Fool's Gold Collection Volume 3. Susan Mallery

her best friend, had fallen in love.

      Her relationship had burned hot and ended badly. Melinda, a softhearted young woman who always believed the best about everyone, had been devastated. Depression had followed. Two suicide attempts had shaken the small carnival community. Heidi had been determined to keep her friend alive, no matter what. But Melinda had been more determined to die.

      Heidi walked around the back of the house and headed for the refuge that was her goats. Watching Melinda suffer had made Heidi wary of love. Of the price it exacted. Very few of the carnival family were married, and she could only remember a handful of happy couplings. Which made her unclear on the benefits of falling in love. Could that kind of feeling really last, and was it worth the trouble?

      As far as how long it had been since she’d found a man in her bed, that was a different sort of problem. One of the downsides of living in Fool’s Gold was that, in a close-knit community like this one, there were no secrets. Going out of town for temporary romance might have been appealing, but she didn’t know where or how to begin. She wasn’t the bar type, and goats weren’t exactly a guy magnet.

      Glen always told her to be open to the possibilities. The next time one presented itself, she just might have to say yes.

      * * *

      HEIDI FINISHED PRINTING the new labels for her cheese and studied the result. The artwork was clean, the colors bright. The only way she knew to make more money was to sell more cheese. But would this new label appeal to consumers?

      Glen was downstairs. She could show it to him and get at least one opinion. If only she knew a marketing person, she thought as she walked out of her bedroom and ran into something solid, warm and very male.

      Heidi stepped back and looked up, then wished she hadn’t.

      Rafe had spent the afternoon unloading lumber and other supplies for the barn and fence line. No doubt he’d worked up a sweat and had therefore wanted to shower before dinner. But none of that explained why he was standing in the middle of the upstairs hall, wearing nothing but a couple of towels and a sexy grin.

      His hair was wet and standing in surprisingly appealing little spikes. He hadn’t bothered shaving, so he was a combination of rough and naked. He smelled like her goat soap. The towel draped around his neck did little to conceal his bare chest, and the one at his waist teased with possibilities.

      “What?” she snapped. “You can’t get changed in the bathroom?”

      That single damned eyebrow rose.

      “Is there a problem?”

      “No. And don’t think I’m going to sleep with you, because I’m not. You’re just stubborn enough that it wouldn’t distract you from what you want, and then I would lose twice.”

      His mouth curved into a slow grin. “I don’t recall asking you to sleep with me, but if you did, no one would lose.”

      Horrified to realize what she’d just said, Heidi turned and raced for the stairs. Laughter followed her down to the first floor, where she bolted outside.

      Cool evening air filled her lungs, but it wasn’t enough to ease the burning on her cheeks. Stupid man, she thought. Stupid man who looked really good in a towel. Whoever said life didn’t have a sense of humor was fifteen kinds of wrong.

      * * *

      “DON’T TELL ME TO SLEEP with Rafe to fix the problem,” Heidi said. Perhaps not the most professional way to begin the conversation with her lawyer, but she wanted to be clear. After last night’s unfortunate verbal spill, she’d been avoiding Rafe and planned to continue to not see him. Perhaps forever.

      Trisha shifted the folders in front of her. “You can’t ask me to help you, then tie my hands and expect a miracle.” She chuckled. “Okay. I won’t mention it. I wonder if Rafe would be interested in sleeping with me? I wouldn’t say no to that one, despite the age difference.”

      A visual Heidi didn’t want, but at least the concept was a distraction.

      “Rafe and May have moved in.”

      Trisha winced. “I don’t like the sound of that. Getting them out could be a problem.”

      “With what the judge said about us sharing the ranch, I didn’t think I could tell them no. The house is big enough.” She wasn’t going to mention her worries about Glen. As far as she was concerned, there’d already been too much sex talk.

      “How’s it working out?” Trisha asked.

      “May is lovely. Very sweet and motherly. She cooks.”

      “Ask her to come live with me,” Trisha said with a sigh. “I would kill for a home-cooked meal.”

      “Tell me about it. But Rafe is complicated.”

      “His type always is.”

      “I’ve heard more about what happened to May and her kids back when she worked for the previous owner. He was horrible to her.”

      “That may be true,” Trisha said. “It shouldn’t have an effect on the judge, but everybody’s human.”

      “What do you know about Rafe’s younger brother Clay?”

      Trisha leaned back in her chair and sighed. “You don’t know?” She laughed. “You really should.”

      “What are you talking about?”

      “Have you seen his picture?”

      “Sure. May put several out in the living room.”

      “Oh, not that kind.” Trisha typed on her laptop, then turned the machine so it faced Heidi.

      The photo of a man filled the screen. He was naked, the shot taken from the back—his butt front and center, so to speak. Trisha reached around and pushed a button. The picture changed to Clay Stryker in extremely tight bikini briefs. Unless he’d been Photoshopped, his, assets were impressive.

      Heidi felt her eyes widen as she stared. “He’s a—”

      “An underwear model. Also a movie butt-double. Trust me, the studios pay big bucks to get his ass up on-screen. Very successful.”

      “Rafe talks about him like he’s a criminal. Actually, he doesn’t talk about him.”

      “Probably embarrassed. Rafe is a successful business guy. Do you think he likes having his little brother posing half-naked on a Times Square billboard?”

      Heidi didn’t know Rafe well enough to be sure. “But he’s family.”

      “Not everyone thinks being family is enough. How’s the financial plan coming?”

      Heidi would rather talk about Clay’s butt or nearly any other topic. “Not well. I’m going to try to sell more cheese, and I have a couple of pregnant goats. Their kids will bring in money.”

      “Am I right in thinking they don’t go for a hundred thousand each?”

      “Not exactly.”

      “How did you buy the ranch in the first place?”

      Heidi shrugged. “I won a small lottery jackpot. It was enough for the down payment, closing costs and the goats. We had a few dollars in savings. I’ve started playing again, but I don’t hold out hope I’ll win a second time.”

      “Any rich relatives ready to die?”

      “No.”

      “Too bad.” She turned the computer around and closed the top. “You need to come up with a way to pay back a significant percentage of what Glen stole. The judge isn’t going to want to hear about a plan that takes a decade. I’m serious, Heidi. You could lose the ranch, and Glen could go to prison. For real.”

      “I’ll come up with something,” Heidi promised, although she wasn’t sure what or how.

      *