“I know you’re upset, but I think the sheriff is making more out of this than is warranted. What’s important is that he cares about you. You’re making progress with Max,we’remaking progress,” he said. “The man I saw leaving through the back door of the café looked like someone had kicked his puppy. Goldie, he still loves you. Whatever is holding him back seems to be killing him.”
Tears brimmed in her eyes. “He just doesn’t love me enough.”
“I’m not so sure about that. I’m guessing that warning you about me wasn’t the only reason he stopped by the café.”
“I don’t know,” she said with sigh. “I didn’t really give him a chance to say much more.”
He grinned. “Don’t give up now. I haven’t given up. I have a couple of things we could do to kick up the heat.”
She shook her head, but he could see she was tempted and that was good enough for him. He kept thinking about what the sheriff had told her. Max had connected him and Arnie with the Mandevilles. No one wanted to know what was going on more than Donovan himself. What was Arnie really doing here? Malcolm had to be footing the bill for the café, given how much Arnie was rumored to have offered for it.
He still didn’t know why Malcolm had taken an interest in Dry Gulch but suspected it might have something to do with Lolly. That woman was way too much like her father.
Not only was she dangerous, but she could be a loose cannon.
THAT EVENING,GOLDIEfound Josie waiting for her just inside the hotel. She needed her lawyer to look over the sale, but more than anything, she needed her friend. She hadn’t seen Max since their earlier encounter at the café.
Josie took her hand, squeezed it and met her gaze. “Ready?”
She’d never be ready. Instead, she wanted to blame Max, telling herself that she would have never put her café up for sale if not for him forcing her to take such desperate steps.
But she knew in her heart that this was all her doing, so she had only herself to blame. She had wanted to do something drastic to get Max’s attention and she had. Now she felt she had no choice but to go through with it. Although she knew Josie would have advised her otherwise and did.
“You don’t have to do this,” Josie said as if seeing the battle going on inside her.
“Yes, I do. I called Max’s bluff. He knows how much the café means to me.” She met her friend’s gaze, trying hard not to cry. “He hasn’t even tried to stop me.” She could see that Josie had a lot more to say, but the door opened. For just an instant, her heart leaped. She’d wanted so desperately for it to be Max.
Arnie walked into the hotel, followed quickly behind by Goldie’s Realtor, Beth Simpson. “Let’s get this over with,” Goldie said to Josie.
The four of them took a small area deep in the lounge so there was little chance they would be interrupted. Beth produced the paperwork. Arnie took his time looking it over and so did Josie before glancing at Goldie. She’d already read the copy Beth had sent her the night before.
“It looks like everything is in order,” Josie said, but her gaze pleaded with her friend to stop this before it was too late.
As Beth produced pens for them to sign, the front door of the hotel opened yet again. Goldie swung around to look, her breath catching in her throat for just an instant before she saw that it was Cordell—not Max. She swallowed, pulse still pounding.
Had she really thought he’d show up at the last minute to save her—to save her café and the love the two of them had together? How could he have not seen how badly she was hurting after their run-in at the café?You are such a fool. As she turned back, she saw Josie’s sympathetic expression and fought back tears.
Angrily, she took the pen Beth offered her and quickly signed the papers. Max wasn’t coming. He’d made his feelings clear. They were over. Her life in Dry Gulch was over. Goldie’s was over.
Arnie signed the papers needing his signature in record time. “I’ll be taking possession right away,” he said as he handed Beth the completed sale. His gaze went to Goldie. All she could do was nod as he rose to leave.
She couldn’t have spoken even if there was anything to say. Not that Arnie waited around for a goodbye after Beth gave him the keys to the café.
Josie touched her arm. “Wine?”
Goldie shook her head. “I need to be alone for a while.” She headed for the back door, not wanting to run into anyone she knew. With luck she’d fall into one of the swimming pools being dug out back and die from her injuries, she thought as she rushed out.
DONOVAN SPOTTEDARNIE LEAVING,a bounce to the little man’s step, and knew the sale had gone through. He hurried downstairs in time to see Goldie going out the back door. He’d hoped she would come up to his hotel room but saw at once that that wasn’t happening.
Worried about her, he followed her out into the darkness as she made her way past the freshly dug gaping holes for the swimming pools and headed up the hillside behind the hotel.
He found her sitting on a rock under a large pine tree overlooking the lights of the tiny Western town. He took a seat on a rock next to her in the dark. She didn’t look at him, didn’t say a word, but he could tell that she was gutted. She’d given up something she loved to try to reach the man she’d loved and lost. He couldn’t help but admire her, even though he would never do something that risky.
Earlier, he’d thought again about leaving, chucking this “job” and hitting the road. He’d learned a long time ago that distance was sometimes the best answer. He didn’t like the idea of sticking around here to see what Malcolm was up to. He was such a small player in whatever it was, he doubted the crime boss would care if he left, given that the café sale had gone through.
But he wasn’t completely sure of that. He’d been nervous ever since Arnie had shown up. It had crossed his mind that the cook could have come here to spy on him for Lolly. Once he heard what Arnie had offered for the café, he’d known then that Malcolm had to be behind it. But why would the crime boss want a café in Dry Gulch? It made no sense.
“You signed the papers,” he said, half afraid she’d changed her mind. For whatever reason, Malcolm and Arnie wanted the sale to go through, which meant that it was in Donovan’s best interest as well.
