Tied With a Bow and No Place to Go (Tizzy/Ridge Trilogy Book 3) (24 page)

“Okay. Our lips are sealed,” Pattiecake said, set the coffee
pot on the counter and pulled fingers across her lips.

Tizzy propped an elbow on the bar and rested chin in hand.
“I guess what you say is possible, but I asked Jay Roy who he was waiting for
and he named you, Momma.”

Pattiecake spun around and folded her arms.

Oh Lord. Tizzy recognized that look, so she didn’t give her
mother a chance to speak. “I don’t believe you were involved in any way, shape,
form, or fashion with Jay Roy. But I’m confused. He either didn’t understand my
question or I didn’t understand his answer.”

“That’s all it could be,” Sugarpie said. “But I gotta say
I’m disappointed your momma didn’t get in on that action. I’d sure be
interested in a firsthand account of how a stud muffin like Jay Roy operated.
That whole tie-a-ribbon round his woodie is the craziest thing I’ve ever
heard.”

Pattiecake laughed. “I’ll tell you what’s crazy. Last night,
the women had a contest as to who had the highest number. They were also
comparing colors and what each one meant.”

Oh good Lord. Tizzy widened her eyes. “That’s it! The color
blue. When we found Jay Roy, Synola remarked he looked like he’d won the grand
prize in a contest. We need to figure out who he considered to be a grand
prize.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Pattiecake said. “Without a doubt, it was
Paula Kay. She’s the one he always wanted and never had.”

“Well, okay. Thanks y’all. I gotta go.” Tizzy gave hugs and
left.

Back in the car, Tizzy’s mood lifted. The reason for Jay
Roy’s answer still wasn’t logical, but everything her mother told her made
sense. If she could clear her head for a while, maybe she would understand it.
Still an hour before she had to report back for work, she pulled onto the
highway and headed home and texted Ridge to meet her at the tavern. After
getting what she needed from her house, she drove downtown and parked in front
of the bar. Inside, Jinx sat at a booth reading a newspaper.

“I’m meeting Ridge to look at his office space, if that’s
okay.” she said.

“You’re in a better mood.” Jinx half-smiled. “You must have
talked to your mother.”

“I did. She never dated Jay Roy, so I’m relieved, but still
a bit confused. Does the office have a lock on the door?”

Jinx laid his paper aside and gave her full wattage.
“Uh—yeah.”

“Good. I don’t want to be disturbed.”

Jinx glanced at his watch. “You shouldn’t have to worry.
Workers won’t be here for another hour.”

“Which one is it?”

“Second door on the right.”

“Thanks. Send him back when he gets here.”

“Will do.”

Tizzy stepped into the empty room, scanned the area, and
thought back to her first time with Ridge. After months of fantasizing about
his hands, lips, and every other part of his body, reality turned out to be
better than anything she imagined—he was the perfect combination—rugged
tenderness. Her skin caught fire.

Ridge opened the door. “What’s going on? Why did you want to
meet me here?”

She pulled him in, closed and locked the door, removed his
hat and hung it on the knob.

He cocked his head. “What are you doing?”

“Mmm.” She walked back across the bare floor and leaned
against the wall. “Do you remember our first time?”

His lips parted and curled into a grin. “Darlin’, that’s
something I’ll never forget. As I recall, I was a little quick to pull the
trigger.”

“You were. But you made up for it later.” She reached
between her breasts and pulled out a lace thong, and dangled it from her
finger. “You remember how you ripped off my panties and took me against the
wall. That drove me crazy. I want you to do that again. Here. Now.”

“Jesus,” he whispered, then removed his gun, set it on the
floor, and unbuckled his belt as he moved toward her. “Baby, how can I rip them
off, if you’re already holding them?”

When he got close, she slid her hands around his hips, and stuck
the panties in the back pocket of his jeans. “These will replace the pair I’m
wearing.” She unzipped his fly and pulled pants and underwear down in one
steady motion.

He ran his hands under her skirt and cupped her bottom.

Pressing her lips to his, she spoke into his mouth. “You’d
really steal and lie for me?”

His answer came on a ragged breath. “Yes.”

“Then I want you to steal my kisses.”

