that, and now he was almost afraid to ask. “You just said you have sisterly emotions for me. Can you be more specific about this ‘want’?”
She glanced at the jail, which was buried deep inside the courthouse, just the way Sheriff Dennis liked it. “Going to see the sheriff about something?”
He’d forgotten all about seeing Sheriff Dennis once he’d spotted Jade. It almost didn’t bear thinking about what pink-haired Cosette and his sassy redheaded darling might be dreaming up between them.
It certainly didn’t bear thinking that Jade might be chatting with Cosette concerning Sam. Sam, my friend, who I brought here, Ty reminded himself. “Nothing set in stone.”
“Good. Because I have a problem. And I need your big, strong muscles and wise mind to help me.”
She beamed up at him, daddy’s little girl, who’d never heard the word no in her life. Ty cleared his throat.
“What, Daisy?” He couldn’t wait to get away and make an unscheduled visit to Phillipe, see if he could figure out what was going on behind the arched doorway of the two shops. Maybe the door would be open, and he could listen to what Cosette and Jade had up their dainty sleeves.
“I need a man,” Daisy said. “And you’ll do just fine.”
“What are they doing?” Jade asked, peering through the white slats at the window of Cosette’s private sanctum. She couldn’t see Daisy and Ty; Cosette had a much better vantage point. “If I know Daisy, she’ll be kissing Ty before he even knows it’s happening.”
“I don’t have a great view.” Cosette strained her femininely plump body a little harder to peer out. “But it looks like Daisy’s plastered all over him. She wants something.”
Jade backed away from the window, telling herself it didn’t matter. She shouldn’t care. She plopped into a pink velvet antique chair and waited for Cosette to give her a further bulletin.
“Ah, there goes the kiss,” Cosette said. “I knew Daisy would hit her mark.”
Jade shot out of her chair, mashing the slats flat in her hurry to see what she really didn’t want to see. But all she saw was Ty striding away from Daisy, who watched him from in front of the small courthouse as he crossed the street. Jade snapped the blinds shut before he could catch her spying.
“Gotcha!” Cosette laughed delightedly, taking the pink chair opposite as Jade returned to hers.
Jade stared at her friend. “You mean Ty and Daisy weren’t kissing?”
Cosette looked coy. “Of course not. That would never happen. But what do you care?”
“I don’t.” She did. Terribly.
“My girl, it’s no use protesting. That’s no way to catch a man. It’s very American to be hard to get, and with some men that works. However, Ty’s leaving soon. You don’t have time to set traps.”
Jade wrinkled her nose. “Let’s talk about why I’ve come to see you.” It would be best to get Cosette off the topic of trapping Ty. She had no idea how badly the man annoyed Jade.
It annoyed her even more that Cosette could tell that she did care if Ty kissed Daisy, or anyone.
“You can talk about whatever you like,” Cosette said pleasantly. “In your mind, you’ll still be thinking about Ty.”
Jade drew a deep breath, telling herself to be patient with her older friend. “I assure you, I’m not thinking of Ty.”
“Did I hear my name?” Ty appeared in the arched doorway, broad-shouldered and fine, and Jade’s breath caught in spite of her wishing it wouldn’t.
“Why would we be talking about you?” she asked, giving Cosette the don’t-say-a-word eyeball.
“Why wouldn’t you be?” He walked in and lounged on the prim white sofa across from their pink tufted chairs, eyed the delicate teacups on the table, ready for tea, and the pink-and-white petits fours invitingly arranged on a silver tray. “I saw you two spies. You’re leading Jade down a bad path, Madame.” He laughed, pleased with himself, a big moose with way too much confidence.
Jade scowled. “Everybody spies on Daisy.”
“Of course we were spying on you!” Cosette said. “Jade had just told me how very handsome you looked today.” She smiled hugely. “You don’t mind if we ladies checked you out, do you, Ty?” Cosette rose with a distinctly coquettish air. “If you will both excuse me for a moment, I think I hear Phillipe calling my name. No doubt he’s sniffed the aroma of petits fours and tea all the way from his dusty office. The man adores my petits fours.” She swept out of the room, a vision in pink, white and silver, a lady on a mission.
Jade turned back to find Ty’s gaze on her, his eyes squinting with internal smirk-itude. “Oh, don’t go getting a big head over Cosette’s comments.”
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Do please pour.” He nodded toward the teacups.
“There was no smoke, no fire. We weren’t looking at you.” Jade leaned over to pour out the tea, then handed him a cup. “You can get your own petit four if you want it.”
He laughed. “I do, in fact, want to try Phillipe’s favorite treat. What is it about these tiny things you ladies find so irresistible?”
She hoped to get him off the topic of his handsomeness—which she had said nothing about to Cosette, though she had, in fact, been thinking that he was extraordinarily hunky—and the topic of tiny frosted cakes was as safe as any. “It’s the art involved in a petit four.”
“So in other words, you really don’t want me to bring up that Cosette gave you away?” He winked, bit into a cake. “Whatever you want, doll.”
Jade sent him a sour look. “What did Daisy want?”
“This is good,” Ty said, his tone surprised. “Sugary, sweet, delicate. Couldn’t eat a lot, far too rich for that, but tasty all the same. If you eat too many of these, you’ll have to watch that sexy figure of yours.”
“Back to Daisy. Quit avoiding the fact that you were conversing with the enemy.”
“Oh, that.” He put his plate down, picked up his tea and sipped. It looked quite ridiculous, she thought, a big man holding a fragile cup and saucer—and yet, somehow, she wanted so badly to kiss him she didn’t know what to do.
Which was such a bad thought to have she wished it right out of her brain. “Yes, that. I’m going to bug you until you tell, so get on with it.”
“Nothing important. And on that note, I should depart—”
“I’ll ask Daisy myself, and whatever she wanted, she’ll embellish,” Jade warned.
“She wants me to escort her to the grand opening of the Haunted H,” Ty said, his tone reluctant, his expression
