Touch Me and Tango by Alicia Street, Roy Street Read Free Book Online Page A

horrible.” She cleared her throat. “My mother
wants you to help us find her Great Uncle Harry’s diamonds.”
    He raised his eyebrows.
    Tanya remembered Parker teasing her about being related to
the shady figure who was a local legend. He’d been somewhat fascinated by Harry
Rubikoff and the story of the hidden steamer trunk. So she continued. “At first
I thought Mom was nuts, that she was taking advantage of you for a crazy whim.
But now I think she’s on to something.”
    “What made you change your mind?”
    “My mother found a map Harry made.” Tanya explained her
reasons for believing it was the real deal.
    “I’d like to see the map. Got it with you?”
    She nodded. “But it’s starting to drizzle.”
    “Come on inside.” He turned and walked toward a funny
L-shaped, one-story building, leaving Tanya to follow behind him. Okay. She got
his I-don’t-give-a-damn-whether-you-follow-me-or-not message.
    As she neared the building, Tanya saw that the longer
section was a glass-enclosed greenhouse. Excited barking came from the shorter
section, and when Parker opened the door, two dogs came bursting out at her.
One stern command had them sitting on their haunches, but ready to spring.
    “You like dogs, right? Meet Reef. And this is Skipper.”
    She nodded and offered a hand to each for a good sniff. Reef
was obviously a shepherd-collie mix, and Skipper was a smaller black-and-white
who looked like he belonged in a comic book. After a few licks and tail wags,
Tanya said, “They like me.”
    That at least got a half smile from Mr. Grumpy.
    He took her through the door to the shorter section where
she stepped into a plain room with a round wooden table in the center. He
switched on a lamp that cast the room in a warm rosy glow. She noticed herbs
hanging from the ceiling. The scent of fresh flowers blended with a pungent
tang of some spice she couldn’t identify.
    Fishing rods in a corner. An old refrigerator and hot plate.
Knobby roots on shelves next to books. A straw basket of apples, pears, sweet
potatoes, zucchini. A collection of glass jars, some filled with dried petals
others with colored stones.
    The thought struck her that she’d never even seen the house
where he grew up, the place where he’d lived during their three-year fling.
They’d always met in secret on her turf. In fact, the only one who’d guessed
something was going on between the two of them was his sister Casey.
    Once again Tanya realized that Parker was unlike any other
man she knew. “Interesting place. It’s… so you.”
    He just nodded and gestured to one of the two wooden chairs
at his table.
    She sat, but before pulling out the map, she said, “Look,
Parker, isn’t it clear that I only fired you because I was trying to save your
butt from getting into some crazy scheme of my mother’s? Can we drop the
icicles already?”
    He made a fake bow and said, “Fine, Madame. Would you like a
beer?”
    She smiled up at him. “You are really obnoxious.”
    Parker shrugged and walked to the refrigerator, returning
with two amber bottles, no glass. He opened them, slid one in front of Tanya
and sat across from her.
    She took a sip, conscious of her mouth on the bottle, and
his eyes on her mouth. Eyes that said he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
But when she met his gaze he looked away.
    Tanya returned to a businesslike tone. “Another reason I
tried to get you off the hook this morning is that my mother has no money to
pay you. That’s the reason I’m willing to try looking for the supposed diamonds.
Because she’s got debts coming out her ears, and she refuses to sell the house,
despite a looming tax lien.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that. Your mom was very generous to me
when my family was struggling after my father died.”
    “My mother? I thought it was my father who paid you for the
lawn care.”
    “It was. But your mother used to send your housekeeper out
to me with an envelope that held notes about things in her