Chapter 40
BODIE
I grabbed Shotgun’s leash as I came to a stop outside the Phillips House.
Lacey had been working nonstop for the past three weeks.
So had everyone else, making it impossible for me to sneak over and dig around the yard for my granddad’s stash.
The outside sported a fresh coat of light gray paint.
The windows sparkled and shined. The weathered wood had been replaced and a new white railing surrounded the large wraparound porch.
Between following up on leads for the cigar ring and trying to hunt down the pit bull fights, I hadn’t been out to check on things for a week or so.
Any sign of the holes from the supposed armadillo infestation was gone, although I wondered if my dad or Buck had been more to blame for trying to find my granddad’s stash of cash.
Either way, the whole yard had been replaced by a fresh layer of sod.
That was going to make it incredibly difficult to do what I needed to do.
But I was running out of time. If I didn’t get out here in the next day or so, not only would my family be going down, but so would Lacey and her dreams of salvaging Ido.
Lacey stood on the edge of the lawn, a hose in her hand, watering the new grass.
Her hair piled on top of her head in a messy updo and the shades sitting on her nose hid those gorgeous eyes.
I hadn’t seen her for over a week and the sight of her filled me with an unfamiliar feeling, one I didn’t feel comfortable exploring. Not now, maybe not ever.
“Hey, Deputy,” Jonah stepped onto the porch as Shotgun and I exited the truck.
“Jonah, what are you doing here?” The last time I had seen Jonah Wylder he’d been wrapped in chains and protesting the close of the warehouse.
It was nice to see him doing something helpful for a change.
Lacey had that effect on people. She was really turning the town around, getting everyone to work toward a common goal.
“Needed a little tuck pointing around the chimney.” Jonah shrugged. “Guess I should have followed in my old man’s footsteps a while ago. Turns out I’m a damn good mason.”
“Good for you.” I shifted Shotgun’s leash to the other hand so I could shake Jonah’s.
“Sorry about all that ruckus about the warehouse.” He tucked his hand into his pocket and cast his gaze to the ground.
“Not a problem. I’m glad to see you’ve found a new profession.” And I was, too. It didn’t do anyone any good to have a wild card like Jonah on the loose with no direction and a chip on his shoulder.
“Mayor Cherish is going to have me frost your wedding cake, too.”
“What’s that?” I shook my head. I must have heard Jonah wrong.
“That’s one way my dad said I could practice my mortar skills. Turns out frosting a cake is just like laying bricks. Consistency of the spread is key.” He waved his hand in front of him like he was spreading a layer of mortar over an imaginary brick wall.
“Is that so?” I glanced toward Lacey. She must have noticed my arrival since she’d turned off the hose and appeared to be headed my way.
“Yes, sir. You’re going to have the best wedding cake this place has ever seen.”
I didn’t doubt it, seeing as how it would be the first wedding cake the event center had ever seen. “Sounds good. I’ll catch you later.” I had more important things to do than chat with Jonah. I hadn’t seen Lacey for over a week and my body seemed to actually be going through withdrawal.
“Hey, Deputy.” She stopped in front of me, a grin on her face that reflected how I felt deep down inside.
“Hey, yourself.” I couldn’t help but smile. Seeing her erased the past seven days. Why had I stayed away for so long? I lifted her shades to sit on top of her head, needing to see her eyes. The look she gave me made heat flare in my gut.
Shotgun walked in a circle around us, wrapping us up in her leash, then tried to nose her way between our legs.
“Feeling a little neglected?” she asked Shotgun.
The dog whined, tail wagging. I cleared my throat as I tried to untangle the leash from our legs.
“You ready for our interview today?” Free from the leash, she stepped back. “I’ve got a binder of stuff we can go over real quick before the reporter shows up.”
“Don’t you think we should hug or something?
How would you greet your fiancé if you hadn’t seen him for a week?
” I leaned close, muttering against her ear.
The scent of hay and horses did little to soothe my nerves.
I’d been on edge for the past two days thinking about the meeting with the reporter this afternoon.
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “I suppose you’re right. Is anyone watching?”
