Can't Fight This Feeling (7 page)

It was a no-stress way to start the day, hanging with the two men who didn’t expect any more from him than the occasional comment on the news playing on the TV hanging in the corner. Brett was no less relaxed now, even though it was the first time he’d been in Oscar’s Coffee since buying Angelica hot chocolate.

He’d banished her from his thoughts.

That he dreamed of her, well, he wasn’t going to beat himself up for that. A man didn’t have control over his sleeping self. But in his waking hours he had disciplined his mind not to linger on her big brown eyes, silky hair, bountiful breasts. He didn’t think about the way her long lashes swept the pink-edged apples of her cheeks.

Her small hand, cool in his.

“What’s got that expression on your face?” Ryan Hamilton asked. “Do you need a muffin or something? The breakfast burritos are good.”

Brett glanced over. “Huh?”

“You look hungry, man.”

Guilt poked at him. Made him grouchy.
Small hand, cool in his.
Yeesh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered, wanting to soak his head in cold water.
She’s supposed to be banished from your thoughts!

A server approached, their coffees on a tray. She slid them onto the table, plucked their number from the silver holder, then sent Brett a bright smile. “Long time no see, honey.”

Blinking, he noticed it was Danielle Shore. “You’re working here now?”

She nodded, her blond hair swirling around her shoulders. “Just one shift a week. Not getting enough hours at the boutique.”

A tough time of year for the full-timers. Autumn and spring were the slow seasons in the mountains. “I hope you can stay busy, Danielle.”

Tucking the tray under her arm, she edged nearer, close enough to nudge his thigh with her knee. “I can think of things we can do to fill my spare time.”

He considered her obvious proposition. They’d dated for a few months a couple of years before. But it had faded and they’d gone their separate ways. But Danielle’s good looks hadn’t diminished in the least. She was California-mountain-girl pretty, with that blond hair, those blue eyes and the dash of cute freckles over her nose. A round two might not be a bad idea.

Some vigorous sex might be just what he needed.

He opened his mouth to suggest a dinner later that week.

But then the image of dark-haired, dark-eyed Angelica popped into his thoughts. Her mouth pursed like a kiss as she blew on the surface of her hot chocolate in this very establishment.

Their actual kiss.

It had been a very bad idea. He’d said so...out loud. But that hadn’t stopped him from reaching for her. From taking her mouth, certain and sure, as she wound an arm around his neck and pressed eagerly against his body.

It was her hair that had finally stopped him. He’d buried his hands in the silky strands and the fragrant stuff had seemed alive, winding around his fingers as if it could bind him to her.

Keep him tied up until he was helpless against her and what she could do to him.

Crush him. Suck the life from him. Break him into a million little pieces.

He’d been hurt like that once before, but he sensed that the havoc that beautiful, spoiled princess Angelica could wreak would be so much worse.

With a little smile for Danielle, he patted the pocket that contained his phone. “Maybe so,” he said, keeping his tone neutral. His interest in a date with her had evaporated. “I have your number.”

She sashayed away in tight jeans and a little T-shirt, but Brett couldn’t drum up an ounce of regret.

Across the table, Jace chuckled into his coffee. “That’s a first. Ryan Hamilton’s pretty face completely ignored in favor of Brett’s grunts and grumbles. Poppy must have put out the word that the other women around town better not even glance at you.”

Ryan, looking like the movie star he’d been, settled back in his chair and eyed the still-smirking Jace. “I’m going to tell Shay you’re dying to discuss the flower arrangements for your wedding.”

Jace winced. “Ouch. That’s pretty harsh, brother.”

“Could be worse. You don’t watch it I’ll tell her you have an opinion on her Big Day hairstyle.”

The other man groaned. “Don’t. I beg you.”

Brett shook his head at the other two. “I tried to tell you both. I counseled you, even. You shouldn’t have popped the question. There’s no need for a wedding, or a marriage even. My sisters would stick with you guys without all that hoopla.”

Jace placed his coffee on the table and turned to Brett. “I want to make promises to your sister,” he said, his voice low. “And I want her to make them to me. Publicly.”

Ryan nodded, looking equally serious.

What Brett wanted was to scoff. Call them fools. But that seemed too damn rude, even for him, and he really did wish the best for the two couples. He didn’t think Poppy or Shay would ever do a number on the hearts of these two men.

Too bad his choice of female companions hadn’t always been so stellar.

