A Great Kisser (35 page)

Lauren smiled. “I don’t mean this to sound denigrating, as I know he’s been the mayor here for a very long time and has been credited with doing a lot of good work for your town. But is being mayor here such an all consuming thing? Especially for a man who has been doing it as long as he has?”

“He has other interests. His ranch, state politics, and other business interests in Denver and still back in California. I’m just saying that that seems to be more what drives him. We were surprised when he up and eloped, because, no, he doesn’t seem the eloping type, despite being married twice.”

“But he did.”

“And so did your mother, who I get the impression didn’t seem the eloping type, either. Who knows why they did? They might not be the traditional newlyweds, but they do make a handsome couple and they do have common interests, and they both seem to be happy. I’m just happy for them that they found that much. It seems to work for them.”

“Yes, yes it does,” Lauren said, thinking maybe Ruby Jean had hit on it after all. That Arlen derived his satisfaction from work. Maybe her mother was the woman best suited to understand that and still provide the kind of companionship he needed. And maybe that level of companionship was all her mother wanted as she embarked on a search that was more about self-discovery. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“The clarity I desperately needed. I think I finally get it. And I really, really wanted to get it.”

Ruby Jean smiled, clearly not understanding all the undercurrents, but not having to. “You’re welcome. Glad I could help. Now…how about that phone number? Maybe we can find some clarity there, too.”

She smiled that Kewpie doll smile with her pinup girl face and Lauren sort of stared.

“What?” Ruby Jean asked good-naturedly at Lauren’s staring.

“It’s just…did you seriously used to walk on the wings of airplanes?”

“Seriously,” she deadpanned, then laughed her delightful laugh. “But then, it’s not the kind of thing you do jokingly.”

Lauren laughed with her. “I’m really glad you dropped by today. Seriously.” She went over and grabbed her computer bag. “You know, if it wasn’t you making the call to my old coworker, I don’t know who it would be.” She slid out her laptop and propped it up on the dresser to boot it up. “Okay, here it is.” She rattled off the number and turned to find Ruby Jean standing there looking rather dumbfounded.

Lauren’s relief at thinking maybe she’d finally come to terms with Arlen did a rapid fade. “That’s not a good expression right there.”

“That’s my phone number.”

“What?”

“My personal office number. Only I didn’t make any calls about you to anyone. Well, other than the one I made to my brother to ask him to fly you in from the airport.”

“Does anyone share your office?”

“I have my own office, but it’s not a big operation, so we’re all in and out of each other’s areas all the time. But generally don’t use each other’s phones as a rule.”

“How many numbers does your office have?”

“Three. The main office line, which goes to Melissa’s desk and connects to all of our offices; my office line is the secondary one, and Arlen has a private line.”

“Is your number advertised along with the main number, or just—”

“No, just the main one.”

“Would anyone other than Melissa or Arlen use your phone?”

“Meaning was it definitely one of them? I guess it would be highly likely, but then why not just use their own?”

“So it tracks back to you?”

Ruby Jean smiled. “How paranoid should we be about this?”

Lauren smiled briefly. “I just want to know who’s been asking questions about me. It was a woman who called, so I’m guessing Melissa, then. But why would she do that, unless—”

“Arlen asked her to? If he’s been concerned about your mom—”

“The call was made after I got here and met with them. My mom and I patched things up pretty quickly. So…I’m not sure why he’d be following up at that point. I hadn’t told my mother I’d left my job yet—”

“You left your job?” Ruby Jean’s mouth fell open, then quickly snapped shut. “Was it because of your mom?”

“Yes, I did, and no, it wasn’t about her moving out here. Apparently Arlen found out from whatever contacts he has in D.C. and told my mom before I could. But he’s had opportunity to ask me directly—privately or openly—whatever he wanted to know. If he was concerned about my future prospects, I’m not sure why he’d use such a convoluted path and not just ask outright. So…something isn’t adding up.”

But what else is new
, Lauren thought. Every time she took a step forward with coming to terms with all the various elements, something else would pop up. “Playing devil’s advocate and assuming he did initiate the call, why the call from his office? Even if he put Melissa up to it, it seems, I don’t know…sloppy. If you’re going to go to all the trouble to be stealthy about it, why do something so obvious? It’s not making sense.”

“I agree.” Ruby Jean looked at Lauren. “So…are you back to wondering if it was me?”

