“But you won’t be there. Gonzo will.”

  “Don’t worry. I filled him in, and he’s all prepared to butter up the ladies.” Rob winked at her. “You know he’s good at that. And I’ll be there for the pickup shuttle, so I can chat up the Queen.”

  Mandy peered at Gonzo leaning over the pool table to line up a shot. He had managed to stay dry for well over two months, and he was drinking soda tonight. “I guess it is time to let Gonzo loose.”

  Rob leaned forward and gave her a peck on the lips. “Speaking of letting loose and queens, let’s go make some honey, honey.”

  Mandy realized that after her rough day and the troubling conversation with Cynthia, she had no real interest in playing pool anymore. Rob’s proposition sounded good, real good. She slipped her hand into his and stood, pulling him to his feet.

  A slow, wide grin split his face. He tossed some money on the table. “That’ll cover my share, Ajax.”

  Ajax turned from his conversation with a “Huh?” then took one look at the two of them grinning at each other and waved a dismissive hand at them. “Sure, whatever. See ya later.”

  Mandy and Rob walked out with arms around each other and gave a wave to Cynthia busy shaking a martini shaker at the bar. That reminded Mandy of Cynthia’s mention of Lee Ellis and his camping equipment, particularly the hatchet. Rob said he hadn’t talked to Lee lately when she asked him about Lee’s business, but maybe he’d talked to Lee before, maybe even about camping. There was no better time than the present to find out.

  When they stepped outside into the cool night air, she turned to him. “I have to ask you something. Before you and Lee Ellis got busy, what conversations did you have with him?”

  “After we met him at the May meeting of the Arkansas River Outfitter Association, I talked to him at some other meetings, and he’s asked me for advice on suppliers and such. We did the traditional beer for paddle trade a few weeks back when I picked up a couple of his paddles in Brown’s Canyon. Chewed some fat at his business then. Sure hope he can make a go of it. It wasn’t in very good shape when he bought it.” Rob shook his head.

  Just like Uncle Bill’s business. “He ever talk about camping?”

  “Yeah. He and Brenda and the kids used to camp a lot when Craig and Faith were little. He asked where some good campgrounds were up here.”

  A chill breeze blew off the river and Mandy shivered. “How are we doing this, anyway? And whose place are we going to?”

  Rob chafed her arms to warm her up. “Ajax picked me up at my place, so you’re driving. You need to take care of Lucky? Or do you want to go straight to my place? I stocked up on coffee ice cream and caramel syrup.”

  “Oh, yum.” Mandy licked her lips. “We’re going to your place for sure. Lucky will be okay until morning. He’s been fed and run, and he’s outside with a full water dish and a rawhide bone.” She looked up at the star-studded sky. “It’ll be a warm, dry night.”

  They jogged to her car and she started it up and pulled away from the curb. As they drove to Rob’s house, she filled him in on her conversation with Cynthia. “So that’s why I want to find out more about Lee Ellis and the rest of the family. I think they have just as much motive as Cynthia, and I want something to give Quintana so he’ll turn his attention away from her.”

  Rob’s brow furrowed. “I can’t see any of them killing Howie. He was Brenda’s brother, after all.”

  Mandy pulled into Rob’s driveway and shut the engine off. “Can you see Cynthia killing him?”

  “No, no I can’t.” He stared out the window. “Lee and Craig are working as controllers for the tournament tomorrow. Like me, they’ll be carrying business cards, I’m sure, and chatting up the teams to try to get some future fish-guiding business. I’ll talk to them in the morning when we all meet at the SteamPlant to get our instructions from John, see what I can find out.”

  “What time? Maybe I can be there, too, before I check in at AHRA.”

  “Early, six o’clock.” He opened his car door. “We’d better hit the sack. Race ya!”

  By the time Mandy had shouted, “You’re on!” and leapt out of her car door, Rob was already at his front door. When she ran up giggling, he had unlocked it and pushed it open. He swept her up in his arms and carried her inside.

