A Wild Fright in Deadwood (Deadwood Humorous Mystery Book 7) (31 page)

Breathing a sigh of relief, I leaned back in my chair. “Won’t this cause some problems? They’re going to be looking for that piece with Cornelius and me, aren’t they?”

“I told Honey and Rad that the footage just disappeared, like what happened that day I filmed up in that beautiful house in Lead. Honey wasn’t surprised. She said that happened to her when she was there with Dickie and you.”

Actually I had been the one who erased the footage on Honey’s camera that day after Prudence left me a message using Honey as her puppet. But as far as everyone else was concerned, that was the ghost’s doing.

“Thank you, Rosy.”

“I like you, Violet. You make me laugh. I don’t want to see you or your family’s lives screwed up because of something I filmed. I couldn’t live with myself for that.”

“How can I pay you back?”

“I’ll need to film you and Cornelius reading your lines for that segment again. However, I suggest we set up somewhere less likely to have that little girl ghost running around.”

“Let me talk to Cornelius and we’ll come up with a safe location.” Although, if Wilda were truly tethered to him, that might not be doable.

“That sounds good.”

I heard the bathroom door open behind me. I tried to act normal as Mona returned to her desk. When she looked at me with raised brows, I gave her a thumbs up.

“There is one other favor I need,” Rosy said.

“What’s that?”

“I want to buy a house.”

* * *

It turned out that Rosy didn’t want to buy just any house, she wanted to buy Cooper’s place. Somehow in the midst of trying to lasso the paranormal chaos stampeding around me, I had roped a buyer for one of my own properties.

This was my second time representing both the buyer and seller on a sale. I’d learned how to walk that particular fence with the Carhart house sale, so now it was a matter of seeing if Cooper liked what Rosy wanted to offer while not playing favorites.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the offer paperwork for Rosy in between pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I stayed late at the office to wait for her to return from the filming in Spearfish. After thanking me for hanging around for her, Rosy told me she’d be in touch soon about the house and took off.

Ten minutes later, I shut down my computer and headed home. When I pulled into the drive, the sky was beginning to spit out wet, heavy snowflakes here and there. Nothing serious, merely a few threats from the thick, dark clouds above. My fingers were crossed we’d get the few inches they’d mentioned on the news and not the multiple surprising feet that often buried the hills for days on end.

Harvey’s truck was parked in the drive, but there was no sign of Doc. Were he and the kids still doing their so-called exercising at the Rec Center? If so, it was a long exercise session.

I hurried through the cold wet stuff falling from the sky and closed the front door behind me, leaning against it. I’d lived through another day at the office without coming unhinged. Life was looking up.

“Who are you trying to keep out?” Harvey asked from the archway into the kitchen. He had a cookie in each hand, and another in his mouth from the muffled sound of it.

“The boogeyman.”

He swallowed. “I think yer gonna need to put on more weight to pull that off.”

I heard a squeal of anger from Addy upstairs. So the kids were home, but not Doc. He must have had somewhere to go. “Did Doc come inside or just drop the kids off?”

“He cooled his heels long enough to say he’d see you later at the Purple Door Saloon.” I’d texted him earlier about meeting Cooper there with me tonight, so we were apparently still on.

Harvey continued, “Yer gonna tell him and Coop about what Prudence said, right?”

“Sure.” Some of it, anyway. I hadn’t decided on how to share the piece about it needing to be me who hunted down Wanda’s killer.

“All of it?”

Avoiding his heavy-browed squint, I took off my coat and tossed it over the stair banister to dry. “Didn’t we go over this at lunch?”

“Yep. You were slippery ‘bout it then, too.”

“Where’s Aunt Zoe?” She’d offered to hang with the kids tonight, wanting to take a break from working her hiney off in her shop.

“She went to the store. Said she’d bring home supper.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Yer avoidin’ my question.”

“Not avoiding, just pondering.”

“How long will this ponderin’ last?”

I shrugged. “Until I figure out the right time to bring it up.” I headed upstairs but paused two steps up and looked over the railing at him. “Remember our agreement at lunch.”

