“Nice car. Maybe someday you could take me for a ride.”

Reily fully expected Joe to balk at the idea, just to prove he wasn’t at all interested in being anything but her landlord and boss—and even that he did grudgingly.

She was both surprised and a little dismayed when he dug a set of car keys out of his pocket and jingled them.

“But I’m sure you’ve probably got things to do,” she protested.

“What’s the matter?” he asked with a look that was pure temptation. “You afraid of a little speed?”

Was he actually daring her to go for a ride in his car? A woman who used to ride along for drag races down Hickory Creek road back in Montana?

She propped her hands on her hips. “Honey, your car can’t go fast enough to scare me.”

The thrill of the challenge was clear in his eyes and the sly grin curling his mouth. “Give me ten minutes to polish it up, and we’ll just see about that.”

“You’re on.”

Dear Reader,

I’m so thrilled to be back with the Cherish™ line. My main focus for the past twenty-four years as a wife, mother and now a grandmother has been my growing family. It’s both fun and satisfying to take those experiences and explore them in my stories. The possibilities are endless!

Paradise, Colorado, the setting for this story, is brimming with small-town charm and a bit of quirkiness, and its residents quickly stole my heart. I’m looking forward to visiting them again in future books. Maybe I’ll run into you there…

Until then, all the best,

Michelle

About the Author

Bestselling author MICHELLE CELMER lives in southeastern Michigan with her husband, their three children, two dogs and two cats. When she’s not writing or busy being a mom, you can find her in the garden or curled up with a romance novel. And if you twist her arm really hard, you can usually persuade her into a day of power shopping.

Michelle loves to hear from readers. Visit her website, www.michellecelmer.com, or write to her at PO Box 300, Clawson, MI 48017, USA.

No
Ordinary Joe

Michelle Celmer

www.millsandboon.co.uk

A special thanks to Hillary Scott, Charles Kelly and

Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum, whose songs,

“Home Is Where the Heart Is” and “Things People

Say,” inspired the idea for this book.

Chapter One

Reily Eckardt sat in the back of the Colorado State Police cruiser, palms sweaty, hands trembling, feeling sick down to her soul with dread. Since she’d left Montana three days ago it had been one disaster after another, but this time she had sunk just about as low as she could go.

First, in her excitement to make good time, she was pulled over for speeding as she crossed the border into Wyoming and had received a costly ticket for her carelessness. Then, halfway across the state, the water pump on her car blew and she’d had to spend the night while the part was ordered and replaced. She’d blown out a tire driving into Colorado, which turned into a four-hour fiasco that put her even further behind schedule and over budget, and she hadn’t gotten back on the road until nearly four-thirty in the afternoon. But the icing on her disaster cake hadn’t happened until she’d stopped at a gas station just off the highway around eight to grab a cup of coffee. She’d figured she could make up lost time by driving till midnight or so before stopping at a motel for the night. Bad move.

Apparently she’d been more tired than she had realized, or she wouldn’t have left her keys in the ignition when she ran inside. And when she’d walked back out, coffee in hand, no car.

The officer who had taken her statement opened the rear door of the cruiser and gestured for her to come out of the air-conditioned interior. She grabbed her purse and climbed out. The sun had dropped below the mountains and a gentle breeze moved the hot, dry air around her. “Did you find it?” she asked, her voice filled with hope and desperation.

He shook his head grimly. “We put an APB out on the plate, but nothing so far.”

Her stomach sank a little lower. It had been more than an hour since her car was stolen. Everything she owned in the world, including the money she had saved for the past two years for her new life in Nashville, had been in that car. Her clothes, her photos, her mom’s guitar… it was all gone. All that was left of her worldly possessions was her purse and the change from the fifty-dollar bill she’d grabbed from the stash in her suitcase before running inside.

How could she have been so careless?

“What do you think the chances are that it’ll turn up?” she asked him.

His grim expression was her answer. “You’ll probably want to file a claim with your insurance. Even if it’s recovered, I doubt it will be in one piece.”

The car was so old, it wasn’t insured for theft.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself against the wave of hopelessness and despair, fearing she might be sick right there in the parking lot. Yes, things seemed pretty bad, but life had taught her that they could always get worse. She would get through this and come out swinging. She always did.

She’d already called her cousin in Arkansas and told her she wouldn’t be stopping in for a visit. Sweetheart that Luann was, she’d offered Reily a place to crash for a few days. But as a divorcée on welfare with three small children to care for, she didn’t have the space or the money to be taking in destitute houseguests. Reily’s aunt barely got by on her Social Security so she was in no position to be loaning Reily the money to get to Nashville, and Reily refused to go running back to Montana with her tail between her legs. Besides, she was used to taking care of herself. She would get to Nashville, and she would make it big as a country singer. It just might take a little longer than she anticipated.

“Is there somewhere I can drop you, Miss Eckardt?” the officer asked.

Reily turned to him, really seeing him for the first time. He had a kind face and a paunch belly, and that middle-age softness where there had perhaps once been lean muscle. His name badge said he was Officer Phillip Jeffries, and though he’d probably told her that when he’d arrived on the scene, she had been too shaken to absorb much. Stepping out of the gas station to find the spot where she’d left her car empty had been without a doubt the most surreal experience of her life. Even now it was hard to believe it was really gone. But dwelling on her troubles wouldn’t solve them. She needed a plan of action. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

“You could give me a lift to the nearest town,” she told Officer Jeffries.

“That would be my hometown of Paradise, about five miles up the road.”

It’s not as if she had a whole lot of choice. Denver was two hours in the opposite direction. Besides, a small town would be cheaper than a big city. And a town called Paradise, small or not, would have to be pretty nice. “I don’t suppose Paradise has a women’s shelter or a YWCA?”

“Nope. But we’ve got the Sunrise Motel if you’re looking for cheap. Tell Roberta I sent you and she’ll put you up for twenty-five dollars.”

It was that or the gas station parking lot. “Sounds good to me.”

He let her back into the cruiser—the front passenger seat this time—then climbed into the driver’s seat.

“I don’t suppose you know if anyone in town is hiring,” she asked as he pulled back out onto the interstate.

He glanced over at her. “You planning on sticking around for a while?”

“I don’t have a choice. Everything I owned, every penny I’ve saved, was in that car. I have forty-eight dollars and fifty-two cents to my name. Unless my car is miraculously found, I need to make some money before I can go anywhere.”

“You don’t have any family who could help you out? Maybe wire you some cash? There’s a Western Union at the post office in town.”

She shook her head, the knot in her belly cinching tighter. “I’m pretty much on my own.”

As a state trooper he probably saw lots of people in bad situations. But that didn’t mean he would help her.

“What kind of job would you be looking for?” he asked.

“I can do pretty much anything I set my mind to. But most of my experience is in bartending and waitressing. And singing. And I have excellent references. You can run a background check or whatever it is that you do. I’ve never been in trouble with the law. And until two days ago, I never even had a parking ticket.”

He glanced her way and said with a grin, “I know.”

Of course he would have already checked to see if she had a criminal record or warrants against her.

He was quiet for a minute, then said, “I don’t make it a habit of rescuing strangers, but you seem like a nice girl and you’re in a pretty bad spot. How about if I take you by Joe’s Place? He can usually use an extra hand. And if he can’t, the diner at the opposite end of town might have a place for you.”

She was so relieved and grateful she could have wept. “You have no idea how much I would appreciate that. I’m so desperate, any job would be a blessing.”

“No promises,” he said.

“I understand. And thank you, Officer Jeffries.”

“Call me P.J.,” he said. “Despite thirty years as a state trooper, the folks in Paradise never did take to calling me ‘Officer.’ I guess that’s the problem with small towns.”

