O'Come Read online

  Just what Cynda wanted to hear. She hopped into Josie’s white Ford F-250 that she kept showroom-floor clean. Even in the cold, she had Armor All on the tires so they gleamed like ice covered them. With snow and ice blanketing the ground and buildings, for all she knew, it could have been ice on the tires.

  “You know he and King Shit have this holiday plan that has this place packed for the entire season.” Josie maneuvered around the narrow road as she headed up to the chalet near her parents’ unit.

  Cynda didn’t have to get clarification on the identity of “King Shit.” Graham Iler. Cynda met the man right when he started working for her father. Cynda could tell right away that his football background and the adulation he must have received went straight to his head. Graham made it no secret that he saw himself taking over Richmond Enterprises once the old man, as he’d called him, turned over the business to him.

  Hearing that didn’t bother Cynda. She’d encountered other junior executives like him before. When he implied that she needed to date him because he could tame her, that pissed her off more than his obnoxious, smug expression.

  “He’s not here, right?” Cynda pretended to look at her fingernails, but in her peripheral vision she watched Josie’s reaction.

  Josie snorted first. “Please. He hasn’t done a holiday here since he started working for the Richmonds. That won’t change now.”

  Cynda nodded and released a quiet, slow exhale.

  “That poor Reid.” Josie shook her head. “I know he wanted to go Virginia to spend Christmas with your family.”

  Cynda felt her eyebrows draw together. “He did?”

  Josie nodded. “With what you, um, well, with your latest antics, he told your father that he would stay. By the way, what all happened with that?”

  Cynda chuckled. “I agreed to host a couple of parties for the hotel, and they dropped the charges. I don’t understand why my father thinks he needs to rush to my rescue when he hears something about me. I can take care of myself.”

  “You know exactly why.” Josie stole a couple of glances at Cynda as she drove.

  Cynda didn’t respond. She straightened her wig and tried not to think about the past.

  Josie had more to say. “Despite what you think, your dad loves and cares about you. He only wants the best for you.” Josie pulled up in front of the chalet that sat on tall, sturdy stilts. The glass glittered in the noonday sun. “Sometimes, missy, you make it hard for people to love you.”

  “Not true.” Cynda took off her seatbelt and grabbed her purse. “I’m loveable.” She grabbed her suitcase from the backseat. As she headed to the stairs that led to the front door, she felt a tight grip around her arm. She turned to Josie.

  “Don’t break his heart.” Josie stared at Cynda with so much intensity, she resembled a mama bear protecting her cub.

  Cynda smiled and started to laugh until she felt Josie’s grip tighten.

  “He’s been through a lot.” Josie loosened her hold. “I watched him go through hell when you left. Then when you didn’t come see him, I mean, when you didn’t let him see you, it broke his heart.”

  Cynda’s heart accelerated. She grabbed Josie this time. “You didn’t tell him, did you?”

  Her friend shook her head. “Hardest secret I had to keep.”

  For years, Cynda had been making secret trips to the resort at different times in the year just to look at Reid. She came there in a disguise and sat back to watch him work. Josie knew about Cynda’s undercover work but promised to keep her habit a secret.

  Josie continued. “He buries himself in work because he doesn’t want to think about the possibilities.”

  “How would you know that? You’re not in his head.” Cynda had never noticed him looking conflicted the times she’d watched him.

  Josie let Cynda go. “I know because he told me.”

  Knowing that Reid shared something so hard, so personal, with Josie, felt like a stab in her heart. What did she expect? After their breakup, Cynda didn’t make herself available to Reid or to anyone for that matter.

  Josie stepped into Cynda’s path to stop her movement. “If you break his heart again, I’ll put you across my knee and spank you.” She grabbed the suitcase out of Cynda’s hand and carried it up the stairs.

  The trek to the top remained quiet until they reached the door.

  “If you feel that way, why even let me stay here? I could stay with you.” Knowing Josie, the woman didn’t kid about disciplining her like a spoiled child.