  She reached out and pulled the door closed behind him. When he gently set her back down on her feet, she deliberately rubbed the full length of her body against his.

  That got a rise out of him. His mouth was hot and hungry on hers in an instant. He kneaded her buttocks while their tongues fenced and he pulled her in even closer.

  Mandy tugged his T-shirt out of his jeans and ran her hands up inside along the fine curls of chest hair until she found his nipples. She flicked her thumbs over them.

  He groaned. “To bed, woman!”

  They left a trail of clothing down the hallway as they raced to the soft, pillowy finish line.

  _____

  Mandy sucked on her spoon, savoring the sweet caramel syrup as it melted on her tongue. She sat propped up in Rob’s bed, the sheet pulled up under her armpits, luxuriating in the feel of the smooth, cool sheets against her bare skin. And she was feeling totally satisfied. Only one more luscious spoonful of coffee ice cream remained in the large bowl Rob had fixed her, and she was delaying the eating of it as long as she could.

  He had long finished his bowl and lay propped on one elbow, watching her appreciatively.

  The sheet puddled around his hips, exposing his muscled chest. Mandy decided she had the better view.

  “You know,” he said languidly, “having you over here full-time a few months ago was real nice. I could get used to that.”

  Mandy swallowed her last bite of ice cream and put her bowl on the nightstand. She pulled her knees up under her chin and put her arms around her legs. Yes, moving in to take care of Rob after he’d been shot in the shoulder had been nice, and having the fenced-in yard for Lucky was handy. But after two weeks of waiting on him hand and foot, she had jumped at the opportunity to move back to her own place when Rob regained enough movement in that arm to dress and feed himself.

  She peered at him over her knees. “You know it wouldn’t be the same. I wouldn’t be at your beck and call, fixing all the meals and doing all the chores.”

  Rob grinned. “No? Darn! Seriously, though, we’d find a way to share the cooking and cleaning. I’d even volunteer to pick up Lucky’s messes. What do you think?”

  “More importantly, what would your mother think? She’d never approve.”

  That wiped the smile off his face, but after a moment, it slyly reappeared. “We both know what we could do to gain her approval.”

  “Yeah, I know, a huge church wedding, with a long white dress, eight attendants each, and flowers and incense and all that jazz.” Mandy had tried to make a joke of it, but just in case, she added, “But it’s waaay too early to think about that.” If ever. “Merging two lives—and two households—is a big deal.”

  Rob’s expression had grown more serious as she talked, until he was looking down at the mattress, scratching idly at the sheet. Mandy was just beginning to wonder if he was sad or disappointed in her, when he raised his head, his face wiped of emotion, and spoke.

  “Not just two households. You still own both your house and Bill’s. Any progress on selling your uncle’s house?”

  Mandy sighed. “Bridget Murphy called Monday and said a couple had made an offer.”

  Rob sat up. “That’s good, isn’t it?”

  “Not so fast. The offer was twenty-five thousand less than the asking price.”

  “Maybe in this economy, that’s as good as you’ll get.”

  “Maybe, but it was still fifteen thousand less than the appraisal, so I asked her to counter with that price.”

  Rob frowned and rubbed the evening stubble on his chin. “I think that was a mistake. What if you scare them off ? You may not get another offer.”

  “Well, if that’s what happens, then that’s what was meant to be. I’m still not really ready to give up the place. Having it on the market a few more weeks would give me time to get used to the idea.”

  “But then the money from the sale would come in too late to expand RM Outdoor Adventures into fall and winter adventure trips.”

  Mandy was getting irritated. “Is that all you care about, expanding the business?”

  Rob looked at her, opened his mouth, then hesitated. “I also care about you, Mandy, your happiness, your financial security. That’s why I suggested that you invest the rest of the money, set up a retirement account.”

  He was about to say something stronger. Mandy knew it. He was just smart enough to realize she was getting riled, even if he didn’t fully understand why. “There’s plenty of time for that. I’m only twenty-seven after all.”

