скачать книгу бесплатно
“I’ll call the concierge. We can’t be the first couple to have morning-after regrets.” Gage set aside the domes with a loud clang and reached for a fork. “What’s that saying, ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’?”
The sight of a gold-and-diamond band shoved under his nose stopped the fork midway to his mouth. He looked up, but with her chin dropped, Racy’s hair covered her face.
“What are you doing?”
“Here. Take it.”
“You bought it.”
“I don’t care.” She shook her head, dropping the ring into the water goblet next to his plate. It slowly sunk past the floating ice cubes to rest at the bottom. “I don’t want it. Toss it, leave it for the maid … it doesn’t matter to me.”
She grabbed the apple juice from the cart, her fingers gripping the glass, but it still sloshed over the rim as she headed across the suite. Seconds later, the bathroom door slammed closed behind her.
Gage rose and started after her, stopping when he heard the sound of rushing water. The mental image of his wife in the oversize glass shower, water jets pulsating against her peaches-and-cream skin, had his lower half instantly responding.
He jammed his fingers through his hair, his gaze catching on the gold band on his left hand. Tugging off the ring, he tossed it toward the cart, watching it make a perfect arc to join Racy’s in the water glass with a splash.
She wasn’t his wife. In a matter of hours she wouldn’t even be his ex-wife. What did one call a former spouse after an annulment?
A mistake, that’s what.
Chapter Two
Last week of January …
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
“There’s no need to swear. Do I have to repeat myself?”
Gage stared at his little sister. Okay, not so little, but still younger than him by a decade, sitting on the other side of the aged desk that had once belonged to their father. She’d appeared in his office early this cold Saturday morning to announce she’d gotten a job. At a bar, of all places.
And not just any bar, Racy’s bar.
“Yes.”
“Racy hired me last night to work at The Blue Creek.”
“I was at The Blue Creek last night. I didn’t see you.” Gage refused to concede how just the sound of her name got his blood racing. Damn the woman! What had she done now?
“Well, I was there and I didn’t see you.”
“I stop in most nights to make sure everything is okay.”
“Yes, I can see how the big, bad sheriff waving around his badge would keep everyone on the straight and narrow.”
“I stay out of sight and I don’t wave—” Gage pulled in a deep breath. He slowly released it and dropped his mail to his desk, his attention fully on his sister. “Gina, what are you doing? You’ve got two degrees, one of which is a master’s.”
“For all the good it did me in the real world.”
The pain in his sister’s voice was evident. When she’d arrived home from England just before Thanksgiving, he’d known something was wrong. Even Gina couldn’t finish a year-long fellowship in less than three months.
“Think I’m a bit overqualified to work in a bar?”
“Yes.”
“Or is it I’m not pretty enough?”
Where in the hell had that come from?
Gage studied the rigid set of his sister’s shoulders. Her sheepskin-lined denim jacket had once belonged to their father. With her curly hair pulled back in its usual ponytail and her gold-framed glasses, she could pass for a high school classmate of their younger sister, Giselle.
She certainly didn’t look like the waitresses who, thanks to their short skirts, tight jeans and barely-there T-shirts, served up beers and burgers at Destiny’s local watering hole.
Women like Racy.
Last night she’d been dressed from head to toe in black, from the stomach-baring tank top to the jeans molding her perfect curves to the cowboy boots on her feet. The only color came from her flame-red hair and the gold jewelry she wore at her ears, neck and … belly button.
The piercing was new. It hadn’t been there five months ago. He should know. The gleaming diamond stud had fueled a fantasy he’d awoken from in the early morning hours, drenched in a cold sweat. Par for the course lately.
“Thank you for rushing to my defense.”
Gage blinked, his sister’s dry tone drawing him out of his thoughts. “Huh? No, you’re pretty, you’re beautiful. It’s …”
“I know. The girls who work there look … different.” Gina glanced down at her clothes. “What can I say? My life has been more about books than looks, but Racy said she’d help me.”
