“Hey, boss.”
Tucker nodded as Jerry approached. The fiftysomething supervisor had been with the company nearly thirty years and had worked with Tucker for the past ten.
“The blasting crew is on their way. They’ll arrive tomorrow. They’ll go over everything, set up and be ready by Friday. Should be a good show.”
“So I’ve heard.”
The sound of female laughter drifted toward them. Tucker glanced toward Nevada and saw her laughing with her men.
“She’s doing good,” Jerry said. “A few of the guys weren’t sure about reporting to a woman, and a local at that. But she knows her stuff. She’s fair and easy to work for. Pretty, but what with you two being involved, no one’s giving her that kind of trouble.”
Tucker swung his gaze to Jerry. “We’re not involved.”
Jerry grinned. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that, boss. You’ll start to believe it. Not that I blame you. Like I said, if you hadn’t gotten there first, a lot of the guys would have made a play for her.” The grin broadened. “Her sisters are getting married. You could make it a triple wedding.”
Jerry laughed at his own joke and slapped Tucker on the back. “Want me to start a pool? You could make a lot of money betting with the guys.”
“No, thanks,” Tucker said, doing his best not to grit his teeth.
Their fake relationship had worked too well. They hadn’t been dating but that didn’t matter. They were barely seeing each other. Sure, they’d slept together, but that had been more an accident than anything else. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed himself. He had. She was great. He liked spending time with her. Not just for the sex, although that was life-changing, but for the conversation. They got each other. She was funny and smart. He wanted to see more of her, but they weren’t dating. Or involved.
Jerry waved and walked toward the group around Nevada. Tucker watched him go, not sure what he was supposed to do now. He’d made it clear that he didn’t do relationships. He believed love made people into fools, and he wasn’t going there again. Nevada understood that. They were on the same page.
At least he hoped they were. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure she did know the rules. What if she expected more of him?
The question had barely formed in his mind before a thin sheen of cold sweat broke out on his back. The last thing he needed was for everyone around here to think he’d misled Nevada. Her team would turn on him, and who knew what that would mean in town. So, they had to talk about it—words designed to make any man run for the hills.
But he had to make things clear. There wasn’t going to be a triple wedding. In a year or so, he would move on to the next project. Sure, he would miss Nevada when he went, but that didn’t mean he wanted to marry her. Or anyone.
Settling down had never been something he’d considered. He supposed at some point he should think about having a family. Traditionally that meant getting married. But even as he considered the possibility, he remembered how it had been with Cat. How he’d been unable to think, let alone to be his own man. She’d controlled him and humiliated him and there was no way he would do that again.
Determined to have it out with Nevada right that second, he started toward her. Before he’d taken more than a couple of steps, a police car came toward him. Fool’s Gold Police Department was painted on the sides.
He waited while the officer behind the wheel parked, then got out.
“Tucker Janack?” the woman asked.
He nodded.
She walked toward him. “I’m Police Chief Alice Barns. Nice to meet you.”
“Why do I doubt that?” Tucker asked, eyeing her.
She was of average height, in her forties and wearing a dark blue uniform. She looked more than capable of being in charge.
“I enjoy meeting folks,” the police chief told him. “I’m a people person.” She handed him a business-size envelope. “This is for you.”
“What is it?”
“A summons to appear before the Fool’s Gold City Council. They want Nevada there, too, just so you know.”
“An official summons? Can they do that?” He wouldn’t have thought a local body of government had that kind of power.
She smiled. “My being here says they can.”
“Good point.”
NEVADA HAD NEVER been called to the principal’s office while in school, but if she had, she would guess it felt like this. She’d never attended a city council meeting before, so she didn’t know how they usually went, but she assumed there was usually more than one agenda item.
She and Tucker sat at a large conference table with seven women sitting across from them. Mayor Marsha sat in the middle, flanked by her council. No one looked happy.
Nevada glanced down at the piece of paper that had been put in front of her. There was the date, the time of the meeting, the word “agenda,” followed by a colon and the phrase, “Vagina Issue.”
With the meeting called to order, the mayor drew in a breath.
“I’m the longest-serving mayor in California,” she said. “I’ve seen us survive earthquakes, snowstorms, grape blight and the recent catastrophic fire that nearly destroyed one of our schools. We’ve survived busloads of men and a reality show. The town and I will not be taken down by a giant vagina.”
Nevada swallowed. “You mentioned that when you visited the construction site yesterday, but I’m still not sure what you want us…”
“Fix it,” Mayor Marsha said sternly, interrupting. “You two knew Ms. Stoicasescu before. You’re the reason she’s here now. I’m holding both of you responsible.”
Nevada wanted to protest that it wasn’t her fault. That she had nothing to do with Cat or her gift choices. But the seven women staring at her didn’t look like they wanted to have a discussion.
“Yes, ma’am,” she said quietly, not sure what being responsible was going to mean, but aware that it wasn’t good news.
Tucker leaned toward them. “If I may, Nevada isn’t the one who had a relationship with Cat. This is my responsibility, not hers.”
“Nevada and Cat are friends,” the mayor said. “Nevada has shown Cat around town.”
Nevada winced. So much for doing the right thing, she thought. It had come back to bite her for sure.
The mayor sighed. “I appreciate you defending Nevada. That speaks very well of you. At this point I don’t care who fixes this, I just want it fixed and I want it on the record that we’ve had this discussion. There will be no giant va**na in my town. Do you understand?”
Nevada and Tucker both nodded.
“Good. Now you may go.”
They stood and quickly left the room. Once in the hallway of city hall, Nevada leaned against the wall.
“If I weren’t in the middle of this, it would be really funny.”