Looking around the room instead of looking at them, his gaze snagged on the TV. As if to underscore his condemnation of his own lousy instincts, Lorraine Kushi’s face appeared on the screen. She’d worked for years at an LA news affiliate, and when she came on he always switched the channel to avoid the sight of her sharp beauty and the memories it dredged up. He stood now, bent on doing just that, when a name flashed on the screen. Ralph Rodriguez.

Ralph Rodriguez was the name of Angelica’s father.

Brett sank back in his seat as Lorraine reported the latest financial scandal. Angelica’s father had stolen millions of his investors’ dollars in a Ponzi scheme that had finally gone bust. The Feds had kept him in custody—for several days now—and the news had finally leaked.

His personal accounts and property had been frozen or put under the government’s control. Rumor was he’d even robbed his own daughter while trying to cover up the crisis.

Angelica. Her father jailed. Her money gone...or at least inaccessible.

Did she know?

Of course she knew. It all made sense now. The darkened house. Her creeping around inside it. He’d suspected something was off. Then there was the job at Hallett Hardware.

In this very coffee shop, she’d told him she’d once wanted to work with her father but she hadn’t been welcomed.
All for the best
, she’d said.
I’m not suited for that kind of risk.

Not suited for the things her father did. Breaking the law. Cheating other people. Betraying family.

“Where are you going?”

He glanced at his companions, realizing he’d jumped up from his chair and was heading for the door. The two men were staring at him. “Where are you going?” Ryan repeated.

“I’ve got to go check on someone—I mean something.” He needed to see her. To make sure that she was okay. While he cursed this drive to protect her, he couldn’t deny it, either.

The morning air, as crisp as a pippin apple, didn’t cool the heated urge. But as he unlocked his truck, he realized he had no idea where to find her. Where was she living now that the mansion on the lake was in government hands?

He slid inside, trying to think it through. Hallett Hardware. It was his best bet.

But a dumb idea, he realized, as he pulled into its small parking lot. The place was dark. It wouldn’t open for another couple of hours. Frustrated, he banged on the steering wheel with the heel of his hands. Did she know the story was out?

If so, would she look for a new place to go?

Maybe she’d run from the mountains and he’d never see her again. She’d banish herself. That made sense, didn’t it?

His hands thumped the steering wheel again. Then he cursed, because there was no reason for that idea to bother him so. It was what he wanted. Distance from gorgeous Angelica Rodriguez who fascinated him in a way he was sure would only lead to disaster.

A knock on the driver’s side window caused him to jump. His head whipped around to see Vaughn Elliott, dressed in dark jeans and a wool coat. Brett had never warmed to the guy, but then again he had a knee-jerk distrust of Richie Rich types. Vaughn was certainly that. As far as Brett knew, he lived off family money and got off by playing cop. The sheriff’s volunteer patrol car that he so often cruised around in was parked beside the truck.

Vaughn knocked again on the glass.

Brett unrolled the window. “Yeah?”

“Good morning.”

“Uh-huh.” Brett stared at a shiny piece of metal that was pinned to Vaughn’s lapel. “You wear a badge now?”

The other man shifted on his feet and looked a little embarrassed. “The sheriff thought it was a good idea.”

“Right.” Wrong. Brett would bet this particular volunteer liked the—fake—authority the emblem conferred upon him. Everything about the arrogant jerk rubbed him the wrong way. “You here to arrest me?”

Vaughn looked back coolly. “Have you done something wrong?”

An image of Angelica popped into Brett’s mind again. That kiss in the shadowy hallway at Mr. Frank’s. What he’d been on the brink of doing. Sex in a public place was against the law, right? Shoving the idea of it out of his mind, he shrugged for Vaughn’s benefit. “Nothing I’m willing to share,” he said. “What’s going on?”

“Thought I’d pass along the word about a burglary last night.”

Brett straightened in his seat. “Another house was broken into?”

The other man’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve heard?”

“Don Fleming clued me in a few days ago,” he said.

“Ah.” Vaughn nodded. “Well, this does seem part of the same string.”

“What was taken?”

“I don’t know all the particulars. It was the Smithfields’ vacation home. There were some silver pieces missing for sure and an antique globe in a walnut stand.”

Brett frowned. “Silver? An antique globe? That doesn’t sound like the kind of loot kids would take.”

“There was cash missing, too, I’m told. And, uh...” Vaughn seemed to think. “The medicine cabinets were rifled. A TV is gone.”

