“There shouldn’t be any trouble until Drew finds out Erik has the recording.”
“Always expect trouble. Be ready for it.”
She nodded. She suddenly remembered something she wanted to ask him. “At the airport you told Erik you had four strong suspects. I count Drew, Parsons, and Eileen. Who’s the fourth?”
“Erik.”
“But he—”
“I’ve said this before. Don’t believe anything until it’s proven. Erik says he and his sister don’t have anything to do with each other. That might not be true. For all we know, he could have called her from the airport to warn her.”
Peyton thought about what Finn had told her as she poured him another cup of coffee. “Wouldn’t it be something if it wasn’t any of them, that someone else having nothing to do with Dalton wants me dead. Now that would be a real kick in the pants, wouldn’t it?”
He couldn’t believe he actually laughed. “Hell, Peyton, a kick in the pants?”
“I’m just saying—”
He cut her off. “Having done a background on Drew and after meeting him, I’m convinced he’s behind the attempts. We know he has a shady character working for him in Parsons. Still, there could be an unknown, and that worries me. He could have hired a shooter, someone outside his circle, someone we don’t know about.”
“If he hired a professional to kill me, he’s not getting his money’s worth. The shooter is a lousy shot.”
Finn moved fast, pinning her against the island. “Don’t make light of this. If anything ever happened to you . . .” Staring into her beautiful eyes, he was fighting a battle he knew he was going to lose. “Ah, hell,” he whispered a scant second before his mouth sealed hers.
Her arms curled around his neck, and her fingers slid up into his hair. Passion burned between them, and she was holding on to him like she never wanted him to stop.
He came to his senses and abruptly pulled back. He tried to catch his breath as he said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know what’s the matter with me. When I’m around you, I can’t seem to control myself. It’s the damnedest thing.”
Indeed, Peyton thought. “Then it’s a good thing you’re leaving.” She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She wanted to remember his wonderful scent, so fresh and clean and male.
Realizing how foolish she was behaving, she moved away from him. All good things come to an end, don’t they?
“We should go over to the hotel now. Christopher is waiting for us,” Finn said.
“Why is he waiting for us?” she asked.
“To talk about the security guards and their schedule.”
“What if I don’t like them?” she asked.
“Then you don’t like them.”
“I can’t trade them in for new ones?”
“No, you can’t.” He grabbed her hand. “This is serious business.”
Christopher was in the lobby with Lucy, arguing about something she obviously thought was important. Christopher looked resigned; Lucy looked irritated.
“Not getting along?” Peyton asked. “What a surprise.”
“We’re getting along,” Lucy insisted. “He’s just not being reasonable.”
“When will security arrive?” Finn asked Christopher.
“Meeting is at ten, and they’ll be on time.”
“You personally know these guys?”
Christopher nodded. “I’ve worked with them in Special Ops.”
Lucy took a step closer to the bane of her existence. “Who are you?”
“I’m the man who tells you what you can and cannot order, sweetheart, and twelve-thousand-dollar sofas are off the table. You’re not getting them. I’ve assured your uncle that all expenditures on improvements would be reasonable.”
Peyton thought about Christopher’s statement and it suddenly clicked. Uncle Len had put him in charge so that she and Lucy and Ivy wouldn’t mess up. Len didn’t want them to fail, and Christopher was there to make sure they didn’t. It was odd, but she felt some of the burden lift away. Christopher obviously knew what he was doing.
“All right, then,” she said.
Lucy turned to her. “What do you mean, ‘All right, then’?”
Peyton held up her hand. “We’ll talk about this later. You can vent then.”
Lucy nodded. “I’ll bring the wine.” She picked up a folder on the counter and, straightening her shoulders, marched past Christopher. “I’ll be in the office if you need me.”
Christopher didn’t look the least bit annoyed by her attitude. In fact, the slight curl of his lips as he watched Lucy walk away indicated the opposite.
“You like giving her trouble, don’t you?” Peyton asked.
“Yes, I do,” he admitted.