  Rob blew out a breath. “But I thought you were interested in expanding the business, too. We made all these plans, then I selected equipment, found guide training classes. Have you changed your mind?”

  “No, I understand why we need to expand. It’s just, just…” She flopped her hands down on the bed as she struggled with the words. “The change is coming too fast.”

  “We talked about the timeline before—”

  “I know that! But I didn’t know how it would feel.”

  “But you contacted Bridget and started the process. So, I thought you were getting used to the idea. You seemed ready to sell.” Rob peered at her. “Are you deliberately sabotaging the deal by countering too high?”

  “Of course not!” Or am I? No, no, I wouldn’t do anything that underhanded. And the implication that she would made her even madder, turning her voice steely cold. “Countering with the appraised price is a perfectly legitimate thing to do.”

  “Not if you really want to sell.”

  Mandy threw off the sheet and got out of bed. “It’s not your house to sell, Rob. Stop questioning my decisions.”

  “I’m not!” Rob’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m just trying to understand what you’re thinking.”

  “That’s the problem, Rob. By now, you should know not just what I’m thinking, but what I’m feeling.”

  Rob flung back the sheet and stood, facing her across the bed. “God damn it. I do know what you’re feeling, and frankly, I don’t like it one bit. You’re using Howie’s murder, your uncle’s house, and whatever else you can come up with to avoid having to think about us!”

  Mandy felt like she’d been slapped. “What?”

  “That’s right,” Rob stabbed a finger at her. “You can’t make a long-term commitment to our relationship, so you’re throwing all this stuff in my face instead.”

  Quivering with anger, a hot flush reddening her naked body, Mandy stared at Rob, who was in the same state. “You are so wrong. That is not what I’m doing.” She started picking up her clothes.

  Rob watched her with dismay. “What are you doing?”

  She walked into his bathroom with her clothes bundled in her arms. “I’m getting dressed and going back to my place.” Then she slammed the door.

  Fourteen

  . . . of all the liars among mankind, the fisherman

  is the most trustworthy.

  —WILLIAM SHERWOOD FOX,

  SILKEN LINES AND SILVER HOOKS, 1954

  The next morning at a quarter after six, Mandy hunched her shoulders against the early morning chill. She walked from her car to the Salida SteamPlant with her hands in the pockets of her black AHRA fleece jacket. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing Rob after their argument last night, but she had to come. Talking to Lee and Craig Ellis was important.

  Besides, she’d woken up with the infuriating realization that Rob was right, that she had been avoiding thinking about, and talking about, making a commitment to him. That’s what had made her so angry last night. That he had pegged her feelings about their relationship better than she had herself. He had shoved them under her nose, where she couldn’t avoid examining them any longer. It wasn’t fair to Rob to string him along any longer if she wasn’t willing to take the next step. But she didn’t want to give him up. No way.

  If only the next step wasn’t so damned scary.

  She took a deep breath, pushing her thoughts once again to the back of her mind, and entered the lobby. The SteamPlant’s red brick walls were hung with watercolors by a local artist, but she was too intent on following the hand-lettered signs to the first meeting room in the Riverside Annex to enjoy the artwork. When she walked into the room, it was bustling with people all talking at once. As Mandy scanned the crowd, she could distinguish two types of people. Those wearing waders and bristling with gear were the competitors. Those wearing a hodge-podge of outdoor clothing and carrying clipboards and fish measuring tubes must be the volunteer controllers.

  Behind a cafeteria table covered with paperwork and gear, a middle-aged man and woman stood talking to two controllers. As Mandy moved forward, she heard the fit and slightly sunburned man giving the wiry female controller across the table instructions on how to use the fish measuring tube. The tube was a lengthwise half of a large white PVC pipe, with one end closed off and hash marks at quarter-inch intervals along the middle of the inside.

  “The angler will help you get the fish out of his or her net,” he said to the nodding, white-haired woman. “But it’s your responsibility to make sure the fish doesn’t get away before you measure it. So, it’s best to put the closed end of the tube into the net after the angler removes the hook from the fish’s mouth.”

