wanted. Even though you were probably kicking yourself all the way home, and he’s probably caused and will continue to cause you no end of trouble.”
Gretchen was pretty sure they weren’t really talking about Goliath anymore.
“I can handle trouble, David. I welcome trouble.”
He grinned again, then moved out the door and pulled it almost shut behind him. “That’s good, Gretchen,” she could swear she heard him say just before the door clicked shut.
She couldn’t help smiling. She couldn’t help wondering why her skin felt alive and tingling even though the only touch she and David had shared had been slight and over too quickly. But there was something about the lazy way the man looked at her, that made her feel that he had touched her time and time again. There was something about the quiet, deep tone in his voice when he said her name, that made her feel he’d been thinking about what it would be like to slide his naked skin over hers.
“The man is definitely right,” she whispered to no one in particular. “It’s a good thing you know how to handle trouble, because top-notch agent though he may be, David Hannon is going to be a major source of very deep trouble.”
And as she climbed into bed that night, another thought traipsed through her consciousness. It was a good thing she’d never taken a man like David to one of her friend’s or relative’s weddings. He was just the kind of man that would make people start urging her to think seriously about getting married lest she fall prey to some dangerous man with hot eyes and hot lips and deliciously seeking hands.
Maybe someday, she thought, she’d find the right man to haul off to one of those weddings. For now, though, she had to think about taking David off to examine those construction sites.
They had two bodies on their hands—and no answers to their questions.
They had barely gotten their coffee at the Hip Hop the next morning when Lily Mae Wheeler called across to their table.
“David, how are your parents? And your aunt? Your sister and your cousins? And those nice young men Cleo and Frannie married? I haven’t been out to the Big Sky in a billion years.”
David did his best not to laugh as the elderly lady leaned forward more and more with each question. The long bright dangling beads that dripped from her ears shook with each movement, but even more amusing was the fact that his mother had just been complaining that Lily Mae had been out to the Big Sky way too much lately. Her excuse was that she was checking up on the family and the newlyweds, but Yvette was sure that Lily Mae just wanted the latest dirt on what had happened between Jeremiah Kincaid and Raven Hunter thirty years ago.
“Everyone is doing great, Lily Mae,” he said gently, all too aware that half of the lady’s nosiness stemmed from the fact that she was alone after being widowed and then divorced twice after that. She could be a wicked gossip and cruel, but at the heart of all of that was a kind of pathetic need to be the center of attention. He knew that, but it didn’t mean he was sharing any information the lady didn’t need to know. Such as the fact that his aunt was so worried about this case that lately she could be heard quietly pacing the floor on certain dark and lonely nights. “The Big Sky has its usual complement of summer customers out to view the beautiful Montana scenery.”
“You obviously love the view, too,” Lily Mae said, shaking her head. Her glow-in-the-dark temporarily red hair, unlike her earrings, was wrapped around her head and there fore immobile. “How can you stand to live in the city after growing up out here?”
“I miss it every single day, Lily Mae,” David said quietly, and he was surprised to realize how much he meant that. Not that it mattered. His work was important to him, and his work was elsewhere, but there was something about home…
“The city’s not so bad, Lily Mae.” Gretchen’s soft voice brought him out of his reverie. He turned to look into her determined green eyes over her coffee cup. He wondered if she meant what she said, or if she was trying to defend him from Lily Mae. A touching thought. Probably not true, however. More likely Gretchen Neal was simply trying to convince him that he’d be better off scurrying back to Atlanta as soon as possible.
“Well, you grew up in the city and yet here you are,” Lily Mae argued. “Although I hear you’re taking a trip to Helena soon.”
Gretchen froze. A small, almost imperceptible groan slipped through her lips, and she had an undeniable urge to reach across to Lily Mae’s table and shove the words back into her mouth. How had the woman found out? And why did she care that Lily Mae knew?
“A bridesmaid again?” the woman was saying, shaking her head sadly. “How many times does that make now?”
Gretchen looked into the eyes of her friend Emma who was waiting on the next table. “I’m sorry,” Emma mouthed, and was instantly forgiven. Gretchen knew all too well how good Lily Mae was at worming secrets out of people.
She somehow managed to smile at Emma and shrug her shoulders. But it was difficult. She knew Lily Mae’s condescending tone too well. She’d heard it from any number of people lately. As if everyone thought she couldn’t get a man of her own. As if they didn’t understand that she just didn’t want to get married. Ever.
“I’ve rather lost count of how many weddings I’ve stood up at, Lily Mae,” she said, telling the truth. “I guess I’m just lucky, though, to have so many friends who love me enough to want me to be a part of their weddings.”
She managed to keep the defiance out of her voice. She managed to keep from even looking toward David. It didn’t matter that it was her own choice not to wed. People looked at the fact that she had stood up at so many weddings as somehow humiliating. She didn’t feel that way. She loved celebrating with her friends and family, but she hated that pitying tone people like Lily Mae sent her way. She hated knowing that even those closest to her worried about the fact that she was a perpetual bridesmaid well on her way to living her life alone forever.
“I’m sure you’re right, dear,” Lily Mae said, patting Gretchen’s hand. “But it’s a shame you haven’t gotten married yourself, Gretchen.”
“Lily Mae,” David drawled. “Bite your tongue, sweetheart.” David’s voice was low and sexy as he leaned forward, close enough so that Gretchen could feel the warmth of his skin next to hers. “If Gretchen had gotten married, she would have ruined the night time dreams of half the men in this town.”
Gretchen sucked in a deep breath of air. She saw Lily Mae’s eyes go wide. The woman leaned closer. “What do you mean, David Hannon?”
He gave the lady a slow, sexy smile. “I mean, Lily Mae, that there are a substantial number of male animals in this town who moan in their sleep over restless dreams of Gretchen Neal. There’s just something about a woman who’s good at her job, who knows what she wants and doesn’t want, and who happens to be beautiful, as well, that makes a man feel kind of crazy on a dark and lonely night. Something irresistible. It gives a man a goal, something to warm himself with in the winter and hold close to him in the summer. The way I look at it, Gretchen is performing an important civic duty by keeping the hopes and dreams of all of us single males alive. It makes a man sit up a little straighter and behave a bit better if he knows that a woman like Gretchen may pass by at any moment. If she were already married, well, she’d be some other man’s woman and we wouldn’t care so much. I’m sure the crime rate in town might take a small leap or two.”
Gretchen realized that the whole café had gone quiet and that Lily Mae still hadn’t answered. It was the first time in a long time that anyone had stunned the woman into silence.
“Now if you’ll excuse us, Lily Mae, Gretchen and I have some important business to attend to. The woman is leading a criminal investigation, you know. She doesn’t have time today to think about getting married.”
“No, of course not,” Lily Mae finally said, placing her long, ring-covered fingers against her chest. “Gretchen’s going to find the murderer who still might be on the loose. I only mentioned marriage because I thought