After Tuck and the hands left to start their workday, Shane strode into the kitchen and dumped his coffee into the sink. Paige was wiping down the small dinette table that was rarely used for anything other than Arianna’s homework and some food preparation. Her back was to him, and he couldn’t stop his gaze from finding her ass as she bent over to reach the other side of the table. Damn, she filled out those jeans to perfection. He’d always been an ass man—men or women—and Paige had a mighty fine one.
When she straightened again, he’d barely had the chance to lift his eyes before she turned around. “Hi. Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Everything’s fine—in fact, it’s been great.” A full week had passed, and there hadn’t been one hiccup with her working for them. Well, there had been, but as far as he knew, she wasn’t aware of it yet. A few of the ranch hands had told him the rumors of Shane and Tuck’s new house manager sharing their bed had already started making the rounds. He wouldn’t mind if the rumors were true—she was an attractive and nice woman—but it certainly hadn’t happened. He hoped she wouldn’t be too upset or offended when she got wind of them. “Tuck and I talked it over last night, and we’d like you to stay on with us if you want.” Actually, he’d talked, and Tuck had grunted his non-committal response.
Paige’s eyes widened a little, and he had to wonder if she’d thought they would let her go. Hell, no. It hadn’t taken her long to whip the house back into shape, Arianna loved her, and well, Shane liked her—really liked her. The problem was, he couldn’t do anything about his attraction to her unless Tuck was on board. He’d never cheated on anyone he’d been in a relationship with since he’d been a teen. His father had had numerous affairs during his marriage to Shane’s mother—that was public knowledge—and his only son had never wanted to follow in his footsteps. Shane had seen the light leave his mother’s eyes every time she found out about another one of her husband’s indiscretions, and he never wanted to do something that would result in someone he loved losing that light too. So, unless Tuck got his head out of his ass, seducing Paige was out of the question for Shane. That didn’t mean he couldn’t help things along at some point, after Paige had settled in more and Tuck began to relax around her.
“Really? Um, yes, I’d love to stay on. Thank you.”
He wouldn’t tell her that the smile on her face right now was all the thanks he needed. “Great. Do you need any help arranging for your things to be shipped here?”
“Thanks, but no, I don’t. Quinn said he’d take care of it once I knew if I was staying. His friend’s trucking company has routes that run not far from here, and he’ll arrange to get the boxes to me. There’s not a lot of them.”
Snorting, Shane grinned. “My cousin has more contacts than anyone else I know. If he doesn’t know someone who can get something done, then I’m convinced no one does.”
“I guess it comes in handy when helping people start their lives over.”
The sadness that came over her face caused his gut to clench. Aside from the conversation they’d had on the day he’d picked her up at the airport, they hadn’t spoken about her past again. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. It must’ve been hard.”
Paige shrugged and stepped around him, then turned on the faucet to start washing the dishes. Without thinking, he snatched a towel that was hanging on the oven handle and began to dry for her. “I think what hurt the most, besides the betrayal I felt from Myles, was realizing all the so-called friends I thought I’d had turned their backs on me as if I was the one who’d done something wrong. Only a few stood by me. The money wasn’t a big thing to me—I’d grown up in a simple family where extras had to be saved up for. After the government seized most of our assets, it occurred to me that all those things I’d gotten used to hadn’t been the reason for my happiness. Owning my interior design business, having a husband who loved me, those were the things that’d made me happy. Everything else had just been window dressing. Then the only two things that’d meant anything to me were gone, and I realized all those people who’d dropped me like a hot potato had only liked me because of the money. I’d rather be poor and be with people who like me for me, not what they can get from me, than to be rich with false friendships.”
“You’re amazing.” Shit, had he really said that out loud? When she lifted her confused gaze to his, he knew he had. “I mean, a lot of people would have let all that beat them down, or would have screamed they were a victim too, trying to garner sympathy. Hell, a lot of people would have turned a blind eye in the first place and prayed their moneymaker didn’t get caught.”
“I couldn’t do that.” She shook her head. “When I accidentally saw the books Myles had left on his desk one night when he ran out to meet someone, I knew exactly what I was looking at. They weren’t the dummy ones he’d apparently been showing the IRS. At first, I was in shock and couldn’t believe my husband was bilking people—our friends—out of millions of dollars. I talked to him the next day, trying to ask him questions about the investments without raising his suspicions, but his answers just made me realize it wasn’t something that had simply gotten out of hand. I’d never noticed how greedy he’d gotten—nothing else mattered beyond how to look better than the Joneses. It took me a few days to realize I had no choice but to turn him in, even if it meant my life as I’d known it—my marriage—was over. As much as I loved Myles, I couldn’t be a party to his crimes. Now, I have to start fresh.”
“Well, I’m glad you’ll be doing that here. Arianna has fallen in love with you.”
Paige grinned as she handed him a glass, and he tried to ignore the stirring in his groin. “The feeling is mutual.”
When she pulled the plug at the bottom of the sink, he realized the dishes had all been cleaned. Time had flown while talking to her. After helping her put away the dishes, utensils, and glasses, he glanced around and failed to see anything that could keep him there. He really did need to get to work. Plucking his hat from the rack by the door, an idea came to him. “You know, Paige, if your interior-decorator eye sees anything that could be done to spruce the place up a bit, feel free to change a few things.”
“I wouldn’t want to change anything Sarah had done.”
He sat the hat on his head. “Sometimes change can be good. Nothing’s been updated in over two years. If you’re afraid to do some things you don’t think we’ll like, then make a list. We’ll go over it and see what we agree on, okay?”
Her smile told him she did have a few ideas for the house. “Um, okay. Yeah, that’d be great. I’ll look around later and see what I can come up with.”
“Great. Welcome to the Red River family, Paige.”