The ladies were leaned closer than ever, and she braced herself to face them. Would that she had a friend to gossip with, but she could only dream of having that kind of time. It made her feel more the outsider than ever. Slowing, she overheard snippets as she approached.
“…never in.”
“Three kids. What would she do?”
It was like she’d been punched. She forced a cheery smile, though she was gutted. Dying inside. “Can I get you anything else?”
Their heads sprang apart. “Thanks, Helen.”
“We were just talking about Craig,” June said, referring to Tina’s son, just off to boot camp. “He says Lake Michigan is pretty in the summer.”
“Mm-hm.” She topped off their teas. Sure they were.
She lived in a town full of judgmental biddies. All she needed was for Marlene Jessup to drive back into town, and then it’d be a party.
“Three kids.” There was no doubt—that had to be her.
So that was how it was. Rob was probably fixing to leave her. Maybe he’d already made the plans. Did everyone at the hardware store know it? Did everyone in town know except for her? She made herself smile, though she feared she probably just looked like she had a screw loose.
That was it, then. Fine. She handed the ladies their check, grinning like a wild woman.
More than ever she needed to keep that grin pasted on her face. Maybe one day it’d turn real. Maybe one day she’d really feel like smiling.
But for now she needed a plan.
Twenty-three
Eddie was getting out of his truck, and as Laura watched him from a distance like this, everyone else faded away. He’d always been one of the best-looking guys in school, but now that he was older…Good Lord, but the man was hot. White T-shirt, faded jeans, tan work boots.
Memories of their kiss had been so unreal in her head, but here he was, in the flesh. She’d known a flicker of such relief in his arms, like she could let go for a second. It was probably just hearing news of Fairview’s scaled-back construction, but still, that fleeting comfort, the momentary feeling of finding something, had haunted her all day.
She’d spent the morning racking her brain for excuses to go see him again or have him out to the lodge. Lucky for her, the History Network guys—hungover, no doubt—had given her the opportunity in the form of a shattered window. She hoped finally to shake this feeling of unreality.
She needed to focus. Regroup. She didn’t want to hurt Eddie and Jack’s business or—God forbid—to take money away from impoverished kids, but surely there was a way to stop Fairview in a way that worked for everyone.
And now, to complicate matters, the president of her old company had been calling, leaving messages saying how he’d fired the wrong person. Hired the wrong vice president. She was the one who’d been right for the job, but he’d been blinded by her no-good ex, Patrick. His apologies were effusive, and he had an offer, too. If she’d come back, he’d double her pay. Healthy stock bonus package. Top-of-the-line insurance, and her whole family could be covered. He was a smart man. He’d caught that her dad had had a stroke, and it didn’t take a genius to deduce what their premiums must’ve been.
Talk about vindication. She still hadn’t taken any of his calls, but the attention only made her more confident she’d be able to solve these problems at home.
A whole other possible future opened itself to her, and it’d given her pause.
In the same way Eddie was giving her pause.
For so long, she’d had it in her head that she was giving up men, and it was a shock to find one preoccupying her thoughts. Surely Eddie didn’t count, though. They’d known each other all their lives.
It wasn’t like she was going to marry the guy or anything. No way. She was accustomed to certain things—nice car, nice restaurants—things that Eddie couldn’t provide.
But they could mess around. Especially now that he’d proven he wasn’t that bad a guy. He’d challenged Fairview on her behalf, and that was something.
He walked through the tavern door, strode to the bar like he owned the place, and slung his tools by a stool on the floor. He scanned the room till he found her, then gave her a smile that was darker and more meaningful than his usual carefree grins. “Hey, darlin’.”
She felt her face turn red to the roots. “Hi, Eddie.” He’d been calling her darlin’ since they were teens, but now it was different. Now she knew what it felt like to have him whisper the endearment hot in her ear as she offered her body to him for the taking. She took a steadying breath. “Thanks for coming. I know you’re…busy.”
And that was when she remembered just one of the many reasons why his hotness had been so far from her mind lately. He’d been busy…at the ranch. The threat to her family’s business.
“You know I’ll always come for you.” He got a naughty look on his face.
She cleared her throat. “Helen, would you please get Eddie a beer?” She knew she could use a cold one.
