Only His

CHAPTER THREE

“YOU KNOW I DON’T LIKE TO INTERFERE,” Denise Hendrix said as she poured chocolate chips into a bowl.

“If only that were true.” Nevada leaned against the counter and watched her mother mix up cookie batter. “You love to interfere.”

“No. I love to be right.” Her mother smiled at her. “There’s a difference.”

“A subtle one.”

They were in her mother’s kitchen, at the Hendrix family home. Nevada had grown up here. There had been various renovations over the years, the most recent a kitchen remodel, but nothing could ever change the fact that this was the home of her heart.

Her mother took the bowl to the cookie sheets and began scooping batter into neat rows. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“There’s not much to say. The interview went badly. I was expecting Elliot Janack and I got Tucker instead.”

“I thought you liked Tucker.”

Nevada thought about how desperately she’d been in love with Tucker all those years ago. Not real love—but she’d been young and foolish and caught in a world she’d been unprepared for. Cat had been as much a revelation as Tucker himself.

“Liking him isn’t the problem.”

She briefly explained about their short past, the lone sexual encounter, sparing her mother the details. “I was embarrassed about what had happened between us, but he kept bringing it up. I swear, he only wants to hire me now to improve his reputation. I’m not interested in that. The job is a great opportunity, but not under those circumstances.”

“Did he ask you to have sex with him so he could redeem himself?”

“No, but I don’t want a pity job.”

Denise put down the spoon and faced her. “You’re saying he wants to give you a job to make up for being bad in bed?”

Nevada winced. “It made more sense when I was just thinking that in my head. With you asking the question, it sounds stupid.”

“There’s probably a reason for that.”

Denise Hendrix had married young and had three boys in less than five years. Determined to have a daughter, she’d gotten pregnant one last time, only to find herself having triplets. She’d handled the shock with her usual grace and humor, raising six children with an ease that left most people amazed.

A widow for the past eleven years, she’d finally started dating. But her social life didn’t keep her so busy that she didn’t have time to tell her children exactly what she thought. That was both a blessing and a curse.

“If Tucker was genuinely worried about his reputation, he wouldn’t hire you,” her mother said. “He would run as far and fast as he could, or try to sleep with you now and move on. Why would he risk you telling the entire crew about your night together?”

“He knows I would never do that.”

“Does he? It doesn’t sound as if he took the time to know you at all.”

“Things were complicated back then,” Nevada mumbled, not wanting to get into the whole Cat situation. Sure, Tucker had been lousy in bed, but Nevada had been the one throwing herself at him the second she’d found out he and Cat had broken things off. She’d practically begged him to sleep with her. Unfortunately, their brief encounter hadn’t won her anything and had instead broken her heart.

“If your dreams matter, then you’ve been given an excellent opportunity. I’d hate to see you miss it and have regrets later. They can be the hardest thing to live with.”

Nevada stared at her mother. “Do you have regrets?” “Not very many. I’ve been lucky—I had a wonderful husband and I have my children.” “We are pretty amazing.”

Denise laughed. “Yes, you are.” She touched Nevada’s arm. “This is what you said you wanted. Why let a single night get in the way of that? You’re both adults. You can agree to put it behind you and move on.”

“You’re being rational. That’s always unnerving.”

“It’s important to keep you guessing.”

Nevada drew in a breath. “You’re right. I do want the job. And it was just one night. Hell, it was five minutes. I should be able to forget that.”

Instead of returning to her cookies, Denise walked to the cordless phone and picked it up. “You can call right now.”

Nevada groaned. “This reminds me of the time I took Pia’s Teen Talk Barbie and snuck it home. You made me go right back and apologize.”

“And you were the better for it.”

“Maybe.” She stared at the phone. “Okay. I’ll call.”

Knowing thinking about it too much would only make things harder, she pulled Tucker’s business card out of her jeans pocket and dialed. Two rings later, she heard his familiar voice.

“Janack.”

“Hendrix,” she said before she could stop herself. “Um, it’s Nevada.”

“Hey. What’s up?”

She cleared her throat. “I thought we could finish our interview.”

Silence stretched between them. Her insides clenched. Damn him, he was going to tell her no. He was going to say he’d changed his mind.

“Great. You free right now? I’m heading to the job site. I’d like to show you what we’re doing.”

She opened her mouth and closed it. “Um, sure. I can meet you out there.”

“See you in twenty minutes.”

He hung up.

Nevada did the same, then set the phone back in the charger. “I’m meeting him at the job site. We’re going to talk.”

Her mother grinned. “Are you sure that’s all you’ll be doing?”

