Chapter Sixteen
Max left Josie’s office furious with himself. He couldn’t believe what he’d put Goldie through. All this time she’d been hurting as badly as he had over the breakup. Worse, he’d forced her into doing something desperate and dangerous.
The irony was that he had wanted to protect her from himself and his past, but instead he’d driven her to someone who could prove even more dangerous. The only way it could be worse was if Goldie was falling for Donovan.
Well, he had only himself to blame. Now what he had to concentrate on was getting ahead of whatever Malcolm Mandeville and his crew had planned for Dry Gulch.
All his instincts told him that they were going to hit the bank on Tuesday when the big shipment of money came in.
Maybe he couldn’t stop them, but he could catch them in the act.
While that decision relieved his mind some, he had Donovan and Goldie to worry about.
He had worried that he could never get over her.
Now he knew he couldn’t. He just hoped for a chance to make things right.
But first he had to warn her about what he suspected even though he knew she wasn’t going to want to hear it.
She probably wouldn’t believe it any more than she had the first time he tried to warn her.
She’d think he was trying to come between her and Donovan because he was jealous.
And he was jealous, he thought as he looked up in time to see Donovan come out of the hotel. Before he could stop himself, he made a beeline for him. “I need to talk to you.”
The man stopped and turned in surprise. “What can I do for you, Sheriff?”
Max fought the impulse to punch him in the face. “I don’t like you.”
Donovan laughed. “I suppose I feel the same about you.”
The sheriff lifted a brow. “You don’t know me.”
“Oh, I beg to differ. I’ve learned all about you.”
Of course. Goldie. “I’m sure she had a lot to say.”
“Actually, she didn’t say one negative thing about you, but the fact that you let her go speaks volumes about you.”
The anger in Donovan’s tone surprised him.
“Only a complete fool would walk away from a woman like that. She thought she wanted you back.” Donovan laughed. “Fortunately, I’m encouraging her to move on.”
“When will you be moving on, Mr. Cole?” Max asked, fighting to keep his temper. The man was testing him, taunting him, looking for a fight.
“That’s the funny thing. When I first came here, I was only planning to stay a few weeks.” He looked around the town. “But the place intrigues me.” He turned to face the sheriff again. “Goldie intrigues me.”
“You’re telling me that your staying has nothing to do with Arnie Adams and the grand opening he has planned?”
Donovan lifted a brow. “The new owner of the café? Why would it? I’m staying around because of your ex. She deserves a man who can commit. One who can give her what she wants and what she needs.”
Max took a breath and let it out slowly as he felt his hands fist at his sides.
Don’t do it, he warned himself. “I think it’s more likely that you and your associates will soon be cooling your heels behind bars in my jail.
” With that, he turned away before he could slug the man.
Sometimes he hated being sheriff. His brother, Cordell, would have decked Donovan not long after the man got to town.
As he turned away, he almost collided with Josie, who had no doubt seen him confronting Donovan and hoped to keep him out of jail. From the look on her face, she’d heard all of it.
“What did that accomplish?” she demanded in a whisper, falling into step beside him as they walked away from Donovan.
He lowered his voice as they distanced themselves from Donovan and anyone else in front of the hotel. “I just wanted him to know that I’m watching him.”
Josie rolled her eyes. “You are the most stubborn man I’ve ever known.”
“That says a lot since you’re engaged to my brother. If I’m right, Arnie and Donovan are in cahoots. I think I might know what they’re up to. The problem is stopping the crime before Goldie gets any more caught up in it.”
Josie shook her head. “I hate to tell you this, but what you just did might have pushed her right into his arms.”
“Goldie has a mind of her own, but I shouldn’t have to tell you that.”
“Honestly, Max Lander, you need to tell that woman how you feel about her before you lose her.” With that, Josie stormed off.
He watched her go, afraid it was true. But he was still the sheriff, and if he was right, this town was in trouble—and so was Goldie. Somehow, he had to save them both.
GOLDIE HAD NEVER felt so lost in the town where she’d been born and raised.
Suddenly, she had nothing that rooted her here.
The café was gone. True, she knew most everyone in the county.
She had moved in with her cousin Clancy Roberts after she and Max had broken up. And her best friend Josie was here.
But they were all busy living their lives with jobs and a purpose.
She felt as if she’d lost hers. The thought brought back what Max had told her.
What did Arnie really plan to do with the café?
Even if he’d been in prison and some crime boss was funding the man’s venture, it didn’t mean anything was going on, right?
She glanced down the street, always taken aback not to see the Goldie’s sign out front.
Why couldn’t it be just a coincidence that Arnie and Donovan were from the same town?
She thought of the beautiful Lolly Mandeville and realized she was only kidding herself if she didn’t believe Max.
He could be stubborn and clueless when it came to her, but he had an instinct when it came to his job.
It was no coincidence that these three were in Dry Gulch.
Her feet automatically began to move in the direction of the café even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to get inside. Arnie had made sure of that, at least until the grand opening. It did seem suspicious, though, soaping the windows, making it impossible to see what was going on inside.
Goldie turned down the alley. Had her menus really been thrown in the trash behind the building? She couldn’t help herself. She checked the dumpster in the alley and spotted them piled in one corner. Tears burned her eyes. She quickly closed the lid. She had no use for menus anymore.
Still, she stood there, tempted to pull out at least one for old time’s sake even as her sensible self, argued that keeping it would be a mistake. Did she really need a reminder of everything she’d lost, especially Max? All his favorites were on that menu.
“You need to learn how to let go of things,” her cousin Clancy had told her. “That goes for Max too.” Her cousin was much younger, had never been in love and hadn’t even been out of the county.
But still, Goldie had to admit Clancy was right.
Maybe so was what Max had told her, she thought as she turned to stare at the back door of the café, before she stepped across the alley and tried the door. Locked, just as she’d expected.
She could hear construction noise beyond the door. Was he gutting the entire place, tearing out everything? She considered the large dump truck parked nearby. She couldn’t tell what had already been loaded inside the back.
Spotting an old brick next to the back door of the café that she’d often used to prop the door open she picked it up.
What would it take to break the old lockset on the door?
Hadn’t Max warned her a long time ago that she needed better security at the café?
She’d laughed since she often forgot to lock the back door anyway.
Why make someone break in if they were hungry? she’d thought.
Cradling the rock in one hand now, she pressed her ear against the door. She couldn’t help thinking about Max’s suspicions that something was going on. If Arnie and Donovan were involved with crime boss Malcolm Mandeville…
Her blood turned to ice as she realized what she was hearing. Surely, they weren’t using jackhammers, were they? Arnie had mentioned something about redoing part of the foundation, but—
She lifted the brick, afraid she’d made a huge mistake selling her café to Arnie Adams.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said a familiar voice.