Authors: Vicki Lewis Thompson
C
ole left long before anyone in the inn was awake, and Taryn understood why he'd done that. Whatever mysterious element was keeping them in limbo would naturally figure into his reluctance to let anyone here know they were lovers. She wouldn't give him away, either. She'd act strictly professional today at Evergreen Industries.
She hated that he couldn't stay to share the breakfast tray that had arrived outside her door, though. Cole had a sweet toothâhe preferred cocoa to coffee. She'd bet Mrs. Gustafson would have made him cocoa to go with the apple strudel and fresh orange juice.
Placing the tray on a small desk by the side window, she drew back the lacy curtains and peeked outside for the first time. Cole hadn't been kidding about the charm of Gingerbread. Judging from the slice of town she could see, it was a full-size version of the Christmas villages in Seattle shop windows this time of year. The architecture reminded her of Europe, with a fairy-tale element thrown in.
Old-fashioned lampposts each sported a wreath and a red bow. Every shop featured garlands in the window, and larger garlands hung at intervals across the snowy street. The late-model cars that drove by seemed out of place. Horse-drawn carriages would have fit in better. Then she saw one of those, with laughing people bundled up in blankets in the back, enjoying an open-air ride.
One lone high-rise building was visible above the peaked rooftops covered with snow. Evergreen Industries, no doubt. Beyond that, where the land sloped upward and the pine forest closed in, a snow-capped mountain pierced the blue sky. Although other mountains were visible in the distance, this one was quite distinctive. She decided it must be Mistletoe Mountain, which had been mentioned during her internet search.
Until now, she hadn't thought about what would happen if and when her plan worked and she eliminated whatever problem was keeping her from a happily ever after with Cole. Her business didn't require her to live in a certain place, which meant logically she'd be the one to move.
She let that idea percolate to see how she felt about it. Turned out she was perfectly okay with leaving Seattle if it meant being with Cole. The decision wouldn't even be that difficult. As much as she traveled, she could see her friends and family when she was between jobs.
But her home would be here in Gingerbread with Cole, wherever he lived. Come to think of it, she had no idea what his place was like, which seemed odd to her, considering they'd been naked together so recently. She'd ask him about it when he came to pick her up later that morning.
Remembering that she had to be ready soon, she tucked into her protein-free but delicious breakfast, took a quick shower in the claw-foot tub with its old-fashioned circular shower rod, and dressed in a clean pair of jeans and one of her nicer sweaters. Until she understood the corporate culture at Evergreen, she'd go with something a bit less casual than her usual techie outfit of old jeans, a faded T-shirt and a hoodie.
She was in the lobby chatting with Mrs. Gustafson about things to do in town when Cole walked in. Taryn might have been prejudiced, but the guy knew how to make an entrance. He swept in wearing that long black coat, a green wool scarf, and no hat. His tousled dark hair gave him a rakish look she'd never been able to resist.
“Ah, Cole!” Mrs. Gustafson, plump and graying, clasped her hands together. “Your guest is a delight. She's already in love with our little town. I hope you're planning to give her a tour.”
Cole's bemused smile indicated he hadn't planned anything of the sort. “Uh, sure. Why not? But first we have some business to take care of at Evergreen.”
Mrs. Gustafson waved a hand at him. “Well, I know
that.
The guests you bring here always have business at Evergreen. But Taryn has taken a real interest in Gingerbread, haven't you, dear?”
“I have.” Taryn had to work hard not to laugh at Cole's uneasiness. “And I'd love a tour if we have the time.”
Cole's green eyes flashed with amusement. “I'll see to it. Shall we go?”
“I'm ready when you are.”
“Have fun, you two!” Mrs. Gustafson called after them as they left the cozy lobby.
“We will!” Taryn called back.
“Chatting up the landlady?” Cole said once they were on the front porch.
“Is that a problem?”
“No, I just...do you really want a tour of Gingerbread?”