I was referring to the one where I’d promised not to tell Coop that Harvey had broken his couch during a raucous evening with one of his old flames in exchange for the old buzzard not interfering with my telling his nephew that finding Wanda’s killer was my job, not his.

He scowled at me. “It’s feelin’ more like blackmail to me already.” He shoved one of the cookies in his mouth and headed into the kitchen.

By the time I made it back downstairs, Aunt Zoe was home. She and the kids were eating pizza in the living room while queuing up a National Geographic special on the boob-tube. The kids smelled clean when I kissed the tops of their heads. They must have gone swimming in the Rec Center’s pool.

“How was your exercising?”

“Really cool,” Layne said, his face lighting up.

Addy shot him a shush-it glare. “It was just the usual stuff, Mom. Nothing major.”

“What’s the usual stuff entail?” Curiosity had me fishing for information in spite of Aunt Zoe’s narrow-eyed look.

“Doc showed us how—,” Addy started, but Layne cut her off. “Running and jumping jacks, that’s all.”

“Rude!” Addy reached across the couch and punched her brother in the arm.

Layne punched her back. “Stop hitting me, brat.”

And we were back to normal. I pulled them apart and told them both to behave or I’d send them to a military school in the Antarctic. Addy blamed Layne for making her mad. Layne, on the other hand, informed me there were no military schools down there, only scientific research centers, along with Emperor penguins and several other species of animals that turned into
blah, blah, blah
before they reached my brain.

I grabbed a couple pieces of pizza in the kitchen, noticing Harvey was missing. “Where’s the old buzzard?” I hollered. Had he left or was his plumbing giving him grief again?

“He ran home to grab some clothes for tomorrow since he’s spending the night,” Aunt Zoe answered. “When are you leaving?”

We’d discussed Doc and me having a night out earlier this afternoon. I hadn’t told her why, only the where part. “In about a half an hour.”

I had enough time to wrangle my hair into something less wild and frizzy, brush the pizza off my teeth and tongue, and then slip into something sexy that might coerce Doc to take me somewhere private and do wicked things to me … after we finished hashing out Cooper’s questions. My thigh throbbed at the memory of the detective’s painful grip. The bruises were a colorful abstract masterpiece of blues, purples, blacks, and a hint of green. The next time I was in his office, I was going to take the grip-strengthener deal he liked to squeeze and throw it in the trash.

Thirty minutes later, dressed in a red button-up little sweater that hugged my chest too tight to be worn to work, a black mini-skirt, thick tights, and knee-high boots, I was ready to woo one Dane R. Nyce.

Harvey whistled as I came down the stairs. “You look like a red heifer in a flowerbed.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“It’s good and bad for Doc. Like smellin’ whiskey through a jailhouse window.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment then.” I grabbed my long black wool coat from the closet. “Keep ‘em safe, old man.”

He grinned. “Bessie and I will do our best.”

“Bessie’s here?” When he nodded, I pointed at him. “Don’t shoot anyone we like. And if Reid stops by, keep that shotgun away from Aunt Zoe.”

He snickered and headed into the living room where Aunt Zoe and the kids were watching something about sharks.

“Have fun,” Aunt Zoe called as I blew her and the kids a kiss goodbye and headed out to my SUV. The sky was still spitting snow, but the ground was melting it as soon as it touched down. I’d have to be careful on the way home, though.

The Purple Door Saloon was having a slow night. No doubt the threat of snow was keeping the non-locals away as well as a good number of Deadwood’s finest drinkers. The bar was only about half full, if that. The grumpy, blonde-hating bartender wasn’t behind the bar for once, replaced by one of the usual waitresses.

I took off my coat while I searched the booths and tables for Doc but didn’t see him.

“He’s playing pool,” one of the waitresses said as she set a tray down on the bar. When I looked at her like she was speaking Chinese, she added, “You’re looking for Doc, right?”

She knew his name, huh? What else did she know about him? If he wore boxers or briefs? Then I remembered that the owner of the place was a client of Doc’s and smacked down the jealous ogre in my chest.

Thanking her, I ordered a rum and Coke on the rocks from the bartender. I was in the mood for something different tonight from my usual tequila hit.

