and Zach can give me a ride back when he tows this heap.”
“No problem. Keep it for as long as you like. J.D. can chauffeur me around in his rental.” She lifted a brow in his direction, and he nodded.
Noelle slipped back inside the house and grabbed the extra set of keys to the truck. She tossed them to Tara.
“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.” Tara jingled the keys in the air.
When she drove out of the front gate, Noelle turned to go back inside the house, stopping midway. “Are you ready to take a break? Do you want something to drink or eat? You never had any lunch.”
“I did have dessert.”
She’d been out of the flirting game so long, it took her several seconds to catch his meaning. Warmth flooded her cheeks, and she gurgled some inane response.
J.D. held up his gloved hand. “Sorry. Lame joke.”
Is that what he thought of her lovemaking efforts? Her spine stiffened, and she turned her back on him. “So, something to eat?”
“I could use something, but I’ll get it myself if you don’t mind me clattering around your kitchen. Do you have any of those bagels left?”
“I do. Help yourself. I’m going to get dressed.”
She closed the door to her bedroom and yanked open her lingerie drawer. It was about time she put on some underwear. She didn’t expect a repeat performance from J.D. He wasn’t the type of man to be used twice, and if she were completely honest with herself, that’s what she’d been doing.
Not that she hadn’t enjoyed being with him when her mind was present and in the moment. Enjoy? That word didn’t begin to describe the feelings he’d aroused in her.
She shook out a pair of jeans and stepped into them, stuffing her feet back into her fuzzy slippers. Just because she was getting dressed didn’t mean she had to leave the house.
“Noelle?” J.D. tapped on the bedroom door.
She grabbed the sweater she’d laid out on the bed and pulled it over her head, giving J.D. a muffled response. “Yeah?”
“It’s your phone. I checked the display. Ted’s calling.”
Her heart thumped a little harder as she folded down the collar of her turtleneck. “Answer it before he hangs up.”
As she scuffed to the door, she heard J.D.’s voice.
“Yeah. She’s right here.”
She threw open the bedroom door and held out her hand for the phone. She couldn’t help the slight tremor in her fingers, but if he was the one calling he must be okay.
She swallowed and put a smile in her voice. “What’s up, Ted?”
“It’s Bruce.”
Shaking her head at J.D., she lifted her shoulders. “What about Bruce?”
“He’s had an accident, Noelle.”
A zigzag of fear ran up Noelle’s back, and she automatically pushed the speaker button so J.D. could hear the conversation. This couldn’t be a coincidence.
“What kind of accident, Ted? Is he okay?”
“Noelle, he—he’s dead.”
Chapter Fourteen
Noelle reached out with her hand. J.D. didn’t know if she sought balance or comfort, but he offered both by pulling her close against his side.
A tremor rolled through her body, and J.D. tightened his grip around her waist. He shouted into the phone, adrenaline amplifying his voice. “What happened?”
“It was a skiing accident. Bruce was heading down a triple-black-diamond run, took a wrong turn and skied off a cliff.”
Noelle licked her lips. “Triple black diamond? Bruce was a good skier, but he was cautious. There’s no way he would’ve attempted one of the most difficult runs on the mountain.”
“He must’ve been feeling confident because he attempted it—and failed.”
J.D. cut in. “When did this happen?”
“Just a few hours ago. I’d heard about an accident on the mountain, but I didn’t know it was Bruce until later. Sheriff Greavy wants to talk to you, Noelle. I told him Pierpont was here visiting you.”
J.D. took the phone that Noelle held between them with a trembling hand and clamped it to his ear. “Was Pierpont with anyone? Were there any witnesses to the accident?”
Noelle’s body jolted against his. She knew as well as he did that Pierpont’s accident was related in some way to Zendaris. But what did Zendaris’s men hope to gain from killing Noelle’s friend? Had they questioned him first?
“As far as I know, Pierpont was on his own. Maybe if he’d been with others, they could’ve talked him out of taking that run.”
“Have they recovered the body?”
Noelle sobbed against his chest and he stroked her hair. She needed him now even if she had played him for a fool.
“Yeah, search and rescue brought him down.”
“Do you