“What? No. We might have only just met, but no, I believe you.” And Lauren did. Not just because she was Jake’s sister and therefore somehow automatically trustworthy. But standing here in front of her, looking at her, listening to her…no, she didn’t think Ruby Jean McKenna was a flat-out liar.

“So…?”

“So, I don’t know. I’m not sure it matters; it was harmless, I guess, but—”

“But if someone was calling around, digging into my business on some kind of pretense, I’d want to know. Regardless of the motivation.”

“I agree. You know your boss far better than I do, so, speaking strictly between us, is this behind-the-scenes maneuvering the kind of thing he would be involved in?”

“Let me ask you first…what is your take on him? I’m a little behind the curve here with where things stand in your family and—none of my business there, so I’m not asking—but it would help if I knew a little of your mind-set before talking out of school.”

“Understood, and I admire the integrity. And the loyalty. So, my thinking is, he keeps tabs on the goings-on in Washington, which says to me that despite being out of the faster moving political circles of San Francisco for a significant period of time, and never moving up into the ranks in Colorado, he still has a very keen interest in the political world beyond his small town. Whether that means he still has ambitions, I couldn’t say. But he keeps close enough tabs to know about the change in my employment situation, which, trust me, was not news, even back in D.C. Staffers, even highly placed ones, come and go all the time. Unless there’s scandal attached, no one really pays attention other than those directly affected by the change. But Arlen knew. And he told my mother before I could, whatever his real reasons.”

Lauren held Ruby Jean’s gaze, wanting to gauge her reaction as closely as she could as she continued. “He also strikes me as a man who, as you say, is very dedicated to his work, and from what I’ve read about him—and when your mom runs off with a total stranger, you can dig up an enormous amount of stuff to read if you really want to—I get the sense that he’s all about getting the job done, whatever that may be. And he’s perfectly willing to use whatever means it takes, or whomever he needs to use or step over, to get the job done.”

Ruby Jean would make a great poker player. Which, with her face, said a surprising lot. After an extended pause, she said, “So, I take that as a yes, then.”

Lauren bit back a surprised laugh. “Um, yes. No offense to you, his loyal adviser and assistant. But my gut tells me that he would have no trouble making such decisions if he felt the ends justified the means.”

Ruby Jean tilted her head. “You’ve been around politicians for a long time. I’m much newer to the game. How often are you wrong in your gut assessments?”

“At your stage in the game, often enough. In recent years? Rarely.”

Ruby Jean nodded. “Then I’d go with your gut on this one.”

Not exactly an open slam against her boss, which was to her credit. But the point had been made, tacitly nonetheless. Lauren nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate your candor.”

Ruby Jean shrugged. “I’m not really good with subterfuge. Ask Jake.” She grinned then. “Perhaps my future in politics will be limited a bit by that fact.”

“Are you hoping for a future in politics? Personally, or in an adjunct role, like I had?”

“I don’t know,” she said, sounding sincere but not exactly uncertain. “I think I mostly want to find some kind of direction, and I’m good at what I do, so why not follow that path to wherever it might lead?”

Lauren thought about that…and wondered where Ruby Jean saw her path as the personal executive assistant to a small town mayor could take her. Unless she planned to parlay that in some way to one of the larger cities on the front range or beyond.

“Have you thought about leaving Cedar Springs, moving on to a bigger pond, bigger fish?”

“More lately than ever before. I’m torn on that, though. My preference is to stay here. I’m not particularly driven to be a city girl. But I’m not sure I can fulfill whatever potential I might have if I stay here. I’m not even sure what’s out there for me. But I do know what’s here…and so far it hasn’t been challenging enough for me.”

Lauren thought again about whatever it was that had put Jake in an awkward place between her and Ruby Jean. And wondered if they’d shared enough, bonded enough, for her to just come out and ask. Her gut said yes. And Ruby Jean had been the one to tell her to go with that. So she did. “There’s something else I need to ask you. And I’ll understand if you don’t want to discuss it, but it’s created something of an issue between me and Jake. And so I thought, now that we’ve met, maybe we can just bring it out in the open and deal with it together.”

Ruby Jean frowned at first, but that quickly cleared and Lauren knew she was very aware of what Lauren was referring to. No poker face this time.

Just then Lauren’s phone rang. It was Jake. “Hey there, I was—”

“Hey, yourself,” he said, his voice doing to her all the good things it always did. “Think you can head up this way? I have some interesting information for you. I was trying to track down Ruby Jean, but—”

“She’s standing right here. Want to talk to her?”

“She’s—really?”

