A Little Surprise For The Boss

Terri breezed in from the covered hallway that connected with the hotel, trying to look as if nothing had happened. She found Bob in her office, sitting back in her chair with his boots on her desk and spilled coffee leaving a trail across the mahogany surface. A spark of annoyance flared. But she bit back a sharp comment. She’d asked the boy to cover the phones. He probably didn’t know how to transfer the calls to his own desk.

“So catch me up,” she said. “What’s happening?”

Making no move to get out of her chair, though he did at least have the grace to drop his feet off the desk and look a bit embarrassed, he picked up a yellow notepad. At least he knew enough to write down messages. “The skydive’s covered,” he said. “Jay called another instructor who was willing to take it.”

“That’s a relief.” And it was. After this morning, she was in no condition to parachute out of a plane with the seventy-year-old woman who was jumping to celebrate her birthday. “Anything else?” she asked.

“Diane called again. She wanted to know where Buck was. I told her you’d gone to look for him.” He glanced up at her. “Did you have any luck?”

Terri willed her expression to freeze. “Buck isn’t feeling well. He’d turned off his phone so he could get some rest, that’s all.”

“Well, I guess I should give you your desk back.” He stood then, a gangly figure who towered over Terri by a head. “Hey, did you lose your earring?” he asked.

“Oh!” Terri’s hands went to her earlobes. One earring was in place. The other was missing.

The little turquoise-inlaid silver earrings in the shape of Kokopelli, the Native American flute-playing deity, were her favorite pair. She’d received a lot of compliments on them. Even Buck had noticed them.

The missing earring could have fallen off anywhere. But it hadn’t. Terri’s gut feeling told her exactly how and where she’d lost it.

Buck would be sure to recognize it. And that meant that he’d have to acknowledge what had occurred between them. Her stomach roiled in fear and anticipation. This could be a disaster...or it could be the start of something amazing. And she had no way of knowing which until Buck finally arrived.

Two

Buck’s ringing cell phone blasted him out of a sound sleep. Cursing, he fumbled for the device on the nightstand and sent it clattering to the floor.

Damn! He could’ve sworn he’d turned that phone off before collapsing into bed last night. And he would never set the ringer up to its full, earsplitting volume. What the devil was going on?

Grabbing the phone from the floor, he pushed the answer button. “Hullo?” he mumbled.

“Where’ve you been, Buck?” As always, Diane’s voice scraped his nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard. The worst of it was, between the daughter they shared and the chunk of his company she owned, he’d likely be hearing that shrill voice for the rest of his life.

“Sick.” He forced the word through a throat that felt as if he’d swallowed glue.

“Well, get unsick. It’s almost noon. Did you get my voice-mail messages? I must’ve left you three or four.”

“Haven’t checked.”

“I’ll save you the trouble—I need you to pick up Quinn.”

His daughter’s name jarred him to alertness. “Weren’t you supposed to bring her here?”

“I’ve got people coming for a retreat. I could bring her up next week, but she’s all packed and ready to go. If she has to wait, she’ll be so disappointed.”

“Fine. I’ll send Evie Redfeather down in the jet to pick her up.” Evie was his personal pilot. Quinn knew and liked her.

“You can’t come yourself?”

“Like you, I have other commitments. Tell her Evie’s coming. She’ll be fine with that.” Buck ended the call before Diane could think of some other way to pull his strings. This last-minute change of plans was typical. Diane would have known about her retreat for weeks and could have made arrangements for Quinn earlier. But why do that when she could create a little drama?

Diane had been a Vegas showgirl when he’d met her ten years ago. After a hot weekend in her bed, he’d flown home without giving her a second thought. But then she’d shown up pregnant on his doorstep, and he’d done the honorable thing. For a while they’d tried to make the marriage work, but it had been doomed from the first “I do.” After a nightmare divorce settlement, she’d moved to Sedona, Arizona, and opened her own new age ashram.

The experience had left Buck with a bitter taste when it came to marriage. But at least he had Quinn. Quinn had been worth it all.

The phone shrilled again. Knowing it was Diane, Buck turned it off and lay back on the pillow. He’d come home last night with a pounding migraine. Feeling like roadkill, he’d taken some pills, undressed and fallen into bed, hoping to sleep through the pain. It had worked. He felt better today.

