Chapter 5
BODIE
I sat at my desk, draining my coffee mug.
I’d been working up the nerve to head over to my folks’ place and start asking questions.
I could guess all I wanted, but the only way to find out for sure why my family decided to close the warehouse was to come right out and ask.
As I got up from my chair, determined to go through with my plan, I noticed her in the doorway.
Lacey. She had on tight jeans, the kind that didn’t leave much to the imagination, and a pair of well-worn boots.
She must have come from riding since she wore her dad’s old canvas jacket over a flannel button-down shirt.
I swallowed, my mouth suddenly feeling rather dry. She’d never looked so appealing.
“Bodie.” She met me on my way to the door. “We need to talk.”
I looked around the office. The sheriff’s secretary eyed us over her cup of tea. “I’m heading out to run an errand. Why don’t you come with me, and we can talk on the way?”
She grabbed my arm. Heat seemed to scorch my skin, even through the heavy jacket I’d shrugged on. “I have an idea, a good one. A way to save the town, put people back to work, and—”
“Let’s go.” I pulled my arm out of her grasp and put my hand on her shoulder, steering her toward the exit.
Once we made it through the door and into the parking lot, she rounded on me. “What the heck? I come in trying to talk to you about my idea—my great idea—and you can’t even bother to give me a minute or two of your time?”
“Sorry, I didn’t want anyone to overhear. Tell me, what’s the big idea?”
Her cheeks pinked with excitement, her enthusiasm almost contagious.
“Weddings.” She climbed into the truck, bouncing onto the seat next to me. “They’re big business. Huge. In fact, the wedding industry pulls in over fifty billion dollars a year.”
“Weddings? What do weddings have to do with Idont?” I backed out of my spot and pulled onto the road. “We don’t even have a hall big enough to host a reception.”
Her eyebrows lifted, and her lips curved into a smile.
“Wait.” I eased the truck to a stop on the side of the road, then shifted in my seat, twisting to face her. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“It’s the perfect solution. I stayed up last night working out the details.” She reached into her purse, feeling around for something. A notebook. She leaned close. Close enough that I could catch a whiff of the sweet smell of hay and horses. “Here you go.”
I glanced at the notebook she’d set on the seat between us. Line after line of Lacey’s curly script covered the page. “Can you give me the condensed version?”
She huffed out a breath. “Fine. Did you know the average wedding costs thirty-nine thousand dollars? And about eighty-five percent of that goes toward the reception?”
“Those are great stats. But I still don’t see what that has to do with Idont. We’re not exactly wedding central around here.” I picked up the notebook and handed it back to her.
“That’s just it.” Next to me, Lacey practically vibrated with excitement. “Idont isn’t. But what if we change the town name to Ido? We could position the town as a major wedding destination. Ido, Texas. Has a certain ring to it, don’t you think?”
I stared at her—the way her eyes shone with enthusiasm, the way her mouth curved into a smile. And then I laughed. A full-on, doubled-over, deep-from-the-belly laugh.
Her palms pushed at my arm. “It’s not funny.”
“Sorry, Lacey.” I put up my hands in an attempt to protect myself.
“It is funny. It’s hysterical.” I tried to catch my breath, but every time I came close I thought of my dad or pops dressed up in penguin suits, ushering in another wedding party.
“Who’s going to do the food? I guess you could serve Banzai Burgers.
Maybe you can offer Jonah a job as master of ceremonies. The man does have a way with words.”
She gave up on pushing my arm, deciding to whack me over the head with her notebook instead. “I never should have told you. All you ever do is make me feel stupid.”
“Hey.” I caught her hands, my heart squeezing into a tight knot at the sound of heartbreak in her voice. “I don’t think you’re stupid.”
She pulled her hands away, turning to face the window. “Can you take me back to my truck now?”
“Lacey.” I reached out, brushing the hair from her shoulder. It was soft, softer than I imagined when I thought of holding her head in my hands, tilting her face at just the right angle so I could kiss her. “I’m sorry. I never want to make you feel less than you are.”
“Doesn’t matter what you think.” Her voice came out soft, low, full of hurt. “You go on, move to Swynton with your dad and your pops. I’ll figure this out on my own.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose as I let out a groan. “I never said I was moving to Swynton.”
