Death by Auction Read online

  “Whew! There he is.”

  She and the pastor made their way across the room to where the newcomer stood waiting for someone to notice him. Abby stopped right in front of him and stuck out her right hand. “Mr. Cadigan, I’m so glad you finally made it.”

  His gaze did another slow sweep of the room before he finally tipped his head down enough to look at her. When he didn’t immediately speak, she launched into the necessary introductions. “We’ve spoken on the phone. I’m Abby McCree, and this is Pastor Haliday, the head of our local veterans group.”

  A slick smile slid into place on Bryce’s handsome face as he gave her hand a quick shake and then offered his to Jack. “If you’ll point me in the right direction, I’ll get started.”

  He directed the comment to Jack, looking over Abby’s head as if she were invisible. Jack immediately deferred to her. “Abby organized this whole thing. If you have any questions about what comes next, you should ask her.”

  Jack turned to face Abby more directly. The sly twinkle in his eyes made it clear he sensed her irritation and understood. “I’ll go join my fellow ‘auctionees’ and let them know we’re about to start.”

  He walked away without saying another word to Bryce, leaving Abby to deal with the emcee for the evening. She pulled out the crib sheets she’d typed up for him. “Here is the lineup for tonight’s festivities. I’d penciled in approximate times for everything, but we’re already a little behind.”

  “The traffic—”

  She cut him off. “No need to apologize, Mr. Cadigan. I’m sure you got here as quickly as you could.”

  She’d meant to come across as friendly and professional, but his eyes narrowed just a touch in response. Maybe he’d picked up the hint of irritation she’d been trying to hide. “Let’s head over to the stage.”

  A ripple of recognition followed in their footsteps as they made their way over to the door that led backstage. A few people called out Bryce’s name as he passed by, but he simply offered them a quick wave and kept walking. Then one man planted himself right in front of them and blocked their path. For the first time, Bryce’s smile looked genuine, and he slowed down. “Coach, I’m so glad to see you, but if I stop to talk now, we’ll never get things started. I promise to find you as soon as I finish up onstage.”

  “Sounds good, Bryce. I just wanted to make sure you knew I was here.”

  They made it the rest of the way without interruption. Once they were clear of all the hubbub, Bryce stopped to read over the notes she’d given him. “This all looks pretty easy. I’ll warm up the crowd a little first. After that, it’s baskets and then the auction itself. Will you be close by if I do have any questions?”

  “I’ll be seated at the front table on this side. When you’re ready for the baskets, give me a nod. I have volunteers lined up to carry them up to you. They will hold out the bag that contains the tickets for each one. After you choose the winner, the volunteer will deliver the basket to that person before returning to pick up another basket if there are any left.”

  Then she handed him the final printout she’d put together. “Here is the list of our ‘auctionees’ for the evening, otherwise known as my victims. I had each of them give you a brief bio and some interesting facts about themselves.”

  He glanced through the pages and actually looked genuinely impressed. “You’ve thought of everything, Ms. McCree. That will make everything flow more smoothly for everyone involved. Thanks for all the work you put into making my job easier.”

  Pleased that he’d noticed, she injected more warmth into her voice. “You’re welcome.” Then she pointed across the stage. “I set a small table over there with bottled water for you. I figured auctioneering is probably thirsty work.”

  “It is that.”

  “Well, if you’re ready, I’ll read the introduction you gave me, and then we’re off and running.”

  For the duration of that brief conversation, Bryce seemed real and more genuine somehow. Then he shot the cuffs of his snowy-white shirt, drew a deep breath, and closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them, it was as if he’d slipped on a totally different persona, and the overly polished slick charm was back in full force.

  Bryce was undeniably handsome, but for some reason he left her completely cold. Crossing her fingers the audience didn’t react that way, she walked out to center stage and picked up the microphone.

  “If I can have everyone’s attention, I’d like to introduce Snowberry Creek’s very own Bryce Cadigan!”

