The Christmas Tree Read online

  “I’m glad you understand that.”

  “Why?”

  David’s smile faltered. “Why am I glad?”

  “No, why is it so generous? I don’t know you very well, but that seems against type. You didn’t become the number-one contractor in Pineville by giving money away.”

  He swirled his wine. “Because I am the number-one contractor, I can build at a much lower cost than the average buyer. My profit margin will be higher. I can afford to be generous.”

  Sadie pressed. “But why would you?”

  “Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to look a gift horse in the mouth?” He stabbed a lettuce leaf.

  “I’ve found that not examining such things can get you in trouble. I don’t mean to be rude, but I have to tell you I have concerns about selling to you. I’m leery of selling to someone with your reputation. Honesty and ethics matter to me. And the fact that you’re offering me above market price makes me wonder why.” She shoveled another forkful of romaine lettuce into her mouth. The problem with business dinners was that it was hard to actually eat in the midst of all the discussion. She stared over his shoulder while she chewed, and a man at another table caught her attention. His eyes shot bullets at David’s back.

  “McCoy,” David fairly spat out, dragging her attention back to him. “Whatever Colt told you is a load of crap.”

  “Perhaps.” A stuffed chicken breast was placed before her and the scent of lemon and tarragon tickled her nose. “But I’m still going to need some time to think about your offer.”

  “Fine.” He jounced back in his seat, looked away.

  She ate in silence for a few delicious bites. But her fingers tightened around her knife and fork as the chicken disappeared. The man across the room was still staring, and it was unnerving. “David, do you know that man? He’s been glaring at us since we arrived.”

  He turned to look, his shoulders stiffening to wood blocks when he caught sight of the man.

  “Well?” she asked, her eyes darting between the two men, who seemed locked in a staring contest.

  David turned back to her. “Just a client.” The stiffness in his voice matched his shoulders.

  “Huh.” She speared another piece of chicken. “In that case, you have quite a client relations problem. That man looks like he wants to cut you up and dip you in that pot of boiling oil on his table.” Sadie tapped her fingers idly against the wineglass. “I wonder how the fondue is here.”

  “Any business has an unsatisfied customer or two,” David said. “But I always try to make my clients happy.” He threw his napkin on the table. “If you will excuse me for a couple of minutes, I’ll go have a chat with him.” Without waiting for a response, he pushed back from their table and stalked over to the other man. He nodded at the woman who sat with him, then pointed to the back of the restaurant. The other man rose and followed David in that direction.

  Sadie settled in, enjoying the fabulous meal more now that she was alone. Business negotiations usually unsettled her stomach and David’s company did nothing to ease her nervousness.

  After finishing her dinner, she followed the waiter’s directions to the restroom. Turning down a dim hallway, she stopped short at the low hum of angry voices. Another hallway branched off a few feet ahead of her and she figured David and the other man were in it, hidden from sight. Not wanting to eavesdrop, but not wanting to cross the hallway in front of them so they would know that she had overheard, Sadie hesitated. She had decided to turn around and go to the bathroom later when a muttered letter stopped her.

  Two letters really. BB. She crept a bit closer, strained her ears. Had she heard that right? Were the two men talking about Colt’s business? Even though the words were heated, the men kept their voices down so Sadie had a hard time deciphering the conversation. But she definitely heard BB repeated and thought she heard them discuss money. Why would David be discussing Colt’s business? Was this another of Colt’s potential clients that David was attempting to underbid?

  David muttered “fine” and she sensed that the conversation was wrapping up. Hurrying back to her seat, she threw herself in it and was taking a large sip of wine when David rejoined her. “Did you manage to soothe his ruffled feathers?” she asked, eyeing him carefully, trying to assess his reactions.

  “It’s all settled. As I said, I like to keep my clients happy. I’ll do the same for you, Sadie. Sell to me and you won’t regret it.” His oily smile was back in place.

  “I’ll think about it.” And she would. His offer was more than she had hoped for. It would go a long way toward solving her financial problems.

  “Do that. You won’t get a better offer.”

