Chapter Nine
“D id you find all your facts?”
Matt’s question caught her off guard. Which had happened more than once in the two days since her return from the trip with Cade. “What do you mean?”
“You said you were going on a fact-finding mission. So, what fact did you find out? Did you and Cade discover any common ground?”
Common ground? Shaky ground would be a better description. And nothing to do with the springs issue. But she wasn’t going to say that to her brother. “We’re still discussing the issue.”
Matt grinned but kept his attention on the plate of nachos in front of him. He wasn’t fooling Tori though. He was her brother after all, and she knew from past experiences that he could feign ignorance of something with the best of them.
“I see.”
Tori gave her brother one of those big sister looks that had always served her well in the past. Except it didn’t this time. “What are you inferring?”
“Me? Who said I was inferring anything? We lawmen don’t do a lot of inferring . We look at evidence and make flat-out statements.”
“Then make a statement if you think you’re so smart.”
He settled his gaze upon her. “Well, now that you’ve asked. It’s fairly simple deducing.”
She shook her head. “I have a feeling you’re about to find your deducing skills are not all that sharp all the time.”
“I believe that both of you did find some common ground on the springs issue. Because you wouldn’t have it any other way. However, I believe that you both agreed to keep discussing the matter because there are other things that came up during this trip. Let’s say you two didn’t come back as the combatants you left. Which is why I saw the man twice…once yesterday and once today and both times he asked how my sister was doing. He has never done that before as we both well know.”
“You are way off base, Matthew.”
“And you never call me Matthew unless I’ve really gotten under your skin.”
“I would change the subject if I were you,” she added, giving him the look.
“One last bit of evidence,” he said. “The man just walked in the door and was going to another direction until he spied you. Smile, sis…he’s heading straight for you.” Matthew said the last words while putting a welcoming smile on his face and outstretching his hand.
Why did her stomach squeeze and a sense of panic set in? Get a grip. She would have two pairs of prying eyes on her now. She hoped the smile on her face was not as shaky as she was feeling as she met those blue eyes, and he shook hands with Matt.
“Good to see you, Cade. Care to join us?”
Tori wished she could give a swift kick to her brother’s leg beneath the table at that moment. He’d issued the invite on purpose. There was nothing for it but to lift a smile at the cowboy who stood beside their table.
“Good afternoon, Matt. And to you, Mayor.” His voice and demeanor gave nothing away but a casual greeting. That seemed to irritate her more than it should have. But if they were back to their usual selves in Destiny’s River, then so be it. She nodded and said a brief: “Afternoon Mr. Lockwood.”
He had already turned his attention back to Matt. “Thanks for the invite but I’m meeting someone, and I see she’s already been seated toward the back and is waiting on me. Maybe another time. Have a good lunch.” He left them and Matt reclaimed his seat.
Tori itched to turn around and see who the ‘she’ was he had mentioned. But that would be too noticeable, especially by her brother. However, it didn’t keep him from giving an account of what he saw.
“My, my…so he does have a very nice-looking lunch partner if my eyesight doesn’t deceive me. I wonder who she is? I would remember her if she was from these parts.”
Tori kept her focus on the salad in front of her. “If you’re so interested, then go introduce yourself. She might find the badge lends you some sort of country charm.”
“Meow,” he commented, looking across at his sister. “That sounded almost catty on your part, but then why should it? Evidently you don’t have any particular interest in the man…even after you two took a trip together.”
Tori shook her head. “It takes a good deal of patience to be your sister. And I’m not the one ogling them.”
“I am not ogling. I am, after all, a single man who appreciates a beautiful woman when he sees one. And looks like Cade does, also. They are having a very deep conversation…heads close together, gazes locked on each other. Yep, she might be a keeper.”
“I have had my fill,” she said, placing her napkin beside her plate. “I believe you said lunch was on you, so I’ll leave you to it. Give Jilliebean my love. We’ll go shopping next weekend as promised.” Tori made a concerted effort not to glance in a certain direction as she moved toward the doorway. And she almost made it, but Leslie Wright—a member of the council—stopped her as she was almost to the doorway.
“There you are, Tori,” she said. “I was going to call you later, but I know you’re a busy woman. Then I saw you here and might as well strike while I can. We wanted to get your opinion on something we want to try for the October Fest list of events. We think it will make quite a good deal of funds for the furniture for the addition to the children’s play area in the hospital.”
“Sounds interesting. What is it?”
“A bachelor auction! Isn’t that fun? Only we might call it something like Cowboy Roundup or something fitting in with the western theme, or we could even do something like masks and masquerade…but what do you think of the idea?”
Tori had not planned on having this conversation with the woman in the café. She wanted to distance herself from the vicinity of Cade and his lunch date.
