Texas Proud and Circle of Gold (Long, Tall Texans #52) - Diana Palmer Page 0,57
for a minute, and then poured the contents of his own coffee cup over her head.”
“And?” Sari prompted.
“He walked out the door in a huff and she went home to change. We’re still laughing about it. Except that when Agent Murdock comes through the door, they both pretend that the other one is invisible. It makes things interesting.”
Sari just grinned.
Chapter Ten
Sunday morning, Mikey came by to pick up Bernie at Mrs. Brown’s boardinghouse. He was preoccupied at first, frowning.
“What’s wrong?” she asked gently. “Can I help?”
He turned toward her and smiled slowly, oblivious to Santi’s quick and amused glance in the rearview mirror from the front seat. “There’s that sweet compassion that I’ve hardly had in my whole life,” he said. “You really are one in a million, kid.”
She flushed. “So are you. But can I help?”
“You can listen, when we get to Paulie’s house,” he said. He glanced in the front seat. “And you can have the day off until I call you to take us home, Santi,” he added with a grin. “You might go take in a movie.”
“Not a bad idea, boss,” Santi said with a big smile. “Thanks!”
He shrugged. “I’m not a bad guy.”
Santi made a sarcastic noise, but Mikey ignored him. They got out at the front door of Paul’s house, and Santi raised a hand and waved as he drove off.
Mikey held Bernie’s hand tight in his and put his finger on the doorbell.
Before he could push it, the door opened. Sari and Paul welcomed them in.
“We have lunch,” Sari announced. “Mandy made a macaroni and ginger and chicken salad, and sliced some fruit to go with it.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Bernie said.
“It does. Nobody cooks like Mandy,” Mikey said.
“I heard that,” Mandy called from the kitchen. “Come on in. I’ve almost got everything on the table.”
She did. The place settings were immaculate, like the white linen napkins. Mikey pulled out a chair for Bernie and then one for himself.
Mandy came back in with a basket of blueberry muffins and put them on the table. “Who wants coffee?”
Every hand went up.
Mandy laughed. “That’s what I figured,” she mused. “Coming right up.”
* * *
Bernie was a little self-conscious at first. She wasn’t used to mansions and elaborate dining room place settings, and this was her first real meal with the Fiores. But the conversation and Mikey’s attention thawed her out in no time at all.
“This is delicious,” Bernie commented as she savored a bite of the chicken dish.
“We like it as a light meal,” Sari said. “Neither of us likes anything heavy in the middle of the day. Or in the evening, for that matter.”
“No wonder you’re both so slender,” Bernie teased.
“People in law enforcement have to be fast,” Paul chuckled. “I had to run down a counterfeiter just last week,” he added. “If I overeat, I lose my edge.”
Mikey grinned at him. “Not likely,” he commented. “You do okay, cousin.”
“Sari says Jessie is giving you two a hard time,” Paul noted.
Mikey’s lip pulled down. “She’s persistent, I’ll give her that. But she has the appeal of a skunk on acid. Know what I mean?”
Paul laughed. “I do.”
“Besides,” Mikey said, his eyes on Bernie, “I have other interests.”
Bernie beamed and almost spilled her coffee. Her heart was going so fast that it shook her blouse. Mikey noticed that and flashed her a wicked smile.
* * *
After lunch, Mikey took Bernie’s hand and led her down the wooded path that eventually ended at the stables where the Grayling racehorses lived in luxury.
“I love it here,” Bernie said, looking around at the leafless trees next to tall fir trees that were still green. “Fir trees are awesome.”
“Yeah, they are,” he agreed. “Out west, we’ve got Colorado blue spruce that go right up into the sky.”
“Are they really blue, or is that just a description that stuck?”
“They’re really blue,” he replied. He stopped walking and turned to her. “Next time I go to Vegas, you can come with me. We’ll go by way of Wyoming and have a look at Yellowstone and Old Faithful. It’s a sight you’ll never forget.”
She hesitated.
He noticed that. “I have plans,” he said softly. “First, I have to take the heat off Tony and get him out of the mess he’s in. He’s family, you see?” he asked, scowling. “It’s loyalty. You take a solemn vow. You fulfill it. If you don’t, there are terrible penalties. Nobody ever sells out anybody in his family. If he does, the penalty is unspeakable.” He didn’t add