The Matchmakers (5 page)

           
`Matchmaker«´ He’d
grumbled the word under his breath like a curse at each stoplight. `Are you for
real, Tinkerbell? Give me a break. Can you just picture me playing matchmaker?´
No, she’d thought with a skeptical glance. She certainly couldn’t, and that
made her feel just that much more hopeless. Freya never assigned impossible
tasks. As the Goddess of Love, she could never be cruel that way, but it didn’t
mean Callie couldn’t fail. Not only did Nick Garrett not believe in love, he didn’t
even believe in Callie, and that was going to be her biggest hurdle. He went on
and on to the empty air about her mental status and his own. She crossed her
invisible arms over her invisible chest and clamped her invisible lips shut
over a number of scathing replies. `I should have just called the cops. The
girl needs help. Why didn’t I just call the cops? Because she’s hot? Hot girls
can be crazy, too.
Lord knows
, hot
girls can be crazy. You’d think I’d have learned that by now.´
 
And who’s
the one talking to himself?
she’d asked silently. At least the ride was
over now. She popped out of the truck and waited while Nick shut off the engine
and climbed out. He scanned the busy construction site, shielding his eyes from
the bright October sunlight. After a moment, he headed off across the dusty lot
to where a group of men in hard hats were arguing over what appeared to be a
badly dented metal pipe. Callie considered following him, but invisible didn’t
mean invincible, even in the Fae realm. A trip across a construction site full
of rolling cement mixers and beam-laden forklifts wasn’t her idea of a stroll
in the park. She decided to take the safer route and nose around as far away
from the actual work as possible.

Future Home of
MedPro-Medical and Dental Arts Center
,proclaimed the
mud-splattered sign on the temporary trailer that housed the offices of Burns
& Wright Construction. Callie picked her way across a mountain range of
tire ruts, keeping her eyes on Nick who’d joined the discussion over the pipe. A
tall man in a dark blue work shirt and matching Dockers seemed to be nodding
intently while Nick spoke. After a moment, the man pulled a cell phone from his
back pocket and dialed a number. While he barked into the phone, he shook Nick’s
hand. Callie turned her attention back to the trailer. A set of plywood steps
led to a dented screen door on which hung a cardboard sign. A word bubble over a
cartoon drawing of an angry looking wet cat read, `The Complaint Department is
CLOSED.Á chirpy female voice reached Callie through the dusty screen. `Burns
and Wright. How may I help you?´ Callie made a quick check yep, still
invisible. The woman couldn’t be talking to her. Out of curiosity, Callie
popped inside. In surprising contrast to the loud, muddy construction site, the
trailer office seemed like an oasis of calm. Colorful photographs in plastic
frames covered the spotless white walls, and well-tended houseplants sat atop a
long row of sleek black filing cabinets. Easy listening tunes played from a
small radio perched on a wooden shelf, and the warm, heady scent of fresh
coffee filled the room. A pretty brunette sat behind a metal desk opposite the door,
a cordless phone clenched between her shoulder and her right ear. Her eyes
scanned her computer screen while she nodded into the phone. `Okay. Yes. Sure.
Will do,śhe said between bobbing her head and clicking her mouse. `I’ll
set up his file right now. Can he stop in now to fill out a W-2?Ćallie
leaned over the secretary’s shoulder and watched her type the name NICHOLAS GARRETT
into the form on her screen. So Nick had fulfilled his promise. He’d gotten a
job. While that knowledge impressed Callie and gave her a modicum of hope that
perhaps his wild nature could be tamed long enough to complete their task, she
found the secretary herself even more interesting. The nameplate on the desk
read Teresa Fiora. Next to it sat a collection of tiny picture frames that one would
expect to hold snapshots of a spouse and children. Callie peered at the frames,
tilting one just a fraction of an inch for a better view while Teresa
concentrated on her computer screen. Each frame held a picture of a cat. All
the same cat, as far as Callie could tell, a fat orange tabby with luminous
green eyes. In every picture, one oversized incisor peeked out beneath long
white whiskers and a triangular pink nose. Callie’s Fae instincts told her
Teresa’s story. Single white female with a nurturing heart. She’d rescued this
shabby stray from a dumpster a year ago, and he’d become her pride and joy, her
family. What Teresa needed was a real family one that of course included her
beloved cat along with a loving husband and a passel of active children. The
need was stamped all over her face as bright and clear as the fresh coat of
lipstick she hastily applied only seconds before Nick appeared at the trailer
door. Callie stood back and watched. Nick shouldered through the door, accidentally
dislodging the cat cartoon from the screen, and Teresa’s warm smile widened. Callie
nudged the cardboard sign out of his way as he bent over to retrieve it. `Sorry
about that.´ Nick swiped the sign off the floor and made a half-hearted attempt
to re-hang it. Teresa waved him off. `Don’t worry about it. I should take it
down anyway. I only put it up to annoy John.´ John Burns. Callie’s Fae senses
pinged when Teresa uttered her boss’s name. A mild blush colored the secretary’s
cheeks as Nick strolled over to her desk, the fallen sign in hand. `Yesterday
was a day from hell. It seemed like everybody needed to vent about something,
and I got tired of hearing it, so I put up the sign.Śhe laughed, though
she seemed a little embarrassed as she took the sign from Nick. She jammed it
into a lower drawer and grabbed a pen. `So you’re going to be working for us?´
Nick nodded. Reluctance rolled off him in palpable waves. Callie’s Fae
instincts told her a regular job with regular hours and regular pay hadn’t been
part of his existence in longer than he could remember.

