Baby, Don't Go
Nothing was going to distract him from his promise or his goal. He felt the mantle of responsibility of this town’s future every morning when he opened his eyes and every night before he closed them. If they stayed on track, at year end they would meet the requirements of the federal program and the land that made up the city limits of Sweetness would be turned over to the chartered resident shareholders, including him and his brothers.
But he was afraid if he took his eye off the ball for a minute, was distracted by anything personal, something would happen to derail the entire plan he’d worked so diligently to orchestrate. And he would let his father down.
He couldn’t allow that to happen.
Marcus glanced at his watch, realizing it was almost time to meet Rachel Hutchins at the diner to discuss the events she was organizing for Homecoming weekend. While he was there, he might as well talk to Colonel Molly about her managerial style.
He leaned over to lift his fishing pole and reel in his line. At the sight of his empty hook, he frowned—while he was distracted by the topless water nymph, some lucky fish had gotten away with a fat mealworm…which seemed fitting considering his previous line of thinking.
When he reached for his tackle box, something bobbing in the water caught his eye. He squinted, then waded in to scoop it up. It was a bracelet—braided leather and wire, with a dangling charm. Nice. And since the leather wasn’t yet saturated, he realized it probably belonged to the topless woman.
Marcus scratched his head—assuming he ran into her, how would he return the bracelet without revealing he’d been privy to the little show she’d put on? He considered the trinket for a moment, then dropped it into his shirt pocket and decided not to worry about it.
He’d probably never see her again.
5
“Guess where I am,” Alicia said into the phone.
“Rocky Top?” Nina asked.
“Right. Just checking my phone reception.”
“What’s the place like?”
Alicia squinted up at the white water tower that loomed over her approach. Welcome to Sweetness, the tank proclaimed. But spray-painted over the black lettering was I ♥ Nikki in red and I ♥ Amy in blue.
“It’s…quaint.” A car coming toward her honked, then the driver waved as they went by.
“What was that?” Nina asked.
“Everyone down here honks and waves,” Alicia said. “I’m driving a pickup truck.”
“Get out.”
“I’m not kidding.”
“Wow, when you go undercover, you go deep. What’s your plan?”
Alicia slowed as what she presumed was the downtown area came into sight. “I’m going to find a place to talk to people without raising any red flags.” The sidewalks were surprisingly crowded. Everyone turned to look at her vehicle. “I have a feeling that everyone here can spot a stranger.”
She panned side to side, taking in the odd-looking buildings that appeared to have been constructed with a motley collection of materials—recycled materials, she realized. Her gaze landed on a sign that read Hair Salon, and she smiled into the phone. “Gotta run—I just found a place where people talk.”
After disconnecting the call, she followed signs for parking to a large grassy lot. The town was obviously preparing for the arrival of many cars, probably the Homecoming event she’d read about. She parked Bo’s smelly truck and climbed out, then made her way back to the town’s main street. On the way to the hair salon, she took stock of the businesses she’d read about on the website—the General Store, bank, the clinic and other buildings, including one that simply read Diner. It looked like a movie set for a small town…this place was surreal.
Or unreal?
The sidewalks, she noted, were more extensively networked than the buildings, hinting at more construction to come. And they were uncommonly beautiful. The light-colored concrete contained bits of colored glass—more use of recycled materials, she realized.
The people looked laid-back, dressed for the sweltering weather and moving slowly. By the matching T-shirts and hats a clump of kids wore, she assumed some sort of team sports game was about to be played. The presence of children was a little jarring—for their sake she hoped nothing illicit was going on in this town.
The hair salon, she noted wryly, featured a striped barber’s pole next to its sign. She opened the door and was immediately struck by how busy the place was—and how…segregated.
Women sat on one side of the salon, apparently waiting for one of the three female stylists working there. Men sat on the other side, waiting for one of the two barbers attending old-fashioned barber’s chairs. There was literally a wall down the center of the establishment.
Alicia’s back stiffened. Privacy was one thing, but even the waiting areas were separate?
The other thing that caught her eye was the sign that said all haircuts were five dollars.
She was in the Twilight Zone.