Lauren laughed. The Jake she was coming to know was rarely caught speechless. “Yes. She dropped by to say hi and introduce herself. It’s turning out the McKenna family is a pretty spectacular bunch.”

Ruby Jean grinned as Jake laughed. “I’m very glad you think so. Why don’t you both come up? Three heads might be better than one.”

He sounded jovial enough, but Lauren had already come to know him well enough to hear the underpinnings of tension. “Everything okay?”

“Yep. Interesting, but okay.”

She frowned. “Okay. We’ll be right there.” Ruby Jean was also frowning now as Lauren closed her phone. “Your brother wants us both up at the school. Can you go?”

“Sure. Want me to drive?”

“I’ve got Jake’s Jeep. I can give you a lift.”

Ruby Jean smiled again. “Why don’t I follow you up.” She walked to the door. “Then you won’t have to be giving me a lift back into town. You know, if you wanted to hang out up at the school. Or something.”

Lauren scooped up her laptop and bag and grabbed the Jeep keys. “Did I mention how smart the McKennas are?” She was smiling as she followed Ruby Jean out the door.

J
ake paced to the open door of the hangar housing
Betty Sue
, then back to the plane.

“You expecting Santa Claus or something, son?” This was from Freddy. He was one of Paddy’s old pals. He and four of the other guys had driven in earlier to start work on
Betty Sue
.

Jake threw him a grin. “Better, really.” He’d been caught off guard by the news that his sister and Lauren had been becoming fast friends while he was struggling, trying to figure out if the puzzle pieces he was collecting amounted to a bigger picture worth assembling, or if he was just wasting his valuable time on nothing. He was glad they’d already met. Relieved, really. If they hadn’t already broached the whole “Arlen running for governor” thing, he hoped there would be no reason to hedge on it now.

“What’s she look like?” This from Ace, who was even older than Freddy, who’d hit eighty-five earlier that month.

“What makes you think it’s a woman?” Jake asked.

“Man smiles like that…it’s always a woman.” All four men had finished that last part in unison. They all chuckled and Jake joined them.

“You’ll meet her in a few minutes. She’s coming up with RJ. I’ll need to take a short break, go talk with them about something. But I’ll be back. Scooter radioed that he’d be flying in sometime after seven with the parts from Fort Collins.”

“Good job.”

“I’ve got rooms for you guys down the hill at Rosie’s—”

“We brought our cots. We’re bunking out here with
Betty Sue
.”

“Guys, no need. We’re well funded enough that you shouldn’t have to rough it like that. I can—”

“You go spend time with the woman of your dreams,” Ace said, then glanced up at
Betty Sue
, whose propellers he was currently working on. “I’ll spend time with mine.” He gave a little burnish to one of the blades.

The other men chuckled and Jake grinned. “Okay, but we’re catering in meals. And if you change your mind, or your back and knees change it for you, just let me know.”

There was a bathroom and full shower facilities in the big hangar, which Paddy had put in back when he bunked at the school while building it into a functioning business. Had it been any other time of year, Jake would have insisted they take the rooms. “Just make sure to roll the doors shut and start the space heaters when the sun dips.” Jake heard his Jeep crunching gravel in the lot outside and walked to the door. “I don’t need any of you guys kicking the bucket this close to race time.”

They all good-naturedly handed it right back to him. “Whaddya mean? We’re living forever, don’t you know?”

“I’ll be the one delivering your eulogy, son,” Oscar chimed in, and they all laughed.

“Keep an eye on them, Hank,” Jake said, still chuckling.

The hound managed a single tail thump, then went back to sleep underneath Ace’s camp chair.

Jake strolled outside, feeling a lot better about things on the race end now that the guys had started showing up. He’d be right alongside them tonight, working well toward the wee hours. But first, he needed to take care of this so he could get his focus back. And so he could get things fully back on track with Lauren.

He hadn’t known what to expect from the Lauren–Ruby Jean summit meeting he’d missed, but RJ pulled in right behind Lauren and by the time he got across the tarmac to the parking area, they were already shoulder to shoulder, laughing and in deep conversation. He’d wanted them to hit it off, but seeing them like that had his steps slowing. And his heart filling. It had been important to him, but he hadn’t any idea how much it meant. Or would mean. To have the woman he wanted to spend his life with bond so truly to the only other love in his life. Between the funding for the
Betty Sue
, and now this, life was pretty damn sweet. “You are one very lucky man,” he murmured to himself, picking up the pace again as they spotted him and headed his way.