“I grew up in a small town, too. And I know just what you mean about people not taking you seriously.” Since she was ten she had wanted to be a country-western singer, but no one ever believed she would have the guts to go to Nashville. And when she’d finally worked up the courage and saved enough money to start over, even her best friend thought she would come crawling back a failure after a month or two. Which was why she just couldn’t go crawling back after only a few days. The town would never let her live it down.

P.J. turned off the highway onto a deserted, two-lane road bordered by farmland on one side and dense wilderness on the other.

“Is Paradise a tourist town?” she asked.

“Nah. We’re too far off the highway and too far from any of the good skiing spots. We’re mostly a farming community.”

It sounded a lot like her hometown in Montana. Which was exactly what she was trying to escape. A cosmic joke perhaps? But it was only temporary, she reminded herself again. She had the feeling she would be doing that a lot until she could get back on the road.

They drove another few miles, before the Sunrise Motel and RV Park came into view up on the left. It was a little run-down from age but it looked clean and well kept. She just hoped it was cheap. They hit a curve in the road, then it dipped and flattened out and Paradise popped up out of the landscape. The welcome sign boasted a population of 1,632.

“This is it,” P.J. said, driving past a row of neatly kept little houses and straight down Main Street into downtown, which couldn’t have been more than three blocks long. She was no architectural expert, but some of the buildings looked to be over one hundred years old. Like most old towns, some were recently renovated while others sagged in disrepair. But all in all, from what she could see in the waning light, it seemed like a nice little town.

It wasn’t Nashville, but it would do until she could make a few dollars and be back on her way.

Lou’s Diner occupied the first city block corner and across the road was Parson’s General Store. The next corner was home to a feed store and a thrift shop, and across the street were the post office and a dollar store. In between were small shops and professional offices, all closed for the day.

There were a few cars parked in front of the diner, but otherwise the street was deserted until they reached the opposite end of town. Across the street from the VFW hall was Joe’s Place, a massive log cabin–style building on the farthest corner of the business district. It was clearly the town hot spot. The street out front and the adjacent parking lot were packed with vehicles. Mostly pickup trucks and a few older-model cars, with a motorcycle or two in the mix.

“This is it,” P.J. said.

“It looks busy.”

“Joe does a good business. He took it over when his father, Joe Senior, passed three years ago.” P.J. pulled up and double-parked near the front door. “Used to be it wasn’t much more than the local watering hole, but Joe Junior took the insurance money his daddy left him and gave the place a complete overhaul. Smartest thing he ever did if you ask me.”

Country music blasted from inside the bar as P.J. and Reily got out of the cruiser. Butterflies danced in her belly in time with the beat as she followed P.J. to the door. He opened it for her, and what she saw inside took her breath away.

The interior was gorgeous. All rich wood and small-town charm. Booths lined both sides of one end of the room and tables filled the space between. The stage and wood-planked dance floor occupied the right side of the opposite end, and on the left wall was a massive and well-stocked bar with an enormous flat-screen television tuned to ESPN. From the walls hung a variety of vintage-looking signs and antique sports equipment and a collection of mounted animal heads. Though dead animals usually creeped her out, somehow it fit.

Joe Junior clearly had spared no expense when he renovated, and if the food was half as appealing as the atmosphere, it was no wonder it was so busy.

P.J. led her across the room to the bar and had her wait while he talked briefly to the bartender, a petite and energetic-looking woman. She gestured him through a door next to the bar. Reily assumed it was probably the kitchen.

She waited, pulse jumping in anticipation, watching as the waitresses hustled food and drink orders to their tables. If it was this busy on a Thursday night, she could only imagine how packed it would be on the weekends. Even if she could only get a position part-time, she could make a killing in tips.

P.J. reappeared a minute later, emerging from the back with a man Reily assumed was the owner.

P.J. gestured her over. “Reily, this is Joe Miller. Joe, this is Reily Eckardt, the woman I told you about.”

For some reason she had pictured the owner as older. In his forties or fifties at least. In reality he couldn’t have been much older than thirty. He was tall and slender, and attractive in a dark, brooding sort of way. He wore faded blue jeans, a black T-shirt with the bar logo and a deep scowl.

Uh-oh. He did not look happy to have been disturbed.

P.J. took Reily’s hand and shook it warmly. “I have to get back on patrol. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Eckardt, and I hope everything works out for you. Hopefully I’ll be seeing you around. And of course if there’s any news about your car I’ll call you.”

There wouldn’t be, and they both knew it. It was long gone.

She smiled anyway and said, “Thank you, Officer.”

When he was gone, Joe Miller leaned against the edge of the bar and regarded her with a long, slow, assessing look, his dark eyes lacking even the slightest trace of warmth or friendliness. When he spoke, his voice was so low and deep she had to strain to hear him over the blare of the jukebox. “P.J. tells me you’ve hit hard times and you’re looking for temporary work here in town.”

Hard times was an understatement. “I’m pretty desperate, Mr. Miller. If you have any position at all I would be eternally grateful.”

“What kind of experience do you have?” he asked.

She had to lean in so close to hear him, she caught the scent of his aftershave. Old Spice, just like her father used to wear. It made him seem slightly less intimidating. “I’ve waitressed and tended bar for the past six years.”

“You’ve got references?”

“Of course. I had a résumé but it was stolen with my car.”

He grabbed a pen and an order tablet from behind the bar and handed it to her. “Write down the name and number of your most recent employer.”

She hesitated. The bar she’d worked at since she was eighteen was owned by her best friend’s father, Abe. Abe was the town gossip. If Joe called him, it would take five minutes flat before the entire city learned that she hadn’t made it to Nashville.

But she didn’t really have a choice, did she?

She wrote down the name and number and handed it back to him.

“How long were you planning to stay in town?” he asked.

Everything had happened so abruptly, she hadn’t had the chance to give it much thought. “I’m not exactly sure.”

“I need someone for at least six weeks. If you plan on hanging around for a week or two, then taking off, don’t even waste my time.”

Yeesh! The guy didn’t mince words, did he? “I need enough money for a bus ticket, plus first and last month’s rent in a new place once I get to Nashville. So I’m thinking six weeks at least, depending on how many hours you’re willing to work me.”

His tight-lipped nod said he was satisfied with her answer. He waved over the bartender.

“Lindy, this is Reily. She’s going to give you a hand while I make a phone call. Consider this your audition,” he told Reily, his expression suggesting that he fully expected her to blow it. Then he slipped through the door to the back. Not the warmest guy in the world, but she was in no position to complain if he was willing to even consider giving her a job. From what she’d seen of the diner, even if they were hiring, the tips would be nothing compared to this place.

Lindy handed Reily an apron. “You don’t look familiar. Are you from town?”

Reily secured the apron around her waist. “Just passing through, hoping for temporary work to get me to Tennessee.”

“And you chose this hole-in-the-wall town? Why not Denver?”

“I actually hadn’t planned to stop at all, but my car was stolen from the gas station off the highway a few miles back. Everything I owned in the world was in it. Including my money.”

Lindy gasped and slapped a hand to her chest. “Oh, you poor thing! You lost everything?”

“Luckily I had my purse with me so I have my ID and my cell phone, but everything else is gone.”

“What about clothes?”

She looked down at the tank top, jeans and cowboy boots she was wearing. “You’re lookin’ at ‘em.”

“If you do end up staying in town awhile, I’m sure we can find someone your size who would be willing to donate some clothes.”

“That would be really awesome, because until I can make some money, staying is my only choice.”

“Well, I hope it works out here. Since our other bartender, Mark, busted his wrist Monday, it’s pretty much been just me and Rick, but he only works a few evenings a week. This weekend is going to be a nightmare, even with Joe behind the bar with me. It’s about time he hired me some help.”

It sounded as if Joe needed her as badly as she needed him. She mentally crossed her fingers that he would take pity on her.

