Head Over Heels (The Bridesmaids Club Book 3) (11 page)

“I moved to Montana to get away from everyone.”

Sally sat forward. “And how’s that working out for you?”

“Not that well since I met you,” Todd snarled.

Dan held his hands up. “That’s enough. All this bickering isn’t getting us anywhere. If Sally has to move in with her parents, then I think you should consider it, too, Todd.”

“I’ve considered it and it’s not going to happen.” He glared at Sally and she glared right on back.

“Okaaay,” Dan said. “Now that we’ve got that settled, how are we going to keep you safe, Todd?”

“You could always rent a bodyguard?” Sally said sweetly.

That earned her another glare from Todd. And then he grinned so darn fast that she had to blink to make sure she wasn’t imagining things.

“Dylan,” Todd said. He glanced at her. She didn’t have a clue where this pearl of wisdom was heading. “He’s a security specialist. If he can look after Hollywood stars and world-famous singers, he can look after me.”

Sally tried hard not to roll her eyes. A bodyguard? In Bozeman? He’d been watching too many Mission Impossible movies. She looked at Dan. “Are you sure all of this planning is necessary? A black truck followed me. It might not mean anything.”

Todd choked on his coffee. “You forgot about the drug lord that’s coming here. I know it’s a small detail, but it’s worth thinking about.”

Sally narrowed her eyes at Todd. “You’re hilarious. Who would have known?”

Dan sighed. “I think we can safely say that this meeting is over. I’ll call Detective Munroe tomorrow and do more research on the black pickup. Sally, Todd will give you a hand to move your things out to your parents’ ranch. And Todd, you need to give Dylan a call before you leave here. You’ll need around the clock support. I’ll do what I can from this end and let Dylan know when he won’t be needed. You might want to tell Dylan to make sure his fiancée is okay, too. Who knows how deranged Mr. Zambezi’s mind is?”

Sally stared at Todd. He looked as though he already knew, and it wasn’t good news.

***

“A goat?” Todd looked at the motley animal in front of him and frowned. “What the hell am I supposed to do with a goat?”

Sally slammed the door closed on her brother’s truck and glared at Todd, the fugitive from hell. “He’s a peace offering…”

Matthew, Sally’s brother, appeared from behind the trailer they’d hooked to the back of his truck. “Make that two peace offerings.” A pretty little goat of unknown pedigree bleated in agreement.

Todd glanced at the goats. “I refuse to be your substitute animal shelter. Just because you’re having withdrawal symptoms from society, doesn’t mean you need to fill my ranch with…” He looked at the goats and scowled. “…animals.”

Sally knew why he was grumpy. The stress of being constantly watched was getting on her nerves, too. “It serves you right, you know.”

Todd rolled his eyes. “I don’t really want to know what serves me right, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

Sally glowed with fake happiness. “If you think living on your ranch with bodyguards from Fletcher Security is hard, you should try living with my brothers. I’ve only been home for three days and they’re driving me insane.”

“Excuse me?” Matthew said. “As one of the brothers in question, I take offense at your character assassination. We’re only doing what Dan told us to do.”

Sally threw her hands in the air. “I can’t go to the bathroom without one of you asking where I’m going. It’s barbaric.”

“It’s called keeping you alive,” Todd growled. “I think your brothers are doing a great job.”

Matthew stood taller. “Thank you. I like what you’ve done with your house.”

Sally tried to work out if Matthew was being serious or sucking up to Mr. Macho in his faded blue t-shirt and ripped jeans. Just to be sure, she took a closer look at Todd’s home. The paint was still blistering and the some of the wooden siding still needed to be replaced. The only difference she could see were the little black boxes mounted at strategic points around the roof and under the porch. The house looked as though it was wired for trouble.

“You’ve been renovating without me?” she asked sweetly.

Todd ignored her question. With a sigh of martyrdom, he took the rope leads out of Matthew’s hands and pulled the goats across to his barn.

“I don’t think he’s very happy,” Matthew whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Of course I do,” Sally said with more certainty than she felt. “He’s just taking his time to warm up to the idea.”

“Peace offerings don’t usually come with four legs.”

She glared at her brother before following Todd. She hadn’t been entirely honest when she’d told Todd why she was here. She just hoped part two of her master plan worked out better than part one.

By the time she’d walked across to the barn, Todd had both goats locked inside one of the stalls.

He glanced over his shoulder at her and frowned. “I don’t have the faintest idea how to look after goats.”

Sally pulled a booklet out of her back pocket. “I did some research on the Internet and downloaded this for you. It’s from the American Goat Society.”

Todd didn’t look impressed, but he took the brochure.

“Chris said to give him a call if you have any issues.”

“You told my boss about the goats?”

Sally scuffed the toes of her boots against the straw on the floor.

“Who else did you tell?” Todd’s voice had risen a notch.

She didn’t know what was so bad about people knowing he was the proud owner of two goats. “I might have mentioned it to Tess, Annie, and Molly. Maybe Rachel, too. They thought it was wonderful of you to adopt them.”

They hadn’t thought that at all, but she wasn’t telling Todd that. They thought Todd wouldn’t say no to the goats because he was too nice. If they could see the expression on his face now, they wouldn’t have been so eager to make him into a good guy.

“They can stay here for a couple of weeks. If they don’t work out, I’m sending them back to the shelter.”

“That’s mean.”

“That’s life.”

Sally didn’t hold out much hope of Todd ever being in a better mood than he was now. After an unhealthy amount of silence, she decided it was time to launch part two of the reason she was here. “I want to talk to you about something else.”

“You don’t have an elephant in the back of the trailer, do you?”

