Chapter 2

2

CHANCE

T onight was our first book club meeting. I wasn't sure any of the guys were talking about it or calling it that. Any time we tried to meet at a bar or one of our houses, we inevitably talked about anything but the assigned book.

Marigold fed me book recommendations, and now she'd found us a place to meet where it was quiet.

I was off duty for once, and it felt strange to walk into the community building out of my uniform. I approached the children's desk, but Marigold wasn't in front of her computer screen where I'd usually spot her.

I searched the stacks until I found her kneeling next to a child. The mom stood nearby with a soft smile playing on her lips.

Marigold's hand traveled over the blue spines of a row of books. "These are the books you were looking for. This series is popular. Do you know which one you want?"

The boy began pulling one after the other out of the row and stacking them on the floor. "This one. This one. Oh, this one is good."

Marigold exchanged an amused look with the mother. Then she spotted me. She stood, pulling down her skirt that had ridden up from her position. I forced myself to keep my eyes on her face and not her legs.

Since when did I check out my sister's best friend? When I'd graduated, I saw Marigold occasionally on visits home from college.

I never understood why Marigold hung out with Scarlett. She seemed like a good girl, and Scarlett was the opposite. My parents thought she was a good influence on Scarlett.

When Marigold graduated from her master's program and moved home to fill the open position in the children's section, I was a deputy. I'd made my vow not to date women in Telluride. It would be too complicated since my plan was to run for sheriff. I kept any relationships to flings with tourists or women who lived in the next town over.

"Did you need something?" Marigold asked me.

"I didn't mean to interrupt." I nodded toward the boy and his mother.

"Thank you," the mother said to Marigold.

"Happy to help." Marigold moved to stand in front of me.

"You reserved a meeting room for us, but I wasn't sure which one." That wasn't exactly true. I remembered it was on the third floor, but I wanted Marigold to show it to me.

"I'll get the key."

I followed her to the circulation desk. I was used to making small talk. I shouldn't have felt off-kilter speaking to Marigold. I'd known her since she was in grade school. "Has it been a busy day?"

"It usually is in the morning, then again after school lets out for the day." Marigold bent down to get something under the desk, and her cardigan gaped open slightly, giving me a peek at the very edge of lace bra. I forced myself to look away.

"Just follow me," Marigold said as she straightened, heading toward the staircase. I was behind her, my gaze drifting lower to the view of her ass in that pencil skirt.

On the third floor, she opened the door. "You'll like this room. It's nice and private."

There were floor-to-ceiling windows on this level with views of the town and the mountain range in the distance.

Marigold clicked on the overhead lights, then turned on the gas fireplace. There were several leather, overstuffed chairs and end tables. "You can bring food and drink if you'd like to in the future. Just clean up before you leave."

"I can do that."

"Who all is coming?" Marigold stood next to the fireplace, her hands smoothing her skirt.

Was she nervous to be alone with me? "The Wilde brothers and me. We tried to convince Dax to give it a shot, but he's busy at work."

"I'm actually surprised the rest of you are serious about a book club. I don't think we've had a request like this from a younger group of men."

I winked at her. "Are you stereotyping people?"

Marigold flushed. "I didn't mean to."

I sat in the leather chair with an ottoman and threw my feet up. "It feels good to get off my feet." I gestured at the chair next to me. "Have a seat."

Marigold glanced at the door. "I should get back to work."

"Just sit for a minute. You get breaks, don't you?" I suspected that Marigold didn't take many because she enjoyed her job.

Marigold sighed and sat on the leather couch. "I can spare a minute."

"It's nice, isn't it?" The room was quiet except for the crackling fire.

"I suggested this room because it's quiet and away from the busiest areas. Not many people venture up here."

"I didn't even know this was here until you mentioned it."

"This is where I come on break to read."

She did take breaks to read. Imagining Marigold in her cardigans and skirts reading a book in front of the fireplace was attractive. "You’re allowed to use the meeting rooms on break?"

