve been in love with him since grade school.” She took another long drink.
“That’s the reason you don’t date. I knew it! You are still in love with him!”
“I don’t know any other way to be.”
“You could just give in to it. God knows, he’s a hunk. A roll in the hay would do you a world of good.”
“Don’t be stupid. After what he did to me, I can’t trust him. I don’t even know if he’s married, or engaged, or seeing someone.” She finished her wine, and groaned. “How am I going to face him every day and stay sane?”
“Did he do or say anything today that might make you think he’s interested?”
“No.” She frowned. “Not really. Well, maybe.”
“Which is it? Yes or no?”
“No.” Charley sighed. When had Frannie refilled her glass? She stared at it, her forehead wrinkling in an effort to concentrate.
“Well, in that case, I wouldn’t worry about it. In a month or two, you’ll be so used to having him around that you won’t even think about it.”
“Two months?” Charley downed her wine in one gulp, and then squinted to see Frannie better. “I have to feel like this for two months?” Unsteadily, she held out her glass. “More.”
“Okay, but if you throw up, you’re on your own. Wine wasn’t meant to be guzzled.” She poured. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I really like Cole.”
“Oh, sure. You get a promotion, a raise, and free use of his credit card. Why wouldn’t you like him?” Wine sloshed over the edge of her glass as she waved her hand for emphasis. “What do I get? Someone to boss me around and break my heart all over again. Well, it’s not going to happen. I’m a big girl now.”
“The biggest,” Frannie agreed. “I mean that figuratively, of course,” she hastily assured when Charley glared at her.
“Are you drunk?” Charley attempted to arch one brow and only managed to cross her eyes instead.
Frannie fell over on the couch giggling. “Not as drunk as you are, but give me a minute. I’ll catch up.”
“Do you know what that bastard did to me?”
“You mean besides break your heart and leave you?”
“Yeah,” Charley nodded. “Besides that. He bought my house. My house!” She poked herself in the chest with one finger and then rubbed the spot. “He promised me we’d live in that house together, and now he’s bought it for himself.”
“The bastard,” Frannie agreed solemnly. Suddenly she sat up straight. “You know what we should do? We should go toilet paper his yard.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Charley stared at her with admiration. “No, wait. We can’t. You’re too drunk to drive.”
“Good point. Okay, I’ve got it. Let’s go toilet paper Ben’s yard. He’s a male too, and it’s only two blocks to his house. We can walk that.”
“He’ll arrest us.”
“No, he won’t. I’ll refuse to marry him if he does.”
Charley lurched to her feet and turned in a complete circle. “I’ll get my shoes, you get the toilet paper.”
Frannie took her by the shoulders and aimed her at the hall. “Your room is that way.”
“Right. I knew that.” She was upended in the closet when Frannie yelled at her.
“Hey, Charley. You only have two rolls left.”
Summoning all her power of rational thought, Charley sat down in the closet floor, swatting at something that tickled her face. “Then take a few bars of soap, too,” she yelled back. “We can put pictures on the windows of his patrol car.”
“Gotcha. Ready to go?”
“Ready.” Charley limped back into the living room.
Frannie stared at her for a second. “Nice outfit.”
“Thanks,” she replied, pleased. It wasn’t often that her and Frannie’s taste in clothes coincided. “I’ll get the wine.”
“Now, remember. We have to be quiet.”
The phone rang, and Charley hesitated. “I’ll get it. Might be Frank.” She limped to the phone.
* * * * *
“How did it go today?”
Cole looked up as Kristy stopped in the living room doorway, her arms loaded with books. “I honestly have no idea. One minute I’d think everything was going to work out fine, and the next she’d almost take my head off.” He rubbed his eyes tiredly. “Am I doing the right thing, Kristy? Maybe I should just tell her the truth.”
“Would she believe you?” Kristy put the books on the coffee table and sat down.
“No, she wouldn’t. Would you, in her place? She thinks Victor Channing is the next best thing to Jesus.” He shook his head. “You should have seen her reaction when I told her I bought this house. I think stabbing her would have hurt less, for both of us.”
“Cole, you knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Are you going to give up after one day?”
“I didn’t know how much it was going to hurt, Kris. If it were just me, I could handle it, but I can’t stand to see her hurting, too.”
“Hey, if she’s hurting, it’s because she still cares. Do you want to take a chance that you’ll
lose her for good? Because if you give up now, you will. This is both of your futures on the line. Are you going to trade the chance to be with her forever just to spare her a few minutes of hurt?” She hesitated. “Cole, it’s pretty rare in this day and age to find someone you can really love. Don’t throw it away. At the very least, give it a few more days. She’s still in shock over seeing you again. I have an idea,” she said. “Why don’t you call her? Maybe it will help you decide what to do.”
“Oh, sure. What reason could I have for calling her? I’m not supposed to be interested, remember?”
She grinned at him. “You’re the genius. Think of a reason.” She scooped up the books. “I’m going to be upstairs reading. Yell if you want me.”
He listened to her footsteps running up the stairs and then looked at the phone. Should he? God knows, he wanted to hear her voice, even if she was yelling at him. He could always say he’d called to find out who handled her legal work. It was something he’d need to know eventually, anyway. Picking up the phone, he dialed before he could change his mind. Four rings later, someone finally picked up.
“Lo?” The voice sounded unnaturally bright and chipper.
Cole hesitated. “Charley?”
“Yep. Thaz me.”
Suspicion began to creep over him. “Charley, have you been drinking?”
“Celebratin’,” she clarified.
He grinned and leaned back on the couch. “What are you celebrating?”
“Frannie’s promu…raise. Have to go now. Frannie is waitin’ on me.”
“Hang on! Where are you going?”
She giggled. “To Ben’s house. Ssh. Don’t tell anyone. We’re going to trash his yard.”
“Why are you going to trash Ben’s yard?”
“Cause he’s a man, and all men are pigs. You’re a pig, Cole. Did you know that?” There was a loud crash accompanied by a thud, and then laughter.
“Charley? Are you still there?” Silence. “Charley?”
“I’m here.” She laughed again. “Got the phone cord wrapped around me. I fell.”
“Are you all right?”
More silence. “My feet don’t work right,” she finally answered him.