“Mo-om.”

Denise laughed, then hugged her. “You’ll be fine.”

“You can’t know that.”

Denise smiled. “I’m pretty sure.”

TUCKER STOOD BY THE SIDE of the road. The first work done by his crew had been to clear an area for parking and heavy equipment. Now with that finished, the real effort would begin. Building a casino-hotel resort would take hundreds of thousands of man-hours and millions of dollars over nearly two years. His plan was to come in early and under budget. For that he needed the right team and a fair amount of luck.

He turned as a light blue Ford Ranger drove toward him. Nevada pulled in next to him and climbed out.

She looked good, he thought, taking in the jeans and T-shirt. Sensible, but sexy. One of his favorite combinations. Not that he would say that to her. He wanted her working for him and that meant they would be spending a lot of hours together. The best way to get through that was to act professionally. Besides, he’d long ago learned that finding any woman irresistible was a disaster. He didn’t need to go there again.

“What do you think?” he asked, nodding toward the vast expanse of land.

“It’s a hundred acres, right?”

“Yes.” He pointed to the east. “We go about a third of the way up the tree line.” He indicated the rest of the track. “We’ll cut into the mountain.”

“Won’t that provoke the spirits?” she asked, her brown eyes bright with humor.

“You’re forgetting I’m one of them. They’re delighted to see me.”

“That’s right. You’re part of the Máa-zib tribe through both your parents?”

He nodded. “About an eighth, give or take a little.”

“So technically you or your dad had to be the ones to buy the land. A company couldn’t own it.”

“Right. We’ve leased it back to the corporation for the project.”

“You’re a land baron.”

“I’m part owner.”

“Still, it’s impressive.”

“Are you impressed?” he asked.

She grinned. “I could be.”

“Tell me what else it would take.”

“You could show me the plans for the place.”

They walked to his truck and he pulled a copy of the plans out from the backseat. After opening the tailgate, he spread them out.

“We’re using every inch of land,” he said. “There’ll be a road circling the entire development. The casino is here, along with the hotel.”

He watched her trace the different elements of the plan.

“You’re keeping the grove of the oldest trees,” she said, not looking up at him. “I like the walking trails.” She moved her finger to the mountain. “This is going to require some serious blasting to remove that much earth.”

“Ever done any blasting?”

She turned to him. “No, but I’d like to.”

“Stick with me, kid.”

“Tempting.”

He wasn’t surprised she could be wooed more by the promise of a big explosion than a corner office. Nevada had always been like that—eager, interested. Smart. He remembered her ability to call him on any bull. They had stayed up late a few times, arguing about everything from politics to sustainable construction. She was someone he’d enjoyed talking to, when he’d surfaced from the Cat-induced haze long enough to have a conversation.

He wanted to tell her he was sorry about what happened between them. Not the bad sex, although that was damned humiliating to think about, but the rest of it. He’d wanted to be her friend back then but hadn’t been able to think of anyone but Cat.

“I thought there was going to be an outlet mall,” she said.

He pulled out another large roll of paper. “We won’t be developing it. It’s too small a project.” “Aren’t you the snob.”

“The last project I worked on was a thousand-meter suspension bridge in Africa. No, I don’t build malls.” One corner of her mouth turned up. “Of course you don’t.”

He leaned against the truck. “You’re not mad anymore.”

“I wasn’t mad.” She straightened. “This is a great opportunity. You’re bringing a lot to the town.”

“We appreciate their cooperation.”

“Don’t you always get that?”

“Some towns aren’t interested in change or growth.”

“Fool’s Gold isn’t like that. This project will bring a lot of jobs and tourists. We already get a decent tourist trade, but nothing like the numbers this will bring in.”

“Why’d you come back? You could have found plenty of jobs in other places.”

“This is my home. I grew up here. My family founded this town.” She smiled. “In a settler kind of way. Obviously the Máa-zib tribe was here first.”

“Obviously.”

He understood the concept of roots, he just couldn’t relate to it. He’d never had anywhere particular to call home. His dad had always kept a condo in Chicago but they’d rarely been there. His home was wherever the next project was.

“Want to hear about your team?”

“Sure.”

He told her about the guys who would be working for her. She would be in charge of clearing the construction area. When that was done, her team would shift to working with several others on the hotel.

“I’m also interested in having you as a liaison with the town,” he said. “If we run into trouble.”

“I don’t think you will, but sure. I can talk to whomever you like.”

“You know the guys might give you a hard time at first.”

She shrugged. “I have three brothers. I’m not sure there’s much they can do to shock me. Plus, I’ve been in construction a long time.”

