Page 13 of Need You
“Because Delaney parked in my spot.”
“I didn’t see her Tesla there when I came in.”
Colt got up and peered outside the window. Sure enough, her car was gone. She’d either parked it at the top of her driveway or she went out for the night. He was tempted to move his to the easement road before she got back, but she’d probably need to charge the damn vehicle.
“What’s her deal?” TJ asked.
“Dude, I’ve got dibs,” Win called out.
Colt and TJ looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
“Her deal is that she’s a pain in my ass,” Colt said. “I liked it better when she and her husband never used the place.”
“Ex-husband,” TJ said. “According to Ross up at Winter Bowl where the ex buys his lift tickets, she got the houses and the shoe and handbag business and he got the clothing company. Sounds like she got rooked to me. I don’t know a lot about the fashion industry, but the brand’s a household name. Her clothes are in every department store in America. Supposedly when they split they were in the midst of negotiating a multimillion-dollar deal with Target to do some kind of housewares line.”
“Why’d they break up?” Colt didn’t have a lot of use for gossip, especially about someone he barely knew, but he was curious.
“Have no idea. But according to Ross, it was pretty sudden, because the ex was planning to spend the winter skiing at Winter Bowl and had to give away his tickets. Delaney doesn’t ski.”
Then why the hell live in Glory Junction? That’s what Colt wanted to know. “When is she going back to LA?”
“Don’t know. But she’s still got a business in LA to run. Hannah says Delaney Scott shoes and handbags blow out of her store faster than she can stock them.”
“My guess is she’ll wind up selling,” TJ continued. “Ross says it was the ex who wanted to live up here. Maybe he’ll buy her out.”
Colt didn’t care who owned the house so long as he got his parking space back. As far as he was concerned the house was a monstrosity of epic proportions. Too big for the lot, too stark for the land, and too modern for an old western California town. Delaney, on the other hand, was gorgeous. No way he could deny it, despite their differences.
He could absolutely find her attractive without being attracted to her, Colt told himself. Because he wasn’t in the least bit ... attracted. Her situation was too much like Lisa’s had been.
After their cereal Win and TJ grabbed a couple of beers out of the refrigerator and moved to the living room. Colt abstained in case he got called out. It was a rare night when he didn’t. The department was small enough that he or the assistant chief, Jack Brewster, were required to respond to most of the big accidents, violent crimes, and to all of the fatalities.
Colt claimed the recliner while Win queued upMad Max: Fury Roadon Netflix.
“Josh says Pond’s giving you shit,” TJ said.
“I suspect if he could get away with canning me, he would.”
“He’s a moron. You’re the best chief this town has ever had. I don’t know what voters ever saw in him.”
“He’s slick ... appeals to the new residents, the ones who think the rest of us are a bunch of hayseeds and hippies.”
“What are you planning to do?”
Colt shrugged. “My job.”
Win started the movie, then promptly fell asleep on the couch while TJ talked Colt’s ear off about Garner Adventure, including his lofty plans to expand. At eleven-thirty they called it a night. It was the first time in weeks Colt got a full night’s sleep.
* * *
The next morning, Colt picked up Carrie Jo and kicked her ass for eight laps around the track before heading to Garner Adventure to meet his river-rafting group. TJ wasn’t kidding about it being a bachelorette party. Five women, including the bride-to-be, showed up in tiaras, minuscule shorts, and bikini tops.
Win, already committed to teaching a group of teenagers how to wind sail, took it upon himself to give the ladies a tour of the company while Colt got their gear ready. During the recession their parents had purchased the building, an abandoned log lodge on the corner of Main Street, to replace the original location, which had been a few miles out of town. They’d gutted and renovated it, adding a gym, rock-climbing wall, locker rooms with showers, a reception area with a huge stone fireplace, and offices. It was not only roomier than what they’d had before, but also more visible to tourists. Now, a third of their business was walk-ins.
“You ladies ready to go?” Colt called to the group.
He’d loaded one of the shuttle vans with equipment and snacks and hoped to get a couple of hours on the river before lunchtime. The women had paid for a six-hour trip and he wanted to make sure they had plenty of time on the rapids.
“Can we wear our tiaras on the water?” one of the women asked.
