Tina Beckett - Flirting With The Boss

Tears formed in Gina’s eyes. “Thank you.”

Lori spoke up. “Has Eric been released yet?”

“Detective Rogers said he is scheduled to get out this Friday.”

“Good.” Jace nodded. “You and Zack were gone before he had a chance to know what your plans were. The fewer people who know the better. So we three, Maggie, Charlie, Wyatt and Sheriff Larkin are the only people who know about your situation. You’re divorced, and your past life is private.”

“I’m grateful, Jace. Thank you.” Gina stood. “I think I’ll go check on the kids.”

Lori watched her sister leave. “She’s still scared to death.”

“I know,” Jace said, hating that he couldn’t do more. “And I almost wish the creep would show up here so I could get my hands on him.”

“No, I don’t want that man anywhere near them ever again. Zack still has nightmares.” She put on a smile. “Thank you for all your help.”

His gaze held hers for longer than necessary. “Hey, we’re partners.”

Problem was, he wanted to be so much more.

BY THE end of the week Gina and Zack had settled in and were getting into a routine. Her nephew had started school and was making new friends. Of course, Cassie was still taking charge of Zack’s social schedule.

Life was great, Lori thought, as she arrived at the bank that cold, gray November morning. Thank goodness her car had seat warmers to ward off the near-freezing temperatures. She thought about the upcoming holidays and couldn’t help but smile. Her family would all be together.

She also thought of Jace. She wanted to invite him and Cassie to Thanksgiving at the house. Would he come? The memory of the kisses they’d shared caused a shiver down her spine. She was crazy to think about a future with the man, especially when he’d been telling her all along he didn’t want to get involved.

As she entered her office, she decided not to go to the construction site unless absolutely necessary. Besides, she had plenty to do at the bank to keep her busy for a long time. She looked down at the several stacks of files and paperwork covering the desktop. The last thing she wanted to do was spend all her time managing the number of properties, and the rest of the time at the bank. If only she could hire someone to oversee it all. And she didn’t trust the “three amigos” loan officers to handle things on their own. They’d already thought she was in over her head. Maybe she was, but she wasn’t going to let them see it.

She’d been working nearly two hours when there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Lori called.

Erin walked in. She wore a simple black A-line skirt and a pin-striped red-and-white blouse. She was carrying a coffee mug and a white paper sack. “Break time?”

“Thank you, I could use it. Everything is getting a little blurry.”

“You should have more than coffee. Helen sent over some scones from the Silver Spoon. A thank-you for putting a six-month moratorium on foreclosures.”

Lori thought of her own childhood after her mother remarried. They’d had some rough times over the years. “I refuse to let this bank play Scrooge especially with Christmas coming soon. The first thing on the agenda for the first of next year is reworking these loans.”

Erin smiled. “You know, the other bank officers aren’t happy with your decision.”

Lori took a sip of her drink. “Yes. Mr. Neal has already decided to retire.” She thought about the generous retirement package her father had given him. He wouldn’t be giving up his lifestyle.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Erin said. “I located Kaley Sims. She’s working for a management company in Durango. I have the phone number.”

“Good. Would you put in a call to her and see if she’s willing to talk with me?”

“Of course. Anything else?”

Erin was so efficient at her job, Lori wasn’t sure what she would have done without her.

“There is one thing. In looking over my father’s properties, I found a place called—” she searched through the list “—Hidden Hills Lodge. I’m not sure if it’s a rental property, or what. It doesn’t show any reported income.”

“Maybe it was a place Mr. Hutchinson had for his personal use. Do you want me to find out more about it?”

Lori shook her head. “No, you have more than enough to do now.” Maybe she would look into this herself. She had a great GPS in her new car. Surely she could find her way. She stood. “I’m going to be gone the rest of the afternoon. If you need me, call me on my cell phone.”

Maybe it was time she delved a little further into her father’s past and the opportunity was right in front of her.

Later that afternoon, Jace got out of his truck as snow flurries floated in the air, clinging to his coat and hat. He took a breath as he walked to the bank. Okay, he’d been avoiding going anywhere he might see Lori Hutchinson. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off the woman, but since he needed her signature on some changes in the project, he didn’t have a choice.

He walked through the doors and Erin greeted him. “Is Miss Hutchinson in?”

“No, she’s not. She left about noon.”

“She go home?”

“No, I’ve tried to reach her there. I also tried her cell phone, but it goes to voice mail.” Erin frowned. “I’m worried about her, especially with this weather.”

Suddenly Jace was concerned, too. “And she didn’t say where she was going? A property? Out to the site?”

“That’s what I’m worried about. I think she might have gone to the Hidden Hills Lodge.”

“Where is this place?”

Erin sat down at her desk and printed out directions from the computer. Jace looked them over. He wasn’t sure about this area, only that it was pretty rural.

He wrote down his number and handed it to Erin. “Give me a call if Lori gets in touch with you.”

He left as he pulled out his cell phone and gave Claire Keenan a call, asking if she’d watch Cassie a little later, then he hung up and glanced up at the sky. An odd feeling came over him, and not a good one. “Where are you, Lori?”

An hour later, Lori had turned off the highway to a private road, just as her GPS had instructed her to do. She shifted her car into four-wheel drive and began to move slowly along the narrowing path.

It wasn’t long before she realized coming today wasn’t a good idea. Deciding to go back, she shifted her SUV into Reverse and pushed on the gas pedal, and all that happened was the tires began to spin.

“Great. Please, I don’t need this.” She glanced out her windshield as her wipers pushed away the blowing snow, which didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

She took out her cell phone. No signal. The one thing that was working was her GPS and it showed her destination was a quarter mile up the road. What should she do? Stay in the car, or walk to Hidden Hills Lodge?

She buttoned her coat, wrapped her scarf around her neck and grabbed a flashlight. She turned on her emergency blinkers and climbed out as the blowing snow hit her. She started her trek up the dirt road and her fear rose. What if she got lost and froze to death? Her thoughts turned to Gina and Zack. And Jace. She cared more about the man than she even wanted to admit. And she wanted to see him again. She quickened her pace, keeping to the center of the dirt road.

Ten minutes later, cold and tired, she finally saw the structure through the blowing snow. It was almost like a mirage in the middle of the trees. She hurried up the steps to the porch and tried the door. Locked.

“Key, where are you?” she murmured, hating to break a window. It took a few minutes, but she found a metal box behind the log bench. After unlocking the dead bolt with nearly frozen fingers, she hurried into the dark structure and closed the door. She reached for the switch on the wall and light illuminated the huge main room. With a gasp, she glanced around. The walls were made out of rough logs and the open-beam ceiling showed off the loft area overhead. Below the upstairs were two doorways leading to bedrooms. The floors were high-gloss pine with large area rugs and overstuffed furniture was arranged in front of a massive fireplace. She found a thermostat on the wall and flipped it, immediately hearing the heater come on.