“Why, sweetie, I don’t know where you got the idea that I didn’t like the boy. It wasn’t his fault that his family didn’t have any money. You don’t really think I’d hold something like that against him, now do you?”
Charley smiled at him. “Of course not. You’re one of the kindest men I’ve ever known.”
“Thanks, darlin’. But I have to tell you, as a member of the City Council, it’s my duty to do what I think is best for the city. I don’t know if what Cole Jordan has planned will help us or hurt us, yet. If I think it will hurt us, I can’t, in good conscience, go along with it.”
“All I want is for you to listen, Uncle Vic.”
“That I can do,” he said, smiling. “As a matter of fact, I think I’ll have a chat with the boy before the meeting starts. Why don’t you find a seat before the place fills up?”
Charley found several empty chairs on the second row and chose one that would give her an unimpeded view of the front of the room. Twisting a little on her seat, she watched her uncle approach Cole.
“Channing. Douglas.” Cole gave a curt nod as the men stopped in front of him. He saw Channing’s gray eyes sweep over him assessingly.
“Jordan. Didn’t expect to see you around these parts again.”
Cole gave him a sarcastic grin. “Well, you know what they say about bad pennies.” Most of the crowd had wandered into the main meeting room, leaving them relatively alone in the entry. Over Channing’s shoulder, Cole saw Charley watching.
“I know what they say about cats, too. Just because they’re born in an oven doesn’t make them biscuits.” Channing’s face never changed expression, but his voice dropped. “Looks like you’re doing good these days, Jordan. I hear you own half my niece’s business. Not much I can do about that now, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high about the rest of these plans you’ve come up with. This town doesn’t need your money. And if you’ve got any ideas about my niece, you can forget those, too. You weren’t good enough for Charley ten years ago, and you still aren’t. Trash is always trash, even if you dress it up in expensive clothes.”
Anger washed over Cole in a heated wave even though he’d been braced for something just like this. But he hadn’t gotten rich by letting his emotions get away from him. The smile remained. “I think you’ve forgotten one important thing, Channing. I’m not twenty-one anymore, and I don’t threaten easily. Why don’t you do both of us a favor and save it for the meeting? There may even be a few people who actually care what you have to say.” He stepped around Channing and walked to the front of the room, taking a seat on the first row near the projector, on the other side of the room from Charley. Most of the crowd had started to settle, and he glanced at his watch just as Kristy rushed in and plopped into the seat beside him.
“Sorry. Am I late? They had problems with the copy machine, but I finally got them.” She deposited several boxes on the floor in front of them.
“You’re in time. I think it will be a few minutes yet.” He leaned toward her. “The tall guy in the dark blue suit is Victor Channing. We had a minor run-in a few minutes ago.”
Kristy casually glanced around. “I see him. Who’s the big guy with him?”
“That’s Douglas Ashton. He’s Victor’s personal assistant. I was about sixteen when Douglas started working for him.”
“Do you think the rest of the council will follow Channing’s lead?”
“He thinks they will. See the older gentleman, white hair, standing to Channing’s left? That’s Jess Bennett. He’s on the Merchants Association as well as the City Council. With the members of the association here, he’s going to be under a lot of pressure to go along with us.”
She smiled up at him smugly. “It’s a good thing you invited the merchants. From the reactions I’ve heard in town, the City Council must have wanted to keep it quiet.”
“I’m sure they did. Channing would have loved to make it an executive session to keep people out.” Cole caught the eye of a reporter, who winked at him. Cole grinned back. The man had been instrumental in seeing to it that the council didn’t hide behind closed doors for this. He turned back to Kristy. “Is everyone here?”
Her eyes swept the audience again, looking for familiar faces. “I think so.” Suddenly her gaze locked on something to their right. “Man, if looks could kill, I suspect I’d be toes up right about now.” She turned back to face the front. “For both our sakes, you’d better hope Charley doesn’t have a gun in her purse.”