  He held the half-tube at an angle, defining the circle of an imaginary net with his other hand. “Gently roll the fish into the tube with its head down then lay your hand lightly on top of the fish until it stops flapping its tail. You can ask the angler to help you hold the fish still. Call out the measurement you see at the end of the tail and make sure the angler agrees before you release the fish.”

  “How do I do that?” the woman asked.

  “Just lay the tube in the water and slide it forward and away from the fish. As soon as it realizes it’s free, it should swim away. You know how to revive a fish if it’s exhausted?”

  She nodded. “Hold it upright in flowing water until its gills pump in some oxygen.”

  He handed the tube to the woman. “Think you’ve got it?”

  “Yes.”

  The man glanced at Mandy and held up a finger, signaling he’d get to her soon, before returning his attention to the woman volunteer. By now, Mandy had pegged him as John Squire, the tournament director, and figured he would know if Lee and Craig had arrived yet. The brunette beside him must be his wife. Spouses and other relatives usually ended up getting roped into volunteering at their loved ones’ activities, especially when budgets were tight. At least John’s wife looked like she didn’t mind it much.

  “And you know the four species of trout that can be found in the Arkansas, right?” John asked the volunteer. “Brown, rainbow, brookie, and cutthroat?”

  Cocking her head, the woman answered, “I’d better after being a recreational angler in these parts for over twenty years.”

  John put a hand to his chest, his expression pained. “Sorry about that. My wife recruited you from Colorado Women Flyfishers, didn’t she? I should have known she’d only recruit the best.”

  His wife smiled and held a thumb up before resuming her conversation with the volunteer in front of her.

  The woman volunteer pshawed and waved her hand. “No offense taken. I’ve never participated in a tournament, so this is all new to me.”

  “I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. You may even want to compete next time.” John winked at her. “Anyway, we’re recording the species so we can recognize folks who catch all four for the Colorado Grand Slam later. But the species don’t have any bearing on the final scores.”

  He handed her a clipboard. “The first few pages are for you to record catches. Write the two team member’s catches on different sheets, because we’re giving out individual medals, too. The last few sheets have the rules on them. Read them carefully, then come back to me if you have any questions.”

  “Okay,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to this. Where’s my team?”

  John peered at a large chart on the table in front of his wife. “They haven’t checked in yet. I’ve given you the Aussies. They’re a lot of fun. I’ll match you up with them once they arrive.”

  “Oh, goody.” The woman flashed a smile at John and moved off to study her notes.

  “Hello, ranger,” John said to Mandy while holding out his hand for a shake. “Please tell me you’re volunteering. Two volunteers have called in sick so far, and I’ve only got three standbys.”

  Mandy shook his hand and smiled. “Sorry, no. I’m working river patrol, so I might see you on the river later today. I’m Mandy Tanner. Nice to meet you.”

  John’s face lit up. “Oh, you’re the ranger who spotted those saboteurs. Thanks! I’m so grateful you caught them before they could do any more damage. Any word on why they were doing it?”

  “I haven’t heard anything yet.”

  “Please let me know when you do. In the meantime, let me introduce you to my wife, Carol.” He interrupted his wife’s spiel to introduce her to Mandy then asked, “So what can I do for you this morning?”

  “I’d like to talk to Lee and Craig Ellis. I heard they’re volunteering for you today. Have they checked in yet?”

  John checked his chart. “Yes, about ten minutes ago.” He scanned the room. “They wanted to work together, so I assigned them to the two North Carolina teams, who are going to fish together all day. The six of them headed off in the direction of the coffee pot to get acquainted, but I can’t see where they are now.”

  John pointed to the far left corner of the room. “There’re donuts over there, too. Feel free to help yourself.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll be checking in folks for another twenty-five minutes or so, then I’ll be addressing the troops, if you’d like to stay and hear what today’s schedule is.”