Roadside Attraction (Castle View Series Book 2) (3 page)

When was the last time he’d checked the cable? He’d been dead on his feet when he’d taken the short ride to find something to eat. Hell, as distracted as he’d been, the bike could have been on fire and he wouldn’t have noticed. “So how long will it take to get it fixed?”

“Labor time? About five minutes, but I’ll have to charge you the shop minimum.” Norm looked the cable over.

“That’s great. I’d like to be out of here this evening.” Josh considered the next stop on his trip. If he could leave early enough, he’d be in Canada before dark fell. That was the good thing about having no real travel plans, no one expected him at a certain time.

“Well, there’s a problem with that.” Norm held out the throttle cable. “I’ve got some in stock, but I’m sure I don’t have one to match this so I’ll have to get the part first. You’re lucky it’s a standard part. If I had to get it from the manufacturer, it would be months. I’ll order it as soon as I get back, but I’ve worked with these guys before and you’d think they used the pony express for their deliveries.”

Josh sighed and ran a hand through his too long hair. How could he be stuck in a one-horse town with no bike shop? Whoever was in charge of his karma must be laughing their butt off right now. He returned his attention to Norm. “You didn’t say how long it would take you to get the cable.”

“Best guess?” Norm waited for Josh to nod. “Two weeks max. If we’re lucky, it will just be a week. Enjoy your time in St. Josephs.”

What the hell am I going to do in this town for two weeks?

Maggie wiped the sweat off her face as she wandered into the changing room at the small gym. Typically, she’d rather run outside, but when Abigail had been getting in shape for her wedding, they’d both bought a year membership in the locally owned, Fitness for You. Steve, the owner, was a recent transplant from Portland and crazy about fitness.

Abigail ran to catch up with her. “What’s got you all in a snit this morning? Don’t tell me you and Mark are fighting again about the budget.”

“No, it’s not your husband.” Maggie opened her locker and pulled out her jacket and keys. It might be June, but early morning still felt chilly. Abigail’s comment reminded her that she needed to get her brother the marketing plan this morning. She’d wanted to email it last night, but then, she felt her face heat at the memory. She really needed to stop blushing every time she thought of Josh.

Abigail put her hand on Maggie’s arm. “Sit down. With that reaction, I know something’s up. Tell me.”

They both sank to the bench between the two rows of lockers. Maggie looked around and didn’t see or hear anyone in the room. “You can’t tell anyone, especially Mark.”

Abigail took her red hair out of the ponytail and then smoothing her hair with her hands, put it back in. She tossed her head a bit to make sure the hair was secure. “I don’t tell Mark everything. Like how we went clubbing in Seattle when we dropped off Tami and that really cute guy was hitting on you? You really should have gotten his number.”

“I didn’t need a long distance romance.” Or a one night stand, which looking back on the Seattle encounter, Maggie was sure that’s what had been on the guy’s mind. “Anyway, do you want to hear this or not? I need to tell someone.”

“Ohh, now I’m intrigued. You rarely have gossip.” Abigail pulled on her own jacket, sitting her keys down on the bench.

“I kind of met a guy last night.” Maggie paused, wondering if she really wanted to tell the whole story. What the heck, he’s probably got that cycle gassed up and is long gone by now. “He came into the restaurant and we played pool.”

“Maggie, that’s so cool. Where does he live? What’s his name? Do I know him?”“Josh, that’s his name, lives in California and no, you don’t know him.” Maggie took a deep breath. “I slept with him. One time, but man, it was amazing. Can you believe it? I haven’t done something this reckless since college.”

“Tell me you used a condom.” Abigail’s face scrunched in concern.

“I’m not stupid. Of course, we used a condom. But wow, if he was local, the guy would be perfect. Dark hair, mysterious, he rides a motorcycle. There’s just a little bit of bad boy showing through.” Maggie sighed. “Thank God he doesn’t live nearby. I’m pretty sure he’d be one huge mistake.”

“But a fun one, right?” Abigail’s phone alert chimed. “Crap, Becca has music camp this week and I’ve got to get going.”

The two women stood. “I’ve got to get to the restaurant anyway. Your husband needs my marketing plan so he can blow it up and tell me no before lunch.”

Abigail gave her a quick hug. “I’m so glad you’re getting out there again. Dating’s not that scary. This one might have got away, but there’s a lot of guys here who would love to have a chance at sweeping you off your feet.”

