Lean on Me (11 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Another dead end.

Mitch dragged his exhausted ass back to the nursery. He hadn’t eaten in hours and his frustration over being spun around in circles had hit crisis level. Much more of this and he’d enlist the help of every male in town to form a search party.

He’d gotten to the tackle shop only to hear how Allan had left more than an hour before. For an old guy, he sure could move. Someone needed to tie him down before Mitch’s brain exploded.

The nursery was empty except for two people. Travis hovered over them in a not-so-subtle reminder the business was about to close for the day.

Mitch nodded his hello. “Where is Cassidy?”

“She went with Spence to Allan’s house.” Travis checked his watch. “They didn’t call you? It was over an hour ago.”

Mitch wanted to swear but he didn’t have the energy. If the Allan situation wasn’t settled tomorrow, there would be plenty of time for profanity. “I rushed out and left my phone.”

“Your luck sucks.”

“No kidding.” Except for Cassidy, Mitch couldn’t remember the last good thing that happened to him. “I better get over there.”

Cleo shoved her way between the two men. Five foot one both in height and girth, she commanded attention when she walked into a room. The high-pitched voice and smear of lipstick always had him staring.

She was a nice enough woman but when it came to gossips, she was a leader. Mitch used to find that stuff harmless. Now he knew the damage it could do when inflicted in a steady campaign.

She pinched his arm. “That lady of yours shouldn’t bother Allan.”

Mitch felt his temper tick up another notch. His ability to be friendly was reaching the snapping point. “Excuse me?”

“What that girl did.” Cleo shook her head and made a loud tsk-tsking sound.

“It was an interview.” Travis firm voice mirrored his stiff stance. “It’s time we all stop making such a big deal about it.”

Forget about ever firing Travis. Mitch decided to give the guy a raise. He seemed to be able to wade through the crap quickly. Maybe his diplomatic skills needed some polishing, but Mitch found his wanting right now, too.

Cleo dumped her big purse on the counter with a thunk. “I’m talking about the money.”

The topic triggered a warning in Mitch’s head. As far as he knew, Cassidy hadn’t shared that information with anyone. “What do you know about it?”

“That nonsense climbing of hers wiped out her parents’ savings.” Cleo waved her white hanky in the air as she talked. “Allan ran around here looking for extra work just to cover The Chosen One’s bills. A man his age, it was silly. He should be winding down, not working himself to the bone.”

“That’s not true. That’s not what happened.” Mitch didn’t realize he shouted until the two people at the other end of the nursery turned to stare at him.

“Sure is and he’s losing the house because of it.” Cleo frowned at Mitch and turned her attention to Travis. “I mean, do you know who much those climbs of hers cost? Thousands. Tens of thousands. She would call and beg and they’d take out another mortgage.”

Mitch knew the amounts she quoted were low compared to the actual costs once everything was added in. The outrageous expenses were all over the Internet. Even with sponsors, Cassidy had to scramble. They’d talked about it a little. Mitch knew the fundraising part was her least favorite. She dreaded it because all she wanted to do was climb.

That didn’t mean Cleo had her story straight. The news of the foreclosure devastated Cassidy. Anyone would be upset about losing their family home in that way. That didn’t mean she bore part of the blame.

Trying to be gentle even though he felt anything but, he touched Cleo’s arm and brought her back around to face him. “Where are you getting this information?”

“My sister used to work at the bank.”

Mitch chocked on his fury. “So, you’re violating customer privacy. She stole information and you’re passing it around?”

Cleo waved the tissue in his face this time. “Don’t you take that tone with me, Mitch Anders.”

“Do not spread that gossip.”

“I’m not spreading anything. I’m just repeating what I heard.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” Travis asked.

“Mark my words. You watch your mortgage.” Cleo grabbed her bag and hugged it to her oversized chest. “Don’t let her talk you into handing over all your cash so she can climb some hill in some country.”

With a fizzle, the last of his patience expired. “Do I look like the kind of guy who would do something like that?”