“Let’s step outside and free up space for this lunch crowd. Or you can call me later and tell Wallace I asked you to call.” She began moving to the door. Once outside, she felt she was home free but that thought had come too soon.
“Tori, just one more thing,” Leslie said, having hustled outside right after her. “Another option to think about is why not make it an auction for both men and women? Wouldn’t want to leave anyone out. Of course, it would be notable members of the community who we would ask to volunteer to be auctioned. It could be such fun!”
“That’s quite an idea,” Tori responded, moving slowly yet determinedly farther away from the café. “Why don’t you run it by the event committee members, get their input, have a vote and then if all are of the same mind, you can bring it before the council next Monday evening with all the specifics attached.”
“That would be wonderful. I am so glad that we can count on your support. And you know, we must add both you and your brother’s names to our list of auction stars. And we will line up others before the meeting, also. I am just so excited now…thanks, Mayor!” She hurried off and Tori felt relief. She crossed the street in the direction of the courthouse. As she was about to enter the building, she caught sight of the familiar black truck—for once, not parked in her reserved spot. And Cade and his companion had just arrived between it and a convertible parked next to it.
Tori stepped inside slowly but not so much so that she couldn’t see the couple. They stood for a few moments talking, then the woman stretched on tiptoe and gave the tall cowboy a hug. Which he returned easily, even adding a brief kiss on the cheek before opening the female’s door for her and shutting it once she was comfortably inside. And that is all Tori needed to see.
None of my business. He was a grown man. They both appeared old enough to be consenting adults. Why did it matter in the least? Tori had appointments to keep and she headed upstairs to her office. But her mind wouldn’t vacate the scene she had witnessed outside a few minutes earlier. The woman obviously wasn’t a stranger to Cade Lockwood. But she wasn’t someone local…Tori had not met her before. She would certainly remember if she had. And Matt was in the dark about her identity also. Her car was an expensive luxury model as were the fuchsia cowl-necked sweater and black slacks with her long black hair as shiny as a raven’s wing. She reeked of money. Tori shouldn’t be surprised. That would be the type of woman who would attract a wealthy rancher like Cade Lockwood. Money attracts money.
“Lunch not sit well?”
Tori had sat her shoulder bag down with a thud on the edge of her desk. She took a seat on her chair behind her desk, swinging around to face the window behind her. Wallace’s question brought clarity back to her thoughts. She turned the chair around to face her assistant.
“Sorry, just a lot on my mind about what I need to accomplish today. Let’s get the reports for the proposed street work on the east side. We need to be up to speed when the engineers bring in their budget proposal.”
“Will do.” He turned to leave and then stopped. “By the way, Mr. Lockwood has called twice now and would like to schedule some time with you today. I did tell him you were busy, but I thought I would run it by you just in case you wanted to try to fit him in?”
“No,” she said in response. “My schedule is full. And it will be tomorrow also…and the next. He just can’t call at the last minute and expects to be fitted into our workday. He is not to be treated any different than anyone else in this town.”
“I see. Well then, I shall handle that.” He closed the door behind him.
Great way to handle that. But he just couldn’t expect any favors from her office. Let other women rearrange their schedules for him. What is your problem?
And as soon as she asked that of herself, she slammed the door before an answer could wreck the rest of her day.
*
“I told you to wait until I could get over there and take care of those leaves.”
Tori stood on the second-to-top rung of the ladder, balancing her cell phone between her shoulder and ear, while she tried to reach the clump of leaves and debris that was lodged just at the top of the drainage pipe from the gutter on the corner of her covered porch. She had managed to remove the first clump, but the next one was giving her some issues. She was already as high as she wanted to go on the ladder. It had seemed an easy project to handle when her brother had to cancel at the last minute for an issue in his office. Surely, she had told herself, she could handle such a project and be done with it.
“I am not helpless, and I have almost got this. But I need to get off the phone with you to do it. Now go be sheriff and let me finish this. Bye.”
She clicked off and the phone slipped. She tried to make a saving grab for it but the ladder shifted a bit and it was either save the phone or jump for it. The phone made a thud when it hit the grass. Thankfully it looked in one piece. But her nerves weren’t. Her fingers gripped the edges of the ladder until she was certain it wasn’t going to move again. Maybe just one more step upwards and she could get the whole thing over with.
“Are you crazy? Get down from there before you drop something besides your phone.”
The voice shocked her, and her foot missed the rung. Just when she thought she was done for, a solid frame of warm body was right behind her on the ladder, breaking any chance of her fall. Then she looked over her shoulder, and her worst expectations were confirmed.
“What are you doing on my ladder? You scared me and I could have fallen.”
