Tahoe Blues (30 page)

Marissa grinned and changed the subject. “I think we should also be thankful that Nate W
aters wasn’t exactly the big tough gangster he made himself out to be.” She laughed out loud. “He didn’t have any idea the two of you had cracked the case. Can you imagine his surprise when he pulls up in front of your house and your daughter shoots out his tires? He had no idea what was happening, all he was doing was keeping an eye on David.”

Hunter chuckled. “That’s my girl.”

Marissa brushed back her long blonde hair. “Now then,” she said rubbing her hands together excitedly, “what time are our families supposed to arrive?”

“David called a few minutes ago. I guess he pulled a few too many wires out of that fancy SUV of his. It gave out about three miles out of town.”

Marissa’s eyes filled with merriment. “Of course it did. I told him not to buy that thing.”

“I see an,
I told you so
, coming on,” Hunter snickered happily. He opened the passenger door to his beat up Durango. “Shall we go rescue them?”

They pulled into the parking lot of a small strip mall. David was leaning up against his metallic blue un-drivable mode of transportation. Jack and Sandy began jumping up and down at the sight of their mother, while Dakota applied her recently purchased eyeliner in the rearview mirror.

Marissa jumped out before the Durango was in park and rushe
d to grab her babies. “Hey, guys!”

Jack and Sandy talked about a million miles a minute. Marissa only caught about a fourth of what they were
saying. Something about Jack driving a car and Sandy learning how to shoot a rifle. She looked questioningly up at the loving eyes of her very handsome husband who was casually sauntering over.

“Don’t worry,” he shrugged with a mischievous grin on his face. “The rifle wasn’t loaded.”

When her lips parted in surprise, David covered her mouth with his, and for the moment the kids were forgotten.

Hunter frowned. “What? My kid can’t be bothered to come
over and give her old man a hug?”

David
broke away from Marissa’s kiss but kept the full length of her body fixed firmly by his side. “Don’t give her a hard time. She’s gone almost an entire week without makeup. She wants to look pretty for you.”

“The hell with that.” Hunter raced over and pulled Dakota
away from the SUV and swung her around in a circle, the same way he had when she was a little kid.

Dakota squealed with delight but said with as much indignation as she could muster, “Stop, you made me ruin my face.”

Hunter replied by messing up her freshly brushed hair.

Marissa snuggled a little closer into the pit of her husband’s arm. “
You bought all that stuff for her when you knew she was going to be home in just a few hours?”

David answered proudly,
“The very first moment I felt comfortable enough to use my credit cards. Just wait till you get to know Dakota. I think I love that kid. She’s a real trouper.”

Her hu
sband was just a big old softy.

Marissa looked down at her chi
ldren and noticed they were oddly dressed in clothes that didn’t come close to fitting. “Where did you get your new outfits?”

“Dad stole them.” Sandy mouthed off before David could put his finger to his lips.

David laughed at his wife’s shocked expression and pulled her a little closer. “It was a busy campground. I only took a little here and there. I’m sure they weren’t missed,” he reassured her confidently.

Marissa
stuck her fingers in her ears. “I think we should get home before I hear something else I’m going to have to try and forget.”

Chapter
Fifteen

“Are you sure about this, Mrs. Grimes?” Cara asked.

Cara
and Erin stood behind Mrs. Grimes and Tanner, who were sitting aboard the rented ski boat Cara had procured to get Mrs. G. back out onto the lake, to thank her for everything she had done for her.

The University had reinstated Cara without any resistance, which was unheard of
when a scandal and an arrest were involved, but Cara had a good lawyer and Martin Langley had worked his way around the board with ease.

Cara decided to let Jena finish out the summer term on L
OLA so she could spend time with her mom, and to give the turmoil all of Tahoe was feeling, a chance to settle down before returning to work. The board of regents had appreciated this gesture and had granted her an instant and immediate extended leave of absence. Cara was relatively certain she would be able to take the fall semester off as well, but that depended on whether or not her parents could stand her being around so much. Cara suspected that all this family time could become too much of a good thing, and it wouldn’t be long before they would all need a break from each other.

Within hours of her exoneration, she and Tanner were on the road to Sonoma. Cara couldn’t wait to inform her parents that she was free and cleared of all charges. She also couldn’t stomach the thought of another moment in the
apartment she had once been so fond of. She needed a change of scenery, the warmth of her mother’s embrace, and for her parents to meet the new man in her life.

The two weeks they spent at her parent’s home had solidified
the love she felt for TJ, her tool-man, her Tanner James Reed. He fit right in with her family in a way that Duncan had never come close to achieving. Tanner never once hesitated to help with her mother’s care, and he spent hours playing her mom’s favorite board games, which in turn, had given her dad a much need respite from the daily grind.

