Heartbreaker

her.'

'She’s off-limits. Wait up, Tommy,' he called out. 'Let one of us go inside first.'

'Off-limits for you, or for me?'

'For both of us. She’s not the kind of woman you mess around with unless you’ve made a commitment.'

The cobblestone path curved around the building. Noah strode ahead of Tommy and Laurant while Nick trailed behind. Both agents were busy looking at the terrain.

Terra-cotta pots brimming with red and white geraniums lined the path to the door. The Rosebriar was an old sprawling Victorian-style house that had been converted into a restaurant. The dining room was richly appointed with crystal vases filled with spring flowers on all the white linen tablecloths. The china looked old and expensive.

The room they were shown into was in the back of the house, overlooking a duck pond and the woods. They were led to a round table in front of the window so they could enjoy the view, but Noah nodded toward a corner table and asked to be seated there instead. The room was quite full. It was noisy with laughter. Quite a few families were dining with their children. As they threaded their way to the corner, heads turned to watch Laurant. Even the children were mesmerized by her. Laurant seemed oblivious to the admiring gazes of every man in the restaurant.

The waiter pulled the table out so that Laurant could sit in the corner. Nick sat beside her. Noah and Tommy faced them, but Noah hated having his back to the room, and so he angled his chair to see the other diners. He started to take his jacket off, realized his gun would show, and pulled it back up over his shoulders.

Tommy couldn’t sit still. Every other second he turned to look around the room. His head snapped up each time he heard a burst of laughter.

'Sit still and try to relax,' Noah ordered. 'You’re drawing attention squirming in your chair like that. And quit staring at the other people. Don’t you know most of them?'

Tommy shook his head. 'No, I don’t. That’s why I’m watching them.'

'Let us watch them,' Nick suggested. 'Now get with the program. Okay?'

'I think you should try to smile, Tommy,' Laurant whispered. 'We’re supposed to be celebrating tonight.'

'I’m going to order a bottle of champagne,' Nick said.

'What are we celebrating?' Noah asked.

Laurant held up her hand. 'Nick and I are officially engaged.'

Tommy did smile then. 'So that’s why you got all decked en tonight.'

'I’m not all decked out.'

'And you’ve got makeup on too, don’t you? You never wear makeup.'

She knew her brother wasn’t deliberately trying to embarrass her but she still wanted to kick him under the table to get him to stop

'Your hair’s different too.'

'I curled it. All right? Honestly, it’s no big deal. And by the way, if anyone asks, you’re thrilled that I’m going to marry your best friend.'

'Okay,' he said.

'Actually, I may have to marry your sister after all,' Nick said with a grin.

'How’s that?'

'She ran into a friend-'

'Lorna isn’t my friend.'

Nick nodded. 'And Laurant will do anything to keep Lorna from saying I told you so.'

Tommy laughed. 'Lorna’s always rubbed Laurant the wrong way. I guess you will have to marry her.'

He leaned back in his chair. His gaze bounced from Laurant to Nick, and then back again, and then he said, 'You know that wouldn’t be bad at all. You’re kind of suited for each other.'

'She doesn’t want to marry me. I’m not safe enough for her.'

'The wedding’s at seven o’clock on the second Saturday in October, and you’re marrying us,' Laurant said. 'I just know Lorna’s going to talk to you, so act happy and don’t forget the date.'

'Yeah, yeah, the second Saturday in October,' he agreed. 'I won’t forget. But when this is over, you’re going to have to tell Lorna the truth.'

Laurant was vehemently shaking her head. 'I’ll move first.'

'I thought you were going to marry me to save face.'

She shrugged. 'I guess I could.'

'Marriage is a holy sacrament,' Tommy reminded them.

'Lighten up, Tommy,' Laurant suggested. 'Go with the flow.'

'In other words, lie through my teeth, right?'

She smiled. 'Right.'

'Okay, let me ask you this. If I’m marrying you and Nick, who’s going to walk you down the aisle?'

'I hadn’t thought about that,' she admitted.

'I’ve got an idea,' Noah said. 'How about if I marry Nick and Laurant, and Tom, you can walk your sister down the aisle.'

'Now that’s a plan,' Nick agreed.

Tommy looked exasperated. 'Okay, Noah, let’s go over the rules one more time. You’re not really a priest. You’re just pretending to be one, and that means you can’t marry anyone, you can’t hear confessions, and you can’t date.'

Noah laughed, drawing stares from the other diners. 'Damn, it doesn’t take much to get you riled up. We’re pretending that Nick and Laurant are getting married, aren’t we? So I’m pretending I’m going to marry them.'

Tommy looked at Nick. 'Help me out here, will you? The abbot went out on a limb for Noah. Pete talked to him and convinced him to go along with this plan. He agreed to tell everyone that Wesson’s a cousin and that he’s letting him stay in the cabin. The man’s being real accommodating,' he added. 'But we don’t like people impersonating priests, and Noah promised he wouldn’t do anything to discredit the collar. Five minutes after we leave the abbot’s office, Noah’s winking at Suzie Johnson and calling her darling.'

'I’m pretending to be a friendly priest,' Noah explained. 'And I still think priests ought to have one day off a week to go-'

Tommy stopped him. 'Yeah, I know. A day off to have sex. That’s not the way it works.'

Nick’s phone rang. He listened for half a minute, then said, 'Yes, sir,' and hung up.

'The sheriff just got out of a new, red Ford Explorer. He’s headed this way.'

'Is he alone?' Noah asked.

'Looks that way.'

'The lodge holds its weekly meetings here,' Laurant explained 'The others are probably upstairs in one of the smaller dining rooms.'

'Is Brenner a member of the lodge?'

'I think so,' she answered.

'Maybe after we eat, I’ll go up and say hello,' Nick said. 'I’d sure like to meet good old Steve Brenner.'

A minute later the sheriff strutted into the entry. Dressed in his gray uniform and cowboy boots, he didn’t bother to remove his hat when he entered the restaurant. Nick watched the hostess pick up a menu and lead the sheriff up the stairs.

'Brenner’s the local talent, isn’t he?' Noah asked.

'It looks that way,' Nick said.

'What do you mean,’the local talent’?' Tommy asked.

'The guy who tries to run the town. The bully,' Noah explained. 'There’s always at least one in every town this size.'

'Then that’s what Brenner is,' Tommy said. 'He is trying to run the town, and my sister is the only person here who’s willing to stand up to him.' He noticed Laurant was admiring her ring and smiled. 'I wouldn’t get too attached to that ring, Laurant.'

'I’m putting on a show, Tommy,' she whispered. 'But the ring is lovely, isn’t it? I had no idea Russell’s carried so many beautiful things.' She began to wonder what it would be like to be married to Nick. To know that