Haystacks and Hoaxes (Cowboy Brand of Justice #3)

Chapter 4 Princess Treatment

M ila splashed warm water on her face, knowing she was obliterating what remained of her makeup. She was finally blubbered out, and the water felt good on her puffy eyelids and cheeks. A shower would’ve felt even better, but it would have to wait. Decker was busy assembling an emergency meeting of Lonestar Security personnel in the great room, and she’d been told they would be expecting her to join them. She’d also been informed that her new boss, Rock Burning Hunk of Hotness Hefner, would be among those gathered. She’d hightailed it from the room to gather her shattered nerves before facing him again.

He’d seen her at her best this afternoon — professional, hungry for a job, and eager to make a good impression. Maybe it was cowardly of her to feel this way, but she wasn’t near as interested in showing him this side of her — the raw and vulnerable, mildly depressed offspring of a young widow who’d been left with an infant to raise alone.

Mila was messed up in ways that nobody could see. Though she’d never known her biological father, she’d gone through various stages of grief and anger over not having a father figure in her life, and those feelings had only gotten worse once she’d become a teenager. Adding to her frustration was her mother’s grave misconception that providing her with a stepfather would magically solve those things. It hadn’t. Relationships were things that took time. That kind of intimacy was something a person had to earn. For years, Mila had coped with the disconnect in her family by keeping a certain amount of emotional distance from them. However, that was going to be a lot harder to do now that she’d accepted Deck and Chanel’s invitation to stay in their guest room. Indefinitely.

It was better than returning to her apartment tonight, though. The very thought of being there alone in the dark made her shudder. She lifted her drenched face to peer at herself in the tallest, most ornate bathroom mirror she’d ever laid eyes on. Like everything else in her stepbrother and sister-in-law’s house, their hall bathroom was a statement in luxury. She wasn’t even sure if it qualified as a bathroom. Surely, there was a better name to describe the upholstered bench to her left, gold accents embedded in the floor tiles, and professionally painted murals on the walls. A powder room, maybe? Or a lounge? It was decorated like an Italian courtyard. Green vines peeked between painted clusters of brick and stone. The ceiling boasted copper tiles, and the vanity was covered in black marble.

A light knock sounded on the door.

Mila tensed. “Yes?”

“It’s Chanel, with a few necessities I tossed together for you.”

Seriously? Mila cautiously cracked open the door, a little mortified about being seen by anybody in her current state. “You really didn’t have to—oh!” She caught her breath at the unzipped toiletry bag her sister-in-law shoved through the narrow opening. It was brimming with every feel-good item imaginable — makeup, tissues, a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, floss, body spray, lotion, a bar of sea salt soap, cotton balls, and a nail file. Yes, please!

Old irritations and biases crumbled as she accepted it. “This is seriously…wow!” She pulled the door open wider, averting her splotchy features from her sister-in-law. “I’m just gonna say it. I may have been wrong about you.”

“Oh, there’s no maybe about it, sister!”

Mila watched out of the corner of her eye as Chanel struck a comical pose with her hands on her hips while jutting her chin at a sassy angle. “Decker has very high standards, you know. He wouldn’t have married anyone short of amazing.” The fact that she was clowning around in a beaded pantsuit that probably cost more than one of Mila’s rent payments made her antics all the more amusing.

Mila burst into helpless laughter. “Yeah, Deck is a good guy.” She wrinkled her nose. “Even when he’s being a condescending rear end of an older brother.”

Chanel’s perfectly manicured eyebrows rose. “Is that why you campaigned so hard for him while he was running for town council?”

Mila’s laughter became stuck in her throat. “How did you find out about that?” First Rock and now her sister-in-law! It felt like all of her biggest, darkest secrets were being exposed in a single day.

Chanel’s gaze sparkled merrily. “Oh, honey! You don’t get elected to the town council without connections. I had the support of the founding families, while he had you and the Cowboys for Kingston crowd.”

Mila couldn’t have been more flabbergasted. “Do you really think my group made much of a difference?” Her only goal had been to minimize the runaway bride memes and stories.

“Are you kidding?” Chanel gave a disbelieving laugh. “Only after your posts started going viral did Decker achieve the traction he needed to get elected. You upped his game.”

Hope burgeoned in Mila’s heart. “Does Deck know about the Cowboys for Kingston?” Though the group wasn’t percolating with as much activity as it had during his election campaign, she’d kept it going. It had enough members nowadays commenting on Heart Lake news and policies that she only had to post in it once or twice per month.

“He does.”

“For how long?” Mila set the toiletry bag on the vanity and pulled out a bottle of foundation. She uncapped it and began the painstaking process of dabbing it on her splotchy cheeks and the puffy skin beneath her eyes.

“Ever since your second car was totaled.” Chanel lounged against the doorway, looking like she was in no hurry to take off. “Your mother was…” she paused to delicately clear her throat, “understandably a little emotional about the situation.”