“Tell me about it.” He leaned against the wall opposite. “Now what?”
“We talk to her and explain the town doesn’t want her gift.” She wanted to say Tucker should do it, but Cat hadn’t spent any time with him since arriving in Fool’s Gold. “I’ll do it.”
“Are you sure? I can try.”
“No. You’re the ex. There’s too much emotional baggage. She’s my friend.” Sort of.
“What are you going to say?”
“I haven’t a clue.”
NEVADA WENT TO THE GOLD RUSH Ski Lodge and Resort to look for Cat. The tiny, strange man who was her assistant said that Cat was working and gave Nevada the address of an industrial center on the edge of town. Nevada drove there.
The huge building had been subdivided into a dozen or so smaller light-industrial sites. The one at the end was nearly double in height. Thinking about how much room it would take to build a giant vagina, Nevada chose that one and knocked on the door.
No one answered. She rang the bell, then finally opened the door. She was met with a blast of music. Black Eyed Peas, she would guess.
Scaffolding filled the center of the huge room, just as it had back in L.A. when Nevada had first met Cat. It rose up to the nearly twenty-foot ceiling. Massive sheets of metal stood in a rack, and she could see the basic structure of the piece had already been started. Poles were strapped together to form a giant V. A pulley system would raise the metal up to the level of the poles.
Cat stood by a long table, cutting pieces of metal with wicked-looking shears. Heavy gloves protected her hands. Up against the wall was a sketch of what the piece would look like when it was done.
There were swirls and waves, intricate designs covering the feminine curves. If one could ignore the fact that it was a vagina, it was very beautiful.
Cat glanced up and saw Nevada. She smiled broadly, pulled off her gloves, then hit a button on a small remote. The music went silent.
“You came!” Cat hurried toward her and pulled her into a hug. “Don’t you love this space? It’s perfect.”
Nevada hugged her back, then carefully stepped away. “I remember where you worked in Los Angeles. I still have trouble reconciling that everything is industrial here, but beautifully ethereal when you’re finished.”
Cat’s green eyes glowed with pleasure. “It’s my personal form of magic.” She grabbed Nevada’s hand and pulled her to the sketch on the wall. “I don’t always know what I’m going to be doing. Sometimes I have to let the piece speak to me. But this time, I had a vision. It’s so clear.” She laughed. “I almost feel like I shouldn’t have to make it. I can reach out and touch what it’s going to be.”
“It’s amazing,” Nevada murmured. “You’re an inspiration, honoring the town in this way.”
Cat leaned against her. “I have to. You’re from here.”
Oh, no. Not a place she wanted to go.
“There’s just one problem.”
Cat looked at her expectantly.
“It’s the subject matter,” Nevada said cautiously. “You’re so brilliant and famous. Everyone will want to come see the piece, of course. But there’s some concern that it’s rather risqué for Fool’s Gold.”
Cat rolled her eyes. “Please. Don’t be so provincial. My work celebrates the power of women.”
Nevada supposed that a giant breast would be worse, but not by much. “Okay, but this is a family town. Parents don’t want to have to explain what it is to their children.”
“Why not? We should be proud of our bodies. There is beauty in each one of us.” She drew her eyebrows together. “Are you saying the town doesn’t want my gift?”
Her voice was low, almost neutral, but Nevada was getting a bad feeling in her gut.
“They are concerned about the vagina. If it were something else, maybe—”
“Something else?” Cat’s voice was a roar. “They are daring to tell me what to create? They are interfering in my artistic process? Do they know who I am? Governments pay me millions of dollars for my work. Do you know how much the French are giving me for a piece? Work I have put off to create this, as a way to thank your town.”
“Maybe if they’re not appropriately grateful you should rethink doing it.”
“Never.” Cat stalked away, then turned. “How dare they! I am an artist. They have no right to refuse. No right to complain. It’s a gift. You don’t get to say what the gift is going to be. My piece will put this little town on the map. They should beg me to give it to them.”
Her voice rose with each word until she was shouting. Nevada wasn’t enjoying herself, but she wasn’t actually nervous until Cat picked up the blowtorch and lit it.
“Okay, then,” she said, hurrying to the door. “You think about it and we’ll talk again later.”
She scurried outside and hunched over when Cat screamed. The sound was still echoing in Nevada’s ears as she jumped in her truck and sped away.
“LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE,” Tucker told Nevada. “At least now you don’t have to worry about her wanting to date you.”
“Shut up.”
Nevada wished they were somewhere private so she could punch him really hard in the stomach. She knew how—she had brothers. But on the job site, with their crew around and the blasting team putting the final touches on their work, it didn’t seem like the right time.
The good news was that watching the explosion and the subsequent crumbling of earth would probably make her feel better.
“Want me to talk to her?” he offered.
“Cat will probably attack you with a flamethrower. Which right now doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.”
Tucker grinned at her. “Don’t be afraid. You could take her.”
“She has tools and a vicious will. You should have heard her. She thought the town was ungrateful. If only that were enough to make her change her mind.”
Nevada watched her men get into position. “I need to go.”
“You’ll feel better after the explosion.”
“I hope so.”
Blasting earth was a complex proposition. There were dozens of safeguards in place. Now she did a final check on her part of the operation, then settled in to watch the show.
“Um, boss?”
She turned and saw Jerry walking toward her, Cat by his side.
“You have a visitor,” Jerry said, stating the obvious.
Nevada held in a groan. “What are you doing here?” she asked Cat. “Never mind. We have to move back. We’re doing blasting.”
She led the other woman back toward the trailer and got her a hard hat. Once it was in place, Nevada put her hands on her hips.