SNOWFIRES (14 page)

Holly grinned. “That would be you.” Though
Laura didn’t work, she remained sympathetic and supportive of
Holly’s job. Laura’s father was a top-notch lawyer and made more
money than even Laura and her mother could spend. Which was
fortunate, because Laura had neither the inclination nor a
particular skill for employment.

Laura took a warm bread stick from the
basket. “I’ll bet there were stacks of things piled up waiting for
your magic touch.”

Holly wanted to use her magic touch on
Trent’s skin. “Too true. I only missed three days of work, but
you’d have thought it was a month. Lucky I have that new assistant
who actually knows how to follow instructions.”

The waiter set a fresh margarita—her
second—in front of Laura and she toyed with the straw. “When I
thought of you stuck in the back of nowhere, I about died. I tried
to picture what you’d be doing, but it blew my mind.”

Holly shrugged. “Well, you’ve been there so
you know it’s not the action capitol of Texas.”

“
Why people live in a place like that
is beyond me. Who wants to be surrounded by cows and endless
plains?” Laura’s snorting laugh was her least attractive feature
and, apparently boosted by alcohol, she chortled far too
loud.

Holly leaned forward. “Shhhh, Laura. People
are staring at us.”

Laura wiped her eyes with her napkin. “I
can’t help myself. You snowed in at your grandparents with Trent
Macleod. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall.” She licked salt from
a spot on the glass rim then sipped on her drink. “Let’s see, you
drove down on Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving and came back
yesterday. My gosh, an entire week in the boonies. Really, what on
earth did you do?”

Holly had wanted to be honest with her
friend, but Laura couldn’t have kept a secret under penalty of
death. She decided to stick with the truth, as far as she could
without revealing too much. “Well, the men talked business and
Grandma and I cooked and read. And you know my grandparents love to
play gin rummy.”

“
Ohmygod. Death by gin rummy.” Laura
laughed again and the couple at the next table glared.

“
It wasn’t that bad; it was only a few
days. Besides, I’m back to my same old schedule now.”

“
Three extra days in Siberia. I don’t
know how you can stand that ranch, especially at this time of year.
It’s so isolated. That time I went with you I thought we’d been
banished to another planet.”

Holly smiled and forked a bite of salad. “You
didn’t mind the foreman as I remember.”

Laura blushed. “Now there was a hottie.” She
sighed. “If only he could have strung two sentences together.”

“
Hmmm, it seemed to me you weren’t
interested in talking to him.” Holly took another bite of her salad
and watched for her friend’s reaction.

Laura rewarded her by glancing both ways to
see if anyone had heard. “Holleeeey! You promised not to mention
that little lapse into lunacy. Although he certainly knew how to
make me feel all woman and sat-is-fied with a capital S.” Laura
took a large gulp of her drink. “But we were talking about you and
the Macleod hunk.” She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at
Holly. “You’d better watch that man. He’s likely sizing you up for
Mrs. Macleod.”

Holly laid down her fork. “Now you’re insane.
Why would you say such a thing?”

“
Honey, why not? You are one of the
prettiest women in town. You have that gorgeous house that’s
worth
beaucoups
of money. You
can get him entry straight to this crowd, and you can definitely
make his position at Marvel more secure.”

Dread swept over Holly. “So, you think no one
would want me for myself, huh?”

Laura rolled her eyes. “Holly, you’ve been my
best friend as long as I can remember. Do you think I don’t know
you’re truly the nicest person alive? Of course, any man would be
more than lucky to get you. But look where this guy’s from.”

She leaned forward as if imparting a secret.
“Remember that article we saw? He was poor—they were vague about
why or how bad—and determined to make his mark in business. He’s
after the main chance, Holly, so be careful of him.”

Holly stared at her plate. “He, um, he seems
pretty nice. Brusque, but not unfair.”

Laura’s voice sounded triumphant. “Aha,
something did happen while you were away.”

When Holly raised her face, Laura gloated.
She nodded. “I knew it! You hated the man when you left, and now
you’re defending him. Come on and spill it. What happened?”

