Hot Stuff

some stock and CDs to cover us until the money comes through.'

Nick nodded. 'I've done the same.'

Vaughn blinked, startled. 'You already put in the amount of cash we agreed upon. I'm not going to let you-'

'Shut the hell up, will you?' Nick shoved nisi hands into his front pockets. 'We may not be equal in all things, but I can damn well help out my partner in a crisis. It's our investment,' he reminded Vaughn.

Not wanting to insult his best friend and too grateful to speak anyway, Vaughn merely nodded.

Nick headed for his desk and they worked in silence for a few minutes, until Vaughn couldn't hold in his thoughts any longer. 'What did you mean when you said we may not be equal in all things?'

Nick didn't lift his head from the paperwork in front of him. 'Never mind that.'

Vaughn thought back over the last few weeks. To things Nick and Mara had said and done, and to Annabelle's accusations against Nick when she'd first come to town. 'You can't possibly think you aren't my equal in all ways, Nick.' There weren't many people Vaughn would give life and limb for but Nick was one of them.

Nick tossed down his pen and glanced up. 'Do you not realize? You're a living legend. In the eyes of the ladies and this town, you're the man.'

Vaughn couldn't help but smirk at the ridiculous irony. He was a man who looked in the mirror and saw inadequacy day in and day out. Football had been his only salvation and those days were long gone. He didn't know how to explain any of this to Nick though. 'I'm nobody's hero. Just ask Estelle and Theodore,' he said wryly.

Nick grinned. 'Hell, if you thought or acted like you were God's gift, I wouldn't be in business with you. I wouldn't consider you like a brother. Now can we drop this? I feel like a whiny kid and that does nothing for my self-esteem.'

Vaughn let out a laugh. 'We're a pair.'

'That we are.'

Both men turned at the sound of footsteps just outside the door. 'Oh good, you're both here.' Mara burst in, out of breath at a dead run.

Nick stepped forward, catching her before she practically fell. 'I thought I told you to stay in bed,' he said, his gruff voice barely disguising his concern.

She rolled her eyes. 'This is important.'

'Ever heard of a phone?' Nick growled.

'It's not working,' Vaughn and Mara reminded him at the same time.

'Have either of you seen Annabelle?' Mara asked.

'Not me,' Nick said.

At the sound of Annabelle’s name, Vaughn cocked an eyebrow, on instant alert. 'She went food shopping last I heard. Why?'

'Well she came by my apartment earlier and she was very upset. She had this theory about the sabotage and the fire. It involved Roy.' Mara went on to explain Annabelle's hunch regarding Roy, backing up her instinct with motive and opportunity.

Vaughn knew the man also had easy access to the job site.

'Why didn't she come to me?' he asked aloud.

Vaughn didn't think the theory was as far-fetched as Annabelle might believe. In fact the more Vaughn mulled things over, the more he realized that Roy as the culprit made more sense than Laura if only because he had opportunity. Then again, the man's only crime they knew of was cheating on his wife, which was a far cry from arson.

'Annabelle didn't go food shopping,' Mara said, interrupting his thoughts. 'When she left my apartment a little while ago, she said she planned to talk to Roy. She asked me to watch her dog so she could come here.'

An uneasy feeling trickled along Vaughn's nerve endings. He strode to the window and glanced out to the parking lot. 'Damn. Her car's there. Where's Roy scheduled to work this morning?'

Mara checked her clipboard. 'Pre-fire he was overseeing the repairs to the last round of sabotage. Today things are so off schedule, he could be anywhere.'

Vaughn began barking out orders. 'Nick, check the north section. I'll take the main section. Mara, you stay here. And call the police. My gut tells me not to blow this off as some sort of asinine theory.'

ANNABELLE FOUND ROY in the main section, working with the men who were repairing the damage. He stood by a stack of boxes he was opening with a box cutter. She stepped carefully into the construction area, grateful she'd worn her Ugg boots instead of heels. As she marched in, all appraising eyes turned her way.

Used to attention, she trained her gaze on her target. 'Roy, I'd like to have a word with you.'

He glanced around at the stares of the other men. 'Take a break, boys. The pretty lady wants to talk to me.'

The room emptied out. 'What can I do for you?' he asked, stepping too close to her.

The stench of cigarette smoke and body odor assaulted her but she didn’t want to risk offending him by backing off. 'I just thought you and I could finish our conversation from this morning.'

'I don't have anything else to say.' He folded his arms across his chest.

'That's not like you. How about we talk about your son?' She chose his favorite topic, knowing he'd couldn't stay silent for long.

'What about him?' Roy asked warily.

'I thought we could revisit how much he'd benefit from Vaughn's taking that coaching position.'

Roy tossed the box cutter onto a windowsill and Annabelle breathed easier. He rolled his head from side to side as he contemplated her topic. Finally he nodded. 'So I'm not the only one who thinks it Vaughn's life is football. He ought to make coaching a full-time job.'

'So you thought you'd make your point, right?” she asked gently, hoping Roy was more delusional and misguided than violent. 'You thought if you could just get Vaughn frustrated enough to give up on the lodge, he'd come to his senses and coach.'

Roy narrowed his gaze.

'I know, Roy. When I saw you smoking, it clicked into place.'

'You're just a dumb broad and you don't know what you're talking about.' He spat on the floor her feet.

She stepped backward. 'Unfortunately for you, I do. What do you think would happen if I gave the police the cigarette butt you crushed outside Cozy Cups and they compared it to the one they found at the fire's point of origin?' she asked, hoping she sounded sure of herself when she was anything but.

For one thing, she hadn't picked up Roy's butt this morning, and for another, she had no idea how a fire marshall determined what started a blaze. She didn't even know if they'd found the actual cigarette butt at the lodge. The only thing she was suddenly certain of was Roy's guilt.

His current pale coloring confirmed her already strong hunch. 'Talk to me, Roy. Because you seem like a decent man. You love your son and you want what's best for him. Nobody can fault you for that.'

His hands shook as his bravado and arrogant demeanor began to falter. 'I didn't mean for it to go so far.'

'I know you didn't.' She reached out a hand but he didn't take it.

'Do you really understand? 'Cause all I meant was for little things to happen. Like missed deliveries, people not showing up for work. Even cutting the wires before the inspection was ingenious, wasn't it?'

'I'm not sure I'd call it that,' she murmured.

Roy wasn't really listening. Though his expression was sheepish, his eyes glittered with barely veiled pride at his plan. 'I knew I could get the place up and running again after that damage but I figured I wouldn't have to. That Vaughn would see he was meant to coach and that the lodge was nothing but one big hassle and not worth the headaches.'

Annabelle nodded. 'But it didn't work, did it? Vaughn was more dedicated to his dream than you thought, so you decided to torch the whole thing and end it once and for all?' Her mouth ran dry at the thought.I

'Hell, no!' Roy said, actually affronted.

From the corner of her eye, Annabelle saw Vaughn approach and quietly enter the room. She couldn't signal him to remain silent so she kept focused on Roy and prayed Vaughn would stay in the background.

'What really happened last night? Tell me so I can help you.'

Roy's hands waved fast and furious as he tried to explain. 'It was supposed to be a small fire. Just a warning.