“It isn’t stealing if they already belong to me.” His mouth
was a fever on hers and she melted into the kiss. He hooked his fingers in the
top of the lace and ripped away the panties.

She gasped as the lace tore, kicked out of her shoes, rose
to her tiptoes, gave a slight jump and locked her legs around his waist.

Fifteen minutes later, heavy breathing echoing off bare
walls, Ridge rested his face against her neck. “Sweet Jesus. I love looking at
office space with you.”

“Same here.” She dropped her feet to the floor. “I hear
workers unloading stuff. We’d better go.”

He pulled up his pants and zipped, then handed her the
panties from his back pocket. “You are a wicked woman. I need to remember
sometimes you say one thing and mean another. Who would have thought ‘look at
office space’ was code for ‘rip off some lace.’”

Tizzy grinned, wiggled into the panties and smoothed her
skirt. “That’s funny. Now you’re a poet?”

“What can I say? You bring out the romantic side of me.”

“Before you go, I have something to discuss with you. Wait .
. . rhyming, space, lace that explains it. Man, my afterlife communication
sucks. Jay Roy didn’t say Pattiecake—he must have said Paula Kay.”

While her husband mulled over what she’d told him about her
conversation with Jay Roy, Tizzy sat quietly and sipped a latte. Unable to hold
her tongue any longer, she set her cup down with a ‘clink’. “Okay, here’s the
way I see it. Are you listening?” At his distracted nod, she went on. “Momma
delivered the whiskey and Jay Roy transferred the ribbon from it to his
you-know-what.”

Ridge looked up and smiled. “Possible. Now, according to my
chart, blue is the color with the most meanings. They range from the sea and
sky to royalty. Since there’s only one, it’s logical Jay Roy planned to meet
Paula Kay Burgess.”

“The one he considered worthy of first place.”

“Yeah, and even though I’ve concentrated on his former
classmates, there’s no evidence that says it’s any of them including Paula.
Once I’m done questioning the remaining two, if nothing comes to light, I’ll
pursue other avenues.” He pocketed his notebook.

“Based on what Momma said, Paula Kay’s the one. I remember
Momma saying how beautiful Paula was, and how Jay Roy wanted her more than
anybody.”

“Noted.” Ridge glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to get going,
my interview with Ginger Beth starts in twenty minutes followed by Doyle and
Paula Kay. By the end of the day, I may have my own blue ribbon winner.”

Tizzy pursed her lips. “Shoot. And here I thought you
started your day with one.”

He scanned the area, stood, pulled her out of the booth and
against him. He slid his hands to her hips and pressed her body even closer.
“You and those panties swinging from your finger are all I’m going to think of
today. But I do have these.” He reached into his front jeans pocket and pulled
out enough lace for her to see.”

She smiled. “Souvenir?”

He smirked. “Hell, the way I’m feeling right now, I may have
to check out the new office again this afternoon, to be sure.”

“Call me. I’ll work you in.”

She tried to walk away, but he caught her arm and pulled her
back for one more kiss. “I love you, Tizzy. I love you so damn much.”

She relaxed against him and when their lips parted, she
said, “Is this a good time to talk to you about picking up that pile of clothes
you leave on the floor?”

He slapped her butt. “Hey, I pick up clothes. I picked up
your panties, didn’t I?”

“You’re hopeless.”

~~*~~

Back at the station, Ridge covered Willie and switched on
the radio. He’d didn’t want to deal with the bird today. He went back to the
coffee area and tried to study his notes, but the vision of Tizzy and the lacey
underwear clouded his brain. She affected him in ways he couldn’t understand.
Hell, he was nearing forty. He shouldn’t be fighting a perpetual hard-on. He
pressed his hand to his crotch to relieve the ache. His phone dinged. He opened
the text and read Tizzy’s message. Don’t 4get eating out 2nite. He texted back.
K. thinking bout U.

She replied. Get yur hands off my panties.

He laughed out loud and started to text again, but Rita
appeared.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

In certain situations, keeping a pair of lady’s underwear
would be seen as perverted. This case was rubbing off on him. At least they
weren’t in his pocket anymore. He’d left them in the glove box of the cruiser.
“My wife. She always has a smart comeback for whatever I say.”

“Is that the secret to happiness? I need tips.”