He wanted to say he would be there to protect her, but didn’t. Not only would she have to figure it out herself, protection implied a level of caring inappropriate for a work relationship. They were colleagues, nothing more. The fact that he could breathe in her soft, sweet scent was immaterial. As was the way the sun turned her short hair into a hundred different colors of blond.

It was being around her again after all this time, he told himself. He’d worked with lots of women over the years and had never noticed one of them as anything more than a coworker. In a few days, Nevada would just be one of the guys.

“We start the surveying on Monday,” he said. “Want to be here for that?”

“Are you offering me the job?”

“I already did. You turned me down. Are you going to make me beg?”

“I probably should.”

“I’m not very good at it.”

She gave him a slow smile. “Then you need to practice more.”

“Is that what this is? A coaching opportunity?” “I like to help where I can.”

He pushed off the truck and moved in front of her. “Nevada, I would like to have you here as one of my construction managers. Yes or no?”

“That’s not exactly begging.”

“Maybe not, but it’s sincere.”

“We’re both going to pretend the past never happened,” she said, rather than asking a question. “We’ll start over.”

“Agreed.”

“Then I very much want the job.” Pleased, he held out his hand. “Good. Let’s head into town and talk about the details.”

She placed her hand in his. He was unprepared for the brush of her skin, the feel of her fingers, the jolt of awareness that sizzled its way to his groin.

After squeezing once, he released her and did his best to act casual as he stepped back. Well, dammit all to hell, he thought grimly. He could have gone a lifetime without feeling that.

Nevada appeared unfazed by the contact, which made him doubly stupid.

“Are you going to be staying in a hotel while you’re here?” she was asking. “If you want a house to rent, I could ask around.”

“I prefer a hotel. It’s easier.”

“Because someone else does the cooking and cleaning?”

“Of course.” “Typical guy.”

“Most days.” He walked her to her truck. “Meet me in the lobby of Ronan’s Lodge in twenty minutes. I’ll bring the employment agreement.”

She nodded and climbed into the cab, but didn’t close the door. “Do you ever talk to her? Cat?”

The question surprised him. “No. Not in years. Not since we broke up. You?”

Nevada shook her head. “Cat wasn’t my friend.”

“She liked you. As much as she could like anyone.”

“There’s a statement.”

“You know what she was like.”

Nevada looked at him then. He saw something flash through her eyes. Unable to read the emotion, he could only wonder. Hurt? Anger? No way he could guess. Feelings were a complication lost on most mortal men.

A truck drove up the road and parked next to them.

“That’s Will,” Tucker said. “You need to meet him. He’s my right-hand guy, although he’ll tell you he’s in charge.”

“I am in charge,” Will said, walking toward them. “Ask him how many times I’ve saved his ass.”

“Can anyone count that high?” Nevada asked, climbing out of her truck and grinning.

Will winked at her, then turned to Tucker. “I knew I’d like her. Tell me she said yes.”

“She did.”

“Welcome to the team,” Will said, shaking hands with her. “Will Falk.”

“Nevada Hendrix.”

“Tucker was going to give me the employment contract to look over,” Nevada said. “Want to come watch me sign?”

“There’s nothing I’d like better,” Will said. “Meet you in town.”

Probably for the best, Tucker told himself as they got into separate vehicles and headed back into Fool’s Gold. Until he figured out why touching Nevada had impacted him, the last thing he needed was to spend time alone with her in a hotel. Now that they were working together, anything personal was off-limits. Of that he was sure.

“WHAT?” ETHAN ASKED. “There’s something wrong.”

Denise Hendrix looked at her oldest son. She still remembered the day she’d brought him home from the hospital. She’d been married all of a year, had barely turned twenty and didn’t have a clue what she was doing. Her mother-in-law had still been alive. Although the two women had never been close, Eleanor had shown up within fifteen minutes of Denise and Ralph bringing their baby home.

“I’m here if you need me,” the somewhat stern, large-boned woman had announced. “I know what you’re going through, but I don’t want to interfere.”

Denise had assured her mother-in-law that she would be fine. That level of bravado lasted until the next morning, when Ralph went off to work and Ethan started to cry. He wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t eat, and although he didn’t have a fever, Denise had panicked. She’d called Eleanor and begged her to come over.

It had taken Ethan’s grandmother all of two minutes to quiet the baby. She’d stood by while Denise had struggled to get her newborn to nurse, had offered sensible advice and never said a word to Ralph about her daily visits.

“I miss your grandmother,” Denise said.

Ethan stared at her. “That’s why you came by my office? She’s been gone twenty years.”

