Chapter Two #3
“No, of course not.” Her brows came together as she contemplated him. “It’s just not that hard of a request. You keep acting like you’re asking for me to move a mountain with a measuring cup.”
He eyed the brunette who hadn’t run screaming for the hills yet, wondering what would throw her off her stride. “You’ve only seen half of what you have to work with. The dogs live up to their piratey names, trust me. I’m not optimistic about your chances, honestly.”
Her head tipped, that ever-present smile dimming not at all. “It’s interesting that you’ve offered me the job, then.”
Foot, meet mouth.
“Oh, that’s not a dig at your skills,” he corrected hastily. “Not even the best dog trainer in existence would have much of a shot with the zoo we have here at the Flying Pig.”
“Well, my dad isn’t interviewing for this position,” she said brightly, but he’d been studying her smile long enough to know that hers had grown brittle. “So you get me instead. Will that do? As a bonus, I’m a lot cheaper.”
Undercurrents churned through the atmosphere, and he had the feeling he’d stepped in something better left alone for many reasons, but mainly because the subject felt like it came with baggage. He had plenty enough of his own.
That didn’t stop him from wishing he could dive into her, just a little.
Get to know her over a cup of coffee. It wasn’t a crime to be interested in an attractive woman.
At another time, another place in his life, maybe he’d have asked her out, if they’d met under completely different circumstances.
Today he needed her to train a pack of unruly dogs.
“Here’s what I’m looking for,” he told her.
“Get those dogs to mind commands and quit tipping over trash cans, and I’ll pay for that alone.
Hunter’s afraid of them, and I’m hoping that if they’re civilized, he’ll stop cowering when they come in the room.
Once we’ve cleared those hurdles, I need them to earn their keep around here.
This place will be a cattle ranch soon with every living creature playing a part. What do you say?”
Immediately, Delilah stuck out her hand to seal the deal.
No hesitation. And he’d been as transparent with her as he dared.
She didn’t have to know Hunter might be rivaling his mom in the grief department.
She didn’t have to know Zero held himself personally responsible for ensuring they both got better.
That he’d carry Sheridan and Hunter across the finish line on his back if he had to.
Rob’s death was his fault. He’d put the remnants of his family back together if he had to crawl through broken glass to do it. Unfortunately, he had a feeling he’d be on his knees in dog poop first.
“If you’re sure.” Zero clasped her hand in his, fully intending to shake it.
What happened was something else. A shimmer of awareness. Sparks. The very best kind. A moment coated in sepia, like an old movie with that quality that told you it was something rare.
Zero didn’t do moments. Moments led to expectations and disappointment—on both sides. He let go of her hand.
“I’m sure,” she told him, her voice low and throaty. As if she’d been likewise affected by something that shouldn’t have happened.
It would have been far better not to know a thing about Delilah’s inner thoughts, particularly in relation to him. “When can you start?”
“You mentioned something about room and board you planned to throw in to sweeten the pot? Is that still on the table?”
He nearly groaned. There was indeed supposed to be room and board available as part of the compensation package, designed to attract as many candidates as possible, given the remote location of the Flying Pig in east Texas.
He just hadn’t envisioned a pretty brunette living in the spare room.
Or seeing her at breakfast each morning.
But what would he have her do, drive ninety minutes each way between the ranch and Dallas on a daily basis?
“Yeah. The room is still part of the deal,” he told her gruffly, praying he hadn’t made a huge mistake.
If she fixed the dogs, it would be worth it to be able to hear her through the walls they’d share, since the extra room lay on his side of the staircase.
“Then is tomorrow too soon?” she asked. “Given what I’ve got to work with, the sooner the better, right?”
She was teasing him. He could see it in the crinkle at the corners of her eyes. When was the last time a woman had been so easy in his company? Never. “That’s fine. Wait until you see what a menace Captain Jack Sparrow is. When he and Captain Barbossa get together, it’s chaos.”
She waved that off. “Chaos is a specialty of mine. I’m not worried. All dogs are working dogs at the end of the day. I’ll be here to help them understand that it’s a job and they have to do it well on a consistent basis.”
They’d just see about that, wouldn’t they? Along with how well he could ignore the fact he wanted to touch her hand again, just to see if the contact sparkled the same way a second time. And a third.
He had a very bad feeling he would be thinking about exactly that all night long as he stared at the thin bedroom wall separating him from Delilah.