Drink and coat in hand, I made my way through to where Doc was leaning over the pool table, lining up a shot. He looked hot in his faded jeans and gray thermal. I should probably remove them to cool him down. I was only thinking of his health, of course.

After hanging my coat on one of the wall hooks, I moved to the wall opposite him, keeping the pool table between us. I tried to strike a pose with one knee raised, foot planted on the wall, but my drink slipped in my grasp and almost dumped down my sweater.

Doc made the shot and then stood with his pool cue in hand, watching as I mopped up the dribbles on my sweater with a skimpy one-ply bar napkin. Good thing I hadn’t worn white.

“So much for trying to be sexy,” I said, wadding up the napkin.

“Boots, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to try?” He strolled around the table, his attention locked on my face. “You should put that drink down.”

“Why?” I took a sip from the straw.

As soon as he was in reach, he took the glass from me and set it on the pool rack hanging on the wall next to me.

“I don’t want you to spill it again.”

I stared up at him, my pulse picking up at the heat in his gaze. Batting my lashes, I trailed a finger down his bumpy shirt. “How was your day, Mr. Nyce?”

“I don’t want to talk about my day right now.”

“Did my kids behave this afternoon?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to talk about your kids, either.”

I licked my lips on purpose, luring him in. “What do you want to talk about then?”

“I don’t want to talk, period.” His mouth came down on mine fast and hard, surprising me into submission.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of his body heating mine through my sweater. He tasted sweet and lemony, a hint of liquor on his breath, blowing my libido clear out of the water. Damn, I’d missed this carnal side of him lately. I buried my fingers in his hair and held his mouth to mine as I took over and kissed him back, pressing my soft curves into his hard edges.

He groaned and planted his palms on the wall on each side of my head, imprisoning me within his arms. He pulled back enough to trail his mouth along my jawline, concentrating on the sensitive skin below my ear.

“In case you’re not getting my message,” he said against my neck, “I like this outfit.” He grazed his knuckles down my side, ending at where my skirt flared down over my thighs. “I really like it.”

“I was hoping you would.”

“It makes me want to explore.” His hand trailed back up along my ribcage, his fingers tickling over my curves. “And touch.”

“I know a place we could go,” I said, leaning my head back against the wall as his lips traveled down my neck and along my collarbone.

“Your skin smells like coconuts.” His fingers moved to the buttons on the front of my sweater, toying with the top one. He ogled my cleavage, making no attempt to play coy.

I took a deep breath, arching slightly. Looking even semi-perky wasn’t so easy after popping out two kids.

“Your chest sparkles,” he said, undoing the top button and pulling back the fabric enough to peek down my top. “All of the way down apparently.”

That was the glitter infused in my new lotion. I slid my hands along his shoulders, craving the feel of his bare skin against mine. “Not just my chest. Want to see where else I sparkle?”

“I don’t want to just see, Boots.” He outlined the neckline of my sweater with his fingers. Goosebumps rippled in their wake. “How was your day?”

Now he wanted to exchange pleasantries? I was having trouble controlling my tongue enough to speak in between panting and drooling, let alone make sense. “I’ve had better.”

He leaned his shoulder against the wall next to me, his broad shoulders completely shielding me from the view of the other bar patrons, giving us some privacy.

“Did Prudence behave herself?” he asked and unbuttoned a second button so that the tiny satin pink bow in the center of my black lace bra showed.

I stared down at his fingers as they tickled along the top edge of my bra. “Not so much.”

“But she did actually show up to meet Coop?” He popped the third button, his dark gaze holding mine for a breath, his fingers lingering around the front of my black lace cup, making my body pulse from head to toe and every hill and dale in between.

Holy hot flash! I was burning up from his little game of public foreplay. I hoped there weren’t any cameras in the ceiling back here. This part of the bar was dark in the shadows beyond the pool table lights, but not that dark.

“She definitely stopped by and left her mark,” I told him.

Unfortunately that mark was on me, but I didn’t care so much about that at the moment. I was more interested in the fourth button that Doc had undone and what he was going to do next now that my right breast was catching plenty of air. The lace covering it was little more than a gauzy veil.