  Josie unlocked the door using her key and after punching in a series of codes in the digital keypad next to the door. “Because I know you. I know deep down you’re here for a good reason. And I want to think the best of you. Don’t disappoint me. Don’t disappoint Reid. Don’t disappoint yourself, you hear?”

  Cynda considered the woman’s words for a moment before letting a small smile peek through. “You have someone staying with you, huh?”

  “The newest stable master.” Josie fanned her face with her hand. “Lord, is he incredible. I thank Reid every day for hiring that man. Merry Christmas to me!”

  Cynda laughed. “At least one of us is getting some.”

  Josie allowed Cynda passage into Reid’s home. As she suspected, Reid had the place minimally decorated with a bland color scheme. Just like in the resort, gray satin paint covered the walls. White fur rugs covered patches of the hardwood floor.

  The open floor plan allowed her to look straight ahead into his kitchen. The stainless steel appliances glittered as soon as the light streaming through the front door hit it. The incredible view of the mountains behind the chalet through the ceiling-to-floor windows proved to be the best feature of his home. She could sit and look at that for hours.

  “The layout is pretty straightforward.” Josie headed down a short hallway. “Of course you see the kitchen.” She nodded her head toward the kitchen. “Guest bathroom is here.” She nodded her head to the right. “This is the guest suite.” She turned to Cynda and stared pointedly at her. “You will stay here.” She walked into the bedroom that appeared just as dark and depressing as the main portion of the house.

  “So I’m assuming his bedroom is across the hall.” Cynda peered out the door to the open door across from her room.

  “Simmer down. Meals and memories are all you two should be sharing.” Josie patted Cynda on her backside. “You should rest.”

  “Nope. I’d rather hang out with you like I used to.” Cynda looped her arm through Josie’s.

  Josie rolled her eyes. “You are the daughter of one of the richest couples in the country. You should not be hanging with me while I’m making sure sheets have been changed and toilets have been scrubbed.”

  “You are my friend. I want to hang out with you. Helping you with the rooms will be like old times.”

  “If your parents knew that I had you making beds with me, they would have fired me a long time ago.” Josie chuckled. “Fine. Just keep up.”

  Cynda would keep herself hidden by working with Josie. Then she would surprise Reid. She just hoped he wanted to see her as much as she wanted to see him.

  * * * *

  After spending the day with Josie and catching up in the kitchen with Harold and his tales of all of his boyfriends, Cynda retired back to Reid’s room. Josie returned her with another warning of not breaking Reid’s heart again.

  Cynda had no plans of doing that. She’d hoped that this time she could be more convincing.

  The warmth of his chalet enveloped her. In the quiet two bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom space, the silence unnerved Cynda. She kicked off her shoes and left them where they landed in the living room. She padded to the kitchen and looked around the sterile area. Nothing out of place as she suspected.

  After opening the refrigerator door, she looked in to see what Reid liked to eat now. Back then as kids, he loved sweets. Cakes, cookies, pies, and ice cream. He couldn’t get enough of them. No matter how much he ate, he never gained weight. His
refrigerator now held healthy items like carrot sticks, apples, fish, and frozen veggies. She guessed his metabolism finally caught up with him.

  Cynda shut the refrigerator door and glanced up at the cabinets over the sink. She opened one and saw a silver canister. She pulled it down and opened it. The contents brought a smile to her face. She reached inside and pulled out an oatmeal-raisin cookie. She knew he hadn’t changed.

  She sauntered down the hallway toward the room Josie had assigned to her. She felt around the wall for a light switch. When she found it, she turned on the light.

  The spare bedroom had very few furnishings just like the rest of the home. A light burgundy bedspread covered the mattress on the four-poster bed. Just like in the living room, a white fur rug covered the floor. For as warm as the home was, this room felt chilly.

  Cynda peeped around a doorway next to the bed and found a standard white bathroom. No color anywhere.

  Her suitcase sat next to the bed. Nope. She didn’t come all this way to not be with Reid. Cynda pulled up the handle. As she marched across the hall to Reid’s room, she turned off the light in the room using her pinkie finger of the hand that still held the cookie she swiped from the kitchen.

