Only His (Fool's Gold #6)(74)

“Okay. Check in with me every couple of hours.”

“I will.”

He pulled his keys out of his pocket and had nearly made it to his truck when a familiar dark sedan pulled up next to the police chief’s car.

“Sorry,” Nevada whispered as Mayor Marsha got out.

Tucker hung his head. This was not his day.

He waited for the inevitable scolding as the mayor approached. A woman he didn’t know exited the passenger side of the car.

“Annabelle,” Nevada said, sounding surprised. “What are you doing here?”

Annabelle was petite, with red hair. She looked uncomfortable as she glanced around.

“I have a minor in tribal studies,” she said with a sigh. “I specialized in the Máa-zib tribe. Somehow Mayor Marsha found out.”

The old woman knew everything, Tucker thought. She must have some kind of network in town.

“I want Annabelle to keep an eye on the archaeology team,” the mayor said briskly. “My office is fielding dozens of calls from museums all over the country and a few from Central America. Everyone wants to know about the find and some are even trying to put in a claim.” She smoothed the front of her suit. “Of course the Máa-zib lived here, so we’ll have a say in what happens to the artifacts. The Smithsonian called. I tried to interest them in Ms. Stoicasescu’s giant vagina, but they passed.”

“I would have liked to have heard that conversation,” Tucker said in a low voice.

Nevada elbowed him in the ribs.

Mayor Marsha narrowed her gaze. “What are you doing today, Mr. Janack?” she asked.

“Getting on with building. Nevada is coordinating with everyone up there.” He pointed to the crowd swarming the side of the mountain.

The mayor shook her head. “I’m getting too old for this,” she murmured. “Maybe it’s time to retire.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Nevada told her. “Come on. We’ll go see if you can taste some goat cheese.”

The three women walked toward Heidi’s stand on the edge of the parking lot. Tucker edged toward his truck. As he reached it, Nevada glanced back at him and grinned.

He climbed inside, thinking that it was nice for someone to have his back. Later, he would be sure to return the favor.

TUCKER FINISHED HIS WORKDAY hot, sweaty and in a much better mood than he’d started. He didn’t even care about all the cars, the archaeologists picking over the site or the gaggle of security guards rushing around everywhere. He was going back to the hotel, where he would shower, then head over to Nevada’s place and spend the evening with her.

He stepped into the trailer to check his email, only to find Will looking for him. He hadn’t seen the man all day and, staring at him, he knew why. Will looked haggard. His skin was pale, his eyes bloodshot. He obviously hadn’t slept. Slumped shoulders emphasized that whatever it was, it was bad.

“What happened?” Tucker demanded. “Who died?”

“No one.” Will looked at him. “I want to transfer to another job. I don’t care where. I need to get out of here.”

There was only one reason for a man to look like that and want to leave town, Tucker thought grimly. And that reason was a woman.

“Jo?”

Will nodded.

“Want to talk about it?”

“No.” Will sighed. “You were right. Love makes us all fools. I believed in her.”

Tucker didn’t know what to say to that. On the one hand, Will had been happy with Jo. On the other, the bad ending was inevitable.

“Okay. Let me see what I can do.”

“Thanks.” Will started toward the door, then turned back to him. “I thought she was the one. I was wrong. Love is for suckers.”

THE DAY HAD BEEN A GOOD ONE, Nevada thought happily as she stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel. While she would have preferred to spend her time actually building something, keeping the job moving forward while dealing with a whole new level of crazy had been interesting, too. Plus, she’d spent a little time with Heidi and now understood more about goat cheese than anyone else she knew.

She put on body lotion, then dressed. She’d just reached for her blow dryer when her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“It’s me,” Montana said with a sigh. “We have boyfriend trouble.”

There was a tradition in town. When one of the women got hurt by a man, her friends rallied. Liquor and plenty of sugar got the dumpee in question through the first painful night.

“I’ll be there. Who is it?”

“Jo.”

Not a name Nevada had ever expected to hear. “What? No. She’s dating Will. He’s a great guy.”

“Not anymore. I don’t know any details. Just that Charity found Jo crying in her bar.”

“That’s horrible. I don’t understand.” Will adored Jo. He’d chased her until he’d caught her. They were so happy together. “Give me twenty minutes.”

“Okay. I have a few more calls to make.”

Nevada hung up and quickly dried her hair. She got her keys and a jacket, then headed outside. She’d just stepped onto the house’s front porch when she ran into Tucker.

“Hey, I was on my way to see you,” he said. “Want to get dinner?”