  * * *

  Forty-five minutes later, Abby had dollar signs dancing in her eyes. Zoe had reported in that the ticket sales for the baskets had far exceeded everyone’s expectations. Considering all of the goodies had been donated, the money taken in was pure profit. Abby had even won one of the baskets herself that she was excited about. It had come from a local bookstore and contained a wide variety of autographed books by Pacific Northwest writers.

  She gave Bryce credit for keeping everyone’s attention riveted on him. His opening monologue had been funny, even if it contained a few barbed comments about some of the people in the audience. She suspected a couple of the folks he’d singled out for attention didn’t enjoy the experience as much as they pretended to, but they hid it pretty well.

  As promised, Gage Logan had been the first victim to walk up onstage to be auctioned off. He’d quickly gotten into the spirit of the thing and made a second trip down the runway, encouraging the bidders to up the ante. After a brief flurry of bids, his price was up to almost four digits. To everyone’s surprise, it was Mayor McKay who jumped to her feet and offered an even thousand dollars. Bryce immediately declared Gage sold.

  The next man up was Pastor Haliday. He lacked a little of Gage’s panache, but he quickly garnered his own share of bids. No one, him especially, expected Connie Pohler to counter every other bid that was offered. She was the mayor’s executive assistant and had perhaps taken her cue from her boss to go big or go home. Once the bids slowed down, she stood up and offered a thousand and one dollars. Bryce’s hammer came down before anyone else could say a word.

  Abby was pretty sure she wasn’t the only one who was staring at Connie as if they’d never really seen her before. Jack looked a little shell-shocked as he stepped down off the stage to where Connie stood waiting for him. Luckily for the them, Bryce had already announced the next candidate and the attention shifted back to the stage to see what happened next.

  They were nearing the end of the auction, and Tripp would be stepping up to bat right after the woman who was up onstage now. As soon as he came into sight, Jean and her two friends sat up straighter, confirming Tripp’s worst fears. That was all right. Abby would let them have fun bidding, but then she would jump in with a sniper bid high enough to shut them down.

  While they might be disappointed, they’d forgive her. All three women were romantics at heart, and they all thought it was time Abby put her divorce behind her and started dating again. They’d be thrilled if she and Tripp actually got together for something more exciting than coffee and cookies at her kitchen table.

  Bryce announced the man in question’s name. “And finally, here we have Tripp Blackston. He is a former master sergeant in the Special Forces. After twenty years in the army, he’s now living here in Snowberry Creek and attending college.”

  Tripp looked good in his dark green dress shirt and gray slacks, a dramatic change from his usual jeans and T-shirt. Strutting to the end of the runway, he did a three-sixty turn and smiled down at the audience. To no one’s surprise, the ladies went crazy.

  As soon as Bryce opened the bidding, numbers came flying in from all over the room. Not to shortchange Tripp’s good looks, but Abby suspected the high interest might have had a lot to do with the amount of wine that had been consumed over the course of the evening. Regardless, Abby kept an eye on Jean and company, who were her most serious competition. To give Tripp credit, despite his earlier reservations about being up there in t
he first place, he really worked the crowd. When Jean upped her bid for the third time, he gave her a long, lingering look and winked. Abby was pretty sure the elderly woman swooned.

  Crazy man, didn’t he know the lady had a heart condition?

  The bidding had already reached four digits, already bypassing the previous high bid by more than a hundred dollars. It was time to swoop in for the kill. Bryce raised his gavel in preparation to end the bidding. Abby stood up to catch his eye.

  “I bid—”

  But before she could finish, another voice rang out over the room. “I bid five thousand dollars for Tripp Blackston.”

  For the length of a heartbeat the room went completely quiet. The shocking amount of money left even Bryce momentarily speechless, but then he slammed the gavel down. “Sold to the lady in the back for five grand!”

