Designed for Love (Texas Nights) (20 page)

Muscles rebelling, Ashton shot up in the chair. Water sluiced down her back and over her chest. “You mean people are betting that I can’t do this?”

Bitsy patted her shoulder, urged her to lie back. “Hard to blame folks when you don’t have a particularly good track record.”

“They don’t want me to succeed, do they?”

With gentle strokes, Bitsy worked suds through Ashton’s hair, massaged her scalp. “A few people stand to win a little cash from the pot, but realistically, we’d all benefit if you could really get this thing off the ground. I’m mean, this pavilion and deck thingie are just the tip of the iceberg, right? If Lily Lake became a full-fledged development, it could bring the type of financial boost to Shelbyville that Cameron and the others have been looking for.”

It was well known that Bitsy could have a bit of a spiteful side, especially when it came to other women and her husband, Jimmy. But it was also clear this woman loved her hometown and wanted the best for it. “Then I need your help to make it happen.”

Bitsy said nothing, just tipped Ashton up in the chair and urged her back across the shop. It wasn’t until she’d run a wide-tooth comb through Ashton’s hair and picked up her scissors that she finally spoke again. “Me? What could I possibly do to help someone like you?”

“You know why that environmentalist is hanging around town, right?”

“Because he’s got some letch for those lily pads.”

“And I respect his dedication to the environment, but I don’t believe those plants are endangered.” Ashton huddled inside the cape and tried not to stare at the way Bitsy kept opening and closing the scissors.

“Then why’d you rip ’em up?”

“I did
not
destroy those plants.”

“Sure you didn’t.” Bitsy winked and went at Ashton’s hair with the shears.

“I’m not lying about this.” And this was the problem. Why should Wurzenbach believe in her innocence when her own town didn’t? Maybe because they still didn’t accept her as one of them. “I was...otherwise occupied...when those plants were destroyed.”

That brought Bitsy’s head up mid-snip. “
Otherwise occupied.
Is that one of those polite terms for doing the wild thing?”

Making love with Mac was always a little wild. A little mind-scrambling. More than a little heartbreaking now. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to keep that little secret between the two of us.”

“Hmm...not too many eligible men your age here in Shelbyville. You keeping a side piece in Houston?”

Side piece?
Did that insinuate she had a main piece? “I...uh...”

“Then again, that Mac McLaughlin ain’t too hard on the eyes, now is he?”

Hell on the heart, though.

Her thoughts must have shown on her face because Bitsy drew the scissors across her lips in a zip-it motion and returned to snipping.

“If I don’t find the lily snatcher, the whole project will be stopped.” Not entirely true. If anyone could elbow her way through problems, it was Gigi. But the point was for Ashton to finish the project. And she needed help.

“So what are you thinking?”

“I need a few friends to do a little sleuthing. Discreetly ask a few questions.”

“Snoop around, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me this—” the snipping stopped, and Bitsy waved the scissors a little too close to Ashton’s ear for comfort, “—why aren’t you over at the Kilgore house asking your little friends to do your dirty work for you? How do I know you aren’t looking to set me up for something?”

Ashton reached up, covered Bitsy’s scissor-wielding hand with her own. “I know things were hard on you and Jimmy for a while after all that—”

She gave a sharp nod, cutting Ashton off before she could finish her thought about all the trouble Bitsy had stirred up not too long ago. She’d used the sport of extreme gossip as a way to make an outsider feel unwelcome in town.

“But you were just protecting the people, the town you love. I want the opportunity to prove to them I feel the same way about Shelbyville.”

“Why would a highfalutin, big-city, come-from-money girl care a whit about what people here think?”

“Because I want to make this my home.” Ashton met Bitsy’s skeptical gaze in the mirror. “No, because Shelbyville
is
my home.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Between Ashton, Bitsy and the rest of the former Cherry Tomato queens, they’d hit almost every place in town.

But no water lilies. Not a single sign of mangled, ripped-out-by-the-roots plants.

And she was running out of time.

No
,
Mr.
Panic
,
you are not welcome here.

She knew better, but she couldn’t stop herself from taking the turnoff to the pavilion on her way home that evening. With the convertible top down, cool spring air blew over her but didn’t completely soothe her. As she drove closer, the low hum of voices and machinery met her. Her stomach cramped, reminding her she hadn’t bothered to eat all day. She rounded the final bend in the road to find a full crew swarming around the pavilion.

And right in the middle of the ruckus were Gigi and Mac.

Everything inside Ashton yelled for her to slam her car into reverse and get out of there. No need to see this betrayal up close and personal. Her hoarded stash of gin and vermouth was tucked over the stove at the cabin. She could mix up one martini—or six—and pretend she’d never been here.