Cole threw back his head and laughed. “I’m afraid to look. But don’t worry, she’ll know who you are before the night is over.”
“Good, because I just reconsidered volunteering to make her jealous. I’m too young to die.” She took another quick peek. “Who’s the brunette with her?”
“Probably Frannie, her cousin.”
As the council members took their places, the Mayor pounded his gavel on the table in front of him. Charley was only dimly aware of the noise, and missed his opening remarks completely. Her eyes were fixed on Cole and the blonde with him.
“Who’s that with Cole?” Frannie whispered. “She’s gorgeous!”
“I have no idea,” Charley whispered back. “I’ve never seen her before.” She suddenly felt Frannie’s gaze on her.
“Are you gritting your teeth?” She grinned. “I think a light just came on. You don’t want him, but you don’t want anyone else to have him either.”
“Maybe I changed my mind,” Charley muttered.
Frannie stared at her. “You and I are going to have a long talk, cousin.”
Charley sighed. They could talk all they wanted to, but if the blonde was someone special to Cole how could she hope to compete with the original California Golden Girl? Her gaze swung to Cole’s broad back as he stood and moved to the projector, the dull ache in her middle all too familiar. Why had he reacted to her like he had that morning? She might only have experience from that one occasion, but there were some things a man just couldn’t fake.
As slides of scale models, studies, and location shots flashed across the screen at the front of the room, Charley replayed Cole’s kiss in her head. He had said he wanted her, and there was no doubt in her mind that he had been telling the truth. But he’d also said he was going to continue fighting those feelings. She hadn’t thought about why at the time, but maybe she’d just found the reason. Her eyes went to the blonde, then returned to Cole just as he faced the audience. Even as he continued to talk, his gaze found hers and held.
Chapter Seven
As Kristy took his place by the projector, Cole let his gaze rest briefly on the spot where Charley sat, and cursed under his breath. She looked upset as hell, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why. Kristy. No matter how badly he wanted to explain, he couldn’t. The only thing he could do was hope that his plan from this morning hadn’t been ruined, and make sure she was introduced to Kristy before this night was over. It was beginning to feel like he couldn’t do anything right where Charley was concerned. He looked back toward the front, waiting while Kristy explained the plans for Duncan Mills to the council.
When the lights came back up, Cole stood. “As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, CJE, Inc. has a lot of plans for this area. It’s going to involve changes for all of you, but in the long run, we think it can only help the economy. If there are any questions, I’ll be more than happy to answer them.”
Victor Channing leaned back in his chair. “I believe there are a few, Mr. Jordan. Our streets are just like they have been for the last hundred years. The traffic flow alone will be horrible. I don’t think we’re equipped to deal with something like that.”
Cole gestured toward Kristy and she began handing out folders. “What you have in front of you is a proposal drawn up by a city planner who studied Canyon Bend. With the addition of a few traffic lights and some rerouting, there shouldn’t be a traffic problem.” He paused. “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear at the beginning of this meeting, and if not, I apo
logize.”
His gaze moved to Channing. “I wasn’t asking your permission to carry out these plans. I’m here merely as a courtesy to let you know what’s about to happen. How you handle those changes is strictly up to you.”
Channing smiled. “Well, now, Mr. Jordan. You can’t very well carry out your plans if Canyon Bend doesn’t implement these changes, can you?”
“Mr. Channing, that won’t even slow me down. It’s simply a matter of building a relatively short bypass around Canyon Bend. The land already belongs to me and the county has agreed to maintain the road if we turn it over to them after it’s built.” He shrugged. “Of course, that means Canyon Bend won’t receive any of the business we generate, but that’s your problem, not mine.” Cole almost smiled at the low murmur of indignation from the merchants in the audience, and began packing up his equipment. “One last thing. There are several experts here tonight that are willing to work with you and answer any other questions you might have. They’ve agreed to stay after the meeting and talk to anyone who’s interested. In two weeks, if I haven’t heard from you, work will begin on the bypass. Once it’s started, it won’t be stopped, so I suggest you let me know what you’d like to do before then. I’m sure you know where to find me.”