“Everyone thought Allan was too smart to slap a mortgage on a paid-off house,” she snapped back. “Now he’ll be sleeping on the streets.”

Mitch watched Cleo walk away as fast as her short legs would carry her. The speed sent her body listing from side to side. Her purse and tissue flapped as she went. She was talking to herself and not being quiet about it. When she mentioned The Chosen One, Mitch started to go after her.

Travis grabbed him. “That’s the wrong move.”

Mitch wrestled with the conflicting emotions bombarding him. Anger, confusion, disappointment. He felt it all and didn’t know which ones were fair.

“Even if that’s true—”

Mitch’s stomach bottomed out. “You believe Cleo?”

“I’m just saying if it happened it was a family decision and not Cassidy’s fault.”

Mitch tried to buy into the justification but couldn’t get there. He also couldn’t match the person Cleo described, the person so many people described, with the one living in his house. The Cassidy he knew worked hard and set his blood on fire.

After only a short time she’d gotten used to her being there. He looked forward to seeing her on the other side of the door. Maybe there was a price to pay for that kind of comfort.

“She wouldn’t do that to her parents,” he said, wanting to believe it.

“If her parents are anything like yours, they’d insist on contributing. After all, it was her dream.”

Mitch nodded. The one thing he knew was that everything in her life came back to the dream. He’d been hearing about women and dreams his entire life and only one person ever truly lost—him.

All the doubts came rushing back. He’d been with one woman who obsessed over a dream. She left him when his dream didn’t match hers. He’d watched his mother forfeit a real life by mourning a dream that never was in favor of a baby she didn’t plan.

How was it when he fell for another woman, he ran right smack into her damn dream?

* * *

Cassidy worked out as much of her future as she could on the short drive home from Allan’s house. She needed a way to support herself and she thought she’d found it. Guided climbs. She’d started her career that way and enjoyed it. It made sense for her as a career now. And heaven knew she had the experience. Now she wanted to get home and tell Mitch her plan.

Home.
That’s how she viewed Mitch’s place. It was a sanctuary of sorts. There she didn’t need to live up to a nickname or overcome one. She could be herself, seduce him in the shower and putter around until she exploded with happiness.

But Allan was absolutely right. The house, the building, didn’t have anything to do with the hope blossoming inside her. She knew why her life started working, why her brain starting clicking with new ideas about her future. It was the same reason she yearned for a life outside of the dream that once consumed her.

Mitch.

What started as harmless flirting had turned into sex that ignited her soul and charm that warmed her heart. She’d spent a lifetime avoiding commitment and moving around. It took her years to buy a crappy studio. Combining her life with a man’s didn’t even register with her until now. Then she pushed Mitch in that pile of fertilizer and everything changed.

She loved him. It was simple and complex at the same time. It took days, not years. There was part of her that thought it had only taken hours. She woke thinking about him and went to sleep with his face playing in her mind.

Her mother had once told her she knew Allan was the one within an hour of meeting him. Cassidy laughed it off. That was the stuff of silly television movies. In real life, it took time to find someone and even then the chance of getting it right was slim.

The doorknob rattled and keys jangled. A second later Mitch appeared with his hair ruffled by the wind and exhaustion hovering around him like a blanket.

She’d never seen a sexier man in her life.

She didn’t wait for him to come into the kitchen. She dropped the water bottle on the counter and met him halfway to the couch. Her arms twisted around his neck as her lips met his. If she hadn’t known she’d loved him before, she would have seen it in that moment.

The way his arms locked around her and his mouth claimed her heart as he kissed her. He ran around trying to help her all day and fought off people who put her down, including one of his best friends.

His ex was an idiot.

Mitch rested his head against hers. “How’s Allan?”

“Resigned.”

“He doesn’t have to be.” Mitch pulled back only far enough for them to see each other without her straining her neck.

“What do you mean?” She didn’t care what he said so long as he kept talking. The hum of his voice vibrated through her, soothing her jangled nerves.

“I have a solution.”

She did too and it required him to strip and get to the bedroom. They’d been through enough today. They need the healing that came with gentle touches and heated kisses.