  David dropped her off back at her grandmother’s house, his BMW peeling out of the driveway before she reached the porch steps. She hurried inside and traded the coat she wore for her thick parka, grabbed the keys to her loaner, and drove into town. After picking up a cup of her usual at the local coffeehouse, Sadie found an empty space on Main Street that allowed her to see across the square and down a side street. She figured she would look after the town Christmas tree and local stores’ decorations until Allison joined her. Then they could drive around town, searching for any suspicious activity. She was not going to spend forty backbreaking hours decorating that tree just to have some jerk make off with the star at the top of... Damn it. They didn’t have a tree topper yet. Well, that was a worry for tomorrow.

  She sipped at her coffee and settled in. It would be a couple of hours until Allison would join the stakeout. Even though all the stores were closed, most had Christmas lights in their windows, making the downtown area warm and inviting. A family or two walked to their cars after eating dinner, and a couple walked past holding hands, not noticing Sadie in the darkened car. But on the whole, Pineville was quiet. Peaceful.

  She shifted in her seat, her butt going numb. The temperature in the car was dropping and Sadie was out of coffee to keep her warm. Stakeouts weren’t just boring, they were uncomfortable, too. She hoped Allison left work soon so she could turn on the heater while they drove around.

  She was drumming her fingers on the steering wheel when the passenger door was yanked open. Expecting to see Allison, Sadie let out a yelp when a large figure dropped into her car.

  “Colt!” She held a hand to her thumping chest. “You scared the crap out of me. What are you doing here?”

  He slammed the door shut and turned to her, resting one hand on the back of her seat and the other on the steering wheel, the interior of the car suddenly very cramped. His bared teeth glinted in the low light. “I’m much more interested in what you think you are doing here.” His voice was chocolate-covered brittle. Sweet on the outside with a bite underneath.

  Her cheeks flushed. “Uh . . . I’m waiting for Allison?”

  “And why are you waiting for Allison?” His fingers brushed against her neck and a shiver raced down her spine.

  “Um . . . Well, you see . . .” She struggled to explain her presence without sounding like a complete idiot.

  “Um, well, you see,” Colt mocked. “Don’t bother with a story. The jig is up. I know what you and Allison are up to. I went to the café after I heard you whispering on the phone with her, and dragged it out of her. She’s not coming, by the way.”

  Sadie tried to stifle a giggle but a snort escaped.

  His eyes narrowed. “What’s so funny?”

  “‘The jig is up’?” She gave up and loosed a belly laugh. “You sound like some nineteen fifties private dick. ‘The jig is up,’” she repeated in her best Bogart impression.

  “Well, that’s apt, as you and Allison are doing a great Lucy and Ethel impression with your crazy schemes. Seriously, what are you thinking, staking out the Christmas thief?”

  “I’m thinking I don’t want our hard work on the tree destroyed.” She poked Colt’s firm chest and shifted to one hip to face him square on. “I’m thinking that I don’t want some creep to ruin Pineville’s Christmas. I’m thinki
ng that I only have a week here and I don’t want to waste it sleeping when I could be helping out the community while spending time with a new friend. And I’m thinking that you should either help out or butt out. Don’t treat me like a child.”

  “Are you through?” Colt leaned in until they were nose to nose.

  “Probably not.” She tilted her chin up. “I’m sure I can think of sev—”

  His kiss stole her breath away. The arms that had caged her in wrapped around her back and pulled her against his chest. The center console jammed into Sadie’s hip and she wriggled her way on top of it, eager to get as close to Colt as she could. He dragged her toward his lap, but stopped when Sadie broke away with a giggle.

  “Not a time to be laughing, princess. You could really hurt a man’s ego.”

  She tried to turn in his grip, her hand landing on his upper thigh for leverage to lift herself up.

  Colt grunted. “You could hurt more than a man’s ego doing that.”

  She laughed again. “My leg is stuck behind the steering wheel. Besides, I thought that was a man’s ego.”