Without another word, he turned down the center aisle, Kristy following him. As soon as they were outside, Cole stopped. “Damn. I promised myself I wasn’t going to let Channing get next to me.”
“I don’t think it was Channing that got next to you. It was Charley—” She broke off abruptly as the door opened behind them.
“Excuse me. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just wanted to apologize for Uncle Victor.” Charley’s gaze moved between them.
Cole deposited his load in the back of Kristy’s car. “Why? Are you responsible for his attitude?”
“Of course not. Uncle Victor makes up his own mind. But I really believe he just wants to protect Canyon Bend, Cole.”
He closed the car door and faced Charley again. Frannie had come out and was standing next to her. “Yeah, good old Victor Channing. Always trying to protect something.” Cole couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”
“I don’t blame you for being upset. I’ll talk to him again. I’m sure he’ll eventually see how much good this will do the city.”
Cole’s jaw clenched. “I don’t need you to talk to him. As I pointed out before, there’s nothing he can do to stop me. He may as well find that out now.” He put one hand on Kristy’s arm.
“Kristy, this is Charley Hart and her cousin Frannie Hart. This is Kristy McIntire, my executive assistant and soon-to-be stepsister. You’ll both probably be seeing quite a bit of her when things get rolling. Kristy is in charge of the Duncan Mills project.”
“Stepsister?” Frannie was looking at Kristy with great interest.
Kristy smiled at her. “Yes, Dad finally got Maggie Jordan to agree to marry him. Only took him five years,” she grumbled. “The wedding is going to be in two months.”
“That’s wonderful!” Frannie gushed. “I love weddings. I’m engaged, myself. It’s just that Ben and I can’t agree on a date. He wants to elope, I want a big wedding with all the trimmings.”
Suddenly Cole’s entire attention was fixed on her. “Ben?”
“Yes, Ben Zimmerman. You may remember him. He’s the sheriff now.”
Cole glanced at Charley and smiled. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do remember Ben.”
“Great! You can catch up on old-times Thursday night. I’m having a birthday party for Charley at the Red Dog.” Frannie smiled at Kristy. “You’re invited, also. Bring a date if you want.”
Kristy nodded. “Thank you. I’d love to come. It’s been kind of lonely around here with no one to talk to but him.” She yanked her thumb in Cole’s direction with obvious disgust.
Charley looked positively fascinated at Kristy’s sisterly attitude, and Cole almost laughed.
“Are you staying here in town?”
“I’m staying at Cole’s for now.” Kristy smiled at Charley. “He has so much room it seemed silly to rent something. As soon as everything is done here, I’ll be going back to L.A. to handle his business there. You should drop by sometime. It’s really a beautiful house. Bring your swimsuits. The pool is great.”
“Thanks. We may just do that.” Cole saw Charley sneak a quick look at him to see how he was taking the invitation. He did his best to look like it didn’t affect him one way or the other.
Kristy glanced at her watch. “I have to get going. I promised Mrs. Paulson I’d be home as soon as possible. The woman is convinced there are wolves all over the mountains just drooling to turn her into a midnight snack.” She climbed into the car. “See you later.”
Frannie started toward her Volkswagen. “I have to go, too. I’m meeting Ben in a few minutes. Night!” She waved.
Cole looked down at Charley, wishing he could come up with an excuse to stay with her. The darkness that surrounded them seemed to get deeper and quieter.
“Who’s Mrs. Paulson?” She sounded nervous.
“My housekeeper. She’s never been out of Los Angeles before and thinks we’ve moved her into the wilderness. It’s Kristy’s fault. She’s always telling her stories about the Wild West and scaring her to death.”
He saw her hesitate. “Kristy seems very nice.”
