GABE WOKE TO a phone ringing, and he frowned. It didn’t sound like his cell. A split second later he realized he was still in Tessa’s apartment.
“Hey, Pop. What’s up?” said Tessa. She had rolled onto her side, away from him, to answer the phone on the table next to her bed.
Gabe half listened to the conversation, hearing tension in her voice as she assured her father that nothing was wrong, that she hadn’t returned to her office because she was taking the rest of the day off. The conversation morphed from there into a variety of topics.
He put his arm behind his head and gazed at the graceful sweep of Tessa’s back and the curve of her hip. Sex was the last thing he’d expected when he’d gone to find her to review the background checks.
From the daylight coming through the windows, he put the time at around 5:00 p.m. He never slept in the middle of the day and didn’t sleep that much at night. Yet he’d fallen asleep in her bed, not once, but twice. As a rule it was something he avoided; in his experience, some women seemed to see it as grounds for a longer-term relationship.
He released a heavy breath. The previous night had been charged with emotion, with things being said that had dug deeply into places he didn’t like exploring.
There were vast differences between him and Tessa. At Poppy Gold, she was surrounded by family. The bed-and-breakfast complex represented happy memories with her parents, and she was unquestionably devoted to her father. In contrast, Gabe had rarely seen his parents over the past twenty years.
Still, she’d given him something to think about. His dad must have gotten over being angry at his eldest son for going into the navy. A small percentage of TIP had been given to Gabe as a baby, but nothing compared to the share signed over once his father retired. Perhaps David McKinley’s awkward “I’m proud of you, son,” the last time they’d spoken meant more than Gabe had been willing to believe.
“I know, Pop,” Tessa said softly, following a long period of silence. “We’ll go out of town or whatever you think might help...No, Mom wouldn’t mind. She’d hate having you hurt so much.”
It was silent again, but Tessa wiped her cheeks.
Gabe swore silently.
He suspected she had been so focused on running Poppy Gold and getting Liam through the loss of his beloved wife, she hadn’t dealt with her own feelings about her mother’s death. How could she have? She had one parent left and was intent on helping him in any way possible.
Gabe didn’t know what it would be like to lose his mother or father, but Tessa’s devotion was a reminder of what his relationship with his own parents might have been.
After another few minutes, Tessa said goodbye and turned to look at him. “Sorry. My mom and dad’s wedding anniversary...” She drew a shaky breath. “What would have been their thirty-second wedding anniversary is coming up. Pop gets depressed thinking about it.”
The memory of Liam’s shaking hands and inability to concentrate filled Gabe’s mind. “Are you sure it isn’t more? Could he be drinking to forget?”
Instead of getting angry, Tessa shook her head. “I understand why you’d wonder about that, but alcohol makes Pop sick to his stomach. One drink and he gets ill.”
“Maybe he should try talking to someone besides his daughter,” Gabe said carefully. “You’re hurting, too, and somehow you need to deal with it, the same as your father. He could get counseling, maybe from his pastor. A few of my men used to go to a priest before heading out on a mission. I didn’t see the need, but they claimed it helped get their heads straight.”
Tessa swung her legs over the side of the bed and began getting dressed. “That wouldn’t work... Pop’s pastor is also his father-in-law. I would have introduced you at the ice-cream social, but Grandpa George left early to be with the family of a parishioner having emergency surgery.”
“Oh.”
It was another reminder of how tangled the relationships were in a small town. Glimmer Creek might be worse than some, but all of them seemed complicated.
“I’m hungry,” Tessa said with false brightness. “Want a pizza?”
“Food deliveries are allowed in Poppy Gold?”
“The delivery person goes to Guest Registration, and they’re driven to the guest’s room in an electric cart. It’s a pain, but it’s the only way we can keep the number of motor vehicles down and make guests happy. What are your favorite toppings?”
“Everything except anchovies. I’ll get my wallet.”
Tessa shook her head. “No need.” She dialed a number on her smartphone. “Hey, Carlo, it’s Tessa. I need an extreme meal, half a regular combination, the other half vegetarian...Right, baked...Thirty minutes?...Great, put it on my account...No, I’m at home. I also need an order of eggplant parmigiana, salad and bread sticks to be delivered to my father...Yeah, above central maintenance. Thanks.”
Gabe sat up. “Are you and your dad becoming vegetarians?”
“I just like veggie pizza the best and got lasagna for Pop the last time. I’m going to look some more at those background checks while we wait.”
She left the bedroom, and Gabe collected his clothes. The sex had been spectacular, but it presented problems, including the question of what Tessa might now expect.
Frustrated, he zipped up his jeans and disposed of the condom wrappers. Curious, he looked at the box Tessa had left on her bedside table—the expiration date was close, but it was nearly full, missing only the ones they’d used earlier. Obviously she didn’t have sex that often.