“Hmm.” It seemed to him an odd assortment of plunder, but Brett didn’t know anything about what items could be fenced. Or the criminal mind.

The sheriff’s volunteer patted the roof of the truck. “Keep vigilant.”

Brett resisted rolling his eyes. “Will do,” he said, and succumbed to the urge to mock salute.

The other man didn’t appear to sense his irony and returned to his vehicle. Brett watched him roll slowly out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

As he did, he saw Angelica’s vehicle drive past the hardware store. Most of her face was hidden behind a pair of celebrity-sized sunglasses. Without thinking, he pulled out after her. If she wasn’t working at Hallett’s today, where was she going?

More important, how was she faring?

At the next turnoff, an SUV took advantage of the gap he’d left between their vehicles and slid into place behind Angelica. Brett didn’t mind. He could watch her just as well from here. Their short parade continued on for half a mile until her lights signaled and she hung a right into a parking lot bordering a rustic set of buildings that housed a branch of the county library, a gourmet market and a fancy day spa.

He followed at a sedate space, wondering about her destination.

Was she intending to massage her worries away?

His mind got busy again, picturing her naked on a table, a towel covering the delectable curve of her butt. Maybe he’d sneak in, pay off the real masseuse and help himself to the wealth of her golden skin.

He’d warm his hands by spreading coconut oil between his palms and then he’d stroke her shoulders, knead the tight muscles there. After long minutes he’d work his way down her back.

She’d moan.

At the thought of the sound of her pleasure, he had to shift on his seat and adjust the tight fit of his jeans. Damn, he thought, watching her exit her car as he idled behind a commercial-size Dumpster. Could he do it?

But instead of the spa, she approached the library and pushed some books through the mouth of the outside depository. Then she returned to her car, those big dark glasses still obscuring most of her face and all of her mood.

He’d go to her, he thought. Shove up the shades and look deep into her eyes. His hand went to the door handle. Then he’d tell her—

Just as a law enforcement vehicle whizzed by on the highway, the bar of lights on its roof flashing, and he caught himself. His hand jerked away from the door.

Maybe he
was
a criminal. Because it was criminally stupid to forget the promises he’d made to himself.

She wasn’t for him.

She wasn’t his concern.

This unfamiliar need to serve and protect would only cause him trouble.

CHAPTER FIVE

B
RETT
RETURNED
HIS
focus to the only places it should be: work and family. He spent long hours on other people’s property, tiring himself out physically so that the only energy he had left was to grab take-out for dinner before heading to the remote cabin where he was living on the family property.

Though there was plenty of gourmet fare to be had in Blue Arrow Lake, he was grateful for the invitation to have a home-cooked meal with his siblings and their significant others at Poppy and Ryan’s place a few days later. He arrived with a stack of fresh clothes and used one of the guest bathrooms at the expansive estate to clean up before joining the rest in the huge kitchen. Ryan handed him a beer and Poppy slid a plate of appetizers his way. He only took time to greet Mason, Poppy’s son, and then he chugged half the beer and ate a handful of crackers and cheese.

“Good,” he said around his last bite. “Thanks.”

In a more mellow mood than he’d been in of late, he settled onto his stool at the granite island and listened to the family chatter. Mason was sharing something about the classroom hamster. London, Jace’s teenage daughter, commented—kindly—without looking up from texting on her phone.

“Kid,” Brett called, waving to get her attention.

She glanced at him, her expression open, her face devoid of the heavy black makeup she’d worn when she’d first arrived months back. “Yes?”

“High school going okay?”

“High school’s going
great
. I’m on the homecoming committee and the yearbook staff, and my chemistry teacher wants me to wash the beakers and stuff during my free period. I’ll even get paid.”

“Yeah? Proud of you.” Then he injected pitiful into his expression. “Too busy to help out with my files every once in a while?”

Her brows came together and her voice took on a scolding tone. “Uncle Brett.”

He loved that she called him that, he’d admit it. She was a great kid and that she feel comfortable in the family was a goal of every Walker. “I know, I know,” he said, hanging his head.

“You’ve let the paperwork get away from you again, haven’t you?”

He thought of the sheets swirling in the wind and Angelica and he racing around to retrieve them. Her pink cheeks, upturned ass, cold hands. His very basic urge to warm her in every way possible. “You can say that again.”

London sighed. “I’ll see what I can do,” she said, returning her attention to her cell, “my next free Saturday morning.”

“Thank you,” he said humbly. “I sure appreciate it.”

