Too Hot to Handle (13 page)

“Hi yourself. I’m Walker. I’ve been meaning to introduce myself.” He took her hand in a firm grip and tipped his hat with the other. “I just rented a place upstairs.”

“Oh, welcome to the Stud Farm.” Rayleen certainly had damn good taste. Walker’s broad shoulders loomed so far above her that Merry felt a little woozy.

“Thanks. Are you Grace?”

“Sorry, no. I’m Merry. I’m staying with Grace for a while.”

“Ah. I thought you looked a little softer than the description Rayleen gave.”

“Oh, I’m definitely softer by about thirty pounds.”

“Yeah?” His eyes swept down her body. “Nothing wrong with that, Miss Merry.”

“No?” Merry found herself giggling, and couldn’t believe she’d actually managed to flirt with this adorable man. She hadn’t mentioned
Star Wars,
historical societies or her two-year drought. Amazing. “That’s good to know.”

“Well, tell Grace to take it easy on me when we meet. I’m moving the rest of my stuff in this weekend, so I’ll be sure to see you around, all right?”

“That’s definitely all right,” she said just as Shane opened his door. His eyes caught hers for a moment, and then he tossed Walker a quick frown before stepping forward to shake his hand.

“Walker,” Shane said. “You all moved in?”

Merry left them with a wave, but she could’ve sworn she felt Shane’s eyes on her as she left. Wishful thinking, probably, but as she strolled down the sidewalk, she had a bounce in her step that had nothing to do with the beautiful evening.

The Jackson Museum was almost a mile away, but at this time of night there were so many tourists out looking for dinner that it was almost quicker to walk than drive. Plus, she loved the town. The wooden walkways and Old West charm had completely seduced her with her very first glimpse.

She loved it even more now, because whenever she walked through the town square with its strange arches made of thousands of elk antlers, she thought to herself
I live here
.
I actually live here
. Jackson felt like hers, in the same way Providence felt like hers. A silly feeling, though. She was only a subrenter in both places. But hell, what did she care? It was a beautiful night, Merry was on her way to her favorite kind of party, and a really cute guy had flirted with her. Oh, and she’d been upgraded to possible friend with benefits. Life could be worse. In fact, it had been just a few weeks before.

So Merry breezed into the Jackson Museum with a big smile and a hopeful outlook. It didn’t last long.

“I’m still not convinced he didn’t do it,” Kristen Bishop said with a sigh that made clear she’d been suffering. “I feel so vulnerable out there all by myself.”

“I never said he didn’t do it,” Jeanine snapped. “And if you’re so terrified out there, just sell the house and move to town. It was always a bit too much for you to care for, anyway.”

Kristen forgot her suffering pout and stood straight in outrage. “I’ve always loved the house, and I’ve always taken good care of it.”

“I’d hardly call five years ‘always.’”

Merry had hoped to edge past Mrs. Bishops numbers two and three, but Jeanine looked up and caught her eye. “I had the most upsetting encounter,” she said. “I ran into Gideon’s grandson coming out of the office of that awful lawyer, and he was so nasty to me. And ungrateful. If he were my grandson, I’d have made sure he had manners.”

“I’m sorry,” Merry said. “Did he mention the lawsuit?”

“Not per se. But he did say he knew we’d hired a curator. I’m not surprised. This is a small town and he probably knew the moment we hired you, but it does confirm the possibility that he vandalized that mailbox in retaliation.”

Merry’s stomach turned with guilt. She couldn’t shift the blame to that young man, whoever he was. “If there haven’t been any other instances, I’m sure it was nothing. Heck, maybe it just fell over. Maybe the, uh, gophers got at it or something.”

Gophers and their damned reckless driving.

Merry smiled. “So has Levi talked to you about maybe releasing more funds for—”

“Oh, honey, I’m too upset to talk shop tonight. Maybe at the next meeting.”

Kristen nodded frantically. “I’m too upset, as well. This has all been so much to handle only months after my husband’s death.”

Jeanine shot her rival a look that could have frozen water, but Merry just pointed her smile at the two women. “Would it be possible to call an earlier meeting? I’d really love to show all of you the brochure I’ve come up with.”