Lindy pointed out the location of the things she would need, then they got to work taking orders and making drinks, tasks that were second nature to Reily. She chatted up the customers, using a bit of mild flirting when the circumstance necessitated it, finding everyone friendly and curious as to who she was. In the twenty-five or so minutes it took Joe to call on her references, she’d been welcomed to town by at least a dozen people. Paradise sure was a friendly place, and so far it was living up to its name.

Joe reappeared from the back and stepped behind the bar, his expression unreadable. Reily’s heart did a quick flip-flop. She hoped he liked what he had heard from Abe.

“So, how did she do?” he asked Lindy.

“She’s a natural. And it sounds like she could really use the job.” She flashed Reily a grin. “And I’m so desperate for help, she could be the devil incarnate and I would still want you to hire her.”

“Well, your references checked out,” Joe told Reily. He added with barely veiled exasperation, “Your old boss is quite the talker, isn’t he?”

Knowing Abe, he had probably relayed Reily’s entire life story. “Sorry about that. I hope he didn’t talk your ear off.”

“Close, but he had nothing but praise for your skills, so I guess you’re hired.”

The stress of the day seemed to drain away and a well of pure relief gushed up inside of her. “Thank you so much, Mr. Miller. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

“It’s Joe,” he said, but if he felt even a hint of satisfaction for more or less saving her life, it didn’t show. “You can start tomorrow. We open for lunch at eleven, but you’ll have some paperwork to fill out so be here no later than ten.”

“I will.”

“We’re open Monday through Thursday from eleven to ten, and Friday and Saturday till 2:00 a.m. We’re closed Sunday.”

“I’m available whenever you need me. The more hours the better.”

He nodded sharply, then turned and disappeared back through the door.

“I know what you’re probably thinking,” Lindy said, and Reily turned to her. “But he’s really a great guy once you get to know him.”

He could be the biggest jerk on the face of the planet and she wouldn’t care, as long as he was a fair and decent employer. Besides, it was temporary.

“Are you and he… together?”

Lindy laughed. “Definitely not. We’re just good friends. I’ve known Joe my whole life. And even if I was interested, he’s emotionally unavailable, if you know what I mean.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” She’d dated a few guys just like him. They weren’t worth the heartache they inevitably caused.

She untied her apron and handed it back to Lindy. “Thanks for putting in a good word for me.”

“Here,” Lindy said, snatching two ten-dollar bills from the tip jar and pressing them into Reily’s hand.

“You don’t have to do that.” Reily tried to give them back, but Lindy shook her head.

“You earned it.”

Shelving her pride, she stuffed the bills into her back pocket. “Thank you.”

“Tomorrow we’ll see about getting you some clothes. I’m guessing you wear a medium in tops and a size five in pants.”

“How did you know?”

“I worked in the women’s department at the JC Penney in Denver when I was going to college. I know women’s fashion. If I ask around, or maybe pull a few strings at the thrift store, I can get you some clothes to hold you over.”

“I’m not the type to take a handout, but under the circumstances, I’ll take all the help I can get.” If the rest of Paradise was even half as nice as Lindy, this temporary detour might not be half-bad. Although she did have reservations about her new boss. She had never worked with anyone so… grumpy. Or maybe she just needed time to get to know him, and vice versa. He was cute enough, not that she was looking to hook up while she was in town. Her only goal was to make the money she needed to get to Nashville. If that meant hanging around this tiny town for six weeks, it was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make.

Chapter Two

Joe sat in a booth across from the bar with a cup of coffee and his laptop, watching his new employee. She sat on a bar stool with her back to him, head bent as she filled out an application and a tax form. Though he wouldn’t normally hire a total stranger, especially one just passing through, P.J. seemed to have taken quite a shine to her, and Joe trusted his judgment.

She was dressed in the same clothes as the night before, which he took to mean that she didn’t have anything else, and her long, pale blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail that hung halfway down her back and swished when she walked. She was a spunky, high-spirited young woman who had spent most of her life clinging to the short end of a very rickety stick—according to her former employer, that is. He claimed that Reily, who was orphaned as a youngster and raised by an aunt, had been best friends with his daughter since preschool and like a surrogate daughter to him and his wife.

Information Joe really didn’t need to know. He didn’t care where she came from or how she was raised, as long as she was a hard worker. He wasn’t normally in the business of saving people. Not anymore. He’d learned the hard way how futile a venture that could be. It just so happened that she needed a job and he needed a bartender. Simple as that. If she hadn’t come along last night, he would have posted a help-wanted sign in the window this morning. It was nothing more than a case of her being in the right place at the right time.

“So who’s the girl at the bar?”

He looked up to find Jill, one of his waitresses, standing beside the table. Considering she was usually at least ten minutes late for her shift, he was surprised to see that she’d showed up early.

“Her name is Reily. I hired her last night. She’ll be taking over Mark’s shift until he’s back to work.”

Without invitation she slid into the booth. “She doesn’t look familiar.”

“She’s not from around here,” he said, and he left it at that. If Reily wanted the other employees to know her life story, she could tell them herself.

“If you were looking for someone, you should have called Ed. He’s been out of work since he lost his job at the Dairy Bar.”

If her latest loser boyfriend couldn’t handle a job scooping chocolate chip mint, he’d never make it in the fast-paced world of bartending. Besides, from what Joe had heard, Ed had lost his job because he was dipping into the register as well as the ice cream. And since it was his bar, and he could hire whoever he pleased, he didn’t feel he owed Jill or anyone else an explanation. So he didn’t give her one. Instead he turned his attention to the spreadsheet on his screen.

“So, I was thinking of taking Hunter to the lake Sunday, and I thought you and Lily Ann might like to come with us. The kids never get to play together.”

That’s because Lily Ann was afraid of Jill’s six-year-old son. After the one and only playdate she did have with him, she’d come home covered in scrapes and bruises from his overly rough play.

“I have things to do around the house,” he told her.

She reached across the table and put her hand over his, giving it a firm squeeze, which quite frankly creeped him out a little. She had a reputation for latching on to any single man willing to tolerate her child. She wasn’t unattractive, but she wasn’t exactly pretty either, and she had an air of desperation, a neediness that clung to her much like the odor of the cigarettes that she chain-smoked during her break. And though she was a decent waitress, their relationship had never progressed past the bar doors. And never would. Not that she hadn’t tried. He didn’t doubt that if he asked her out, she would dump loser Ed in seconds flat.

“I know you’ve had it rough, Joe, but you have to stop sheltering Lily Ann. And you need to get on with your life. That witch you married just isn’t worth it.”

Teeth gritted, Joe pulled his hand from Jill’s clammy grip. That “witch” just happened to be the love of his life. His personal life—and how he chose to raise his daughter—was none of Jill’s damned business.

His eyes must have said it all because Jill blinked and jerked her hand back across the table.

“Well, I better get ready,” she said with forced cheer, sliding out of the booth. “Let me know if you change your mind about Sunday.”

He wouldn’t.

At ten-fifteen on the nose, Lindy walked in from the back. She stepped behind the bar, poured herself a cup of coffee and spoke briefly to Reily. He couldn’t hear what was said over the low croon of Randy Travis on the jukebox, but whatever it was evoked a bright smile from Reily. Lindy crossed the bar and slid into the seat across from him.

“Morning, boss. I see your new employee showed up on time.”

Her observation surprised him, since she was a diehard optimist. “Did you think she wouldn’t?”

“No, but I think that you thought she wouldn’t.”

He couldn’t deny that until she’d walked through the door he hadn’t been 100 percent sure Reily would show. In a way he almost wished she hadn’t. His life was already complicated enough without adding a needy stranger to the mix.

Lindy grabbed a packet of sugar from the dispenser on the table, tore it open and dumped it in her coffee. “It was a nice thing you did for her.”

He winced. “I didn’t do it to be nice. You’re the one who’s been nagging me to hire someone.”

“I saw the new schedule in back. You gave her forty hours.”