Holding her in my arms, I didn’t care who was watching. I dropped my chin, grazing her lips with mine. A lightness bloomed in my chest, radiating through my limbs. This is what I’d missed—holding Lacey tight against me, tasting her on my lips, breathing in her scent.
“Whoa, we don’t want to give them too much of a show.” She pulled back first. “I can’t wait for you to see the inside. Come on.”
I followed her up the steps and into the house.
The floors had been refinished and now gleamed under my boots.
Daylight filtered through the windows and the stained glass transom, casting tiny rainbows across the wood floors.
The smell of lemon and ammonia surrounded me.
The entire first floor had been restored to what looked like its original glory.
“This looks amazing. How did you get this all done?” Everywhere I looked progress had been made. I ran a finger along the mantel of the fireplace in the front sitting room. There wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere.
“I had, I mean have, so much help. Jojo’s been by several times. Even Helmut stopped in with lunch a couple of times for the crew. And Zina’s been my right-hand woman.”
“It’s incredible.” I slowly spun around, taking it all in. “You’re incredible.”
Her face pinked. “Honestly, all I’ve done is keep track of the to-do lists.”
“I doubt that.” Suddenly I had a new appreciation for Lacey. Was there anything the woman couldn’t do?
“How’s Shotgun?” She bent to scratch the pup behind the ears. “When is she due?”
I groaned. “Another couple of weeks or so.”
“And then what?” Lacey glanced up at me, expectant.
Shrugging, I squatted next to her and ran my hand down Shotgun’s back. “I don’t know.”
“I talked to Zina. She said she’d love for you to keep her.”
“Puppies? I can barely take care of . . . oh, never mind.”
“You weren’t going to say you can barely take care of yourself, were you?” she asked.
“Of course not. It’s just, it wouldn’t be fair to her to have her sit around the house all day waiting for me. I’m gone so much.”
“What if she came to work with me?”
“What do you mean?”
“She could be an ambassador for For Pitties’ Sake. Maybe when people come to the house for an event, she could greet them. If she makes a good impression, then maybe we can find homes for some of the other dogs.”
“You know, you might be onto something.” I knelt down next to the pup. “You want to go to work with Lacey every day?”
Shotgun nudged her nose under my hand.
“I could keep her during the day and you could take her home at night,” Lacey suggested. “Just like—”
“Shared custody,” I said.
“I suppose so.”
Weird. I had gone from being single to engaged and sharing custody with Lacey in less than two months.
I waited for the panic to seize me, for my gut to clench or my throat to close.
It didn’t happen. Maybe it was because the gig was almost up.
In just a few weeks I’d be faking I do with my best friend’s little sister.
That thought put me on the edge of a panic attack.
But not—I realized—because I’d be fake-marrying Lacey.
Because after that I wouldn’t have a reason to see her on a regular basis.
I’d have to pull that thought out later and mull it over.
Now I needed to turn on the charm for the chat with the reporter.
“Want to finish showing me around?” I stood, Shotgun’s leash back in my hand.
“Sure. Follow me.” Lacey led me up the stairs to the bedrooms. They’d turned one into a bride’s dressing room, made another into a small conference room, and kept two of the rooms as bedrooms.
“So you’re going to rent rooms out overnight?” I asked.
“I’m not sure yet. There’s been talk of running some kind of bed-and-breakfast when there isn’t a wedding scheduled. This lets us keep our options open.”
I noted the little touches of Lacey that appeared everywhere. Fancy soaps by the sinks, flowers on all the tables, and the light scent of fresh-baked cookies that seemed to linger everywhere we went.
“How did you do it?” I asked as I climbed the stairs to the third floor, coming up behind her.
“I told you, everyone pitched in.” She turned to face me as she neared the top. “You’d be surprised at how everyone’s coming together. I think I finally got to them.”
I stopped on the narrow staircase, two steps below her. My eyes lined up with her chest.
“Bodie?”
“Yeah?” Reluctantly, I pulled my gaze away from the V neck shirt she had on. My hands itched to feel her soft skin under my fingers.
“You okay?”
What a loaded question. No, I wasn’t okay.
