Should've Said No (21 page)

Lindsey arched beneath him, her body going rigid as she cried out. She shattered around him, and he buried his cock deeper. Clenching his teeth, he closed his eyes and lost himself inside her.

Chapter 20

Lindsey followed Holly along the narrow Wild Rose Trail, colorful wildflowers knee-high alongside them, brilliant in the early evening sun.

“I couldn’t eat another meal without paying for it with some exercise first,” Lindsey said, happy to spend some time outdoors with Holly before they went to dinner. “Seems like all I’ve done since I’ve been here is eat.”

Well, not
all
she’d done. She’d hardly been able to concentrate at work today for thinking about Carden and their unforgettable weekend. They’d connected in so many ways, their chemistry undeniable. The picnic, the close call on the mountain, the visit to the lapis mine. Telling him about Hopper. Dinner at his house and hearing about Amanda. But their connection had really sizzled in his bed. Lindsey had guessed he’d be attentive, strong and sexy. He was all of those things and more. But his intensity had swept her away. Tingles surged through her body as she remembered his husky whisper.

Come on, baby.
His ragged breaths had warmed her ear as he filled her.

Carden had wanted to please her like no man had before, and he’d satisfied her totally. Everything they had shared seemed so surreal. She might wonder if any of it had really happened had it not been for the very real lapis bracelet encircling her wrist. And the tenderness tugging at her heart. She was falling hard for Carden.

And still keeping secrets.

She was keeping even more from Holly, so she had to be careful and really think before she spoke. It was difficult to develop a friendship when she had so much to hide.

Now that Lindsey was making specific plans for each museum exhibit—everything from construction to signage to selecting items for display—she needed some advice. She certainly trusted Holly for that since Holly was a volunteer, she knew the Karlssons and the Crenshaws, and she wasn’t one of them. Clearly Lindsey’s judgment was good and clouded right now when it came to matters between the two families.

“I’m excited about the way most of the exhibit planning is going,” Lindsey said as they hiked up a rise and neared an Aspen grove.

“Isn’t the second stage of plans due to the board tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Lindsey tried not to think about all she had to do between now and then. “Everything’s going so fast.”

With the museum…With Carden…

Lindsey tried to take a deep breath, reminding herself that she still needed time to acclimate to the thin air before she could survive more strenuous exercise. “I’m worried about the Karlsson/Crenshaw thing.”

Holly glanced over her shoulder, her faced scrunched. “I’m worried for you.”

“Seriously. They could’ve told me in the job interview that there was this little issue called a family feud I’d need to work through, and that no one has solid facts about it but both sides want their version of history in the museum.” Lindsey kept her tone light.

Holly stopped at the top of the rise and faced Lindsey. “Where would the fun have been in that?” She winked.

Lindsey shook her head and mustered a smile. Happy for the break and the shade and the breeze, she stopped next to Holly, who pointed out Paintbrush Peak framed between the branches of two Aspens.

Lindsey’s first thought was of watching the sun set behind Paintbrush Peak with Carden. “Pretty,” she said. “But here’s what’s not so pretty. I’ve got nothing more about that disputed land deal between the Karlssons and the Crenshaws than what most people here have known forever. There was hearsay that something had been donated that might confirm the information we already have, or reveal something that remarkably changes it.” Lindsey opened her water bottle and gulped down several huge swallows. “I’ve scoured everything we’ve gotten—along with you and the other volunteers. I’ve interviewed people, gone through pages and pages of documents, read what little history I can find, and come up empty.”

Holly took a swig from her water bottle, and lifted one shoulder. “The Crenshaws will probably be fine with that. The Karlssons, not as much. But it seems like the Crenshaws would be the ones you’d want to please, seeing how you’re getting so cozy with Carden.”

Lindsey’s heart leapt into her throat. Heat rose in her face and she hoped Holly would attribute it to the high-altitude exercise. Of course Holly had to bring up Carden while they’d stopped for a break. This face-to-face Q and A was exactly what Lindsey had hoped to avoid.