She walked into her gender-appropriate area and smiled at a rounded, dark-haired woman sitting there, waiting her turn. The woman looked her up and down, but offered a smile. “Hello.”
“Hello,” Alicia said. “Do you know if they take walk-ins?”
“Oh, sure,” the woman said, “but you might have to wait a while. I’m Susan Sosa.”
The introduction took her by surprise—no one in Manhattan offered their name unless they were applying for a job. “Alicia,” she responded, her mind racing for an alias last name. “Alicia Waters.”
“Nice to know you,” the woman said, then nodded at Alicia’s bag. “Beautiful purse.”
Alicia realized her Chanel bag didn’t exactly go with the rest of her outfit. “It’s a knockoff,” she lied, “but thanks.”
“Have a seat,” Susan said, gesturing to the empty chair next to her. “When did you move here?”
“I just arrived,” Alicia said, taking the proffered seat. “Actually, I was wondering what you could tell me about the town.”
Susan smiled. “It’s nice. I moved here about a year ago.”
“From where?”
“Michigan. Believe it or not, I answered an ad.”
What a stroke of luck to find one of the original women who’d come to the town looking for a man. “A newspaper ad?”
The woman nodded. “Sweetness was just being built and they needed women. I was single, laid off from my job, and I needed a fresh start, so here I am.”
Alicia offered a girlfriend smile to the pretty woman. “And how is it working out?”
“I like it here, it’s simple.” She grinned. “And there are lots of men.”
“I’ve heard that men run this town…is that true?”
“I guess so. The Armstrong brothers sort of run everything.”
“What are they like?”
Susan shrugged. “The younger brothers are nice enough—they both have sweethearts.”
“What about the older brother?”
“Marcus? He doesn’t like women.”
“He’s gay?”
Susan laughed. “No. He just keeps to himself. He has a temper, so people tiptoe around him.”
Alicia mulled the information, then gestured to the two waiting areas. “Do the men and women do everything separately?”
“Pretty much,” the woman said with a nod. “We live separately and sleep separately.”
Alicia tried to hide her surprise. “You do?”
“Like I said—simple.”
“Even the married couples?”
“There aren’t any married couples. The women and children live in the boardinghouse, and the men live in barracks.”
Alicia blinked.
“Susan,” called one of the stylists, holding up a cape. “Are you ready?”
“Excuse me,” Susan said. “Nice talking to you.” Alicia managed a smile, but was digesting the woman’s words. What was going on in this town?
She pushed to her feet and headed toward the door—she needed to find a way and a reason to stay here for a few days to find out.
“Earth to Marcus,” Porter hissed.
Marcus started, realizing he’d zoned out on the meeting with Porter, Kendall and Rachel Hutchins about the Homecoming weekend plans. Darn that dark-haired woman and her spontaneous outdoor bath. “Sorry, repeat that?”
Porter gave him a pointed look. “Kendall and I were just telling Rachel how grateful we are that she spearheaded this effort.”
“Er…right,” he said to the pretty blonde who had proved to be an organizational dynamo. “Everything sounds…great.”
When he realized his comment made it seem as if he hadn’t been listening, he added, “I know you’ve put a lot of work into this project.”
Rachel smiled. “So you’ll do it?”
He panicked. “Do what?”
“Hang the banner across Main Street,” she said, her voice irritated now that she knew he hadn’t been listening at all.
“We were saying we’ll need the cherry picker basket on the fire truck ladder to hang the banner,” Kendall said, giving him a quizzical look. “And since the fire department is your area…”
“Oh, right,” Marcus said. “No problem—I’ll take care of it. What else?”
Rachel gave him a little frown. “Here’s a schedule of the weekend events, and everything that’s still left to do in the next month.”
“We’ll provide any men you need,” Marcus said magnanimously.
“Yes, Kendall just said that,” Rachel said, her voice flat.
“Okay…anything else?”
“Just our food,” Rachel said, craning for a server.
“Our waitress seems to have disappeared,” Porter said.
“Molly probably ran her off,” Rachel offered. “That woman is impossible. And that help-wanted sign in the window is useless—word has gotten around. No one wants to work here.”