“She is. I hope you take her up on her invitation. She could use a friend or two.”
“How long have you known her?”
It was his turn to hesitate. They were finally having a conversation and he didn’t want to stir up the bad memories again. But he couldn’t lie to her. “Ten years. Jim McIntire was the first person I met when I got to Los Angeles. It was the day before Kristy’s fourteenth birthday.”
She nodded. “And now you’re all going to be a real family.”
“We always have been. Jim doesn’t have to marry my mother for that to happen.”
Charley looked up at him, searching his face in the moonlight. “You know, it’s funny. I keep forgetting that you’ve been somewhere else, living another life for all this time. Nothing ever changes around here. You see the same people every day, do the same things you’ve always done, and it’s like the rest of the world doesn’t exist.”
Mesmerized, Cole watched her lift her hand to his cheek. He was afraid to move, afraid to breathe. Suddenly, his heart was slamming into his ribs.
“But it does exist. You’ve been there.” Her head tilted as she studied him. “It’s changed you, hasn’t it? You aren’t the same person you were before. Not even the same one you would have been if you’d stayed here.” Her thumb moved over the stubbled beard of his chin and up to caress the edge of his lips. “You look the same, but deep down, you aren’t. I don’t think I know you anymore.”
“Would you like to?” He could no more prevent the husky quality of his voice than he could stop the surge of hope that ran through him.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I think I’m afraid, Cole. Afraid that too much will be changed, and at the same time, afraid it won’t be.” She dropped her hand back to her side, the movement leaving him bereft.
“There’s no rush, Charley. I’m not going anywhere.”
She was still looking up at him. “Do you think maybe we could be friends, again?”
No, he thought. He and Charley could never be just friends. But at least it was a place to start. “If that’s what you want.”
He saw the brief flicker of a smile on her face and then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Welcome home, Cole.” Before he could move she turned and ran across the parking lot to her Blazer. Welcome home. No one else had told him that, and he was surprised by the lump it created in his throat. He was still standing there staring after her as the meeting broke up.
* * * * *
The rattle of glass led Cole unerringly down the hall to the front of the Red Dog the next morning. For once, Ch
arley had beaten him in to the office. After their conversation the night before, he had no idea how to treat her. Friends, she’d said. How did you treat the woman you ached for like a friend?
He stopped in the entry and watched her. She was standing on a stool behind the bar, taking bottles out of a box and inserting them into the slots that lined the wall. Her jeans hugged her hips and legs snugly. Every time she stretched to reach the slots over her head, her T-shirt rode up, giving him a glimpse of bare skin and outlining the soft curve of a breast. His reaction was immediate and uncomfortable. Friends, he thought ruefully. Not a chance in hell.
“You’re going to fall off and kill yourself if you aren’t careful.” He finally moved out of the entrance and stopped behind her.
Charley glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Don’t be silly. I do this all the time.” She put the last bottle in place and turned.
He couldn’t resist the chance to touch her. Putting his hands on her waist, he lifted her down. For an instant, something flared in her eyes, gone so fast he wasn’t sure if it had really been there.
“I didn’t expect to see you here this morning. Weren’t you going to the hotel site?”
“Yes, but I thought maybe you’d like to go with me. They’re pouring the footing today, and it’s the same crew that will be working on the restaurant. You should meet the foreman since you’ll be working with him.”
It only took a second for her to make up her mind. “You’re right, and I really don’t have that much to do today, anyway. Let me leave Frannie a note and I’ll meet you outside.”
Cole had just finished putting the top down on the Jag when she came out. Casually, he tossed her the keys. “You drive.”
Catching the keys reflexively, she came to a sudden halt, looking in amazement from him to the car. “You can’t be serious.”
He moved around to the passenger side. “I told you I’d let you drive it sometime. Now is as good a time as any.” Sliding into the deep bucket seat, he fastened the safety belt and waited while Charley hesitantly climbed in.