  “Hmm.” He wrapped one hand behind her knee and helped maneuver her leg free. He settled Sadie so she was sitting on his lap, legs bent over the console, her back to the passenger-side door. “Comfy now?”

  She nodded.

  “Nothing else stuck? Jammed? Do you need—”

  This time Sadie took his mouth. One hand threaded in his hair and the other rubbed his bristly cheek. Her tongue met his, sparring for position. Heat coiled low in her belly. She enjoyed almost everything about this man. The taste of his mouth. His scent of sawdust and pine. The way he held her like he’d never let her go. If only his jibes didn’t tick her off so often.

  He lightly bit her bottom lip and she moaned. She could do something about those jibes. Keep his tongue too busy to ever say another stupid thing.

  He tugged her head back, exposing her neck to a trail of soft kisses and sharp nips. She sighed in delight. He reached the hollow of her throat and her pulse jumped beneath his lips.

  “You taste,” Colt said, scraping his teeth along her collar bone, “so good.” The tip of his tongue traced up her throat, swept the sensitive shell of her ear.

  She dug her fingers into his shoulders and held on while sensation flooded her body. Her head fell over his bicep, her energy seeping away, her body becoming boneless beneath his ministrations. She never wanted it to end.

  A spotlight pierced through her closed eyes and Sadie sat up with a shriek. A loud rapping on the window told her they weren’t alone.

  “Roll down your window, please,” a voice laced with authority demanded. Colt cursed softly but his arm left her waist to comply with the order. He opened it a couple of inches.

  “Is there a problem, Officer?” Colt asked.

  “Colt, that you?” Sadie recognized the voice as that of Officer Smith, the man who had taken her and Allison’s statements the other night.

  “Yeah, Billy, it’s me.” Colt sounded resigned.

  “And is that Miss Wilson you’ve got there?” The flashlight’s beam swept across her face again and Sadie threw her hand up to block the light from her eyes.

  Colt tucked her head against his shoulder. “That it is. Would you mind not blinding her with your flashlight?”

  “Oh. Right. Sorry.” Officer Smith let an uncomfortable ten seconds pass before speaking. “Well, Colt, maybe you’d better move it along home. We do have public indecency laws.”

  “Right. Of course.” Colt’s chest heaved beneath her.

  “We don’t just let people make out in the front seat of their cars in Pineville.”

  “I understand.” Colt’s chest shook some more.

  “Or the backseat, neither.”

  Sadie peeked at Officer Smith. He scratched his chin.

  “Got it, Billy,” Colt said.

  “’Course, it’s usually not adults we have to tell this to.”

  A snort escaped from Colt before he controlled himself. “We’ll head on out now. You have my word.”

  “All right then.” Officer Smith straightened up and Sadie could no longer see his face. “I’m not sure how I’m going to write this up in the daily report,” he mumbled. He took a step away before pivoting back and leaning down in the window. “Oh, and thank you for the cookies, Miss Wilson, but I just want it to be clear that they had no bearing on my decision not to write you up. I wouldn’t accept a bribe.”

  “Of course not, Officer.” The fresh-faced cop was so young and earnest Sadie had to restrain herself from patting him on the head. He nodded once, slapped his hat on his head, and strode back to the cruiser that was parked behind them. She had never noticed it pulling up. “Thank you!” she yelled at his retreating back.

  When he was out of earshot, she smacked Colt’s shoulder. “Are you laughing?”

  His chest rumbled beneath her, like a volcano right before an eruption, and he finally loosed a deep, long laugh.

  She started to crab-crawl back to her seat. “I’m glad you think this is so funny. You’re not the one whose name is now in three incident reports. All in less than a week.”

  Colt only laughed harder.

  She huffed and twisted her body, having a hard time getting back to the driver’s side. Colt placed a hand under her butt and lifted her over the console, his chuckles winding down. She plopped down in her seat, then glared at him. “You through?”

  He rubbed his jaw and gave her a lazy grin. “Admit it. That was funny.”

  “You have an odd sense of humor, Colt McCoy.”

  “I’ve been accused of worse.” He rested one hand on the steering wheel and the other on her headrest again. “What did he mean about your cookies? Are you starting a bakery here or something?”