“That’s not why I stopped by. But I was thinking about her. She was wonderful to me. Do you remember her at all?”

“Sure. When we spent the night with her, we got to stay up as late as we wanted and we could watch anything. Every single time, I picked some horror movie you wouldn’t have let me see, and I scared myself so much I couldn’t sleep. Then I crawled in bed with her and Grandpa and she would sing to me until I wasn’t afraid.”

Denise smiled. “That sounds like her.” “But she’s not why you’re here.”

“No. I’m not sure what to do about Tucker Janack. I need your advice.” Neither statement was true. She knew exactly what to do about Tucker, but she didn’t say that to Ethan. Better to let him come to his own conclusions.

Ethan frowned. “About what? Nevada’s going to work for him. She told me she was accepting the job.”

“I know and I’m glad. It’s just …” She drew in a breath. “They have a past. Remember when Nevada was in college and you asked her to look up Tucker?”

“Sure. I thought he would be a good person for her to know. In case something happened, or she needed advice about school. Engineering’s a tough major, and he’d already been through it.”

“She did go see him. They were friends. Then …” She waved her hand. “Never mind. I shouldn’t discuss this with you.”

Ethan’s frown turned into a scowl. “Too late now. What happened?”

“He got drunk and they slept together. He was involved with someone else, but they had briefly broken up. He took advantage of Nevada and then went back to his girlfriend. Nevada was crushed, of course. I get sick when I think about it. That man and my little girl.”

In truth Denise wasn’t happy about what had happened, and she did want Tucker punished. She also believed that sometimes children had to learn by making mistakes and living through the consequences. But Tucker had gone too far.

Ethan nodded once. “I’ll take care of it, Mom. Don’t worry.”

“I knew I could count on you. You’ve always been there for me and for everyone else in the family.”

She rose. Ethan stood as well and walked her to the door.

“Don’t worry,” he repeated and kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”

Relieved and not the least bit guilty, Denise walked out of the office. There were those who wouldn’t agree with what she’d done, but she didn’t care. No one messed with her family.

JO TRELLIS LOOKED at the boxes piled in the back of her SUV and wondered if maybe she’d gotten a little carried away. She supposed part of the problem was that she was excited about the thought of her friends having babies, and that she would get to watch those kids grow up. She didn’t have any children of her own, nor was she likely to. So she would live vicariously through her friends—Aunt Jo to the new generation in Fool’s Gold.

Within a few months, Charity’s daughter would be crawling and some months after that, Pia’s twins would join her. Dakota’s daughter was nearly nine months old already, and Dakota was pregnant with her second child. That explained the various toys Jo had bought.

She’d already figured out that the back corner of the main room would make the perfect play area. Ethan had sent over one of his guys to install removable posts. She’d bought child-safe fencing, to keep the kids in and her customers out. With a little rearranging, she could have tables right by the play area, so moms could visit, their kids could play and everyone would be happy.

She picked up the smallest of the boxes and carried it inside easily. But the carton with the toddler-size kitchen was going to be a problem. “Need some help?”

She glanced over her shoulder and saw a tall man moving toward her. He had a slight limp, but powerful shoulders and arms. His sandy hair was just long enough and his dark blue eyes brightened with amusement.

“That box is nearly as big as you.”

Her instinct was to tell him she was fine. It was her policy to avoid conversations with strange men. She would say with all men, but that wasn’t an option in her line of work. So she’d learned to be friendly without ever letting anyone cross the line. However, she’d been in Fool’s Gold long enough to know that life was all about community. Over the past few years she’d learned to trust other people and, most importantly, herself.

The man paused by her SUV. “Will Falk,” he said.

“Jo Trellis.” She studied his worn jeans and chambray shirt. “You’re with Janack Construction.”

“That’s me.” He reached for the box and drew it out easily.

Remembering how she’d struggled to get it into her SUV, she tried not to be bitter. Men naturally had more upper body strength than women.

“Where do you want this?” he asked.

She led the way in through the back, passing from the storage room to the main part of the bar. She pointed to the corner she’d cleared.

“Over there.”

Will set down the box, then straightened. “Kid toys in a bar?”

“A lot of my customers are having babies.”

“They bring them to a bar?” He sounded shocked.

She allowed herself to smile. “I get a big lunch and afternoon crowd. They’re here to socialize rather than get drunk. I’ll put the toys away before the evening customers arrive. Don’t worry. No one in Fool’s Gold is corrupting infants.”

But Will wasn’t listening. Instead he was turning in a slow circle, taking in the mauve walls, the big TVs tuned to a marathon of America’s Next Top Model, and the comfortable chairs with backs and hooks for purses up by the bar.

