Silver Sparks (31 page)

Sophie took a critical look at the picture. “It’s not so bad, Maggie. Really. I’ve worn less at the beach.”

“I wasn’t at the beach.”

She waved the objection away. “So what? It’s not like you were topless, like a couple of those dancers.”

Maggie gave her a pointed stare. “But they don’t live in B-Pass, and they aren’t on the front page of the paper.” She sighed softly. “Look, you don’t have to try to make me feel better. I knew what I was doing, and I knew what the result would be. I appreciate your support, but I wish you two would just stay away and let them focus on me. Let it be wild Maggie Larkin, not the wild Larkin sisters. Maybe this doesn’t have to ruin your lives, too.”

“Sorry, can’t do that,” Zoe said.

Sophie straightened, narrowing her eyes. “Seriously? You think we should throw you to the wolves and watch while they tear you apart? What kind of sisters do you think we are?”

Maggie raised an eyebrow.

“That would be like saying we’re ashamed of you! Well, we’re not. We’re proud of you.” She stuck her hands on her hips. “If you think we’re going to let them slander you without saying a thing in your defense, you’re wrong. If they take on one of the Larkin sisters, they take on all of us. Don’t think just because—”

“Down, girl.” Zoe tugged on Sophie’s arm to silence her, smiling at Maggie. “I guess she feels she missed out the first time around.”

“You sheltered me,” Sophie muttered. “But I’m not a little kid anymore.”

“You’re one of the Larkin sisters. I get it.” Maggie smiled at her youngest sister. “Welcome to the scandal.”

The shop door opened again. She had to stop tensing every time that happened.

She almost didn’t recognize Sergent Todd in jeans and a knit shirt. He glanced around, smiled in recognition. “Hi, Zoe.”

“Hi, Kyle.” She raised a questioning eyebrow at Maggie.

Maggie lifted a shoulder at Zoe, and gave him a friendly “Hi.”

“Maggie, I’m not here as a member of the B-Pass PD.”

She smiled, glancing at the jeans. “I see that. Want something to drink? There’s soda in the minifridge.”

“No, thanks. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of something.”

His gaze flicked to the copy of the
Echo
on the table, so it had to be something other than the usual accusations and rumors. She found herself tensing again.

“I read the statement you gave last night, so I know how everything went down between you and Jameson. And I saw the De Lucas on TV this morning, spinning their relationship with him to make Rafe look like a victim. Deflecting attention from the fact that he was the one who had violent sex with the girls that Jameson later killed.”

“I heard.”

“It pisses me off that no one’s out there standing up for you, even though you were the one who stopped a murderer and helped us find his previous victims.”

It felt good to hear someone say it, but she gestured ruefully at the newspaper. “I’m afraid I eclipsed that particular scoop.”

He scowled at the
Echo
. “It doesn’t have to be that way. It shouldn’t. Do you have a lawyer?”

“I have a lawyer I try not to use. Hurts the bank account too much. And thanks for your support, really, but I’m not a celebrity and my last name’s not De Luca. I can’t afford to sue every tabloid that misrepresents me, and I can’t hire a team of lawyers to make sure my side of the story gets a fair hearing.”

“But you can.” His mouth curved into a sly smile. “What do you want to bet Jameson’s firm is huddling around conference tables right now, trying to figure out what to do if it occurs to you that a senior lawyer in their firm repeatedly threatened you, attempted to coerce you into keeping silent, and, oh yeah, tried to kill you? They’re liable, Maggie, in a very big way.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You think I should sue them?”

“If that’s what you want. You certainly have a case, and you’d get more than enough money to sue those tabloids and get them to retract their lies.”

“But it’s not all lies.” She lifted the newspaper. “This isn’t a lie, it’s just not the complete story. They print what they want, the parts that appall and titillate.”

She slapped the paper down, then looked at it thoughtfully. “It’s called libel by innuendo.” She looked up, ideas falling into place. “Maybe they’d pay attention if a powerful law firm threatened them with that.”