“I wouldn't mind.” She took a deep breath of the crisp air as they started down the sidewalk toward the parking area. “I like it here.”
“Well, good...that's good.”
She glanced at him, and his cheeks were ruddy. It could have been from the cold, but she suspected he was agitated. “You'd prefer I never come back here, right?”
“I can't stop you from doing that if you want to.”
“But it makes you nervous.”
“Yes.”
“You're the one who raved about the Christmas cheer in Gingerbread. And sure enough, the place is charming. I have friends who would love to vacation here.”
He sighed. “Then they should.”
“I think so, too.” She longed to assure him everything would be okay, because she was going to figure this out, but saying anything like that would alert him to her covert plans. For now, he couldn't know what was in her mind and her heart. Soon enough, he would.
Getting into his sleek black sedan reminded her of their songfest the night before, but she doubted he wanted to repeat that. He was tense this morning, and she had a hunch as to why. He was second-guessing his course of action. Pulling out of the inn's parking lot, he drove slowly down the street. As they rolled along, Taryn checked out the shops.
Cup of Cheer bustled with morning activity. “Cute coffee shop,” she said. “I suppose you never go there.”
“No, but my sister Belle does.”
“She still lives in Gingerbread?” Back in college, he'd mentioned two brothers and a sister, but she hadn't thought to ask where they lived now.
“We all work for Evergreen.”
“Oh. That's nice.” Or it could have been, except that if everyone had to keep the same damned secret, what kind of life did they have here? “Will I be meeting them?”
“We'll see. Depends on everybody's schedule.”
“You don't want me getting chummy with your siblings, do you?”
He glanced over at her. “The thing is, they know you were my college girlfriend.”
“Aha!” That pleased her immensely. “Then I'd be surprised if they didn't want to get a look at me. I would, if I were in their shoes.”
“They probably do want to.” He sounded resigned.
“Great. Then I will meet them.” She settled back in her seat with a smile.
Cole, however, was not smiling. In fact, his profile resembled an ice sculpture.
She'd have loved to thaw him out. “You know, I realized this morning I have no idea where you live.”
His throat moved as he swallowed. “It, um, doesn't really matter, does it?”
“It does to me. I'm not in the habit of taking my clothes off for a man when I have no idea where he lives or what his place looks like. Until this morning, I hadn't thought about that discrepancy. You do live in Gingerbread, I assume?”
“Outside of it, but yes, in a sense. It's the closest town.”
“Will you let me see your place?”
“That's not a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Taryn, don't push.”
“I hardly think it's pushing to want to see your home. Back at MIT we went back and forth between my apartment and your duplex all the time. I knew what was in your refrigerator and you knew what was in mine. Having no idea about your living space feels weird, Cole.”
He sighed. “We're not at MIT. And I can't show you where I live.”
She heard the note of finality in his voice and tucked that information away. Wherever he lived, the secret lived, too. If that weren't so, he'd have agreed to take her there.
Although she had a million more questions, she didn't ask them. He was already on edge. But she was about to enter a place filled with other sources of information.
As they approached the tall building she'd identified from her bedroom window, a portly man in a red jogging suit lumbered past on the snowy sidewalk. He had on a knit cap instead of a fur-trimmed one, but his white beard was very Santa Claus-like.
She'd decided not to make any more comments, but seeing the jogging Santa look-alike was a safe enough topic. “That guy we just passed looks exactly like Santa Claus.”
A muscle in Cole's jaw twitched. “I know.”
“Is he some local character?”
“Something like that.”
“It's kind of cute, don't you think? A middle-aged guy lives in Gingerbread and decides to take on the persona of Santa Claus. It's like the role players in old Western towns like Tombstone.”
“Guess so.”
“You don't seem to appreciate the charm of it, my friend.”
Cole took a deep breath and looked over at her. “I'd forgotten that your brain is always analyzing, always evaluating, sifting and cataloging.”
“Of course. So's yours.”
