“I know. It’s complicated.”
“The best things in life are simple.” Cat stared into her eyes. “Like your love of this town and the lifestyle it gives you. You’re right, I am running all the time. Running to find inspiration. Running because if I stop I don’t know what I’ll find. Running because the going, the back and forth, keeps me from admitting that I’m alone.”
For the first time since meeting Cat ten years ago, Nevada knew the other woman was speaking from the heart.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Cat squeezed her arm. “I’m a world-famous artist who is extremely wealthy. I’ll be fine.”
Nevada smiled, because that was expected. Inside she wondered if Cat had ever been fine or if all the bravado was an act.
“Now,” her friend said, “show me the rest. There must be a town square and I insist on seeing it. Then we’ll go to Starbucks and order a drink that comes with whipped cream.”
Nevada nodded. “That sounds perfect.”
TUCKER HAD ENDURED the incessant whistling for the entire morning. But when Will came back after lunch, still making the noise, Tucker turned on him.
“Enough. You’re happy. We get it.”
Will grinned. “Someone’s not getting any. Too bad. Life is a whole lot nicer when there’s a woman around.”
“Jo?”
Will shrugged. “I’m not the type to kiss and tell.”
“Sure you are. It has to be Jo. Things must be going well.” Not that he begrudged his friend some happiness. If Jo was his type, then good for him. “Just give me a break on the whistling.”
“I’ll do my best.” Will leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on his desk. “I’m starting to really like this town. It’s a nice place to settle down.”
“What would you know about that?”
“More than you. I grew up in one place, at least for the first fifteen years of my life. There were good things about it. Friends.”
Tucker knew enough about Will’s past to guess that the bad had come very close to outweighing anything positive.
“You sure you want to be talking like that after a single weekend with Jo?”
“I’m not making any decisions right now. I’m considering my possibilities.”
“What are the possibilities of you doing work?”
Will laughed and straightened, slamming his boots against the floor of the trailer. “Talk nice to me and they’re pretty decent.”
Tucker went over the timetable for the week. Work-wise, they were right on schedule. With a project this big, there were bound to be delays. They were built into the project costs and projections. His goal was to make sure he didn’t need to use them.
From outside he heard a couple of guys arguing. Before he’d even made it to the door, the sound of a female voice cut through. By the time he got outside, both men were shuffling their feet, looking sheepish.
“I thought so,” Nevada told them. “This isn’t going to happen again, is it?”
The men shook their heads and walked away.
“Want to tell me what happened?” he asked.
Nevada glanced at him. “Nope. All taken care of. That’s why you pay me the big bucks.”
He hadn’t seen her in a few days. Not since Cat had arrived. Or more importantly, not since their wild and satisfying encounter in the trailer.
That she hadn’t wanted to talk about, he realized. Isn’t that what women did? Talk about it after the fact? Endlessly?
“Everything else okay?” he asked, aware there were several guys within earshot.
“Of course.”
“I was gone this weekend. With Josh. We went on a hundred-mile bike ride.” His legs were still protesting the unusual activity. “I probably should have said something.” He cleared his throat. “In case you needed to talk to me about work.”
“Thanks for the news flash.” She seemed amused by his statement. “I stayed in town. With Cat.”
“On purpose?”
“It was fine. She’s different.”
“I’ll say.”
He wanted to tell her that he was over Cat. That she didn’t matter to him, but he still hadn’t been alone with her and couldn’t be completely sure. Even if he was sure, he couldn’t figure out how to get that across in such a public setting. Asking Nevada into the trailer wouldn’t help because Will was in there.
“I’m going back to work now,” she told him.
He nodded and returned to the trailer.
“What was that about?” Will asked.
“Some trouble with a couple of the guys. Nevada handled it.”
“She’s good with the men. They respect her.”
“That’s why I hired her.”
Will snorted.
Tucker narrowed his gaze. “Are you saying there’s another reason?”