Had never seen that they were moving ahead without her.

Run
,
run
,
run away.

She elbowed back the scaredy-cat weenie inside herself. The car engine roared as she gunned it and shot down the dusty road to park ten feet from where her grandmother and her lover stood, heads together.

When she stepped out, the damp earth scent of freshly poured concrete met her, filling her with both hope and despair.

How? How had they accomplished what she couldn’t?

“Stay,” she said to Napoleon. “Or do I have to put you in your carrier?”

Her dog went belly-down in the passenger seat. Good, because all she needed was for him to scamper across the fresh concrete. She might not be happy that they’d moved ahead without her, but she had no desire to ruin what she and Mac had worked so hard for.

Rather than stomping over like a little kid, she forced herself to take measured, confident steps. Unfortunately, Napoleon wasn’t true to his word. He hopped out of the open convertible and shot toward Mac like a dog-to-contractor missile.

“Napoleon, come back here.” Yeah, that worked about as well as it had in the grocery store, but since her dog was headed straight for Mac, she wasn’t nearly as worried.

When Mac glanced up and saw her headed his way, he actually took a step back. If she hadn’t been so...so...pissed, so hurt, she would’ve smiled at that. Little old her intimidating the big, bad Mac McLaughlin. Too bad she couldn’t count on Napoleon to bite him anymore. The picture of her dog clamped onto Mac’s butt did lift her lips a bit.

They’d re-poured the slab. Of course, it wasn’t dry yet, but there wasn’t a line or crease in the entire thing. It would set and be as smooth as glass. Exactly as she’d imagined. She swallowed something that felt a whole lot like a lump of bitterness.

Instead of focusing on the man she’d wanted to stand by her side while she finished this project, she turned to Gigi. “How were you able to get around Wurzenbach?”

“Connections in the state capital can be useful sometimes,” Gigi said simply, then wandered toward the lake. Avoidance or compassion?

Ashton turned to Mac. “So the project is full steam ahead?”

He rubbed his face and said, “We...uh...still can’t move forward with the deck, but we were able to negotiate permission to finish the pavilion.”

A jagged lump lodged between her lungs. The pavilion was
hers.
Her baby. Her idea. Her design. Still, she took in a calming breath. “It looks like a good pour.”

His eyes widened slightly as though he’d expected her to throw a hissy fit. “Better than the first one.”

“Excellent. I’m glad to hear it.”

If she’d thought his eyes were wide before, they were bugging out now. “It’ll be even better than we—”

She couldn’t help it, she bared her teeth at him. Then covered it with a bless-your-demented-little-heart smile.

“—than
you
imagined.”

“I’m glad to see you’re making progress. Best of luck with everything.” Ashton slapped her thigh. “Napoleon, sweetie, time to go.”

Her dog never looked her way, just leaned against Mac’s leg and rubbed his face against his jeans. Little traitor. Well, they could have each other. She turned slowly—
no whirling
,
no pouting
,
no stomping
—and picked her way back to her car.

Before she could open her door, Mac loped up beside her, wrapped a hand around her upper arm. And God, didn’t that burn in a way the sight of new concrete hadn’t? “Ash, I’m sor—”

“Don’t apologize to me. Not about my ship-jumping dog or this project.” She looked directly into his face, a little scruffy, and ordered her heart not to get involved in this conversation. “We both know why you agreed to this project in the first place, and it had nothing to do with seeing me succeed. It was all about getting back to your old life in Dallas. If Gigi can help you do that, more power to you both.”

* * *

Crap.
Damn.
Shit.
Fuck.

Out of respect for the women, Mac only shouted the words inside his head as he watched Ashton calmly climb into her car and back away from the site.

Ashton Davenport dialed into the temper-tantrum channel was a hell of a lot easier to deal with than the one tuned into the ice-queen network. That one made him feel like a pile of dog shit. A much bigger pile than what Napoleon could ever produce.

But he’d made a promise to her grandmother that he’d let this play out. Let Ashton prove not only to the world but to herself just how strong she was.

“Michael?”

Reluctantly, he walked back to Mrs. Chappell. “Yes, ma’am?”

“You’re not letting your personal feelings for her get in the way, are you? You of all people should know how devastating allowing your emotions to affect your business can be.”

Oh, yeah he knew a little something about being so ass-deep in guilt and grief that he couldn’t get his shit straight. That was how he’d lost everything except his truck, fifth wheel, and that damned motorcycle. “I think...I think she just needs someone to be on her side.”

“You can’t fix this for her, can’t coddle her. Ashton has to learn to fight. To take action for herself.”

“What do you think she’s been doing?”

She waved a hand around the half-finished project. “Not quite enough to get the job done.”