She couldn’t work out whether he was joking or serious. “No elephant, but I do have a request.”

Todd crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What is it?”

“Carolyn’s wedding.” Todd started to speak, but she cut him off. “I know you said no, but we’re desperate. Can we please use your old barn? It would mean everything to Wayne and Carolyn.”

“Have you forgotten that we’re in lock-down mode? The head of one of the most dangerous gangs in New York is after us, and you want to have a wedding on my property. Are you insane?”

“No more insane than anyone else. With all of the extra security around here, it will be like getting married in Fort Knox.”

“Fort Knox is bricks and mortar. If someone blasts a hole in it, someone else can come along and fix it. If you get a hole blasted in you, you’re dead. Is that a risk you’re willing to take?”

Sally tilted her nose in the air. “You’re being overly dramatic. Nothing’s going to happen to either of us.”

“Damn right nothing’s happening, including the wedding you keep asking about. If the bride and groom want an outdoors wedding, they can get married in a park. I won’t have strangers making themselves at home on my ranch.”

“I can’t believe you’re so stubborn.” She crossed her own arms in front of her chest and glared at him. “What will it take to make you change your mind? An opinionated man such as yourself must have an idea of what he wants.”

“I didn’t know you were into bribery and corruption.”

Sally wanted to wipe the smirk off Todd’s handsome face. “You didn’t ask. Now tell me - what will it take?”

Todd leaned against the stall railing. His gaze traveled slowly over her body, creating prickles of sensation in places that hadn’t prickled in years.

She took a step forward and stared into his blue eyes. “A man ought to be careful when he looks at a woman like that. Especially a woman who’s brother is standing within yelling distance.”

Todd stepped even closer. His hands moved up her arms, along her shoulders, and tangled in her hair. “And a woman ought to be careful when a man has a bodyguard of his own standing alongside her bodyguard. What do you think they’d do if the man or woman were to cry out?”

Sally wanted to fan her hot face with her hands, but the front of his shirt seemed a much better place to put them. “Are you flirting with me?”

His lopsided grin did funny things to her tummy. “It’s better than fighting.”

Sally agreed, especially when his lips started to caress her cheek, then dipped to within an inch of her lips. Her body swayed into his, cocooned in the heat of a man that was too much of a distraction.

“What would you give me, Sally Gray, as compensation for the use of my barn?”

Right at this very moment, she’d give him anything. And then she remembered his wife and son, the monster that had torn his life apart. “If I could, I’d give you what you want most in the world. But I can’t. So I’ll teach you how to make the best chocolate cake in Montana, instead.”

Todd’s sigh sent goose bumps along her skin. He bent his head and his lips brushed against her mouth. His kiss was sweet and seductive, a heady mix of longing and thanks. “That’s for thinking that what I want the most is in my past.”

He kissed her again, but this time there was no sweetness involved. This kiss was pure male; deep, demanding and so hot that all Sally could do was hold on tight and enjoy the ride.

She’d never met anyone who could kiss like Todd Randall. It must have been a genetic fluke or a talent to compensate for his mule-headed stubbornness.

The goats started bleating, kicking up such a storm that Todd stepped away from her. “And that was for now. For teaching me how to live again.”

With a trembling hand, she pushed a lock of hair over her ear. She decided that maybe he wasn’t so stubborn after all. “Does that mean we can use your barn?”

Todd stuck his hands in his pockets. “What am I going to do with you? You’d have to be the most determined woman I know.”

“Just remember that when I bring more animals out here from the shelter.” Sally decided to practice some kissing skills of her own. She stepped forward and nibbled Todd’s jaw with her lips. “You haven’t answered my question.”

Todd sucked in a deep breath as her lips did a little wandering. “I know, but I’ll answer another one.” He stepped back, took a deep breath, and yelled for Dylan.

Sally clamped her hands over her ears and scowled at him. “Are you crazy?”

“Not yet.”

The barn doors swung open and three men scrambled inside.

“What’s going on?” Dylan growled. “It sounded like you were being attacked.”

Todd winked at Sally. “I believe I was. What took you so long?”

Matthew looked between her and Todd. “My sister’s just gotten her own way again, hasn’t she? You really need to watch her. She’ll have you wrapped around her little finger before you know it.”

Todd grabbed Sally’s hand. “Thanks for the advice. But if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got a wedding to plan.”

Before she got a chance to tell Matthew whose wedding Todd was referring to, she was whisked out of the barn, straight toward Todd’s home. The one with the sun-blistered paint and a saggy porch.

“Do you want your chocolate cake lesson now?” Sally paid careful attention to the smile on Todd’s face.

“You can teach me how to make chocolate cake when there aren’t three men following us.”

Sally looked over her shoulder and sighed. This was
so
not the beginning of the something wonderful she’d always imagined.

But on the brighter side, Carolyn and Wayne now had a venue for their wedding. At least one couple would have a happy ending.

CHAPTER FIVE

Tess pulled another bridesmaid’s dress off the rack in front of her. “What do you think about this one?”

Janice McDougall, one of the bridesmaids waiting patiently for a fitting, smiled. “It looks beautiful.”

“Try it on and let me know how it feels.” Tess handed Janice the dress and watched her walk into the changing room.

“I never get tired of the magic,” Molly said.

It was Saturday afternoon, and that meant The Bridesmaid Club headquarters was bursting with women looking for the perfect dress for their perfect weddings. Sally wasn’t sure how they’d ended up with two wedding parties arriving at once, but it hadn’t mattered. Everyone had been good natured about sharing the space, the mirrors, and the dresses.

“Turn to your left,” a lady with a mouthful of pins muttered.