They went into the office together, and Edge rang the bell on the front desk. A few minutes later, the desk clerk arrived, an older man in a white T-shirt, with a big beer belly and iron-gray hair.
“We need a couple of rooms,” Edge said, wishing Skye would change her mind and ask him to spend the night. His imagination was already running wild with images of her naked, her sexy smile inviting him to join her in bed.
Inwardly, he sighed.Not going to happen.
He almost smiled.At least not tonight.
The gray-haired desk clerk handed over two room keys, and Edge handed one of them to Skye. “Why don’t we work a while, then drive over to Salida for supper? They’ve got a lot more restaurants to choose from.”
Skye looked up at him. “I’ve . . . umm . . . got a lot to do. I think I’ll just stay here and work on my laptop. If you go out, maybe you can bring something back for me.”
“Sure, no problem.” Turning away, he walked her down the corridor, waited until she opened the door to her room, then headed for the room next door. It wasn’t often a woman he was interested in had no interest in him. It was hard on his ego, that was for sure.
But as he shoved his key into the lock, he noticed that Skye still stood in the corridor watching him. Edge couldn’t help hoping that in time he could change her mind.
CHAPTER FOUR
CALLIE LIFTED HER STRAW BONNET AND USED AN ELBOW TO WIPEaway the perspiration on her forehead. Long blond hair stuck to the back of her neck. The day wasn’t really hot, but she had been working in the garden for hours beneath a cloudless sky and relentless sun.
She took a better grip on the hoe to dig out a particularly determined weed and looked up to see her friend and roommate, Lila Ramirez, shovel in hand, as she walked toward her. Lila started digging in the spot right beside her.
“What is it?” Callie asked.
“Did you hear what happened to Molly?” Lila was Latina and beautiful, with long black hair and a voluptuous figure.
“What happened?”
“She and Harley got into an argument last night. I guess his shift ran late, and when he came in, he had been drinking. Molly didn’t know where he got the liquor, but Harley can be really mean when he drinks. Molly said something he didn’t like, and Harley started hitting her, beating her with his fists. When she tried to fight him, he pushed her down and he . . .”
Callie straightened. “And he what?”
“He forced her to have sex. After he left this morning, Molly went to see Daniel. Daniel sent Harley away for a few days to think things over.”
“That’s it? That’s all Daniel did? Send Harley on vacation?”
“Daniel probably sent him to work someplace else.”
“It’s against the rules for a man to beat a woman with his fists. Is Molly okay?”
“I don’t know. Florence told me. Molly isn’t working today.”
“Maybe we should check on her.” Callie dropped the hoe and turned toward the gate, but Lila caught her arm.
“You need to stay out of it, Callie. If you interfere, Daniel will find some reason to punish you.”
A chill crept over her skin though the day was warm. “He enjoys it,” Callie said darkly. “He says it’s for your own good, but he looks for reasons to discipline the women he finds attractive.”
She looked up at the bell tower of the chapel in the distance, thinking of the rectory next door, where Daniel lived. “How could I not have seen the kind of man he is?”
“You are not the only one.” Lila glanced around, worried one of the men would catch them talking. “Go back to work. We can talk later.”
Wiping her sweaty palms on her long cotton skirt, Callie picked up the hoe and started hacking at the weeds with renewed fervor, seeing Daniel’s handsome face in her mind.Daniel.The man she had once believed she loved.
There was a time she would have done anything for him, a time she had ached to see him, to kiss him, feel his hands on her body.
Not anymore.
Now, like most of the women, she did everything she could to stay off Daniel Henson’s radar. But Callie had been one of his favorites, and there was always a chance he would send for her again.
