Too Hot to Handle (9 page)

“The pictures you send are so pretty. And they make me miss you so much. And how’s Grace doing?”

“Well, let’s see, she’s got a super hot cowboy boyfriend who carries her off to his ranch house nearly every night. She seems pretty good.”

“I’m going to have to come out there just to see that.”

“You should, Mom. I miss you.” She swallowed her sudden tears and changed the subject. “How are you, Mom?”

“Great!”

“Are you seeing anyone yet?” This was an old conversation between them. Her mom had rarely dated when Merry was growing up and nothing seemed to have changed since then. Merry sighed at the silence. “Come on, Mom. You have to try.”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“I feel like you gave up dating for my sake, and I want you to meet someone. There’s probably someone in your life right now if you’d just open your eyes. You have so many friends. Everyone likes you. I thought your new neighbor seemed interested.”

“Who, Charles?” She laughed. “Oh, my gosh, no.”

“Then who?”

Her mom stayed quiet for a long time before she finally cleared her throat. “It’s just… It’s hard, Merry.”

“I know.” She sighed. Maybe being terrible at dating was a genetic trait. “I’d just like to see a man in your life, Mom. I didn’t need a dad, and I know you don’t
need
a husband, but I used to imagine that someday you’d fall in love with a big strong guy. Someone who could fix things around the house and mow the lawn and get stuff off the top shelf, not because you can’t, but because you deserve a break. Don’t you want that?”

“Oh, Merry.” She sighed, her voice sounding a little shaky. “I don’t know what to say to that. I wish I could’ve given you that when you were a little girl. A nuclear family. The American dream.”

“I didn’t need that.”

“When you were little, you used to make your Barbie and Ken get married every day.”

“I did not!”

“Yes, you did. I’d hear voices in your room, and I’d go listen to you act it out. And the boy doll would…” Her voice cracked before she could speak again. “Ken would always say, ‘You and your little girl don’t need to worry anymore, sweetheart. I’ll take care of you now.’”

Merry pressed a hand to her parted lips. “No.” She shook her head in horrified shock. “I did not.”

“Yes, you did. And I would try to make myself imagine that I could meet someone and give you a family, but I just…I couldn’t. I don’t know why. I wanted to, for you.”

“Oh, Mom, no. I didn’t need that. I must have been really small, because I don’t remember even playing with Barbies.”

“You gave them up when you discovered
Star Wars
. Well, you didn’t give them up. You made them play Princess Leia and Han Solo and then there was a tragic crash onto an ice planet pond that wasn’t quite frozen, and they were lost forever.”

Merry laughed past the tears that thickened her throat. “I remember that!”

“It was big news in the neighborhood. You told everybody you saw. You were so excited.”

They were both laughing now, thank God. Merry sighed. “I remember after that you saved up and bought me action figures.”

“You were a good girl. You deserved them.”

“I feel the same way about you and dating.”

“Oh, let’s forget that. I don’t need a date. I’m wonderful. I was only calling to let you know about your cousin.”

Jesus, Merry had forgotten for a moment, and she groaned in remembered dread. Her mom offered yet another scolding about appreciating your family, but as soon as they said goodbye, Merry called Grace.

“Can I pretend your apartment is mine?” she asked without explanation.

Grace didn’t hesitate. “Sure. Anytime.”

“Thank God.” She dropped into a chair on the porch and groaned. “Crystal is coming tomorrow.”

“Why?”
Grace had met Crystal one time and they’d taken an instant dislike to each other. Merry had been secretly thrilled.

“Ugh, I don’t know. She’s going mountain climbing or something amazing like that. She probably just found out I was living here and wants to show off.”

“And you want to use
my
place to impress her?”

“I just don’t want her to know that I’m sleeping on a couch or that I’m—” Merry snapped her mouth shut. She hadn’t said a word about her trouble with the board to Grace. It was too embarrassing, and Grace would get really outraged and possibly violent, and Merry didn’t want to upset her when everything was going so well with Cole.

“Will you do my makeup tonight?”

“Hell, yes. And then I’ll clear out. You can have my place, and I’ll get to spend the evening away from Crystal.”

“Good. You can’t afford to be arrested twice in one calendar year.”

Grace snorted. “Be nice or I’ll make you look like a cheap prostitute.”

