Page 9 of All You Want
“It’s not you.” I cross my arms to keep her from throwing herself at me. “I’m not allowed to be with you.”
“Who’s not allowing it?”
It’s not who, but what—my principles. I can’t let her family corrupt me the way they did my predecessor.
“That I can’t say.” I glance around at the trees standing guard around us. “But if you want me to keep my position in town, you’ll have to not let anyone know.”
“I can keep a secret.” She licks her lips enticingly. “I’m really good at it. If we meet here or anywhere else, trust me. No one has to know.”
“That’s tempting, but no cigar. I have a job to do and a town to keep safe. You, on the other hand, are lawless and never follow the rules.”
She raises her hands, crossed at the wrists. “Then arrest me and abuse me all you want in your jail.”
I can’t help it.
I take her hands and kiss both of them, rubbing them against my face. I want her so much, but I can’t have her.
“Why are you holding back?” she asks when I let her go.
“I don’t want you to be stuck with a crooked cop.” My excuse sounds lame even to myself—but I know the subtle pressure to uphold the King family’s position—it goes along with the bank and the town’s finances.
She sucks in a gasp and points at me. “No way. You’re too straight of an arrow. I’m the one who’s lawless and breaking rules all the time. Guess that’s bad for your goody-two-shoes reputation.”
“You do understand, then.” I grab her with both hands and tug her toward me. “I have to uphold the law and keep the town safe, and you’re not cooperating.”
She shoves me hard. “You’re backwards. Clannish. Suspicious and conservative. If we want this town to grow, we have to take risks.”
“Booms are always followed by busts. The valleys are always deeper than the brief peaks, and we have enough problems without borrowing more.”
Her chest heaves, and she huffs with her dainty fists clenched. “It’s better to risk it all and lose everything than to sit on your rocking chair and watch the world go by.”
“Then risk this.” I lunge at her and bend her back, dipping her.
She sighs, opening herself to me, and I kiss the living nightlights out of her, leaving her compliant and speechless.
Five
~ Tami ~
I meet my bestie, Linx Colson, at her sister’s diner for breakfast, like I always do. She’s still recovering from the serious burns she suffered when she saved Jessie Patterson and her puppy from a fire set by the arsonist Todd and Shane weren’t able to catch.
Yes, she’s Jessie’s biological mom, but it’s ancient history why she had to give her up. Suffice it to say, Jessie’s a happy kid with a set of stable, loving parents and two godparents, as well as a stable of virtual aunts, uncles, and grandparents on both sides.
“Hey, Tami!” Linx raises both her bandaged hands. Even though her skin is healed, it’s still brittle and chapped, prone to breakdown from rubbing and pressure. It’s been hard for her to take care of her dogs, because she can’t wash her hands all the time, but due to all the publicity she received from the fire, saving the puppy, and her barn burning down, donations have flooded in, and she’s been able to hire workers to feed and clean up after the dogs. Adoptions have also been booming, and people are actually making a trip up the mountain just to visit Mountain Dog Rescue and help with the rebuilding of the barn which serves as a kennel.
This could prove to be a boon for the new Gold Rush developments starting with my hotel. I have big visions of bringing back an important part of our history while modernizing and using technology to build a thriving business community able to provide good jobs and livelihoods to our mountain folk.
Like all of the Colsons, Linx has dark-brown hair and is olive-complexioned. Her family roots run deep in these parts, starting before the first Colonel Colson appeared. Many of the initial mine workers were Native American Miwoks, followed by Chileans, Mexicans, Chinese, and Peruvians. In the beginning, miners from all over the world scoured the rivers and streambeds for easy pickings, but after the initial boom, laws and confiscatory taxes, as well as violence served to drive out those who were deemed to be foreigners—unless they assimilated or blended into the local population like Linx’s ancestors did.
“Linx, darling.” I swivel between the tables and light on her with an air hug. “Missed you last night.”
She covers her frown well with a casual shrug. Like Todd, Linx is one of the conservative ones who believe in keeping the town small and remote. She doesn’t particularly like newcomers, even though she welcomes dog lovers—but she’s always railing against the folks staying at the campgrounds. She believes they purposely abandon unwanted pets at the end of summer.
“You missed quite a show,” I say in a teasing voice. “Especially from your brother, Todd.”
“Then tell me everything,” Linx says, smiling widely as she accepts a cup of coffee from her sister, Joey, who runs the diner. “I saw some of the pictures on social media. Are you making Todd as uncomfortable as he looks?”
I wiggle my shoulders as I put a packet of sugar into my coffee, feeling spirited because the evening was a whopping success. Not only did Todd not stop the festivities, he was hailed a hero by the partygoers and dragged around the hotel posing in front of every half-finished exhibit—tales from the crypt, the mummy, the half-open coffin with the dry ice inside, and many more.
