Tara Randel - His Honour, Her Family

Still, telling Mr. Matthews to take his high-handedness and hit the road was on the tip of her tongue. Before she could utter the words, the phone rang. She held up a finger and snatched the wireless from the cradle. “Put Your Feet Up.”

“Gracie, tell me you hired someone today.”

“Mama, this isn’t a good time.”

“Buck Watkins down at the Jerky Shack said he saw a healthy man walk into the office. Did you talk to him?”

“I’m conducting an interview now.”

“Can he take the job?”

“Yes, but—”

“Gracie, you always make everything so difficult.”

Grace ignored a twinge at the not-so-subtle dig.

“I can’t get ahold of Nathan and the first tour is in three days. How on earth will I deal with my injuries and not worry about the business if you don’t get help soon.”

Pile on the guilt trip, Mama.

“Let’s discuss this later.”

“Why? We’ll still come to the same conclusion.”

“I need to check his references first.”

“Hire him now, check them later. If they don’t pan out, you can fire him then, but for goodness’ sake, don’t let him slip through your fingers. We need him.”

This was exactly why Grace had left Golden and the family company.

Turning from Mr. Matthews’s curious expression, Grace closed her eyes and counted to ten. “I’ll see you later,” she said, ending the conversation.

Straightening her shoulders, she faced the man she was going to have to work with in the near future. “You’re hired.”

A smile broke the serious expression on his face. At the sight of his dimples, her breath stalled in her chest.

“That wasn’t so hard.”

Of all the... One, two, three...

“When do I start?”

“How about tomorrow? Nine in the morning.”

“Works for me.”

“Make sure you’re on time,” she said, rounding the desk as the phone started to ring again. As she reached for it, the front door closed behind her. Thankfully, she’d be heading back to her old life in a month. Then the family business, and all it entailed, was someone else’s problem.

* * *

TAKING A SIP of hot coffee as he exited Sit a Spell Coffee Shop, Deke Matthews struggled to hold back a satisfied grin. Step number one taken care of. He’d landed a job and now had a cover story to justify hanging around Golden. Pleased with his progress, he pulled his cell phone from the back pocket of his jeans and hit speed dial.

“Deke, any success?” his brother Dylan promptly asked when he picked up.

“I got a job.”

“That was fast.”

“You know I always take care of matters in a timely manner.”

“A trait I appreciate. Especially now.”

Deke heard a rustling on the other end, then, “So what’s your new profession?”

“Outdoor tour guide. Leading tourists up mountain trails, boating on the lake, that sort of thing.”

“Sounds more like fun than work.”

“Someone has to do it.” Deke took another sip of the tasty almond-flavored coffee, swallowed, then asked, “Is Mom still in the dark?”

“Yes. And I plan on keeping it that way.”

“Agreed.”

“Derrick and Dante are on the same page, too.”

“Still, this is Mom we’re talking about. She has no clue?”

“No. James Tate has totally duped her.”

Deke frowned. He hadn’t met his mother’s boyfriend yet. In fact, none of her boys had had the pleasure. That made him very wary of the guy. Along with the fact that his mother and Dylan lived in Florida, it made a quick pop-in to scope out the situation almost impossible. But their mother’s recent behavior had set all the brothers into a tailspin.

First of all, this was their mother. She didn’t date. Or at least hadn’t, not since their father had died. In the years after Daryl Matthews’s passing, she’d never once gone out with a man. Friend, romantic interest or otherwise. This Tate guy must have sold her an attractive story for her to finally move on from their father’s cherished memory and try to hide it from her sons.

“Is she still giving you the runaround?”

“Every day.”

At the frustrated tone of his brother’s voice, Deke grinned. It took a lot to throw his brother Dylan off task, but Jasmine Matthews was good. Very good.

So were her sons. They’d learned from the best.

“I thought you had plans to run into them while they were on a date?” Deke reminded his brother.

“She caught wind of it and moved the location.”

“Classic Mom.”

Dylan let out a short laugh.

If there was one thing their mother was good at, it was bending her sons’ wills to do her bidding. Not in an evil-queen kind of way. More like she’d mastered the art of manipulation after raising four boys. He guessed it was a survival tactic. But the Matthews boys loved their mother and would do anything to keep her safe. Even if it meant Deke detouring to Golden to follow a lead they’d uncovered about their mother’s boyfriend.

At least that’s what he told himself. Escaping from Atlanta had been the primary goal because the truth was much more complicated.

“Did you find the store yet?”

“I’ll be passing it any minute.”

At the intersection, Deke looked both ways before striding to the opposite side of the downtown street. A mix of busy storefronts and specialty boutiques lined each side of the avenue. As casually as possible, he stopped at the front window of a store named Blue Ridge Cottage. Shoppers milled about inside, but he couldn’t see the store owner.

“It’s just like the intel promised,” Deke conveyed.

“Do you have a visual on the target?”

“No.” As two older women exited the store, he nodded and moved on. “Give me time and I’ll see what I can dig up.”

“Are you sure you’re up to this?”

Here it comes. “Why would you ask me that?”

“Because you escaped to the mountains.”

“And that’s a crime?”

Dylan’s voice went tight. “That’s what you do, Deke. Withdraw when you should be with people.”

“I don’t want to discuss this.”

“You never do. Hiding away instead of confronting your past isn’t good for you. You can’t keep closing yourself off.”

“Why not? It works for me.” Deke shut his eyes and counted to ten. “Look, I told you I’d find something out about this mystery woman and I will.”

“And then you’ll deal?”

“Don’t push me.”

Deke went silent, pinching the bridge of his nose. Tired of the same refrain. He hated when his brothers pushed him to be social when he was better off with his own company.

“Listen, Deke. We’re counting on you.”

“No pressure, huh?”

“Never, brother. Gotta run.”

Dylan ended the call and Deke replaced his phone in his back pocket. He walked over to a bench and lowered his lanky frame to the wooden seat.

Once Dylan had discovered their mother was dating, the brothers had decided to stick their noses in where they didn’t belong. It was only fair play. Their mother would certainly do the same to them. Had done the same at one time or another in their relationships. She’d made it clear she wanted daughters and in order for that to happen, her sons needed to marry. They’d all disappointed her, she’d complained. Hadn’t she set up impromptu meetings with single women or invited the “perfect” woman to dinner if one of his brothers planned to stop by her condo? It was a little trickier since he and Derrick lived in different states. Dylan and Dante had finally met their matches, but was his mother so lonely herself that she’d fallen for a guy no one knew anything about?

Deke loved his mother. Had felt helpless over the grief she’d tried to hide after their father’s death. He wouldn’t let some guy swoop in and take advantage of her. They also wouldn’t violate any protocols and use their law enforcement jobs to do an extensive background check on the man just because they didn’t trust him. When asked, Deke had gladly stepped in to try to find some easy answers.