Chapter 15 Bodie
BODIE
By the time I was done giving the reporter and her sidekick a personal tour of the exterior of the Phillips House, including a guided walk around the grounds and the wild raspberry patch that always made me break out in hives, I was out of patience.
I stood on the gravel next to Lacey, waving as Jay and Samantha backed down the drive.
Lacey’s smile faded as soon as the van disappeared around a curve. “I asked you to stop butting into my business.”
“What?” I glared at her. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I saved your ass.”
“No. You made a bad situation worse. I had it under control. You’ve got to stop stepping in.” She whirled around, her boots crunching on the gravel as she stomped toward the house.
I caught up to her in just a few steps. I wrapped a hand around her arm, causing her to stop. “Look, Sweets, if I hadn’t stepped in, you would have been screwed. That reporter would have left, pissed off that she’d wasted an entire morning driving out here for nothing.”
Lacey turned on me, spitfire sparking in her eyes. “Do you think maybe I had an idea? One that didn’t involve you divulging your entire family history?”
“Really?” I let go of her arm, stepping back and crossing my arms over my chest. Damn if she wasn’t even more attractive when she had a little fire in her belly. “Enlighten me, please.”
“Forget it, it’s too late.”
“Oh no, you don’t. You want to rip me a new one because I intervened to help, you’re going to tell me how you planned to save the day.”
“Fine. I was going to talk to her about Adeline. How she’s practically Swynton royalty and how she really wants to be the first one to get married in our new venue.”
I shook my head from side to side. “No way Adeline’s story trumps mine. I even showed her where my relatives used to hide their moonshine during Prohibition.”
“I appreciate your help, but we’ve got to stop thinking about this place as a piece of the Phillips family history and start trying to position it as a charming location that’s exclusive to Ido.”
“But it is a part of Phillips history. And it always will be, even if you’d rather take a big eraser and wipe my family out of the town’s history. Just like you’re changing the name. Like it or not, they helped found this place.”
“And if we’re not careful, they’ll be the ones who destroy it forever.”
We stood facing each other, locked in a standoff for what felt like forever. I was too stubborn to admit she was right.
Finally, Lacey shifted her gaze to the parking area. “I’ve got to find Adeline before she tells everyone the whole place is infested with rats.”
I wanted to ease her worries. The slump of Lacey’s shoulders made it look like she had the weight of the world resting on her slim frame. “Want me to come with you?”
Her palm pressed on my chest. A field of warmth radiated out from where she touched me. “You’ve done enough for today. Don’t you have official sheriff business to attend to?”
Nothing pressing unless I wanted to follow up on another random lead about a potential dog-fighting ring.
The sheriff’s office had been hearing rumors of a mobile dog-fighting circuit for years.
Trouble was, as soon as they got wind that someone was onto them, the whole operation would pick up and move, making it impossible to catch them in the act.
I grabbed her hand, giving her fingers a squeeze. “Be careful, okay?”
“You afraid Adeline is going to take desperate measures?”
“That woman’s capable of things I wouldn’t put past even some of the most hardened criminals I’ve worked with.”
Lacey laughed off my concern. “Don’t worry about me. I’m sure we can work something out. I’ll just tell her she saw someone’s pet or something.”
“You really think she’s going to buy that?”
“Maybe not, but what’s the alternative? Tell her that she’ll need to invest in traps so we can make sure a giant mammal doesn’t take off with her wedding cake?”
“Good luck. Let me know how it goes.”
“You’ll be my first call.” She rolled her eyes. “Now, don’t you have something better to do?”
I reluctantly withdrew my hand. The promise I’d made to keep an eye on Lacey was turning into a bit of a chore.
Not because I resented having to follow her around, but for reasons exactly the opposite.
The more time I spent trying to keep Lacey out of trouble, the more time I spent with her.
The more time I spent with her, the more I enjoyed her company.
The more I enjoyed her company, the more I could picture her flush against my chest, my arms wrapped around her, her lips tangled with mine . . .
“Bodie?” Her forehead creased. “You okay?”
“Yeah, um, see you later.” My face flushed with heat.
It wouldn’t do anyone any good for me to voice the kind of thoughts I’d been having about Lacey.
I waited until she made it to her truck.
Then I climbed into my own pickup. Thanks to her ruining my notice, I’d have to head back to the office and print off another one before I could do much else.
Maybe I’d stop by the house on my way. Shotgun had been cooped up in her kennel all morning.
It would do the dog some good to get some fresh air.
As I climbed into the truck, my stomach grumbling in anticipation of my lunch, my cell rang.
Pops. Dammit. Why did my family seem to have the worst timing in the world?
“What’s up, Pops?”
“It’s your dad. He’s in the hospital over in Swynton.”
My lungs seized then squeezed together. I tried to take in a breath around the giant lump forming in my chest. “What’s wrong?”
“Somebody sent him a message. Get your ass over there, we’ve got to figure this out.”
“Is he okay?”
“He will be. Not much more hurt than his pride. This time.” The line went dead.
Pops had never been a fan of long conversations or conversations in general. With hope for a quiet afternoon shattered, I turned my truck toward Swynton—the last place I wanted to go.