Mila snorted. “If by emotional, you mean loudly bemoaning the fact that she’d been cursed with a rebellious daughter she’s never been able to control…”

“Something like that.” Chanel’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Anyhow, while Deck’s dad was expressing his concern about your concussion and whiplash, your mom jumped back into the conversation. She insisted your injuries couldn’t be as bad as you were making them out to be, since you still had the time and energy to waste on some online group of cowboy activists. She apologized profusely to Decker for your alleged campaign interference and promised she would do whatever she could to rein in her wild-haired offspring.”

“Wild-haired,” Mila sighed, scraping a strand of damp hair back from her forehead. “I definitely resemble that remark right now.”

“Not even.” Chanel’s voice grew firm. “Deck couldn’t replace your vehicle fast enough then, and he’s every bit as anxious to protect you now. His biggest fear is that you may have accidentally stepped into the crossfire of one of their ongoing investigations at Lonestar Security, in which case he’ll blame himself for the rest of his days.”

“I doubt this has anything to do with him or them.” Mila rolled her eyes. “Like my mother enjoys reminding me, trouble seems to follow me wherever I go.”

“The power of suggestion,” Chanel muttered. “Only goes to prove the whole sticks and stones saying is the biggest lie on the planet. Nothing can hurt a person more deeply than someone else’s words, especially if it’s someone we love.” She drew a deep breath. “While we’re baring our souls to each other, I want to make one thing clear. I may never completely understand how you and I got off on the wrong foot, but Deck and I very much want to be your family, you hear?”

A wave of emotion shook Mila. “I want that, too.” More than anything.

Chanel gave a soft chuckle. “In that case, hi.” She held out a slender hand. “My name is Chanel, and I’m married to your brother. Nice to meet you.”

Mila shook her hand. “A do-over, huh?” Count me in!

Chanel shrugged. “Unless you have a better idea?”

“Notta one.” Mila went back to repairing her face. “I’m kiss-the-ground grateful y’all are giving me a safe place to crash tonight.”

“Be my guest.” Chanel mockingly gestured at the tile floor. “The whole house got mopped, slicked down, and polished today. Our floors have never been cleaner.”

She kept a steady stream of small-talk and silly one-liners going that buoyed Mila’s spirits while she applied makeup. By the time she was finished, she felt ready to face the circle of Lonestar Security employees waiting for her in the great room.

“I can do this,” she whispered, ruffling her fingers through her hair. She didn’t realize she’d spoken the words aloud until Chanel gave a grunt of agreement.

“Yes, you can. But let’s make a quick detour to the guest room first. You can stow your toiletry bag, get the lay of the land, and let me know what else you’re going to need to get through the night.” She led Mila down a long hallway to the east wing of the mansion. The door she opened, however, didn’t lead to a bedroom like Mila had been expecting. It opened to a suite that her apartment would fit inside twice over.

A king-sized bed in solid white linens and pillows anchored the center of the room amidst a stunning collection of showroom worthy furniture. There was a big, elegant armoire that looked like it had been transported straight from Narnia.

Mila couldn’t resist doing a Disney princess spin in the middle of the room. “Whelp. Now I know what Cinderella felt like.” She finished her twirl near a massive, arched window that overlooked Heart Lake. The view of the sun setting over the water was breathtaking. “What I wouldn’t give for a sketchpad and pen right now!”

Chanel immediately moved to a small desk against the wall and started rummaging through the drawers. “Since we’re about the same size, I took the liberty of tossing some spare clothing into the dresser and closet.” She located the requested pad of paper and pen. “And these.” She waved them triumphantly in the air.

Mila did a double take. “When did you find time to do all of this?”

“While the police were interrogating the snot out of you.” Chanel sailed her way with the pad and pen.

“No kidding,” Mila grumbled, embarrassed by the recollection of how many tissues she’d gone through while speaking to the police. She’d never been such a crybaby before.

“Draw,” Chanel commanded quietly. She flipped the sketchpad open and handed it to her.

“Yes, your highness.” Mila twirled the pen idly while her gaze returned to the lake. “I’m kind of surprised Deck hasn’t hunted me down to drag me by my hair to the great room.”

“I told him you needed an intermission.” Chanel impatiently tapped a well-manicured finger against the empty sheet of paper. “Now humor me. Please.”

Mila started drawing. She fleshed out the sun-drenched lake water first, zooming in on the section of shoreline where she lived. Then she added the outline of homes and boat docks. In a burst of mischief, she drew her own apartment building in the greatest detail, keeping the surrounding structures more muted in comparison. Then she outlined herself at the window of her bedroom. For the fun of it, she drew her elbows resting on the windowsill with her face tipped up to the very spot where she and Chanel were standing .

Her sister-in-law gave a trill of surprise. “You can see our home from where you live?”

“I can.” Mila wasn’t sure why she’d shared that detail.