Her hands slid down his arms. “You walking around with piles of cash in your pockets?”

“I have strong credit and thanks to my business connections, can get access to cash.”

She kept joking but he sounded serious. “What?”

“A loan.”

Her heart did a cartwheel. This man knew what to say and how to say it. But that didn’t mean she’d take his money. Her family made this mess and it was fixable by getting out from under the mortgage. As a solution it sucked, but Allan and Mike had worked it out. She doubted Allan enjoyed rattling around the house without Mom anyway.

She ran a hand over Mitch’s chest. “That’s sweet of you to offer, but it’s okay.”

His fingers clenched against her waist. “How can you say that?”

The harsh slap of his words had her head pushing back. She wiggled until he released his hold on her. With a little distance between them, she could see his face. Whatever softness normally touched his eyes and mouth was gone. He seemed…angry.

“I’m repeating what Allan said to me.” She said the words slowly, tasting each one to try to figure out what she was missing and what had Mitch so on edge.

“Cassidy, the man is losing his home.”

The tone went from a crack to lecturing. She was transported back to the early days of climbing when the Old Boys’ Club used intimidation to try to scare her off. “I’m well aware of that.”

He blew out a long breath. There was struggle going on inside him, she just couldn’t understand why.

“Cassidy, listen to me.”

Nothing in his words soothed her now. “I am.”

He glanced at the ceiling as if reaching for words he couldn’t find. “You are making bad choices again.”

The word fell like lead on top of her. “Again?”

“You have to admit your judgment isn’t always great.”

The world began to spin. She wanted to sit down but wasn’t sure she’d be able to get back up again after all the unexpected verbal blows. “Oh, really?”

“The interview. Not noticing your money was disappearing. Missing the signs that Allan was in trouble.” Mitch held up fingers as he made the list.

She had no idea where all of this was coming from. He took every horrible bit of her life, every piece of information she’d shared with him in private, and threw it back at her as a personal fault. It was as if he left the nursery as one person and came back as another.

She tried to get through to him. “I was the victim of a financial scam.”

“You let someone else run your money. It was a mistake, but part of it is on you. Just like part of the interview is and maybe some of Allan’s money issue.”

The meaning behind her words finally settled in her brain. This wasn’t about the old sins. He was adding a new one, one she didn’t deserve, to her crushing weight. “You think I took money from Allan.”

“Did you?”

She had no idea where he got the information…Or did she? The air rushed out of her body with enough force to double her over. The town gossip. He’d spent days saying it didn’t matter but now he was getting his mixed-up details straight from it.

He could go to hell.

She stepped back, judging how much space he would need to reach out and touch her and coming to a halt just outside of that zone. “I’m not even going to answer that.”

“Why?”

“It doesn’t deserve one.”

He treated her to an aggrieved male sigh. “I’m not the enemy here.”

“You’re the idiot.” She looked around for her stuff and cursed when she remembered packing most of it away in drawers just this morning. The only stuff out was the actual camping gear, which was stacked by the door because she planned to store in the garage.

“You’re calling me names?” His voice was deadly soft. “I offered to help Allan keep his house. I think deserve better than name-calling.”

“You stand there talking about how I let people overtake my life, but that’s what you’re trying to do. You want to rescue me.”

“That’s not true.”

“It’s what you do. You swoop in and fix things.” She put a hand to her head and felt a fever burning underneath. “Man, why didn’t I see that before? I’m another project for you. You wanted to use your reputation to clean up mine then move on.”

“Your reasoning is jumping all over the place.” He reached out for her.

“I am coming to grips with the fact I fell for a guy who wants to change me.”

His arm held in midair. “You what?”

“Love you.” She tried to laugh but the sound wouldn’t come. “Joke’s on me, huh?”

“Love?” He said the word with all the enthusiasm of a grocery list.

A sharp pain sliced through her stomach. She’d been so wrong. So terribly, sickeningly wrong. “You know what, Mitch? I don’t need to be rescued. I don’t need to be protected. And I certainly don’t need the charity of a room.”