“And now your feelings for her aren’t much of a secret, either,” he said with another laugh. Then someone called for a shot of tequila and, with a wink, he hurried off.
After that, Amarok wasn’t interested in hanging out at The Moosehead. It was always a good place for law enforcement to be. If there were going to be problems after the sun went down, it was generally at the bar, which was why he dropped in most weekends. Typically, he enjoyed that aspect of his job, despite the number of fights he had to break up, but tonight he couldn’t quit thinking about Evelyn. So he gave up trying to hold out and drove over to her place, just to make sure she was okay.
Once he parked in front of her house, however, he almost changed his mind. On the drive, he’d told himself there wasn’t any reason they couldn’t be friends. She’d soon be living in the area; he might as well accept her, get used to having her around for however long she might stay.
But he wasn’t really interested in friendship, and he knew she couldn’t give him anything else.
“So why are you here again?” he mumbled to himself, but he climbed out of his truck anyway.
She was wearing gray sweats when she came to the door. They weren’t revealing—not by a long shot—and yet he preferred the way the soft cotton hugged her curves to the harsher lines of the business suits she normally wore.
“Apparently you do dress down occasionally,” he said.
A few strands had fallen from the messy bun that held the rest of her hair back. He liked that, too.
She tilted her head back to look up at him. “You’re not suggesting I should’ve worn this to The Moosehead...”
“No.” It was just nice to meet the woman behind the “tough girl” mask she normally showed the world. She was so defensive—she had good reason to be—but it made him want to peel back the layers until he could get through to the soft part she was trying so hard to protect. “How’d it go today?” he asked. “Did you manage to find someone to stand guard over at HH?”
“I have a couple of possibilities, but I didn’t want to hire anyone without getting your opinion first, since you probably know both men.”
He found it oddly gratifying that his opinion mattered to her. “Did you call me?” He couldn’t imagine she had. Since there was no cell service in Hilltop, he didn’t own a smart phone. But until he’d left for The Moosehead, he’d checked the voicemail connected to his land line after every time he went out, just in case. There’d been no word from her.
“No. I got caught up in some psych evals I had to do, and by the time I finished, I was afraid it was too late. I blew your Friday night; I didn’t want to ruin your fun on Saturday, too.” She gave him a sheepish grin. “Since you’re here, however, do you have a minute to come in?”
“Sure.”
When she stood back to admit him, he was careful not to touch her as he brushed past, but that wasn’t because he didn’t want to. He was determined to give her plenty of space. He felt it was important that she come to him—like she had last night.
He just wasn’t sure she ever would...
“So who responded to your ad?” he asked. “Who do we have to choose from?”
“Jayden Willoughby.”
He’d been crossing her living room, but at this he pivoted to face her. “Jayden hasn’t even graduated from high school yet.”
“True. He’ll be a senior. But he’s got two weeks before school starts, and he said he could come out on nights and weekends if I need him longer. The construction crew is there the rest of the time, so that could work.”
He did nothing to hide his skepticism. “Is he even eighteen?”
She gestured for him to sit down. “Yes. Had his birthday in June.”
“And option number two?” he said as he dropped onto her couch.
“Mason Thornton.”
Amarok remained seated but shoved himself forward. “He’s an alcoholic!”
“I could tell by the way his hands were shaking. He also volunteered that information, which I respect. He said he’s trying to sober up, so I thought giving him some work might help.”
She was considering someone who had such an obvious problem? Amarok shook his head.
“What?” she said.
“You are so much kinder than you seem.”
“Yeah, well, don’t tell anyone. It’ll ruin my image.” She gestured toward the kitchen. “Would you like a drink?”
“What do you have?”
“Not a lot. Actually, nothing, except milk or water.”
He made a face to let her know he wasn’t impressed with the selection, and she laughed. “Sorry, I haven’t really stocked my fridge or my cupboards, since I won’t be here on a permanent basis for another month.”
“So what have you eaten today?”
“I had some canned soup earlier.”
“What else?”
She shrugged. “A few crackers?”
“That’s it?”
“Like I said, I don’t have a lot in my cupboards, and once I took off my makeup and washed my face, I wasn’t about to drive to town. If you’re thirsty, water should work.”
He got to his feet and pulled out his keys.
“You’re leaving?” she said.