Chanel squinted out the window, trying to locate Mila’s apartment, but the deepening sunset had shrouded it in shadows. “We have so much lost time to make up for. So much,” she repeated in a surprisingly vehement voice that made Mila wonder what she was leaving left unsaid. However, her brain was too tired to psycho analyze it right now.

“It’s hard to believe how badly I kicked and screamed against moving to Heart Lake as a teenager,” she mused. “After falling in love with the lake view, I can no longer imagine living anywhere else.”

“It grabs your soul, doesn’t it?” Chanel sounded pleased by her declaration. “A lot of my classmates couldn’t get out of dodge soon enough after our high school graduation. It’s easy to assume the grass is greener some place else at that age. When I decided to attend college overseas, the local bellyachers were quick to claim that a snooty Remington like me must share that same sentiment. They couldn’t have been more wrong. The entire time I was studying in Italy, I was dreaming of returning home to open my own boutique.”

“And you did.” After visiting with her sister-in-law off and on this evening, Mila felt like she was seeing her with new eyes. Sure, she’d grown up wealthy, but she’d never stopped being a hometown girl at heart. It spoke volumes about her character. Not only did she own and operate a successful business, she served as a councilwoman at town hall on top of being the mom of a two-year-old. Though she could afford housekeeping, landscaping, and catering services, she gave a tremendous amount of her time and resources to her community. It made Mila sad to realize how badly she’d discredited her sister-in-law before now.

“Yes, I did,” Chanel echoed. “Then I had to spend the next couple of years listening to the same people bellyache about how ridiculous it was for me to open such an upscale clothing boutique in such a small town. To this day, a few of them continue to grumble right in my store and right to my face.”

“Ouch!” Mila suddenly felt bad about assuming that Chanel’s life had been a bed of roses simply because she had money. “How do you respond to that kind of stuff?”

“By smiling all the way to the bank, baby!”

A man cleared his throat behind them, making them both jump a little.

Mila whirled around with the sketchpad gripped in her hands.

Decker was standing there, with the sleeves of his blue dress shirt rolled up and his wavy hair askew. “Here’s an idea, ladies.” His voice was dry. “How about we smile all the way to the great room?”

“Grumpy,” his wife taunted, moving his way. Her hands ended up in his hair, straightening his tousled locks.

He took advantage of her nearness to brush his lips against hers. “Thought we agreed you would go get some rest.”

“It’s on my to-do list.” She leaned in for a second kiss. “I couldn’t resist taking a moment to scout out the artist for our next family portrait.”

“Is that so?” Decker shot Mila a curious look.

“And a portrait of the new baby when he or she arrives,” Chanel added in a dreamy voice. “You weren’t joking when you said Mila is a magician with a pen. She just finished giving me a live demo.”

Mila, who’d turned back to the window to give them a bit of privacy, spun back in their direction. “You’re pregnant?”

“Yep.” Decker shook his head in admonishment at her. “We’re also overdue for a meeting in the great room.”

“Oh, Chanel,” Mila breathed, moving across the room to hug her sister-in-law. “Congratulations, you guys! I would seriously love to sketch your family, both now and after the new baby arrives. I can do it in charcoal, ink, or watercolor. Your choice. Just let me know.”

Decker made an exasperated sound as he steered the two women toward the door. “I’d like to get back to saving Mila’s hide first. Otherwise, there won’t be any family portraits.”

“I’m leaning toward charcoal for your first family portrait.” Mila shot her brother a wicked look over her shoulder. “It’ll be easier to capture your dark scowl.”

Though he pretended to glower at her, he was unable to hide the twinkle in his honey-gold gaze. The two of them were still bickering when they entered the great room.

Rock gripped the cane he’d been leaning on, feeling close to drooling. Decker Kingston’s sister was that beautiful. He’d been hoping his lonely-and-single-guy memory had exaggerated her beauty during her interview earlier. If anything, though, she was even more stunning with red-rimmed eyes and a mildly swollen nose this evening. It was clear she’d been weeping.

Anger simmered inside him, heating his blood. Whoever had planted the bomb on Mila’s doorstep was going to pay. He intended to use every resource at Lonestar Security to make sure she received the justice she deserved. On the upside, her stepbrother was no longer acting like she was simply being a drama queen. The concern etched into his forehead was genuine.

“Sit,” he ordered imperiously, pointing her into the recliner closest to Rock, “before I go find my cattle prod.” Though his voice was teasing, his expression was not.

“Be nice.” His wife gave Mila a hug after she plopped onto the creamy leather chair. “It’s been a long, stressful day for her.”

What an understatement! It had been both the best day and worst day of her life.

“I’ll send in refreshments before I take off.” Chanel danced a welcoming smile around the room.

“To rest, please.” Decker hooked an arm around her to draw her close when she tried to walk past him.

“To rest,” she agreed, adoringly bumping noses with him. Then she glided out of the room.