“Right. I think you’re overlooking a few of their flaws.” Maggie walked out of the changing room with Abigail by her side. “Besides, this doesn’t mean I’m on the market. But it was fun.”

Steve stood at the counter, reading the local paper. “Hey Abigail, Maggie.”

“Hi, Steve,” the women chimed in unison, neither one slowing their pace toward the door.

“Maggie? Do you like hair bands? There’s a tribute band playing at this bar in Spokane on Friday night. Maybe we could take a ride?” Steve put the paper down and smiled at her.

“Not really my style, but have fun.” Maggie held the door open for Abigail and left the gym.

Abigail grabbed Maggie’s jacket before she crossed the road to her car. “What are you thinking?”

Stunned, Maggie looked down at her. Clearly she’d missed something Abigail had said. “What are you talking about?”

“Steve just asked you out and you blew him off.” Abigail looked at her with wide eyes.

Maggie glanced back into the windows of the gym. She could see Steve standing there, back to reading the paper. “He did not. He asked if I liked hair bands…” She paused, thinking about the exchange. “Crap, he did ask me out, didn’t he? Man, I’m bad at this dating thing.”

She thought about Steve’s invite as she drove back to her house to change. He was a really nice guy, but was she attracted to him? The six foot something trainer’s body was in peak condition. She’d teased him about his six-pack once when they were working out together and he switched out his t-shirt for a tank top. But Steve? He kept his head clean-shaven and in a way, the guy reminded her of the Mr. Clean advertisements. She giggled, trying to imagine kissing him, then the image of Josh hungrily taking her last night stifled her humor. No, Steve wasn’t an option. If she was going back into the dating shark pool, she needed to figure out what and who she was looking for in a potential companion.

She’d make a list. Tonight, when she was at home, she’d take a notebook, grab a glass of her favorite wine, and make a list of what she wanted. Then the universe would lead her in the direction of her perfect Mr. Right. Now, this was a plan.

Showered and dressed, she decided to walk to the restaurant today. The Castle View compound as she jokingly called it consisted of the big house where her mother lived with her new foster son, Shane. Mark had his office in the nearby barn. Maggie’s horse, Bo, was stabled there and she looked up the road wistfully, sending a mental promise to the black thoroughbred that Saturday she’d take him out on a long ride. Her brother Brad’s new mini-mansion set a few miles from Mom’s. Maggie’s home was more casual and closer to the restaurant and winery. Abigail and Mark lived in what had been a caretaker’s house for the sanctuary. Or they would until the builders finished their house on the hill near Mom’s and Brad’s.

Maggie liked being a little out of the way. Mom didn’t just drop by, like she did to Brad, bringing him home-cooked meals. Yet Maggie was close enough that if anything happened, she could be at any of the four houses in a flash. The land had been in her father’s family for years and she blessed her ancestors who had been smart enough to buy up the property when they did. Now, the current generations just needed to make it profitable.

Which is why Mark needed to accept her marketing plan. It would work, she knew it. With her thoughts on the plan, she power walked to the restaurant and almost missed the fact that the motorcycle was gone. A twinge hit her, but she pushed it away. One-night stands were not something to get depressed about. Josh was gone and she’d never see him again. That was reality.

“Hi Cari, how’s the reservations look for tonight’s service?” She called out to the empty dining room.

Cari came out from the kitchen, holding a rack of silverware. “Pretty good for a Thursday. We also have our poker group coming in at seven so we’ll be busy.”

“Sounds good. I’ll come back and help prep in a bit. I’ve got to get this report to Mark before he starts calling or worse, shows up for a free meal.” She headed to her office.

Cari cleared her throat. “No worries. I kind of hired a new dishwasher/prep cook to work this week while Mike’s on vacation.”

“Oh? I forgot he was gone this week.” Maggie knew since Mike recently graduated from St. Josephs High she would need to replace him by the end of the summer, but she hoped he would put off moving until she could find someone permanent. Maybe Cari had already solved the problem. “Is it someone local who’d want to stay on? We could run heavy for a few weeks until the tourist season hits full bore.”

“Actually, he’s only here for a week, maybe two.” Cari put the tray down and stepped toward her. The look on her face worried Maggie.

“Who did you hire?”

Just then, the door to the kitchen flew open and Josh walked out, a bag of clean linens in his arms. “If you want these a certain way, just show me. I can’t do swans, but I’ve folded my share of napkins in the past.” He stopped when he saw Maggie. “Oh, hey, I didn’t think I’d see you until service started.”

She shot a dagger look at Cari. Then she motioned to Josh to follow her. “Can I talk to you?”

