Rocky Mountain Mayhem (16 page)

THE valets opened the hotel doors for the
girls at the same time, making for a grand entrance. Vivian giggled
to herself.
I could get used to this
!

They stopped by the front desk, and Trey
handed Kate a discreet paper sack. “For you, Madame. It was my
pleasure.”

Vivian was the most excited. “I just
know
it’s going to be positive!”

“It could be the altitude,” Lucy said. “It
does weird things to people.”

Once in the elevator, Lucy made an
announcement. “I have a surprise!”

“You hired a stripper?” Vivian asked.

Lucy gave her a “no, smart-ass,” look.

“Somethin’ sweet?” Wendy asked.

“Maaaaaaaaybe…,” Lucy said.

“It’s chocolate, isn’t it?” Kate said.
“Something chocolate? I could use some chocolate.”

“As a matter of fact, it is partly chocolate.
I have stuff for s’mores!”

Woo-hoos all around.

“First things first,” Vivian said. “Kate’s
got a plastic stick to pee on.”

They hustled into the room, and Kate went
directly to do the pregnancy test. Wendy opened one of the bottles
of wine and quickly poured three glasses and got a bottle of water
ready for Kate, in case congratulations were in order.

“How’s it going in there?” Vivian called
through the door, excitement building.

“Hurry up!” Lucy said.

Kate emerged a few minutes later, a smile on
her face.

“Well?” Wendy asked, handing her the bottle
of water.

Kate reached for Wendy’s glass of wine
instead. “Negative!”

“You sound happy about that,” Vivian said
with a twinge of disappointment.

“Although we’ve been trying, the idea still
freaks me out a little. And besides, I want to be with Shaun when
we get the news.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lucy said. “We get it.”

“It’s all good,” Wendy said. “If you’re
happy, we’re happy.”

“Yes, but I think you should start popping
’em out soon,” Vivian said. “As y’all reminded me several times on
my 30th birthday, we’re not spring chickens anymore!”

“Let’s take the wine and go down to the great
room for now,” Kate said. “I’m suddenly feeling much better and
ready to sit on those comfy couches and enjoy this glass.”

Lucy packed up the s’mores supplies and
another bottle of wine, and they left the room.

Vivian walked into the great room and came to
an abrupt stop. Wendy ran into the back of her and muttered,
“No.”

Agent Nelson sat in a high-backed, leather
chair, his back to the windows, watching people come and go.

Recovered from her surprise, Vivian said,
“Didn’t expect to see you here.”

He stood as they approached. “I’ll be staying
overnight. Right across the hall from you.”

Kate wrung her hands. “Why? Did something
happen?”

“Those were the orders I received. No need to
be worried.” He looked around at the surroundings, then at Wendy.
“The hotel is so nice I didn’t want to argue.”

Right
, Vivian thought but said,
“Where’s Cervantes?”

“She took the evidence back to Denver.” He
changed the subject and asked, “Any problems getting back to the
hotel?”

“Negative, ghost rider, but we did have a
Beaver Lickin’ good time!” Lucy said, holding up her wine, which
spilled a little on the carpet. “Whoopsie!”

The girls snickered and Wendy looked
uncomfortable. “Let’s go outside to the fire pit,” she
suggested.

“Why don’t we sit here with Agent Nelson and
enjoy a glass of wine first,” Vivian said, sitting on a couch.
“Would you like some?” she asked him.

“I’m set.” He held up his rocks glass with
some kind of clear, carbonated beverage. “Please, call me Wade.” He
sat back down.

Wendy pulled at the neck of her sweater as
she sat in the chair opposite and the farthest away from
Nelson.

They cheered to working brakes and a lack of
stalkers.

“So how long have you been in the FBI?”
Vivian asked.

“Almost two years.”

“Ever busted anyone in the mob?” Lucy
asked.

“Oh no, here we go again,” Kate said and
laughed. “You’ll have to excuse her.”

Nelson laughed and said, “I could tell you,
but then I’d have to whack you.”

Kate glanced at his left hand. “Are you
married?”

“No.”

“Girlfriend?”

“What is this, an interrogation?”

“It’s just gettin’ to know you questions,”
Vivian said. “This is hardly an interrogation. We’ve been there,
done that, and this ain’t that.”