“Oh, an emergency meeting?” Kristen gasped. “I’m sure those should only be called in the case of an actual emergency. For example, if something more happens out at the house. What a nightmare this has all been.”

Merry was starting to feel a little less guilty about the damned mailbox.

She escaped the orbit of self-absorbed pity and made her way toward a woman she recognized as a guide at the museum, then discovered an elderly man who was a descendant of the Smiths, one of the founding families of Providence. Merry quickly forgot her frustrations and settled into a chair in the corner of the room to listen to Wilfred Smith tell his oral history.

An hour later, Merry had regained all her enthusiasm for Providence, and she’d found new determination that had nothing to do with her own personal goals. Providence had meant something once. It had been important to people, and she wanted it to be important again.

By the end of the evening, she had a plan.

* * *

C
OME
TO
THE
SALOON
.

Well, it was Friday night, and she was wearing dangly earrings, so Merry obeyed the note Grace had taped to their door and headed to the saloon. Now she could get her fix of olden days’ stories
and
still tell herself she was young and hip. Or as young and hip as one could get at a saloon.

Perfect.

The place was packed when she walked in, but she spotted Grace over in Rayleen’s designated corner of the bar and worked her way through the crowd.

“Hey, you made it!” Grace cried. She was obviously already tipsy. “How was your museum thing?”

“Fascinating!”

“Good. Have a drink. Jenny’s making us some sort of special martinis.” She pointed to the bar and Merry turned to see Jenny holding out a pink martini.

“Thank you!” she shouted as she took the drink. With one tiny sip she gave Jenny an enthusiastic thumbs-up. The martini was delicious and had just enough sweetness to mask the fact that they were nearly pure alcohol. No wonder Grace was in such a good mood.

“Have you met Walker yet?” Grace said over the music.

Merry turned to find that Walker was standing on the other side of Rayleen’s chair, a delicate pink martini in his big hand. “Howdy,” he said with a wink.

“We met earlier,” she said, “but I don’t mind running into him again.”

He took her offered hand and turned it up to kiss her knuckles. “Good to hear, Miss Merry.”

Grace raised her chin even as the edges of her mouth lowered. “And Shane’s here.” She left off the last word of that sentence, which was obviously supposed to be
unfortunately
.

Shane was frowning even harder than Grace, his eyes on the way Walker still held Merry’s hand.

But screw Shane. She couldn’t be a buddy to every man just because she was a buddy to him. If Walker thought she was nice and soft and worthy of flirtation, she was going to enjoy the hell out of it. Heck, maybe after a martini or three, she’d take it even further. He was hot as hell, and somehow didn’t make her feel nervous the way Shane did. She felt more in control with Walker. More confident. Like she could be friends with benefits and it’d be no big deal. No pressure. No awkward hurt she’d have to hide.

“Hey, Christmas!” Rayleen said. “Get your hands off the real tenants. I ain’t running a community exchange program.”

Walker finally let her go then bent down to give Rayleen a kiss on the cheek. “Come on, Rayleen. You know you’re my gal.”

“Jesus Christ and cheese and crackers,” Rayleen snarled, but her cheeks went as pink as the martini. “You’re the most ridiculous man I’ve ever met. I bet there’s naked photos of you on the internets.”

Walker made a strange choking sound and his hands jerked away from Rayleen’s shoulders.

The old woman’s face brightened and she hooted. “There are, aren’t there?”

“No!” he said emphatically.

“Young man, did you send out some of them cock shots to your lady friends?”

He shook his head, his cheeks heating as Merry pressed a hand to her mouth to hide her hysterical giggles. She couldn’t tell if he was horrified to hear this seventy-year-old lady talk about cock shots or if he was mortified because he’d done exactly what she’d accused him of.

“Hoo boy,” Rayleen crowed. “I’m going to do an image search as soon as I get home tonight. Get a better feel for my new tenant.”

His wide eyes caught Merry’s. “I swear it’s not true.”

“I believe you,” she said, but she’d do a quick search herself. She could see the tiniest glimmer of doubt in his eyes, as if he couldn’t quite remember if a lover had ever snapped a nude pic of him. Poor guy. Merry had better check just so she could reassure him.

She and Grace grinned at each other. “Where’s your man?” Merry asked.

“Working late. He’ll be here soon. You’re coming out on Sunday, right?”