He thought for a moment before answering. He’d never made a
list of things he’d wanted out of a relationship. There’d only been a few
serious contenders before Tizzy, and none ever lasted long. Even his first
marriage ended shy of two years and it’d been over for months before she filed.
He grinned at Rita. “She flirts with me like she’s still trying to get my
attention.”

“That’s it? Flirting?”

Ridge barked a laugh. “That and the cooking.”

“You’re terrible—oh, Ginger Beth is here.”

“Well, send
Gingerbread
on down.”

Rita giggled, started to leave, then stopped. “You’re in a
great mood.”

“I’ve decided to lease office space from Jinx. I went by
there earlier and got a good vibe.”

“Good for you.”

“Good for me, indeed.”

Within a few minutes, Ginger Beth Newman strolled in and
chose the chair across from Ridge, scooted it back far enough to cross her legs
and folded her hands in her lap. “I was gold,” she said. “Wealth, riches,
extravagance. My grandparents had money when I was in high school.”

“You say that like they don’t anymore.”

“After grandpa died, my grandmother married a man who
squandered every nickel.” Ginger stretched, leaned closer, and eyed Ridge as he
wrote. “So what’s my number?”

He looked up and she shrank back.
So she wants to get
right to the point.
He flipped a page. “Three hundred sixteen.” He waited
for her response.

“What? That’s not many if you spread them out over years.”
She shifted her eyes to the right and lifted her head as if calculating. “Slow
in the love-making department, I’d say.”

“Considering the number, what was your relationship with Jay
Roy?”

“Casual. Friends with benefits. It was never serious. A girl
can only use a vibrator so much. Sometimes we just want the real thing. Know
what I mean?”

Ridge’s face heated, so he kept his head bowed. This was
uncharted territory for him. He’d never come across women willing to be so
candid. But then again, he’d never had a case this weird.

“Besides,” Ginger Beth lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “It
was over a long time ago.”

“Why’d you stop? Or did he end it?”

“I got married and didn’t need him anymore.”

“There were no hard feelings between you?”
What am I
thinking? There were plenty of ‘hard’ feelings.
He shook his head. Damn,
all this sex talk was giving him a dirty mind. He tapped his pen on the table.
“I’m sorry, what was your answer?”

“I said there were none. As a matter of fact, I’m the one
who suggested Jay Roy ask Doyle for a loan.”

Ridge looked at her. “Elaborate.”

“My husband and I were at the tavern one night and Jay Roy
came to our table. We visited awhile and he mentioned he’d had bad luck with
the previous year’s flock and needed operating money in a hurry. I told him
Doyle made loans and he should approach him.”

“Speaking of Doyle, let’s talk about your boss. He stands to
gain quite a bit from Jay Roy’s death. Since he made the loan, he holds the
lien on the property. Was he aware of the gas exploration scheduled on the
land?”

She didn’t answer. He glared and tapped his fingers on the
table. “Did you understand the question?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to get anybody in trouble.”

He clicked his pen, leaned forward, and closed distance
between them. “In my experience, trouble happens when you aren’t truthful. This
is where I tell you that if Doyle had anything to do with Jay Roy’s death and
you help him cover it up, that makes you an accessory after the fact—to murder.
Now, did Doyle have knowledge of the tests prior to Jay Roy’s death?”

Chest heaving from a deep breath, she laced her hands
together. “Yes.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. Jay Roy mentioned it that night at the bar and I told
Doyle.”

~~*~~

Ridge couldn’t believe his good fortune. So far, he was
having a great day. An unexpected quickie and now a suspect with a motive. At
this point, he didn’t care if Paula Kay Burgess rode in on a unicorn followed
by elves. Even crazy couldn’t spoil his mood. But before he finished with the
final classmate, he’d have the pleasure of questioning Doyle again. Ridge
stretched out his legs, put both hands behind his neck and leaned back to bask
in the fluorescent lighting. He smiled and put himself back in the new office
space with Tizzy.

“Ridge!”

The chair scooted across the floor as he jerked his legs up.
“Rita! You scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry. I called your name twice, but you didn’t hear me.
Doyle is here and I got the warrant for the truck.”

He readjusted his chair and sat up straight. “Great.”

“You want me to bring him back?”