Holly had to think fast to get her friend on
another track. “N-Nothing. And I’m not exactly defending him. It’s
just, well, after spending some time with him, um, away from the
office, um, at my grandparents, I see that he’s not all bad. Even
though his way is different from Dad’s, I believe he’s dedicated to
making Marvel stronger. We see things differently, but he’s not a
bad person.”

Laura raised an eyebrow. “Um-hum. So, did you
sleep with him?”

Heat flooded Holly’s face and she knew she
must be a fiery red. Now she was the one who glanced around to see
if anyone had overheard. “How can you ask that? Laura, I was with
my grandparents, for heaven sakes.”

“
Phfft.” Laura nodded sagely. “Yeah, so
was I when I jumped their foreman’s bones.” She pointed a fork at
Holly. “I’m telling you, Holly, watch out for this guy—he’s going
to use you to get his foot in this door.” She gestured around them
to the dining room of the exclusive country club.

Sudden anger suffused Holly. “He doesn’t need
me for anything, Laura. Trent Macleod can do whatever he
wants.”

“
Probably true, but I think he’s out
to
do
you.”

Feeling near tears again, Holly confessed,
“He’s another gambler, Laura.” She stabbed at her chicken. “Not
like Dad with all his trips to Vegas and Tahoe or his weird
schemes, but a gambler all the same. I can assure you that because
of that one thing he and I are going nowhere together.”

“
A gambler? Ah, Holly, I’m sorry.”
Laura cut a piece of steak and popped it into her mouth. “Mmm, he
doesn’t look the type. How does he gamble if he doesn’t do Vegas?
Horses?”

Holly took a deep breath. “Business. He has
gambled everything on making one deal work.”

“
Gosh, Holly, business is always a
gamble. Getting out of bed is a gamble.” Laura shrugged away
Holly’s concern. “So’s staying in bed for that matter.”

Hearing her friend echo Trent was like a stab
to the heart. “Let’s talk about something else.”

Laura’s eyes widened. “Okay, okay, sorry. I
see this has upset you, but I think you’re more interested in him
than you admit.” She looked around as if searching for a new topic
and her eyes went to the poster advertising the upcoming Winter
Wonderland Ball this weekend. “Guess what? Rob Vincent finally
asked me to the Ball.”

“
Laura, that’s great.” Holly smiled and
leaned forward. “Does he know you’ve decided to become Mrs. Rob
Vincent by June?”

Laura shook her head then smiled with a
conspiratorial gleam in her eyes. “Not yet. I’ll break it to him
slowly.”

“
So how’s that going?” Rob’s mom had
picked out the daughter of a friend for her son and constantly
tried to throw barriers between Rob and Laura.

“
His mother is backing off a little. I
wish she’d move to Australia. Or maybe Mars. That is one mean
woman.” She speared another bite of food. “Who’s taking you? I hope
you’re not going with Stan. He is so shallow.”

Holly almost laughed. Laura wasn’t that deep
herself, for all her good heart. “I hadn’t planned to go. Since Dad
only died in September, I’m not sure I should attend the ball this
year.”

“
Holly, that’s archaic. You can bet
Geneva will be there, probably shopping for her next husband if she
hasn’t already started. Besides, your father would be the last
person to want you to molder in mourning.”

“
That’s true, but it’s only two days
away.” Holly pushed her entrée around on her plate. “We’ll
see.”

Laura’s take on Trent’s interest in Holly had
knotted her stomach and she’d lost her appetite. Is that what
everyone would think? Would they be correct?

CHAPTER TEN

Trent
rapped
his knuckles on Holly’s office doorframe and hoped the speech he’d
practiced worked. “Everyone but the janitors and us have left for
the weekend. Shouldn’t we knock off, too?”

Holly glanced at the thin gold watch on her
slender wrist. “Time got away from me again. I wanted to get caught
up.”

He propped a shoulder against the doorway and
gave her what he hoped was a charming grin. “I won’t tell the CEO
if you leave something undone on your desk.”

She smiled and pushed the papers on her desk
into a folder. “Thanks, but I suspect he’d find out anyway. You can
be sure Lila would.”