Marcus glanced around at customers sitting at cluttered tables, antsy and impatient. Others hadn’t yet been waited on. Irritation simmered in his empty stomach at the thorn in his side this place had become.
From the back came a horrific crashing noise, then Molly’s raised voice. “Get out of my kitchen!”
A young waitress came running out in tears, then bolted for the door. Molly emerged, shaking a spatula. “And don’t come back!”
Some of the customers got up and left.
Marcus stood and strode behind the counter, his anger zooming to the surface. “What’s the problem, Molly?”
The boxy woman squared her body to his. “The problem is no one around here has a head on their shoulders!”
“Molly,” Marcus said, banking his ire, “can I have a word with you in private?”
She crossed her arms over her matronly bosom. “No. Whatever you have to say, say it here.”
Marcus set his jaw and decided it was time to stop sugarcoating the situation. “You’ve had a dozen waitresses and they’ve all left. There’s a common denominator here, Molly, and it’s you!”
“I run a tight ship—it’s not my fault these flibberty-gibbet females can’t keep up!”
He pursed his mouth. “The bad service aside, the food still isn’t good enough. We’re expecting another inspection any day now, and a big crowd Homecoming weekend. Something has to change.”
She snorted. “If you think you can do a better job running this place, Mr. Marine MBA, be my guest.”
His mouth quirked. “You know the town charter specifies a woman in key positions, and the manager of the community-owned restaurant is one of those positions.”
She gave him a little smile. “Yes, it does. And believe me, no other woman around here can do this job.”
Exasperation with her and every other woman in town seized him. The fact that this restaurant could jeopardize all his plans made him see red. He’d faced down armed enemies on foreign territory, yet he had to come home and do battle in his own backyard? He lifted a shaking finger and didn’t bother to lower his voice. “I can take the next woman who walks through that door and teach her how to run this place better than you!”
The door opened and they turned to see a dark-haired woman standing there holding the help-wanted sign from the window.
Marcus’s mouth went dry—it was the woman from the creek.
“This will be fun to watch,” Molly said, then untied her camouflage apron and handed it to him. “Good luck.”
6
Alicia stepped to the side to dodge the bulldog of a woman who charged her way, gave her a smirk, then marched out the door. Alicia glanced around the nearly empty diner and was drawn to a tall, broad-shouldered man standing behind the counter looking in her direction.
That blue-eyed gaze was unmistakable. It was Marcus Armstrong, in the flesh.
As she walked forward, her mind scrolled through the information from the background report she’d ordered.
Marcus Alton Armstrong, thirty-eight, joined the U.S. Marine Corps while still attending high school, had made the military a career, served in Bosnia and Iraq with distinction. In between stints overseas, he’d earned an International Business degree and an MBA. A hero, a scholar, and a straight arrow. Never married, no children.
And insanely handsome in person. Everything about him reflected this rugged setting. His hair was sun-streaked, his skin deeply bronzed. His dramatic eyes were set in a rocky face, with a jutting nose and a square jaw. He was as tall as an evergreen with biceps like boulders. His drab-colored pants and cargo shirt said he was happy to blend into the background, but his sheer physical presence made that impossible. He looked formidable…the kind of man who was always in control.
From the way he was staring at her, Alicia was sure she must look a fright—her hair was still damp around her face where she’d splashed herself in the creek, her makeup was long gone, and she was seriously regretting pulling her hair into pigtails.
Why had she come to this town? Oh, right…
To expose this man for the extreme chauvinist he was.
“Hi,” she said, offering a smile and holding up the help-wanted sign. “Who can I talk to about a job?” When she’d seen the sign in the window, it had seemed like a natural fit—she’d worked dozens of restaurant jobs while going to school.
Although admittedly, she’d been fired from every one of them. Firing in her case had been literal—she’d been a decent cook and a popular waitress, but she’d shown an unfortunate propensity for setting fires. That part she would keep to herself, Alicia decided.
Instead of answering, he glanced around the diner as if he were looking to palm her off onto someone else. Two men at a nearby table she recognized from the website photo as his brothers looked at him with raised eyebrows, but made no move to relieve him. Finally, he turned back to her.