He flicked on a turn signal and pulled up to a wrought iron gate with scrollwork incorporating an elaborate E. “I'm going to ask you to focus all that brainpower on the Evergreen database. Pretend you have blinders on and ignore everything else.”
“Sounds like censorship, Cole.”
He touched a button on the dash and the gates swung open. “That's because it is.”
“For the love of God, what's going on in this building?”
Pulling into a parking space labeled with his name, he shut off the engine and turned to her. “I promise you that what goes on in this building is benign. There are no criminals here, no terrorists and no drug dealers. Nothing bad happens here, Taryn. Can you accept that and just do your job?”
“If it's nothing bad, why can't you tell me?”
“I can't tell you because...” He looked into her eyes and his throat moved. When he spoke, his voice was husky with emotion. “I can't tell you, not ever, and I really wish I could, because...”
“Because why?”
“Because I love you.”
She gasped, shocked that he'd said it, but thrilled, too. “But I love you, too! And people who love each other share things they wouldn't tell anyone else.”
“Not in this case.” His gaze searched hers. “I need you to analyze the database. You're the person for the jobâmaybe the only person who can do what I need done. Will you do that for me?”
“Yes, I will.” He hadn't asked her to promise she'd wear those blinders. Maybe he secretly wanted her to find out what was going on.
Whether he wanted her to find out or not, she intended to. This was ridiculous. They belonged together, and she wouldn't let him throw their future away, at least not until she knew why he was so intent on doing it.
The lobby was decorated for Christmas, which she would have expected. A blue spruce that had to be thirty feet tall stood in the center of the two-story vaulted ceiling. Evergreen ornaments hung from every branch. Many of them gave off that mysterious glow she'd noticed in hers.
Display cases filled with ornaments lined the walls, and each ornament was labeled with the year in which it was manufactured. Taryn didn't have much time to look, but she'd swear at least one of them dated back to the 1600s. “Cole, some of those ornaments are really old.”
“The company's been around a long time.”
“Did it originate in Europe?”
“Yes, it did, in fact. Let's get you signed in.” He guided her toward an ornate desk that looked as if it might have been imported from Versailles. Behind it sat a sweet-faced woman who could have been anywhere from fifty to seventy. She wore a red velvet dress, and the nameplate on her desk identified her as Jolie S. Garland.
Taryn wanted to ask her, with a wink, if that was her real name. But something about the woman's calm gaze kept her from doing that. Taryn suspected it was her real name, and she'd be insulted if anyone suggested otherwise. Whether she'd found her perfect job or the job had found her, she'd discovered the right spot for a person with that particular name.
Smiling, she handed Taryn a gold pen. “Sign here, Miss Harper, and I'll give you an access card.”
Jolie reached into a drawer and came up with a sparkling gold card with Taryn's name embossed on the front and a magnetic strip on the back. “This will allow you to board the elevator, which will take you to the IT center on the twelfth floor. If you need anything, please come back to the lobby and I'll assist you.”
“Thank you, Jolie.” Taryn returned the woman's genial smile, but she had the distinct impression she'd been given a ticket to the IT floor and nothing else. Once she and Cole were inside the shiny gold elevator, she confirmed it with him.
“That's all you were hired to do.” He unbuttoned his coat and loosened his scarf, but he stood on the opposite side of the elevator.
She found that significantâdepressingly so. “I thought you might give me a tour of the building while I'm here.” She hadn't really thought that, but it was worth a shot.
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Would you settle for a tour of the IT department? It's my favorite floor.”
“I'm sure it is. But your parking space said you were the CEO. Who's in charge of IT?”
“I am, for now. I haven't found anybody I'd turn it over to, so I'm doing double-duty.”
“That can't be easy. This looks like a huge operation. How can you handle the IT department when you're supposed to be the head honcho of Evergreen?”
“Obviously I'm not doing a very good job of it. You hacked in.”
“You shouldn't let that bother you. As I said before, I know your MO. The average hacker wouldn't have nearly such an easy time of it.”