Drifter
, Freya had said.
He has no roots, or none that he will
acknowledge. He refuses to
belong
 
anywhere.
A steady job would change that, temporarily at least. `John offered me a
position a few months ago after I did some work for his brother-in-law. I’m
between projects now, and I thought I’d see if the offer was still good.´ `That’s
great, Nick.´ Teresa handed him a form along with the pen. `Fill this out so I
can set up your payroll file. Are you starting today?´ `Monday.´ Nick dropped
the pen, then bent to retrieve it with a weary sigh. Callie kept a close eye on
him. His charming half smile and soft laugh made her curious. Was he flirting with
Teresa? Ugh. Figured. It was his nature after all. He can’t help it, Callie
reminded herself.
He’s wired that way
.
The phone rang again, and Teresa scooped up the receiver. `Burns and Wright,
how may I help you? Yes, he’s here now. We’re almost done, John. Okay.Śhe
grabbed the pen Nick had placed on the desk and poised it over a scrap pad. `Would
you like me to order your usual for lunch? Turkey club, no mayo on whole wheat.
How could I not know? You have it four times a week. Okay. Okay, bye.Śhe
gave an exasperated sigh as she hung up, and Callie noted the blush rising
higher in her cheeks. She smiled, secure in the knowledge that Nick’s flirting
meant nothing to Teresa. It was clearly John who caused this flustered reaction
in the secretary. `He wants you to see him before you leave,śhe said when
Nick handed her the completed tax form. `Sure, thanks.´ `I’ll see you Monday,
Nick!´ Teresa waved, and Nick headed for the door. `Have a wonderful
weekend.Ćallie lingered in the trailer long after Nick left. She hovered
by Teresa, watching the woman work and taking mental notes. With Nick working
here, Callie might have the opportunity to meet Teresa and find out more about
her relationship with John. When he entered the trailer at half past one to
collect his lunch from the cardboard box that a fresh-faced teenager from the
local deli had just delivered, Callie swooped in. She became completely absorbed
in the conversation between John and his secretary, utterly determined to find
a way to help Teresa get her man. `No mayo, right?´ John asked as he peeled
back the waxed-paper wrapping of his sandwich. Teresa squinted. `No mayo. They
didn’t screw it up, did they?´ `Nah,´ John said through a man-sized bite. `It’s
fine.´ He took two lumbering steps toward the trailer door, then stopped and
turned back indecisively. Teresa sat at her desk, her own half-finished tuna on
whole wheat resting next to the pictures of the cat, which Callie had nicknamed
Fang.

