LITMIR.BIZ

       Five

      Case returned to the house at four thirty, anticipating another round of verbal sparring with the delightfully prickly Mellie. But her car was gone. Was she avoiding him? And didn’t she know that the male of the species enjoyed a chase?

      He had dinner plans with Nathan Battle tonight. Amanda was out for the evening with her book club. So Case and the sheriff were looking forward to medium-rare steaks, a couple of games of pool and a sampling of sports on Nathan’s brand-new big-screen TV.

      Nathan had offered to do the cooking. Case brought a case of imported beer and an apple pie he’d picked up at the bakery. The rain had ended several hours ago, so the two men sat outside in the gathering gloom and enjoyed the crisp air.

      The scent of beef cooking made Case’s stomach growl. Which made him think of the last meal he’d eaten. The one a certain redhead with kind eyes and a stubborn chin had made for him.

      Nathan kicked the leg of Case’s chair. “I’m the quiet one. You’re supposed to entertain me with tales of the rich and famous.”

      Case slunk farther down in his chair. “I’m not famous.”

      Nathan laughed out loud. “What’s eating you, Baxter? I’ve had livelier conversations at a morgue. Is the new job title weighing you down?”

      “I’m not official for ten more days, so no.”

      “Then what?”

      Case drained his beer and popped the top on a second. “You’re imagining things.”

      Nathan stood, flipped the steaks and sat back down with a sigh. “Then it must be the new housekeeper. Is she making you take off your shoes at the door? Or forbidding you to eat popcorn in the den?”

      “Very funny. It’s my house. I can do whatever the hell I please. Mellie doesn’t run my life.”

      “Mellie? Wow. First names already?”

      “I wasn’t going to make her call me Mr. Baxter.”

      “Fair enough.” The other man paused. “Here’s the thing, buddy. I have to pass along a warning.”

      “A warning?”

      “Yes. From Amanda. But to be honest, I agree with her.”

      “Should I be worried?”

      “It’s not a joke, Case. If you screw around with Mellie Winslow either literally or figuratively, Amanda will come after you. And my wife can be pretty scary when she’s on her high horse.”

      “I don’t understand.”

      “Mellie hasn’t had an easy life. You’re way out of her league.”

      “Now, wait a minute.” Case felt his temper rise.

      “I’m not insulting Mellie. She’s great. But you’re older than she is, more experienced, and your financial position puts you at an advantage. I’m merely suggesting you not do something you’ll regret. I know you, Case. You’re not interested in a serious commitment. Admit it.”

      Case dropped his head against the back of his chair, scowling at the crescent moon above. “You know what it’s like to have a failed relationship in your past.” Nathan and Amanda had spent years apart. They had been high school sweethearts, but malicious lies had destroyed that bond, and it had been a very long time before they’d reconnected.

      “I do. It makes you second-guess yourself. Especially when the reason it happened was that you were young and stupid.”

      “Are we talking about me or you?”

      “Both of us.”

      Fortunately, Nathan dropped the subject. The steaks were ready, and neither man was the type to spill his guts, even to a friend.

      The rest of the evening was lighthearted and comfortable. Sports talk. Good food. But as Case drove back to the ranch later that night, disappointment filled his chest. Mostly because he knew the sheriff was right about Mellie.

      She was not the type of woman to indulge in casual sex. And Case wasn’t interested in anything else.

      * * *

      Mellie sat at her desk and groaned as she hung up the phone. Two of her employees had called in because their kids had the flu. Which meant a major juggling act on the boss’s end. Several houses couldn’t be postponed for one reason or another. She called a few clients who weren’t tied to a certain schedule and changed their cleaning days, offering a credit toward next month’s bill for the kerfuffle.

      In half an hour, she had reassigned her workforce and come to the inescapable realization that she was going to have to put Case off for a couple of days. It wasn’t a problem in the grand scheme of things. He didn’t have any big social events at his home coming up. He merely wanted her to deep-clean and organize his house.

      Postponing the job for forty-eight or even seventy-two hours was not a crisis. But what made her squirm was the fact that Case Baxter would think she was running scared.

      She was not completely inexperienced. There had been two serious relationships in her life, both of which she’d thought might turn out to be the real deal. But in the end, the first one had been puppy love, and the second a crush on a man fifteen years her senior.

      When she’d finally realized that the older guy was more of a parental figure than a soul mate, she’d broken things off. That was four years ago. She’d been alone ever since. By choice.

      She knew when a man wanted her. And she had the confidence to turn a guy down without apology. Her body was hers to give. She was old enough now to understand that true love was rare. Even so, she would not allow herself to be physically intimate with a man on a whim.

      Case Baxter tempted her. Her own yearning was what scared her. She liked him and respected him. Even worse, no woman under eighty and in her right mind could be immune to his bold sex appeal.

      He was at the height of his physical maturity. Tough, seasoned, completely capable of protecting a woman or giving her pleasure. He was wealthy, classy and intelligent.

      Damn it. She was vulnerable around him, and the feeling, although stimulating, was not one she welcomed.

      She didn’t believe in postponing unpleasant tasks. Pulling out her smartphone, she rapidly composed a text...

      Case—I have a couple of employees out today, so I have to cover some shifts. I’ll be back at your place in a few days. Will give U a heads-up beforehand. Sorry for the inconvenience. Mellie Winslow

      She added her name at the end because she wasn’t sure he had entered her contact info into his phone. Before she hit Send, she stared at the words. She was shooting for businesslike and professional.

      Would he read her message in that vein, or was her genuine need to postpone the Baxter house going to be seen as a ploy to snag his attention? Oh, good grief. The man probably didn’t give a flip about whether or not his cleaning lady showed up. He probably flirted automatically.

      She was making a mountain out of a molehill.

      * * *

      The next three days were long and physically taxing. Mellie worked hard, much as she had in the beginning. In her early twenties, by the sweat of her brow, she had turned Keep N Clean into a viable operation. Clearly, she needed to rethink her staffing situation, though. She couldn’t continue to work on a shoestring.

      She needed enough flexibility to handle unexpected

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