He chuckled. “You’ve got that right. Lila
knows all there is to know about everything and everyone. She
should be CEO.” He depended on Lila, and thanked heavens the
efficient whirlwind appeared to like him—or at least accept
him.

His remark caused Holly’s smile to deepen.
She pushed the folder to the corner of her desk. “Maybe you’re
right, I’ll just leave and throw caution to the wind.”

“
Can I buy you dinner?” Please say yes.
Damn, he was the high school nerd asking the most popular girl in
school on a first date.

She bit her lip and looked wary.

“
Food? Surely you plan to eat dinner.”
He held out his hands, turning them from up to down. “See, no
strings are attached to these.”

“
You’re crazy.” She took her purse from
a drawer. “Okay, where are we eating? Since you’re buying, I’m
giving you fair warning I’m starving.” She took a gray coat from
the rack.

He held it while she slid it on. “New
coat?”

She sent him a disgusted look. “Old coat. The
other one is at the cleaners.”

He laughed, remembering her gathering eggs
and other activities in the barn. “Not surprising.”

She turned out the lights and closed the
door. “You locked up your place?”

“
Yep, all buttoned up. Let’s get some
chow.”

“
Is that what you called food on ship?”
She looked up at him.

He tried for an innocent, up-to-nothing look
on his face. “No, I thought that’s what Texans called food. Chow.
Grub. As in let’s chow down, partner, or why don’t we’uns git us
some of that there grub?”

Her laughter lightened his fatigue. “What
kind of chow are we going for?”

He rubbed his stomach and hammed it up more.
“I’ve a powerful craving for Tex Mex, Ma’am. Can’t get enough of
that stuff. Want to suggest someplace?” He guided her to the
parking lot. “Whoa, two cars. I live closer than you do. Why don’t
we leave your car in my apartment parking lot and then use my car
to go eat?”

She looked at his used economy coupe. “This
is what the CEO drives?”

Usually he made no apologies for his
lifestyle, but with her he made an exception. “Hey, just like
Popeye says, ‘I yam what I yam.’ No use trying to fool people. I
bought this car cheap because of its age. I’ll replace it when I’m
sure things will work out at Marvel.”

She laughed. “Okay, sailor, why don’t we
leave your car in your apartment parking lot and go in mine? You
can drive.”

“
Done deal. You remember where I live
in case we’re separated in traffic?” He hoped she wouldn’t use this
as a way to back out.

“
Yes, it’s just a short ways, isn’t it?
I’ll follow you.” She climbed into her car.

He shut her door then jogged to his vehicle.
It ground and he had to coax it. “Come on, come on you old bucket.
This is important.”

The ignition finally caught and he pulled out
of the parking lot. True to her word, she pulled into traffic
behind him and stayed a car length off his bumper. At his apartment
building, he parked in his assigned slot and locked his car in
record time before he walked to her Lexus.

She hopped out and called, “Chinese fire
drill.” Leaving her door open, she hurried to the passenger side
and climbed in.

He slid onto the soft leather driver’s seat
and waited for her to buckle up. “What was that?” He adjusted the
seat for his long body. Man, like sitting in an easy chair.

“
Oh, it’s something silly my dad told
me about. When he was a teenager out with a carload of friends,
they would stop at a light and someone would yell, ‘Chinese fire
drill.’ Then everyone would open a door and they’d all get out and
change places.” She smiled up at him. “Guess that doesn’t work at
sea.”

“
A lot of things don’t work at sea.
Like owning a car. Where am I driving?” He relaxed a little. She
was talking to him. No mention of gambling. So far, things were
okay.

She gave him directions. “I’d never realized
it, but that’s probably your first car, isn’t it?”

“
Very first, although I got a drivers
license long ago so I could rent cars when we were in
port.”

They arrived at a modest Mexican food
restaurant. Through the car’s windshield he peered at the building.
Nothing special. Maybe even a little seedy. “
This
is your favorite Tex Mex place?”

She unfastened her seatbelt. “Wait until you
eat the food, Macleod. It is so good you will whimper and plead for
more.”

Now that made him think of more than food.
But he had planned this evening carefully and he would take it one
slow step at a time. “Lead the way, then. I’m starving.”