  Abby sank back down onto her chair. Tripp looked as if he’d just been hit with a sledgehammer as he made his way down off the stage, where a stunning blonde stood waiting for him. As soon as he reached her side, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him as if she’d been lost in the desert and he was a glass of water. It seemed unlikely that he’d let a total stranger do something like that, which meant the two of them had a past.

  Even after he broke off the embrace, the woman clung to him like a barnacle. A gorgeous, tall barnacle with depressingly long legs and wearing a dress that cost more than Abby’s entire wardrobe. When Tripp finally glanced in Abby’s direction, she mouthed a single word: “Who?”

  When he answered, she really, really wished she hadn’t asked. His reply was only two simple words, but they turned their whole relationship inside out and upside down.

  There was a lot of guilt in his dark eyes as he answered, “My wife.”

  Chapter Two

  Abby had been sitting with several of the board members, but they had all drifted off to spend time with other friends now that the formal part of the evening’s activities was over. She should probably do some schmoozing, too, but she wasn’t in the mood.

  Unfortunately, she was about to get some unwelcome company. Jean was headed straight for her, slamming her walker down on the floor with each step she took. Glenda and Louise trailed along in Jean’s wake until the trio coasted to a stop right in front of Abby. At least they blocked her view of Tripp and the woman he would now escort to the dance. She really didn’t want to discuss the situation, but it was a relief to no longer be staring straight at Mr. and Mrs. Tripp Blackston. Heck, even she had to admit they made a handsome couple.

  She fought the urge to curse or cry or maybe both. In all the time she’d known him, Tripp had never once even hinted he was married. The deception was upsetting enough on its own, but that darn man had kissed her, and not just once. Granted, it usually happened right after she’d been through some harrowing, life-threatening situation. Regardless of the reason, those kisses had packed one heck of a toe-curling punch. Nothing like what she would’ve expected from a friend merely expressing relief that she was still alive.

  For a man whose sense of honor had defined his entire life, the whole situation seemed out of character for Tripp. Had it just been wishful thinking on her part that his feelings for her were more than a tenant for a favorite landlady?

  “Who is that . . . that woman?”

  From the venom in Jean’s voice, Abby wasn’t the only one feeling betrayed right now. “I’m not sure.”

  Okay, that was a lie. But until Tripp offered her a more in-depth explanation about what was going on, she wasn’t going to spread rumors about him. Hoping to change the subject, she said, “The veterans group is going to be thrilled with how much money we’ve taken in tonight. The auction was a huge success.”

  Glenda sat down next to Abby and gave her a disgusted look. “Seriously, Abby? That stranger is over there hanging on Tripp like she owns him, and you’re sitting here talking about money.”

  What was she supposed to say?

  Abby tried to put a positive spin on the situation. “Tripp clearly knows the woman, Glenda. Considering the amount of cash she just donated to support a cause that’s important to him, it’s no surprise he feels obligated to spend time with her.”

  The other two women took their chairs and turned them so that they had an unobstructed view of the couple. Jean pursed her lips and glared at the blonde. “The three of us would’ve enjoyed having a handsome young man escort us to the dance, but we would’ve been just as happy if he’d been your date for the evening. After all the work you’ve done to set this whole thing up, you certainly deserve to have a good time at the dance, but now it’s too late for you to bid on someone else. I hate that you might have to go alone.”

  Louise shook her head. “That won’t happen. There’s plenty of room in Glenda’s car for Abby. She can go with us.”

  Now that was an awful idea. Her and three octogenarians? Abby loved them dearly, but that was so not happening. “I appreciate the offer of a ride, ladies, but I have to be here hours before the dance actually begins. I can drive myself.”

  Not that she’d ever envisioned she’d end up going solo to the dance. Considering she and Tripp were supposedly the co-chairs of the whole event, she’d mistakenly assumed they’d be attending together even if she’d had to pay for the privilege. Heck, he’d even begged her to make that happen if for no other reason than to keep him from having to escort Jean and company. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting his wife to show up and plunk down the big bucks.