Cara knew beyond a shadow of
a doubt that she had chosen well this time around, when she heard her mom toss out the ultimate challenge as she rolled the dice at her next turn. “I’m going to beat that skinny little butt of yours, Tanner Reed.”

Tanner
countered with, “You think my butt is skinny, you should take a look at your own.”

For a moment Cara held her breath. Her mother had lost about twenty pounds due to her illness and was now thin as a rail.

Cara didn’t have to worry. Her mom laughed so hard, Tanner had to help get her oxygen mask back in place before they could continue with the game.

B
eing back in her childhood home, Cara slipped into the role of daughter once more. She no longer felt like an adult woman who made up the rules which governed the way she chose to live.

She was in her parents’
home and their rules took precedence. Tanner and Cara shared the same room, but she didn’t feel comfortable being intimate with him with the folks right across the hall.

Her mom and dad
never said anything to make her feel this way. It was all in Cara’s mind. Midway through their visit, Tanner was feeling a little frisky and felt it was time to push the imaginary boundaries Cara had placed upon them. Late one night as they lay side by side, he teased her with soft, nibbling kisses to her ear. His hands moved down her body and caressed each and every curve.

Cara squirmed away
, but her body tingled with excitement. “Tanner, stop,” she whispered. “They’ll hear us.”

Tanner counter
ed by pulling her close. “I’m pretty sure that’s a hearing aid in your dad’s ear, and your mom took a sleeping pill a couple of hours ago. I think we’re safe.”

Cara stroked his face. “I know, but it feels too weird.”

Tanner wrapped his bare leg around her waist. “Hush,” he cooed into her ear. “If you stop thinking for just a minute, I’ll make you forget all about this being your childhood bedroom.”

Cara responded to his touc
h and pressed her body into his.

The moment Tanner kn
ew he had her consent, he pulled a brown paper bag he had stashed in the drawer of the bedside table and handed it to her. “I’ve been holding on to this for a while, and I thought maybe we should put it to use.”

Cara
opened the bag with a curious smile on her face. When she saw the rechargeable Jack Rabbit she squeaked in horror, “Where did you get this?”

Tanner chuckled under his breath. “
Quiet, do you want to wake up your parents?” He took the bag and dropped it off the side of the bed. “I’ve had it since the first day you moved in. It was hiding under a bush. You missed it in your mad dash to gather up your goodies after the bottom fell out of your toy box.”

Cara could do nothing but shake her head. “What took you so long
to return it?” She retrieved Jack out of the paper bag, and waved it in Tanner’s face. “Have you been experimenting with my toys?” she teased.

Tanner snatched it out of her hand
. “No, I just didn’t know how to return it without embarrassing us both.” He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “I almost used my key to sneak into your apartment and put it back in the toy box without your knowledge. Remember the day I rummaged through your cabinets looking for it? I wanted to be able to make my getaway as quick as possible.”

Cara began to giggle. “You would have made it on candid camera and become our number one suspect. I would have loved to have heard that explanation in front of the lynch mob.” T
hen Cara retracted her stance. “Actually, I’m extremely grateful that you didn’t return it until now. David and Hunter saw too much of me as it was. They’re probably still talking about a few things. It’s amazing how many times you walk through your house naked when you don’t think anyone is watching.”

Tanner wagged the pink vibrator with three speeds of rotating beads in front of Cara’s face. “What do you think
, Cara Lee? Shall we play with the bunny?” He flipped the switch, and the sound of the motor vibrating the long ears broke the still of the night. The device was much louder than Tanner expected, and he quickly snapped it off.

“Holy crap that thing is noisy.” he chuckled nervously. His
head fell back onto the pillow, and his lungs began to heave. Cara could feel his heart thumping beneath her hand. Tanner stared at the ceiling for a long minute before he said, “Okay, now I feel self-conscious. I’m good with waiting until we get back home.”

Cara covered her face with her hands and shook with sile
nt laughter. For all his bravado, her tool-man was a prude at heart. Sex or no sex, she enjoyed this man.

The only reason they returned to Tahoe was because Tanner was still leery about his new assistant. Mrs. Grimes was keeping an eagle eye on Lisa Hill and had reported to Tanner on a regular basis, but he needed to make sure Mrs. Grimes’ assessment of the fiery redhead was correct before her probationary period ended.

Cara no longer cared if he kept the woman on or not. Tanner seemed to
be immune to her, and Cara decided she wasn’t going to waste another moment worrying.

Cara looked
over at Leah, who remained stoically on the dock. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”

“If that crazy lady is driving
, I don’t want any part of it. Come back for me when she’s no longer in the driver’s seat.”

Mrs. Grimes poo- pooed Leah’s concerns. “
Girly, I’ve done this a million times. It’s just like riding a bike.”

