“No reason. Just a friend needing a place to stay.”
“You have a guest room,” Ridge pointed out.
“I do. I guess he can stay there.”
“He?”
Tinsley rolled her eyes. “Yes, he.”
“Wait! Is this the same guy seen going into the gallery late last night?” Ridge asked.
“What?”
“The knitting club was letting out and Dare said some of them cornered a guy with takeout. He ran into the gallery and locked them out.”
“He did what?” Tinsley screamed loud enough for Paxton to come bursting into the room. “You ran from the knitting club and then locked them out of the gallery last night?”
“The granny gang? Hell yeah, I did. There is nothing scarier than a granny gang. They rip confidential information from you faster than waterboarding,” Paxton told her.
“Is that him? Tinsley? Who is this guy you’re with?” Ridge yelled over the phone.
“Um, bye, Ridge. Love you.” Tinsley hung up the phone and grimaced. “So, my brother might be a problem. He still thinks I’m ten and the idea of a guy staying with me as gotten him a little . . . miffed.”
Paxton didn’t look worried. “It’ll be fine. He’ll like me. I’m a guy’s guy.”
“You’re scared of a knitting club,” Tinsley reminded him.
“And you aren’t?”
Okay, he might have her there, but he didn’t need to know that. Tinsley was about to deny it when the front door flew open so hard it slammed shut on its own.
“Tinsley! Ridge called me and told me to get over here.”
“I’m back here, Harper. I’m fine.”
Her cousin charged in with her long hair in a ponytail, jeans, and boots that could kick a door down. She looked at Tinsley standing behind her desk and then over at Paxton standing next to her. A slow smile spread across her face. “Gotcha. Dinner tonight at the bar. Both of you.”
Then she spun around and left. It was then Tinsley noticed the knife in her hand.
“What was that about?” Paxton asked.
Tinsley shrugged and batted her eyes innocently. Her brother had now brought in the whole family to save Tinsley from the big, bad man sleeping in her house. Good thing she didn’t tell Ridge about the whole “being on top of each other” thing. “No idea. Now, what else needs to be done before dinner?”
Paxton and Tinsley worked for the next two hours getting everything set up for this undercover operation. Hidden cameras were aimed at each door. Alarms were installed on all of the doors and windows. More hidden cameras covered the entire interior of the gallery from multiple angles. Tinsley would be safe. The second Maurice and Murray returned, they’d be on camera from enough angles to make a 3-D rendering of them.
However, the closer to dinnertime, the more and more nervous Tinsley acted.
“Hey, Tinsley,” Paxton called as he stepped down from the ladder.
“Yeah?” she said as she turned off the lights in the back of the gallery.
“Does everyone call you Tins?”
“My close friends and family do. Do you have a nickname?”
“I’ve had several undercover identities so if I happen to run across anyone from a past investigation, I have to be ready to answer to anything. Most of my coworkers call me Kendry.”
“Harper, my cousin who told us to come to dinner, is married to Dare who was undercover with the ATF when they met. I’m sure you’ll meet him tonight. However, you might be afraid of him.”
Paxton scoffed. He wasn’t afraid of much. “I’m not too worried about an ATF agent.”
“He’s in the knitting club.”
Yikes.
Paxton followed Tinsley into Harper’s bar. When he opened the door for her, his eyes widened at the bullets still lodged in the thick wood. What the heck happened here? Shadows Landing wasn’t a hotbed of crime, was it?
“Hey, Tins!”
Tinsley waved at the young bartender, but the welcoming committee at the Faulkner table wasn’t so friendly. Everyone just stared at Paxton. Even when they hugged Tinsley, they were staring at him with narrowed eyes. What the heck had she told them about him?
“So, you must be the guy scared of a couple of old ladies,” a large man with dark hair asked as he smirked at Paxton.
Paxton didn’t say anything. Instead he looked for a friendly face. The friendliest was Harper, who sat next to the man who had just spoken. That must be Dare.
“Harper, it’s nice seeing you again.”
She smiled at him, but it wasn’t welcoming. It was like a cat toying with a mouse. “And here I sit not knowing your name.”
“Oh, sorry,” Tinsley said, jumping in. “Y’all, this is Paxton Kendry. He’s the art crime agent who works with Peter. Paxton, you’ve met Harper. That’s her husband, Dare Reigns, next to her. Then that’s my cousin Gavin. He’s the only doctor in town. His wife, Ellery, is holding their sweet boy, Chase. Then there’s my cousin Trent and his wife, Skye.”
Paxton nodded his hello. Peter had told him all about Trent and America’s Sweetheart, Skye Jessamine. She was best friends with Peter’s girlfriend, Karri.
“Then this is my cousin Wade. He’s with the Coast Guard and his wife, Darcy, is a treasure hunter. Then this is my other cousin, Ryker Faulkner,” Tinsley continued.
Paxton noticed she didn’t mention what Ryker did. She didn’t need to. Ryker’s name was quietly whispered as one of the most powerful businessmen in the world.
“Then this is my brother, Ridge. He’s a builder of amazing designs. And this is my sister-in-law, Savannah. She has the interior decorating business above my gallery.”
“It’s nice to meet you all. I feel as if I already have from what Peter’s told me,” Paxton said as Tinsley took a seat next to Dare, leaving Paxton to sit next to Ridge. Great. The glare he was receiving from Ridge didn’t take a detective to figure out. Ridge was not happy that his sister had a man in her life, even if he wasn’t technically with her like that yet. Wait, yet? Paxton paused and thought about. Yeah, yet. Atlanta was suddenly not looking like the ultimate goal. The agitated woman sitting next to him was looking a lot more interesting.
“What are you doing with Tinsley, and why are you staying at her house?” Ridge asked bluntly.
“Ridge,” Tinsley hissed, but her brother ignored her censure.
“I’m here on a case. That’s all I can say.”
“What does my sister have to do with it?” Ridge asked. It was clear he wasn’t going to let anything go.
“She’s helping me with the case. I assume you know how smart your sister is and how knowledgeable she is about art. She’s a big asset to the case.”
It was the truth and the look on Tinsley’s face—as if he’d just hung the moon—was worth expressing more feelings than he was used to doing. It also helped that Savannah smiled at him and Darcy sent Ellery a not-so-subtle grin. He was winning over some of her family—a family he knew meant everything to her.
“I know all about how wonderful my sister is. Any man would be lucky to be with her, but a man who is just using her for a case—” Ridge didn’t get a chance to finish. Tinsley slammed her hand on the table and Paxton found it interesting that everyone seemed surprised by her reaction. She’d slammed things, yelled at him, and then looked at him as if she wanted to devour him. Tinsley was full of passion, so why did her family look so surprised?