Chapter 15 #2
Eli grasped my shoulders, spun me, and marched me out of the tack stall. “Go. Do your not-primping thing.” The weight of his hands sank deep into my skin, warming the lonely little corners of my soul. “And good luck on the interview.”
“Thanks.”
I wanted a hot dog. But if I kept my distance, the temptation would pass. And I wouldn’t wind up with a bellyache later.
Still got it!
Roxy’s engine purred, just like Eli promised, and I got the job, just like he’d said I would.
Part of me couldn’t wait to share the news with him.
The other hastily threw up roadblocks to keep me on track–something to pick apart another day.
I turned up the radio, tapping the steering wheel to the beat of a country song as I cruised down the lone paved road toward Bill’s ranch.
All but officially employed, I had some unknowns to solve: long-term daycare for Nina, a loan approval, a revised business plan per Terry’s questions. But the momentum of my accomplishments pulled me forward, and the fight felt a little less taxing for once. Progress.
Bill sat alone on the porch in a blue Adirondack when I pulled up to the house. I parked next to Eli’s truck, then snagged my purse and the white bakery bag next to me before hopping out.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
“Really well. It’s not official yet, but they want to hire me!”
“Well, look at you!” His genuine pride filled me like a birthday balloon.
I hiked the steps and joined him on the porch. “How was Nina?”
“She did great. We did a little of everything today. Brushed the horses, made pancakes, played cards.”
“Poker, was it?”
“Go-fish. And she kicked my behind. Twice.”
I laughed. “You shouldn’t have let her win!”
“I didn’t.” Based on the smile lines behind his glasses, he didn’t seem too sore about it. He rose from his chair. “Anyway, I just put her down for a nap about twenty minutes ago.” His back elongated. “She’s in the den. Fell right to sleep.”
I gaped at him, wondering how I’d gotten so lucky to end up here while simultaneously fretting how to avoid Eli while I waited for her to wake up. “You’re amazing. Especially since Eli agreed to watch her.”
Bill shrugged. “He was a little busy.”
Busy doing what? “Well, thank you.” I opened the white paper bag and offered Bill first pick.
“What’s this?”
“Some of the best baked goods in Phoenix.”
“I do love a good pastry.” He pulled out an apple fritter, holding it up to admire its assortment of glazed bumps and dark crevices.
“Oh, yeah. That’s a good one.” His first bite ended in an appreciative moan.
The same reaction I’d had upon discovering the hole in the wall bakery five years ago. I beamed.
“Holy hell, this is good,” he said around a mouthful. “Do me a favor?”
“Of course.”
“Don’t tell Eli.”
I furrowed my brow. “About what?”
“About the pastries. ’Cause I’m not sharing.” At my smirk, he added, “He’ll thank me. He’s always complaining about extra sugar and being fit or some such nonsense.”
“Really? When we first met, he was buying peanut butter cups and beer.”
Bill brushed the glaze off the side of his mouth with his fingertips, the jovial creases fading from his eyes. “He does that sometimes. When he’s had a bad day.”
The day he got saddled with me and all my drama. He bought Nina dinner and took a scolding from his dad, all so a stranger didn’t have to crawl back to her newly appointed ex. Without complaining once. And then he fixed my truck! Who did that? Who was that selfless?
That’s when I remembered the envelope of cash in my purse.
“Can you hold this for me?” I handed Bill the pastry bag, then skipped to Eli’s truck and tried the driver’s side door. Unlocked, perfect. This time, I tucked the payment inside the center console so that he’d find it after we parted ways. The thought stirred a strange weight in my chest.
Bill lifted an eyebrow when I met him back on the porch. “What’s that about?”
“I’m trying to pay Eli for the work he did on my Chevy.”
“I don’t think he plans to take your money.”
I dropped my voice to a whisper. “That’s why I’m hiding it.”
The older man chuckled and handed me the pastries. “I’m not getting in the middle of that.”
Yes, that had taken on a life of its own, and I wasn’t sure what to do with it. “Do you want the macadamia nut?”
“All yours.”
