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Rose glared harder. “You can always find another job. Hey!” she called out, turning in the direction of the bar. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Ellie followed Rose’s angry gaze and found Jake on his hands and knees, crawling between the bar stools.
Jake looked over and Ellie was amazed at the mild annoyance she saw in his eyes. “I’m looking for my penny.”
“To hell with your penny,” Rose said as she stomped over to the man. “Is it worth a fortune? Is that it?”
Jake shrugged and said, “Not really.”
“Then get up off my floor and get out of my place.”
“As soon as I find my penny.”
Without taking her eyes off the man, Rose said, “I’ll give you exactly two seconds to get out of here, or I’m calling the cops and having you arrested for attempted robbery.”
“You don’t seem to understand,” Jake said in a calm but firm voice. “I need that penny.”
“And I needed my Christmas tree. Out.”
“It will just take—”
“Josh,” Rose called, “see this jerk out.” Rose stepped back to allow an eager Josh access to Jake. “Consider your penny—if there ever was one—partial payment for the damage you did.”
The two men squared off, and for a brief second Ellie was afraid another fight might break out. “Here,” Ellie said as she handed her nephew to Josh. “You hold Chad and I’ll see Mr. Devereaux out.”
There was a faintly amused light in his eyes as she took hold of his sleeve. “What about my penny?” he asked.
Guiding him toward the door, Ellie grabbed his hat off the table and thrust it against his stomach. It was a mistake. Brushing her fingers against the solid muscle at his waist caused a tiny tingle of awareness to spread from her hand to her arm, before shooting down her spine. “I’ll look for your penny tomorrow. The weather is getting worse and I have to get Josh home. I hardly think now is the appropriate time to argue over a penny. Besides, you just destroyed several of Rose’s most prized possessions. If you don’t get out of here, she’ll have you in jail so fast you won’t know what hit you.”
When they reached the door, Jake turned, and his eyes met and held hers. “Are you always the peacemaker?”
Ellie schooled herself not to react to the low, seductive quality of his voice. “I’m the middle child. I learned the fine art of mediation before I learned my alphabet.”
Shaking his head, he sighed. The action caused a wave of warm, mint-scented breath to wash across her uplifted face. “And here I was hoping you were trying to tell me you liked me.”
Ellie blinked. “I’d like you gone.”
“Here,” he said as he pulled a book of matches from the pocket of his jacket. “I’m staying at the Manor House. Call me tomorrow when you find my penny.”
Ellie accepted the matchbook, knowing full well she wasn’t going to call him. Every instinct in her body told her Jake Devereaux wasn’t the kind of man a sane woman called.
She locked the door and slipped the matchbook into her pocket. Rose still looked despondent, Josh was apparently still fuming and, for some unknown reason, Beth’s bottom lip was thrust out in a pout.
“Shall we?” Ellie suggested.
“Sled!” Chad yelled excitedly, throwing himself toward Rose. “Sled!”
“I know,” Rose said as she took the little boy from Josh. “We’ll go now.”
“Now,” Chad parroted.
Rose looked out the window and Ellie read the frown on her face. The reason for the deep lines became apparent as soon as she turned. Jake Devereaux was standing on the porch, just staring.
“I’m calling the cops,” Rose decided.
“Sled!” Chad argued, kicking his feet. “Go now!”
“I’ll be happy to take him home,” Ellie suggested.
“You’re taking me home,” Josh reminded her.
Beth stepped up and tried to loop her arm through his. “I can drop you off.”
“Forget it,” Rose said, sighing. “The alarm’s on. He can stand out there in the snow until his nose freezes off. Let’s just get out of here before we get snowed in for the night.”
The group shuffled out of the bar, leaving Jake with his nose pressed against the frosted glass. Ellie half expected him to appear at the back door and found herself oddly disappointed when he failed to appear.
After a quick round of good-byes, Ellie settled behind the wheel of her rented car. Josh slid in beside her, blowing air into his cupped hands.
“Gloves help,” she suggested with a wry smile.
“I usually manage to find someplace warm to stick my hands.”
“One more crack like that and I’ll be happy to tell you where to stick them.”
Josh raised his hands, palms out. “You can’t fault a guy for trying.”
“Yes,” she promised him. “I can.”
Ellie had just pulled onto the main street when Josh asked, “Is that what your little vacation is all about? You having difficulty with your love life?”
She shrugged. “Not trouble, exactly.”
“That’s not the impression I got when that gorilla showed up.”
“Mike is having a hard time dealing with rejection.”
“Not used to being the dumpee?”
She glanced over at him, smiling. “He’s probably no better at it than you are.”
“I’ve never been dumped.” Josh blew on his fingernails and buffed them theatrically.
“There’s a first time for everything,” she warned.
“Not for this kid,” he answered. “I let them know right up front that I’m not into ‘happily ever after.’”
