Sierra Falls (Sierra Falls 1)

“Just talk about something you feel strongly about. Like food. Only spice it up. ”

“Spice up the food?” Sorrow asked.

“No, dummy. Spice up your banter. Make it sex-ay. ” Laura raised a naughty brow, making Sorrow laugh. “And make some sexy food while you’re at it. ”

“Sexy food? You mean, like how they say stuff like oysters and foie gras are aphrodisiacs?”

Laura grimaced. “It needs to be easy and edible. Like, something drizzly and chocolaty and whipped creamy. ”

“Got it,” Sorrow said. Food was her domain, and talk of it gave her confidence. “And then what?”

Laura rolled her eyes. “Seriously? If you haven’t figured that part out yet, you’re in more trouble than I thought. ”

“You know what I mean. ” She joined Laura at the closet and picked out a purple dress, holding it in front of her before a mirror.

Her sister snatched it away and flung it on the floor. “Makes you look like an eggplant. ”

Sorrow plopped on the edge of the bed. “So, what will my excuse be, for showing up?”

“I don’t know. Make it up. You bought too many groceries or something. ” Laura picked out one black high-heeled boot and tossed through her closet to find its mate. “Isn’t the fastest way to a man’s heart through his stomach? You’re the chef, so…go chef. ”

She nodded. She could do that. “I can do that. ”

“You can do that. ” Laura’s eyes lit, and she plucked a gauzy black top from her closet. “A-ha. ”

Sorrow frowned. “You want me to wear that? It’s see-through. ”

Laura foisted it at her. “Wear it. And don’t leave until he kisses you. ”

Twenty-five

Billy knew he should do something, but there was nothing he felt like doing. It was too early in the evening to pop in a movie. He’d already gotten in a workout, just the free weights he kept in his garage, but his heart hadn’t been in it. Considering he wore only an ancient pair of jeans, it seemed he couldn’t even finish getting dressed.

He hadn’t been able to get events at the lodge out of his mind. The Bailey family had scoffed at his suspicions. Fallen trees, the errant road closure, car and appliance troubles galore—they blamed it all on coincidence. Just a slew of innocent incidents that came with mountain living. But the cut freezer lines had cast all those emergencies in a new light. He had a hunch something was going on. Somebody was playing a dangerous game.

And, one of these days, one of those innocent incidents could turn lethal.

He couldn’t bear the thought that Sorrow might get caught in the cross fire. He’d done some poking around, but it’d been no good. Bear had been right on one count: Sierra Falls was a friendly town, where everybody knew their neighbors. So who on earth would want to mess with the lodge?

He balled up his T-shirt and tossed it onto one of the kitchen chairs. As much as it killed him, he had to let it go for the night. All he wanted to do was storm the lodge and protect her, but it wasn’t his place.

He had to get his mind on other things before he drove himself nuts. He opened the fridge to stare inside. Food. He needed food.

There was nothing to eat. And he didn’t feel like cooking anyway. He slammed the door shut.

He’d already had pizza once that week, which just about covered the delivery options in Sierra Falls. He thought about the tavern, but there was no way he could go there.

Even though that was all he wanted to do.

The early birds would be showing up for dinner right about now. Sully had probably made some sort of meaty special—meat loaf, Prospector’s Pie, or maybe his Southwest burgers. He hadn’t made those in a while.

Billy could get a hot meal, keep his eye on things. Sorrow would be in and out, probably working on her own creation in the family kitchen.

Sorrow. If he went for dinner, he probably wouldn’t even see her. He could just swing by, grab a quick bite, make sure nothing was amiss. It wasn’t like he’d be paying her a visit. If he saw her, he saw her, and if he didn’t, well, it’d be no big deal. He grabbed his T-shirt, decided.

And then he stopped. He wadded the shirt back up and tossed it back onto the chair. He couldn’t go back to the tavern again. People would start to talk, if they hadn’t already. He’d lost count of the number of times he’d “dropped by” the Bailey place that week.

Something had happened on that car ride. A shift. It went deeper than him wanting to keep her safe. It was that he wanted her.