Leah rolled her eyes. “And the last time you
were on a bike was... when?”

Suddenly a little ne
rvous about letting the old woman maneuver out of the harbor, Cara asked again, “Are you sure you can do this Mrs. Grimes? I’ll be happy to get us out past the buoys, then I’ll let you take control.”

Mrs. Grimes reached down and turned the key. “Nonsense. Are all the lines aboard?”

Erin threw in the last rope. “We’re ready to go.”

“Slowly now,” Cara warned. “Until we get past the buoys we are in a five mile-per-hour zone.” She stood behind Mrs. Grimes
, ready to take control of the throttle if the old woman went too fast. Tanner sat in the passenger seat, and Erin stood behind her brother with her hand resting on the back of his chair.

Mrs. Grimes pulled the throttle back and began to expertly putter out of the harbor. Just as Cara was beginning to believe everything was going to be fine, they passed the buoys. Mrs. Grimes whooped for joy and yanked the controls into overdrive.

Cara was able to grab hold of the back of Mrs. Grimes’ seat, but Erin was not so lucky. In an instant, her body was pitched over the side and into the crisp clear water of Lake Tahoe. Cara had to overcome the G force in order to turn her head to check on Tanner’s little sister.

Erin popped to the surface and held up her thumb
, indicating she was alright, then she turned and freestyled her way back to shore.

It was a good thing Erin was okay
, because Mrs. G was oblivious to everything else around her. An insanely high pitched laugh radiated out across the lake and other boaters scrambled to get out of the crazy manic path of destruction.

Cara kept an eye out for any sign of real danger. Mrs. Grimes was having the time of her life. Cara didn’t want to take that away from her, but she also needed to get
everyone home safe and sound. Five more minutes of sheer lunacy was all she was prepared to allow.

Tanner’s
body was pinned back into his seat. One hand clenched the railing, the other hand gripped the bottom of the chair, and his eyes were wide with fright.

Leah reached out a hand and helped Erin back up on the dock. “Are you okay?”

Erin grabbed her long blonde locks and squeezed out t
he excess water. “That old lady is bonkers. She could have killed me.”

Leah was right there with her. “I tried to warn you. If I know Cara
, she’ll be shutting Mrs. Grimes down any moment. She has a lot of experience dealing with immature daredevils.”

Erin burst out laughing. It wasn’t hard for her to imagine. Most of her male counterparts at UCLA were more child than man, and she
couldn’t imagine that Cara’s students were any better. “I wish I could have seen LOLA. My biology professor would have been so jealous.”

Leah cocked h
er head questioningly. “That’s the second time you’ve mentioned your biology professor.” She shot Erin a sly wink. “And I’m pretty sure you aren’t smitten with him because of his teaching skills.”

“Don’t you dare say anything like that when T
J is around,” Erin chuckled. “I have enough trouble with him as it is.” A sly little twinkle lit up her eyes. “But you’re right. He’s very good looking, for an older guy.”

“Did you know your brother and I went to high school together? He was the older guy for me, not that he even knew I was alive, he only had eyes for Kate.”

Erin nodded, but she didn’t want to talk about the ghost of Christmas past. She could still hear all of Kate’s motherly advice bouncing around in her head and very little of it meshed with any of her recent decisions.

“Could you t
ell Tanner I’ll see him back at his place? I’ve had enough water for one day.”

Leah nodded and Erin
made her way up the dock towards the parking lot. When she reached the Crow’s Nest Restaurant, Erin turned and scanned the lake for the ski boat. She caught sight of it about a mile or so out. Mrs. Grimes was still in control, cutting quick zig-zags in and out of the traffic. A moment later she heard her brother squeal like a little girl. “We’re gonna die!”

Cara must have killed the engine
, because the boat suddenly bounced slowly over the wakes and drifted dead in the water.

The next thing
Erin heard was Mrs. Grimes screeching, “Dang it, TJ! Why do you have to be such a baby? Cara took my keys away.”

~~~**~~~

Leah stood on the dock shaking her head. The last few weeks had been pure madness. Besides Cara’s full exoneration, the CEO of Bellissimo Abito had been indicted right along with Inga Alexander for money laundering and racketeering. Leah’s suppliers who hadn’t given her the time of day in recent months, were suddenly bending over backwards to get her business back.

Mark Porter was leaving his wife
, and now that they had been properly introduced by Cara in front of all her friends, Mark and Leah no longer had to keep their association a secret.

Just like the volcano
which erupted and changed the landscape millions of years ago. The Tahoe Basin was once again being recreated. Leah looked forward to the future, even though the famous Alexander Gala, the event which supported her business for the rest of the year, was in jeopardy. Leah knew Baily’s Boutique was probably going to have to switch focus and start catering to a middle class clientele since the upper class proved to be so much trouble.