He got possibly the two best hugs of his life, then slung his arms around their shoulders and guided them toward the front school office.

“So…what’s shaking, big brother?” RJ asked.

“Let’s get inside,” he said, then turned toward Lauren and dropped a quick kiss on the side of her neck below her ear. “Damn, I’ve missed you,” he whispered in her ear.

She turned and smiled directly into his gaze and, in that crystallized moment, there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind. He was in love with Lauren Matthews.

“All right, you two,” RJ said, nudging him in the ribs with her girl weapon elbow.

“Seriously, that thing is so pointy,” he said, ducking out of the way of another jab and bumping hips with Lauren.

They stumbled together into the office, laughing and joking and he seriously debated whether or not to just chuck the whole Arlen issue out the window. Only he was RJ’s boss and Lauren’s stepfather…and the subject was just going to come up again and again until it was deliberated and discussed and finally put to rest. Might as well get it all out on the table now. Then he could focus on the race. He glanced at Lauren. And to do whatever he had to in order to convince this woman to stick around for, oh, the next sixty or seventy years.

“So, I’ve been doing a little digging,” he said, motioning them toward the other office chairs as he spun his around and took a seat. He glanced at his sister. “Have you two talked about…you know?”

She glanced at Lauren. “We were just about to when you called.”

“You okay if we just proceed with everything on the table?”

“Yeah,” she said, then smiled at Lauren. “I’m okay with it.”

“Thank you,” Lauren said. “You can trust me.”

RJ nodded, then looked back to Jake. “What have you been digging up? Anything having to do with that phone call to Lauren’s old coworker, by any chance?”

Jake frowned. “No. Why, did you two find out anything?”

“I talked to Daphne again,” Lauren said. “She back-tracked the number of the person who called about me. The number is local here.”

“It’s my office number, Jake. But I didn’t make the call.”

Jake looked between them. “Who do you think, then?”

They both shrugged. “That’s what we were talking about.”

“Daphne said it was a woman. So, could be his secretary.”

“Melissa? I don’t know why she’d—”

“If Arlen asked her to,” Ruby Jean said with a shrug.

Jake leaned back. “Sure, okay, but why?”

“We don’t know,” RJ said. “What did you find out?”

“I took those papers back to the library,” he said to Lauren, “but before I did, I found a little blurb in one of the older ones about the fire that burned down Arlen’s house.”

“That’s a very old issue. Why did you have old newspapers out?” Ruby Jean asked.

“Part of that ‘researching the total stranger my mom married’ thing.”

“Ah,” Ruby Jean said, clearly completely understanding.

Jake looked between them and realized they’d bonded even more tightly, more swiftly than he’d realized. And while this made him very happy, he was also quickly realizing that this could give RJ an ally at times when he’d have liked to keep things more even. Ah well, the price one paid he supposed. And was quite willing to make the sacrifice. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t whine a little about it.

“What about the fire?” Lauren asked. “I’m assuming you mean the one that burned his house down forcing the rebuild?”

“Yes, it was just a little blurb saying that the fire marshal couldn’t determine—conclusively—what had been the cause of the fire.”

“I thought he said it was lightning.”

“I know. Maybe that’s hard to prove, I don’t know. But when I took the papers back, I went ahead and dug a little farther back and found the original article about the fire. No mention there, either, about any storm or lightning strikes in the area. There was a mention that this fire took place just as he was finalizing his divorce from Paula.”

RJ glanced at Lauren, who was looking at him. “Meaning?”

Jake shrugged. “I’m not sure. I don’t even know why it caught my attention; it just did. I have the issue with me if you want to look at it.”

“Do you think he was burning down the house as a way of keeping his soon-to-be ex from getting her hands on it?” RJ asked.

“I have no idea. I was trying to reach you to see what you might know of that time. I know you were way too young to remember, but—”

“Given my penchant for town gossip, you mean?” she said pointedly but with a laugh. “I prefer to think of it as collecting town lore and history, but yes, that kind of thing does interest me. However, if you’d asked me more than six months ago, I’d have said I got nothing. But since Arlen’s recent marriage—” she nodded with a smile toward Lauren—“the older citizens here have been replaying his first two marriages, and in some pretty great detail, given the way they both ended.”

“And? Anything that might shed some light?”