Nelson raised his eyebrows and cocked his
head.

Vivian raised her glass. “Here’s to Mexican
police work!”

“Screw that,” Wendy said, refusing to toast.
“We solved that crime. Otherwise, you were goin’ down!”

“And not in a good way,” Lucy added.

Nelson just shook his head. “Care to
elaborate?”

“No, that was our last vacation,” Vivian
said. “You can read all about it in
Escándalos
.”

“You’re not married and no girlfriend,” Kate
pressed. “Is there a, uh, boyfriend?”

Wendy choked on her drink for the second time
that night, and Nelson answered quickly, “No. I just don’t have a
lot of time for a significant other.”

“That’s a bummer, but sometimes significant
others cheat, lie and steal your Facebook password,” Vivian
said.

Kate waved off Vivian’s comments. “Wendy, you
look like a Ralph Lauren model, sitting there in that chair wearing
your preppy turtleneck, your hair shining and spilling over your
shoulder, your brown eyes sparkling.”

“Hot momma.” Kate flipped more of Wendy’s
hair over her shoulder.

“Boom, chicka-baobao,” Lucy sang.

“I need more wine,” Wendy said, getting up
and reaching for Lucy’s bag o’ goodies. She dug around for a
minute. “We forgot the wine opener. I’ll run up and get it.” She
walked toward the elevators.

“Buddy system!” Vivian called, then looked at
Nelson. “Maybe you should make sure she gets there safely.”

He took the hint, downed his drink and
followed.

WENDY stepped into the elevator, and as she
turned she saw Nelson walking toward her. She frantically pushed
the door close button.
Come on, come on, close
!

Just when she thought she was in the clear,
an arm flew into the doors, causing them to retract. Nelson stepped
in.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you,” Wendy said,
hitting 8, then taking a step back.

“Your friends said something about the buddy
system?”

“Yeah, we had to implement that down in
Mexico. She’s got four young kids.”

“I read her file. She was blessed with
attractive children.”

Wendy thought of one of her favorite
musicians, Josh Weathers, and his song “I’m Blessed.” She loved
that song.
Blessed to walk, blessed to talk, blessed to breathe,
blessed to open my eyes… and see. Blessed to be alive and well. By
the way I’m livin’ now, you probably couldn’t tell. I am
blessed
!

The doors opened to the floor and she stepped
out first as Nelson protectively ensured the doors were not going
to close.

She let them into the room and started
searching for the bottle opener. He went out to the balcony as she
scrounged around the table.

“It’s a gorgeous night out,” he called,
looking up at the stars.

“You should see it during the day.” She found
the wine opener and pushed the curtain back. “I found it. You
ready, Agent Nelson?”

“The stars are amazing,” he said. “And like I
said earlier, call me Wade.”

She reluctantly joined him on the balcony,
and her insides did a flip.
What am I doing
?
What am I
doing
?

“So what about you, are you married?”

“Nope, not me.”

“Is that the big dipper?” He pointed to the
sky, then let his arm drop down behind her and grazed the small of
her back.

“Uh, no, Wade. I think that’s the little
dipper, actually.”

He turned and looked her in the eye. “It’s
the big one.”

She looked back at him, unsure of what to
say. After a few seconds she started laughing and turned to bail,
but Wade grabbed her hand.

“I’m sorry for this afternoon. I should have
looked away immediately. I don’t know why I didn’t. I should have,
and I apologize.”

“Let’s just pretend like it never
happened.”

“Deal,” he said, squeezing gently. “I’ll
leave that out of my official report.”

She drew her hand back and laughed. “That’s
probably a good idea.”

A gust of wind kicked up and blew Wendy’s
long, brown hair across her face. Wade pushed it back, tucking it
behind her ear. Her skin tingled where he’d touched her face and
sent shock waves through her body. She wanted to kiss him.

Her body said “yes,” and her mind said “no”
and “why not” at the same time. He was hot, of that there was no
doubt, but she loved Jake, didn’t she? Did he love her? Why did
Wade’s touch feel so good?
Dammit
.

She pushed away the urge. “So what do you
think about Craig? How dangerous do you think he is?”

