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CHAPTER22
Back in front of my bedroom mirror, hiding behind a veneer of hair gel, red lipstick, and my too-snug red dress, I frowned at the broad in the mirror.
Violet wears red,
Violet wears blue.
Violet is befuddled,
With no clue what to do.
To sell or not to sell? That was the question I’d been volleying since Doc had warned me earlier at the library to be careful at the Hessler haunt.
I sucked in my gut and lifted my chin. Maybe a little more light to offset the harsh shadows of the setting sun would help. I flicked on the lamp next to my bed and returned to the mirror. Nope, that made it worse. I sighed and tugged out the pins corralling my curls.
It wasn’t Doc’s ghost that had me wading in a pool of self-doubt, it was the idea of working so closely with Wolfgang over the next couple of months. If his being easy on the eyes wasn’t enough to make my engine hum tonight, we were going to slide into an awkward tailspin when he hit the gas at the same time I yanked on the parking brake.
The rumble of a car engine rolled through my open window.
Speak of the devil. I peeked out through my curtains and saw a white Mercedes cozy up to my Bronco’s back bumper.
Standing there with bated breath, I watched as Wolfgang pushed open his car door. Something small and blue—a shade lighter than his cobalt shirt—fell to the ground as he stepped out onto the drive and shut the car door. He glanced down at the blue thing, his leg blocking it from my view, then stared at the front of Aunt Zoe’s house.
I took a step back from the window, but still peeked out and admired his finely-shaped backside as he picked up and pocketed whatever he’d dropped. Trying my damnedest to jump-start my libido, I tried to imagine what he’d look like sans his black trousers. Unfortunately, my stubborn body refused to play along and my pulse kept its slow, steady beat.
I dashed back to the mirror, combed my hair with my fingers, and then spritzed my neck and the back of my knees with my favorite sweet, musky perfume. I might look like I’d been wrestling monkeys, but at least I wouldn’t stink like it.
The doorbell rang.
“Mom,” Layne hollered up the stairs. “He’s here.”
“Coming,” I yelled back, rolling my eyes at the lack of enthusiasm in my son’s tone. I grabbed my matching, red-beaded purse from the bed while I slipped on my Jimmy Choo heels. After one last grimace at my finger-in-the-light-socket hairdo, I clomped down the hall toward the stairs.
The living room was deserted. I heard voices coming from the kitchen and stole across the carpet to the arched entryway.
Harvey lounged against the counter, a half-eaten banana muffin in his hand, crumbs in his beard. It was the first time I’d had a chance to talk to him since our phone conversation about the ear. I wanted to prod him for more details, find out what Coop had to say, see if there were any morefunny noisesgoing on behind his barn. However, now was not the time.
As I hesitated in the doorway, he glanced my way and jumped in surprise—not the most flattering of reactions for my self-esteem. “Well, Lord love a duck! Look at you, girl.”
My face now matched the color of my dress. Perfect. I wanted to race back upstairs, bar my bedroom door, and hide under the bed. Instead, I smiled at Wolfgang, who stood by the kitchen table, admiring Layne’s horse spine while my son stood stiff-shouldered next to the refrigerator and glowered.
“Hi, Wolfgang.”
Wolfgang’s blue eyes widened at the sight of me. “Wow.”
He stepped back, his gaze crawling over me as he crossed the room and took my hand. “You look stunning with your hair down.”
Aw, shucks. “Thanks.” I stood up straighter and sucked in my stomach, wishing I had a shawl to hide my soft spots.
He raised my hand to his lips. “I’m a very lucky man.”
He was even more handsome close up in his silk shirt and pleated trousers. With his blond locks messed into a bad-boy hairdo and his teeth dazzling as usual, charisma practically gushed out his pores. I could be happy with this man. Right?
I just wished my heart was as convinced as my eyes.
The back door crashed open and Addy barged in, her cast banging on the door frame as she carried the small cage she and Layne had built to catch Elvis. She lowered it to the floor and smiled at Wolfgang. “Here it is. You think it will work?”
Wolfgang released my hand and walked over to Addy, squatting next to the cage. He lifted the door and let it drop. “Definitely. What will you use as bait?”
