Don’t Fall for a Fugitive: Strong Family Romances Read online

  Heath was glad to hear they were trying but it didn’t sound like they were moving very fast. “Good luck. If there’s anything you need or want, you name it.”

  “I want free ski passes.”

  Heath laughed at the light-hearted comment, though his stomach was still in knots. “The entire police force already gets a free season pass.”

  “I want some day passes. Maybe I’ll take a date or two to the slopes.”

  “I’d love to see that.”

  Jed grunted again. He dated even less than Heath, though Heath had no clue why. He’d heard his own employees gush about how handsome Jed was when he stopped by the resort. He was probably too invested in his career. Join the club.

  “Is your sister there?” Jed suddenly asked.

  “Cassie?”

  “Yeah.” Jed’s voice was softer than he’d ever heard it. “I met her when she came to visit you in September.”

  Heath didn’t know that. Neither of them had said anything. “Are you interested in Cassie?” It came out too demanding, but he was the big brother.

  “She’s a … sweetheart, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah.” But Heath didn’t think he’d ever heard the word sweetheart out of his friend’s mouth before.

  “I ticked her off. A little guy was conning her out of all of her cash, and I interrupted and tried to force him to give it back. She not only told me off, but still gave him the cash and lunch.”

  “Sounds like Cassie.”

  “What she didn’t know is the kid’s a con artist, been in and out of juvie, and when I saw them, he was reaching for her credit cards. Sixty bucks cash wasn’t enough for Will.”

  “She let you have it, though?”

  “Yeah.” Jed fell silent, then said, “Anyway. I’m doing all I can. Pray Jamison wakes up soon and is willing to implicate his cousin, not lie with him.”

  “Can you also please check into some infighting between Jamison and Brigham?” Heath hurried to say. “Supposedly, if Jamison could prove that Brigham was making mistakes, Papi would give the business to Jamison. I think that’s why Brigham tried to kill him.”

  “Perfect. I love getting in the middle of mob families. ‘Papi’?”

  “Hey, you said you were looking for evidence against Brigham, I just gave you more ideas.”

  “True, but you’re also a real pain in my butt sometimes,” Jed said.

  “But I love you.” Heath laughed, though he was feeling unsteady.

  Jed chuckled at that and hung up on him. Jed was one of his closest friends, but he was highly dedicated to his job, and in Heath’s opinion, he was brilliant. They’d met when Jed rescued a child who had been kidnapped out of Heath’s hotel and taken to a cabin in the backwoods for a ransom attempt.

  Jed and Cassie. That pushed the worries about Brigham coming after Hazel away for a minute. He was an overprotective big brother, but Jed was a great man.

  Heath walked into the main room. Austin was gone, so he went up to bed. Gavin was already breathing evenly on his side. Maybe in the morning he’d have some kind of insight, but it might be time to get Hazel out of the country.

  Chapter Ten

  Hazel woke the next morning, stretching out on the most comfortable bed. She forgot where she was for half a second, but then, looking out the large windows at the view of contrasting white and green, pine trees and mountains covered with lovely snow and stretching to the heavens, she remembered. Heath Strong and his brother were sheltering her from the horrible Brigham London, and Jamison was in a coma.

  Sorrow washed over her. She still couldn’t believe Brigham had tried to kill him. She’d played it over and over again in her head, wondering if Brigham had planned on mortally wounding him when he’d pushed him, or if it was a push of frustration and anger and he was as shocked by the outcome as Hazel. She doubted it was the latter; you didn’t shove someone down a steep staircase hoping to teach them a lesson.

  She pushed her way out of bed and admired the view for a brief moment. This valley was unreal, sheltered by tall mountains so close on each side she felt like she could reach out and touch them. From here, she could see a backyard piled high with snow and what looked like a trail up the more gradual slope straight behind the house. Did they snowshoe that trail, or maybe cross-country ski? She wanted to try both so badly, but she didn’t know how to use them. Her shoulders rounded. She was stuck in this house and most likely couldn’t leave this room.