“You never said you weren’t.”
It was like arguing with the ten-year-old version of Lacey all over again. But we weren’t talking about which flavor of Airheads was the most sour. This was serious stuff. “I’m not going anywhere.” At least not yet. Not until I made sure she was safe and figured out what my dad and pops were up to.
“Wouldn’t matter to me either way.” Her shoulders curled forward, like she was trying to shield herself from me.
I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth as I maneuvered the truck into a wide U turn in the middle of the road. “Fine. Why don’t we try talking about this again later?”
“Fine.” She crossed her arms across her middle. “But I need you to do something for me.”
Lacey wasn’t one to ask for favors. But I owed it to Luke to look after her while he was overseas, fighting a much bigger enemy than we’d ever face in our tiny corner of Texas. “Name it.”
She leaned against the door, adjusting her body to face mine. “I need you to back the hell off.”
“Come again?” Did she seriously just tell me to leave her alone?
“I mean it. No one is going to take me seriously or listen to a word I say if you’re standing in front of me, trying to fight my battles the whole time.”
I draped one hand over the steering wheel. “Look, if it’s about Jonah—”
“It’s not just about Jonah.” She shook her head. “It’s about everything. First you interrupted my press conference—”
“You answered three questions. I’d hardly call that a—”
“Doesn’t matter what you’d call it. That’s my point.” Her chin jutted into the air. “I don’t want you calling anything. If we’re going to survive each other, I need you to butt out of my business.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek to keep from saying something I might regret. “You about done?”
“Maybe.” She sulked, leaning against the door.
I almost laughed. Her attitude reminded me so much of when we were kids. When she didn’t get her way she’d pout, sticking that lower lip out just about as far as it would go. “You’re the mayor, Lacey.”
“I know that. The headache I’ve been dealing with for the past two days has been a constant reminder.” She put her hand to her temple as she gazed out the window.
“That means I can’t stay out of your business. The sheriff’s office works pretty damn close with the mayor’s office. I’d even go so far as to say your business is my business.”
“What’s that?” She reached over and put her hand on my leg. Dammit. My foot flew off the brake, and my hips almost bucked up at her touch.
“What the hell?” I regained control of my hormones as I swiveled to face her. For a moment I forgot I was sitting in my truck with my buddy’s little sister. I was just a man and she was just a woman, and . . .
“Over there. Watch out!” Lacey pointed at something ahead.
I slammed on the brakes, but not in time to avoid crashing into the trash cans at the edge of the sheriff’s parking lot. The truck came to a stop and I’d barely shoved it into park before I jumped out to take a look at my front bumper.
Lacey caught up to me. “Any damage?”
I straightened. “Nothing major. Just another little dent in the bumper.”
“Oh no.” Lacey turned to point at something behind the trash cans. “Not another one.”
“What?” I followed her finger, my breath hitching in my chest as I spotted the frightened dog. “Hell. You want to make a difference as mayor, figure out a way to catch the assholes who keep dumping their dogs out here.”
The animal stood shivering by a strand of scrubby bushes, its mouth bound closed by duct tape.
“That poor thing.” Lacey stepped next to me.
I inched toward the animal. The dog didn’t move, just kept a wary eye on me. “I’m not going to hurt you, sweetheart.”
The dog glanced between me and Lacey, its tail starting to wag, just a tiny bit.
“Give me your belt, Lacey,” I mumbled.
“I can’t do that, my jeans will fall off.” She clamped her hand on my arm, sending a pulse of awareness through me.
“It’s either that or it might run.” I rummaged in my pocket for something to offer as a bribe. The dog couldn’t be much older than a year or so. Baggy skin hung from its frame. Based on the size of its paws, it still had lots of growing left to do.
“Fine.” Lacey handed over her belt. “But if I end up mooning everyone in town, it’ll be all your fault.”
I cracked a grin at the thought of getting a glimpse at Lacey’s behind. “I’ll take full responsibility.” Arranging the belt into a loop, I took a few more steps closer to the dog. “Are you hungry, bud?” I held out a piece of venison jerky I found at the bottom of my pocket.
The dog sniffed the air and inched closer. Dried blood covered the poor thing’s muzzle. My stomach clenched. I’d seen more than my fair share of evil in the way men treated each other. But there was no excuse for mishandling an animal.