“What is this place?” he asked.

“It’s a bar.”

“I’ve been in plenty of bars.” “You men have a room in back. It’s very traditional. Dark colors, a pool table and plenty of sports.” He still looked lost.

“Fool’s Gold has a large female population,” she explained. “Most of the businesses cater to women, including mine.”

“I see,” he said slowly.

She laughed. “If you’re going to be here awhile, you’ll need to get used to it.”

She walked back to her car. He followed.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he told her. “I like women. I’ve never known a bar that catered to them, but I’m good with that.”

She thought about warning him that just because there were a lot of women around didn’t mean he would find it easy to interest one of them. Most of her customers came to hang out with their friends and talk about their problems. They weren’t all that worried about meeting guys. But he could figure that out on his own.

Will helped her carry in the rest of the boxes. Just when she was about to thank him and suggest he leave, he started opening cartons with a pocketknife.

“You’re in management, aren’t you?” she asked.

He laughed. “Kicking and screaming I was dragged there. Why?”

“You’re taking charge.” “Want to tell me no?”

“I appreciate the help,” she admitted, aware she wouldn’t have had time to unpack everything before her lunch crowd arrived.

“Happy to give it.” He pulled out a brightly colored plastic refrigerator. “Cute.”

“I thought it would be fun.”

The tiny stove came next.

“How long have you lived here?” he asked.

“A few years now. It’s a good town. Friendly people.” People who had accepted her without asking a lot of questions. She knew they were curious, but no one pushed. She appreciated that.

“Good. We’re here a couple of years with the new project. A place like this beats a bridge-build in the middle of Africa. I love being outdoors as much as the next guy, but every now and then I really want a burger.”

“You move around a lot?”

“It goes with the territory. Janack Construction is multinational. I’ve been working with them since I graduated high school. Known Tucker since he was a kid.” He moved on to the next box, which contained a toddler-size tricycle. “Now he’s the one in charge of what we’re doing here. Time flies.”

Jo would guess Will was in his early forties. “What does your family think about you being gone so much?” She asked the question without thinking, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized how they could be interpreted.

Will straightened and faced her. “There’s just me.” She nodded and found herself glancing away from his steady gaze. An unfamiliar nervousness ripped through her. The second she recognized the feeling, she wanted to hold up her hands in the shape of a T and demand a time-out.

No, she told herself firmly. No boy–girl chitchat for her. No smiling, no getting involved, no caring. She’d been down that path and it had led to a disaster she was still paying for. Relationships were dangerous. For some people, they were lethal.

“That would make the travel easier,” she said, taking a step back. “I appreciate your help. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready to open.”

She retreated behind the bar. The long expanse of wood made her feel a little safer. Sometimes something as simple as a physical barrier helped remind her that she was in control of her life now.

Will quickly finished unpacking the toys. He broke down the boxes, storing them in the largest one, and took them out back to her recycling bin. Then he came back to stand by the bar.

“Thanks for your help,” she began.

“You’re welcome. I was thinking I’d have lunch here.”

He appealed to her. She couldn’t deny that. The man had kind eyes and she long ago learned that kindness was a vastly underrated trait in a person.

“You seem like a perfectly nice man, but the answer is no.”

One eyebrow rose. “You’re assuming a lot.”

“Maybe, but I’m not changing my story.”

He stood there, all tall and friendly. Nice. That was it. Will Falk was a nice guy. He’d helped her and she’d blown him off.

The reasons were legitimate, but he didn’t know that. She sighed.

“It’s not personal,” she said. “I don’t get involved with men.”

“Playing for the other team?”

Despite the uncomfortable situation, Jo smiled. “No. I’m not a lesbian.”

She waited for him to say they didn’t have to get involved. That it could just be sex. In her gut, she knew that kind of offer would tempt her. It had been a long, long time since she’d been with a man.

The door to her bar opened and several women from city hall walked in. They waved at Jo before finding their way to a table by the window. In the next minute, twelve more customers came in, including a couple of guys she didn’t recognize, but who appeared to be from the construction site. They called out to Will, but settled in a booth.

“I can see you’re busy,” Will said. “We’ll pick this up later.”

“There’s no point.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

The door opened again and Ethan Hendrix walked in. He glanced around the bar, then walked over to the table with the construction guys. One of them stood. Before Jo realized what was happening, Ethan drew back his arm and punched the guy in the jaw.

Jo glanced at the clock. It wasn’t even noon yet. Looked like this was going to be a very long day.