Truth and Dare

“Well, Mr. Big Man is gracing us with his presence.” With his good hand he punched Cade in the shoulder. “Great to see ya.”

“Same here.” Cade smiled at his friend. He hadn’t seen him since they’d had drinks a year ago when Andy had come to Austin for an auction. He and his wife, Celia, who had been one of their high school friends, owned the antique shop on the square in downtown Phosphor.

“Where is your better half? I thought she banned you from all tools, especially hammers and saws.”

Andy hung his head. “Why do you have to make me look bad in front of your lady friend? And why—” he faced Patience “—is someone as beautiful as you hanging out with this runt?”

She laughed and held out her hand. “I’m Patience.”

Andy held out his left hand for an awkward shake. “Nice to meet you.”

“Patience is investigating my dad’s case.”

Andy’s face grew solemn. “I heard about that. I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through and—” Cade knew Andy must have realized he’d said too much in front of Patience.

“Sorry,” he said. “My mouth doesn’t work any better than my hands. But I’m glad you finally have the truth. If I can help find the bastard who killed him, you know I’m all in.”

Cade couldn’t have asked for a better friend, and he felt a world of guilt for letting so much time pass since their last meeting. “I appreciate the offer. I really do. So where is that wife of yours?”

“You just missed her. I was worried she was getting tired and she looked a little pale.”

Cade frowned. “Is she sick?”

Andy’s face widened into the biggest smile Cade had ever seen. “Nah, she’s pregnant. Five months.”

Cade put a hand on Andy’s shoulder. “That’s one lucky kid.”

His friend nodded. “Going to be one ornery little ankle-biter with Cel and I as parents. We’re going to spoil the kid rotten.”

“You look like the happiest man in the world,” Patience said. “Congratulations.”

“We’d all but given up on having our own and were looking into adopting, so it was quite a surprise.” Andy shook his head. “Celia’s about to bust at the seams she’s so happy.” He rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell her I said anything about busting out. She’s very self-conscious about her weight, but I think she looks more beautiful than ever.” Andy flexed his injured hand.

“What were you trying to do?” Cade picked up the hammer from the ground where his friend had tossed it.

“I thought I’d better get some supports up for the booth, before the storm got here, didn’t want the booth flying around like Dorothy’s house in the Wizard of Oz. Figured I could handle three or four two-by-fours.”

Cade turned to Patience. “I’m going to take a few minutes and help him out.”

She smiled. “I’ll help him pack up the rest of the tools.”

“Now that’s right nice of both of you,” Andy said.

“No problem. I’ve been eating Cade’s grandmother’s food and I feel like I’ve gone up two jean sizes in an hour.”

Andy laughed.

Cade picked up the boards and a sack of nails. As he added the supports and fixed the counter in front, he listened to his friend and Patience chat.

He couldn’t believe his friend was going to be a father, though he hadn’t lied. Andy and Celia would be incredible parents. They were loyal, loving, funny and smart. And some of the best people he knew.

Cade often invited them to come up to his house on Lake Austin for laid-back weekends. But the past year… He hadn’t made time for anyone, not even his family. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on a date.

That had to be why he was so into Patience. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman—a long while.

Patience stacked the rest of the boards while Andy searched for loose nails. They talked back and forth as if they had been friends for years. Cade felt the same way about her and secretly it pleased him.

Why?

Oh, I think you know exactly why.

Patience was beautiful and smart, and…

Yep. He was in trouble.

BACK IN HER ROOM, Patience brushed out her hair and changed into an oversize T-shirt. She sat down on the edge of the bed and opened her laptop. She was so far behind on email it was ridiculous. She replied to the ones that were necessary and then perused her early information on the Randall case.

A noise from the next room made her jump. Then she realized it was Cade fixing the toilet. A wrench or some tool must have thudded on the wooden floor. There was something about a man who was good with tools. More than once she had caught herself catching a peek at his hard muscles as he worked on the booth for his friend.

Here was this multimillionaire, known as a shark in the business world, who thought nothing of picking up a hammer to help a friend.

Her opinion of him had changed so much since they first met. He was a caring, loving grandson and friend. She could tell by the way he communicated with Andy that there was a deep connection there. And honestly, a man didn’t have friends like Andy if he wasn’t good-hearted.

Patience checked herself. She shouldn’t care anything about the man’s personal life. She was here to solve a case, and that’s where her focus needed to be. It was hard to separate the man from the work, especially when he was right next door. She didn’t date much, but even she was aware of how hard it was to find a man like Cade Randall.

He’d been so passionate about his ranch, and she’d noticed he smiled more when he discussed what he wanted to do with the place he called the Triple Dare. The idea of restoring the ranch had been something Cade had thought about for a long time.

She wondered if this was some way of honoring his father or making up for the years he’d been so bitter about his dad’s disappearance.

Patience knew about being bitter and losing someone you loved. There wasn’t a day she didn’t think about the soul-sucking moment when her life had forever changed.

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