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“She’ll be there if I have to shoot her first and drag the body.”
After half a dozen more interruptions, several of them from Nita, Blue hung over the dining room’s two doorways some of the heavy blue plastic the builders had left. When it was secure, she added a NO ADMITTANCE ON PAIN OF DEATH sign. She was nervous enough without having them looking over her shoulder the whole time she worked.
At the end of the day, she made everyone in the house swear on their iPods, guitars, Tango, Puffy, and a certain pair of Dolce & Gabbana boots to stay out of the dining room until the murals were done.
That evening, she wandered into Nita’s bedroom just as the old lady was taking off her wig, revealing a flat cap of thin gray hair. “I had an interesting phone call today,” Blue said as she settled on the side of her bed. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but you’ll somehow get wind of it and then you’ll start bitching at me for keeping things from you.”
Nita took a brush to her scalp. She hadn’t fastened her kimono, and Blue saw she was wearing her favorite red satin nightgown. “What kind of phone call?”
Blue threw up her hands. “A bunch of idiots were planning to throw you a surprise birthday party. But don’t worry. I put a stop to it.” She picked up the latest issue of Star from the foot of the bed and pretended to thumb through it. “I guess some of the younger people in town heard the old stories and decided you got a raw deal when you first came here. They wanted to make up for it—like that could ever happen—with a party in the park, a big cake, balloons, and some asinine speeches made by people you hate. I made it more than clear. No party.”
For once, Nita seemed to have been struck speechless. Blue perused the pages innocently. Nita set down her brush and tugged on the sash of her kimono. “It might be…interesting.”
Blue hid a smile. “It’d be creepy, and you’re not doing it.” She tossed down the magazine. “Just because they’ve finally figured out they treated you like dirt doesn’t mean you can’t keep ignoring them.”
“I thought you were on their side,” Nita retorted. “You’re always telling me how many people I’m hurting. I’m supposed to let them add stores where nobody’s going to shop. Open up a bed-and-breakfast where nobody will ever stay.”
“That’s just good business, but you’re obviously too old to understand modern economics.”
Nita took one long suck on her teeth, then charged toward Blue. “You call them back right now and tell them to throw their big party. The bigger the better! I deserve it, and it’s about time they realized it.”
“I can’t do that now. It’s supposed to be a surprise party.”
“You think I can’t act surprised?”
Blue stomped around for a while arguing, and the more she argued, the more Nita dug in. All in all, a job well done.
Her work on the murals, however, was another matter. As one day gave way to the next, she deviated more and more from her drawings until she finally tore them off the walls.
Dean suggested the two of them celebrate the Fourth of July by hiking in the Smokies. With his long legs and endless stamina, he had to keep doubling back on the strenuous trail to wait, but he never tried to rush her. Instead, he said he liked the slower pace because it kept him from sweating through his hair gel. She couldn’t see even a dab of gel in that crisp hair, but he was being too nice for her to call him on it. She hated it when he was nice, so while they ate their trail lunch, she tried to pick a fight. He dragged her into a shady area near a waterfall and kissed her until she was too breathless to think straight. Then he took cruel advantage.
“You,” he said gruffly. “Against the tree.”
The silvered lenses of his latest pair of zillion-dollar sunglasses kept her from seeing his eyes, but the deliciously menacing set of his mouth made her shiver. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve pushed me far enough, lady. It’s time to play a kinky game of Prison Break.”
She licked her lips. “It, uh, sounds scary.”
“Oh, it is. For you, anyway. And you won’t like what happens if you try to run. Now turn around and face the tree.”
She was tempted to run just to test him, but the tree idea was too enticing. They’d been playing various forms of domination and submission games from the beginning. It kept things light, just the way she wanted it. “Which tree?”
“Prisoner’s choice. Your last choice before I take over.”
She lingered too long admiring the swell of muscles under his T-shirt. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“I want to call my lawyer.”
“Out here I’m the law.”
He could still manage to surprise her. She was alone with 180-odd pounds of alpha male, and she’d never felt safer or more aroused. “Don’t hurt me.”
He pulled off his sunglasses and slowly folded in the stems. “That depends on how good you are at following orders.”
Wobbly kneed from sexual overload, she moved toward a sturdy red maple surrounded by a mossy carpet. Even the splash from the nearby waterfall couldn’t cool her off. When this was over, she’d have to repay him in kind, but for now, she’d simply enjoy.
He tossed aside his sunglasses and gave her a nudge so she was facing the tree. “Put your hands on the trunk and don’t drop them unless I tell you to.”