  The plate of half-eaten pasta was on a side table, and her clothes hung over a chair. Her purse sat on the love seat. Had Heath come in while she was sleeping? Heat rushed through her at the thought, and she hoped she’d been under the covers.

  She retrieved her makeup bag from her purse, scooped up her clothes, and hurried into the bathroom. Luckily, the bathroom was stocked with a lot of the toiletries she didn’t have in her basic makeup bag. She wondered if Gavin had the cleaning service from the hotel keep up on his house as well. She’d been able to find a brand-new toothbrush, toothpaste, and everything else she needed last night.

  Stripping out of her underwear, she started the shower. All kinds of worries were surfacing the longer she was awake. Maybe a shower would help clear her mind and give her a sense of normalcy. The shower felt great and rejuvenating, but having to put on the clothes that had been through so much travel and stress yesterday brought the gloom back. She brushed out her hair, applied some tinted moisturizer, eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss, and started out of the bathroom.

  A large body stood in her path. Hazel cried out in surprise before she realized it was Heath.

  He put his hand over her mouth and backed her into the doorframe. “Don’t scream, please.”

  She nodded, staring up at Heath. He must be fresh out of the shower too. He looked and smelled fresh and amazing. She loved the crisp, clean scent of his cologne.

  He dropped his hand and murmured, “Sorry. I just don’t want everyone to find out about you.”

  Hazel couldn’t find her tongue to answer. He was so close that his body was pressing her into the doorframe, and with his dark hair wet and slightly mussed and his clean scent surrounding her and those chocolate-brown eyes staring into hers, she was tongue-tied for possibly the first time in her life.

  Heath must’ve taken her silence as a rebuke of sorts, because he stepped back slightly and pushed a hand through his damp hair. “Sorry,” he muttered.

  The door behind him burst open and Heath instinctively pushed her back into the bathroom, overshadowing her with his large frame.

  “Bro!” She heard a shout. “What are you screaming about in here? You sound like a girl.”

  Heath’s eyes widened. Hazel scurried back against the countertop, praying the little boy wouldn’t come in here. Heath turned and strode out of the bathroom. “I saw a spider,” he lied quickly.

  “No!” the boy yelped. “I’m outta here!”

  She heard the door close again, and then Heath appeared in the doorframe of the bathroom again. He leaned against it and smiled at her. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Too well.” She lifted her shoulders. “I couldn’t even remember where I was this morning or all the crap Brigham placed on me. I’m tempted to crawl back under those covers and have another kip.”

  “I can kind of relate. Gavin kicks.” He rubbed at his back. “Maybe I’ll crawl back under the covers and ‘kip’ too.” His eyes widened and he said, “Not with you, not like that.”

  Hazel smiled. She’d been worried that Heath was only this powerful, tough businessman who took what he wanted like Brigham, but he had a fun side and an insecure side, and she appreciated them both. She’d like to see more sides of him. She wanted to ask if he’d heard anything from his police buddy, but she assumed he’d volunteer that info if there were any developments. “So what are your plans for today?”

  “The family’s going skiing.”

  She nodded, though her heart sank a little. She was supposed to be skiing today as well. Just anothe
r thing Brigham had stripped from her. Her good name and her ability to get through life without going to prison were more important, so she tried not to be too sad that she wasn’t going to get to ski.

  “Do you have a novel, or seven, that you could leave with me to get through the day? I hate to be the one to break this to you, but the books on your Kindle app were ruddy lame, and I don’t dare open my own phone for fear some technology will track me down faster than a police dog.”

  He smiled but pretended to be affronted. “My books are lame? You don’t like Marketing Rebellion and Mind Your Business?”

  “Blimey, no! I should care about reading those kinds of books. Maybe I’d find something that would help my own business grow, but I can’t stand nonfiction.”

  “I guess we’re going to have to agree to disagree yet again.” He folded his arms across his chest and smirked at her. Hazel was struck again by how nicely muscled his body was, as he was wearing a fitted long-sleeved shirt and jogger-type pants. She admired his greatness too. Here he was teasing her when he could easily be turning her over to the police.