  “When I went to sign my statement I brought a plate down to the station. Cookies are a great way to break the ice.” She raised an eyebrow and looked at him pointedly. “Well, in most situations.”

  “Huh. Did you make the peanut butter ones again?”

  She leaned back, resting her head on the cold glass of the driver’s-side window, giving herself as much space as possible. She took a deep breath, trying to clear her head. His touch muddled her senses. “No. Oatmeal chocolate chip.”

  His lips flattened. “Those are my favorite.”

  She smiled at the hint of a whine in his voice. “Go figure.”

  They stared at each other.

  She knew what he wanted. For her to offer to bake him some cookies. Just to be perverse, she wanted him to ask her to bake for him. It was a Mexican wedding-cookie standoff.

  The silence stretched.

  “Well”—she turned the key in the ignition—“I think I’m done embarrassing myself for the night. I’m headed home. Do you need a ride?”

  He reached over and twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. “To your house? Sure.” His Cheshire cat grin made her stomach skitter sideways.

  She released a shaky breath. “Colt—”

  “—is joking. I’m not inviting myself over.” He leaned over and kissed her ear. “Not yet, anyway.” He stepped out of the car, then bent down to look in at her before closing the door. “But I will be following you home to make sure you get there safely. No arguments,” he said when Sadie opened her mouth. “I’ll see you back here tomorrow at nine.” Then he shut the door and walked to his truck.

  She clenched the steering wheel. The way Colt made her feel was blurring the lines of her organized world. It no longer seemed possible that he could be just a fun fling, one you could kiss goodbye at the end of the relationship with only happy memories and no regrets. Worse, Sadie didn’t know if a romantic tryst was all she wanted from him anymore.

  She turned the car toward home, Colt’s headlights keeping her company in her rearview mirror. Regardless of how much Sadie wanted her life to follow the orderly plan she had created for herself, the chaos crept in. She brushed her fingers across her lips. And maybe that wasn’t such a bad
thing.

  Chapter Ten

  Humming, Colt strode across the square the next day, his eyes scanning for Sadie. A honey-colored braid snaking out from beneath a green knit cap caught his eye and he headed toward her, on autopilot. She tipped her head back, her face catching the morning sun, and his steps faltered. Damn, she was beautiful.

  Sadie laughed, talking to someone who was hidden by the tree. A few more steps and Jerome came into view. The cop caught sight of Colt and gave the universal male head bob in acknowledgment.

  Colt stopped next to Sadie and gazed down at her. “Morning, Jerome.” The twinkle in her blue eyes drew him in.

  “You hit your head, Colt?” Jerome asked. “I know Sadie and I are both gorgeous, but the resemblance ends there.”

  “What?” Colt’s head snapped around. “Oh. Funny. You’re a real comedian.” Ignoring Jerome’s smirk, he turned back to Sadie, a magnet for his gaze. She started to reach a hand up toward his face, then, with a look at Jerome, snatched it back down.

  “You shaved.” Her voice was a conflicted mix of wonder and accusation.

  “Oh, yeah,” Jerome said. “We can actually see your ugly face now. Too bad.”

  “Is there some purpose to your being here?” Colt shot the cop a narrow look. Normally he liked the man, but right now Jerome was interfering with his Sadie time.

  “Just doing my job making sure you two scofflaws are where you’re supposed to be.” Jerome’s lips tipped up. “Also wanted to know if you’d heard that another town was hit with a Christmas decoration theft last night. Seems Pineville’s not the only town under attack.”

  “Last night?” Sadie asked. She nibbled on her bottom lip. “And the thief struck another town?” Jerome nodded. “Well, that was a wasted couple of—” She bit down on her lip with a sidelong glance at the man in blue.

  Jerome rubbed his hands together and blew on his fingers. “Yep. So if a couple of Charlie’s Angels got it into their heads to try to catch the Christmas thief, they’d have to cover a lot of territory. It might be better if they left it to the professionals.”

  Sadie’s mouth dropped open.