“She’s done every damn thing she can.”

“If she had, then I wouldn’t be here. So it’s obviously time for her to learn a few new skills.”

If Ashton learned half of her grandmother’s
skills
, she’d have the Community at Lily Lake back under her control in no time.

* * *

If Mac and Napoleon were no longer on her side, Ashton would have to make do with what she had. And so far, Bitsy Miller had helped her assemble a small army.

Now, a good thirty people—including Roxanne, Allie and Eden—stood in Bitsy’s shop waiting to listen to Ashton’s request. Lord, had she ever felt this kind of sick sweat when addressing a room full of Junior Leaguers? Uh-uh.

“Thanks for coming out today,” she began. “I won’t rehash everything that’s happened in the past few days because you already know the story anyway.”

Heads around the room bobbed.

“The Community at Lily Lake was supposed to be a project that would benefit Shelbyville. That was my promise to the economic development committee, to this entire community.” She took a breath, caught Jamie Wright flashing her a thumbs-up, which bolstered her confidence. She could do this. “But since I’m no longer in charge, I can’t guarantee what will happen.”

“I heard your granny tossed you out on your fanny,” Gladys Phelps said. “Thought she was a nice lady, but now I’m not so sure.”

“She is, in her own way. But she’s used to playing hardball with government people in Austin.” Ashton moved closer to the group. This wasn’t the time to distance herself. “She doesn’t understand the rest of the world doesn’t always work that way.”

“What about McLaughlin? Ain’t y’all...” Bitsy’s husband Jimmy twirled two fingers around one another.

Would she be forced to bare all her failures right here before these people would help her, accept her? Screw it. Wasn’t as if pride had gotten her anywhere good in this town. “We were. Briefly. But Mac’s priority is, and always has been, returning to his work in Dallas.”

“Don’t sound like no way to treat his woman,” he grumbled.

And that was the rub. She wasn’t his woman. She was a conduit. And now that she could no longer take him to his ultimate destination, she was a hot potato. “You can’t blame a man for looking out for his own security. Mac needs the work, and my grandmother is the one with the purse strings now.”

“What do you need from us? You know we don’t have that kind of money,” Jimmy said. “Hell, that’s why this Lily Lake thing was such a big deal, because we need the business.”

“I need two things from you, and yes, one is money, but not from your own pockets.”

“How do you figure that?” he asked.

“I know a lot of people in Houston, people who like to spend money. So I plan to organize a flash auction and invite them to Shelbyville.”

“You mean like a garage sale?” Leave it to Bitsy to cut to the heart of everything.

“I guess you could call it that. I’m looking for a few big-ticket items. If I can make enough to pay a botanist, any remaining money will go toward finishing this phase of the Lily Lake project.” Assuming she could convince Gigi to give it back to her.

“A botanist,” Jimmy said. “Ain’t that like a vegetarian?”

God, she loved these people. “A botanist can identify the plants properly. I’m convinced they aren’t endangered.”

“How the hell you gonna do that when there ain’t none left?”

“I think whoever stole the lilies is hiding them somewhere.” That prompted a few squinty-eyed stares among people so Ashton rushed to add, “I need your help finding those plants.”

“Bet they’re already done dead.”

“They can still be identified. Whoever took them obviously doesn’t want the development to succeed. But they didn’t take into account that my grandmother would move ahead without me. So we’re probably looking for someone who’s either disgruntled with me, outsiders, something.”

“Plenty of disgruntled people around here.”

“Are y’all in or not?”

“I think it’ll be fun,” Bitsy piped up. “As for the auction, I’ve got a mani-pedi chair I’d be glad to pitch in.”

Lord, wouldn’t a ride in one of those be perfect about now? But Ashton just gave the group a big this-will-be-a-fun-adventure smile and passed around paper with different assignments on each. “Of course—” she cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the last of her nerves, “—I wouldn’t expect you to question your own family, but...”

Roxanne waved her page in the air. “But she does expect someone else to.”

This was when the whole thing would slide down a slippery slope. “It’s not that I don’t trust you—”

“No, it’s smart,” Jamie Wright said. “We can’t rule out anyone right now.” He turned to Roxanne, put his arm around her. “Which is why I will be checking your lingerie very slowly and thoroughly.”

Roxanne elbowed him in the ribs, but was laughing. “You do that.”

“I don’t mean to be crass, but what’s everyone’s reward for helping?” Allie asked. “I mean, the long-term advantage is a business boost, but short-term helps with motivation too.”

Couldn’t be much with the sad state of Ashton’s bank account. Then again, apparently Clyde had a soft spot for her. “Beer on me at Dirty Harry’s. Nine o’clock or when someone finds the plants, whichever comes first.”