His sister Mac dropped onto the stool beside his and spoke into his ear. “You big con.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, all innocence.

“Making London feel sorry for you. She’s not onto you yet, but any minute now...”

“Shh,” Brett said. “I’m milking it for as long as I can. And it’s true I need her help. You know how lousy I am with the invoices and billing.”

Mac shook her head. “Anyway...you hear the news?”

“Uh...” He’d been avoiding all media, not wanting to get sucked into any drama involving the duplicitous Ralph Rodriguez. “No. And I’m liking keeping my head clear of such stuff, thank you very much.”

“There was another break-in.”

The relief that she wasn’t talking about anything Angelica related was short-lived as the new information sunk in. He groaned. “I don’t like this.”

Poppy nodded. “Me neither. I’m worried about you out at the cabins by yourself when there’s criminal activity going on in the area.”

Ryan slid his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “Sweetheart, your brother could scare the crap out of a grizzly bear if he had a mind to.”

Brett appreciated the vote of confidence, but all he said was, “Hmm.” Then he tapped his chin. “Should we abandon the property again then, Pop?”

“No,”
she said quickly. After a second her eyes narrowed. “You’re teasing.”

The idea of refurbishing the cabins at the abandoned property and turning them into a revenue stream for the Walker family was her baby. Somehow, though legend said the land was cursed, the siblings had been persuaded to get behind the idea. After a fire in the most secluded cabin in the woods occurred a few months back, Brett had even moved into another of the bungalows, partly as security and partly to make it more convenient for him to do his share working on the buildings in his—admittedly limited—free time.

“I’m teasing,” he admitted.

Jace strolled up, beer in hand. “Sorry I haven’t been much use out there recently.”

“Hey, I understand,” Brett said. “You’ve got to get your home base established here.” Glancing over at London, he wagged a thumb in her direction. “Somebody else seems to be getting established just fine.”

The other man smiled at his daughter. “I’m a lucky guy.” He reached over to snag Shay’s hand and draw her to his side. “Even mountain fires have been blessings for me.”

“When the days get shorter, I’ll be able to work on the interiors of the cabins in the evening,” Brett said. “You and Shay have most of the exterior repairs done, so we’re ready for harsher weather.”

“I just wish we knew what was going on with the break-ins,” Mac said.

They all nodded. Poppy looked worried again. “I don’t know that I like you cleaning houses alone, Mac.”

“She could scare a grizzly, too,” Brett said, elbowing her ribs. “Look at that mean face she makes.”

“I’m serious,” Poppy said. “You should have a partner.”

“I do need some help,” Mac conceded. “Haven’t found the right candidate yet.”

“I can do Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Poppy offered.

Ryan opened his mouth, then closed it. Smart man, Brett decided. Poppy, as Ryan’s wife, didn’t need to lift a finger. But that wasn’t the Walker way. They came from hard-working people.

“I’ll meet you at the Maids by Mac office Tuesday at 8:00 a.m.”

Brett took another swig of his beer, unwinding a crucial bit more at the idea that the two sisters would be working together.

“Speaking of the office reminds me of other news,” Mac started. “Angelica Rodriguez.”

Shay straightened. “You know Angelica?”

Mac slid a gaze at Brett. “She came by the business. Seems she knows our big bro.”

“Mmm.” Shay had a speculative gleam in her eye. “He doesn’t like her.”

“She’s all right,” Brett heard himself say in a defensive tone.

His youngest sister stared. “Oh, really? That’s a change of tune.”

“Who is Angelica and what does she have to do with Brett?” Poppy demanded.

Mac was watching him, too. “Beautiful, stacked—”

“Say no more.” Poppy waved to end the conversation. “Brett has a pile of beautiful and stacked ladies he’s left behind.”

“Hey,” he protested. “I’m right here, you know.”

His sisters ignored him. “This one’s different,” Mac insisted. “Get this. She’s a rich flatlander who also worked on that big auction event for the historical society you and Ryan went to last summer. Glory Hallett recruited her.”

“She also works at Hallett Hardware,” Brett heard himself interject again.

“Interesting,” Mac said, sparing him a glance. “And if you kept up with the financial news—”

“I don’t,” Poppy and Shay admitted together.

“—you’d know that her father was a megapowerful hedge-fund manager who just swindled a boatload of people out of their life savings. It’s been reported he took his only daughter’s money before he was arrested.”

Poppy, with her tender heart, looked stricken. “Oh, no. Those poor people. And poor Angelica, too.”