“Help you?”
“She offered to give me tips on hairstyles and clothes.”
Gage tried to picture his sister dressed like the flamboyant redhead. His mind wouldn’t allow the visual to come to life. He leaned forward. “Gina, those girls aren’t only selling booze and food. They’re selling a good time. They flirt and tease—hell, Racy’s even got them line dancing on the bar.”
“Racy said some of her girls work to help their families make ends meet.”
“True,” Gage conceded, “but other than last night when’s the last time you were in The Blue Creek? In any bar?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Most of Racy’s girls are young, single and looking for a good time.”
Gina jumped to her feet. “Hey, I, too, am young, single and looking for a good time. I’ve had it with genius IQs and think tanks. All those years away at school, I don’t even know most of the twenty somethings in this town. I want friends my own age. I want to meet guys my own age. Did you know this past summer was the first time …”
Gina’s voice trailed off. She closed her eyes for a long moment, then opened them as she straightened. “I’m doing this, whether you like it or not. I came here first because Racy thought I should tell you.”
“She what?”
“Racy said I should let you know about working for her.”
Yeah, he just bet she did. She’d hired Gina to spite him.
From the moment they’d walked out of the lawyer’s office last August and into the Las Vegas sunshine, she had taken great pleasure in either pretending he didn’t exist or antagonizing the hell out of him. At first, he’d avoided the bar, letting his deputies cover both the peaceful and the more frequent not-so-peaceful watches.
Then during the baseball play-offs a free-for-all had broken out at The Blue Creek. He’d arrived in time to get in the middle of flying fists. After getting knocked on his ass, he’d looked up to find Racy consoling Dwayne McGraw, his former high school teammate. Married with six kids, Dwayne outweighed him by a hundred pounds. He was also too drunk and pissed off about his team losing to listen to anyone telling him to calm down.
Anyone but Racy.
And that’d annoyed Gage more than it should have.
“Hello?” Gina snapped her fingers. “You still with me or have I shocked you into silence?”
“I’m here.” He blinked away the memory. “Look, I can fix this.”
“There’s nothing to fix!”
“I can talk to the principal at the high school.” He started making notes on his desk calendar. “See if they have any openings. Or I could check with the University of Wyoming—”
Gina slapped her hand on top of his, forcing the pen from his fingers. “I want to meet people my own age, not teach them. Stop trying to solve a problem that isn’t there and stop telling me what to do. Geez, I’m twenty-two, not twelve.”
He looked at his sister. “I’m not telling you what to do.”
“You could’ve fooled me.”
A deep sigh gutted from his chest. He couldn’t help it. Whenever he looked at Gina he saw long braids and chunky braces. “Promise me you’ll be careful and not do anything crazy.”
“Like dancing on the bar?” The look in his sister’s eyes matched one he’d seen many times before, both in the mirror and in the faces of their siblings. Determination.
“Gina—”
“I’ve got to go.” She cut him off. “I’m meeting my boss for a makeover session that will create a whole new Gina.”
That’s what he was afraid of. “I like the old Gina.”
“You’re family, you have to say that.” She headed for the door. “Trust me, not every man agrees with you. See you.”
She was gone before he could respond.
Gage frowned. Something was wrong. He’d tried to stay connected to Gina during her years away, especially after the loss of their father. Asking her about it wouldn’t do any good. Unlike the twins, she closely guarded her feelings and her high IQ further isolated her.
He was certain about one thing, though. Working in a bar wasn’t the answer. Maybe he’d better have a talk with Max. Racy managed the staff, but the owner was an old friend of his dad’s. He figured he could get Max to override Racy’s hiring decision.
Confidence filled him as he went back to sorting his mail. The return address for the State Bar Association of Nevada on a business-size envelope caught his eye. A tightening in his gut told him it wasn’t good news. The only dealing he’d had with Nevada lately was the annulment paperwork folded neatly in his top dresser-drawer. He opened the letter and started to read, not quite believing the words. Seconds later, he crushed the letter in his fist.