“Excuse me, but you did not fall because I managed to get up here and keep that from happening. Any falling from a ladder would be your fault for being up here in the first place.”
Being pressed between the hard metal of the ladder and the hard male body behind her was the last place she needed to be. Try to maintain some semblance of composure.
“This is neither a place for a lecture nor a discussion. Kindly get down so that I might get off this thing.”
He slowly backed down and waited for her descent. Fine mess. Certainly not the finest moment of her life. So much for a graceful exit.
She made it down and tried to gather her usual business composure. It was a little hard to do when that blue gaze was definitely not going anywhere.
“What is it that you want? I don’t usually conduct business in my backyard after hours.”
“Well, I haven’t had a lot of luck getting an audience with your highness doing it the usual business way. So I was in the neighborhood and luckily caught sight of you dangling from this ladder. You might say I’m taking care of two problems at the same time and should be getting a thank you at least.”
“Thank you? I didn’t ask you to stop and help. Let’s get that clear. I was doing okay until you snuck into my yard and scared me.”
“So, we’re back to square one, are we?”
“Square one?”
“You being your uptight, high and mighty mayor self and me being a tax-paying citizen, being treated not very amiably by you. I did try to make appointments with you like you requested, but for some reason your schedule seems to be a bit stuffed lately. And you seem to have forgotten how to return phone calls. I thought you were trying to get me on board with your springs idea. This is not boding well for that.”
“Look…” She tried to take a deep breath and get control of a situation that was clearly about to escalate, but his mention of the springs brought perspective. Don’t blow it.
“I have been busy since we returned. And I should have spent more time trying to return all the calls that had piled up during the last couple of days. But I was going to finish getting to them tomorrow. And while I wish there were more hours in the day, I do have a home I have to try and take care of, which also coincides with my business of being an innkeeper also. The gutters are causing issues after the last rain and I needed to handle it. Sorry you had to take time from your busy schedule to bring your issue to my doorstep…after hours.”
He had listened. And maybe his broad shoulders didn’t seem quite as rigid as they first appeared, and there was a bit of relaxing in that strong jawline. And she shouldn’t be watching him so closely.
“I see. Well, all of us are entitled to have an off day now and then, I suppose. And I should have alerted you to my presence in your yard before just jumping on your ladder. But I thought you were about to take a tumble, and I tried to prevent that. Sorry for scaring you.”
He was apologizing? Mark the calendar.
Then she felt contrite for being so catty in her thoughts. “Thank you. I’m sorry for overreacting. I appreciate you for keeping my bones in one piece.”
There was a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth and that was also not something she should be looking at. After all, there was someone else who had a claim to that area. She better not forget that fact.
His hand lifted and two fingers brushed the side of her head, bringing everything into sharp focus. Before she could back away or react, his fingers drew back with two leaves that had been stuck in her hair. And she felt even worse as the last vestiges she tried to project of being halfway better-looking than she felt, were literally plucked away.
“Thanks,” she said, as it came out in just better than a mumble. “What was it that you needed to speak to me about?”
“I’ll tell you if you promise that you will not get back on that ladder after I’m gone.”
“Just tell me.”
“I was going to ask if you would come out to the ranch this Saturday and we can go up to the springs and finish our discussion with my point of view added into it. We saw the springs on our trip, and you certainly gave me a lot of research to read through, which I have. Now you need to see my perspective…correct?”
She couldn’t deny that fact. “Yes, that is true. And I’ll be able to come out in the afternoon if that’s agreeable?”
“Yes, that’s fine. My people will be expecting you and they’ll let me know when you arrive. Let’s say two o’clock?”
She nodded.
“Good. And now I’ll just put this ladder back in the garage for you and be on my way. It’s getting too dark out here to be working anyway.” And he did just that. The nerve of him. She hadn’t asked him to help.
“Look, I can do that.”
He didn’t stop. With the ladder over his shoulder, he strode to the open garage, and all was done in a couple of minutes.
“All done. Now I have an engagement to get to, so I’ll leave you. See you Saturday, Mayor.”
She tried not to but watching him walk down the driveway to his truck was something she couldn’t resist doing. He turned and caught her and he grinned, touching a finger to the brim of his hat. The truck roared to life, and he was gone.
“He probably thinks I was ogling those tight jeans. Him and his Texas-sized ego.” She was speaking to only herself. Add that to making her feel even more ridiculous in her jeans with patches and an old work shirt of her brother’s. Leaves in her hair. Probably dirt smears too. Not exactly her finest moment. And in comparison, to how his engagement was probably going to look this evening, she would be the comic relief for him.
Well, she was who she was. No use trying to be any other way. Cade Lockwood was not in her realm. And that thought made her feel worse instead of better. Darn him!