“I guess that would be me. I’m Marcus Armstrong.”
He had an amazing voice, as deep as a bottle of scotch, with a nice husky finish. But his backbone was rigid, and his mouth was unsmiling.
“Are you the owner?” she asked.
“Closest thing to it,” he bit out.
“What’s the job?”
He took his time answering, scowling at her T-shirt—Candace’s T-shirt, actually. A hot flush climbed Alicia’s neck at the “I’m a peach” slogan that implied she was a juicy mouthful.
“A little of everything,” he hedged, as if he were doubtful she could fill the bill.
“Hey,” a man seated at the counter called, “can I get some service?”
Alicia made a split-second decision and sprang into action. She walked over to the guy, pulling a notebook from her bag along the way. “Yes, sir, what can I get for you?”
She wrote down the man’s order as he read it from the menu—T-bone steak, medium-well, fries and a fountain drink—then assured him she’d get right on it.
She turned back to Marcus and smiled. “I’ve got this.”
He was still scowling—the man must be having a bad day. Instead of waiting for him to respond, she fished a drinking glass from under the counter, scooped in ice from the adjacent ice maker, and filled it from a fountain drink hose. She plopped in a straw, then set it in front of the man, who smiled in appreciation. She turned on the stainless steel grill, then retreated to the kitchen, stepped around a mound of broken dishes in the floor and stowed her purse on a counter. After washing her hands in one of the deep sinks, she draped a white hand towel over her shoulder. Because the contents of the commercial refrigerator and freezer were labeled with compulsive precision, she had no trouble finding a bag of French fries, a T-bone steak and garnishes.
Juggling the food, she made her way back to the grill and placed the steak on the clean, hot surface, then emptied the fries into a wire basket and lowered it into a vat of hot grease. Throughout, she was conscious of Marcus Armstrong’s gaze upon her. When everything was happily sizzling, she seasoned the steak with salt and pepper and retrieved a plate from the clean stack sitting outside the enormous conveyor dishwasher. She removed a pair of tongs from a hanging rack and flipped the steak. When the fries turned a nice golden color, she used a mitt to carefully lift the basket to a hook for it to drain.
When the steak was done, she plated it and the steaming fries, added garnishes, then set it down in front of the customer. “How’s that?”
He cut off a piece of the steak and put it in his mouth, then nodded. “It’s perfect.”
“Anything else?”
“I’m good for now,” the man assured her.
She backed up to lean on the counter next to the grill, crossed her arms, then turned a triumphant smile toward Marcus Armstrong. “You were telling me about the job?”
He worked his mouth from side to side. “I need a manager…and someone to help cook until I can fill that position, as well.”
“Then I’m your woman.”
His jaw hardened—he obviously didn’t appreciate her attempt at humor. “I take it you have restaurant experience?”
“That’s right—cooking, waitressing, hostessing, managing.”
He didn’t seem particularly happy to hear she was qualified. “It’s going to be a lot of work to get this place up to speed. I have to warn you, I’m not the easiest person to work for.”
Alicia’s pulse jumped. When she’d seen the help-wanted sign, she’d thought working at the diner would be a great way to meet and establish a rapport with some of the women who’d answered the ad. Spending time with the man himself would be a bonus for the blog.
“I can take whatever you dish out,” she said, lifting her chin.
He narrowed his eyes. “Aren’t you interested in how much the job pays?”
She caught herself—she had to act authentically. “Of course. How much?”
“Minimum wage and a room in our boardinghouse.”
She couldn’t care less about the money, but it was nice to know she wouldn’t have to arrange for a place to stay while she was here. “That sounds fair.”
“What’s your name?”
His suspicious look unnerved her, but she offered the alias she’d previously given in the hair salon. “Alicia Waters.”
“Waters?” he repeated, as if he knew she was lying.
She nodded and maintained eye contact, although it was difficult because his gaze was so intense.
“Where are you from?” he asked. She had the feeling he wasn’t just making conversation, but rather, wanted to know everything about people who intended to live or work in the town…his town.
She shrugged. “All around, but mostly the Northeast.”
“What brings you to Sweetness?”