“You don’t even know her,” Brett growled.

Poppy’s big gray eyes fastened on his face. “Well? Did she deserve it?”

“No,” he said, though it felt as if the word was pulled out of him. “I suppose not.”

And there she was, front and center in his head again. The rest of the meal he heard the family talking and laughing around him, and he didn’t join in, aware he was brooding but unable to yank himself out of the dark place.

See? She was bad for him in so many ways.

On the way home, he turned left instead of right, deciding to take a cruise through town before heading for the highway. He wasn’t ready for the isolation of the cabins just yet. Maybe he’d stop off for a beer at Mr. Frank’s. On a whim, he slowed as he passed Hallett Hardware. It was closed for the night, of course—

But there was Angelica’s flashy convertible parked in the lot beside it.

Slowing, he could see her figure in the driver’s seat.

Move along
, he told himself.

His feet and hands didn’t listen and he pulled into the spot beside hers. In the dim light from an overhead streetlamp, her face was a pale blur. When he approached her window, she rolled it down.

An inch.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“That was my line.”

“I’m great, thanks.”

Before she could push the button that would move the window back into place, he curled his fingers around the edge. The glass was cold against his palm and his fingers registered that the interior of the car wasn’t much warmer. “What are you doing out here?”

“Communing with nature, not that it’s any if your business.”

The nose of her convertible was pointing directly at a battered Dumpster. “Lovely view,” he said.

“I like it.”

He bit back a smile. This was new, this prickly snideness, and some piece of him liked it. Liked her. Of course, that had always been the problem. How much he wanted to like her. How much he wanted her.

How soft—well, and hard—that wanting might make him.

“Good night,” she said.

How are you really doing?
he wanted to ask.
What’s going on with your father? Is there anything you need? How can I help you?

Fuck
, he thought. There it was again. The urge to serve and protect. Keep her warm. Feed her. Soothe her with kisses. Distract her from her woes with sex.

Okay, that last might be a more selfish wish. But God, you couldn’t blame a guy. Even in the shadows her face could stop his heart. The thought of her kiss could make him stiff even when it was thirty-four degrees outside and he was in shirtsleeves.

“Stay away, Brett.” Her whisper floated through the centimeters of space she’d left open between them.

He removed his fingers from around her window. Staying away had been his intention from the beginning. But when she insisted on it now, wouldn’t you know that the perverse side of him no longer wanted to agree. Now it clamored to do the opposite.

All his common sense, all those hard lessons he’d learned, receded in the background. He ran a hand over his face and into his hair, feeling the scars beneath his callous palms. When Angelica was around, it was as if every bit of wisdom he’d gained fled.

“Go home, Brett.”

“Your wish is my command, princess,” he said. But he still didn’t move.

As if sensing his internal struggle, she glanced at him. “Really. I’m not your problem.”

But she seemed to be his concern, no matter how hard he tried to shake that fact. Not until she rolled up her window, effectively cutting off communication, did he return to his car and drive away.

* * *

K
YLE
S
COTT
CARRIED
over the threshold of Hallett Hardware
a rotund deli bag and an unfamiliar sense of excitement. Inside, it smelled of a pleasing combination of WD-40 and a light feminine fragrance. Pausing a moment, he breathed it in.

His muscles, especially those in his arms and shoulders, were sore. That was unfamiliar, too. He was more accustomed to a stiff lower back and legs frozen from time spent at a desk or at a conference table. But this pain felt good and he flexed his free paint-speckled left hand.

Looking down at his flesh peppered with green dots made him frown. Maybe he should have done a complete cleanup before his impromptu visit to see Hardware Hottie, aka Glory Hallett. But the idea had come to him like the flash of a lightbulb and he obeyed his sudden inspirations as a general rule. Over the years, they’d fattened his bank account—though at the same time draining all the life out of the social side of his world.

Anyway, he thought Glory would forgive his disheveled state. She was aware he was painting a house. For now, that was all she had to know, right?

Maybe he should feel bad he’d encouraged her impression he was a mere handyman who hoped to stay in the mountains, but the freshness of a woman being interested in him without knowing his net worth was irresistible.

He could hear her voice at the rear of the store. Clearly she was helping someone in plumbing supplies. And wasn’t that novel, too? He sure as hell didn’t know anything about angle stops and wax gaskets and he only found it more intriguing that this young woman was obviously well versed in the steps required to change out a toilet.