He shrugged. “She’s covering Mark’s shift.”

“Joe, you never start a new employee out at forty hours.”

“Her references were good.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Why can’t you just admit that you did it to be nice?”

“Because I’m not that nice.”

“Then you’re really not going to like my next suggestion.”

“If I’m not going to like it, why bother telling me?”

She shot him an exasperated look. “She stayed at the Sunrise last night.”

He shrugged. “Makes sense. It’s close by and it’s cheap.”

“Well, she can’t stay there indefinitely. Not for six weeks.”

“Why not?”

“For one thing, it’s a supreme waste of money, and second, those rooms don’t even have a microwave. What she doesn’t spend on the room, she’ll waste buying meals here or at the diner.”

“Why do you care how she spends her money?”

“Because she seems like a nice person and she’s in a tough spot.”

To hear her old boss tell it, her life had been nothing but one long string of bad luck. Her current situation was no major departure from the norm. “I gave her a job. Isn’t that enough?”

“I was thinking, you have that apartment above your garage—”

“Absolutely not.” Giving her a job was one thing, but offering her a place to live was out of the question.

“Why not? It’s been sitting there empty since—” Lindy caught herself before she actually said the words. She may have been one of his best friends, but there were certain topics of conversation that were off-limits even for her, and that was one of them. “Well, it’s been a long time, and Reily could really use a decent place to stay.”

“If you’re so worried about her, ask her to stay with you.”

“In my tiny one-bedroom? Besides, it’s not as if I’m asking you to welcome her into your house. And if you take a minute to consider it, I think you’ll agree that it’s the charitable thing to do.”

That didn’t mean it was smart.

“You haven’t known her long enough to dislike her, so I can only assume that her looks are the issue here.”

“Her looks?”

“You may live like a monk, but you aren’t one. I’m sure you’ve noticed that Reily is very pretty.”

Of course he had. He may have been celibate for the last two years, but he wasn’t dead. Although sometimes it felt that way. But he’d noticed Reily the minute he saw her standing by the bar last night, looking shell-shocked and desperate. Something deep inside of him had stirred. An itchy, restless sort of feeling that he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. Until then he’d nearly forgotten what it felt like to be attracted to another human being. He thought that part of him had died, but apparently it had only been sleeping.

All the more reason to stay the hell away from her.

“She’s not my type,” he told Lindy.

She smiled. “Then letting her stay in the apartment shouldn’t be a problem.”

The really sad thing was that two years ago he wouldn’t have hesitated to offer her the space. He would have wanted to help her, because that was the sort of person he’d been. It was a stark reminder of how much things had changed since then. There were times when he would do anything to be that man again, but it was a risk he just couldn’t take. For Lily Ann’s sake he had to keep his head on straight. They had both been hurt enough.

But by helping Reily, wouldn’t he be setting a good example for his daughter? Besides, he could see that Lindy wasn’t going to let up. She would nag him until he caved.

He mumbled a curse and shook his head. “I suppose you expect me to let her stay there for free.”

“Not at all. Besides, I think she’s the type of person who would insist on paying some sort of reasonable rent.”

She was probably right. Desperate as Reily was, she didn’t strike Joe as someone who would accept a handout. Not if what her old boss had said was true. He had told Joe that she was one of the hardest working, most responsible young women he knew.

“Hypothetically speaking, what would you consider reasonable rent?” he asked Lindy, not that he’d make his mind up about anything just yet. “The last tenant paid eighty a week, but that was a long time ago.”

“Maybe… sixty dollars a week.”

His brows rose.

“It’s not like you’re hurting for money, and it sounds as if she could really use a break.”

She was right about the money. Renting the space had been convenient during the bar renovations when his income was nonexistent, but now business was booming. Sixty a week would more than cover the utilities.

He nearly groaned out loud. He couldn’t believe he was actually considering this. But he had the means to help Reily, so wasn’t it his obligation as a decent human being?

His father would have thought so. Hell, he probably would have insisted he give it to her free of charge. He would have insisted.

Reily hopped down from the bar stool and, ponytail swishing, crossed the room to where he and Lindy sat. “Finished,” she said, handing him the forms.

Lindy grabbed her coffee and slid out of the booth. “Well, I’m sure you have things to discuss,” she said, shooting Joe a meaningful look. Then she told Reily, “When you’re finished we’ll start your training.”

Reily sat in the seat Lindy vacated and waited while Joe looked over her application. She’d listed a high school diploma as her highest level of education, which was about what he’d expected considering her circumstances. Had it not been for the small trust his maternal grandparents had left for him, he wouldn’t have been able to afford college either. The money hadn’t done much to anesthetize the sting of his mother’s abandonment, but it probably went a long way toward easing their guilty consciences.

“Everything seems to be in order,” he said, setting the papers beside his computer.

“So, I’m curious as to what Abe told you about me,” she said, watching him with wary blue eyes.

“I get the impression that there wasn’t much he didn’t tell me.”

She sighed. “That’s sort of what I figured. He’s something of a gossip.”

“If it’s any consolation, he seems to really care about you.”

“I know he does. He and his wife have been like surrogate parents since my mom and dad died.”

“Why don’t you ask them for help?” he said, realizing immediately that it was none of his damned business. He didn’t need or want to know any more about her life than was necessary.

“I have to do this on my own,” she said. She hesitated a second, then asked, “You didn’t happen to mention why I needed a job, did you?”

“I pretty much just listened. And when he commented on the weather down here in Nashville, I didn’t correct him.”

Her relief was clear on her face. “I appreciate that. I’d just as soon let everyone believe I made it to Tennessee.”

“The way he talked, he seemed to think you would be back in Montana soon.”

“Yeah, that’s the general consensus in my hometown. They all think I’m going to come crawling back a failure.” She jutted out her chin and flashed a look that was 110 percent stubborn. “I intend to prove them all wrong.”

Abe had never mentioned why she was bound for Nashville, but Joe assumed it had something to do with the music business. In which case the odds weren’t exactly in her favor.

“Lindy mentioned that you’re staying at the Sunrise,” he said.

“There don’t seem to be many other options.”

Only one, though he still wasn’t convinced it was a good idea. “I’ve got a small apartment above my garage. It’s not much, but it’s furnished and it has a small kitchen. And it’s only a few blocks from here. You can use it if you want to.”

“How much?”

“Sixty a week.”

“That’s pretty cheap,” she said. Instead of looking grateful for the offer, she frowned and chewed her lower lip.

So much for trying to help out a stranger in need, he thought, feeling slighted. Which was ridiculous since he hadn’t even wanted her there in the first place. “I could charge more.”

She eyed him with suspicion. “I’m just wondering, what’s the catch?”

“There’s no catch. Lindy thought you might want to stay there.”

She brightened a little. “Oh, it was Lindy’s idea?”

Did she think he was incapable of doing something nice? And why did he even care what she thought? “What difference does it make whose idea it was?” he snapped, sounding harsher than he’d intended. “Do you want it or not?”

His tone didn’t seem to faze her. She leaned forward in her seat and met his gaze squarely. “Put yourself in my position, Joe. You’re a single girl in a strange city with twenty bucks to your name, and some man you’ve known all of about twenty minutes offers to put you up for practically nothing in his swanky garage apartment. Can you honestly say you wouldn’t be just a little wary?”

When she said it like that, it did sound a little suspicious. And though the apartment was far from swanky, he could see her point. She was a young, attractive woman stuck in an unfamiliar place, dependent on the charity of a bunch of strangers to survive. That had to be scary as hell, even though her demeanor would suggest the opposite.

It made him think of Beth, and how many nights he lay awake, wondering if she was okay, if she’d found a decent place to live, friends she could trust. He could only hope that she had been as cautious then as Reily was now.

She had every right to question his motives. Not just the right, but the obligation. And for her trouble, he was acting like a coldhearted jerk.