Finn was right. He’d told Peyton that Christopher had the hots for Lucy. Peyton preferred to think he was interested in her sister because he enjoyed sparring with her. Her interpretation didn’t sound as animalistic. There wasn’t any doubt that sparks flew whenever the two were together, and everyone knew that sparks could ignite a flame. Maybe their arguments were simply a way for them to hide their true feelings. A relationship between two people who would be working together for a full year might not be a good idea. Then again, they were both adults. If Lucy wanted to be with Christopher, and Christopher wanted to be with her, it wasn’t any of Peyton’s business. Except, she didn’t want her sister to get hurt. She only hoped that Lucy knew how to protect her heart.
Finn drew her attention. “Security’s here.”
The front doors opened, and two extremely fit men walked inside. They were quite attractive in a rugged, outdoorsy way. Both had dark hair and deep tans. They were about Finn’s age, Peyton judged, and built like him, all muscle, but as far as sex appeal, Finn won, hands down.
It was apparent from their greetings that they were good friends of Christopher’s. Laughing, they exchanged several colorful insults before crossing the lobby to meet Finn and her.
The taller of the two stepped forward to shake her hand. “You can call me Drake.”
The second man couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. “Braxton,” he said.
They turned to Finn next. After they were introduced, Drake said, “Hey, I know you.”
“Yeah, I do, too,” Braxton agreed.
Peyton wanted to gloat. Finally, she could say, See? I told you people recognize you from the Olympics.
“You brought in Hayes and got him to confess,” Drake said.
“My partner, Agent Ronan Conrad, did most of the work,” Finn said. Uncomfortable with the praise, he added before they could say anything more, “Let’s go into the conference room, and I’ll run through Peyton’s situation.”
Peyton showed the men through the offices into the conference room, and the guards listened closely as Finn explained what would be expected of them. She didn’t think it would take all that long to fill them in, but she was wrong. An hour passed, and they were still going strong with questions.
“Agents Hutton and Lane are in Dalton. They’re running the investigation now, and they’ll keep you informed,” Finn told them.
“They’ve got eyes on all the players?” Drake asked.
Finn nodded. “This could be over soon. Last night Erik Swift let the agents take all the guns from his father’s house. They’re in the lab now.”
Drake and Braxton were thorough. They insisted on going over every detail again before they were satisfied they could handle the case. When Finn offered to walk around the resort with them to give them the lay of the land, Peyton went to her desk. Since she was already in the office, she figured she might as well work on the designs for the new pool. If they were going to open the resort to the public soon, they had to get things done quickly.
Finn and the two guards were just heading out the door when she heard Drake ask, “When do you want us to start?”
“I’ve got her until tomorrow morning. Then she’s all yours,” Finn replied.
What a lovely way to say good-bye, she thought.
Peyton wasn’t much of a drinker, but by five that afternoon she thought she might like to guzzle a bottle of wine. Maybe two bottles. No time to rest, even on a Sunday. Christopher was an expert at cracking the whip. He had appeared shortly after noon with a stack of proposals from produce suppliers and asked her to look through them for the resort restaurants. She had just compared her last arugula price lists and had sorted everything into file folders when she noticed the time. Finn hadn’t returned yet.
“I want to go for a swim in the ocean,” she announced to an empty office. As if on cue, a loud crack of thunder sounded. “Guess that’s out.” She got up from her desk and stretched. Lucy had gone into Christopher’s office for a meeting a few minutes earlier and closed the door. Probably didn’t want her to hear them yelling, Peyton thought. She decided to go back to her condo and wait for Finn there, so she headed to Christopher’s office to ask him to give Finn the message. She swung the door open and, too late, she realized she should have knocked before walking in. Lucy was wrapped in Christopher’s arms, and they were kissing each other quite passionately. Neither one of them noticed her.
She quietly closed the door and was preparing to leave when Finn returned. “What’s funny?” he asked when he saw the big grin on her face.
She was sure he would gloat if she told him, so she simply said, “Nothing. Nothing at all.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m tired. I’d like to go home now. Are Braxton and Drake still here?”
