Matching Mr. Right (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Series Book 1) (14 page)

Nope. Nothing unusual, just a few popular mystery paperbacks—mostly unread if the bookmarks were any indication—lip balm, a mini flashlight, a pen, and some paper. Digging deeper, way on the bottom, she found two condoms. Boring. But nice to know he wasn’t a freak or anything since she was about to sleep with him. Sort of.

Nick’s voice drifted up the stairs, “Stop whatever you’re doing and get back down here!”

She laughed and ran to the other side to see if Beth had left anything more exciting. When she opened the drawer it was empty. He said she never spent the night. He’d been telling the truth about Beth after all.

Shelby went downstairs and straight to the kitchen. “You’re single again Nick, so two condoms, that are probably old, aren’t going to cut it. I’ll put them on the grocery list for you.”

“You went through my nightstand? What if I’d had whips and handcuffs in there?”

“It would have been a lot less boring, that’s for sure.” She wrote “condoms” in extra-large print on the top of the empty grocery list attached by a magnet to the fridge. Hopefully when he was feeling better he’d get his sense of humor back and it’d make him smile.

Nick had a great smile.

Shelby turned out the lights and made sure the screen around the still-burning fire was extra secure. Then she slipped under the blanket, snuggled up against all of his glorious muscles, and laid a soft kiss on his hot forehead. “Behave.”

“Now who’s boring?” Nick pulled her closer and shivered. “’Nite, Shelby.”

“Goodnight, Grump.”

She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

***

Sometime deep into the night, Shelby’s thrashing woke Nick. The fire had flared so the living room was unnaturally bright. Shelby mumbled about running to get away. Should he wake her?

Then she sat straight up. “Fire! We have to get out!” She pulled on his arm. “We have to go, Nick. Now!”

“It’s just the fireplace. You were dreaming. Look.”

She turned with widened eyes and stared at the fireplace for a moment before she closed them tight against the tears that leaked out the edges.

Her fight against the tears killed him. Pulling her against his chest, he tucked her head under his chin. “You’re safe, Shelby.”

She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight as her whole body shook. “Sorry. I still get dreams about the fire sometimes. I’m so pathetic, I’ve never even used my fireplace and I don’t allow candles in the house.”

“No, that makes sense.” He laid a kiss on the top of her head as jolt of pain stabbed his heart at the thought of Shelby, trapped in a burning house, trying to save her sister. “Do you want a drink of water or something?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. Sorry I woke you.”

“It’s okay.” He laid another soft kiss on her forehead. “Sweet dreams.”

After a while her breathing finally steadied and she fell back asleep. Only then would he allow himself to do the same. As he thought about her story, something still bugged him about the fire. So what if she’d left the burner on? That alone wouldn’t necessarily start a fire, unless she’d left a towel nearby or something. What if there had been faulty wiring or something entirely unrelated. Would they think to tell Shelby, who was a child sick in the hospital, and who’d just lost her family? There must be a police or fire report somewhere to confirm what had happened. But he wouldn’t want to upset her by dredging it all up, especially if her theory was true. So maybe he’d find a way to look into that without her knowing. He owed her that at least for deceiving her.

***

Sunlight flowing through Nick’s twelve-foot-high windows assaulted Shelby’s eyelids. She blinked her eyes open and found herself still draped over Nick, his chest a fine pillow. She hadn’t moved since he wrapped her up tight and held her after the dream. The only difference was his hand had slipped under her loose sweats and cupped around her butt. Because she’d worn a thong, it was bare skin he held.

“Nick?” She lifted her hand to feel his forehead. Still hot.

He moaned, but didn’t wake, so she poked him in the ribs. “Nick!”

His eyes jerked open. “What?”

“Move your hand.”

He gave her bottom a gentle squeeze. “Nice.”

Before she could snap at him, his hand slipped under her T-shirt. When his fingernails softly raked in long, slow strokes up and down her back, she arched like a cat.

His chest rumbled under hers. “Shelby likes her back scratched.”

“Doesn’t everyone?” She closed her eyes and fought the sigh that wanted to escape. “Sorry about the nightmare last night.”

How embarrassing that he’d seen her like that. It probably wasn’t normal to still be such a freak about fire. But he’d been so patient and sweet, holding her tightly all night, making her feel safe.

There it was again, that sweet side he hid so well.