“I wish.” She hung up and slumped into the chair to glare out at the clouds hanging above the hills. “Damn it.” The only good news was that Crystal probably had plenty of wealthy, glamorous friends to hang out with in Jackson. She’d be too busy to bother Merry much. But this was going to be one painful night. And another night she wouldn’t be able to get herself off.

After Shane had left last night, she’d been too mortified and guilt-ridden to even try. She’d just shoved her vibrator deep into the box it had come from, thinking to herself that she’d never need it again. But then on the drive to work, she’d found herself daydreaming about Providence in a way she never had before. Not about the buildings or its past or the brochure she’d worked so hard on. Instead she’d thought about working late with Shane. In the last cloying rays of the sun, he’d gotten hot and stripped off his shirt, seeming unconcerned that she was standing only a few feet away. She’d watched, of course, and he’d glanced up and caught her looking. Instead of embarrassment, anger had flashed over his face. Merry had taken a step back, but he followed.

“I always catch you looking, but you never touch,” he’d growled.

God, she wanted to touch. She did. She wanted to touch him everywhere and not be the least bit hesitant. She wanted to stroke him. Squeeze him. Taste his skin. In real life, she’d never have the nerve, but in her fantasies, she could have him any way she wanted. He’d never find out, would he?

And as she’d driven, she’d decided to give herself another try. He couldn’t possibly interrupt again, and she needed it. She was tense. Stressed. She deserved a little guilty pleasure.

But instead of getting off to thoughts of Cole unbuttoning his jeans for her impatient hands, she’d get to walk through a minefield of conversation with Crystal.

Despite that she was almost done with her rough mock-up of the brochure, Merry felt suddenly hopeless. If she were smart and ambitious and full of self worth, she’d turn in her notice and move on. She’d tell those old bastards to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.

But that wasn’t her, and plus…she didn’t want to leave. As sad is it was to be only half-wanted, she loved it here. She was going to make this work, and she was awesome enough to deal with Crystal for a couple of hours. After all, even Crystal must have bad days occasionally. She wasn’t perfect.

“It’ll be fine,” Merry said aloud, repeating her mother’s words to herself. Yes. It would be fine.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“
M
ERRY
!”
HER
COUSIN
exclaimed in an ingratiatingly kind voice. “It’s so wonderful to see you!”

“Hi, Crystal.” Just opening the door had been a blow. Crystal had bleached her dark blond hair to a sleek platinum bob. She looked amazing. Slim and tall and stylish. She wore a sleeveless linen dress and coffee-colored heels. Merry felt clumsy and lumbering in comparison as she stepped back and waved Crystal in.

But at least Grace had helped her clean up. Merry still wore jeans and black and pink sneakers, only because Grace’s cute boots were too tiny to stuff onto her feet. But Grace had forced her out of a T-shirt and into a tight black tank top that looked almost elegant when paired with the thick rope of silver that Grace had looped around Merry’s neck.

She glanced down at the glinting metal and told herself to feel confidence.

“You look amazing,” Merry made herself say. “I love the hair.”

“Thank you, darling. And you. Love the shoes.”

The words sounded completely sincere. Merry knew they weren’t, but her cousin was never sarcastic enough to be called on it. Ever. The woman was smart, and if Merry’s mom had been watching, she’d say, “But honey! She said she loved your shoes!”

“Is this your place?” Crystal asked, making a slow turn on her beautiful spike heels.

“It is!” Merry thought the apartment was beautiful, with its old hardwood floors and dark woodwork and windows open to the evening. Aspen trees whispered in the breeze that snuck past the white curtains, and she could hear the occasional laughter of kids playing in the front yard across the street.

But from her expression, she could tell that Crystal saw the old couch and the tiny kitchen and the walls that didn’t display beautiful artwork. “Well, the town is gorgeous. You’re so lucky to live here.”

“Thank you. Would you like to walk into town and get dinner?”

“Oh, I never eat after six.” She ran a hand down her nonexistent abdomen.

“Right. A drink, then? There’s a place right next door.”

“Perfect. But don’t you want to give me the tour first?”

Merry made herself smile brightly. “This is it! Living room, kitchen, there’s the bedroom. Great light here, huh? Are you still in Chicago?”

“I am. I love living downtown. Everything I could ever want is right there.”