She waved her hand. “We’re not cozy,” she said, which was true. She’d gone
way
beyond cozy with Carden. “He’s just generous—doing all that work for Dean.” She nudged Holly’s elbow. “But if you must have a handyman hanging around, you definitely want one that looks like Carden.” She knew better than to deny too much—a sure sign that there was more to the story. “I did help him scrape the cabin, though. I mean, he’s doing the job for Dean, but it benefits me, too.” She held what little breath she had, hoping her answer would satisfy Holly.

“For sure,” Holly said. “I bet you nearly died when you drove up to that cabin the first time. I heard Dean was still advertising it using pictures from ten years ago.”

Lindsey exhaled. Hopefully the subject of Carden had been officially addressed. “Let’s just say that it wasn’t the welcome I had hoped for. But the place is turning out to be really cute. Dean even let me choose the paint color.”

“It’s not going to be white like before?”

“Just wait and see.” Lindsey grinned, still pleased with her selection of Lemon Cream.

“You’re not telling?”

She shook her head. “One of the Crenshaws’ ranch hands is going to finish painting it this week.” Another tidbit that might quell Holly’s suspicions about Lindsey and Carden. She didn’t have to know he’d gone out of town.

“Guess Carden would’ve finished it if he hadn’t gone to Denver,” Holly said.

Lindsey’s eyes widened but she caught herself, narrowing them quickly and pretending something had gotten into one of them. She pressed her finger into the corner of her eye and blinked several times. How had Holly known he’d gone to Denver? Lindsey shrugged, as if she hadn’t known herself.

“Stella said she and Travis are meeting Carden and his folks there on Wednesday,” Holly said. “Then they’re heading to Georgia for the wedding. I can’t wait to see the pictures.” She headed up the steepening trail and Lindsey followed. “You’re going to love Emily. She’ll be new to town just like you, so you two will have lots in common.”

In addition to being crazy about a Crenshaw brother.

“Can’t wait to meet her,” Lindsey said.

They crossed a babbling stream over a path of rocks jutting just above the water. Lindsey smiled, remembering splashing through the streams in the Jeep with Carden.

“Stella also mentioned that the people from
Colorado Living
magazine are coming out here to do that big spread on Carden the week after they get back,” Holly said.

Lindsey tensed. Hopper had been mentioned frequently in D.C. magazines, and here she was falling for another publicized bachelor. “Is it one of those most eligible bachelors articles?”

“I don’t think so, but I guess that could come up in the interview. It’s supposed to be a profile piece focusing on the land the Crenshaws are designating for conservancy. Maybe they’ll name him as Colorado’s most eligible nature-conserving bachelor,” Holly quipped. “That’d be a fresh angle.”

Lindsey liked the idea that the Crenshaws were designating land for nature conservation, but the bachelor angle brought back bad memories. She’d have to work to change her thinking, because Carden was nothing like Hopper—at least what she knew of him so far.

The incline of the trail steepened further, with rocks forming natural steps. Keeping pace behind Holly, Lindsey struggled to draw a full breath. Even Holly sounded a little winded as they topped the incline and entered a clearing.

Lindsey stopped, working to catch her breath, and took in the view. About fifty yards away, an imposing building constructed of weathered wood and stone rose up against the mountain backdrop—windows dark, landscape scrubby and uncultivated. What Lindsey guessed to be about five-hundred feet below was a gorgeous lake, shimmering with hues of dark blue topaz and emerald. Beyond was the valley, the distant craggy peaks, and a clear sky.

“Wow,” Lindsey said after she managed to get her lungs full. “This view is stunning. And that lake. I’ve never seen one with such brilliant colors.”

“That’s Turquoise Lake.” Holly pointed beyond it. “And you can see Thistle Bend way down there” She hitched her thumb toward the building. “And this—”

“Is creepy.”

“Right?” Holly headed toward it and Lindsey followed. “It’s an abandoned would-be hotel.”

“Would be?”

“It was never finished, even though it looks like it from the outside.”

“Seems like it would’ve been a spectacular place to open one,” Lindsey said. “I’d come here for the view alone.”

“It is kind of remote, but that’d be the appeal of a place like this.”

Gazing down into the valley at Thistle Bend, Lindsey thought about how long they’d driven just to get to the trailhead.

“Not only that,” Holly said, pointing farther up the mountain, “Wild Rose Ridge is just up the trail. There’s a storybook view from there.”

