Colorado 01 The Gamble (6 page)

“I –”

“And why you been awake and functioning for
at least half an hour and you haven’t phoned him?” he went on.

Drat!

Max leaned into me and I watched with not a
small amount of fascination as his face grew soft. His face was
always amazing, soft it was something else entirely and that
something else was even better.

“You’re half a world away, Duchess, you been
sick as a dog and your man doesn’t contact you? Even not knowin’
you’re sick, a man gives a shit, he phones.”

He, unfortunately, had me there.

Therefore, I just stood there staring at him
not knowing what to say.

Max wasn’t so uncertain.

His hand came out and grabbed mine, lifting
it between us, his fingers in my palm, his thumb toying with my
diamond engagement ring.

“I was your man, you were halfway around the
world from me, honey, I’d fuckin’ phone you,” he said quietly.

“Niles is reserved,” I whispered.

“Niles is an ass,” he returned and my brows
drew together.

“You don’t know him.”

“I know men and I know he’s not reserved,
he’s an ass.”

I pulled my head together, my hand from his
and snapped, “Yes? And how do you know that?”

“Because I’ve seen you naked, I’ve seen you
sweet, I’ve seen you unsure and I’ve seen you riled and, seein’ all
that, I know, you were half a world away from me, I’d fuckin’
phone.”

“Perhaps that’s not the kind of relationship
Niles and I have,” I suggested snottily but his words hit me
somewhere deep, somewhere I didn’t know I had.

“You on a timeout?”

“What?”

“
If you told me you needed a timeout,
first, I wouldn’t fuckin’ let you have one, second, I wouldn’t give
you reason to fuckin’
want
one, last, you took off anyway, I’d fuckin’
phone.”

My head tilted to the side and I felt my
body start warming up not, this time, with fever.

“
You wouldn’t
let
me have one?”

“Fuck no.”

“
Ergo, you would
not
be my
man
.”

“Ergo?”

“It’s Latin, it means ‘therefore’.”

“Whatever,” he muttered, “I gotta go.”

“
Hang on,” I snapped. “You may
think
you know me but I was
delirious. I didn’t get to know
you
.”

“You will.”

“I won’t.”

“So you think you’re leavin’?” He switched
the subject.

“
I
am
leaving,” I declared, happy to be on this
subject.

He stuck his hand in his front jeans pocket,
pulled out the keys to the rental, dangled them in front of me for
a brief flash then his hand closed around them and he shoved them
back into his pocket.

“Be hard gettin’ down the mountain on foot,
carryin’ that huge-ass suitcase of yours, which weighs a goddamned
ton, your overnight bag, your purse and a shitload of groceries,”
he informed me.

“Give me those keys,” I snapped.

“I’d tell you to go for them, honey, but
don’t have time to play.”

At his words, my mouth dropped open again,
he grinned, chucked me gently under the chin with the side of his
fist (yes, I will repeat, he
chucked me under the chin
) and then he walked away.

I stood staring at the space he used to be
in then, when I heard the front door open, I ran to the
railing.

“Max!” I shouted.

“Later, Duchess,” he called, a hand up, two
fingers flicking out, he didn’t even look back.

Becca looked back though, and up. She gave
me a wince-I’m-sorry-face and a finger wave and I knew she heard
everything. I’d totally forgotten she was there.

Then I watched Max throw his now black
leather jacketed arm around her shoulders and I wondered who Becca
was and what she was to Max who was just upstairs, semi-fighting
with me and also, if I wasn’t wrong, and I didn’t think I was,
flirting with me in a rough, macho, mountain man kind of way

They talked for a few seconds at the side of
her car then they separated. Becca got in her sporty, red,
mini-SUV. Max got in his black Cherokee. They both drove away.

I looked down at the bottom floor and saw my
cranberry juice, my coffee and my untouched oatmeal all sitting on
the bar.

Then I looked out the window at the
wilderness.

The internet advertisement for the A-Frame
said it was fifteen miles away from the nearest town, secluded,
quiet, the perfect holiday destination for a calm, relaxing,
peaceful getaway.

