chat and greet people as she went, Kate made slow progress toward the food stand. where Dave, the Coast’s landlord, was, happily cooking burgers in a closed, mobile oven.
Kate leaned on the counter beside him. “It’s going well, isn’t it?”
“Never had a doubt.” Dave pointed his tongs toward the main bar inside. “There’s plenty of people in there who will make their way out here once the Shadows start.” He frowned as his attention landed on something over Kate’s shoulder. “He’s a strange one, that Mac Orman. Not sure what to make of him, even though Vanessa, God love her, tries to convince me he’s all right.”
Kate turned and her heart kicked. Dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt beneath his ever-present leather jacket, Mac looked just as ridiculously hot as he had when she’d seen him in the bakery a couple of days before. She thought over Vanessa’s observations, interested to hear Dave’s take. “What do you mean by strange?”
“Well, the guy clearly isn’t lacking in the looks department, if the way Vanessa was watching him earlier is anything to go by. He seems pretty sure of himself, but...”
She faced Dave, pleased she wasn’t the only one impervious to Mac’s charms. “What?”
He turned back to the oven. “Something tells me that guy is here with an agenda. I don’t like strangers with agendas.”
Kate looked at Mac again. He stood near the band, wearing a stony expression and holding a bottle of beer. “No, me neither. Maybe I should try to uncover that agenda. What do you think?”
“By all means, if you think you can. Just do me a favor?”
“What?”
“If anyone asks, this little bit of digging was all your idea, not mine. Okay?”
Kate smiled. “You’re not actually scared of Vanessa, are you?”
“’Course not, but if she thinks I’m causing trouble, I’ll be sleeping on the couch. At my age that doesn’t do my back any good, if you understand what I’m saying.”
“Understood. I’ll keep my investigating to myself.”
He nodded and Kate took a deep breath before she headed toward Mac. He turned as she neared, almost as though he sensed her approach. He clearly struggled to change his expression into something less hostile as his slow study drifted over her body, seeming to assess every part of her.
Kate’s stomach knotted with attraction. But there was no way of knowing who Mac was, or what he was capable of. Her guard needed to be in place at all times.
She forced a smile as she stood in front of him. “Mac, nice to see you again.”
His gaze lingered on her mouth before he met her eyes. “I’m surprised to hear you say that, but thanks.”
Deciding she would make a better detective if she smoothed the tension between them, she laughed. “Just because I’m concerned why you’re here doesn’t mean I don’t like you. You seem pleasant enough. So, did you come in for a look around? Or do you plan on staying awhile?”
“I thought I’d check out the band. The Moon Shadows are pretty good.”
She glanced at the band, more than a little concerned that the guitarist hadn’t shown up. “I’m not much for country rock, but from what I’ve heard, they aren’t half bad.”
“What sort of music do you like?”
She shrugged. “Acoustic, Ed Sheeran, that sort of stuff.” She faced him. “And I’m partial to some ballads and smooth jazz on occasion.”
He nodded, his gaze intense on hers. “Good choices.”
Their eyes locked, and the noise around them faded. Kate struggled to look away, struggled to speak. “Any more luck finding the person you’re looking for?”
“Not yet, but it’s early days.”
“Early days?” She faced him. “You plan on staying longer than a week?”
He took another gulp of his beer. “If I have to.”
“But you can’t.”
His blue eyes brightened with amusement. “Why not? I thought it was Marian who was the boss around here. So far, no one named Marian has tried to push me out of town like you are.”
“I’m not trying to push...” She glared. “Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Tormenting me.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I torment you?”
“No.” Her cheeks burned. “You infuriate me.”
“Then my aim has been met.”
She opened her mouth to respond when the leader singer from the band joined them. “Kate? Could I have a word?”
Grateful for the interruption, she faced the singer. “Sure. What can I do for you?”
He grimaced. “Bad news. I just called the replacement guitarist. He can’t make it.”
Her stomach dropped. “And he’s only told you now? Can you get by without him?”
“No can do, I’m afraid. Can’t play our songs without a lead guitarist.”
“Then what am I supposed to—”
“I’ll help you out.” Mac stepped forward and extended his hand to the lead singer. “Mac Orman. Guitarist.”
Joe shook Mac’s hand. “Joe Masters.”
Kate stared wide-eyed at Mac, her heart beating fast. “You? You’ll step in?”
He flashed her a smile. “Anything to help out a lady.” He turned to the singer. “I’ll just run upstairs and get my guitar.”
Joe frowned. “How well do you know our music?”
Mac nodded. “Really well. Big fan, in fact. Well, except for the times I’m looking for some ballads or smooth jazz.”
Kate’s mouth dropped open, but words failed her as Mac headed inside the bar. She stared at the empty doorway and snapped her mouth closed.
Joe patted her on the shoulder. “There you go. Panic over. Told you I had everything under control.”
He strolled away, leaving Kate standing alone and flailing in a sea of attraction, grateful to a man she really didn’t want to lean on. But apparently with Mac, she didn’t have a lot of choice.
* * *
MAC HUMMED A Moon Shadows tune as he let himself into his room, reliving the look of shock, then relief on Kate Harrington’s face. That had been worth a million pounds. It had been a long time since he’d wanted to be the one to ease a woman’s stress and worry. He wanted to do both for Kate, even if his reasons weren’t entirely honorable. He needed a way to lessen the woman’s distrust of him so he could get on with his mission.
The question was, why had she made his business her business?
He grabbed his guitar from where it lay on a chair and took his phone from his pocket to silence it. His mind wandered to Kate once more. She looked fantastic in a pair of tight blue jeans, black boots and a peach knit top. Decent, yet almost indecent. Just the right side of sexy.
He dropped his gaze to his phone, and his smile promptly disappeared.
The display showed three missed calls from his older sister. Immediate guilt warred with his need to keep what he was doing in Templeton to himself a while longer.
But if he avoided her, Dana would only keep calling. His sister was never one to be impeded by anyone, especially her younger brother. He pressed the button to return her call.
She answered on the second