“Bet they would.”

She smiled at Kyle. “Perhaps Jameson’s firm would be willing to do that if it would keep me from going after them.”

“There you go,” Kyle said. “Get your side of the story out there, Maggie. It will go a long way toward countering those bar bimbo headlines.” He straightened and pulled keys out of his pocket. “That’s all I wanted to say, just to let you know you don’t have to take all this bullshit they’re saying about you.”

“Thank you.” She grinned. “Really.”

“Okay if I slip out the back door?”

“As long as you don’t let any reporters sneak in.”

He nodded at Zoe and Sophie. “Ladies.”

The door closed behind him. They all looked at each other, then broke into grins. “It could work, couldn’t it?” she asked her sisters.

“Absolutely! I love it,” Sophie exclaimed.

Zoe nodded. “Call Jameson’s firm. Today.”

“I will.” She was still smiling when the shop door opened. She looked up, expecting to see Sam coming to tell her he was a carpenter, not a bouncer, and he was tired of checking IDs. But it wasn’t Sam.

Her smile faded. She bit her lip and felt her heart take off at a gallop.

He was tall and tanned from the high-altitude sunlight, and his long, sexy stride nearly made her knees buckle. Cal’s eyes found hers and stayed there, ignoring Zoe and Sophie.

“I had to show my badge before your carpenter would let me in here.”

“Sorry. Paparazzi problems.” She didn’t trust herself to say more, afraid he might hear something in her voice she didn’t want him to hear. No matter how much she dreaded this meeting, and how much she knew it would hurt, she couldn’t make her body stop reacting with pleasure when Cal walked into a room. It wasn’t fair. She didn’t want to love him, didn’t want her heart to race every time she saw him. It was going to make their breakup talk even harder.

He stopped within three feet of her. “I checked out of the lodge.”

She nodded.

“All my stuff’s packed in the truck.”

She didn’t think that needed a response, so she just ran her dry tongue over her drier lips and waited.

“I’m leaving for Oklahoma today.”

“I heard.” She thought it was audible, but there wasn’t much breath behind it, so maybe it wasn’t. She cleared her throat. “So I guess you came to say good-bye.” Maybe fast and neat was the best way, but that didn’t make it hurt less.

“We need to talk.”

Off to the side, she saw Sophie and Zoe watching alertly. She stared at them until their fascinated gazes finally turned toward her, no doubt waiting for her reply. She stared harder.

Zoe snapped out of it first. “Oh. Yeah. Come on, Sophie. We gotta go . . . do that thing.” She plucked Sophie’s sleeve. With a significant look at Maggie, she made the universal thumb-and-pinkie sign for a phone call and mouthed, “Call me later.”

The door closed behind them.

Maggie shifted her gaze back to Cal, wishing she weren’t so darned
aware
of him. His presence filled the room until she could barely breathe. Hoping she sounded more composed than she felt, she said, “So talk.” The quicker they got this done, the better.

“I’ve decided to keep Amber with me instead of sending her back to L.A.”

It wasn’t exactly what she’d expected to hear, but she could guess where this was going. With a sister already prone to headstrong, reckless behavior, the last thing Cal needed was someone else in his life who would only set a bad example. It looked like Amber got the guy. She couldn’t even resent her for it, because his little sister had a prior claim and deserved to have her brother in her life. “That’s nice,” she said around the lump in her throat.

“I worked it all out this morning. I’ll buy a house in a good neighborhood and see that she has what I didn’t have—a place to put down roots, to call home. A yard, neighbors, backyard barbecues . . . hell, I might even get a dog. Amber can finish high school, and if she wants to go to college, she can do that, too.”