Mila gave an exaggerated yawn that looked entirely fake. “Fortunately, I’m too wiped out to gag over all your sweetness, Deck.”

Gil Remington snorted out a chuckle. The auburn-haired retired sheriff was perched on one arm of the sofa.

“You have no room to talk.” Decker wagged a finger at him. “You and Bliss still act like newlyweds.”

Though Gil was in his mid-fifties, he’d recently remarried and was now the father of twins.

Rock’s brother, Gage, and his newly minted fellow private investigator, Johnny Cuba, joined in the chuckles that followed. They were the only other two people in the room. Gage could probably relate to what Decker was talking about since he’d recently gotten engaged to the love of his life, Ella. Johnny, however, was as single as Rock — a former bull rider with short, windblown black hair and a devilish glint in his eyes. From what Rock had heard, he was between girlfriends. The admiring gleam in his gaze as it rested on Mila further verified that rumor.

Rock tried not to let it bother him. Mila was their coworker, one he barely knew. She also reported to him, which underscored the need for him to keep things professional between them. Always. But that didn’t make him any more interested in watching Johnny flirt with her. He instinctively moved closer to Mila, thumping his cane with a little more energy than necessary against the hardwood floor.

She glanced his way curiously, which had been his goal.

“You hanging in there, partner?” He wouldn’t mind a little reassurance that she was okay.

Her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks, and she hesitated a beat before answering. “I’ve had my share of excitement for one day.” She kept her voice light, but the shadows beneath her eyes were telling.

“Y’all know the drill.” Decker paced the plush Persian area rug in front of them like an angry king stalking through his castle. “When one of ours is threatened, we close ranks around them. This evening and in the coming days, my sister needs that level of vigilance from us.” He gestured worriedly at her. “As all of you now know, Mila was hired this afternoon to serve as our second forensic artist.”

Johnny broke into a frenzy of clapping and leaped up from the depths of the sofa where he’d been lounging. He did an energetic two-step in her direction. “Allow me to be the first to congratulate you.” He swung a hand jovially in her direction.

“You’re the fourth, actually.” She sent Decker a mischievous look as she shook Johnny’s hand. “I’m including my brother in that number. Even though he hasn’t stated it outright, I know he’s overjoyed to have me on the team.” The teasing note in her voice drew another round of chuckles from everyone except Johnny.

Looking disappointed at not having her full attention, he did a slightly less exuberant two-step back to his earlier spot on the sofa.

“Even after offering her a job,” Decker drawled without missing a beat, “my younger sister hasn’t stopped being a brat.”

Despite Decker’s teasing, Rock had been unable to find so much as a speeding ticket on Mila’s record. Her background was squeaky clean for a brat.

“Case in point.” Decker finally grew sober again. “She was almost run off the road on her way to her interview with Rock.” Thanks to Mila’s photographic memory, he was able to give a decent description of the white utility truck. “Then the walkway outside her second-story apartment was vandalized.” His description of the maintenance man, who was afraid of losing his job, drew a scowl from Johnny.

He held his hands out from his sides to mimic a scale. “His job or her life. Someone needs to have a chat with ol’ Pat about his priorities,” he muttered sarcastically.

“Hear! Hear!” Rock pounded his cane against the floor to echo the guy’s sentiment, as well as to draw Mila’s attention back to him.

“He’s the one who built the walkway,” she explained wryly. “If he loses his job, he might also lose his custody battle for his kids.”

“Or so he says,” Johnny growled. “Talk about playing on a person’s sympathies! I wouldn’t mind verifying his story. ”

Again, Rock couldn’t have agreed more. Surely, the police were already working on that.

“That’s where you come in, Johnny,” Decker informed him smoothly. “You and Gage will question the guy and examine the crime scene, using the photo Mila took of it as a guide. You’ll also comb every inch of her apartment inside and out, in case the police missed anything. I want a bomb-sniffing dog out there, the whole enchilada.”

Gage gave Decker a mock salute.

“The police have impounded the Lexus Mila was driving,” Decker continued. “Their bomb squad will continue to do their thing with it. Until we get to the bottom of who’s targeting her and why, we’ll keep a security detail assigned to my sister.”

Mila’s lush lower lip dropped in amazement, but no sound came out.

Gil Remington folded his arms. “I’m assembling the detail as we speak. How soon do you want ‘em to get started?”

“Tomorrow morning.” Decker’s gaze softened as he glanced his sister’s way. “For once, she’s listening to her older, wiser sibling by agreeing to crash here for the night.”

Mila ignored his barb as she lazily surveyed her fingernails. “He had me at room service.”

“There’s no room service.” He reached for one of the throw pillows Johnny had moved from the sofa to the floor and zinged it in her direction.

Rock lifted his cane at just the right moment to knock it out of the way before it hit her.