He followed her into her office, sitting the bag of napkins on the couch. He shut the door behind him. “Look, I know this is a shock, but believe me, I’m just here to burn time while I wait for my bike to be fixed.”

“How lucky for us.” The biting words came out before she could stop them. She held up a hand. “Look, I’m happy you’re here since we would have been shorthanded this week. But just don’t think we’re going to …” She looked at the couch remembering last night. 

He grinned, which only made her anger surge. He held up his hands. “What happened between us last night will stay between us. I don’t want to ruin your ice queen reputation.” With that he turned around and left the room with the napkins. She heard him talking to Cari, getting a lesson in their folding.

Ice Queen? Who had told him about her high school nickname? Tom. The guy had followed her around like a puppy in high school.
She’d give him a what for the next time she saw him. She closed the door and went to her desk to open her laptop. While she waited for it to boot, the couch mocked her.

When the door to her office opened again, she didn’t even look up at Cari. “Look, I’m fine with you hiring him. No worries, okay?”

“Hiring who?” Mark’s deep voice made her jump.

“I thought you were Cari. What are you doing here?” She frowned when she saw her other brother, Brad, follow Mark into the room and shut the door. “Family meeting I forgot?”

Brad lifted the afghan off the couch, brushed off the imaginary dust, and sat down. Maggie pressed her lips together. Her fastidious brother would have a cow if he knew what had happened last night right where he sat. She knew he wasn’t gay, but Brad didn’t have good luck with women. Mostly because he was a self-centered jerk. But she guessed she shouldn’t be calling a kettle black with her love life history. “We need to talk about Mom.”

Mark settled into a desk chair and frowned at his brother. “Way to ease into it, dork.” He leaned forward putting his forearms on his thighs. “Brad and I are worried the house is too much for her. She’s trying to do all the cleaning. According to Shane, he caught her in the attic moving boxes last week when he was downstairs making a sandwich. When he asked her what she needed, she didn’t seem to know why she’d started looking for whatever she’d been in a tear to find. We need to hire a caretaker to live with her.”

“You weren’t any softer.” Brad leaned back, his left hand resting over the back of the couch, playing with the afghan. “So are you on board? If so, we’ll tell her at Sunday dinner.”

“Wait, you think Mom needs a caretaker? And you think if you tell her over dinner she won’t throw us all out before we get to dessert?” Maggie shook her head. “I think you’re over- reacting.”

“She needs help with the house. If we get someone who has some medical background too, we’ll be covered in case there is something wrong.” Mark pulled out a piece of paper. “I got a referral from the local hospital. She’s a registered nurse, but she’s working on her physical therapy certification and needs money. We won’t be able to keep her forever, but she gets free room and board and a weekly paycheck and we won’t be worrying about Mom. Between Destiny and Shane, Mom shouldn’t have to do anything but her laundry and cook when she wants to.”

Maggie glanced over the resume. “I don’t think we can afford someone with these skills. She’ll probably want more than a small salary.”

Brad looked at Mark. “I told you she’d see through the plan. Tell her the rest.”

Mark leaned back in the chair. “Okay, there is one more thing about Destiny. Castle View will be investing in her physical therapy business to help with startup costs. We’ve got a payback plan, but if she stays with Mom for at least five years, the loan is postponed until she sells the business.”

Maggie looked over the resume again. The girl looked like she was smart, determined, and qualified. Probably over- qualified for cleaning the attic. “I don’t know, Mom doesn’t like us messing with her stuff. Remember when you tried to take over paying her bills. She told you exactly where you could put your help.”

“That’s why we have to be a united front.
”
Brad smirked and looked at his watch. “Besides, she won’t know the whole story. We have a cover story. Destiny needs someplace to stay and we thought Mom might like another roommate. Look, I’ve got a meeting with a new distributor. Is this conversation over?”

Maggie shook her head. “I think she’s going to see through this. Can we at least wait to tell her after Sunday dinner? She called Monday and told me she’s making homemade ice cream.”

Mark stood, laughing. “Leave it to Maggie. Seriously, is it always about food with you?”

She shrugged and came around the desk to give him a hug. “Mostly. You see where I wanted to work, right?”

“See you all Sunday.” Brad didn’t wait for a hug or even a verbal goodbye. He just walked out and closed the door behind him.

Maggie looked at the closed door for a long second. “He’s not handling Mom getting older and I know he’s still upset about Dad’s death. He just shows it differently.”