  When she stepped into Reid’s room, the mood changed. She turned on the light and she expected to see a different type of decor. In this room, Reid disappointed her. He didn’t add any of his personal touches. As she scanned the area, she noticed no pictures hung from the walls.

  Cynda leaned back out of the doorway and looked around his living room. No pictures existed in that area either. She hated to assume, but she hoped that no pictures meant that he didn’t have a girlfriend.

  She parked her suitcase next to his bed. His bed.

  Before doing anything else, she hoisted herself up on the high bed, letting her feet dangle from the edge. She popped the rest of the cookie in her mouth and chewed it slowly, savoring the cinnamon and vanilla flavors. She smoothed the palms of her hands over soft comforter. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to imagine Reid in bed with her, touching her, holding her, caressing her, making love to her as though nothing had happened between them.

  Cynda took a deep breath to see if she could capture any of Reid’s scent. Just like the rest of the home, nothing stood out, nothing lingered.

  She hopped off the bed and sauntered into Reid’s bathroom. The biggest difference she found between his bathroom and the bathroom in the spare bedroom had to be the huge whirlpool tub that sat in the center of the room.

  “Oh, perfect.” Cynda ran to the white tub, plugged it, and started a stream of hot water.

  As the tub filled she decided to busy herself by doing a bit of snooping. She pulled open the top drawer of his dresser.

  “Jackpot!” She found his underwear drawer.

  Men always hid their secrets with their underwear. Cynda slid his perfectly rolled up boxers to one side of drawer and found nothing. Damn. Maybe Reid wasn’t like other men.

  Determined not to give up on the search, she moved the items to the other side of the drawer. There she found what she sought. What she saw took her breath.

  The picture of her and Reid that they took the last night they had made love sat on top of a stack of other pictures. She remembered how she rested against Reid’s chest while he held his phone over them and snapped the shot.

  She couldn’t believe he kept this picture. The other candid shots of them made her smile. She laughed as soon as she saw their prom picture. Reid definitely had a secret and a girlfriend: her.

  Her heart thrummed thinking that she may have a chance with Reid. He hadn’t forgotten about her. He kept her in a drawer though, and that made her think that maybe he didn’t want anyone knowing how he felt about her. Or maybe he just didn’t have a chance to discard the photos yet.

  Cynda closed the drawer without returning the items back to their original place. She stripped out of her clothes, leaving a trail to the tub. She kept on her platinum-blonde wig. Once she submerged herself into the balmy water, she let all thoughts go out of her head.

  When the water got too tepid, about thirty minutes later, she stepped out of the tub. The hot bath had helped clear her head. The warm water rejuvenated her flesh until it tingled, then a shiver crept up her spine.

  Tiptoeing out to the main bedroom, she went over to the fireplace next to the bed. She flipped up a switch by a mantle, then waited a second before the artificial logs in the fireplace became engulfed in real flames.

  “Yes!” Cynda waved her hands in front of it and felt a bit of the warmth the fire gave off right away. Then she padded back to the bathroom.

  Cynda glanced at herself in the mirror. She contemplated putting on some makeup, maybe just some lipstick so that she looked her best when Reid came home from work. Instead she smoothed her wig down. At least that would be presentable.

  As soon as she dried herself, Cynda hopped into Reid’s bed. Pressing her face into his pillow, she finally picked up his scent, a mature, sporty aroma that hardened her nipples and made her clit throb.

  She wondered again if Reid would be happy to see her. When he walked through the door tonight, would he smile when he saw her in his bed? Would he crawl in bed with her? Hold her? Kiss her? Make love to her again?

  The thought alone made her want to touch herself. She eased her hand down her body to her aching vagina, but stopped when she got to her navel. She would let Reid be the first one to touch her intimately, to make her come. She just hoped that he would want to feel her again.

  Cynda glanced at the digital clock next to Reid’s bed. At one in the morning, she knew she only had a couple of days to convince him to see things her way. Cynda had to make Reid see she had changed, beyond just her hair.