Racy was proud of herself. Gina had been in her company for over two hours and she still hadn’t asked how her big brother had reacted to the news. She concentrated instead on getting to know Gage’s sister and bringing out the beautiful girl hiding behind the baggy clothes and nondescript hairstyle.
Gina now sported contacts after she revealed she had them, but usually stuck with her glasses. He hair fell in a dark, smooth, glossy curtain and artfully applied makeup, a bit on the heavy side but perfect for the bar, played up those gorgeous Steele blue eyes.
When they’d arrived at The Blue Creek a few minutes ago, she’d given Gina a couple of T-shirts with the bar’s logo to try on. The door to the ladies’ restroom opened and Gina walked into the break room used by the rest of the staff.
“Hey, you look great.”
“You don’t think it’s—” Gina tugged at the tee’s cropped hem that rested above the low waistband of her new body-hugging jeans “—a bit too tight?”
“It’s supposed to be tight, honey, and you have the body for it.” Racy waved her over to the floor-length mirror. “See?”
The relief in the young girl’s eyes when she saw her reflection pulled at Racy’s heart. Not much surprised her anymore, but she’d been floored when the librarian look-alike had asked last night about a job. And she hadn’t hired Gina purely for the satisfaction of getting to her older brother. No, she truly needed help, with two of her girls quitting a week ago.
Ruffling the sheriff’s feathers was only an added bonus.
“We’ll use the next few hours getting you used to the menu and the ordering system,” she said. “You can practice carrying a trayful of drinks, too.”
Gina nodded and they headed for the bar. A raucous country song blared over the sound system. A group of girls, lined up on the middle of the dance floor, broke out into precision dance steps. Horror crossed the girl’s features. “I’m not going to be doing that, am I?”
Imagining the look on Gage’s face when he found his sister dancing on the bar was priceless, but Racy wouldn’t do that to Gina. Besides, Gage hadn’t been back to The Blue Creek since the baseball play-offs melee.
Coward.
“No, those are the Blue Creek Belles. They didn’t perform last night, but they dance as well as serve up food and drinks.” Racy reached beneath the bar to lower the volume on the sound system. “I’m giving you the six tables in that area.”
The relief on Gina’s face switched to panic again. “Six? Are you sure?”
Racy grabbed menus and a large tray. “I’ll be here if you need help, and the other girls will pitch in if things get busy.”
“I really appreciate this.” Gina leaned forward and propped her forearms on the bar. “I was going stir-crazy at home.”
“It must be nice being back with your family.”
Oh, real smooth. Try to get her to talk about her brother without coming right out and asking.
Gina leaned against the bar. “It is good to be home after being gone most of my life to private schools and then college. With Gage finally out of the house, I grabbed the converted attic, complete with its own bath.”
Racy’s hands stilled over the beer bottles in the under-counter cooler. “His place on the lake is done?”
Gina nodded, tucking a long strand of hair behind one ear. She opened the menu, studying the items intently. “Can you believe it? He’s been working on that log house forever.”
Four years, but who’s counting? “Well, I’m sure he’s happy to finally be in his own bachelor pad.”
She had no idea how big of a place Gage had built, but she’d bet her entire Vegas winnings it came complete with an oversize hot tub, pool table and a king-size bed for all six-feet-plus of him.
The memory of another king-size bed, her body pressed deep into the cool sheets with Gage’s hot, hard body draped over—Stop!
Racy groaned and yanked the bottles from the cooler. Doing nothing since Vegas but studying and working should’ve erased the memories of that crazy night, but no, they remained bright and strong and ever-present in her head.
“Hey, boss lady.”
Racy looked up.
Ric Murphy, one of her security team members, stood behind Gina. “Max needs to see you in his office.”
“Okay.” She turned to Gina. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
