Читать книгу No Ordinary Joe - Michelle Celmer, Michelle Celmer - Страница 8

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.