Her cheeks flushed pink. "I've never asked permission."

"I thought you followed all the rules." I didn't know what the head of the library required of her employees, but I was enjoying teasing her.

Marigold scoffed. "How many times did you pick me and Scarlett up at a party where there was underage drinking going on?"

I set my feet flat on the floor and leaned my elbows on my thighs. "Why did you put yourself in those situations? You know what happens at parties like that."

Marigold looked away. "I was sober. I went to look after Scarlett. She would attend regardless if I was present."

I sucked in a breath. "I never knew that."

Marigold's brow furrowed. "How could you? We didn’t exactly talk back then."

"Scarlett could have gotten into trouble if our dad wasn't the sheriff."

"I suspect she did it to get attention from your dad."

I tipped my head in her direction. "Thank you for looking out for my sister."

The door opened, and Xander’s voice boomed into the cozy space, "Is this the room we're meeting in?"

I waved a hand. "No need to yell."

Marigold jumped to her feet, smoothing her skirt. "It's a library, after all."

Xander grinned when he saw her, moved close to where she stood, and pulled her in for a side hug. Were her breasts brushing against his chest? Why did I care?

Marigold pushed him away with a grin. "I'll let you get to it."

"Wait," Xan called to her before she could slip out. "We need a librarian here to lead the discussion."

Marigold's forehead wrinkled. "It's a men's-only book club, isn't it?"

Xan grinned. "I'm sure we could make an exception for a beautiful woman like you."

I groaned at his blatant flirting. "I'll walk you out."

I opened the door and waited for Marigold to step past me. I selfishly breathed in her floral scent. Everything about her appeared to be soft and sweet. I wondered if she'd be like that in bed or if she'd be passionate.

Just then, Eli reached the top of the stairs. "Thanks for getting us this room."

Marigold smiled at him. "I thought you'd like it."

A slow smile spread over Eli's face as his gaze moved from me to Marigold. Then he went inside the room.

At the steps, Marigold said, "I can handle it from here."

"Thanks again for the room, and your book recommendation."

"Did you like the book?" Marigold placed her hand on the railing.

"It was more of a mystery, and I couldn't put it down until I knew what happened."

Marigold's eyes widened. "You read it in one sitting."

"I had to find out what happened. When I got to the end, I remembered the title of the book."

" None of this is true ."

I shook my head, a rueful grin on my face. "I have no idea what happened and what was a lie."

"I thought some of it was true."

"Did you read the book?" I asked, surprised.

Her cheeks pinkened. "I wanted to make sure it was good. You were trusting me to make a good choice."

I stepped closer, and she looked away.

"Marigold." I waited for her to look up at me. "I can't believe you went through that much trouble."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It was no big deal."

My brow furrowed. "You read all the books you recommend?"

She frowned. "I read the reviews online and can usually get a good idea."

Why had she done more for me? I could say it was because we were friends. She'd helped me and Eli with Scarlett. I'd have to stew over that one for a while. I stepped back because she seemed uncomfortable with me in her space. "I thought as a police officer, I could see through the lies, but the author was good at creating doubt."

Marigold smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You should have a lively discussion."

"I hope everyone read it. I need to talk to someone about it." I edged away, moving backward toward the door to the meeting room. I didn't want to miss any of her facial reactions. She was so expressive.

"I'm happy to talk to you about it if you'd like," Marigold said, then ducked her head.

I wanted to spend more time with her, and in this moment, I couldn't remember why I shouldn't. "That would be great."

"Have a good meeting," Marigold said as she headed down the stairs.

Eli popped his head out of the room. "Are you coming? I thought you were in charge of this meeting?"

Marigold's laughter drifted up the stairs to us, and I couldn't help but smile at the sound.

"Come on." Eli ducked inside, and I followed him.

The guys made themselves comfortable on the couch and chairs. Xan took my spot, which was typical. He wanted whatever anyone else had. It had been that way since we were kids.

