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Toni smiled at their enthusiasm and motioned for her professional crew to come in and begin the real work. Outside, a thirty-cubic-yard roll-off container waited for all the material that couldn’t be reused or recycled. Her crew would sort wood, metal and drywall later, after the amateurs got tired of demo. Toni predicted it wouldn’t take long.
Sure enough, ten minutes later Christie called it quits. A few minutes after she left, Leo said he really needed to get to the hardware store. He was perspiring and breathing hard. Toni wasn’t sure what type of damage he’d done in the kitchen, but hopefully nothing too costly. She’d heard a lot of swings of his hammer, a little bit of swearing and repeated crashes.
As Leo removed his safety goggles and used a towel to clean off the dust, a person Toni had never expected here walked through the door. She moved behind the scaffolding her crew had just assembled and watched Wyatt look around, then step carefully through the dusty debris. He looked too good in his faded jeans, work boots, waffle-knit Henley and blue, plaid flannel shirt. No one would guess he was a billionaire high-tech entrepreneur. Correction—a retired billionaire. As if one could retire from being too rich.
“Hey, Leo,” Wyatt said as he folded his sunglasses and placed them in the placket of his partially unbuttoned Henley. Toni had always found those shirts sexy, especially on a man with a nice chest and flat abs. Unfortunately, that included Wyatt, now more than ever since he’d grown up. “What’s up?”
“First day of demo. Toni let us—Christie and me, that is—start the tear-out.”
“Free labor, hmm?”
Toni felt a rush of heat. So now he was calling her cheap? “Expensive labor, if they mess up,” she said, stepping out from behind the scaffolding.
“Oh, look who’s here,” Wyatt said with a devious smile.
Toni glared at him. He’d known she was there all the time. He’d made that comment to bait her. And, yes, she’d taken the hook like a hungry trout. She wanted to kick herself, but she’d rather kick her former boyfriend for showing up on her job site and aggravating her on what was otherwise a very happy day.
She’d looked forward to getting the old eyesore of a hotel renovated for years, and now she was the person making the changes. She’d pulled together the team and shown Christie the possibilities that could happen with a little money and a lot of work. Leo had leaped at the opportunity to get into the renovation side of the business.
And then Wild Wyatt McCall had to show up.
“So, you’re remodeling the old hotel. That’s good.”
“I’m glad you approve. Now, we should get back to work.”
“Don’t pay any attention to me. I’m just curious about what you’re doing.”
“We’re doing our job, which is more than I can say for you at the moment.” Toni stalked closer to where Wyatt stood by Leo and glared at her former boyfriend. “Why aren’t you at the community center?”
“Well,” he said, leaning his butt against the heavy old check-in desk that Toni was salvaging, “I was on my way over there, but it was kind of cold so I went to the café instead. While I was having my coffee and a cinnamon roll, I saw James Brody. He told me about the big news. A lot of people are looking forward to the old hotel getting remodeled.”
“Most people don’t like to see empty buildings around town, and especially something with this much potential,” Leo said. “I’m glad we could buy it and make something useful.”
“I was going to ask about that,” Wyatt said. He turned to Toni. “What are you doing with the old place?”
“Condos, retail and restaurant space,” Leo answered.
Toni glared at her little brother for answering for her. “And we really need to get to work,” she said. Again, in case Leo or her crew had forgotten why they were here.
“Don’t mind me. I’d just like to look around. I’ve never seen the inside of the old hotel. The passenger railroad stopped running before I can remember.”
“You’re not looking around without proper safety equipment. If you want a tour, we have to fit you with a safety helmet and goggles. I might even make you wear a mask. Who knows what you’ll find in the dust and debris? There might even be the hantavirus from years of mice infestation.”
Wyatt shuddered. “That’s just cruel.”
Toni smiled, which she suspected looked a bit evil at this point. Wyatt hated mice. He’d play with snakes and let tarantulas crawl up his arm, but show him a little mouse and he’d freak like a baby.
“Okay, I can take a hint. I’ll leave. I don’t want to keep you from your work.”
“I’m glad you stopped by,” Leo said with his friendly grin.
“I’m sure your sister is glad I’m leaving,” Wyatt said.
“Hello? I’m right here.”
“So you are. And I’m outta here.” Wyatt saluted them with his thermal coffee cup and turned on his heel.
“Come back when my sister isn’t here and I’ll give you a tour,” Leo offered.
Wyatt paused at the tall double doors. “Now, that wouldn’t be as much fun, would it?” he asked with a smile.
Toni punched her brother in the arm as soon as Wyatt sauntered away.
“Ouch!”
“Stop being nice to him. He needs to stay focused on his task, get finished and get out of town.”
“Why? He’s got a right to visit Brody’s Crossing.”