At the front of the abandoned hotel, they sat on the steps of the sprawling porch. A chipmunk skittered from underneath, darted over to some nearby boulders, and disappeared into a shadowy crevice.

Holly propped her elbows on her knees. “Maybe someone will buy the hotel and land someday. Someone hot and rugged and single.” She grinned. “I keep hoping.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed, too.” Hot and rugged and single would be good, yet Lindsey also hoped Holly would find a guy as nice as Carden.

“Speaking of land,” Holly said. “I wish I had more dirt on the Crenshaw/Karlsson land deal so I could help with your exhibit dilemma.”

“That makes two of us. Clearly I can’t present the Crenshaws as having stolen the deal.” Lindsey couldn’t bring herself to call them thieves like her Aunt Tansy had. “From everything I’ve learned and heard, there’s no disputing that the Karlssons were outbid.”

Holly nodded. “The Crenshaws bought it, Ruby Eileen ended up with it, Brooks Karlsson bitched about it the rest of his life, and his family has done the same ever since. That about sums it up.”

Carden had said something similar, in fewer words.

“I just don’t know how to break it to the Karlssons,” Lindsey said. “They seemed to have such high hopes for some kind of validation.”

And they’re expecting me to deliver.

“High hopes is putting it mildly. The Crenshaws have always come out on top. The Karlssons can’t change history, but they’re desperate to show that they’ve been right all these years.”

Lindsey’s heart sank. “Nothing points to that.” She propped her elbows on her knees, mirroring Holly. “You’ve had more interaction with Tansy Karlsson than I have—Oscar, too. Should I disappoint them now and let them get used to the idea, or should I wait until we’re closer to getting the exhibit done?”

“I wish you had the luxury of that choice,” Holly said, “but you don’t. You’ll have to put the information in your exhibit proposal that’s due Friday. You can’t just leave it as a question mark. That would make you appear indecisive and call into question the extent to which you’d done your due diligence regarding the subject.” Holly had switched into lawyer mode. “As soon as it gets to the board, word will be out. If only for self-preservation, I’d tell the Karlssons myself before I’d let them hear it from someone else.”

Lindsey buried her head in her hands. She’d been avoiding her great-aunt and -uncle. Now she had to face them. To tell them the last thing she wanted to, and the last thing they’d want to hear.

—

“Thank you for having me to dinner again,” Lindsey said to her aunt Tansy and uncle Oscar. In The Canary, they sat in the same alcove, at the same table, with the same menu and waitress they’d had the first time Lindsey had been their guest. The only differences were their clothes, the rumble of thunder outside with random flashes of lightning, and Lindsey being twelve times more nervous than she had been before.

She’d figured that dining with Tansy and Oscar again at The Canary wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows considering Tansy volunteered at the museum. If anyone was keeping score, she could be placed with Carden more often that she could be with her great-aunt and -uncle—yet another worry on her mind.

They’d gotten through the appetizers with pleasant small talk about how Lindsey was settling in and how well tourist season was going. From what Lindsey remembered, that was further than they’d made it last time before talk of the family feud.

Shelby, the skinny waitress with the big eyeglasses, hurried over with a heaping platter of golden fried chicken on her tray. Lindsey’s mouth watered when she caught the scent of it.

“Lordy, what a storm,” Shelby said as she served a huge bowl of mashed potatoes with a puddle of yellow butter melting in the middle. She added a bowl of creamed corn, and another of fresh green beans. Seeming eager to be thorough in front of her bosses, she turned back the napkin in the bread basket and checked to make sure they had plenty of homemade biscuits.

“We’re hoping you have good news,” Oscar said after Shelby left the table.

Lindsey had decided to take the advice Holly had given her the other night. Her aunt and uncle deserved to know what to expect from her exhibit proposal, as difficult as it would be to tell them. She’d given herself as much time as possible, working to turn up anything new regarding the land deal. Thursday had come quickly, and nothing had changed.

Time had run out.

She was afraid she may have gotten Oscar and Tansy’s hopes up when she’d called this morning and asked if she could join them for dinner. The excitement in Oscar’s eyes confirmed her fear.