I had just a few days left to get the cash to Buck before everything I’d been working so hard to save came crashing down around me.
Not to mention the upcoming wedding. I had gone a week without seeing her and I felt like my heart had been ripped out and stepped on.
What was going to happen when I had to stand in front of the entire town and pledge to love her till death do us part, knowing I’d never get to kiss her again?
“Yeah. Just have a lot going on.” I wiped a hand over my chin. A few more weeks. I could handle that.
“How’s the investigation going? Find out anything new?” Concern creased her forehead. The kindness in her eyes slayed me.
“Um, getting close.”
“But no cigar, eh?” She giggled. “Sorry, that wasn’t funny but I couldn’t resist.”
I shook my head, grateful for the poor attempt at humor for lightening the situation. “So what’s up here?”
She climbed the rest of the steps with me behind her. It took everything I had to not plant my palm on the curve of her gorgeous ass as I followed her.
“Potential living quarters. We might need a groundskeeper or event manager to move in if things get really busy.” The hope in her eyes made me wish I could come clean with her, warn her about the threat of Buck exposing her arrest. No.
I’d have to eliminate that threat on my own.
Tonight. I’d sneak back after dark and see if I could find my granddad’s stash.
Anything to keep Lacey’s world from falling apart.
“You’ve done an amazing job.” I reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Thank you.” She turned to me, her mouth spread into a smile.
“Lacey? You up here?” a voice floated up the stairs from below.
I seized the opportunity to get that kiss I’d been craving. I took her in my arms, dipping her backward, lining my lips and my hips up with hers.
Her arms clasped around my shoulders, holding on tight. Mouth to mouth, heart to heart, I teased her lips apart, sighing as I relaxed into the kiss.
“There you are.” Zina huffed as I set Lacey upright. “I see you two have been working real hard.”
Lacey wiped at her lip, her gaze bouncing from Zina to me. “I was just showing Bodie what we’ve done to the third floor.”
“Sure you were.” Zina shook her head. “I can’t believe the two of you are going through with this.”
“Wait, you told her?” I asked.
“Yeah. You don’t have to pretend to love me around Zina. She knows.” Lacey glanced at the floor.
“I know and I think it’s one of the stupidest ideas you’ve ever had. You should know better,”—she glared at me, making me feel like I’d just been doused in ice water—“both of you.”
“It’s okay, she’s not going to tell anyone,” Lacey said.
I looked to the ceiling. “So who else? Your dad, now Zina? Who else knows we’re not for real?” “Not for real.” The words dropped into my gut like a load of bricks, hollowing out everything on the way.
“That’s it,” Lacey said.
“Ahem.” Zina cleared her throat. A look passed between the women.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I furrowed my brow. “Aren’t we past the point of keeping secrets?” My heart squeezed tight. I was a fine one to bring that up. I’d been the one keeping the secrets all along.
“Well, there is the small problem of Adeline.” Lacey’s shoulders rose and fell. “She got so mad at me for ruining her wedding that she’s opening up her own wedding venue in Swynton.”
“So?”
“And she’s taken every one of the vendors she lined up with her, so we need to find a new band to play the reception.”
“No big deal. I know a guy.”
“And she’s trying to convince Samantha to come cover her wedding instead.” Lacey bit down on her lower lip.
Zina cocked a hip. “I think you should let her.”
“But then we don’t get the media coverage.” Lacey stepped in front of me and straightened my shirt. “So we have to be extra charming during today’s interview, okay?”
Extra charming. Sure, I could do that. “When will Samantha decide which wedding she’s going to feature?”
“She said she’ll let me know by the end of the week. I know I’ve been asking a lot of you, but can we really turn it on today? Pretend we’re really in love?” Her eyes shone.
“Yeah. I think I can manage that.” I almost leaned in to kiss her again.
But then Zina whomped us both over the head with a pillow she’d picked up from the couch. “Y’all are asking for it, if you ask me.”
“Good thing no one’s asking you, then.” I winked at her, ready to play the part of the loving, head-over-heels fiancé. As I followed Lacey back down the stairs, I couldn’t help but think, it wouldn’t take much faking this time.