Eli stood in front of the window, squinting into the darkness as if trying to see how much of a view there was of his family's ski resort.

Oliver sat on the couch with his glasses perched on his nose and the book in his lap. He always came prepared.

"You can't spreadsheet your way out of this one," Xan said to Oliver. "That story was messed up."

Oliver lowered his glasses. "Joey wanted to know what it was about. I had to tell him a very watered-down version of the facts."

I had a feeling Joey clung to Oliver because his mother wasn't around much. Tina was usually traveling around, playing gigs in various bars. It was no life for a kid. At least she'd admitted that Oliver would be the more stable parent. It was smart of her to realize that, but it came at a cost for Joey.

Eli turned around. "It was boring in the beginning. I didn't think I'd get through it. I was questioning Chance's choice."

"Marigold recommended it after she read it."

"When the main character started talking about her life story, it got good," Xan added.

"What was the deal with her wearing all that denim? Does that make her a psychopath?" Xan asked me.

I was impressed that the guys had read the book, and we jumped into the discussion. I'd planned to go through the discussion questions in the back of the book, but maybe I wouldn't need to. "I don't run into a lot of psychopaths."

"Thank God for that," Oliver said.

My job was small-town sheriff. I dealt with complaints, property disputes, and the occasional domestic violence case. Serious crime was rare. It didn't mean that I didn't work long hours.

"I knew something was going to happen to the other woman's husband. I had a bad feeling." Eli moved to sit on the couch. "Scarlett kept asking me what I was reading."

"Did you tell her?" This was supposed to be a men's-only kind of thing. As much as I liked my sister, I didn't want her intruding on guy time, even if she was dating my best friend.

Eli sighed, lifting his book to show me the cover. "I read paperbacks. I couldn't exactly hide it."

"You get a chance to read the whole book, Xan?" I knew he'd had difficulties reading growing up. A teacher suspected, dyslexia, but it wasn't something they treated back then.

"Nah. I got to the part where she confessed about dating a man twenty-eight years older than her, and I was a little freaked out, to be honest."

Xan might have been a bit of a player, but he was genuinely a good guy.

"Have you tried listening to the audiobook?" Oliver suggested.

Xan leaned back on the couch. "That's not a bad idea."

"You have to finish it, because I'm not so sure he lured her into a relationship," I said.

"I think it was the opposite," Eli added.

We talked more about what we thought was real. Then I went through a few of the discussion questions.

"What's the consensus? Should we do it again?" I liked bonding with my friends over mountain biking or climbing, but there was something about reading the same book and discussing it together that was also enjoyable.

"Scarlett thinks it's hot." Eli looked around the room at us.

"What?" I asked him, not sure I wanted him to repeat his comment about my sister.

"Scarlett thinks that men sitting around discussing a book is hot." Eli threw up his hands. "I'm just putting it out there."

Xan leaned forward. "Seriously? I would think being the best skier in town would do it."

"Killian's the best skier," I said, absentmindedly used to his competitive ways.

Xan pointed at me. "But Killian's not here."

Eli stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing one over the other. "He mentioned coming home for Christmas."

"Are your parents coming home too?" I asked Eli, remembering they were traveling the world for their retirement.

"They'll be here if the prodigal son returns," Xan said.

Xan insinuated that Killian was the favorite, but I think it had more to do with him being absent since he was a teenager. He'd left home to train for the Olympics and rarely visited.

"You know Mom and Dad love you," Oliver said.

Xan was easy going and lovable. Eli was the responsible one who took over the ski resort. Oliver was the smart one, and Killian was the Olympic-level athlete. Each brother was exceptional. I'd always thought my job was important. But now that Eli and Scarlett were settling down, I was questioning everything.

Who would have thought that Scarlett would be the first St. Claire to get serious with someone? My parents held out hope for me to marry and have kids. Now that Scarlett was on that path, I should have felt relieved that it took the pressure off me. Instead, I felt unsettled, and I didn't like that feeling.