“Make it a Coke. Thanks.” He gave the waitress a genuine smile. “I never drink and work.”He went to the window to assess the damage. Opening the sash all the way, he jiggled the screen free and pulled it through to the inside. “Hey, Bear,” he called to her father, sitting in his spot by at bar. “You’re not having the best luck with these screens, are you?”
Bear only grunted.
“You could use this as an opportunity, you know. Finally upgrade to better-insulated windows. They have really good energy-efficient ones now. You get a tax break and everything.”
Bear grunted again.
“I take that as a no.” Eddie tilted the screen this way and that. “Well, I’m afraid this is beyond patching. But”—he leaned down, studying the window, knocking at the sash, scraping his thumbnail against the old wood—“the mullion is old, but it’ll be easy enough to pop out the glass and replace it.”
“Hey, pretty lady.” Dan appeared at her shoulder, and she had to bite her cheek, seeing his gelled hair and thumb ring through new eyes. “Sorry again.”
She watched Eddie’s shoulders stiffen and had a brief internal debate, feeling oddly tempted to flirt with Dan just to see how Eddie would respond.
He said he’d called Fairview for her. That he respected her. Part of her couldn’t believe that Eddie might actually, truly like her for her. She believed he wanted her, but his being fond of her was a different story all together.
“Don’t sweat it,” she told the producer. “You can stop apologizing. Stuff happens.”
Actually, more than the usual stuff was happening. If the lodge hadn’t needed the publicity so much, she’d have kicked Dan’s crew out by now. They stayed up till all hours every night, and the front parking lot had become the guys’ communal ashtray.
He slung an easy arm around her shoulders. “Let me make it up to you.”
She became acutely aware of Eddie, watching how his movements slowed. Was he listening? He’d made fun of the city guys—was he jealous? Protective? Possessive?
Dan gave her a nudge. “You checking out the hired help?”
“What?” She realized she’d been staring at Eddie’s backside, and man, was it one fine specimen. “No.”
“Hey, Lola.” Kat, their camerawoman, came over to see what was going on. “Sorry again about the window.” Her eyes roved from the broken glass to Eddie, then simply snagged and hung there. She mouthed, Is he single?
Her chest tightened. Was he single?
No. Yes. Maybe. Not for girls with spiked hair, she bet.
What was wrong with her? Why was she fuming? Why didn’t she answer Kat?
Eddie took that moment to turn around. Seeing the tableau, he got a funny look on his face. “Can I have your help here for a sec, Laura?”
She jumped into action, realizing she’d hoped for just this sort of excuse to talk to him, even if it was about windows. She’d always been such a pro with men, but something about this situation made her feel shy.
“I need something to put the broken glass in. Like a trash bin. Or even a large bowl.” He’d put on his work gloves, and she was momentarily mesmerized by the masculine sight. The worn leather framed his forearms, highlighting ropes of muscle that flexed with each movement. There was a sun-faded dusting of hair along his weathered skin. “Laura?”
Her eyes flew to his, and a knowing smile was waiting for her. He pitched his voice low. “How about I finish this up and buy you dinner?”
Dan ambled up, too close. “What’s the damage?”
She fled behind the bar to grab the small plastic trash can they kept for rags. It gave her a second to gather her wits. Dinner with Eddie? She hadn’t really thought past that first kiss.
Meanwhile, the producer was peering at the window like he was studying something of great importance. “Can you fix it?”
Eddie gave him a funny look. “This thing? Sure, I can fix it. A child could fix it.”
Dan’s posture went stiff, making him look like he’d challenge the other man to arm-wrestle if only Eddie wouldn’t have whupped his butt at it.
All the male posturing was making her uneasy. She put the trash can on the floor and occupied herself by starting to pick up the shards. “I can help you get the glass.”
“You won’t dare,” Eddie said instantly. “I got this.” He stepped in to take over. “Since the window was broken from the inside, most of the glass went out, anyway. I’ll clean up those bits when I’m done here.” He began to scoop up the shards. “Can’t let you cut those pretty hands.”
Dan snorted. “Cheeky.”
Eddie stood and tossed the pieces in the plastic bin. With a nod to the window, he asked, “What idiot did this, anyway?”
Laura had to bite back a smirk. She was pretty sure Helen had mentioned precisely which idiot it’d been, but she said evenly, “It was an accident.”