  She knocked back the last of her glass of wine. “Look, I should go mingle. I want to thank as many of our donors in person as I can.”

  Before she stood up, Jean laid her age-spotted hand on Abby’s arm. “Just know that it will be a long time before I give that boy another of my casseroles. He doesn’t deserve them. Not after this.”

  Maybe it was the wine, but that struck Abby as really funny. It took considerable effort to choke back the urge to laugh, because that would only hurt the elderly woman’s feelings. But still, Tripp would be happy to learn Jean would no longer be showing up on his doorstep with her latest tuna-flavored creation. All it had taken was having his wife show up.

  She appreciated her friends’ support, but it was important to remember that she had no real claim on the man. “Please don’t let this one thing ruin this evening for you ladies or change how you feel about Tripp. We’re all here to show our support of the people who served our country. We can’t change how things turned out, but we can still enjoy ourselves. I’ll send someone over with another bottle of wine for you to share and ask one of the waiters to bring you something to snack on.”

  After making good on her promise to send them more refreshments, she snagged another drink for herself and began making the rounds.

  * * *

  It took her half a glass of wine and a lot of determined effort to shed some of her anger at Tripp and his wife. Hanging out with Zoe, her husband Leif, and their friends helped a lot. Zoe had been an army nurse, and the guys had served multiple deployments together. Right now they were arguing over who would’ve brought the highest bids if they’d been single and eligible for the auction.

  Leif sidled closer to her. “So, Abby, give us your impartial opinion. Which one of us would’ve given Tripp a run for his money to earn top dollar tonight?”

  All three men immediately struck ridiculous poses and flexed their muscles, no doubt thinking they looked sexy as heck. She gave each of them a long look and then fanned herself with her hand. “Guys, please don’t make me choose. You’re all too totally swoon-worthy.”

  Rather than being disappointed, they all high-fived one another as their wives shook their heads at their antics. Leif gave Zoe a fast kiss. “What? The woman’s clearly got good taste.”

  Abby moved on from that group to talk to Pastor Haliday. He was standing in the back corner by himself, his gaze trained on someone across the room. Abby followed his line of sight to realize he was watching Connie Pohler as she chatted with the mayor a
nd Gage Logan. If she’d had to describe the look on his face, she would have said he looked . . . hungry. Interesting.

  Maybe he finally sensed he wasn’t alone, because he blinked and then turned in her direction. “Hi, Abby. Congratulations on turning all of this into such a huge success.”

  His approval pleased her. “You know I couldn’t have done it without the full support of the board and all the volunteers.”

  He gave her a sly look. “I suppose it’s a bit too soon to ask if you’d like to head up the stewardship fund drive at my church this fall.”

  She really hoped he was teasing. She’d made a personal vow to avoid any other commitments for the foreseeable future, but she would have a hard time turning down the affable pastor. “Yeah, it is, especially considering I’m not even a member of your church.”

  “That can be fixed easily enough. We can make you an honorary member.” Then he winked at her. “Or even a real one if you’d like.”

  That was a slippery slope, one she was in no hurry to go sliding down. Time to change subjects and address the elephant in the room. “So, I take it you were surprised when Connie outbid everyone else for the pleasure of your company.”

  He immediately turned beet red. “Yes, I was. She could’ve picked someone who would make for a more exciting date for the dance.”

  Clearly the man had no idea how attractive he was. After all, Connie hadn’t been the only woman who’d placed a bid in the hope of having Jack for her date at the dance; she’d just been the most determined one. “I think she looked pretty darned happy when Bryce declared her the winner.”

  “If you say so. I’ve already warned her that I haven’t danced in years. Even then, my ex-wife could never understand how I could march in formation with no problem but stumbled over my own two feet on the dance floor.”

  Abby didn’t know anything about his ex-wife, but she pointed out the obvious. “Maybe you were just dancing with the wrong woman.”