Especially after that crazy, sexy dream he’d had.

Closing his eyes, he tried to recall it in detail. He’d had erotic dreams before, plenty of them, but this one had been different. It had seemed so...real. The warm silkiness of skin against his body. The taste of that luscious mouth. Even the sexy aroma of her skin. He could remember everything about the woman—except her face.

Damn! He’d gulp down a whole bottle of those blasted pills if it could bring the dream back. His climax had been an explosion of sheer sensual pleasure, so powerful he’d probably drenched the bedding underneath him.

He frowned, struck by an odd notion. He should be lying in a damp spot now. But the sheet beneath him felt perfectly clean and dry.

Perplexed, he sat up, moved to one side and ran his hand across the mattress. Nothing. He shook his head, as if trying to clear out the cobwebs. What in blazes had happened here?

That was when he noticed something else—a subtle fragrance rising from the bottom sheet. Pressing his face to the fabric, he inhaled the sweet, clean aroma, trying to identify it. This wasn’t the softener the hotel laundry used. And it wasn’t one of the expensive perfumes his sexual partners tended to drench themselves in. It was something else, something fresh but somehow familiar. It was her scent, exactly as he remembered it.

There could be only one conclusion—the dream had been real. There’d been a woman in his bed, and he’d made love to her.

But how could that be? There’d been no one here when he’d gone to bed last night. The gate to the property had been locked. The house had been locked. And if the dog had barked at an intruder, he hadn’t heard it.

Was he losing his mind?

He sat up. The room looked the same as usual. Nothing appeared to have been touched except—

His gaze fell on the phone.

Now that his head was clearing, he distinctly recalled turning it off before he went to sleep. But someone had not only turned it on again but adjusted the ring volume loud enough to raise the dead.

Who would play such a dirty trick on him?

Maybe he was still dreaming.

Sliding his legs off the bed, he pushed to his feet and stood on the sheepskin rug. His legs felt as shaky as Jell-O, probably because the pills hadn’t worn off. Maybe if he went downstairs and got some coffee in his system, he’d be able to think straight.

His robe was draped over the foot of the bed. He took a step toward it, then jerked back with a grunt of pain. His bare foot had come down on something sharp—some object caught in the thick wool of the rug.

Bending over, he found it with his fingers, picked it up and held it to the light. It was a small silver earring, inlaid with turquoise and fashioned in the shape of Kokopelli, the humpbacked Native American flute player. He stared at it, recognition slamming him like a mule kick.

Terri’s earring.

Buck sank onto the edge of the bed. Lord, could he have had mind-blowing sex with Terri, who’d always been like a kid sister to him? Terri, that miracle of patience and efficiency who kept the hectic world of Bucket List Enterprises running like well-oiled clockwork?

No, it was unbelievable. But it was the only possible answer. Terri would have the gate code and the security combination for the front door. The dog, who’d bark at any stranger, knew her well. Glancing at the clock, he saw how late he’d slept. That made sense, too—Terri must have come to check on him when he hadn’t shown up at work.

And only Terri would have turned on his cell phone when she left and set the ringer loud enough to wake him. Knowing her, she probably would’ve fed the dog, too. He would remember to check when he went downstairs.

But if Terri was the answer, he still had plenty of questions. Had he really had sex with her? But the dream, which seemed less and less dreamlike the more he thought of it, left little doubt of that. He remembered waking up to a woman leaning over him, remembered pulling her into bed. Remembered her response, and the way she’d made him feel... He’d initiated the encounter, but she’d come willingly.

No way would she have joined him in that bed...unless she’d wanted to.

Holding that thought, Buck showered in the bathroom, finger-raked his hair, and pulled on sweatpants and a T-shirt. He was wide-awake now, but going back to work today wouldn’t be a great idea, especially since Terri would be there. Sooner or later he’d have to face her. But before that happened, he had some serious thinking to do.

He took a minute to phone Evie Redfeather and arrange for her to pick up Quinn in Sedona. Evie, a retired air force fighter pilot, had made the short flight before and said she didn’t mind going again. That taken care of, he went downstairs in his bare feet to make coffee.