  * * * * *

  Reid loosened his light gray necktie as he sauntered down the long hallway of the resort. He slipped his jacket down his arms and hung it over his shoulder. Not a great look for a general manager, but it had been a long day.

  “What a day.” Reid rubbed his eyes.

  Preparing for this singles event had him working double time. The promotion started tomorrow. Graham had done an amazing job of advertising what they called “Holiday Hearts.” Doing both a singles-only plan and family-theme events at the same resort would have him running everywhere to keep people happy.

  Reid punched in his room key code on the keypad next to his door, then unlocked the door with his key. Once inside, he threw his jacket onto his dining room chair along with his tie. When he turned to go to his bedroom, he noticed something unusual: a pair of women’s heels in the center of his living room.

  Josie never used his place as a dressing room, and he knew she wouldn’t allow her employees to use his home to change their clothes. He picked up one shoe and looked at it. He turned it over and noticed the distinct red sole. Just from listening to the female employees and Harold, he knew shoes like these could fund a small city.

  He placed the shoes back on the floor so that when he saw them in the morning, it would remind him to talk to Josie. Reid padded to his bedroom so that he could take his nightly shower before going to bed.

  In the darkened room, the lit fireplace grabbed his attention first. First the shoes and now the fireplace. No way would Josie have left that on with no one in his unit.

  He would have to have a talk with Josie in the morning. She’d never slip like this before. Maybe the upcoming holiday and the events at the resort clouded her judgment. Or maybe her new relationship with the stable manager put her off her game.

  Reid chuckled at the idea of Josie carrying on with a man who reminded him of the actor Tommy Lee Jones. Who knew his friend liked her men a little weathered?

  Reid placed his tie over the back of chair in his room. He undid his shirt and pulled it from his pants. He threw his shirt on the bed. Just as he started to undo his pants, he stopped.

  “What the hell?” Reid saw clothes strewn across the floor. “Was there a party in my home?”

 
Reid flicked on the light. What he found in his bed startled him more than the shoes and the clothes. Reid always made his bed. If he didn’t do it, Josie made sure it got done.

  When he saw the sheets in a crumpled mess, he wondered what Josie and her staff had been doing all day. Hell, had Josie been fucking Stan in his bed? The more he stared at his bed, the more he realized a person hid under the comforters.

  Reid’s heart accelerated. In the nearly seven years that he had been working at Village Resorts, there had never been any crimes, no theft, no break-ins, no fighting. He couldn’t believe that he would be the first crime victim at the resort.

  No way. Not on his watch. Reid took his shoe off, the only weapon he could get to quickly, and stormed to the bed. He saw white hair peeking from under the comforter.

  Reid ran through the catalogue of employees at Village and couldn’t recall any blondes that worked there except for that quiet desk clerk. No time to wait or waste. He ripped the covers back. What he saw under the comforter almost dropped him to his knees.

  Cynda sat up in his bed. Seeing her shocked him enough. To see her completely naked unnerved him.

  She smiled as she stirred to wake up. “Welcome home, Reidy.”

  Chapter Three

  Reid stared at a woman he’d only seen recently on TV, tabloids, and the Internet. He didn’t want to remind himself just how long it’d been since he’d seen a naked woman.

  It took all his strength to keep his gaze on her face instead of traveling down her body. Reid wanted to recall everything about Cynda. Just one glance and his body and mind jumped back to a happier time, a time before she said she couldn’t go with him to Colorado.

  Remembering that sad moment sobered him to reality. No matter what, he needed to keep his heart guarded.

  “What are you doing here?” Reid crossed his arms over his chest. He realized then that he still held onto his shoe, which he dropped in short order.

  “Visiting for the holidays. Is that okay?” Cynda threw the comforter off her body.

  “Jesus!” Reid started to turn away but decided that in his own home, he wouldn’t crumble and show her she had power over him…again. He turned back to her but kept his gaze down to either her knees or up to her face. Looking anywhere in the danger zone would have him forgetting the last few years of his life. “Would you put some clothes on, please?”