  “Sorry,” she said, “I can’t do ‘agree to disagree’ about proper football or reading preferences. I’m one of those who believes everyone must agree with my theories.” She winked to show she was teasing. In this diverse world, somebody would go insane trying to win everyone over to their way of thinking. “Don’t worry, I’ll lure you over to the dark side of a proper reading list soon.”

  “What’s the dark side?” He leaned in closer, and she could smell his crisp scent again.

  “Romance.” She felt her cheeks heat up as his gaze took her in. “I mean romance novels, you know?”

  “Hmm.” He stepped closer, and she leaned against the bathroom counter with nowhere to go and no desire to be anywhere but here. “I could teach you a thing or two about romance … novels, that is.” His lips turned up in an appealing smirk.

  “Could you now?” She held on to the countertop for support. It was either that or throw her arms around his neck and let him teach her exactly what he knew about romance. She guessed it might be a whole lot more than she knew. “Are you a big-time heartbreaker, Mr. Strong?”

  He chuckled at that and eased in even closer. His chest brushed her arm and her breath hitched. “I’m not, actually, but I’ve read my share of romance novels.”

  “Liar,” she threw back at him, grinning. “There was not a stitch of romance on that Kindle app. Pages and pages of business, marketing, and religious books. The most exciting thing I found on page fourteen was finally a Clive Cussler novel.”

  He chuckled. “You caught me.”

  “What am I going to catch you doing?” She was flirting as hard as she’d ever tried.

  His eyebrows lifted.

  The bedroom door swished open, and Heath wrapped his arms around her and swept her behind the half-open bathroom door so whoever had come in couldn’t see them. Her breath whooshed out at the thrill of being so close to him. Her arms automatically wound around his lower back, and she pressed in even closer. Heath smiled down at her, and she could feel his heartbeat going almost as fast as hers.

  Hazel attempted to calm her heavy breathing and listen to whoever might be coming in now. “Are there no locks on these ruddy doors?” she whispered. She’d checked last night and found none.

  Heath chuckled.

  “Heath?” She was pretty sure that was Gavin’s voice.

  Heath regrettably released her and edged around the door. “Hey, Gav.” He gestured for her to come out.

  Gavin smiled a greeting to her and laid a large garbage sack on the bed. “I found a bunch of stuff for you in lost and found. If somebody doesn’t come for something in forty-eight hours, we launder it, because it smells otherwise. Then, if it isn’t claimed within fourteen days, we donate it to Goodwill.” He pushed at the bag. “I found a lot I think will be close to your size.”

  “Thank you. That was very thoughtful.”

  “It was Heath’s idea to get you clothes,” Gavin said, transferring the appreciation quickly.

  “Well, thank you both. How early have you two been up?”

  Heath smiled. “Four. Habit, you know?”

  “Not one I plan on making.” She grinned. No wonder he was so successful and fit.

  “Did you ask her?” Gavin asked, interrupting their grinning session.

  “Ask me what?”

  Heath leaned toward her. “What do you think about learning to ski today?”

  “Yes! But how?”

  “You can leave after the family is gone.” Gavin pulled out a floral ski mask, a red coat, gloves, and black ski pants from the pile. “Put the mask on, and then Heath will take you over to the rental shop after the rest of us are on the slopes. They’ll outfit you with a helmet, boots, goggles, and skis. Nobody will be able to see your face.”

  “Yes!” She threw her arms around Heath’s neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, yes! I thought I was going to be stuck inside all day reading business and marketing manuals.”

  Gavin chuckled. Heath looked … stunned. From her exuberance, or from the kiss?

  She pulled back, hurried over, and gave Gavin a quick hug too. Gavin’s smile disappeared, and he pulled away and hurried out the door. She wanted to yell thank you at him, but she didn’t know who else was in the house.

  She whirled back to Heath, feeling like she was going to burst from the excitement. She hoped they could pick up with their flirtations, but he backed toward the door and said, “I’ll let you get changed. We’re all heading over to Mama’s for a family breakfast, so as soon as it’s quiet, you should be good to get some breakfast here. I wanted to bring you a plate from Mama’s, but Gavin reminded me it’d be hard to sneak a plate of food out without getting caught.”