The Nightmare Holiday Destination if you had
to walk fifteen miles to town carrying a suitcase, an overnight
bag, a purse and a shitload of groceries.

Tackle a problem
prepared,
Charlie
advised in my head and I nodded like he was there with
me.

Then I walked downstairs, heated up my
oatmeal, warmed up my coffee and sat at the stool, preparing to
tackle my problem.

Buffalo Burgers

After I ate, I did my dishes, Max’s dishes,
wiped down the counters, found the extra sheets in the closet and
made the bed. Then I found the utility room around the corner from
the recess in the living room. The dirty sheets were on the floor.
As the advertisement said, washer and drier but also a bunch of man
stuff that needed to be organized.

I let that stuff be. I put the sheets in the
washer.

I packed my bags and decided that Max could
have the groceries. He and Becca and the unknown Mindy could have a
party. I didn’t care. I was out of there.

Then I poured myself another cup of coffee
and found the phonebook. It was thin; I’d never seen a phonebook so
thin.

I realized why it was thin when I looked up
taxi companies. There was only one. But one was enough.

I went to Max’s phone, pulled it out of the
receiver and punched in the number.

“Thrifty’s,” a woman answered.

“Hello, my name is Ms. Sheridan and I need a
taxi to town.”

There was a pause and then, “Nina?”

My body jolted and then I froze with the
phone to my ear.

“Hello?” the voice called.

“Um… yes?”

“This Nina?”

“How do you know who I am?”

“Welp, Max called, said a lady with a fancy
accent by the name of Nina would call, askin’ for a taxi. You’re a
lady with a fancy accent and you’re askin’ for a taxi. Get some of
those callin’ with British accents, not a lot. So I’m takin’ a wild
guess. You Nina?”

I wondered if I could make it to Denver then
to England before anyone discovered Max’s body. Then I wondered if
anyone would bother with extradition if they figured out it was me
who did the deed. That was a lot of paperwork for one big, tall,
domineering, jerky mountain man. Then I wondered, considering Max
was so tall and big, how I’d kill him.

Then I decided, poison.

Then I answered, “Yes, I’m Nina.”

“Max said you been down with flu, girl, you
need to rest,” the woman advised me.

“I thought I’d check into a hotel room in
town.”

She hooted in my ear but said no actual
words.

“What?” I asked.

“Girl, Holden Maxwell quarantined me to his
house and he was in it, I wouldn’t go lookin’ for no hotel
room.”

I felt my brows draw together. “Who’s Holden
Maxwell?”

“Who’s Holden Maxwell?” she repeated.

“Yes. Who’s Holden Maxwell?”

“Girl, you’re livin’ with him.”

His name was Holden? What kind of name was
that? No wonder he called himself Max.

I decided not to ask about the origins of
Max’s name or explain the fact that I was
not
living with him and told her, “Well, he isn’t
actually here, so I’m quarantined alone.”

“Oh, he’ll be back.”

I didn’t doubt that.

“Since you probably know where he lives,
will you please send a taxi?” I asked.

“Nope,” she answered.

I was silent a beat, mostly shock, a little
anger then I repeated, “Nope?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause Max says you need to rest.”

Yes, definitely poison.

“I’ll pay double.”

“You still gotta rest.”

I was seeing red again, I ignored it and
offered, “I’ll pay triple.”

“Triple shmiple. You gotta rest.”

“Listen –”

“Come into town with Max when you’ve
recovered. I’ll buy you a beer.”

Did she just tell me she’d buy me a beer?
How did we get from me ordering a taxi to her buying me a beer?

“What?” I asked.

“Name’s Arlene. Come to The Dog. Show you
the town only locals know.”

“But –”

“Gotta go. Get some rest, you hear?”

Then she hung up.

I stood staring at the phone buzzing at me.
Then I beeped it off and put it in the receiver.

The internet advertisement didn’t say
word
one
about nutty
townspeople. Not word
one
. If
it did, I definitely would not have hit “book now”.