“He can visit his parents. He doesn’t need to visit our job site.” As a matter of fact, he didn’t need to show up anywhere that Toni might be, as far as she was concerned. He could simply have his assistant or his PR person contact the mayor’s office when the community center was finished.
The sooner, the better. The Christmas parade was this Saturday, followed by the chili dinner, and then the events started happening really fast. The holiday would be over before they knew it. Toni didn’t want the whole season ruined by Wyatt’s jabs and innuendos.
“I’m getting the crew in here to finish the demo. The faster we get this started, the faster we’ll be finished and on our way to a nice profit.”
“I’m all for that,” Leo said. “I’ll get out of your way.”
Toni hoped that everyone would stay out of her way. Especially annoying eligible bachelors who thought they were just too funny.
“Just a few more days,” she told herself as Leo left for the hardware store and the crew got started undoing years of bad decorating and poor maintenance.
And then she remembered that she had to attend the McCalls’ dinner party tomorrow night. And see Wild Wyatt again. And if she knew his mother, who was a stickler for boy-girl-boy-girl protocol, she’d probably have to sit next to Wyatt at their dining table.
She wasn’t ready for social engagements with him. There was no telling what he would do or say, and heaven help her, she seemed to have little restraint when it came to her responses.
But, she had one and a half days to get herself ready. Mentally and physically. She’d need every minute.
WYATT LOOKED AT HIS PITIFUL display of lighted figures in disgust. He’d driven by last night, after dinner at his parents’ house, to see the reindeer, Christmas trees and gifts at night. They looked terrible. He hadn’t arranged them well, and they looked lost in the big yard surrounding the community center. There were lots of trees on the property, and they distorted rather than enhanced the scene of reindeer in the forest.
Not that lighted white reindeer in any way looked natural. Not to mention the spiral lighted artificial Christmas trees. Especially not now, in the light of day, in the clarity of the afternoon.
Darn it, Myra Hammer was right.
Wyatt sighed. He’d hoped his sentence would produce something worthwhile for the citizens of Brody’s Crossing, but they couldn’t possibly like this mess. He wasn’t artistic. His creativity came out in user-based communications, with a strong emphasis on the “wow” factor. He could visualize new applications for existing technology, but bobbing reindeer had him totally baffled.
“I need help. I need a professional,” he said to Cassie.
“What do you mean? They’re all lighted.”
“I don’t mean an electrician. I mean a designer. A person who specializes in holiday displays, like maybe at malls or public facilities.”
“I’ll call someone. Do you have any ideas for local contacts?”
“No.” He hadn’t lived here in fifteen years, and even when he did live here, he hadn’t been concerned with the design of Christmas displays. Unless, of course, there was a way to mess them up. Now, he had people who did this sort of thing at his corporate headquarters.
“Call my mother, and if she can’t help call the mayor. And if that doesn’t work, call a display company in Dallas or Fort Worth and ask them to get out here and put something up that will have a real wow factor.”
“Any idea on budget?”
“I don’t care. Whatever it takes. I want people to see this display and feel as if they’re looking at Macy’s windows in New York City. Or one of those gaudy light shows at private homes that I’ve seen on television.”
“Major store windows are started a year in advance, and those people who put up lights all over their homes begin in October at the latest.” Cassie smiled crookedly and shrugged. “I watch a lot of decorating shows on TV.”
“All I know is that with enough people and money, we can get this done by Saturday.”
“It’s already Wednesday!”
“Okay, get on the phone.” He paused a moment, then said, “On second thought, you call my mother and the display companies in Dallas or Fort Worth. I’ll go see the mayor.”
“Um, I can call her, too.”
“I know, but—” He stopped and narrowed his eyes at Cassie. “Why don’t you want me seeing the mayor?”
Cassie looked down at her PDA. “Oh, she just doesn’t seem to like you much, and I thought perhaps she’d be more helpful if I called her.”
Wyatt scoffed. “She just thinks she doesn’t like me.”
Cassie frowned. “What’s the difference? Either way, she might not cooperate.”
“She’ll cooperate. You forget the McCall charm factor.”
“I’m not sure it’s working on her.”
“Oh, it’s working.” She wouldn’t be so testy around him if it wasn’t working. The high points of his trip so far had all involved getting Toni riled up. And he didn’t even feel guilty. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was enjoying herself. She was actually living. According to everyone he’d asked—discreetly, of course—Toni didn’t have much of a personal life. She wasn’t dating. She devoted all her time and energy to her business and her public responsibilities. And she did a damn fine job of both.
Still, she needed a personal life. At least for a little while. He’d be gone soon and she could go back to being Miss Conscientious. A little verbal sparring with a bad-boy former boyfriend wasn’t going to ruin her work ethic.
