Mrs. Collins hugged her again and told her to “keep the fight alive.” Trish promised to arrange a get-together soon, then watched the older woman walk away. Trish knew she had no choice but to renew her pledge to continue her search. She just prayed that Adam never found out her true intentions because, if he did, she had no doubt that he would make it impossible for her to ever find work in this town again.
“Who wants hot dogs?” Sally Duke cried as she slid the patio door open while balancing two full platters of hot dogs and buns.
“Let me help you with that, Mom,” Adam said, jogging over to grab something from her capable hands. He set the trays on the patio table.
“Thanks, sweetie,” Sally said. “Could you make the hamburger patties? You’re so good at that.”
“I’ll take care of them. You relax.”
“Oh, and I think we’ll need more sangria.”
“You got it.” Adam signaled to Brandon, who stood behind the tiki bar on the other side of the wide terrace, beyond the pool. “Mom needs more sangria.”
“Coming right up,” Brandon called.
Adam entered the big, sunny kitchen where Cameron stood at the stove, putting the finishing touches on the latest batch of his world-famous chili.
Adam snatched a pickle from the relish tray in the refrigerator and chomped it down before heading over to taste-test the chili.
“Needs salt,” he said after the first spoonful.
“I know,” Cameron said.
Adam pulled the hamburger meat from the refrigerator, grabbed a large glass bowl from the cupboard and cleared a spot on the kitchen island to work.
“I need to talk to you and Brandon some time today,” Cameron said as he stirred the pot. “The environmental report came in on the Monarch Beach property and I want to take action on Monday.”
“Sounds good,” Adam said. “I’ve got an ADA issue going on at Fantasy Mountain, too.”
“Speaking of fantasies,” Brandon said as he walked into the room carrying the empty sangria pitcher. “How’s that sweet new assistant of yours doing?”
Cameron turned. “You’ve got a new assistant?”
“Mind your own damn business,” Adam said gruffly to Brandon.
“Ouch,” Brandon said, grinning as he ladled more sangria from the punch bowl into the pitcher. “I seem to have touched a nerve.”
He left the kitchen to deliver the sangria but was back in less than a minute. “What did I miss?”
“I believe we were about to discuss Adam’s new assistant,” Cameron said drily.
Dammit, this subject wasn’t going to go away. Might as well discuss it with people he trusted. Adam walked to the sink and pulled the kitchen curtain back in order to scan the patio. “Where’s Mom?”
“Marjorie and Bea just arrived,” Brandon said. “They’re all out at the bar, drinking sangria and wolfing down chips and salsa.”
“Good,” Adam said, suddenly feeling almost as paranoid as Brandon had earlier in the week. “Let’s make sure they stay out there.”
“What’s going on?” Cameron asked. “You don’t want Mom to know about this ADA issue?”
Brandon snickered as he grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. “I’m betting he’s not really worried about the ADA issue right now.”
“Shut up,” Adam grumbled as he kneaded garlic powder into the meat.
“He hates when I’m right,” Brandon said, smirking.
“Luckily, that rarely happens,” Adam said drily.
“Good one,” Brandon said, too amused to counter the jibe. “So go ahead, just spill it.”
It wasn’t that easy, Adam thought, staring at his brothers. They’d always shared their problems with each other. Despite Brandon’s easygoing nature, he had instincts as sharply drawn as Adam’s and Cameron’s. Besides being his brothers, these two men were his business partners and the two people he most trusted with his life. So he took a breath and spilled his guts.
“It’s this thing Brandon’s been harping on,” he said, glancing from Cameron to Brandon. “You know, about Mom’s latest campaign.”
Cameron looked puzzled for a second, then said, “The matchmaking thing?”
“Yeah.”
“What about it?”
Adam hesitated, then said, “I’ve got this new assistant.”
Brandon nodded. “She’s very hot.”
“You’ve seen her?” Cameron turned to Adam. “When did he get to see her?”
Adam rolled his eyes. “He hasn’t seen her.”
“No,” Brandon said, “but I’ve talked to her on the phone. Her voice is very hot.”
“So?” Cameron turned to Adam. “Is she hot or what?”
Adam shook his head as he added more seasonings to the meat. His brothers were nothing if not predictable when it came to women. “Yeah, she’s hot. That’s the problem.”
“I don’t really see that as a problem,” Cameron said, grinning. “But that’s just me.”
Brandon chuckled, then took a sip of beer.
“Okay, I’ll bite.” Cameron shrugged. “So what does your hot assistant have to do with Mom and…” He stopped, stared at Adam, then Brandon, then back to Adam. “No way,” he whispered in amazement.
“Way, bro,” Brandon said, nodding sagely.
“She wouldn’t,” Cameron said. “Would she?”
“Wouldn’t she?” Adam asked. “We are talking about Sally Duke, right? The woman known far and wide as the Steel Camellia?”
“Right,” Brandon said, then added, “the woman everyone in town calls when they need to accomplish the impossible.”
“But…how?” Cameron thought for another few seconds, then asked, “Wait a minute. You already have an assistant. Where’s Cheryl?”
“She quit,” Adam said flatly.
“Cheryl quit?” Cameron frowned at the chili, then glanced at Adam. “What’s happening with the Fantasy Mountain opening?”
“Trish hit the ground running with that project,” he said, realizing again that no matter what her reason was for being in his office, she was damn good at her job. “She’s got it covered.”
“Trish. Your new assistant.”
“Yeah.”
“So she’s good.”
“She’s excellent.”
“Where’d you find her?”
Adam paused, then admitted, “The floater pool.”
Cameron whipped around. “What?”
“You didn’t tell me that,” Brandon said.
“I know what you’re thinking.”
Cameron’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not sure you do.”
“Does she know what she’s doing?” Brandon asked.
“Completely,” Adam said as he pulled a cookie sheet from one drawer and wax paper from another. “Possibly better than Cheryl.”
“Wow,” Brandon said. “Cheryl was great.”
“I know.”
Again Cameron stared at the chili, deep in thought, as though chili beans might hold the secrets of the universe. You just never knew, Adam thought.
Finally, Cameron looked up and said, “So let me get this straight. You think Mom got Trish a job as a floater,