 
`All Nick’s paperwork done?´ Teresa
barely glanced up. `All set. He starts on Monday, right?´ `Right.´ John
lingered, chewing his sandwich. Teresa seemed to be working hard at ignoring
him. Only a Fae would have noticed the color in her cheeks and the catch in her
breath when John favored her with a brief smile. Callie liked him already. With
his dark hair and gruff manner, he represented a challenge. Here was a man who
didn’t quite know what to do with a woman. Well, aside from the obvious. It
appeared to Callie that John Burns had a shy side, which in this case seemed to
be hindered even further by the fact that Teresa worked for him. There was
definitely potential here. Callie just needed to figure out how to exploit it. `Don’t
forget to send out those payroll forms to the bank. They need them by the end
of next week,´ he said in a careful tone. Teresa’s lithe fingers paused over
her keyboard. `They’re going out in today’s mail.´ `Good. Did we get that fax
from Imperial Pipe? I need to know the ´ `It’s in your box.´ `Did you fill out
a new purchase order for the ´ `Ornamental cabbage? Faxed a copy yesterday,
mailed the original this morning.´ `Good.´ John hovered for a moment longer,
and Callie considered locking the screen door on him. Why wasn’t it obvious to
Teresa that he was inventing questions just so he could hang around? This is
good, Callie thought.
I just need to get
them away from this office.
She had a goal. Now she just needed to figure
out how to reach it, with or without Nick’s help.

Chapter Six

 
         
`Smoke
and mirrors,´ Ted Farley said as he filled Nick’s glass with two fingers of
Johnny Walker. `It’s got to be some kind of trick.´ Nick contemplated the amber
liquid as he brought the glass to his lips. `I didn’t see any smoke«or mirrors.
She was there, and then she was gone.´ Farley gave a skeptical snort and swiped
his hand towel over the polished bar. `I’ll be right back.´ He sauntered down
to the far end to take an order from Diane. While he was gone, Nick leaned back
on his stool and soaked up the atmosphere. At eight PM on Friday night, the bar
had just started to fill up. Bayerville’s townies were filing in, taking their
usual tables along the outer wall of the main room. An older, harder crowd
hovered around the bar, the ones that had been here since six. Some had already
passed the stage of noticing what was going on around them, and others were
looking for trouble, which Farley would make sure they didn’t find at his place.
It didn’t bother Nick that Farley’s regulars accepted him as one of their own.
He preferred that to being viewed as an outsider. Of course, that attitude was
just another reminder that he’d been in town too long. He wasn’t an outsider
anymore. Someone put Charlie Daniels on the jukebox, and a few of the younger
couples took to the sawdust-strewn space at the center of the room to dance.
Nick watched, sipping his drink, until Farley returned. `So she broke into your
bedroom, got naked and ´ `She didn’t break in. That’s the weird part.
Everything was locked. I don’t know how she got in either time. And she was
wearing one of my shirts.´ `And nothin’ else?´ Farley looked hopeful. The
creases around his clear blue eyes flattened out, and his brows headed for his
hairline. `As far as I could tell.´ Nick hated to admit he’d been wondering all
day. Even while he’d been at John Burns’s construction site, he hadn’t been
able to shake the vision of Callie’s curvy form draped in his favorite blue
flannel. The image came back to him now, and he drained his glass to clear his
head. `So why didn’t you call the police?´ Farley waved to another of his
regular customers then leaned one elbow on the bar and settled in. At six-foot
four, with the physique of a grizzly bear, he had to hunker down to look anyone
in the eye. When he did, it meant he was genuinely interested in the
conversation. `I don’t know. I should have. She’s wandering around town all
unbalanced and probably a little schitzo. As a good citizen I should turn her
in.´ `Phone’s over there. I’ll refund your quarter.´ Farley winked, and Nick
shrugged. `You think they’ll believe me if I tell them some girl has been
appearing and disappearing in my apartment? You don’t even believe it.´ `I
believe everything I hear, Nick. It comes with the job. What I don’t believe is
that you let a naked girl leave your apartment without even asking for her
phone number.´ Nick set his empty glass in front of Farley. At least he’d
emptied it himself this time. `It’s 1-800-I’m-Psycho. And it’s not like I let
her leave, she just wasn’t there anymore.´ `And now she’s mad at you?´ Farley
refilled Nick’s glass and pushed a bowl of salted peanuts across the bar. `I
guess. I haven’t seen her all day, so whatever revenge she’s cooking up has
kept her busy this long.´ Before Farley could comment, Diane sidled up to Nick
and gave him a nudge. Her ponytail bobbed as she nodded her head to the beat of
the next song. `I go on break in fifteen, Nick. Wanna dance?´ `Leave the man
alone, Di. He’s already got one stalker.´ Farley gave the woman a stern look.