Pushing the thought away, he crossed the small parlor into the office. The fanciful creatures painted on the wall seemed disapproving as he reseated himself by the window. He tried not to be uncomfortable. She wasn’t a sweet-faced toddler any longer; she was a sexy armful who’d made the first move.
Though only by minutes.
Gabe wasn’t sure how long he could have sat next to her in that stuffy little room without a serious meltdown.
Nonetheless, he shouldn’t have succumbed to temptation. Tessa wasn’t like the women he’d known before and it seemed a cheat to get involved with her. Perhaps she wasn’t a complete innocent, but she was still filled with ideals and optimism, and he couldn’t recall ever feeling that way himself.
Yet her ideals were part of what drew him to her. She was sweet, stubbornly idealistic, and seemed particularly full of life. To someone who’d seen so much death, it was nearly irresistible.
“Who are you looking at now?” he asked, trying to put the thought out of his mind.
“Wanda Donovan.” Tessa scrunched her nose. “It isn’t right for me to know she got a speeding ticket in Nevada. That’s her business, not mine.”
He leaned closer and looked into the computer screen. “The ticket was written in Reno, the land of casinos and slot machines. Any chance Ms. Donovan has a gambling problem?”
“Unlikely,” Tessa said firmly. “Wanda was my Sunday school teacher when I was ten. She has a married daughter in Sparks, which is next door to Reno.”
“That doesn’t mean Ms. Donovan isn’t gambling.”
“It doesn’t mean she is, either. I’ll bet she got this ticket when Melissa had her baby. Wanda was probably speeding to see her at the hospital.”
Gabe sat back. He didn’t want to get in a fight with Tessa, but he wasn’t going to ignore a lead. “Fine, but Milt should check it out. Debts can make people desperate. I still think the most likely scenario is that someone already working at Poppy Gold was recruited to steal data from TIP.”
“Even if I agreed with you, which I don’t, it’s a gigantic step to move from information theft to attempted murder.”
“The guilty employee could have been paid to let an unauthorized person into the El Dorado Mansion.”
“You’re reaching.”
Okay, he was reaching. A little. But at least he was open to other explanations.
“Anyway,” Tessa continued, “I meant to tell you before... Remember the no-show group that was supposed to stay at the El Dorado the night before TIP was scheduled?”
“Yeah.”
“We were notified a few days later that the credit card they used was stolen. The name on the card doesn’t match any of our guests over the past three years, which is good news for Poppy Gold, but also a dead end as a clue.”
Gabe swore.
“I also compared the dates Rob thinks information was stolen from his suite, and I still can’t see a pattern.”
The doorbell rang and Tessa got up to head downstairs. After a moment, Gabe headed for the steps himself. In the middle of the staircase he looked up and down, tempted to dare any ghosts to show themselves. It was a foolish thought, probably brought on by a haze of sexual satisfaction.
Death was death. He didn’t have metaphysical or religious beliefs about it. Perhaps it would be marginally easier if he did have those beliefs—then he might also have faith that villains would receive their just rewards and their victims would find comfort.
Jaw set, he continued down and saw Tessa talking to the pizza deliveryman, dressed in the vibrant colors of the Italian national flag.
“Is that the new uniform, Wayne?” Tessa asked.
“Yeah, it’s cool. I couldn’t talk Carlo into shorts, though. Let’s see, I have a half combination, half veggie dinner special for you.” Wayne handed her an enormous pizza box and two bags. He cast a less-than-subtle look at Gabe. “See you next time. I’ll take the order over to Mr. Connor now.”
“Thanks, Wayne.”
Gabe took the food and put it on the sofa table while Tessa locked the door. She unpacked the bags; one contained soft drinks and salad, the other a large carton of chicken.
“I hope you like baked chicken.” She pushed the carton toward him, along with a paper plate. “The seasonings they use at Little Italy are terrific.”
“It’s fine. I thought you were just getting pizza. This is enough to feed a navy convoy.”
“Leftovers are convenient. I’ve eaten many a slice of pizza for breakfast.”
“Same here. My mom rarely cooked, so Rob and I usually ordered pizza from a restaurant where Dad had an account.”
“It doesn’t bring up bad memories for you?”
He looked at her incredulously. “Bad memories about pizza? Get serious. The last time I was injured in the service and they wouldn’t let me eat, I told them to give me a pizza by IV.”
* * *
TESSA CHUCKLED AND forked a serving of Greek salad onto her plate.
She was trying to decide if she regretted having sex with Gabe. Essentially, she was staying in Glimmer Creek, and he’d made it clear that he was taking the fastest route out of town once his investigation was finished. He’d been equally clear that he didn’t intend to have children. She might have put romance temporarily on hold and have qualms about loving too deeply, but she still wanted it all, including a family.
They ate steadily and put the leftovers in the refrigerator before returning to her office.