Nick murmured, “Thanks for staying.” His long fingers, still gliding smoothly up and down her back, had just found the side of her bare breast when the sound of pots and pans rattling in the kitchen stopped his movement.

“Someone’s in your kitchen? Does Beth have a key?” Awkward. Especially because Beth was her client now.

Nick’s fingers started up their pattern against her sensitive skin again and it sent a shiver down her spine. “Only my mom has a key.”

“Your mom? Do you think she saw us?” She threw back the blanket, hopped off of Nick, and moved to the loveseat.

“I’m sure she did. We’d be hard to miss from the front door. Who cares?”

“I’ll bet she couldn’t miss your grocery list either.”

His head whipped toward hers. “I thought you were kidding about that. Dammit, Shelby!”

Before she could escape, his mom walked into the living room. “Good morning, you two.” She laid a kiss on Nick’s forehead and winced. “That’s some fever, sweetheart.”

Nick grunted.

“Morning, Mrs. Caldwell. This looks bad, but it isn’t what you think.”

Before his mom could respond, Nick said, “Shelby’s like Buddy.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

Not to Shelby. “Who’s Buddy?”

Nick’s mom smiled sweetly. “Nick had a golden retriever named Buddy when he was a kid. Buddy always seemed to know when someone in the family was sad or not feeling well, and he’d crawl up next to one of us and cuddle until we felt better.” She stared into Nick’s eyes for a moment before she turned and stared into Shelby’s. “Nick really loved that dog, Shelby.”

Shelby’s stomach took a dive at the implication in his mother’s voice. “Ah . . . okay. Well, I should get going.” She stood and hitched her pants up. “So, it’s time for his medicine again, and don’t trust anything in his fridge except the soup and the éclairs. I left some cookies for him on the counter.” She held on to her pants with both hands and started for the stairs. “Oh, and don’t try to clean his fridge out—even though it’s a biohazard—because he wants to do that himself. He’d never dream of asking his
mother
to do it.”

“I’m sitting right here, Shelby!” Nick growled.

She shot him a grin before she zipped up the stairs.

***

Nick glanced at his mom. “You saw her car out front and still used your key instead of ringing the doorbell?”

His mom chuckled. “I didn’t know the car belonged to Shelby. And it’s parked in the street, not your driveway. But never in my wildest did I think I’d find you and Shelby cuddled up on the couch.”

“We’re just friends.” He ran a hand down his face, digging deep for patience.

“That’s probably why you need those condoms on your grocery list so badly.” His mother sat beside him. “It’s written in bold letters.”

He’d kill Shelby for making him have a discussion about condoms with his mother. “Shelby did that to annoy me. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s her mission in life.”

“Mmmm.” She nodded slowly. “Yes, it’s always best to snuggle with the ones who annoy us the most. But it was nice of her to stay and help. Are you hungry?”

He ignored her sarcasm. “A little. Shelby brought Popsicles. Maybe I’ll have one of those.”

“She brought you Popsicles?” His mother’s eyes sparked with delight. Not a good sign. Before his mom could continue her torment, Shelby joined them again.

“Okay, he’s all yours, Mrs. Caldwell. I’ll wish you luck. He’s the crankiest sick person I’ve ever met. But I’m sure you already knew that, knowing him his whole life and all.”

His mother laughed, the traitor. “He was probably on his best behavior for
you
, Shelby.”

“I hope for your sake that’s not true.” Shelby moved in front of him and laid her cool hands on the sides of his face, lifting it up. Then her lips tilted into one of those cute smiles he’d seen her beam at kids. “But in his weakened state, a few moments of sweetness managed to escape. Feel better, Grump.” She planted a noisy kiss on his forehead he wished had been on his mouth, then she turned to his mom. “Bye, Mrs. Caldwell.”

“Bye, honey.”

After Shelby left, he turned toward his mom’s smirking face. “Stop. We’re just friends.”

“Uh, huh. And I’m the Easter Bunny.”

Since when had his mom become such a smartass?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Chester didn’t want to accept an apology from the kid who stole his football, but the teacher made them shake hands anyway.”

Chester Tries to Forgive

Shelby admired the beautiful orchid in the center of the kitchen table at Nick’s mother’s house. Emily had texted—or had someone do it for her—before school asking if they were still going to write a book together about being in the hospital. No way she could say no to that. “This is so pretty. But I hear they’re hard to keep alive.”

