Halfway There

Her mouth twisted. “Is it that obvious?”

“It’s not a big leap. Don’t get me wrong. I understand what you’re doing, and I respect it. You’re strong and determined.”

* * *

FAYRENE WISHED THERE was a way to unwind the past few minutes of conversation. She hadn’t meant to share so much with Ryan. She’d barely known the guy twelve hours and already he knew more than most.

“It’s not that I don’t want a family,” she murmured. “I do, of course. Just not now.”

He leaned back in his chair. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” he told her. “I’m the guy who swore he’d never marry before he turned forty.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

He shook his head. “Scout’s honor.”

“Ha. Like I know if you were a boy scout.”

“Don’t I look the part?”

He looked mostly sexy and earnest. A very appealing combination.

He stood. “Come on. Let’s check on our new mother.”

Fayrene followed him into the living room. Misty was still sleeping, her three tiny kittens curled up next to her.

“She looks good,” he said.

“Thanks to you.”

He flashed her a smile. “Misty did most of the hard work.”

They settled on the sofa to watch a movie. Fayrene was careful not to sit too close, even though she wanted to. She was confused by how comfortable she felt around Ryan. It was as if she’d known him for years. At the same time, she was on alert—her body poised to tingle at a moment’s notice. The juxtaposition confused her.

They argued playfully about which movie to watch. Her selection was mostly chick flicks. Finally they found a not-too-grisly action movie on pay-per-view and settled in.

She picked through the Jelly Bellys left in the bowl. They were her “thing,” as much for the childhood memories as for the sweetness without too many calories. She loved the taste and she could still fit into her clothes in the morning. Unfortunately, they weren’t quite enough to distract her from the hunky guy sitting next to her on the sofa.

Was it her or had it gotten hot in here?

When the movie was over, Ryan stood and stretched. She allowed herself an eye-candy moment of admiring his broad chest and narrow waist before reminding herself it was impolite to stare.

“Whoa, look at that,” he said when he’d lowered his arms to his sides. He moved to an old boom box she kept on the bottom shelf of her bookcase. Most people didn’t even notice it was there. He moved the dial back and forth until he managed to tune in one of the local stations.

“Great antique,” he said when he saw her.

“It was my dad’s. I know it’s huge and hideous, but it makes me think of him.”

He stood. “I like it.”

On the radio, a low, masculine voice spoke. “This is Gideon, and we’re going to play oldies tonight. Like we do every night. I thought I’d start with a song that reminds me of a beautiful woman from my past. To the smartest woman I ever met. And here it is, by the Drifters.”

Fayrene was trying to figure out which song he was going to play. While she’d never been a fan of the oldies, her dad had liked them. He complained he’d been born in the wrong decade. That he would have been happier in the fifties, with great music and muscle cars. Then her mom would tease him about how he would have been too old for her.

She felt her throat tighten as blurry memories tried to focus. But it had been too long, she thought sadly, and she couldn’t see much more than shadows. Before she had to start fighting tears, Ryan pulled her close and started to dance with her.

“Who’s Gideon?” he asked, moving in time with the beat. He held her just tight enough to make her want to snuggle closer and loose enough that she didn’t feel pressured.

“He’s new in town,” she said, aware the memories were fading and content to let them retreat for the night. “There are a lot of rumors about him. Everyone says he was in the military and did some really dangerous things.”

“I like his taste in music.”

Ryan’s shirt was soft under her fingers, his body warm. Being next to him made her forget everything else—her past, her plan. There was only the gentle sway of the dance, the rhythm of the song and an unexpected yearning.

His dark gaze settled on her face; then he lowered his head a few inches and lightly kissed her.

The brush of his mouth against hers was light as breath. He didn’t push, didn’t claim. He teased, then drew back and put his hand on the back of her head, so she rested her cheek on his shoulder.

Fayrene closed her eyes. Wanting spun through her, igniting nerves and making her long for more than the chaste kiss. But instead of reacting to that, she stayed where she was, enjoying the sense of being taken care of. Of being safe. Even if it was just for the night.

But when the song ended, Ryan drew back. He gave her a quick smile, murmured “good night” and was gone before she could figure out if she wanted him to stay or not. And wasn’t that just like a man?

CHAPTER FOUR

FAYRENE WAS PLEASANT, friendly and distant for the next three days. When she went out for sandwiches, she brought one back to Ryan. She warned him about the warring hair stylists in town when he asked where to get his hair cut, and she explained he would have to alternate his business between House of Bella and Chez Julia unless he wanted to start a boatload of trouble. Even so, she was careful not to spend more than a minute or two in conversation at any given time because it was both smarter and safer.

But on Friday morning she arrived at work to find Ryan being interrogated by two very determined older women. Eddie and Gladys—both long past the age of eligibility for Social Security—stood in his office.

“I heard you’re an engineer,” Eddie was saying. “I have a new all-in-one printer I need help with. You know, hooking it up to my Wi-Fi network. You could come over this afternoon.”

Ryan shifted on his feet, his expression both trapped and desperate. “I’m not a computer engineer, ma’am,” he told her. “I work with wind turbines.”

“Still, you’re young and, from what I can see, very strong. You should be able to figure it out.”

Gladys grinned. “Eddie keeps her place a little warm, so you might want to wear a T-shirt. A tight one. I really like the glasses. They’re kind of sexy.”

Ryan flushed. Fayrene was both impressed and shocked by the older ladies’ determination. She’d heard rumors about their tactics but had never seen them in action before.

She cleared her throat.

Eddie and Gladys both turned toward her. Eddie grinned. “Fayrene. There you are. Tell your friend here that he needs to come help me this afternoon.”

“No.”

