“I didn’t mind,” he told her as he turned off the water. “Mrs. Ford is too old to get down on her knees and scrub out a tub and there was no reason for you to do two.”
There was no reason for him to do one. “But Walker…”
He shrugged. “I’ve cleaned worse, believe me. I’ve dug trenches for latrines. This is easy.”
“If you say so. You’re going to submit a bill for the snake to the landlord, right?”
“Oh, yeah, I’ll be sure to get reimbursed for that.”
She had a feeling he wasn’t going to bother, which made her crazy. “You shouldn’t have to pay.”
“It doesn’t matter, Elissa. I promise.”
It was the principle of the thing. But she had a feeling it was an argument she wasn’t going to win.
“Come for dinner,” she said impulsively. “It’s my small way of saying thank you. I’ll be grilling chicken and I’ve already made potato salad. There’s even strawberry shortcake for dessert.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You have rules.”
“You’re mocking me,” she said. “Zoe will be there and Mrs. Ford, which you very well know. This isn’t a date.”
“Or even sex,” he added.
She felt herself blushing. “Right. Not sex. Come on, Walker. I know you like my cooking. I don’t think you hate the company. What’s the problem?”
He didn’t speak for so long that she thought he wasn’t going to answer. Then he said, “I don’t want to be around Zoe.”
Anger and protective instinct battled for primary emotion. She narrowed her gaze. “You don’t like my daughter?” she asked in an icy tone.
“I think she’s great,” he said. “I like her a lot. I’m not the right guy to hang out with her.”
Elissa thought about how patient he’d been earlier when he’d shown Zoe the snake and explained how it worked. He’d been careful to keep her from touching the sharp blades, even as he’d let her turn on the engine.
“That doesn’t make sense,” she murmured. “Is this a soldier thing? You’re too emotionally scarred by what you’ve seen and done to deal with a child?”
“You don’t have to make it sound so movie-of-the-week.” He shrugged. “I’m not comfortable around her. I don’t want to hurt her.”
His words and his actions didn’t match. Was there something else, something he wasn’t telling her? What was it? Had he lost a child of his own? Fallen for a woman with kids only to have things go badly? There had to be an answer, but she wasn’t sure she had the right to pursue the question.
“I’ll respect your position,” she said. “If you don’t want to eat with us, will you at least come get a plate?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
He nodded at her and left. She returned to her own apartment and thought about all the guys who had tried to use Zoe to get to her. They’d failed, while Walker’s reticence made her trust him more.
For a guy who wasn’t trying to get her into bed, he was doing a damn fine job of seducing her.
WALKER STROLLED into The Waterfront about ten in the evening. The dinner crowd had thinned to just a few guests. At a round table in the back he saw Dani, Penny, Cal and Reid. They waved him over.
“Family meeting?” he asked as he approached.
Reid pulled out a chair for him. “Just a friendly gathering. I told you attendance wasn’t mandatory.”
“Hey, kid,” he said and kissed Dani on the cheek. He did the same with Penny, then took his seat. “Who’s minding the store?” he asked Reid.
His brother grinned. “I had many volunteers.”
Penny threw a napkin at Reid. “Your life is shallow.”
“But fun.”
“It’s time to settle down,” Penny told him.
“Not interested. Besides, Walker’s home now. Go find him a wife.”
Walker reached for an empty glass and the open bottle of wine on the table. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Reid, I’m serious,” Penny said. “You’ve been playing the field long enough. It’s time to pick one nice girl and make a life with her.”
“I don’t like nice girls.”
Everyone chuckled. Walker listened as the banter continued. Reid and Penny had been friends for years, even after Penny and Cal split up. He’d once confessed to Walker that he’d suspected they would get back together and he’d been right.
“How’s the restaurant business?” Walker asked his sister.
Dani jumped, as if she hadn’t been paying attention. “What? Oh. Good. I’m keeping busy. Nothing new.”
Penny smiled. “There is something new. Or someone.”
“A guy?” Walker asked.
“There’s no new guy,” Dani told him. “Just stuff.”
“Rebound guy,” Reid said. “Good for you. Hugh was an asshole. You need to be distracted.”
Dani shook her head. “You’re the last person I would take dating advice from. Your idea of a committed relationship is sticking around long enough for dessert.”
“You looking to get involved?” Cal asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
“Of course not,” Dani told him. “My divorce isn’t even final. It’s not a rebound thing, it’s just…nice.”
“Leave her alone,” Penny said.
“Why are you protecting her?” Reid asked. “You’re the one who mentioned the other guy.”
“I’ve remembered that we girls are supposed to stick together.”
“I’ll change the subject,” Reid said. “Walker’s buying a boat.”
Everyone turned to him. Cal grinned. “Really? How big? When can we go fishing?”
Walker glared at Reid. “I’m not buying a boat.”
His brother chuckled. “I know, but I distracted everyone.”
“A boat would be nice,” Dani said. “We could take day trips.”
“There’s no boat,” Walker told her firmly.
Just then a guy in a tie walked up to the table. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “Penny, here are the numbers on the menu changes. Everything looks good. Also, I have a couple of suggestions for the tasting dinner.”
Penny looked at him, her eyebrows raised. “I’m sorry, Ryan. Did I hear you correctly? You want to change my tasting dinner?”
“You’re trying to scare me and it’s not working.”
“Have you heard about the time I threw a meat cleaver at my husband’s head?” she asked sweetly. “Do you really want to mess with me?”
He put another piece of paper in her hands. “I found the perfect wine for the corn cakes.”
“We had the perfect wine.”