With cup in hand he wandered out onto the redwood deck and leaned on the railing. His eyes traced the passing flight of a golden eagle, its wings casting a brief shadow against the sunset-hued cliffs. A downward glance into the yard confirmed that Murphy’s food dish was full of kibble, his water bowl freshly filled. Terri had been here, all right. No one else would think to take care of his dog while he was sick.

But what was he going to do about her? Terri was his right-hand woman, the person he depended on for everything from booking tours and flights to hiring and firing employees to fending off Diane. But sleeping with her would change the dynamics of what had been a perfect relationship—a relationship he couldn’t afford to lose. He could get a bed partner anytime he wanted one. But, damn it, Terri was irreplaceable.

Buck sipped his coffee and thought hard. This misstep would have to be dealt with. The question was, how?

He could call her into his office—no, maybe take her out to dinner, apologize profusely and promise it would never happen again. But how might Terri respond to that? At best it would create an awkward situation between them. Or she could be hurt. She could feel rejected, even angry. She could even—God forbid—quit her job and leave.

There had to be a way to put this behind them without harming their relationship.

Buck gazed down at the cooled dregs of the coffee in his cup, thinking hard. What if he were to behave as if the whole thing had never happened? After all, he’d been half-asleep. Surely Terri wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t remember. She might even be relieved.

The more he thought about the idea the better it sounded. Nothing would have to change—no expectations, no awkwardness. Terri could go on working for him as always. Even if she suspected him of knowing, she’d have no proof.

His white lie would save face for both of them.

But it didn’t make him feel any better about what had happened. Sex with Terri had been sensational. With any other woman, he would have been lobbying for a return engagement. But Terri was off-limits. Not only was she his employee but she was Steve’s kid sister, the girl he’d promised to look after when Steve didn’t make it home from Iraq.

And having half-drugged sex with her wasn’t part of that promise.

At the moment Buck didn’t like himself much. Between now and the next time he saw her, he had some soul-searching to do.

* * *

By the time Terri had finished her last task for the day—posting tomorrow’s schedule online—it was an hour past closing time. Bob and the summer temps had gone, leaving her there alone to close up. She was about to lock the door when Quinn, trailed by Evie Redfeather, came bounding across the parking lot.

“Hi, Terri!” Blond ponytail flying, Quinn collided with Terri in an exuberant hug.

Terri hugged her back. She adored Buck’s daughter. “How’s my favorite girl?” she asked, meaning it.

“Great!” Quinn’s blue eyes, so like her father’s, sparkled.

“You’re taller,” Terri said.

“I know. Mom says I’m having a growth spurt. The clothes I left here won’t fit. We’ll have to go shopping for new ones.”

Evie Redfeather had come up behind her. In her early fifties, she was a handsome, broad-faced Navajo woman. “Buck asked me to drop her off at his house, but we were two hours late getting out of Sedona.” She shook her head. “That woman! Always with the drama!”

Terri didn’t have to ask Evie who she meant.

“I saw your Jeep in the parking lot and realized you must still be here,” Evie said. “I hope you won’t mind running Quinn home. Bert and I are expecting friends for dinner. I need to get going.”

“Sure.” Terri stifled a groan. The last thing she wanted was to show up at Buck’s house with Quinn. The conversation they needed to have couldn’t happen with little ears present. “Go on, Evie. Thanks for picking her up.”

“No problem. Here, I’ve got her bag. I’ll put it in your Jeep.”

Terri felt Quinn’s hand slip into hers as they followed Evie’s long strides to the Jeep. She fought back a rising attack of nerves. How would Buck react to what had happened? Would he treat her any differently because of it? Would he be embarrassed? Aloof? Indifferent?

But this wasn’t about her and Buck, Terri reminded herself. It was about Quinn, and making the little girl’s homecoming a happy occasion. She could only hope Buck would be out of bed and fit to welcome his daughter.

“Up you go.” She boosted Quinn into the high seat of the Jeep. “Hang on, we’ll have you there in a jiffy.”

“What’s a jiffy?” Quinn asked as Terri climbed into the Jeep. “You use the funniest words, Terri.”

“A jiffy is a very short bit of time. I learned lots of old-fashioned words from my grandma. Maybe I should’ve said we’d be there in the flick of a lamb’s tail. Would you have liked that better?”