It was cooler now, and she continued reading the background reports, occasionally making comments. She was careful not to say anything she’d learned exclusively as manager of Poppy Gold, sticking to what she knew as a member of the community.
“You have boring neighbors,” Gabe said finally.
“Quiet, not boring.”
“You mean Poppy Gold tourists are as blameless as the rest of Glimmer Creek?”
“No, but I think most people are basically good. By the way, you don’t have to keep sniping at small towns,” she advised wryly. “I get the message. And if you’re trying to warn me off because we had sex, don’t bother. The sex was okay, but I know we aren’t compatible in any other way.”
She wasn’t sure, but she thought she detected annoyance in Gabe’s eyes. Honestly, men thought women overanalyzed and picked things apart, but they were often the worst offenders.
Still, it was true that she wouldn’t have had sex with Gabe if she hadn’t liked him quite a lot—physical attraction wasn’t enough for her. Maybe he’d sensed that and was trying to protect her in his own way.
They were looking at the next file when Tessa’s phone rang. “It’s my great-uncle,” she said, looking at the display before answering. “Hey, Uncle Milt.”
“Hello, Tessa. I got the report back from the state crime lab.”
“Oh. Gabe McKinley is here—let me put you on speaker.” She pressed the icon on the smartphone. “Go ahead.”
“As I was saying, I got the report back on that wood from the El Dorado staircase. There are a lot of details in the report, but basically it’s the considered opinion of the crime lab that both the step and railing were deliberately rigged to collapse.”
“Hell,” Gabe exclaimed.
“Exactly. It doesn’t prove that your brother was the intended victim, but he’s the most likely target, given the letters and that he was the next person expected to be on those stairs. It would be a good idea to contact the Los Angeles police and get him under protection.”
“He’s already under protection. Rob doesn’t know it, but I’ve got two ex-SEALs tailing him,” Gabe explained.
“Why doesn’t he know?” Tessa asked.
“Because he’s a stubborn jackass who refuses to have personal security. He’d refuse police protection, too. I know him.”
Great-Uncle Milt’s laugh sounded over the phone. “Sounds like brotherly love to me. What about this sting operation?”
“I want to create a stack of fake documents to tempt the spy,” Gabe said. “I’m not a businessman, so I’ve been thinking that Tessa and I could work on it together and come up with the details. We’ll run it past you, of course, and develop a plan of action for the week Rob is here.”
Tessa’s jaw dropped. They hadn’t discussed the sting yet, and she’d expected to need to fight tooth and nail to be included.
“All right,” Uncle Milt agreed. “My office isn’t soundproofed, so I don’t want to take any chance of being innocently overheard, but we can talk on the phone when I’m at home.”
“Sure thing. Thanks for calling, Uncle Milt.”
“Just a minute,” Gabe interrupted. “I want to ask about Wanda Donovan. I’ve gotten some background checks of my own and apparently she’s often near Reno. I understand her daughter is there, but it would be easy for her to gamble when she’s visiting. Having money problems could tempt her to do something she shouldn’t.”
Tessa glared at him.
“That’s a leap if you’re going for guilt by association,” Great-Uncle Milt said. “I’ll look into it, but I probably would have heard something by now if Wanda had a gambling problem.”
“That’s how I feel,” Tessa affirmed. “We’ll talk to you later, Uncle Milt.”
“Take care, darling.”
Outside the sun had dropped low in the sky, and Tessa stood up. “Let’s take this up again tomorrow. I’m going over to check on my father.”
“I’ll go with you.”
She shook her head. “Pop has already suggested I could do worse than to get together with a man like you. The less he sees us together, the better.”
Gabe stared. “You’re joking.”
“Not at all, though I’ve reminded him there wouldn’t be any grandchildren if we got serious.”
“Was he convinced?”
Tessa thought about her father’s comment that she could change Gabe’s mind, but she didn’t want to discuss it. “Grandchildren are important to Pop, partly because he knows kids are important to me. As long as I keep reminding him of that, he won’t push. He doesn’t want to see me lose out on something I’ve always wanted.”
“I’d still better go with you. It could be dark by the time you leave.”
She gave him a tight smile, refusing to get into another debate about small towns versus cities. As far as Poppy Gold went, it was a world unto itself, with staff on duty around the clock, including security.
“Fine.” Tessa turned off the computer and stood up.
They were both quiet as they walked to the central maintenance building.
“I didn’t realize there was living space up here,” Gabe commented as they climbed the rear exterior steps.
“The apartment has been mostly empty until the last year or so. Hi, Pop,” she called, seeing him at the table under the pergola. The food containers from Little Italy still sat there, and she quickly assessed how much he’d eaten—not as much as she would have preferred, but more than half.
“Thank you for dinner, dear.”
“No trouble. I was ordering food for myself and just added something for you.”