 
She gasped and clutched her ample
chest theatrically then cooed sympathy at Nick. `A stalker? No kidding. Just
one? I’m surprised you don’t have a whole harem following you around,
sweetie.Śhe winked one of her baby blues at him, tossed her hair again and
snapped her gum. Nick had to give her credit; she had all the moves down, and
she knew how to drum up her tips. `Some dame showed up naked in his apartment
this morning and stole one of his shirts,´ Farley said. At this rate Nick
wouldn’t need to tell the police anything. They’d find out all the details from
the town rumor mill. `
Completely
naked?´ Diane cocked her head to one side and balanced her tray on her hip. `Well,
no«I’m not sure.´ Farley clucked and shook his head. `I bet she’d been hiding
under your bed all night. I read that happened to some actor in Hollywood last
month. You know, that guy who’s in all those Navy SEAL movies? Some nut broke
into his mansion and hid under his bed until he fell asleep with his
girlfriend. Then she crawled out, pulled the girlfriend out of bed and locked
her in a closet. She chased the guy around his house with a pair of scissors
for an hour before his bodyguards showed up, all because she wanted a lock of
his hair.´ Nick sighed. `Thanks, Farley. I feel a lot better now. I’m going to
file a report and then I’m going to go home and lock up all my scissors.
Honestly, though, I think she’s harmless, but the next guy she picks up might
not be as nice about ´ `Hi, Nick!Ćallie slid onto the stool next to him.
She smiled and snapped a piece of apple green gum just like Diane’s. She wore
one of Farley’s waitress uniforms complete with a narrow, white, three-pocket
apron cinched around her hips, slim black pants and a skin tight pink t-shirt
emblazoned with the logo, `I do it at Farley’s. Where do you do it?´
TEXAS LINE DANCING.
`Oh, man, speak of
the devil.´ Both Farley and Diane gave Nick curious looks. `She’s here?´ Diane
leaned close. She smelled like lavender and mint, and her ponytail brushed Nick’s
cheek as she looked around the crowded bar. `Where?´ `Right here.´ Nick nodded
to the stool, and Calliope twirled around once and clapped her hands. `They can’t
see me.´ `
Where
?´ Farley asked. `That
one over by the jukebox?´ He pointed to a tiny redhead whose glum expression
was lit eerily by the glow from inside the Wurlitzer. `No, right
here
.´ `Who?´ Diane inched closer, and
Nick watched her scan the room, her gaze skipping over the faerie sitting only
inches away. `Come on. Are you guys in on it or something?´ That couldn’t be.
Nick didn’t know these people well enough for them to play an elaborate
practical joke on him.