“Well, you’re the boss,” Cassie finally said.
“Exactly,” Wyatt said with a grin, looking at the reindeer. Your days are numbered, he told them silently, and headed for his Hummer.
“WE CAN’T POSSIBLY GET RID of the reindeer,” Toni told Wyatt as he sat in her office. She was still dusty and tired from this morning’s tear-out at the hotel, which her crew was continuing to work on. She’d taken out some of her aggression and frustration on a rickety banister leading to the second floor, but the physical labor hadn’t helped much. Once again faced with Wyatt McCall, she wanted him out of her life.
Not so much wanted as needed, she corrected herself. He brought too much…turmoil. Yes, that was the word for Wyatt. Tumultuous. Wild and unpredictable.
She liked predictable. She needed order. “Why would you want to get rid of perfectly good Christmas decorations?”
“Why? Because they’re not enough. They’re not very convincing, as far as Christmas displays go. Wouldn’t you rather have something really spectacular?”
“It doesn’t matter what you or I want. Those decorations were a gift from the local Scout troops. They got together, raised money and presented the reindeer and trees to the city. If we toss them out, it will be a personal affront to every Scout and every family who participated in the bake sales and car washes that earned money for their generous purchase.”
She watched a range of emotions move across Wyatt’s face. He wasn’t the most expressive person she knew. He usually kept his face in a steady mildly pleasant or devilish mode. Rarely did anyone know when he was genuinely angry or concerned. At least, the Wyatt she’d known fifteen years ago was that way, and she suspected he hadn’t changed all that much. Right now, he appeared frustrated.
“You’re right. We can’t diss the Scouts.”
“We aren’t considering dissing the Scouts. You’re the one who doesn’t like the decorations. I never realized that you were such a holiday design…enthusiast.”
“You make that sound like something bad. Or tawdry.” He shook his head. “I’m not an expert on design. That’s why I want to hire someone to help make the community center really fantastic. You may not realize it, but I care about this town.”
Toni shrugged. “You may care, but you don’t spend much time here.”
“My parents come to visit me in California. They enjoy the travel, and I have been a little busy with my business.”
“And your social activities,” Toni added, feeling somewhat testy as she remembered all the photos she’d seen of Wyatt attending this big function or that one, with a gorgeous woman on his arm or gazing adoringly at him.
“Jealous?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just commenting that you had plenty of time to run around Hollywood or Seattle or New York City, but you’ve barely visited your hometown since you left. The hometown that you care so much about that you want to hire a design firm to install new decorations at the community center you’re supposed to be fixing up for the holidays.”
“I think you’re jealous.”
She pushed herself out of her chair so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. “I am not jealous! I’m…I’m angry.”
“Why are you angry at me? For having fun? For having money to spend on the community center if I want to?”
She felt as if her head might explode. Arguing with Wyatt had always affected her this way. “Yes! I scrape every dime out of our town’s budget, haggle with our city manager for needed projects and get threatened with being voted out of office when I suggest boosting revenue. Then you roll into town in your outrageous vehicle to complete a sentence that is just another publicity scheme for you. So, yes, I’m angry!”
His expression changed from frustration to devilment in an instant. “You’re so sexy when you’re mad,” he said, pulling her the rest of the way across the desk and locking his mouth over hers.
She was so startled that she couldn’t respond, couldn’t think, for a moment. This was Wyatt, kissing her. She tried to push him away, but she was off balance and only managed to grab his shirt. She tried to protest, to tell him to stop, but the moment her lips parted he pushed his tongue into her mouth and deepened the kiss.
Her head swimming, she moaned and resisted, torn between breaking free and hauling him across the desk to have her way with him, right on top of her monthly planner.
“Um, Mr. McCall?”
Cassie’s voice cut through the tension in the office, a strident sound in contrast to Toni’s heavy breathing. Wyatt’s hands tightened on Toni’s arms and she couldn’t move.
“We have an appointment with the reporter and photographer from the Graham newspaper. Er, at the community center. Now.”
Breathing hard, Toni stared at Wyatt. He looked nearly as stunned as she felt. Finally, he released her arms and stepped back. She practically collapsed into her desk chair.
“I guess we’d better continue our conversation later,” he said, pulling his flannel shirt closed and buttoning it low, near his waist. Only then did Toni realize he was concealing the effect of their sudden kiss from Cassie’s eyes.
Toni felt her cheeks heat as her embarrassment grew. Wyatt had done it again! Made her revert to her teen years, seem silly and weak in front of someone else. She was sure Cassie believed that the kiss was mutual.
“There’s nothing to talk about. Nothing of consequence, anyway.”
“We’ll see about that, babe.”
