Two of a Kind (Fool's Gold #11)

“She quit?” The tarot reader shook her head. “Figures. You get one person in a job who knows what she’s doing and she leaves. Now I’m stuck with you.” Her gaze narrowed. “You know I can put a curse on you, right?”


Felicia thought about the fact that she’d been trained to disarm an assailant in less than three seconds, but knew physical violence wasn’t an option. Or her style.

“I’m sorry you’re disappointed by your new booth location. I hope you’ll at least try to make it work. According to my calculations, you should have thirty-two percent more traffic, and that will translate into an increase in revenues.”

“Whatever,” the woman muttered and stalked off.

Felicia drew in a breath, determined not to let a single difficult incident color her view of her new job. Change was often met with resistance. By the end of the long weekend, the vendors would see what she’d done was a good thing.

“Hey, you that Felicia person?”

She turned and saw a big guy wearing a short-sleeved shirt with the name “Burt” on the pocket.

“Yes.”

“I’ve got the extra Porta-Potties you ordered, but I can’t put them where they go. There’s some guys building a stage or something.”

“Right. The Porta-Potties are going to be in a different location this time. In fact, in several.”

The man groaned. “Seriously? You’re doing this to me the afternoon before the Fourth of July. Where’s Pia?”

* * *

“IT’S EYE-CATCHING,” Isabel said, sounding doubtful. “The colors are bright, and the pictures turned out really well.”

Consuelo stared at the cheerful yellow booth framed with red, white and blue balloons. The sign would draw attention, she thought, staring at the large letters asking: “Do you want to marry one of my sons?” Two twenty-four by thirty-six-inch pictures of each man graced the front of the booth. Denise Hendrix sat at a desk in the shaded space, several photo albums on the surface, along with a stack of applications.

“It would scare the hell out of me if I were Ford or his brother,” Consuelo said.

“Kent,” Isabel said absently. “The other brother is Kent. He’s a math teacher. And he has a kid.”

Kent had the same dark hair and eyes as Ford, but his expression was gentler, Consuelo thought. There was something about his easy smile that drew her to his picture.

“Divorced?” Consuelo asked.

“Yes. I don’t know the details, though. Her name was Lorraine. When she took off, Kent handled it badly. Pining for her, because men are inherently stupid. Anyway, he moved back here and got a job at the high school. He’s smart enough and nice, I guess. A good guy, but you know, not very interesting.”

Consuelo turned to her friend. “Not dangerous enough for you?”

Isabel flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. “I’ll have you know I was wildly in love with Ford long before he was dangerous. No one truly loves like a fourteen-year-old girl.”

“And now?”

“I don’t know him.” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “Essentially, I’m still avoiding him. It’s not that hard. I suppose working in a bridal shop helps.”

Denise, an attractive woman in her early fifties, looked up and saw them. “Hello, girls,” she said, waving them into the booth. “Come to apply?”

“Not exactly,” Isabel said. “But the booth is fabulous.”

Denise smiled. “I’ve been getting a lot of applications.” She motioned to a pile of papers in a plastic box in a corner of the booth. “I’m also taking pictures of each of the girls that I’ll attach to the applications. I’m going to be checking all the information and their references before telling either of the boys.”

“Speaking of the boys,” Isabel said. “Do they know?”

Denise’s smile turned slightly wicked. “Not yet. I’m sure they’ll be upset when they find out, but that will pass. In a few months, when they’re happily married, they’ll thank me.”

“It’s good to have a plan,” Isabel said, then turned to Consuelo. “I’m sorry. I should have introduced you two. Denise, this is my friend Consuelo Ly. She’s new to Fool’s Gold. She’ll be working at the bodyguard school. Consuelo, Denise Hendrix.”

Consuelo shook hands. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Denise, dear. Call me Denise.” Her dark gaze swept over Consuelo. “Are you single?”

“Yes.”

“Ever married?”

“No.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty.”

Denise frowned. “Is there a reason you haven’t married?”

“I traveled a lot for work.”

“Any children?”

“No, ma’am.” Consuelo fought the need to take a step back. She knew she could easily shut down the other woman—physically or verbally—but this was Fool’s Gold, and she had a feeling she was supposed to treat her elders with respect.

“Do you like children?”