Quinn giggled. Terri had kept her distance during the short duration of Buck’s marriage. But after the divorce, once Quinn became old enough to spend time in Utah with her father, she’d become attached to the little girl. Maybe too attached. What if Buck were to remarry? Could she back off and let Quinn go?

But she wouldn’t think about that now. Things were already complicated enough.

“Can we go out for pizza tonight?” Quinn asked. “I want lots of pepperoni on mine. Mom’s vegan now, so she won’t let me eat meat. She didn’t even give me a choice.”

“Don’t they make vegan pepperoni?”

“It’s yucky. So’s the cheese. Has Dad got a new girlfriend yet? I didn’t like the last one. She was scared of bugs and she was always fixing her makeup.”

“I don’t know,” Terri said. “You’ll have to ask him. And you can ask him about the pizza, too. He’s your parent. I’m not.”

“You sound mad. Are you mad, Terri?”

“At you? No way!” Terri reached across the seat and squeezed the girl’s shoulder. She’d have to watch herself around Quinn. The perceptive child was wise beyond her years. If she sensed any tension where Buck was concerned, she was apt to ask awkward questions.

They’d turned off the main road and were headed up the canyon. Terri felt the knot tighten in the pit of her stomach as she realized she was still wearing her single Kokopelli earring. Had Buck found its mate in his bedroom? Or had he not yet left the bed where she’d left him, after the most explosive sexual experience of her life?

They swung up the private road to the gate, and Terri punched in the code. Buck would surely know his daughter was coming. At least he’d been awake enough to have Evie fly down and pick her up. But just to avoid an unpleasant surprise, she pushed the intercom button.

“Hi.” His deep baritone went through her with the shock of memory. It made her shiver to realize she now knew exactly how that voice sounded sex-drenched and husky.

“It’s me.” The words emerged as nervous squeaks. “I’m bringing Quinn.”

“Great. Come on up.” His voice betrayed nothing. Either he was a good actor or he wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened in his bedroom.

Or he didn’t care. Knowing Buck, that was possible, too.

* * *

Buck stood on the front porch watching the Jeep come up the drive. Seeing Terri was a surprise. He’d asked Evie to bring Quinn here. But there must’ve been a change of plans.

Things could be awkward with Terri. He didn’t quite know what to expect from her. But Quinn would be with them. That would make things all right—for now, at least.

The Jeep pulled up next to his Hummer and stopped. Throwing off her seat belt, Quinn bounded out of the passenger seat and raced up the steps to give him a hug. As he swung her off her feet, he could tell she’d grown since Christmas break. With her in Sedona most of the year, he was missing so much of her life. Maybe this summer he could find a way to spend more time with her.

“Hi, Daddy,” she said. “I missed you.”

“Me, too.” He lowered her to the ground. “Are you hungry?”

“Starved.”

“She told me she wanted pizza.” Terri had come up the steps with Quinn’s suitcase. Buck looked at her and forced a smile. Terri smiled back at him, but her eyes held a flicker of uncertainty. She was wearing one of her Kokopelli earrings. Her other earlobe was bare.

That clinched it. If Buck had had any doubt about her being in his bed this morning, it was totally gone.

He was still dealing with the reality of it. Terri was an attractive woman—beautiful in an unassuming way. But he’d always made it a rule to keep his hands off his best friend’s sister. Steve had been gone for a dozen years now, but that rule hadn’t changed. Until now, he’d assumed she had the same rule. But this morning had thrown the rule book out the window, for both of them.

He forced himself to speak up. “Pizza it is. How about Giovanni’s?”

“Yes!” Quinn grinned. “Their pizza’s the yummiest! Can Terri come with us?”

“Terri?” He looked at her, half hoping she’d make an excuse not to come along. Terri’s presence was rousing his memory and putting lustful thoughts into his head—the last thing he needed right now. Their interlude this morning had been incredible...but it could never be repeated.

“I’d better not,” she said, avoiding his eyes. “I promised my grandmother I’d come and visit her tonight.”

“Please, Terri!” Quinn begged. “If we go now you’ll still have time to see your grandma.”

“Come on, Terri.” Buck remembered his resolve to act as if nothing had happened. “It won’t be a party without you.”

She hesitated, then sighed. “All right. I am getting hungry. But let me follow you in the Jeep. That way, when we’re finished, I can just go from Giovanni’s to Canyon Shadows.”