She would have to be careful around this one. “I came to Atlanta for the weather, then I read about your covered bridge in the newspaper and thought Sweetness sounded like a pretty place to live.” She gave him what she hoped was a flirtatious smile. “And I understand there are lots of single men here?”
He stopped just short of an eye-roll. “That’s right.”
“Sounds good to me,” she said cheerfully. “Is there anything else I should know about this town?”
He considered her for a few seconds. “Because we’re new, we have more rules than most places.”
She made a face, but said, “I guess I can abide by a few rules.”
He hesitated, then with an expression akin to pain, he stepped forward to extend his large hand. “Okay… you’re hired.”
She placed her hand in his, and it was instantly swallowed. The contact was electric, conducting pulses up her arm.
“You won’t be sorry,” Alicia murmured.
He kept her hand and stared into her eyes until she started to feel warm. He was so big and sexy, she felt the urge to do ridiculous, girly things, like twirl her hair and preen. No man had ever made her sweat before.
Suddenly his eyes widened and he flung his arms around her. Alicia was stunned at the sudden contact and her body reacted instantly.
Until she realized he was reaching around her.
“You’re on fire!”
He yanked the towel off her shoulder and flung it to the floor. It was engulfed in flames. He stomped out the fire, then spun her around and swatted her back, shoulders and backside. Which didn’t feel terrible, but still…
“Hey, hey, hey!” she yelled, slapping at his hands.
He stepped back, then jammed his hands on his hips. “Are you okay?”
She twisted to look at her clothes. They were singed and smoking, but intact. “I think so. The towel must’ve touched the grill.”
He grunted. She could tell he was already sorry he’d hired her.
Oh, well, she’d just have to change his mind. She smiled prettily and batted her eyelashes. “Should I take some more orders?”
“No,” he said with a frown. “We’re going to close for the rest of the day so I can try to hire back some former employees.” His frown deepened. “And so I can get an extra fire extinguisher.”
She swallowed a sheepish smile. “What do you want me to do?”
The words left her mouth innocently enough, but once they reached the space between them that was charged with tension, they took on a weighted meaning. Images of the possibilities of what he might want her to do darted through her mind, sending her temperature higher than the fire she’d started. For a split second, she thought she saw desire flash in his eyes, too. But if so, it was gone just as quickly.
She thought about the comment the woman in the hair salon had made about Marcus Armstrong not liking women. Alicia definitely felt his animosity, and wondered if he sensed hers, though she was doing her best to keep it hidden.
“You can get settled into the boardinghouse,” he said, his voice gruff. “Ask for Regina, she’ll find you a room. Be back here in two hours, ready to work.”
Oh, she would be ready to work, Alicia thought. Ready to work on him. Because if Marcus Armstrong was one of those old-fashioned men who thought women were frivolous, silly and subordinate, she’d happily be the female to bring him to his knees.
7
Alicia stood at the window of the plain but comfortable room she’d been assigned in the enormous and bustling boardinghouse. To her right, an orange sun melted into a pink-and-red sunset bleeding over a black mountain range. It was the stuff of Hollywood movie backgrounds—a surreal backdrop for a surreal little town.
The movie The Stepford Wives came to mind.
She held her cell phone to her ear and listened as it rang on the other end. She expected to leave a voice message for her mother, but Candace answered.
“Hello? Alicia?”
“Yeah, Mom, it’s me. I’m just checking in. Looks like I’ll be staying here for a while.”
“Oh? I’m disappointed you won’t be coming back right away. Is Sweetness as pretty as it sounds?”
Alicia absorbed the calming view and exhaled. “Yes,” she admitted. “Very pretty. But it’s also very humid, and there are lots of bugs.”
Candace laughed. “You always hated insects of any kind. Bo asked me to ask if his truck is okay.”
Alicia thought of the monogrammed panties that had rolled out from under the front seat. “The truck is fine,” she said through gritted teeth. “Is everything okay there?”
“Sure,” her mother said cheerfully.
Too cheerfully.
“So, have you met any mountain men?” Candace asked, her voice breezy.
“My boss,” Alicia said idly. “I took a job in a diner to pass the time.”