Was he really so jaded? So insensitive?

Maybe Lindy was right. Maybe his attitude was a defense mechanism, because he would have to be blind not to notice how attractive she was. It wasn’t her fault that he had lousy luck with women.

“I see your point,” he told her.

“That’s why I felt better knowing it was Lindy’s idea. I didn’t mean it as an insult or a slight. I really do appreciate the offer.”

“I guess I hadn’t considered the full implications of your situation. I don’t blame you for being cautious. For what it’s worth, there’s a chain lock on the apartment door and my aunt Sue lives in the house right next door. I can give her the spare key to hold on to if it makes you feel more comfortable. And anyone in town will vouch for my character. But if you don’t want to stay there, I won’t hold it against you.”

“Could I have the day to think about it?”

“Of course.” Maybe there was a little bit of the old Joe still left in there somewhere, because he found himself actually wanting to help her, the way he hoped someone would have done for Beth. “Take all the time you need.”

“Thanks.” She smiled at him, her gaze settling on his face, then her eyes caught and locked on his, and his heart actually skipped a beat. Beneath the uncompromising defiance and strength of will was a vulnerability and apprehension that yanked at his heartstrings. She wasn’t nearly as tough as she wanted everyone to think, and he felt the strangest urge to pull her into his arms and hold her. To smooth back the long, silky strands of her pale hair brushing her cheeks and tell her not to worry, that everything would be okay.

Hard as he tried to look away, her blue gaze captivated him. It was she who finally lowered her eyes and broke the spell.

“Well,” she said after a brief, awkward silence. “I guess I should get to my training.”

She slid out of the booth and he found himself following her with his eyes as she crossed to the bar, admiring the way her behind swayed beneath a snug pair of faded skinny jeans. She wasn’t voluptuous by any means, but she wasn’t Hollywood-thin either. She had just the right amount of curves for her height. For the briefest of instants he let himself imagine what it would be like to touch her, to tangle his fingers in the long, silky mane that hung down her back. To brush his lips over hers… He realized he was actually getting aroused and peeled his eyes away.

His libido had been safely compartmentalized and locked away for the better part of two years. In all that time he hadn’t felt so much as a twinge of attraction to any woman, yet here he was reeling from a full-blown case of pulse-pounding lust for a virtual stranger. There had to be something seriously wrong with him.

He had the sinking feeling that for the next six weeks, this woman was going to be nothing but trouble.

Chapter Three

Reily stepped behind the bar, poured herself a tall glass of ice-cold water and guzzled it in the vain attempt to douse the flames burning up her insides. The look Joe had given her had been so jam-packed with raw need and pent-up sexual desire, it’s a wonder her panties hadn’t burst into flames. For an emotionally unavailable guy, he wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding his feelings. Honestly, she liked it better when Joe regarded her as an unfortunate inconvenience. She had a defense for that. But the feelings she was having now… holy cow.

She had dated quite a few men, and even felt strong sexual attraction to a couple of them, but never quite like this. Not this heart-pounding, grab-his-shirt-and-haul-him-across-the-table-for-a-kiss lust. And he wasn’t even her type! She preferred men who were easygoing and fun-loving. Someone she could laugh with. Joe didn’t even seem to have the capacity to smile.

She refilled her glass and took another swallow, when what she should have done was dump the darned thing over her head. Was it possible that she had just gotten her first glimpse of the real Joe? Beneath the dark and brooding exterior, was there a warm, sensitive and sexy man? And suppose there was? What then? She was leaving in six weeks. The last thing she had time for was a complicated emotional attachment.

Lindy emerged from the back and joined her behind the bar. “So, are you ready to…” She trailed off, a frown furrowing her brow when her eyes settled on Reily. “Hey, are you all right?”

“Of course,” she said, dumping the rest of the water in the sink and setting her glass in the dirty-dish tub. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Your cheeks are red as apples.”

She reached up to press her palm to her face. Her cheek was furnace-hot. “I guess I’m a little overheated.”

“Do you feel sick, like you might have a fever?”

She felt feverish all right, but not the kind caused by a virus. “I think it’s just been a crazy couple of days, and it’s starting to catch up with me.”

After what she’d been through, who wouldn’t feel a little discombobulated? Maybe this irrational attraction to Joe was just a reaction to the stress of what had been a highly emotional situation.

Lindy clucked sympathetically. “You poor thing. Well, if it helps at all I just got off the phone with my friend Zoey. She’s your size and she has a couple of garbage bags full of clothes she was planning to give to the thrift store. She’s going to give them to you instead. She said she’ll drop them by the bar later this afternoon. Zoey’s dad is not only the mayor, but the most successful businessman in town, and he tends to spoil her. She prides herself on always looking her best, and she gets a whole new wardrobe every season, so I’m sure there’ll be some really good stuff in there.”

“I don’t even know how to thank you.”

Lindy shrugged like it was no big deal. “I believe in karma. What goes around comes around.”

If that was true, then something really awesome was bound to happen to Lindy. “Joe said that you suggested I stay in his garage apartment.”

“It would be way better than living at the Sunrise for six weeks. And a lot cheaper.” She handed Reily an apron and tied hers around her waist. “Are you going to stay there?”

“I’m not sure.”

Lindy looked surprised. “Why not?”

“If you were in a strange town where you didn’t know a soul, would you stay in the garage apartment of some man you’d just met?”

Lindy frowned. “Oh. I guess I hadn’t looked at it that way. For what it’s worth, I’ve known Joe my entire life. He’s one of my best friends. He may be a little cranky at times, but he’s about as noble and trustworthy as they come. He wouldn’t hurt a flea. And there isn’t a man or woman in all of Paradise who will tell you any different.”

She knew she should seriously consider it, but after what had just happened in the booth, maybe it wouldn’t be such a great idea. Not that she’d felt threatened or violated. Quite the opposite. Which was why she couldn’t help thinking it would be best to stay as far away from Joe as possible. On the other hand, the more money she made, the sooner she could be on her way to Tennessee. Six weeks wasn’t much time to save what she needed. Cheap rent could be her ticket out of here.

Besides, as the day progressed and the lunch rush hit, she began to realize that seeing a lot of Joe might not be a problem. He seemed to spend most of his time in the back, either in the kitchen or his office. And when he was around, he more or less ignored her. He was so clearly not interested in her, she began to wonder if what had happened in the booth earlier had been a figment of her imagination.

By two o’clock, when the lunch rush had officially ended, Reily had made up her mind about Joe’s offer. She left Lindy to serve the handful of regulars sitting at the bar watching the wide-screen and went into the back to talk to Joe. He was in his office working at the computer. When she rapped on the door, he motioned her inside.

“Have you got a second?” she asked.

He pushed back from his desk, folding his arms over his chest, looking mildly put out.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and if the offer is still good, I’d like to rent your apartment.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“If you’d like me to sign a lease—”

“That won’t be necessary.”

She pulled out the cash she had left after paying for the room last night and the essentials she’d picked up at Parson’s General Store on her way in to work. “I can give you the rest after we split up the tips for the lunch shift.”

He looked at the cash, then at her. “Is that all the money you have?”

“It’s fine. I can live off tips until I get my first check.”

He mumbled something under his breath, then said in a voice laced with irritation, “Keep it.”

“But—”

“I’m not leaving you with no cash,” he snapped. “I’ll take the rent out of your first check.”

The guy did nice things, he just did them so… grudgingly. Which left her wondering where the understanding, semi-compassionate man from earlier that day had disappeared to. Maybe she had only been seeing what she wanted to see. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“In that case, thank you.”

Lindy stepped into Joe’s office with two stuffed black trash bags. “Hey, Reily, Zoey just dropped these by.”

She took the bags from Lindy. They were heavy. “Is she still here?”