Decker pretended to give him a dirty look. “I was about to inform my sister that everyone has to fend for themselves around here, but someone is trying to make a liar out of me. ”

A uniformed caterer swept into the room. She was a tall woman wearing a ruffly white apron that covered most of her outfit. She rolled a silver serving cart into the room and noiselessly deposited a charcuterie tray on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Next, she neatly lined up some bottled drinks beside it — spring water, sparkling water, tea, and an assortment of soft drinks. From the condensation clinging to the bottles, it was obvious they were chilled.

“Watch and learn, boys.” Mila was the first to whisk a bottle from the collection. She uncapped the sparkling water and took a sip. “Here’s how it’s done, in case anyone was wondering how Heart Lake royalty fends for themselves.”

Everyone, including the caterer, smiled at her antics. What Decker had referred to earlier in the day as her penchant for drama, Rock was quickly coming to view as a survival trait. Mila had been weeping before entering the room, so her nonstop cracks of humor might be nothing more than her way of dealing with stress.

“Fortunately, I’m a quick study.” Rock winked at her as he leaned forward to snag a bottle of tea. Lemon flavored, he discovered after uncapping it and tipping it up for a swig. Yuck! He liked his tea the same way he liked his coffee. Straight. No extra sugar or other doctoring required.

Everyone soon had a beverage in hand, and Johnny amused himself by popping enough of the decorative slices of meat and cheese into his mouth to make his cheeks bulge. With any luck, Mila would be unimpressed. The guy possessed the table manners of a hog.

Rock took a second swig before making his next announcement. “I’m not sure if there’s any significance to this,” but he was betting there was. “ I did a little digging and discovered that Monty Chester’s heir is none other than Troy Bentley.”

Mila choked on the sip of sparkling water she was taking and coughed to catch her breath.

“We are aware.” Decker speared him with a what-in-tarnation-are-you-doing look.

Rock continued doggedly, “The only reason I’m mentioning it is because he’s the one authorizing the construction taking place at Chester Farm.”

“Construction?” Mila cradled the green glass bottle of sparkling water, looking confused. “What construction?”

Rock described the increasing number of haystack huts in her sketches.

“Now that you mention it,” she mused, “Farmer Monty only had four of those huts made. Between charity events, he stored them in his white pole barn. It’s big enough to park an RV inside.”

Rock had seen it in her sketches, so he knew exactly which building she was talking about.

Gil Remington spread his hands. “No offense, but it’s not a crime to build a few extra huts.”

“Covered with the same half-rotten hay?” Rock asked incredulously.

“Weird,” Gil agreed. “I’ll give you that. Still not a crime, though.”

Rock appreciated the sheriff admitting it was weird, since he was working his way up to a point. “No, but it is a crime to run someone off the road, and the timing of Mila’s run-in with the driver of the white utility truck appears to coincide with her latest visit to Chester Farm.”

“What are you getting at?” It was the first time Gage had spoken during their meeting. The impatience in his voice showed he thought his brother was reaching. He was probably preparing a brotherly speech for later on — one that would encourage Rock to stay in his lane as a forensic artist and leave the other stuff up to trained investigators.

“I’m not sure yet.” Rock was still working on his theory. “During my digging, I also discovered the reporter who penned the story about Troy Bentley inheriting Chester Farm is the same reporter who writes the biggest gossip column in Heart Lake.”

Mila squirmed in her seat, which hadn’t been his goal. “Maybe I should spell out what my new boss is too nice to say.”

Her new boss? It was Rock’s turn to wince. He flicked a glance at Johnny and discovered him smirking gleefully. The guy was enjoying her reference to him as her boss way too much.

She seemed oblivious to Johnny’s reaction. “The author of the super annoying She Said column has been the bane of my existence ever since I ended my engagement with Troy. All the runaway bride memes and jokes flooding the Internet stemmed from her heavily embellished retelling of our almost wedding day.” Her lips flat lined. “Since Deck was running for the town council at the time, I filed a complaint with the editors of the Heart Lake Times, but…” she shook her head bitterly, “all I got was crickets. Next, I tried reaching out to the notorious Helen herself, but it turned out to be a pen name. There’s no way to contact her. The coward,” she spat. “Hiding behind the cover of anonymity while she slanders the names of innocent people right and left. It blows my mind that the Heart Lake Times allows it.”

“It’s click bait.” Rock knew exactly why they allowed it. “In the world of digital content, companies rise and fall on their ability to stop the scroll, which brings me to my next point. In Helen’s article about Troy inheriting Chester Farm, she mentioned he was filing to have it declared a sanctuary for some nearly extinct lizard.”

Johnny snorted out a laugh. Nobody joined in. He glanced around the room in surprise. “Oh! You’re serious?”

“Yep.” Rock held his brother’s gaze, wanting to catch his initial reaction to what he said next. “Troy filed for sanctuary status over two months ago. Per a phone call I made to the agency, however, pretending to be a lizard enthusiast, the application is going nowhere until he completes it. Could be something. Could be nothing.”