I fished out a cookie and took a huge bite. Soft dough and firm nuts paired in a delicious partnership. I’d always thought macadamia nut cookies were more dynamic than gooey chocolate chip. My eyes slid back to Eli’s truck.
“We don’t always see eye to eye,” Bill said, pulling me from dangerous musings. “Eli doesn’t understand why I built the ranch. I don’t understand how he hops around from place to place.”
“It sounds exhausting, always being on the move.”
“He’s a skilled mechanic,” Bill continued. “Good with people. Kids especially.” He paused, and when I turned to him, he was studying me. “Sure would be nice if he stuck around.”
“Have you told him that?”
“Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he likes to do the opposite of what I ask.”
I thought back to that first night. “Opposite” didn’t seem like the right word. “There’s more than one way to tie a lasso. Maybe he just does things differently.”
A sly smile crept up Bill’s face. “Maybe.” He tilted his head to the pastry bag. “Why don’t you go offer him one of those?”
“What? You’d share the best pastries in all of Phoenix?”
He shrugged. “I’m not afraid to pull cheap shots.”
“You think he’ll stay for cookies?”
“Perhaps.”
Hmm. I regarded him with suspicion.
Bill tilted his head toward the house. “He’s in the kitchen.”
“The kitchen?” I glanced at the front windows and then his Ford. Dang it! He probably saw my whole charade!
I found Eli at the long table with the binder we’d made, scribbling something on a pad of paper, much like a kid finishing his homework before the bus came. My eyes skated over his broad shoulders.
Yeah, maybe the high school linebacker. Fit, indeed.
“Whatcha working on?” I tried to keep my voice light, non-committal.
“What?” He straightened, flipped the top sheets back into line, and stood before I could look over his shoulder. “Oh, nothing. How’d your interview go?”
“Good. Great, actually. I pretty much have the job.”
A sunny smile lit his face. “I knew you would.” His eyes drifted to the bag in my hands. “What’s that?”
“It’s, um, doughnuts and cookies.”
“Aw, honey, you shouldn’t have.”
Suddenly, he was moving into my bubble. Again.
“They’re full of sugar and fat.” I gulped. This wasn’t high school football, and I wasn’t the quarterback, so there was no need to be so close.
After a peek inside the bag, he cut me a devious look that all but melted my good sense. “These are my favorite.”
I watched speechless as he extracted a peanut butter cookie.
Unlike Bill’s reaction, Eli’s groan of pleasure hit low in my belly and left me breathless.
Maybe it was the intense eye contact? Heat surged simultaneously up and down my body as he chewed.
Sharp angles, flexing muscles, paired with soft lips tempting enough to bite. Dynamic.
He inched closer, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. Heaven, help me. If I didn’t draw a line, the curve of his lips would take us in the wrong direction, roadblocks be damned.
When his gaze dropped to my mouth, my stupid drummer missed a beat.
Feral instinct pulled me in, drew my eyes down his face.
To the manly growth of stubble. He made me feel young, vibrant.
Maybe it was his carefree take on life? Like the world still held endless possibilities.
Maybe kissing him would send me back to a time before responsibilities.
Before all the sacrifices. Before grief.
What would it be like to live without those, even for just a few minutes?
One and done.
Jason’s promise blew in out of nowhere, pelting me with guilt and shame, jolting my senses back into rhythm. What am I thinking? Kissing wasn’t a time machine. It wouldn’t erase anything, only add complication.
Libido and guilt had been throwing me around the ring all day. I needed to regain charge of this stupid match, needed to stop staring at his mouth as if it might save me.
In fact, his one-sided tease of a smile might just kill me.
I snagged the bag back from him. “One is enough for you.”
My hasty exit took me to the den where I spent the rest of Nina’s nap lying on the floor next to her, staring at the ceiling.
When had I become so desperate? I needed to stop relying on others, to stop prioritizing goodness over reality.
Ultimately, Eli would follow his own interests.
He had a life. And so did we. And they were hundreds of miles apart.
I made a promise to my husband well before I set foot on Bill’s ranch. Until I secured Hidden Meadows, I had no business with side hustles.
I needed to discourage Eli. To shut down the flirting for good.