“There you go.” With the dog sniffing the piece of jerky, I slipped the belt around its neck. “We’re going to get you taken care of.”
I stood, walking the few feet back to Lacey with the dog on the makeshift leash.
“Poor thing. Who did this to you?” Lacey dropped down, her hands immediately going to the dog’s head. “We’ve got to get this tape off of him.”
“Her.” I pointed to the pup’s underside. “You’ve definitely got a little girl on your hands there. Hold on to her for a sec? I’ve got a first aid kit in the truck.”
Lacey took the belt, but it didn’t seem like she’d need to hold on too hard. The pup nudged her nose into Lacey’s cheek, her tail wagging like crazy. Looked like they’d both found a friend.
By the time I got the scissors and cut the tape holding the pup’s mouth shut, Lacey had given the animal a complete once-over.
She’d also taken it upon herself to snag my huge water bottle and let the dog take a drink.
I cringed as the dog covered the mouth of my stainless steel tumbler with quick, sloppy laps.
“We’ve got to get her to Zina’s. She can see if she has a chip and check her over.” Lacey stood from where she’d been running a hand over the dog’s side. “Looks like she’s in pretty good shape besides the obvious.”
“You’re in charge, Mayor Cherish.” I picked up my water bottle and pointed to the truck. “Should I assume she’s riding shotgun with you?”
“Absolutely.” The smile she gave me was worth having to sanitize my water bottle when I got home.
“Let’s go.” The dog didn’t have any problem hopping up into the cab. Once Lacey got settled, the pup climbed onto her lap and covered her face with kisses.
“Hey, cut that out.” She ran her hand over the dog’s head. “Where do you think she came from?”
My heart constricted. That was the million-dollar question.
Ever since For Pitties’ Sake rescue had opened up outside of town a few years ago, they’d been inundated with stray dogs.
And not just any kind of dogs. Pit bulls.
“I wish I knew. Best guess is someone decided she was getting too big and wanted to find a place to dump her.”
“But why tape her mouth shut? That’s inhumane.” The dog nudged her head under Lacey’s hand in a demand for more attention.
I swept my palm over the dog’s side, earning me a couple of licks. “I agree. Just once I’d like to get my hands on one of those bastards.”
“What would you do if you caught one?” She cocked her head, evaluating me with those big blue eyes.
The way she stared up at me, her eyes full of sass, made me wish Luke and I weren’t such good friends. There was no excuse for the kind of thoughts I was having about my best friend’s little sister. “Things I don’t feel comfortable describing in present company.”
“You think I can’t handle it?” She let out a huffy breath. “After all the time we’ve known each other, you still think of me as a weak little girl, don’t you?”
“What?” I scoffed. It would be best if I let her think that.
Nothing good would come out of telling her how I really felt.
I hadn’t thought of her as a little girl since she came back to town.
Still, I kept trying to remind myself that the bombshell sitting next to me was off-limits.
That she was the same annoying kid I’d been forced to tolerate while I hung out with her brother.
Even if the sight of her made my pulse ratchet up and my palms sweat.
“I’m all grown up now, Bodie, and I don’t need you looking out for me.”
I pulled into the parking lot of the dog rescue and brought the truck to an abrupt halt.
“I’m well aware of the fact you’ve grown.
” Did she have to keep drawing my attention to that?
How could I not notice the way her lanky limbs had given way to curves that didn’t end?
Her smile had changed from a loopy, toothy girl’s to a seductive grin that was most definitely all woman.
“Well, fine, then.” She led the dog from the truck.
I caught up in time to open the door for her.
“I can open my own doors, you know.”
“Be my guest.” I let go of the handle. The door closed.
She let out an exasperated groan as she reached for the handle.
“What? Do you or do you not want me to open the door for you?” She was sending enough mixed signals that I’d never find my way out of the tiff we’d started.
As we stood arguing on the concrete pad in front of the building, a guy came up behind us. “Can I get the door for you?” He reached in front of Lacey and grabbed the handle.
“Thank you.” The smile she gave the stranger overflowed with charm.
I groaned as I followed her into the building. One thing was certain. I was going to have my hands full with Lacey, even if I didn’t get to experience the pleasure of actually touching her.