Gage’s expression didn’t change. “We’ll look into it.” It was his and Johnny’s jobs as private investigators to handle that sort of stuff for their firm.

Johnny snapped his fingers, sitting forward. “I might be grasping at straws here, no pun intended…” Again, nobody laughed. “But maybe Troy is building the additional huts for lizard watching purposes.”

“More like grasping at haystacks.” Gage elbowed his partner playfully in the ribs.

Rock glanced away from them, trying not to let their growing friendship get under his skin. After his stint in the Special Forces, he and his brother had a lot of lost time to make up for — something that would’ve been easier if Johnny wasn’t always underfoot. Rock got that the two of them worked together, but the jokester was constantly dropping by the farmhouse after hours, especially during dinner time.

“Definitely keep digging,” Decker advised. “That’s what we do at Lonestar Security. Our standard is to leave no stone unturned.”

“Or haystack.” Johnny’s upper lip curled like he was trying not to laugh. “We’ll grab our pitchforks and get to work unearthing rare lizards, real or imagined, along with any other nefarious plots that may be underfoot.” He caught Rock’s eye. “While we’re at it, I wouldn’t mind taking a closer look at Helen of Troy’s role in all of this.”

Rock stared back in astonishment. “That’s an interesting parallel to draw.” It hadn’t occurred to him that the link to Helen and Troy might lie in an ancient mythological tale. Maybe there was more to Johnny than he’d given him credit for.

“Eh, I took a mythology class in college.” Johnny shrugged like it was no big deal. “Since Helen is the She Said columnist’s pen name, she must have chosen it for a reason. And I think we can all agree her gossip seems awfully fixated on Troy as of late.”

There was no way he’d left Mila’s name out of the mix by accident. It was a deliberately compassionate gesture, for which Rock grudgingly gave him another mental point.

Gil nodded, looking as impressed as Rock felt. “Cuba, I’m beginning to see how you wormed your way into private investigating.”

Decker stopped his pacing and glanced toward the door, indicating their meeting was coming to a close. “Just so we’re all clear on our marching orders…” He pointed at Rock. “While Gage and Johnny are chasing haystacks, lizards, and mythological creatures, I’ll need you and Mila lending a hand with the oil drilling equipment robberies I briefed you about earlier.”

He gave his boss a thumbs up, liking the way his announcement made Mila’s features light up.

The moment Rock stood, Mila did the same and moved his way.

“Robberies,” she hissed as she followed him to the front door. “Sounds like I’ll be cutting my teeth on a real case. ”

“Yep.” He was tickled to pieces that she seemed in no hurry to say goodbye to him. He watched Johnny Cuba jog out the door ahead of them to catch up with Gil. Their heads were soon bent together in conversation. “I’ll understand, though, if you’d rather take tomorrow off to recover from today’s harrowing events.”

“And let you have all the fun?” Her hazel gaze snapped with excitement. “That’s not happening, boss man! I mean partner,” she corrected hastily.

Gage clapped him on the shoulder as he followed Johnny outside. “Meet you back at the farmhouse in a few?”

“Yep.” Rock’s stomach rumbled with hunger. “I’m ready to call it a day and grab a slice of cold pizza.” He’d purposely made two pizzas earlier, so there’d be leftovers.

However, Gage’s answering head shake told him that Johnny had already polished it off.

Irritation sliced through Rock. “You should charge the guy rent,” he grumbled, knowing it was an uncharitable statement since he wasn’t paying rent either.

Gage’s eyes twinkled. “I might’ve used his appetite for pizza to arm twist him into helping us paint the downstairs. After Christmas, of course.”

Rock raised his voice to make sure Johnny, who was still huddled with Gil, could hear him. “Has he ever painted a room before?” Somehow, he doubted it.

“How hard can it be?” Johnny chortled, not missing a beat. He and Gil fist bumped and parted ways.

“I’ll help,” Mila offered quickly. “Though I’ve never painted a house, either, I’ve painted stage backdrops galore. My superpower is trim work,” she added proudly. “Anything you dream up, I can make it happen. Stencil work, custom edging, border murals, you name it. I’m your gal.”

Rock’s heart thumped a little faster at the realization that she was looking at him. Though she wasn’t his gal, his thoughts immediately jumped to what it would look like if she were. For one thing, their forthcoming goodbyes would be accompanied by a kiss — the slow and tender kind.

“You’re hired! Both of you.” Gage slapped Rock on the shoulder again before stepping after Johnny, probably to knock some sense into him over the way he was looking at Mila.

“Did you hear that?” She gave a bounce of excitement as she tipped her face gleefully up to his. “I’m on a roll here!”

Yeah, he’d heard it. It was almost as loud as the sound of his heart falling and landing at her feet. He was going to have to get a grip on his growing attraction to her.

Mila helped Decker carry the unopened beverages and the near empty charcuterie tray to the kitchen.