“I am. I love Cole’s house. It’s so cute.” Cole lived in the ranch manager’s house, set just a little apart from the “big house” on the Easy Creek Ranch. Cole owned the ranch now, but he seemed more than happy with keeping the old arrangement with Easy, who was like a father to him.

Merry edged a little closer to her friend. “Are you thinking about moving? You sure spend a lot of nights out there.”

Grace shook her head. “You just want my place.”

“Well, the views get better every day.”

“Yeah.” They both took a moment to stare at the latest big hunk of manflesh to move in. When her gaze swept over to find Shane glaring at her from his post against the wall, she raised her drink and sipped from it. He took a long draw from his beer and turned away.

“But seriously,” she said softly to Grace, “things seem really good with Cole.”

Her words prompted a soft, secret smile that she’d never seen on Grace’s face, and Merry’s heart melted. Grace deserved this. After the life she’d had, she deserved everything. Merry grabbed her in a quick hug. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered in her ear. “And only the tiniest bit jealous.”

“You’ll meet a great guy one day,” Grace said. “Soon.”

“A guy like Walker?”

“Oh, God, no. He’s a little too much fun.”

“But good for scratching an itch, maybe.”

“No,” Grace said flatly.

“Jeez! I guess I never needed a dad, after all. I expect to find you standing in the door with a shotgun the next time I come home from a date.”

“What date?” Grace growled.

“Seriously, Grace! I just want to get laid!”

Of course, the jukebox took that moment to switch songs. And of course, Merry had shouted that way too loudly. Not loudly enough for the whole bar to hear, but if the wide eyes of Shane and Walker were any indication, her words had easily reached their ears.

Rayleen howled. “Girl, you just hung out the blinking Christmas lights! Merry, merry! Taking all volunteers!”

“Oh, God,” she groaned, forcing herself not to cover her face and crouch on the floor. Instead she turned around and downed her drink. Jenny was right there with another.

“Seems like you might need this,” she said with a wink.

“Oh, God,” Merry repeated.

Jenny smiled. “That Walker seems like a tall drink of water. Why don’t you take him home for a ride?”

She shook her head.

“Seriously. He looks…
big
.”

Merry finally found the will to smile. And then laugh. “You’re awful.”

“No, I’m not. I’m a bartender. I hear things. Important things.”

“Stop it! I don’t want to know this!”

“Sure you do. Knowledge is power. The power to get it on.”

Merry nearly collapsed in giggles, but then she sobered just the tiniest bit. That was probably the wrong word, though, because she’d never get the nerve to ask her next question sober. She leaned closer to Jenny. “What do you hear about Shane?”

“Shane Harcourt?” Her eyes focused past Merry’s shoulder and she cocked her head. “There’s not a lot of gossip about him, actually. No long-term relationships that I’ve ever known. He dates around a little, but he doesn’t troll the bar every weekend or anything. I think he was seeing Paulette Jameson after her divorce. That was a while ago.”

So Grace was right. Shane was a tough guy to read. Even Jenny didn’t know much about him.

Merry looked over to see him talking to Walker and a petite blonde who’d wandered over at some point. She had no reason to think the girl was anything but perfectly nice, but Merry still wanted to snatch her hair off. She was everything Merry wasn’t. Petite and tan and perfectly made up to accent her big blue eyes and high cheekbones.

Fucking cheekbones. Merry had cheekbones, too, if she held her head at just the right angle in perfect lighting.

And Shane was doing his charming thing again, offering an easy smile and eyes that practically twinkled. He’d tried that on her a couple of times, but he didn’t bother with it anymore. People didn’t twinkle for buddies, after all. But that blonde girl, he wanted to be smooth for.

And why not? The girl was pretty. Shane was gorgeous. They were a lovely contrast to each other. A perfect pair. All Merry could do was sip her drink and hope he didn’t want to tell her all about it later.

For a moment, she wished she was back at the museum party, chatting up old men about their families. At least she’d felt adequate there. But then Grace made a joke about blow jobs and Rayleen chimed in with a helpful tip, and Merry was laughing so hard, she felt like a fool for even considering being sad.

She had good friends, and a happy place here in Jackson, and she could be satisfied with that even if she never had sex again.