“We had one that was close. This is better.”
Penny studied the sheet. “I’ll be in tomorrow and make the corn cakes, then we’ll talk. If you’re wrong, you’re in big trouble.”
“I can handle it.”
Dani shifted in her chair. “Walker, this is Ryan Jennings, the new general manager. Ryan, this is my brother Walker.”
Ryan walked around the table and shook hands. “Pleased to meet you.”
Walker nodded. “How are you settling in?”
“Great. This is a terrific restaurant. I have a great staff, which makes all the difference. Dani is being very patient with me.”
Dani dismissed his comment with a flick of her hand. “There’s nothing to be patient about.”
Ryan excused himself.
Walker waited until he was gone before turning to his sister. “So that’s the new guy.”
She blinked several times and did her best to look innocent. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Cal and Reid both looked at him.
“Ryan?” Cal asked.
“That’s my guess,” Walker said.
Dani glared at him. “How did you know? We barely looked at each other.”
“Impressive,” Reid said.
Cal turned to his sister. “Dani, workplace romances can be difficult. Have you thought about what happens if things don’t work out?”
“There’s no thing,” she told him. “We’re flirting. That’s it. Besides, you and Penny got back together at work. In fact, it was in this restaurant. So maybe you should get off of me.”
“I’m just saying—”
“Cal, let it go,” Penny said. “Dani’s a grown-up. She knows what she’s doing.”
“State the rules up-front,” Reid said. “That’s what I do. If one of the servers wants to go out with me, I say fine, but you have to be able to handle it when it’s over.”
“‘Go out’ being a euphemism for ‘have sex with’?” Penny asked.
“I want them to know the score.”
Dani pushed away her wine. “I love you like a brother, Reid, but you’re a real pig when it comes to women.”
“I am your brother and why am I a pig? Why do all women object to the fact that I don’t want to settle down and be with one person for the rest of my life? Is it the challenge? Do you each want to be the one to change my mind?”
“Not me,” Dani said quickly. “That’s gross.”
“Not me, either,” Penny told him.
Cal and Walker grinned. “We’re not interested, either,” Cal said.
Reid shrugged. “You know what I mean. Why are you getting on me? Walker doesn’t want to settle down, either.”
“But he’s not quite so icky about the volume thing,” Penny said. “Besides, there’s hope for him. I think secretly, Walker wants to bond.”
Walker groaned. “Let’s get back to talking about Reid.”
“I agree,” Dani said. “Walker will find the right woman and fall head over heels. Reid, when you find the right woman, I’m going to guess you’ll screw it up completely.” She paused, then added. “I don’t mean that in a cruel way. It’s just you’ve never had to work for anything in your life. What happens when that changes? Are you up to the challenge?”
“I’m touched by your faith in me,” Reid grumbled.
“Don’t sweat it,” Walker told him. “We’ll be single together. The favorite uncles.”
They both made fists and banged their knuckles together.
Conversation shifted to how Penny was feeling. Walker listened but didn’t participate. Dani had some interesting theories, but she was wrong about him. He wasn’t looking to get involved in any way.
Not that he would turn Elissa down if she showed up in his bed one night. She was great. Sexy. Funny. But only in the short term. Despite being a single mother, she had “marry me” written all over her. No way he was going there. He knew better.
Cal leaned close. “Any luck on the Ashley front?” he asked in a low voice.
“None of it good. I’m more than halfway through the list.”
“You’ll find her.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
Walker was on a mission and he wouldn’t rest until it was done. Without meaning to, he thought of Ben. The kid had always been ready with a joke. No matter how bad things got, Ben found something good to talk about. Walker missed him.
He remembered the time the kid had—
The memory shifted and bent until he saw them all standing in the snow. There were no tracks into the cave. There shouldn’t have been anyone inside.
But before Walker could check, there was a yell and the sound of a bullet being chambered. Ben had plowed into him with all his strength. Walker had staggered, but hadn’t gone down. Still, it had been enough. Ben had taken the bullet….
He shook the memory away and deliberately focused on the immediate conversation. He didn’t want to think about Ben—going into the past always made him feel weak. Helpless. He’d been supposed to look out for the kid. Instead, he was the reason Ben was dead.
ELISSA GOT HOME AFTER DARK Saturday night, and considering how long it was light in the summer, that was saying something. She was exhausted but wired from her successful jewelry party.
As she climbed out of her car, she considered leaving her supplies in the trunk and unpacking them in the morning. Except tomorrow was a usual jam-packed Sunday with a million things to do. Better to drag the boxes in now.
She walked around to the rear of the car and opened the trunk. As she reached for the first box a voice spoke out of the darkness.
“Need some help?”
She was so startled, she shrieked, then spun toward the speaker.
“Stop doing that,” she said, giving Walker a shove. The man didn’t move an inch. “You scared me! Were you the stealth expert in the Marines? Don’t you know how to walk and make noise at the same time?”
“I made a lot of noise. You didn’t hear it. Do you want me to help you carry your stuff inside?”
She thought about saying no, just on general principle, but then she realized that was stupid.
“Help yourself,” she said as she stepped back. “It all goes inside.”
“What is it?” he asked as he scooped up everything in her trunk.
“Jewelry. Supplies. Remember the earrings for Randy’s sister?”
He nodded as she closed the trunk and led the way to her apartment.
“I make that sort of stuff. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets. I use semiprecious gems mostly. I can’t afford the good stuff. But I keep costs down and pay attention to trends. I used to just sell to friends or through referrals, but over this summer, I’ve started having jewelry parties. This is my third one and they’ve been really successful.”