“I’m not sure yet. Craig is a wanted criminal
and I plan to apprehend him, but at this point it looks like Vivian
screwed around with a bartender who probably snapped that picture
just to mess with her for leaving. It was sent in an envelope from
where the guy worked.”

“Hmm, I don’t know.”

“Guy had a bruised ego.”

“What about the brakes?”

“I couldn’t find anything that had been
tampered with, and she’d had an oil change the week before. Those
types of places mess things up all the time.”

Wendy wasn’t ready to buy what he was
selling, even though it was possible. She was quiet for a moment.
“So you don’t think it was Craig? It’s all just coincidence?”

“We’ll know more if Agent Cervantes pulls any
prints off the picture.” He put his hand on hers. “But I don’t
think there’s any real danger.”

She held up the corkscrew end of the wine
opener. “They’re probably ready for more wine by now.” She turned
and went inside.

He sighed, then followed and slid the door
closed and locked it.

She grabbed the bottle of Baileys and
butterscotch schnapps on her way out. “I’ll make us all Buttery
Nipples out by the fire.”

“Sounds tasty.” He gave her a sly smile.

Damn, why did I say that
? She made a
beeline for the elevator, hitting the down button four times before
the doors opened.

They both reached for the lobby button, their
hands grazing. Wendy didn’t step back this time, allowing him to
stand close to her. Much closer than was necessary. The doors
opened and he excused himself.

Wendy met the girls back in the great room.
“Ready for the fire pit?”

“Y’all were gone for a while,” Vivian said.
“We figured you were heatin’ things up in the room and wouldn’t
need the fire pit.”

“There were some sparks but no full-fledged
fire.”

“Oooouuuu,” the girls said.

“Do tell,” Kate said.

“Ouu, nothing. He apologized for staring at
my boobs. No biggie.”

“Nothing? No kiss, no flirting?” Lucy
asked.

“There might have been some minimal flirting.
Can we please go outside now? He’ll be back any sec, and I don’t
want him to know we’re talking about him. The whole situation is
still a little uncomfortable.”

The girls went outside and grabbed the last
four chairs by the fire. A couple to their left were holding hands
and giving googly eyes to one another. A group of girls, all 25-30,
sat to their right. One of them sat along the ledge rimming the
fire pit, her butt crack exposed.

“There’s no way she doesn’t feel her ass
hangin’ out, as cold as it is out here,” Wendy whispered.

“She knows. She just doesn’t care,” Lucy
said, then got to work on the s’mores, commandeering two skewers
and sticking marshmallows on them. She thrust them into the flames.
“I’m stickin’ ’em in, ladies.”

“That’s what he said!” Vivian said, opening
the package of graham crackers. “I like mine flamin’ hot, by the
way.”

“Are we still talking about marshmallows?”
Lucy asked.

“I like mine hard and gooey, all at the same
time,” Kate said, then ripped open the Hershey’s package with her
teeth.

“Y’all and your sexual innuendos,” Wendy
said.

“Let’s move on to something else that cracks
us up,” Vivian said and indicated to the butt-crack girl with her
glass of wine. “In case I haven’t told y’all, you should
always
say no to crack.”

“Does that window have a crack in it?” Kate
said, pointing to a nonexistent window.

Nelson came out carrying some firewood. He
stood on the brick ledge and threw it on the fire.

“I’m not a crack whore,” Lucy said and
pointed to butt-crack girl with a skewer.

Nelson’s line of sight followed the skewer
and he almost fell off the ledge.

“Is it me, or is there a full moon out
tonight?” Kate asked.

“Oh, it’s definitely a moons-over-my-hammy
type of night,” Vivian concurred.

“A blue moon type of night, definitely,”
Wendy said. “But since we don’t have any, let’s do a Buttery
Nipple!” The two liquor bottles were already cold from sitting
outside behind her chair, so she poured them out in little plastic
cups she’d grabbed from the water station.

Wendy passed out the shots and Vivian held
hers up proudly. “To an
ass
tonishingly good friendship that
is blooming from the
moon
ing we are
crack
ing up at,
butt
does anyone know a good plumber?
Ass
we are in
need of one, right now right this very minute.”

“Bluuuuuue moooooooooooooooooooon,” Lucy
started singing.