“No,” he answered. “They’ve gone over the entire resort, and they know all the weak entry spots. They’ll take turns, but one of them will be with you after I leave. You’ll be okay.”
Was he trying to convince her . . . or himself?
TWENTY-FOUR
Dinner was strained. Lucy had begged off eating with them, and Peyton thought she had probably gone out with Christopher. She could have used her sister’s help in easing the tension between Finn and her. He had suggested they maintain a platonic relationship, and she believed he was sincere about remaining friends. She wasn’t at all sincere when she agreed, but she didn’t want him to know it.
When he left tomorrow, that was it. She never wanted to see him again. If he could walk away from her after all they had shared, then he didn’t deserve her. She deserved to be with someone who loved her, really loved her. Unconditionally. Someone who could never walk away.
Was there such a thing as true love? She wanted to believe there was. Until Finn brought it up, she never really thought much about getting married. She just assumed that someday she would, and eventually she’d have children. Did that make her archaic, to want happily-ever-after with the man of her dreams?
Early Monday morning Finn pulled her into his arms, hugged her, and said yet again, “You’ll be okay.”
“Yes, I will,” she answered with conviction.
“If you need me, you call me,” he reminded.
A quick kiss, and he was gone. As the door closed behind him, Peyton felt a catch in her heart, but she wouldn’t allow herself to dwell on the hurt. She forced herself to think about the days ahead and what she wanted to accomplish. It wasn’t easy keeping her emotions under control, but she managed.
Braxton was at her side throughout the day as she made the rounds to all the renovation projects on the resort. Everything was in full swing, and barring any unforeseen problems, they would be able to open the hotel and accept reservations within the next three weeks. Most of the former staff had been given a leave of absence and would be ready to return by then, and Peyton was beginning to receive applications to fill new positions. There were still large projects, such as the makeover of the bungalows and the new swimming pool, to complete, but they wouldn’t interfere with the operation of the rest of the resort.
Peyton returned to the office in time to meet Dan Miller, who had arrived for his appointment with Christopher. The developer and contractor was the opposite in temperament and appearance from his competitor, Scott Cassady. Miller was in his mid-fifties, wore work clothes, and drove an old pickup truck that was weighed down by just about every tool known to man. He was calm and self-assured, and wasn’t out to impress anyone. Peyton really liked him. She felt the calluses on his palm and his fingers when she shook his hand. Cassady had been smooth and artificial, whereas Miller was blunt and to the point. He didn’t seem the sort to tell customers what they wanted to hear just to win them over. He appeared to be a straight shooter, and she was anxious to get his opinion on her plans. What would he have to say about tearing out two small, worn-out pools and building one gorgeous Olympic-size pool? Christopher hadn’t vetoed the idea and was willing to listen, so he went with her, Braxton, and Miller to look at the area and study the possibility.
“What do you think, Mr. Miller?” Peyton asked as they stood overlooking the land she had marked for the pool. “Could it be done?”
“I’m not formal,” he said. “Call me Dan, and, yes, of course it can be done. Why don’t I work the numbers and get an estimate to you.”
Christopher took Dan on a tour to discuss other innovations he had in mind while she and Braxton returned to the hotel. Later that afternoon Christopher called Peyton and Lucy into his office.
“You have to decide what you want this place to be,” he told them. “All the bungalows are located on the west side of the Cove, and, Lucy, didn’t you tell me you wanted to build more of them closer to the hotel?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“The hotel is on the east side,” he continued. “And Peyton wants to put in an Olympic-size pool close to it.”
“Two of the smaller pools need major work, and I’d like to replace them with one big one,” Peyton explained. “With a fun water feature and the ocean right there in front of it, families will come. We could offer meal plans, make it inclusive,” she added enthusiastically. “And eventually I’d like to build another hotel, though no bigger than this one. I’ve looked at the space, and we could do it without changing the character of the resort. I think Uncle Len would approve. I want the Cove to remain charming.”
Lucy didn’t agree with Peyton’s vision. “When they’re remodeled, the bungalows will draw customers who appreciate luxury and are willing to pay for it.”