Rachel frowned her friend’s way. “Yes, she did that on a professional basis. She didn’t shoot her sons of bitches out of self-preservation.”
“No, but she did blow up someone who was trying to kill her,” Jen pointed out. “At least that’s what I heard. I don’t know. I like her. She seems fun.”
“Then why did your husband tell her husband he couldn’t put in a shower?” Hope Glen-Bennet sat to Lucy’s left. Stella had shoved three tables together close to the back of the restaurant for this midmorning meeting of the Winter Festival committee.
It was a meeting of some of the most powerful people in Bliss, and like all things that required intricate planning, long hours, and free labor, it was entirely made up of women.
A brilliant smile came over Jennifer Talbot’s face. She was married to Stef Talbot, known all around as the King of Bliss. Mostly because he was the richest man in town and had his fingers in all of Bliss’s pies, including the fact that he was the town’s chief engineer. He’d also been on the committee that declared Hiram Jones’s rundown cabin a historical landmark shortly before it sold to a friend of Henry Flanders. The Taggarts were a robust family of five who came up for vacations and loaned out the place to their friends. They were good tippers, and while the husband seemed like a dude who could kill everyone in the world, the wife was super nice.
The scary dude was also attractive. Like stare-at-him hot.
Like Michael. She had a type. Dark. Brooding. Dangerous.
Sweet. Kind. Sunny.
No. That last one was just Ty, and he actually ran against her type. It was only habit to be attracted to Ty. He’d been her first love, and she was over him.
Of course it hadn’t felt over the night before. She could still feel Ty’s lips on hers, feel him pulling her close. She’d placed her hands on his chest and felt the muscle there. For a moment she hadn’t thought of anything but being in his arms.
And then Michael had been there.
“Stef is only fucking with him. He likes how Big Tag gets completely red in the face and then threatens to do all sorts of terrible things like taking his insides out,” Jen replied. “Stef thinks it’s funny. But he always gives in. The latest renovation was to the bathroom. Hi didn’t believe in showers. He always said if he wanted a shower, he would wait for it to rain. So he only had that tiny bathtub. Stef explained that the tub itself was a historical landmark since several baptisms had happened there before the Feed Store Church put in running water.”
Marie Warner raised her hand. “I was baptized right in that tub. Taggart wants to take it out he can go through me.”
Teeny Warner shook a finger her wife’s way. “Absolutely not. I am talking to Stef about that. Charlotte stopped bathing the kids because that tub is rusty, and now when they’re in town they stink to high heaven about three days in, and she sends them into the store and they run off all the other customers.”
“He’s already approved the plans,” Jen promised. “They’re adding on another bathroom with a shower. Henry’s going to oversee the work since they’re back in Dallas until Christmas break.”
“Well, I don’t think we should have members who aren’t actual full-time residents,” Rachel Harper said. “Though we should absolutely invite her to give a lecture on how to blow up a son of a bitch. We never know when that skill might come in handy.”
“I thought we were supposed to be talking about Winter Festival,” Callie gently reminded everyone.
Lucy picked up her pen. She was the notetaker. She also might end up being the liaison with the resort. She prayed this weekend went well. She was taking a couple of shifts to see if she fit in. The way Cole Roberts had put it, those shifts should help her decide if she wanted the job. She rather thought it was to decide if Cole wanted her there.
If she got the position at the resort, she wouldn’t need to work doubles every day. She could work a single job and have some time for herself. If she lived out at the resort, she would save money.
Of course if she lived out at the resort, she would get to see Ty work his magic on all the gorgeous women who came through for a vacation and spent a night with Ty as a souvenir.
She realized the women had all gone quiet. And they were all staring at her.
“Lucy, honey, I was wondering what you want for breakfast.” Stella stood at the head of the table, her notepad in her hands. The owner of Stella’s wore a bright yellow western shirt, jeans, and red boots.