Something warmed deep inside her as she recognized the reality he was trying to create. “You’ll have that normal family life you always wanted.” She smiled, trying not to think about how she didn’t figure into that picture, because it was probably best this way. She didn’t belong in a TV-land fantasy family. “I’m happy for you, Cal, I really am. For both of you.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “It sounds perfect, doesn’t it? It’s everything I didn’t have growing up, the American dream.”

She nodded too, wishing he wouldn’t rub it in.

“That’s why I was surprised when I realized that just thinking about it makes me miserable.”

She started. “What?”

“Amber, too. She was pissed as hell at the idea.”

She shook her head. “I don’t get it.”

He shrugged. “It’s a nice reality for some people. It turns out I’m not one of those people. Amber either. We’re fine with being an unconventional family. Besides, Amber wants to stay at the commune and learn more about jewelry from your mom and Pete.”

She must be hearing him wrong. “Amber wants to join the People’s Free Earth Commune and become a hippie?”

“No, she wants to be an international buyer for retail outlets. At least, that’s what she thinks now.”

“She does?” She could see Amber doing that.

“Maybe that will change, but that’s the option she wants to explore. Not high school volleyball or glee club or cheerleading. So today I went up to the commune and talked to them about it. Your family’s great, you know. They were excited about having her stay there for the summer. She’ll have to live with me during the school year, but they said she could come back again next summer, too.”

“So she’ll finish high school in Oklahoma.”

“That’s the other part. Maggie, I live in Oklahoma because that’s where I found a job. I like it there. But then I came here and found something I like even more. No, something I love.”

She hated herself for it, but for one second she ignored the reasons she was all wrong for him, and dared to hope.

“The mountains.” Excitement flashed in his eyes. “They’re breathtaking. The clean air, the spectacular scenery—but I don’t have to tell you, do I?”

She shook her head, swallowing hard against the disappointment she had no right to feel.

“So the perfect answer is to move to Barringer’s Pass. Amber can live with me during the school year and still visit the commune on weekends.”

Oh, God, he’d be right here. She’d always be reminded of what she’d almost had before she recklessly threw it away.

“By the way, Amber might be hitting you up for a part-time job at Fortune’s Folly, but I’ll bet she’d work for free if you let her. She’s fascinated with the different kinds of jewelry you carry.”

“I’d love to hire her,” Maggie said, but couldn’t pretend she hadn’t focused on the other part of what he’d said. He was jumping into this so fast it made her head spin. “How can you move here when you don’t even know if you can find a job?”

“Because I do know. I called Kyle Todd at home and talked with him about job openings for cops around here.”

Maggie felt light-headed. “You’ve been busy today.”

“That’s why I’m running late. Kyle said there’s a guy on the force who will be retiring next year. I’ve made some good connections with the people there, and Kyle said he’d put in a strong recommendation for me. It looks good.”

“Next year.” That gave her time to get over him before she had to risk running into him around town. Not enough, but it was a start.

“But I thought maybe I’d give notice now so I can get moved in as soon as I find a place. I’ve got enough money to get by until a job opens up.”

She tried to absorb it. There were so many changes, all happening so quickly. It wasn’t like Cal. In fact . . . She gave him a disbelieving look. “Isn’t this all a bit impulsive?”

“You think?” He hooked his thumbs in his pockets and actually looked proud of himself. “I’m trying it out. I did figure out the financial side and logistics, but I didn’t hesitate. Does that still count as impulsive?”

“For you, it’s damn near reckless.”

“Then this will really blow your mind.” Before she realized what he was doing, he pulled her against him, wrapping her in a strong embrace. “Move in with me, Maggie.”

Her brain stumbled. “What?”

“Move in with me. Damn, I’m getting fond of these reckless choices. Come live with me. I know I have a part-time teenage roommate, but she’s pretty cool once you get past the blue hair and the piercings.”

She felt torn in two, half of her hopelessly giddy, and the other half wondering if he’d lost his mind. She went with the most likely one. “Have you seen the papers this morning? Weren’t you the least bit curious when you had to wade hip deep through paparazzi to get in here?”