I looked back through the phonebook. No more
taxi companies. There were three rental agencies but they rented
ATVs and snow mobiles. I didn’t think that would help.

It was either walk, when I felt like taking
a nap, or I was stuck.

Which meant I was stuck.

Which meant I needed to take a nap so I
could be energized and clearheaded when I plotted
Holden
Maxwell’s
murder.

Before that, I had one more thing to do.

I went to my purse, grabbed my cell and saw
the battery was low. I also saw I had a number of texts, all from
friends, not one from Niles.

I climbed the spiral staircase, went to my
overnight bag beside my suitcase, dug out the charger and the
converter, attached them and plugged them into the wall. Then I
pulled the cord and phone with me and sat on the bed. Then I went
to my contacts and hit Niles’s number.

He answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Niles?”

“Nina?”

I tried to figure out how I felt about his
voice coming at me over the phone and I couldn’t figure it out. It
wasn’t relief or welcome familiarity it was just… well,
familiarity.

Then I tried to figure out how I felt about
his voice coming over the phone not sounding relieved that I was
calling from half a world away. Just sounding like Niles and I was
at the store asking him what he wanted for dinner. I couldn’t
figure that out either.

“Hi, I’m here,” I told him.

“That’s good.”

“I’ve been here for –”

“Listen,” he cut me off, “I’m about to go
into a meeting.”

“What?”

“I’ve got a meeting.”

I shook my head. “Niles, I just wanted to
tell you, I’ve been sick.”

“Yes, you said you thought you were getting
a sinus infection.”

“Well, it was worse than that.”

“You sound fine.”

I did. Miraculously, outside of being tired,
I felt pretty good. My throat didn’t hurt, I wasn’t coughing though
my nose was still kind of stuffy.

“I’m better now.”

“That’s good.” He sounded distracted.
“They’re waiting for me.”

“Okay,” I said. “Do you want me to call
later?”

“Later?” Now he sounded perplexed, as if he
didn’t understand the concept of later.

“Later, tonight, when you’re home.”

“I’m working late.”

“Yes, but your late is my afternoon.”

I heard his sigh then he said, “If you
want.”

If I want?

I felt anger again, surprisingly anger at
Niles. I never got angry at Niles. He never did anything to get
angry at mostly because he never did anything.

“Niles, I’m half a world away.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m half a world away!” I said louder.

“I don’t understand.”

And he didn’t. Because he wasn’t the type of
man who cared if is fiancée needed a timeout and took it half a
world away.

And I wondered what he’d think if I told him
I was staying in the beautiful home with breathtaking views with a
amazing looking man who’d seen me naked (mostly), made me
breakfast, teased me, flirted with me and who I’d kind of slept
with.

“Are you there?” he asked me.

“I’m here.”

“I need to go.”

“Of course.”

“Call me later, if you like.”

“Right.”

“Are you okay?”

No, I was
not
.

I didn’t tell him this, instead I said,
“Tired.”

“Rest, that’s what you’re there to do.”

No it wasn’t. I was there to take a
timeout.

“Right,” I said again.

“Talk to you later.”

“Right.”

“Good-bye.”

“Bye.”

Then he disconnected.

I stared at my phone, hit the button to turn
it off and set it on Max’s nightstand. Then I flopped back on the
bed. Then I bit my lip so I wouldn’t cry.

Charlie had never met Niles and I wished he
had. Charlie had always been sharp, good at reading people. Charlie
would have given it to me gently but he would have given it to me
straight.

Problem was, I didn’t think I needed Charlie
to give it to me straight.

I lifted my left hand to my face and with my
right hand I touched my ring.

I’d been thrilled when Niles asked me to
marry him because I’d been in love with him. He was steady, he was
quiet, he was predictable and he loved me in his Niles way.

He’d never cheat on me which had happened to
me, back in the day when shit happened to me. He’d never be mean to
me, say mean stuff to me, not on purpose just to hurt me and not
when he was drunk which also had happened to me, back before I
played it safe and shit happened to me. And he’d never lay a hand
on me in anger which, unfortunately, also happened to me.