  “It’s no worries. I’ll grab some cereal or fruit and be great.” She was going skiing with Heath. Hang all the other worries. This day was going to be amazing.

  “As soon as everyone else leaves, we’ll head to the lodge.”

  “Thanks again.”

  He nodded and shut the door behind him.

  Hazel went to the bed and started sorting through some long-sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, tights, Levis, joggers, socks, even underwear, and some runners. As Gavin had promised, they all smelled fresh and good as new. She was thrilled to have clean clothes, even if they weren’t her own, but she would’ve been more thrilled with another hug from Heath.

  * * *

  Heath joined his family for breakfast down at Mama’s house. It was a raucous affair, with Austin sneaking everyone else’s sausage off their plates when they weren’t looking, and everybody laughing and teasing. It was so good to see his papa and listen to him teasing Ella and Cassie, he almost forgot his angst over Hazel. She’d hugged him and he’d thought he was in heaven, but then she’d gone and hugged Gavin too. Why had she done that? He could argue that she was simply impulsive and fun, but it felt much more competitive than that. Luckily, he knew that Gavin didn’t really like being touched. He liked that Gavin had pulled away quickly.

  Gavin caught his gaze from across the table, lifting an eyebrow as if questioning what was wrong. His brother was a great guy, the best, but this was his valley and Heath didn’t have a place here. He pushed his omelet around, wanting to just enjoy his family, not stew about if Hazel might be interested in his older brother instead of him. Dang stupid lifetime jealousies anyway.

  “Everything okay?” Mama said quietly next to him.

  “Oh yeah, sure. This is delicious, Mama.” He forked another bite of French toast casserole. It was indeed delicious with pecan, caramel, and cinnamon flavors.

  “You just had that look.”

  Heath turned to her. “What look?”

  “The ‘I’ve fallen in love and don’t know what to do about it’ look.”

  Heath’s eyes widened, but he forced out an uneasy chuckle. He definitely wasn’t falling in love. He was worried about Hazel, wanted to
help her, enjoyed flirting with her, and maybe he wanted to keep her from going after Gavin, but that wasn’t love—that was extreme selfishness on his part. If any woman could pull Gavin from ten years of near celibacy, Heath should be thrilled. “Sorry, Mama, no serious relationships to share yet.”

  She gave him a knowing look. “We’ll see.”

  “Mama,” Austin called. “Tell Papa how I only slay black diamond runs. Tell him. He’s saying I like greens!”

  Papa winked slyly at Heath. His dad had gotten frailer each time he visited. He’d gone from being as big as Gavin to a shell of himself in the wheelchair. He still had a sparkle in his dark eyes, loved to tease, loved his family, and hid how uncomfortable he was with a happy grin.

  “What? You’re doing greens now?” Stetson asked innocently. “Mama was telling me you hadn’t made it off the magic carpet.” The magic carpet was the conveyer belt type lift that they used to teach very small children how to go down the gentle slope next to it.

  “No way!” Austin yelled. He stood up and threw a piece of sausage at Stetson. It hit Stetson’s cheek, and Heath wondered if a full-fledged food fight was going to break out.

  Mama laughed easily as Stetson wiped his cheek clean of the grease. “Calm down, little sweetheart. Everybody knows you’re the best skier here, and black diamonds aren’t enough challenge for my boy.”

  “Ha!” Austin stuck out his tongue at Stetson, then turned to Papa. “If Mama says it, you have to believe her. You just have to!”

  Papa ruffled his golden-brown hair. “For sure. I wish I could shred some black diamonds with you just once.”

  Everybody else sobered at Papa’s comment, but Austin didn’t understand. He’d never known Papa in anything but a wheelchair. “Me too, but Mama will take videos for you, right, Mama?”

  “If I can keep up.”

  Austin laughed. “That is a problem. Mama’s slowing down in her old age. Gav, will you take videos for Papa?”