“You know something,” Ellie said as she carefully slowed for a traffic light. “Susan was right, you are slime.”
Josh laughed. “I see our psychic waitress has already given you the word on me.”
“Susan, Rose, Beth, Shelby...”
“I get the picture,” he said.
“But at least you’re honest slime.”
“A regular Boy Scout. Not like that shady Devereaux character.”
Ellie felt her smile slip. “I wonder whether that bit about the penny was real.”
“You think he was really after a penny? Or just there to rip us off?”
“Who knows. But if I had a valuable coin, I sure wouldn’t be stupid enough to lose it in a bar.”
“He didn’t seem like the stupid type,” Josh stated after he told her to make a left turn at the next corner. “That’s why I think all that crap about the coin was a put-on.”
“You’re probably right. I just feel terrible for Rose. Those ornaments looked like they were completely destroyed.”
“Good.”
“Josh!” she admonished. “They meant a lot to her. You should feel terrible since it was partially your fault.”
“My fault? I was only trying to stop that guy from ripping her off.”
“You could have been more careful.”
“I’ll remember that the next time I’m tossing some ugly drunk out of the bar.”
“He wasn’t an ugly drunk.” Where did that come from? she wondered. “Anyway, I think you should try to replace some of the things that were broken.”
“Let him replace them,” Josh grumbled. “Or better still, maybe now we can have a normal Christmas tree.”
“I thought it was kind of unique,” Ellie admitted.
“Right. What about that one that played ‘Blue Christmas’ over and over again?”
“That one was a little hard to take.”
“It didn’t have an Off button,” Josh continued to rant. “What kind of manufacturer makes a musical ornament with no Off button.”
“An Elvis fan.”
“This is it,” Josh said, pointing to a modest apartment building on the left. “Want to come in and see my etchings?”
Ellie groaned. “Keep your etchings to yourself, thank you very much. But I will use your ladies’ room before I head back to Shelby’s.”
“Fine by me. But you enter at your own risk.”
“Lovely,” she mumbled as she cut the engine and got out of the car.
The snow had tapered to little more than flurries. Chad’s dream of sledding didn’t look too good as she followed Josh up the short walkway. She estimated there was less than an inch of total accumulation.
Josh unlocked the door to his ground-level apartment. Ellie immediately noticed two things. First, it was surprisingly neat, except for the clutter of holiday decorations waiting to be hung. Second, the whole place smelled of a rather sweet, almost feminine, floral air freshener.
“First door on the left,” he said as he tossed his coat over one of the boxes.
“I can’t believe you had the audacity to criticize Rose’s tree.”
Josh looked at her with surprise in his eyes. “What?”
“I assume these are for your tree?” She lifted the carefully wrapped strand of lights and allowed them to dangle in the air between them. “Chili-pepper lights?”
“I’ll have you know they are quite in vogue these days.”
“On a silver foil tree?” she asked, glancing at the partially assembled tree near a large window.
“I guess you’d rather have ode to Elvis?”
Ellie shook her head. “I’m a glass-ornament, colored-lights, strings-of-popcorn kind of girl.”
“How boring.”
“It’s better than silver foil,” she taunted as she headed toward the bathroom.
Foil was obviously a passion of Josh’s. The wallpaper in the small powder room was some sort of Grecian motif, a silver background with silhouettes of naked couples in black contrast. Ellie laughed softly. When she heard the thudding sound in the other room she instantly felt guilty. Obviously Josh had heard her snickering at his wallpaper and was letting her know it by banging around in the living room.
Ellie spent a few extra minutes fixing her hair, trying to think of something kind to say. After all, who was she to criticize this man’s decor. Even if it was a bit odd.
“Thanks,” she called as she walked down the hall. She was immediately struck by how cold it was in the apartment. Almost as cold as it was outside.
She walked toward Josh, who was seated on the sofa with his back to her, obviously pouting.
“I’m sorry I snickered at your tree and at your wallpaper,” she began as she continued to approach. She spoke louder to overcome the sound of an approaching emergency vehicle. “It really is a pretty tree and the chili peppers will—”
Ellie stopped in midsentence as she rounded the couch. Josh’s eyes were open wide, bulging. His face was a grotesque contortion, pasty white with blue, swollen lips. The strand of chili-pepper lights was wound tightly around his throat.
Chapter Three
“That siren is the cops.”
Ellie let out a small, frightened noise and her eyes flew to the sound of the newly familiar male voice.
Jake Devereaux dangled in the window frame, one leg in and one leg out. “Unless you want to get caught here with the late Josh, I suggest you come with me.”
The sirens grew louder. “You killed him?” she breathed as her hand clamped over her mouth to stifle a scream.
“Of course I didn’t kill him,” Jake said calmly. “I was under the impression that you did.”