“Well…hmm, let me think. Paula was pretty well off, an heiress in her own right, if not actually in possession of her inheritance at the time of their marriage. She was due to inherit after her father passed, and she was a very late-in-life baby for him, so it wasn’t a distant future kind of thing. So I don’t know how badly she’d have wanted their house or property. She wasn’t from here and cut out of town before the ink was dry on the divorce documents. Doesn’t sound like someone after amassing assets here.”

“Could have just been for spite. Was it an acrimonious split?”

RJ shrugged. “Not as far as I’ve heard. From the stories being rehashed, it was more about their inability to procreate.”

“Did Arlen want a family, too?” Lauren asked.

“He never said he didn’t—wouldn’t play well to the voters, for one—but the consensus seems to indicate she was far more dedicated to the idea than he was.”

“Why not adopt?”

“I think it had something to do with her inheritance passing down only to blood relatives. I don’t know, but that was the rumor. Anyway, the split was fast and she was gone, never heard from again.”

“The article said she’d been staying out at the house prior to the fire, but they didn’t know for sure if she was still living there when it burned or if she’d already left,” Jake told them. “There was no one at home at the time, and only Arlen stepped forward afterward. When asked, he said his ex had moved to an undisclosed location and wished to have her privacy respected. The divorce was final days later.”

Neither RJ nor Lauren said anything for a few moments.

“Like I said, I don’t know why the story mattered, but…”

“His first wife died in a car crash, driving drunk, right?” Lauren asked.

Ruby Jean nodded.

“And he didn’t stand to get anything from her family, did he?”

“Other than their goodwill and what he’d already gotten as their son-in-law, no. Not if you mean specific assets or anything.”

“There was talk that he’d hoped her family would help him gain a more visible role in Denver politics and perhaps make a run for higher office. Then Cindy died, and that was that.” Jake looked at his sister, and she gave a little nod. “Until now,” he added.

“Yes, until now,” RJ said. “Has your mother said anything to you about Arlen having political plans that might involve him making a run for a different office?”

Lauren’s mouth dropped open, then snapped shut. “No. What office?”

RJ leaned in. “This is strictly, strictly in confidence. He let it slip to me. No one, and I mean no one, knows. If this gets out, he’ll know it was me and I’ll lose my job. I don’t want to put you in an awkward spot with your mother, but—”

“It’s okay. I’ll respect your privacy.”

RJ glanced again at Jake, then looked at Lauren and said, “He’s supposedly putting together a team, and the financial backing, to make a push to get on the ticket for governor of Colorado next year.”

If Lauren’s mouth had dropped open a moment ago, she appeared truly shocked this time.

“That’s the complication,” Jake said, leaning forward and putting his hand on her knees. “I hope you understand why I had to—”

“I do,” Lauren said. She covered his hand with her own. “I totally do.” She looked at RJ. “He just let this slip? No offense, but he doesn’t strike me as the type to let something as major as that slip by accident. Could he have ‘slipped’ it to you on purpose? And if so, any ideas why?”

RJ wasn’t offended by the question. “Trust me, I’ve thought about that. It could have been a loyalty test. To see if I was trustworthy enough to be asked along on the ride. That’s the most logical.”

“Do you think maybe that’s behind the calls about me to Washington? Just fact-finding to make sure he’s bulletproof from any surprises? Make sure I wasn’t fired for some unreported scandal?”

“Could be, I suppose. He’s…well, he’s not paranoid by nature, but he’s a very cautious, very meticulous planner. He hates mistakes and hates things going wrong that he could have otherwise controlled.”

“Micromanager?” Lauren asked.

“In some ways. More a microplanner. Once he’s set on a path, he doesn’t mind delegating.”

“So, if the call tied into his campaign prep in some way, and the call came from a woman in your office and that woman wasn’t you…the finger points toward Melissa,” Lauren said. “Do you think he’s let it ‘slip’ to her, too? That maybe she’s his secret campaign worker bee here on site?”

That sat RJ back in her seat. “I’d have said no, but, you know…I guess it’s possible. I’m definitely his right hand and Melissa is kept pretty much to her secretarial role, but…” She trailed off.

“But, what?” Jake asked. “Does she seem hungry for advancement? Do you think she has her sights set bigger?”

RJ lifted a shoulder. “I’d have said she had her sights set on finding a man and getting out of the workforce altogether. She’s not a traditional, white picket fence and babies type, but I never got the sense she was in her job with an eye toward a long-term career. More just biding her time and enjoying the elevated awareness that being the mayor’s secretary brought to her, in terms of impressing her dates.”