“She had to get back to work. She said she’ll try to stop in later tonight. But don’t worry, I thanked her for you.”

Reily had been hoping to meet her, and of course she wanted to thank her personally. Although odds were, in a town this size, she would run into her at some point in the next six weeks.

When Lindy left, Joe looked from the bags to Reily, clearly curious as to what they contained.

“They’re full of clothes,” Reily told him. “Everything I owned was stolen with my car, so Lindy’s friend Zoey dropped some hand-me-downs off for me. Would you mind if I keep these in your office until I’m off tonight? They won’t fit in my locker.”

“I have to run home for a few minutes,” Joe said. “Why don’t you come with me and we can get you settled in. Unless you feel you need more time to train before the dinner rush.”

“Not really.” After eight years, bartending was pretty much second nature. “I’ll go tell Lindy I’m leaving.”

He pushed himself up from his chair and walked around the desk, nodding to the bags she was still clutching. “I’ll take those.”

“That’s okay, I can—”

He pinned her with a look that said it would be in her best interest not to argue. A sort of, let me be nice or else.

Okay. She held the bags up for him to take.

“My truck is parked out back.”

Which she took to mean, as he headed for the back door, that he wanted her to meet him out there. Because apparently it would kill him to actually say the words.

Shaking her head with exasperation, she hurried out to the bar and told Lindy she was leaving for a bit.

“Things won’t pick back up until at least four-thirty, so take some time to get settled in,” Lindy told her. Then she handed her a thick fold of bills. “Lunch tips.”

She stuffed them into the pocket of her jeans. “Thanks. This will definitely come in handy.”

Reily went into the back, grabbed her purse and purchases from her locker and said goodbye to the day cooks, Ray and Al, as she walked through the kitchen to the back door and pushed out into the afternoon sunshine.

Jill, one of the waitresses, stood just outside the door smoking a cigarette. She and Reily hadn’t had much time to get acquainted, but she seemed nice enough.

“Shift over already?” she asked Reily, taking a long, deep drag and exhaling a cloud of smoke into the hot, dry air.

“I’m taking off for a couple of hours, but I’ll be back.”

She eyed Reily suspiciously. “Does Joe know that you’re leaving?”

The words had barely left her mouth when Joe pulled up beside them in a newer-model, dark blue pickup.

“He knows,” Reily told her. “See you later.”

Jill’s openmouthed look of disbelief was the last thing she saw as she climbed in and buckled her seat belt. Though why Jill would care if Reily left with Joe, she didn’t have a clue.

Without so much as a glance Reily’s way, Joe put the truck into gear and pulled out of the lot. He headed down Main Street into town, which was bustling with cars and people, and turned left at Third Street, taking them into a residential section. Most of the homes were older but well tended and charming, with postage-stamp lots and tidy lawns. Not unlike the neighborhood she’d lived in before her parents had died, before she’d moved into the shabby little one-bedroom trailer with her aunt. Reily hadn’t even had her own bedroom, just a corner in the living room to keep her things and a foldout sofa to sleep on.

Joe drove two blocks down, then took a right at High Street. The lots were much larger and the houses sparser. Near the end of the block he turned into the driveway of a white-picket-fenced, craftsman-style home with deep green siding and a wide front porch flanked by white tapered pillars. It was as warm and charming as a Norman Rockwell painting, and not at all what she would have expected from a single guy.

He pulled up the driveway and parked in front of a double-car, two-story garage. The first thing Reily noticed as she opened the door and climbed out was the purple little-girl’s bike leaning against the side of the garage. In the backyard, which had to be at least two hundred feet wide and twice that in length, she could see a swing set and a playhouse that looked like a scaled-down and simplified version of the main house. There was also a sandbox, a red Radio Flyer wagon and various other toys scattered across the lawn.

Did Joe have kids?

As if on cue, the side door flew open and a little girl shot out onto the driveway in a blur of fine, curly blond hair, pink shorts, white tank top and purple flip-flops. “Daddy!” she shrieked, vaulting herself into his outstretched arms. “It came out! It came out!”

She opened her mouth wide, showing off a missing front tooth. Joe smiled at his daughter—a real, honest-to-goodness smile—and the effect was utterly devastating. He was handsome enough when he was all dark and gloomy, but when he showed some teeth? Good Lord, she practically had to fan her face.

Lindy hadn’t mentioned Joe ever being married. Not that it mattered either way to Reily. It was just hard to imagine him ever having the kind of optimism it took to step up to the altar.

“Did you give it to Aunt Sue to put under your pillow tonight?” Joe asked. She nodded enthusiastically, then she noticed Reily standing there watching them.

Her brow dipped in a look that was 100 percent Joe, and she demanded, “Who are you?”

Not shy, was she?

“Lily Ann, where are your manners?” he scolded. “This is Miss Eckardt. She works at the bar and she’s going to stay in the garage apartment for a while.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Lily Ann,” Reily said. “How old are you?”

“Five,” Lily Ann said, holding up the digits of her left hand. “Your hair is pretty. I want long hair, too, but Daddy says it gets too tangly because it’s curly.”

“And I’ve always wanted curly hair,” Reily said with a smile. “Mine is so straight and boring.”

Joe gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek and set her back down on the driveway, giving her bottom a firm pat. “Go on back inside. I’ll be in as soon as I show Miss Eckardt the apartment.”

She scurried for the door and disappeared inside the house.

“She’s adorable,” Reily said as the screen door slammed shut with a sharp bang.

“And don’t think she doesn’t know it.” He grabbed her bags from the bed of the truck, then gestured to a set of wood stairs that hugged the side of the garage. “It’s this way.”

She followed him up the narrow staircase, trying hard to ignore the fact that he had a really cute behind. Not only was he brooding and pessimistic, but he had an adorable daughter to boot. The situation had complicated written all over it.

He paused on the small landing at the top, pulled his keys from his jeans pocket and unlocked the door. A wave of stale, hot air rushed out as he pulled it open. He dropped her bags inside and walked straight over to a window that overlooked the backyard. He pushed back the curtains and lifted the sash, letting sunshine and a rush of fresh air into the room. The living space was cozy and welcoming, with two mismatched, floral-print, hand-me-down chairs; a scarred wood coffee table; and a matching pair of brass floor lamps. The kitchenette was small and basic, but functional, with a two-burner stove and an economy-size refrigerator.

“This is nice,” she said.

“There’s a window air conditioner in the bedroom to keep you cool at night,” he said. “And there’re fresh linens and towels in the dresser drawer.”

She crossed the room and peeked into the bedroom. It was barely large enough to hold a full-size bed and small chest of drawers. The bathroom was nothing more than a sink, toilet and cramped shower stall, but it was clean. It beat the hell out of staying at the Sunrise for six weeks.

“The key is on a hook in the kitchen cupboard,” Joe said, and she turned to him. He stood by the door, arms folded, expression dark. “If you want, I can give Aunt Sue my master key to hold on to.”

“That won’t be necessary.” He may have been a little cranky, but she didn’t think he was dangerous. Especially now that she knew he had a daughter, although she wasn’t sure why that would make a difference.

“So, it’s just you and your daughter?” she asked him.

“Yep.”

“Lily Ann’s mommy—”

“Isn’t around,” he said. And he clearly did not want to talk about it. Not with her anyway. “I’ll be heading back to the bar in half an hour if you want a ride.”

“I think I’ll walk.” Now that she had a little extra money, she could splurge and maybe find a cheap blow-dryer and curling iron at the thrift store.

Joe shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“Thanks for offering. And just so you know, I don’t expect rides to and from work to be part of the deal.”

“Good, because they’re not.” He turned toward the door and started out, then hesitated, turned back to Reily and said, “She left us two years ago.”

It took a second to realize that he was talking about Lily Ann’s mommy. He may as well have been talking about the weather for all the emotion he showed, but that probably only meant he didn’t want her to know how deeply he’d been hurt. It sure explained why he would be emotionally unavailable.