For the first time, her father seemed to notice her companion. “Hello, Gabe. I see you’ve been more successful than the rest of us in getting my daughter to take time off. Thank you.”
Tessa squirmed, recalling what she and Gabe had done with that time off, and was pleased to see he looked a little uncomfortable himself.
Gabe cleared his throat. “Uh, sure.”
“Have a seat.” Liam gestured vaguely. “There’s probably soda or juice to drink if you’re thirsty.”
“I’m going to get soda water,” Tessa said. “Do you want lemonade, Pop, or something else?”
“Lemonade is fine.”
“Sounds good to me,” Gabe added.
Tessa was grateful to get away, even for a few minutes. Spending so much time with Gabe was exhausting; she always had to be on her guard around him, and her instincts were totally screwed up by hormones and a growing understanding of the complicated, wounded man beneath the hard shell.
Tessa’s throat was tight and she tried to suppress the melancholy going through her. Despite his professed lack of faith in human nature, Gabe was a protector—a soldier who’d risked his life to make the world safer. It was equally clear he was haunted by the people he hadn’t been able to help, especially the children. His deepest wounds weren’t the ones on his body.
But it wasn’t up to her to heal him; he’d probably laugh at the idea that he even needed it. But he did. He really did. And a part of her already wanted to be the source of that healing.
* * *
AS LANCE WAITED in the car for Jamie to finish her class on Wednesday, he looked through the printouts he’d found on his doorstep. They were from the US Navy website, and he figured Gabe McKinley must have left them there.
He just wished he could ask Gabe how being arrested in Sacramento might affect his chances. What if Gabe or the navy thought he’d actually broken into somebody’s house and had gotten off lucky? That would be horrid.
Before coming to Glimmer Creek, Lance hadn’t cared much about what people thought, but it wasn’t the same now. Jamie was a sweetheart, and even if her parents still weren’t sure about him, they were nice people. Liam and Tessa had given him a shot and the pay wasn’t bad; it would get even better once he started training to take care of Poppy Gold’s antique vehicles. But the navy could be a real chance to do something.
The driver’s door opened suddenly and Lance jumped. It was Jamie.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He hastily shoved everything into his backpack. “Did your professor say anything about the term paper you gave him on Monday?”
She smiled ecstatically. “I got an A. He said it was great and he’s looking forward to reading my other one.”
Lance kissed her, so proud he could burst. “I knew you could do it.” He pulled out a small box from his pocket. “So I got you this to celebrate.”
Inside was a little silver A for her charm bracelet.
Jamie looked at the charm for a long time without saying anything.
“Don’t you like it?” he asked anxiously.
“Oh, yes, but I need to talk to you about something, and a gift makes me feel funny.”
He’d never liked it when people said they had to talk. Usually it wasn’t anything good. “What about?”
“The thing is, my mom asked me not to ride the motorcycle any longer. It isn’t because she doesn’t like you—it’s because she worries about safety.” Jamie drew a deep breath. “But this isn’t just about Mom. I get sick to my stomach on the bike and riding it scares me, too.”
Lance frowned.
“Please don’t be hurt,” Jamie begged him. “I didn’t want to tell you because I know you love your bike. Only Tessa said the longer I waited, the harder it would be, and she was right. Please say something.”
“I don’t care about the bike,” he said slowly, relieved it wasn’t something worse. “I already figured your folks didn’t like it, and I should have noticed riding it made you sick.”
Her face relaxed. “I’m really proud that you fixed it up. Not too many people could have done such a great job. I bet that’s why Uncle Liam wants you to work on Poppy Gold’s vehicles.”
Lance hadn’t thought about being proud. He’d wanted something to drive, and the only way was to fix up a bike that somebody else had thrown away. Getting it to work had pleased him, of course. Buying a motorcycle, even a used one, would have been impossible.
“I guess.” He was thinking about what she’d said, that putting something off only made it harder. She was right. It seemed almost impossible now to tell her the truth about his childhood.
“Do you want a milk shake before we drive home?” Jamie asked.
“Uh, okay.”
She started the car—it was a Volvo that belonged to her dad—and drove toward a hamburger stand they’d eaten at before. Lance knew her father had wanted her to take the Volvo because of its safety record. Motorcycles were great, but her parents had a point—they weren’t as safe as a car.
Only Volvos cost a lot. You sure couldn’t buy one at the salvage yard and fix it up the way you could a motorcycle. It was scary to think about everything needed to take care of a family. And since Jamie wanted kids someday...his head started spinning.
They ordered their milk shakes and drank them at a park, but as they started back to Glimmer Creek, Lance thought about the papers in his backpack.
While he hated anyone knowing about the problems in Sacramento, maybe he’d better talk to Gabe. There wasn’t any point in going to a recruiter if they wouldn’t take him, anyway.