Mrs. Caldwell, who had insisted Shelby call her Linda, smiled. “I enjoy the challenge, but haven’t had one in years. Nick’s father sent it. He’s been acting strangely lately.” Linda sat across from Shelby and passed a plate of still-warm-from-the-oven cookies toward her. “Now that I think of it, it’s been ever since I started dating a younger man.”

Linda took a bite of cookie, then her eyes grew wide. “Nick doesn’t know I date, so I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t say anything about that, Shelby.”

“No, of course not.” Nick didn’t know his mother dated? Something was up. She’d have to explore that later.

The front door opened and a deep voice called out, “Anyone home?”

Linda frowned. “We’re in the kitchen, Ed.”

Nick’s father walked in and laid his hands on Linda’s shoulders. “You got the orchid. Hello, Shelby.”

“Hi, Mr. Caldwell. It’s nice to see you again.”

Linda’s brows scrunched. “Thank you for the orchid, but I still can’t figure out why you sent it. Maybe you should get a physical. It’s like you’ve had a stroke and you forgot to act like the ass you’ve been for the past twenty years.”

Shelby stifled a laugh.

He said, “We used to always have one in the house, so I wanted to buy you another.”

“That confirms it. You have had a stroke, Edward.” Linda hopped up and scooped cookies off of the pan. “Don’t you remember why I always had an orchid in the house? It reminded me of our Hawaiian wedding, and how in love we were back then. When you left, I tossed the one I had out, just like you did with me and the kids, and I vowed to never have another!” Blinking back her tears, Linda turned her back to him and pretended to clean her already spotless kitchen counters.

Things were getting way too personal for Shelby’s taste.

Nick’s dad said, “Maybe I wanted to see if we could make an orchid grow again, Linda.”

Deciding it best to leave the two of them alone at such a crucial moment, Shelby stood and headed for the door, only to run into a familiar, hard chest.

Nick’s big, hard chest.

His hands slipped to her waist to steady her. “What are you doing here? And where’s Lori?”

“I have no idea where your sister is.” Why would Nick ask her that?

He glanced around the kitchen and when he saw his father, a scowl darkened his face.

His parents’ discussion came to an abrupt halt. They all stared at each other as tension hung thick in the air.

She felt like someone should say something, so she looked up at Nick. “What are
you
doing here? Shouldn’t you be home in bed? Aren’t you still sick?”

“I stayed home from work but I’m bored out of my skull. Mom mentioned she was baking cookies today and she made a batch for me. I thought I’d save her a trip.” He tugged her closer. “So, why are you here Shelby?”

Before she could answer, an excited six-year-old bounded through the door. Emily sent her backpack flying onto a chair before she launched herself at the back of Shelby’s legs, wrapping them up tightly. “Hi, Shelby. I’m ready to write!”

She slipped out of Nick’s embrace then lifted Emily up to her eye level. “Me too. Want to grab a snack before we start? Your grandma made some yummy cookies.”

She glanced at Nick over Emily’s head. When he sent Emily a cute proud-uncle smile it warmed her heart.

But then Nick spotted the orchid and his face turned to stone. Picking it up, he asked his mom, “Where did this come from? I haven’t seen one of these in the house since I was a kid.”

Nick’s mom glanced at Edward, who in turn looked at Shelby. Geez, what was with these people? She wasn’t even part of the family. Why were they looking at her? But then a thought struck her.

Passing Emily off to Mrs. Caldwell, she turned to Nick and plastered on a smile. “It came for your mom today. From a secret admirer.”

Nick scowled as he searched the plant for a card. “My mom hates orchids.” He started toward the trash with it, but Linda laid her hand on his arm and stopped him.

“But this one is kind of pretty, Nick.” She shifted Emily on her hip before she took the plant from him. Then she glanced at Edward. “I’m finding my tastes are changing as I get older. How about you, Ed?”

Edward smiled. “Absolutely.”

Nick frowned and looked at his mother as if she’d lost her marbles. “Whatever. Bye, Mom.” He started toward the door, and ignoring his father’s presence, said, “I’ll see you later Short Stuff.”

“Bye, Uncle Nick,” Emily mumbled around a bite of cookie.

Nick’s mom called out, “Don’t you want your cookies?”