“Okay. Let’s get going.” Buck put Quinn’s bag inside the house and helped her into the passenger seat of the Hummer. He had to believe that in time, if he kept up the act, things would go back to normal. But right now, with the memory of Terri’s lithe, lush body fresh in his mind, it was like walking a tightrope over a volcano. One slip and he’d be in big trouble.

* * *

Terri waited until the Hummer had backed down the steep driveway. Then she turned the Jeep around and followed the hulking vehicle down to the road. It wasn’t too late to head off in a different direction. She could always make an excuse, call Buck’s cell, apologize and say that she’d remembered an important errand. But Quinn would be disappointed if she didn’t show up to share a pizza. Buck, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care either way—about sharing a pizza with her now, or about sharing a bed with her this morning.

Part of her wanted to believe that this morning would make a difference, that Buck would look at her and see a warm, desirable woman. But clearly that hadn’t happened. It was time for her to face the truth. No matter what happened, Buck was never going to see her the way she wanted to be seen. There was only one question left: What was she going to do about it?

Twilight was settling over the town and over the sandstone cliffs that ringed it like the setting of a jewel. Main Street glittered with streams of traffic. Shoppers and diners strolled the boardwalks. Music drifted from cafés and taverns.

This was Buck’s town, but that didn’t mean she had to stay here forever. She had the qualifications and the experience to get a job anywhere in the tourist industry. She’d be a fool to let loyalty keep her in a situation where she felt like a piece of furniture.

Giovanni’s Pizzeria was at the far end of Main Street. When the Hummer’s taillights turned into the parking lot, Terri followed and pulled into the next space. Buck and Quinn were waiting for her when she climbed out of the Jeep. “Let’s go!” Quinn seized her hand and pulled her toward the entrance. “Extralarge pepperoni and giant root beer, here I come!”

Buck chuckled as he caught up with Terri. “Quinn tells me her mother’s had her on nothing but wheatgrass juice and tofu,” he said. “She’s probably exaggerating, but it’ll be a pleasure to see her enjoy real food.”

Terri forced a little laugh. The hostess showed them to a booth with a traditional red-checked tablecloth and a candle melting down the outside of an empty wine bottle. They slid into the seats, Terri and Quinn on one side, Buck on the other. Their waitress came right over to take their order. The pretty blonde was a stranger to Terri, but she seemed to know Buck.

“So this is your little girl!” She flashed a toothpaste-ad smile. “What’s her name?”

Buck, all charm, made the introductions. “Jennifer, this is Quinn. And this lady—” He gave Terri a nod. “This is Terri, my right-hand woman.”

Terri forced a friendly smile. Inside, she was seething. Why couldn’t Buck have used her job title, or just her name? Didn’t he know how demeaning right-hand woman sounded? Obviously not, unless it was meant as hidden message to the waitress—don’t worry, she’s not my girlfriend.

Meanwhile, the waitress was looking at Buck as if she wanted to eat him alive. No doubt she’d be happy to sleep with him, if she hadn’t already.

Terri brought herself up with a mental slap. Good Lord, she couldn’t be jealous! Buck had never tried to hide his love life from her. She’d always accepted his shenanigans with a sisterly shrug, burying any hurt bone-deep. Even his shotgun marriage hadn’t shaken her unconditional affection for the man. And she certainly hadn’t expected for Buck to promise her fidelity and exclusivity after one romp in the bedroom together. But to see him now, just hours after their encounter, flirting with another woman while treating her with his usual indifference, she felt a senseless urge to leap across the table and smack Buck’s handsome face.

Grow up and get over it! she told herself as the petite blonde walked away from the table with their order. Even the sway of her jeans-clad hips held an invitation. The art of seduction was one Terri had never mastered. And suddenly she felt very insecure about her performance that morning. She was hardly the alluring, experienced type of woman he usually chose as a bedmate. The sex had seemed fantastic to her...but had it been merely forgettable to him?

She had to forget what had happened. That would be the only way to survive life in Buck’s magnetic aura. That—or leave.

Quinn’s happy chatter was enough to fill the awkward silence while they waited for their order. Lost in her own thoughts, Terri was startled when Buck reached across the table and nudged her arm. “Hey,” he said, “where have you gone to?”