Free The Mighty Quinns: Cameron by Kate Hoffmann Page B

shook his head. “I just like to look, not buy.”
    “Smart man. You make all your own decisions. You don’t have to check with the little woman before you invest.”
    “Well, Mr. Fredericks. Why don’t we plan on meeting here for lunch on Monday?” Cameron suggested. “And then we’ll get some business done.”
    Walter held out his hand. “I don’t even know your name.”
    “Cameron Quinn.” He finished the last of his beer then tossed a ten-dollar tip down next to the empty bottle. “I’ll be in touch,” he said as he pushed up from his stool.
    He was almost to the door when Walter approached him from behind. “Hey, listen. I’m going to be at the Serenity Spa and Resort in Taos. What do you say I get you a room there for Saturday night—my treat—and we can find some time to talk business? You just enjoy yourself, have a seaweed wrap or a massage, play a round of golf, and then we can get together for drinks. You can even meet my Vivian. You’ll like her.”
    “I don’t know,” Cameron said. “I’m really not much of a spa guy.”
    “Most guys aren’t. But there’ll be plenty of good-looking women there, without their husbands, if you know what I mean. A guy like you is bound to get lucky.”
    “I’ll think about it,” Cameron said.
    “You do that!” Walter called.
    Cameron strolled to the front doors and out into the afternoon sun, squinting against the light. Sofie was waiting in the far corner of the parking lot, sitting in the passenger seat of the Jeep, her eyes closed, the wires from her iPod dangling from her ears.
    He slipped in behind the wheel. Startled, she sat up. “You’re back already?”
    He turned the ignition and threw the Jeep into Reverse. “He invited me to the Serenity Spa in Taos. He and Vivian are leaving tonight. He said I should join them tomorrow night.”
    “What? Join them? Like in—a threesome?”
    “I don’t think so,” Cameron said, frowning. “Jeez, I hope that’s not what he meant. I just think he wants to throw some money around and impress me. He and Vivian are spending their anniversary there. And he doesn’t want to wait until Monday to talk business.” Cameron groaned. “He said I’d really like Vivian. Did that mean he planned to…share her?”
    “Just drive,” Sofie said, pointing to the road. “I need some time to figure this all out.”
    * * *
    S OFIE SAT AT THE small table inside the Airstream, picking at the remains of the take-out dinner they’d picked up from Millie’s. After Cameron’s visit to the Bunny Shack, they’d visited the county courthouse in Gallup to check on the deed to the ranch where Vivian was living.
    To Sofie’s surprise, Vivian Armstrong was listed as the sole owner on the deed. Sofie knew that Vivian and Stella had money from their father’s estate, but why would a single woman choose to live out in the middle of nowhere? Vulture Creek was at least an hour outside of Albuquerque. Certainly she and Walter didn’t need that much distance to keep their affair a secret.
    Sofie had never really understood the kind of woman who’d cede control of her life to a man. Even with Sam, she had made all her own decisions. Maybe that was why it hadn’t worked out. But it was hard to trust someone with her life, and her heart.
    She glanced across the table at Cameron and smiled. They’d known each other for two days, and yet she sensed he was the trustworthy type, in every sense.
    “You’re awfully quiet,” Cameron said.
    She glanced up at him and smiled. “You did a good job today. I couldn’t have done what you did.”
    “It was kind of fun. Pretending. It was a new challenge.”
    “Sometimes I wonder if that might be what I need. A challenge.”
    Cameron reached out and took her hand, weaving his fingers through hers. “Like what?”
    “I don’t know. That’s the problem. So much of my life has been tied up with being a cop.” Sofie shook her head, then pushed to her feet. “I should do these