Eddie’s smile faded. “Excuse me?”

“I said no. You need to leave Ryan alone. If you don’t, I’m telling Josh you’re bullying Ethan’s favorite engineer.”

Eddie’s expression fell. She’d worked for Josh for years and loved him like a son. She bossed him around, and he looked out for her. But he was also Ethan’s best friend and wouldn’t appreciate Eddie messing with work stuff.

“I wasn’t bullying him,” Eddie said, a whine in her voice.

“I can handle this,” Ryan added, apparently realizing he was getting protection from marauding near octogenarians.

Gladys tugged on her friend’s arm. “We’ll find someone else to help us. Maybe that nice young man on the radio. Gideon. I saw him at the gym the other day. He has a great butt.”

Eddie nodded. “I like a good butt just as much as a good chest.”

The two women left.

When the front door closed, Ryan shook his head. “That was the most surreal experience of my life. When they first came in, I told myself it was all a misunderstanding.”

Fayrene didn’t bother hiding her amusement. “Not if they were talking about seeing you na**d and asking if you liked older women in a sexual way. They’re legendary. Mostly they’re harmless, but you have to be willing to stand up to them. I’m going to guess you weren’t raised to talk back to grandmother types.”

“It’s not a skill set I thought I was missing. Anything else I need to know about the town?”

“How much time do you have?”

Something flashed in his eyes. A flash of male admiration with a hint of stalking predator thrown in for fun. But as quickly as it had shown up, it was gone, leaving behind the mild-mannered Ryan she knew and liked.

Fayrene’s breath quickened a little. She’d been avoiding him for very sensible reasons. This proved that. Yet she also found herself wanting to throw caution to the wind and pick up where Eddie and Gladys had left off.

“Thanks for the rescue,” he said, moving back to his desk. “Your arrival was well timed. I’ll do my best to be more surly the next time I run into those two.”

He was backing off because she’d made it clear that was what she wanted. The downside of being sensible, she thought.

But after nearly a week with Ryan, she knew he was both sweet and funny. Polite, smart and possibly interested in her. Did it get better than that?

“You’re arguing with yourself about something,” he said.

She nodded. “You.”

He’d reached for his chair, but now he let his arm fall to his side as his eyebrows rose. “What about me?”

“I’m torn. I have a plan, and I’m clear on my goals. Getting involved would mess up everything.”

“It would.”

She appreciated that he didn’t point out he hadn’t actually said he was interested in her.

“But you’re leaving,” she continued. “In a way, that makes things safer. There’s a time limit, so even if we did get involved, it wouldn’t be for very long.”

“Lessening the distraction factor.”

“Are you making fun of me?” she asked.

One corner of his mouth curved up. “Maybe a little.”

“I suppose I deserve it. You’re right. It doesn’t have to be that complex. There’s an Easter Egg Drop tomorrow. Want to go?”

“An Easter egg what?”

She laughed. “People decorate raw eggs and bring them to city hall. Then we drop them.”

“Raw eggs?”

“It’s fun and strangely satisfying.”

“It’s a little disgusting.”

“Maybe. You in?”

“Absolutely. What time?”

“I’ll pick you up at ten. You’re at the Lodge, right?”

He nodded. “I’ll be waiting in the lobby.”

* * *

THE LUCKY LADY Casino Resort was north of Fool’s Gold, nestled on over a hundred acres at the foot of the mountains. Through time and rain and probably a few earthquakes, a pass had been created a couple of miles due east of the land where the casino sat. On the other side of the mountain were more mountains, each with its own unique shape.

With changing temperatures and perfectly placed canyons and valleys, there was a constant difference in barometric pressure, otherwise known to the layperson as what created wind.

For Ryan the unique placement of the casino and the land meant a sweet two-acre spot that was always blustery. It was the perfect place for wind turbines.

He stood with Ethan at the foot of the massive machines. Ethan downloaded the most recent readings onto his tablet, then tapped to get them in chart form.

His boss shook his head. “Well, damn. You were right. We’ve increased efficiency by three percent just this week.”

“A small sampling of what’s happening,” Ryan pointed out. “We need more data over time to be sure the modifications are working, but it looks promising.”

“Modest?” Ethan asked.

Ryan shrugged. “I like to be sure.”

He was confident about his calculations, but he had learned that what worked on a computer program didn’t always translate to the real world.

“Caution is good,” Ethan told him. “What about the blades themselves?”

“I’m still working on that. I should have new designs ready in the time we agreed on.”

He was tasked with modifying the existing blades for the turbines. The steady high wind by the casino meant more electricity could be generated with a higher degree of certainty. Maximizing that was why he was here. First with program tweaks, then with the physical blades.

“I have a lot of customers who are interested in what we’re doing here,” Ethan told him. “It’s going to be difficult to get them all in to talk to you before you leave.”

“I’ll fit them in as best I can.”

Ethan studied him for a second before nodding slowly. Their arrangement had been clear from the beginning. Ethan wanted a project completed, not a new employee. Ryan had needed time to figure out his next career move. So this had worked for both of them.

The job in Texas gave him a lot of what he wanted. Great pay, interesting work, a chance to advance in his field. Everyone he’d met on his interviews had been friendly, and there was a lot to be said for how pretty the girls were in the Lone Star State.

But he wasn’t sure. Maybe because the company was so large, or it was located so far from his family in eastern Washington State. Whatever the reason, he’d put off accepting the offer.

Now that he’d been in Fool’s Gold a couple of weeks, he found himself liking it more and more. It was a small town without being too small. Fayrene was part of the appeal, he admitted to himself. But she’d made it clear she was only looking for temporary. Which meant staying or going had to be his own decision—not based on his feelings for her.