She wasn’t sure how to respond, but it didn’t matter because he never gave her the chance. He turned and walked out, shutting the door firmly behind him. She listened to the thump of his footsteps as he descended the stairs, wondering what had happened between him and Lily Ann’s mother that would make her leave. What would possess a woman to leave her own child?

Why did she even care? She had her own problems to figure out. She barely knew the guy. Considering this weird little fascination she seemed to have with him, it would be in her best interest to keep it that way.

Joe headed to the side door, wondering why he’d felt compelled to tell Reily about his ex-wife. His life was none of her business. But she was bound to hear about it from someone eventually, so why not him? That was the problem with small towns. Everybody was always in everyone else’s business. When Beth left, the dust had barely settled from her tires before everyone knew.

He pulled open the side door and stepped into the kitchen. Aunt Sue stood at the stove, stirring the contents of a soup pot. She looked over at him and smiled. “I guess Lily Ann told you about her tooth.”

“The second I pulled up,” he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“I put it in an envelope on her dresser so she wouldn’t lose it.”

He leaned in to peek at whatever she was cooking.

“White chicken chili,” she said.

One of his all-time favorites. “Smells delicious.”

“Lily Ann said something about you showing the apartment. I didn’t realize that you’d decided to rent it out again.”

He grabbed a wedge of corn bread from a plate on the kitchen table and took a bite, crumbs falling on the front of his T-shirt. “I didn’t.”

She turned to him, wiping her hands on the apron tied around her ample waist. “Would this have something to do with the young woman you hired?”

He shook his head. “Word sure does get around fast, doesn’t it?”

“Phyllis and Buster had lunch at the bar today, and of course she had to call me and find out who she is. I take it she’s not from around here.”

“Her name is Reily Eckardt. She’s passing through on her way to Tennessee.” He relayed the story P.J. had told him when he’d brought Reily in the night before.

“Oh, good Lord!” Aunt Sue slapped a hand over her bosom. “That poor girl. It was sweet of you to help her out.”

Her words grated at him. “I didn’t do it to be nice. I needed a bartender, and it was Lindy’s idea to let her stay in the apartment.”

She pinned him with her trademark stern look. “Would it kill you to admit that you’re a compassionate and caring person?”

“I’m not.” Not anymore.

“Well, there’s a little girl in there with her butt parked in front of the television who sure thinks you are.”

And he couldn’t imagine what his life would be like without her. He walked over to the kitchen doorway to peer into the front room. His little girl sat cross-legged in front of the television, mesmerized by cartoons. The love he felt for her was so intense and all-encompassing it almost hurt to breathe. Having Lily Ann had given him the will to keep going when Beth left. Everything he did was for his daughter, to ensure that she grew up healthy and happy and always knowing that she was loved. Despite her mother. Because when it came to being abandoned, he knew just how it felt. His own mother hadn’t stuck around to see his first birthday.

“So how long is this Reily planning to stay?” Aunt Sue asked.

“Six weeks, until Mark is back to work.” Too long as far as he was concerned. After that sexually charged moment in the booth this morning, he’d spent the following few hours in his office getting next to nothing done thanks to the random, impure thoughts he couldn’t seem to shake. He’d begun to seriously regret offering her the apartment in the first place, and had held out some hope that she would turn him down. No such luck, of course. That’s what he got for trying to be a nice guy. It always had a way of blowing up in his face.

“In that case, I should probably put together a house-warming basket. It sounds as if she could use a few things.”

He turned back to his aunt and shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“Phyllis mentioned that Reily is quite a looker,” she said with that mischievous glint in her eye that he knew all too well. “Cute as a button, I think were her exact words.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” he said, feigning disinterest. She wasn’t buying it.

“It’s been two years, Joey. Don’t you think it’s about time you got on with your life?”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing. I have a daughter to care for and a bar to run.”

She propped her hands on her hips. “You know what I mean.”

He did, but his love life, or lack of one, was nobody else’s business. “I don’t have time for a relationship. Especially with a virtual stranger.”

“If you got to know her she wouldn’t be a stranger, now would she? Besides, it doesn’t have to be her. There are plenty of other eligible women in town. You’ve been out of the pool for so long, would it hurt to get your feet a little wet?”

Past experience had taught him that he wasn’t much of a swimmer. Knowing his luck, he would slip on the edge, fall into the deep end and get sucked under.

Chapter Four

Lindy’s friend Zoey had awesome taste in clothes. Reily dumped both bags out onto the bed to sort them. Other than undergarments, she wouldn’t have to buy a single stitch of clothing. There were jeans and shorts and shirts, blouses, T-shirts and tank tops. There were even two bikini bathing suits and a couple of luxuriously soft satin nightshirts. Everything looked brand-new, or close to it, and had been freshly laundered.

As she neatly folded and tucked everything into the dresser drawers, singing to herself to keep her vocal cords conditioned, she heard the engine of Joe’s truck roar to life. She glanced out the side window just in time to see him slowly backing out of the driveway. He wasn’t gone two minutes when she heard a noise behind her and whipped around to find Lily Ann standing in the bedroom doorway. “Well, hi there.”

“That song was pretty.”

Reily smiled. “Oh, thank you. My mommy used to sing that to me.”

Lily Ann nodded at the bed and said matter-of-factly, “Mr. Pete keeps his clothes in a black garbage bag too. And he sleeps in the park, because Aunt Sue says he gots a couple of screws loose. But I like him ‘cause he makes funny faces and talks to himself.”

The little girl had just compared her to a mentally challenged homeless person. Swell. But she didn’t bother trying to explain why her clothes had been in garbage bags.

“Honey, are you supposed to be here?” Reily asked. She was willing to bet Joe wouldn’t appreciate his daughter hanging around with a total stranger.

She got her answer when a female voice called firmly from outside, “Lily Ann Miller, are you up there?”

Her lower lip lodged guiltily between her teeth, Lily Ann spun around and scurried for the door. Reily heard the slap of her rubber flip-flops as she charged down the stairs.

Reily walked to the door and looked out to the ground below. At the base of the stairs stood a portly woman of about sixty. Her salt-and-pepper hair was twisted into a loose bun at the back of her head, and she wore a sundress and rubber flip-flops. She was as short as she was wide, with a warm, friendly smile.

“You must be Reily,” she called, shading the sun from her eyes with one pudgy hand. “I’m Sue. Sorry if Lily Ann was bothering you.”

“She wasn’t,” Reily assured her.

“It must be hot as blazes up there. Why don’t you come down for a cold glass of lemonade?”

It was hot, and though Reily had hoped to stop at the thrift store on her way back to work, a cold glass of lemonade did sound refreshing. And of course she wanted to get to know her new neighbor, and maybe learn a little more about her boss/landlord. The shopping could wait until her break tomorrow.

“I’d love one,” she told Sue. “Give me a second to grab my purse and lock up.”

She located the key Joe had mentioned in the cabinet above the stove, slung her purse over her shoulder and, leaving the windows open for circulation, locked the door behind her as she headed down the stairs. She crossed the driveway and knocked on the side door of the house.

“Come on in!” Sue called.

The screen door squeaked on its hinges as Reily pulled it open. A rush of cool air enveloped her as she stepped into the spacious, updated kitchen. With its granite countertops, cherry cupboards and stainless steel appliances, it looked like something out of an issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Sue stood at the stove stirring the contents of a large silver pot. Whatever she was making smelled delicious.

“Come on in and have a seat,” she said.

Reily sat at the kitchen table. From the other room she could hear cartoons playing on the television.

“Are you hungry?” she asked. “I’ve got a pot of chili simmering.”

She was starving, actually, but she didn’t want to take advantage. “I have to get back to the bar soon.”

“It’s white chicken chili,” Sue said, clearly trying to tempt her. “It’s my specialty.”