“Johnny bulldozed his way through the food,” she snickered. He hadn’t so much as hesitated over downing the gorgeous meat rosettes and star-shaped cheeses.

“Yeah, he’s a bottomless pit.” Decker smirked. “None of us can figure out where he puts it all. You should’ve seen him at the company Christmas party.” He set the unopened beverages inside a drink fridge below the granite countertops. Blue lights illuminated its glass door. “He even sampled the ice sculpture.”

“You had an ice sculpture?” Mila’s eyes felt like they were popping out of her head.

“It was Chanel’s doing.” Her brother’s voice grew warmer and more caressing as his wife breezed into the kitchen.

“Did I hear my name?” Though she’d changed into a pair of silk red pajamas, she still looked like she’d stepped off a magazine cover.

“You did.” Decker reached for her. “You weren’t supposed to.”

She shushed him by pressing one dainty fingertip against his lips. “Before you ask, the answer is yes. Gwen is tucked in after no less than three bedtime stories to make up for your absence.”

“I’m sorry.” His voice was slurred from the necessity of speaking around her finger.

“I’m not finished.” She patted his cheek. “After you give our daughter a goodnight kiss, you need to go give the new puppies some love. Naturally, with all the excitement this evening, they’re a little on edge.”

That was putting it mildly. Mila’s heart went out to the two small pups. During their first night in their new home, they’d been forced to listen to a bomb explode, the scream of emergency sirens, and the voices of strangers coming and going for hours. “How about I handle the dogs for you?” It was the least she could do to thank Decker and Chanel for their generous hospitality.

“That would be wonderful,” Chanel sighed. “They’re in the sunroom in the back of the house.” She slid her arms around her husband’s neck. “Looks like you’re off the hook, babe.”

“Their names are Ollie and Daisy,” Decker announced without dropping his wife’s gaze. “Meant to introduce you to them earlier…”

Mila made her escape before things got too mushy between them. Though the massive home was big enough to get lost in, she managed to locate the sunroom without making any wrong turns.

Two curly-haired Golden Doodles were bouncing in agitation on the other side of the glass doors, full-sized dogs that Mila would’ve never referred to as puppies if she’d seen them first. From their frisky movements, she was guessing they were anywhere between one and two-years-old.

“You gorgeous things,” she crooned, opening the door just enough to squeeze herself through. Before the door clicked shut behind her, they were already hurtling themselves against her.

Chuckling at their antics, she slid to her knees on the tile floor and endured their playful mauling. “Aww! Were you guys lonely in here?”

Ollie and Daisy were so excited about her visit that they were wiggling their entire backsides instead of simply wagging their tails. It took countless scratches behind their silky ears and smooches on top of their furry heads before they finally settled down, one on either side of her.

She shimmied back a little to rest her head against the wall. Though she was tired, she wasn’t ready to shower and go to bed just yet. Too much had happened today. The details were still swimming through her head. Among those details was the intensity in Rock Hefner’s warm, chocolaty gaze. The flirtatious Johnny Cuba wasn’t hard on the eyes, either, but it was Rock who’d kept drawing her gaze back to him this evening. Though she’d tried not to make it obvious, she’d been powerless to stop ogling her new boss.

The way he leaned on his cane with each step was seriously going to be her downfall. She was such a sucker for flawed heroes, and he happened to be an honest-to-goodness real American hero — a soldier who’d plainly given his pound of flesh during combat.

That wasn’t the only thing that drew her to him like a moth to a flame. The occasional flashes of pain in his eyes told her he’d seen and done things he would never forget. Like her, he had scars on the inside.

Maybe it was why she felt such a connection to him. It certainly couldn’t be because she was crushing on a guy she’d only met today, because that would be crazy.

Not to mention he was her immediate supervisor. He could call her his partner all he wanted, but that didn’t change the fact that he was the guy who’d be signing off on her future job evaluations and pay raises. Decker had taken a big chance on hiring her. She didn’t want to blow it by getting personally involved with Rock Hefner on the side.

The phone in the back pocket of her jeans vibrated with an incoming call. She’d turned it back on after her interview and discovered she’d missed another flurry of calls from her mother. Her phone had only grown quiet after her mother and stepfather’s flight had taken off.

I’m gonna be in so much trouble for dodging them all day long. A weary glance at the screen of her phone proved it was, indeed, Carla Kingston calling again. Unfortunately, Mila was fresh out of excuses for continuing to ignore her parents. She braced herself for the tongue lashing of her life as she accepted her mother’s call and lifted the phone to her ear.

“Hey, Mom!” She forced a note of brightness into her voice. “How was your flight to Florida?”

“Horrible since you missed it!” Her mother’s shrill accusation made one of the dogs whine in protest. “What was that sound?” she demanded quickly.

“One of the two Golden Doodles that Deck adopted today.”

