the truth, she reminded herself. Wanting to have sex with someone was not the same as liking the person. Erratic hormones had a will of their own, while her mind was more concerned with the inner qualities of a man.
“Apparently,” Ethan said, his dark eyes twinkling with humor.
She sighed. “The local celebrity thing is a challenge. I don’t know what to say.”
“You’re doing fine. Truthfully, Josh is a whole lot more interesting than the guy who carves jewelry out of cattle dung.”
“At least he probably smells better.”
Ethan glanced at her. “He’s not a bad guy.”
“I thought you two didn’t get along,” she said, then clamped her fingers over her mouth. “Sorry,” she mumbled, dropping her hand. “People talk and sometimes I listen.”
“I understand. Don’t worry about it.” He kept walking. “Whatever happened between Josh and me was a long time ago. Have you ever been to a race?”
She shook her head.
“There’s always a crowd. The riders are in packs, so close together that the slightest mistake can take nearly anyone down. The speeds are incredible. On the downhill part of a course, fifty or sixty miles an hour isn’t impossible. What happened to me wasn’t Josh’s fault. I actually hit him, but I’m the one who went down.”
“Then why aren’t you two speaking?”
Ethan flashed her a grin. “You’ll have to ask Josh that.”
They reached her car.
“I appreciate the time,” she told him. “Thanks for the tour and the lesson on bats.”
“Anytime.”
He waved and walked back to the office.
His stride was long and easy, with only the faintest hint of a limp. He was single, good-looking and charming. And she felt absolutely nothing when she was around him. Somebody somewhere sure had a sense of humor.
JOSH LOOKED UP AS both Marsha and Pia walked into his office. Eddie waved at him from her desk, then turned her back on him, as if silently claiming this wasn’t her business. A sentiment that didn’t leave Josh with an especially good feeling.
“Have you heard?” Pia asked, plopping into one of the chairs on the other side of his desk. “A big bike race got canceled and they’re shopping for a new location. I just got a call. It’s fantastic.”
“Yes. A company pulling out of an event because they’re losing money is a reason to celebrate,” Marsha said dryly. “Maybe later we’ll find out there are layoffs and we can really party.”
Pia rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. Of course I don’t want anyone to lose their job. But this doesn’t have to be a bad thing for the charity. Not if someone else picks up the slack, which we’re going to do.” She handed Josh a sheet of paper. “I know what you’re thinking. We’re doing Race for the Cure, but that’s a race for runners. And only one day. This is so much more. Major event on the tour, dozens of sexy guys on bikes. Heads in beds. They’re desperate—which is where we come in.”
“We who?” he asked, already having a good idea of where this conversation was going.
“The town,” Pia told him triumphantly. “I’ve done some checking on the costs and expectations and I know we can pull this off. We’ll move the entire bike race to Fool’s Gold. It’s a quiet weekend for us, so there are plenty of hotel rooms. I’ve already put a tentative hold on every empty room between here and Sacramento. Heads in beds. You know how we love that.”
Marsha studied him. He read the concern in her gaze and knew she was worried about him.
“The town can’t cover all the costs,” he began.
“I know, but I’m already talking to a few companies,” Pia told him, slapping a folder on his desk. “If they’ll cough up the prize money, we’re good to go. The rest of the work can be done by volunteers. You know how this town loves a good project. Especially when that project supports you.”
Here it comes, he thought grimly. “How does it support me?”
“It’s bike racing, Josh,” Pia told him. “Your thing. I was thinking we’d have a little parade and you can be the grand marshal. Then you can give the prizes at the finish. You know, the old guard, the new guard.”
Right. Because the highlight of his day would be handing out prize money to guys he used to race with. Guys who could still compete.
“Or you could even race,” she added with a wink. “Announce your comeback. It would mean a huge boost in publicity. The charity is for sick kids, Josh.”
“It always is.”
Marsha leaned toward Pia. “I think you’ve hit him with the highlights. Why don’t you give him a couple of days to think about all of this?”
“Okay, but we don’t have long. I would hate to see some other town snap up this opportunity.”
“That would be bad,” Josh said as Pia stood and left. He turned his attention to Marsha. “What do you think?”
“Pia’s a smart girl. This would be good for the town. Put us on the map.”
“I thought we already were.”
“It would bring a lot of attention to Fool’s Gold. Positive attention. Something other than a chapter in a thesis where the reality of who we are is reduced to statistics.”
He leaned back in his chair. “You want the race.”
Marsha studied him. “I want you to be comfortable with the decision we make. It’s a great opportunity, but there will be others.”
When he’d been a kid and his mother had dumped him in town and taken off, he’d been more alone and scared than any ten-year-old should be. Denise Hendrix had taken him in. Ethan had become his best friend. He’d been one of seven kids in a loud, happy, loving family. But there had been times when he’d never felt as if he truly fit in.
Whenever life at the Hendrix house had overwhelmed him, Marsha seemed to know. She would drop by during the late afternoon and take him out for dinner. In the quiet of a local restaurant, he felt comfortable talking about whatever was bothering him. She listened more than offered advice and most of the time, that was enough.
They’d never talked about what had happened during that last race. When he’d returned to Fool’s Gold, she’d told him that she was feeling old and frail and had insisted he spend the first week in her guestroom. He hadn’t been fooled. There was nothing frail about Marsha. She hadn’t wanted him to be alone and he’d been willing to pretend it was about her.
They’d never talked about Frank’s death or his fear, but he suspected she’d figured it all out. A theory she confirmed when she said, “You have a choice. Face the demons or keep running from them.”
