3 #5
Not a name in Martin Cade’s mouth.
A man.
She pulled away from the main house and followed the drive back toward the gate.
The ranch stretched around her, golden and alive and full of secrets she had no right to touch.
Talia told herself she was not there to hurt him.
Not exactly.
The gate opened ahead of her.
She drove through anyway.
Inside the house, she was sure a conversation was being had about her ability to do the work. She hoped it worked in her favor.
After Talia left, the office stayed quiet for a few seconds.
Edye remained seated with Talia’s résumé in front of her, one finger resting near the section that listed administrative experience, scheduling, records management, and communications.
Eli returned a few minutes later, shutting the office door behind him.
“Well?” Edye asked.
Eli dropped into the chair Talia had used and stretched his legs out. “I like her.”
Luke turned from the window. “That quick?”
“I didn’t say I was proposing, Luke. I said I like her.”
Edye’s mouth twitched.
Eli leaned back, thoughtful now. “She’s easy to talk to. Not too stiff. Not too eager either. She listens more than she talks, but when she does answer, she’s sharp.”
“Sharp in a good way?” Edye asked.
“Seems that way. Reliable. Easygoing, at least on the surface. She didn’t get overwhelmed by everything going on, and I gave her plenty to look at.”
“How far did you take her?” Luke asked.
“Past the suites and cottages, medical center, chopper, learning center, new housing, then out to Cody and Sierra’s side. I didn’t take her beyond that.”
Luke nodded slowly. “And the size didn’t put her off?”
“No. She noticed it, sure. Anybody with eyes would. But she didn’t act scared by it.” Eli paused, then gave a faint grin. “Maybe a little impressed. Maybe a little like she was trying not to show she was impressed.”
“That’s not unusual,” Edye said, looking over the résumé. “The ranch is a lot to take in the first time.”
“It is,” Eli agreed. “But she handled it well. Asked good questions. Didn’t pretend to understand things she didn’t. That matters in an admin position. We don’t need somebody who says yes to everything and then gets lost before lunch.”
Luke moved back to his desk but didn’t sit right away.
Edye glanced up at him. “She looks good on paper.”
Eli nodded. “I think she’d fit in.”
Luke’s eyes moved between them.
Edye was practical, but she was not easily impressed. Eli liked people, but he did not mistake charm for competence. If both of them saw something useful in Talia Roberts, Luke had to weigh that.
Still, something sat wrong in him. He just couldn’t put his finger on it.
He finally sat, tapping one finger against the edge of Talia’s résumé.
“She seems perfect,” he said.
Edye’s expression shifted. “And that bothers you.”
“It does.”
Eli sat forward a little. “Because?”
“Because nobody is perfect.” Luke looked down at the page again. “Good answers. Good experience. Good manners. Didn’t get rattled. Knew when to speak and when to listen.”
“That could just mean she interviews well,” Edye said.
“It could.” Luke leaned back in his chair. “Or it could mean she’s careful.”
Eli’s humor faded. “You think she’s hiding something?”
“I think everybody hides something. The question is whether it matters to the job.”
Edye folded her hands over the résumé. “So what do you want to do?”
Luke thought for a moment.
Talia Monroe had been polished, but not brittle. Pleasant, but not overly familiar. She had answered questions cleanly. Maybe too cleanly. The ranch did need another administrator, and Luke had no interest in rejecting a capable woman because instinct tugged at his sleeve.
But he had learned to respect that tug.
“I’ll put her in the short pile,” he said. “We’ll have Daniel run a background check on her and Wilma. Standard, thorough. If everything comes back clean, we compare the two of them and decide who we’re hiring.”
Edye nodded. “That’s fair.”
Eli rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I still like her.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t,” Luke said.
“No, you just looked like you were trying to hear a rattlesnake under the floorboards.”
Edye smiled.
Luke gave him a flat look. “You done?”
“For now.”
Before Luke could answer, the intercom on his desk buzzed.
Edye reached over and pressed the button. “Yes?”
A voice crackled through from the gate. “I’m Kelly Hinton. I have an appointment for an interview with Mr. and Mrs. Stanley.”
Edye looked at Luke and smiled. “Another potential admin at the gate.”
Luke closed his eyes for half a second.
Eli grinned. “Phase one begins again.”
Luke sighed and gestured toward the intercom. “Let them in.”
Edye pressed the button again. “Follow the road to the main house and someone will meet you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The line clicked off.
Luke picked up Talia’s résumé and set it neatly on top of the short pile.
“One more,” he said.
Eli stood, already amused. “Want me to give this one the tour too?”
Luke looked toward the window as another vehicle rolled through the gate.
“Let’s see if they survive the interview first.”