“I thought you were at an interview,” her mother snapped .

“I was,” Mila sighed. It was approaching midnight, for crying out loud! Nobody in their right mind would expect their daughter to still be at an interview that had started roughly ten hours ago. “I got hired, by the way, then almost blown up by a bomb afterward. Decker is basically holding me hostage at his place until the police get to the bottom of what’s going on.” Though her mother had never been fond of her stepson’s choice of careers, Mila was extra grateful this evening that he protected others for a living.

“Meaning you’re spending the night at his place?” Her mother’s voice was clipped with disapproval.

“Um, did you miss the part about how I almost got blown up? By a bomb?” Mila couldn’t believe her mother hadn’t yet asked if she was injured.

“A bomb that could’ve easily been avoided if you’d been where you were supposed to be,” her mother returned crisply.

And now I can bleed out, for all you care. “Listen, I’m sorry about the cruise.” Mila doubted her apologies would do any good, but she didn’t know what else her mother wanted to hear. “I really am, but I need this job. When I got the call for the interview?—”

“I know, I know. You threw your parents right under the bus and ruined Christmas in one fell swoop. Thank you, Mila. Thank you for thinking of yourself like you always do and no one else.”

“Mom, please,” she sighed. She’d known her mother was going to be upset about the cruise, but this was overdoing it. Even for her.

“And now you’re eating caviar and sleeping on silk sheets.” The anger in her mother’s voice gathered venom. “By the time your dad and I return to town, you’ll have gotten a taste for things we’ve never been able to afford to?—”

“I love you, Mom,” Mila interrupted tiredly. “And I’m really, really, really sorry for upsetting you.” She’d hoped her mother would at least be happy about the fact that her daughter was gainfully employed again. “I’ll find a way to make it up to you when you get home.” If she remembered her parents’ cruise itinerary correctly, their ship would depart in the morning and return three days after Christmas.

“Whatever. You’ve already made your choice.” Her mother plowed right through her apology. “Enjoy spending Christmas with the hateful witch your stepbrother married.”

“I’m not spending Christmas with them,” Mila protested. “I’m only staying here for one night.” I think. “I’m sure they already have plans for the holidays that don’t include me.”

“Their plans have never included you,” her mother returned testily.

“Not according to Chanel.” As soon as she spoke, Mila wished she could call the words back.

“Is that so?” Her mother’s voice shook with anger.

In for a penny. “She claims she invited me to both their wedding shower and baby shower.”

“Oh, and you’re just going to take the word of a snobby Remington over a Kingston without giving me a chance to explain?”

“I’m asking you now.” It didn’t feel wise to remind her mother that Chanel was now a Kingston, too. “She says she sent a separate invitation with my name on it. Maybe it got lost in the mail.”

“Or she’s lying.” Her mother’s voice went from heated to sad so quickly that it gave Mila emotional whiplash. “You’re gonna need to keep your guard up around her, you hear? For all we know, that bomb?—”

“Mom!” That was taking things way too far.

“I’m just saying.” Her mother sounded a tad sheepish. “As for the invitations, you received one for the wedding shower a few days after the event took place. Same thing for the baby shower. I don’t know what kind of game she was playing, but there was no way I was going to upset you further by?—”

“Maybe she wasn’t playing games,” Mila cut in, hating the way her mother always jumped to the worst possible conclusions about the people she didn’t like. “Maybe it was a mistake at the post office or something.” They might never know. In hindsight, it hurt her heart to realize she’d been doing the same thing by constantly assuming the worst about Chanel. They’d never given Decker’s wife a chance. Not really.

But I intend to change that. Starting now!

“If that’s what you want to believe, be my guest,” her mother groused. She clearly wasn’t in a conciliatory mood.

I do want to believe it. Mila believed that family should always give family the benefit of the doubt. She rushed to wrap up the call, feeling awful about the way she’d been talking about her sister-in-law in her own home. “Tell Chet I said hi.” She’d always called her stepdad by his first name, and he’d never complained about it. “I hope you guys have the time of your lives.”

She was extra glad she wasn’t with them right now . As mad as her mother was about her absence, Mila was looking forward to the rare break from the woman’s rollercoaster temperament .

“As if!” Her mother made a miffed sound. “Christmas is completely ruined!”

And you’ll never let me forget it. Yay, me! Hopefully, hunting down oil equipment robbers tomorrow would provide a much-needed distraction from her many shortcomings as a daughter. “‘Night, Mom,” she said softly.

Instead of answering, her mother hung up on her.

With a moan of defeat, Mila snuggled down on the floor and tipped her head against Ollie’s fluffy back. She didn’t want to be alone right now. Even the company of dogs was preferable to being alone with her mother’s angry words that were still ringing in her ears.

Tonight, Carla Kingston had been unusually vicious, enough to ruin Christmas for Mila, too.

New goal: Survive the holidays.

She honestly couldn’t wait until Christmas was over.