“Except rock climbing?”

“Oh, it’s just a little sport climbing.” She waved a hand. “Jake took it up at the gym and convinced me to try it. Our best friends have a little villa up on Teton Mountain, and they’re letting us use it, so we’ve come out to give it a try on real rock.”

“Sounds fun.” It did, honestly. A few days at a gorgeous mountain lodge. An exciting new hobby.

She led Crystal outside and started across the lawn before she remembered the heels. “Sorry,” she murmured, cutting back to the sidewalk.

“It’s really a saloon?” Crystal asked. “I thought it was actually a little gift shop or something.”

“No, it’s a saloon.” Country music blared out when someone opened a door and Crystal’s eyes widened with a little trepidation.

“Come on. It’s fun. I know the owner.” Merry was also scared to death of the owner, but she left that out. “And the bartender, if Jenny’s working tonight.”

She didn’t see Jenny when they walked in, but the place was packed with cowboys. Several of their heads turned, and a few of those actually took off their hats and smoothed their hair down at the sight of Crystal. She looked fantastically out of place in her cool cream linen, and Merry would have been squirming with discomfort if she’d been the one wearing it, but Crystal just swept a serene gaze over the room.

Merry didn’t see an empty table, but when they headed to the bar, two cowboys stood up in their path and waved a hand at the table. “Ma’am,” the closest one said to Crystal.

Merry was in the middle of declining the kind offer when Crystal interrupted with an easy thank-you and took a seat.

“Oh.” Merry stood there and stared at the men. “Well…” She had no choice but to sit, as well.

No one had ever sacrificed his table for her when she was on her own. Things worked differently for beautiful women who looked as if their very presence was a gift to you.

Crystal gingerly swiped at the table with the side of her hand before setting her clutch purse on the table. “I’m so glad I was able to stop by and see you, Merry. How are you?”

“Wonderful!”

“So your mom told me you’re working in a little ghost town?”

Merry knew for a fact that wasn’t what her mom had said. “I’m the curator of a beautiful little town called Providence. It’s currently under restoration and I’m hoping to get it open to the public soon.”

“Wow. Pretty impressive for the Merry Slacker.”

“Yeah. Thanks a lot.” She was saved from having to say more when she spotted Jenny pop up from behind the bar. “Oh, there’s Jenny! She’s the blonde in the apron. I don’t see Rayleen, but—”

“Looking for me, Christmas?” a voice growled from directly behind her.

Merry jumped and bit back a yelp of fear. Rayleen was scary as hell even when she wasn’t sneaking up from behind.

“Hey,” Rayleen said when Merry turned around. “I see Grace helped you out with your makeup. You look nice for once.”

Merry grimaced. “Crystal, this is Rayleen Kisler, she’s Grace’s great-aunt. Rayleen, this is my cousin Crystal Waterton.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Crystal said. “Is Grace here?” She looked around with more than a little nervousness.

“Nah,” Rayleen said. “She’s probably off riding that stallion of hers. It’s her only hobby, far as I can tell.”

Crystal’s perfectly plucked eyebrows rose. “I can’t imagine Grace on a horse.”

Merry choked and shook her head. “She’s talking about Grace’s boyfriend.”

“Oh.” Crystal’s confusion turned to a distasteful frown as Rayleen howled with laughter.

“Look at that face!” Rayleen crowed. “Christmas, I never thought you’d have a cousin with a stick up her ass.”

Much as she hated being called Christmas, Merry almost laughed at that. Crystal did have a stick up her ass. So did Crystal’s mom. Merry had never been able to understand how her mother and her aunt could be sisters raised in the same household. It made no sense.

Then again, they’d come from a very poor family. Merry’s mom had learned how to work hard and persevere. Crystal’s mom had been ambitious and determined never to be poor again. They’d taken different paths with their similar strengths. But they’d come from the same place, so they had that in common. Merry and Crystal, on the other hand…

Merry slapped her hands together and stood. “I’ll grab some drinks from the bar! What would you like?”

“Gin and tonic, please.” She arched a look toward the bar. “See if they have Hendricks at least.”

Rayleen snorted and walked away, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like “prissy bitch” under her breath. Merry pretended that she hadn’t heard, but Crystal’s tight look caused her forehead to wrinkle. Must be time for more Botox.