Well, if it was her specialty Reily didn’t want to offend her or hurt her feelings. “Maybe just a bite.”

Sue spooned a generous helping into a bowl, plunked a spoon in and set it in front of her. It looked like more of a soup than an actual chili, with a white base, big chunks of chicken and several varieties of beans. Reily took a bite and her taste buds when berserk. “Oh, my gosh! This is amazing.”

“It’s Joe’s favorite,” Sue said, pulling a pitcher of lemonade from the fridge. She took two glasses down from the cupboard and filled them. She set one in front of Reily, then lowered herself into the chair opposite her. “Joe tells me that you’ve hit a spell of bad luck.”

That was putting it mildly. “I’m trying to look at it as a temporary diversion. An adventure,” she said. What she was trying hard not to think about was all the hard-earned money she had lost, and all of her worldly possessions gone forever. It would take hard work, but she would rebuild and start over. She was tough. And she was used to getting by on very little. “I figure Nashville will still be there when I pull my life back together.”

“Well, you couldn’t have landed in a better place. You won’t find a friendlier town than Paradise.”

“If it hadn’t been for Officer Jeffries and Joe and Lindy, I don’t know what I would have done. I doubt anyone in Denver would have been so willing to help a stranger.”

“P.J. is a good man. Though he was quite the hellion when he was a youngster. I used to babysit him when I was in junior high school. He always gave me a run for my money.”

“You’ve lived here your whole life?”

Sue sipped her lemonade. “My great-great-grandfather was one of the founders of the town. My father built this house for my brother, Joe Senior, and the house next door for me and my husband, Walter.”

“So you and your husband live next door?”

“It’s just me now. Walter passed four years ago last month, and we lost my brother Joey almost a year to the day later.”

“P.J. mentioned that Joe Senior used to own Joe’s Place.”

“He started that bar twenty-odd years ago. I loved my brother to death, don’t get me wrong. He was a good father, a good person, but a businessman he wasn’t. That’s why my nephew, Joey, went and got himself a degree in business. With his dad’s heart problems, I think he knew that someday he would be taking over the bar. His dad would be so proud of everything he’s done. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough for Beth.”

“Beth?”

Sue lowered her voice. “Joe’s wife. They were high school sweethearts. But after a few years of marriage she decided she needed to find herself, or some such nonsense. So she just up and left.” She shook her head, clucking disappointedly. “She broke that poor man’s heart. Lily Ann doesn’t seem to remember her much, which I think is probably a blessing. But she does realize that she’s the only one of her friends without a mommy. A few don’t have daddies, but that’s different. A little girl needs her mother. I try to help out all I can. I retired from teaching so I could watch her for Joe, but it’s just not the same.”

“I was raised by my aunt,” Reily told her. Sue was right. Her aunt Macie took care of her as best as she could under the circumstances, but it wasn’t like having a mom and a dad. “My parents died when I was little.”

“So you know what I mean.”

“Aunt Sue, could I play outside?”

She turned to see Lily Ann standing in the kitchen doorway. Reily wondered how much she had heard of their conversation, if anything.

“If you stay in the yard,” Sue said. “And turn off the television first.”

Lily Ann darted back into the living room and the television went silent. She skipped past them, flip-flops slapping against the tile floor, letting the back door slam shut behind her as she hopped outside.

Sue sighed and shook her head. “Joe was always the cautious sort. He knew from the time he was a youngster what he wanted to do with his life. Beth was something of a wild child. Restless, you know?” She shook her head sadly. “Joe thought he could settle her, thought that once they got married and had a baby she would be content staying in our tiny little town. But that wasn’t the case. And when she made her mind up to leave, there was no stopping her. Turns out she was just like my brother’s wife.”

“Joe’s mom?”

She nodded. “She left them when Joey was a baby. I don’t know what it is about the Miller men and their fascination with restless women.”

“I can understand being unhappy in a marriage,” Reily said. “But how does a woman leave her child?”

“I’ve asked myself that question about a million times. I could barely stand it when my twin sons left for college out of state. I guess sometimes people do things that don’t make much sense.”

“I guess.” Reily checked the display on her phone and realized that it was getting late. “I better get going. I don’t want to leave Lindy in a lurch on my very first day.”

“How are you getting back?”

“I’m walking.”

“There’s a bike in the garage you could use. It’s just sitting there getting dusty. Lord knows I could probably use the exercise,” she said, chuckling and patting her middle. “But I do better with both my feet on the ground.”

“If it’s not an imposition, that would be great.”

“I guess you were a little hungrier than you thought,” Sue said, nodding to Reily’s bowl. She’d stopped just short of licking it clean.

Reily smiled. “It was delicious. I can see why it’s Joe’s favorite.”

They both stood and Reily grabbed her purse. “Thanks for lunch. It was really nice talking to you.”

“Well, I probably told you more than you ever wanted to know about our family, but I do tend to ramble on sometimes. It used to drive poor Walter batty.”

“I don’t mind at all. I like hearing about other people’s families. It makes mine seem not so unusual, if that makes sense.”

“I think I know just what you mean. And I’m sure it’s no fun being trapped in a place where there isn’t a familiar face. I figured you could use a friend.”

She would be honored to consider Sue her friend.

“In fact, what are you doing Sunday for supper?” Sue asked.

“Honestly, I haven’t thought past five minutes from now.”

“Then you’ll have dinner with us. With Joe’s schedule, and my Monday night poker, it’s the only day we get to eat together as a family.”

“I take it he works a lot.”

“The bar is closed Sunday and he takes Monday off, but the rest of the week he’s pretty much there open to close.”

If he spent so little time with his family, Joe might not be too keen on her infiltrating their Sunday supper. “I don’t want to intrude,” she told Sue.

“Well,” she said, planting her hands on her hips. “Since I’m doing the cooking, I get to choose the guests.”

She probably should have said no. She liked the idea of spending time with Sue and Lily Ann, and maybe even Joe, but what if she got attached? She wouldn’t be hanging around very long. Yet at the same time, the thought of spending the evening alone was a little depressing. She was naturally a social person. She liked to be around people. “If you’re sure it’s okay,” she told Sue.

“Of course I’m sure.”

“In that case, if there’s anything I can bring, let me know. I make a mean gelatin salad.”

Sue grinned. “Then definitely bring that. Gelatin is Lily Ann’s all-time favorite food. Although, due to an unfortunate incident with gelatin shooters in high school, Joe won’t touch the stuff. One of these days I’ll tell you the story.”

Reily smiled. “I’d like to hear it.”

They both got up and Sue stepped out the back door with her into the blazing heat. “Lily Ann!” she called.

After several seconds Lily Ann emerged from the backyard. “Do I gotta come in already?”

“Do me a favor and show Reily here where that extra bike is in the garage. She’s going to use it while she’s in town.”

“Okay, Aunt Sue.”

“If you need anything,” Sue said, “just knock on the door.”

“Thanks, Sue.”

Lily Ann darted for the garage and Reily followed her. Sue must have hit a remote inside the house because as they approached, the door rolled open.

“It’s in here,” Lily Ann said.

The interior was about a million degrees and smelled like fertilizer. On one side were all the normal things you would find in a garage. Bikes, lawn equipment and tools, all neatly arranged. A car sat on the opposite side, but it was covered so she couldn’t tell the make or model. Considering the size and contour she would guess something older with muscle.

She wandered over, thinking that she would take a quick peek underneath the vinyl cover. She was reaching toward it when behind her Lily Ann screeched, “Don’t touch that!”

Reily jerked her hand back and turned to Lily Ann. “I was just going to peek.”

“No one is allowed to touch Daddy’s car,” Lily Ann scolded, her expression so earnest, so serious.

“I just wanted to see what kind it was.”

She propped her hand on her skinny hip. “You have to ask

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.