Mending the Line

by Christy Hayes

  “Oh, it does, sweetheart. Long, hard, back breaking work.” He jerked his thumb at Ty. “What about him?”

  Ty watched Jill’s head cock to the side as she gave Ty a teasing look out of narrowed brown eyes. His pulse ratcheted up a beat or two. She moved slowly, bracing her hands on the bar and leaning over his plate, too far to feel her breath on his skin, but so close he could see her pupils enlarge. “He smells like the best hot ham and cheese this side of the Rio Grande.”

  Perhaps that was because Ty’s mouth had popped open when she’d come in for a sniff.

  Eddie giggled in a way that Ty would have teased him for if his brain had been firing on all synapses.

  She held Ty with a penetrating gaze before turning toward the door to the kitchen.

  Ty grabbed her arm as she spun and, with a light touch, brought her wrist to his face. “You smell like a field of wildflowers on a cool spring day, the kind of day when you want to take off your shoes, lie back in the grass, and turn your face up to the sun.” Her hand fell limp in his grasp, her eyes widened, and her mouth went slack. He dropped her arm, but not before rubbing his nose along the inside of her wrist one more time.

  She walked backwards toward the kitchen door, her eyes on his until she disappeared.

  “Holy cow!” Eddie snickered. “No bet my ass. This game is on.”

  Ty rubbed his aching belly. That, he thought, just might be true.

  ***

  Jill sat in Tommy’s office staring at the mountain of files that looked the same as when she’d left him that morning. He’d come into The Tap as she was taking off her apron and asked if she was ready to get started. Any job where she could sit was a welcome reprieve after the busy lunch hour.

  Tommy explained his filing system, which basically consisted of different filing cabinets for each business entity, told her how he’d managed the payroll and taxes thus far, and left her to feel her way around.

  “Don’t touch anything you don’t understand,” he’d warned before leaving for the front of the raft shop. “If I’m not here, make a list of questions and ask me later, but please don’t do anything without checking with me first.”

  She discovered that Tommy had a very organized way of keeping his books, but hadn’t made any updates in the ledger in a few days. “I’ve been swamped,” he explained after popping his head into the office to see how she was doing. “This effort to save the ski pass is eating away at my time and I’ve let things slip thinking my summer help was on his way. When he didn’t show…” he motioned to the mess on his desk, “things got a little crazy. I’m not usually this disorganized.”

  “I wouldn’t call you disorganized, Tommy, I’d call you insanely busy. I’ll get you up to speed, and between the two of us, it should be all systems go.”

  “I’d love you forever,” he said and headed back out to man the desk.

  He didn’t need to love her forever, she thought. Only let her figure out her life for the next few months. It felt good to use her brain again, to have a task, or several, to complete. She liked her life organized and everything seemed to move forward when the path was laid out clearly in front of her.

  She felt her face heat at the memory of her behavior at lunch. What had possessed her to lean over Tyler’s plate and tell him he smelled like hot sandwich? Momentary insanity caused by her life being in total upheaval and her hormones waking up from a long season of hibernation was the only plausible explanation. That, and the fact that she’d heard him and Eddie talking about the bet.

  Then he’d turned the tables and made her feet leave the ground with his sweetness. It was all a ploy, and a very well-crafted ploy, because, really, what girl could resist a man describing her smell as a field of wildflowers, especially in the middle of her shift in a bar? Not her, and certainly not after his eyes had held hers captive with his piercing stare. But she wasn’t going to let her guard down for a second. He’d probably felt her pulse flutter in her wrist as he brought it against his lips and thought he won the bet already.

  She mockingly knocked her head on the desk once, twice before giving it a shake and getting back to work. Tommy needed her to concentrate and make some headway before the end of the day. She wasn’t going to do that with thoughts of Ty’s lips on her mind.

  She locked up the office at five thirty and walked around the back of the building where her coup sat waiting. The sound of a muffled curse had her twisting around to the shed Tommy kept in the back. She stifled a gasp at the sight of Ty, wearing an army green pair of convertible quick dry pants and a flannel shirt over a gray t-shirt. She cursed her body for its reaction to him. He seemed to be struggling with the lock on the shed.

  “Can I help you with that?” she asked. She’d considered tiptoeing to her car, but thought better of it now that she was somewhat responsible for the property.

  Ty swung around in surprise. He took off his ball cap, wiped his brow, and replaced it on his head, backwards. “I can’t remember the combination. Tommy gave it to me, I opened it up this morning, and now I can’t remember. I think four hours on the river has wiped my mind clean.”

  And formed a nice v of sweat on his chest where her eyes could focus. “I think I saw it written down somewhere in one of the files. Give me a second and I’ll see if I can find it.”

  “I don’t see his car.” Ty’s eyes scanned the parking lot. “I doubt you can even get in the office right now.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket. “I’ll just give him a quick call.”

  “He’s at a meeting. I’ve got the keys.”

  “You do?” Ty’s long stride matched her gait.

  “I’m helping him in the office this summer.”

  “Is that why you’re still here?”

  “Yep.” He followed her into the small hallway off the main check-in desk. She’d hoped he’d stay outside and let her root through the files without worrying about the fireworks going off in her stomach.

  She turned her back to him and began rooting through the top drawer of a three-drawer filing cabinet. She nearly gasped when she felt him step behind her and peek over her shoulder. It wasn’t hard for him to do considering he had her by four inches. He didn’t smell like hot ham and cheese now, she mused. He smelled like a man, ripe with the scent of work and sweat. She struggled not to drool and lean back into his chest.

  “Here we go,” she said and pulled the file from the drawer. To her surprise, he didn’t step back when she turned around and they bumped chest to chest. When he reached out and put his hands on her hips to steady her, the fireworks in her belly ignited to a full-fledged inferno. She swallowed hard and inched over to set the file on the now empty desk.

  The back of her jeans brushed against the front of his pants when she leaned over to find the numbers. “The storage unit lock combination is 34-25-16.” Her voice sounded funny, but that wasn’t unusual considering the ball of lust in her belly.

  He wrapped his hand around her ponytail and let her hair slide through his fingers. “So soft,” he murmured.

  That was it! She whipped around as he plugged the combination into his phone. When she straightened, she felt like a cornered rat. She absolutely wouldn’t be the butt of someone’s joke, no matter how attractive he was. “Just what kind of game are you playing?” she demanded.

  “Excuse me?” he asked.

  “I may be at a low point in my life right now, but that’s not a good enough reason for you to use me to win some stupid bet with Eddie. Just because you don’t have a girlfriend doesn’t mean I’m going to be your summer fill in.”

  He stepped back, his hands falling to his sides. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then slammed his lips together before muttering, “What?”

  “I know how you summer guides think. You come into town, hook up with any and all willing partners, and then go back home with a bedpost full of notches and a dozen stories to tell of the women who fell at your feet.” She poked him in the chest. “I will not be a notch in your bedp
ost, Tyler Bloodworth, no matter how pretty you talk or how much money is on the line.”

  “There is no bet!” Ty threw his hands in the air. “And I don’t treat the women I’m with as notches in my bedpost. You don’t like me, fine. But don’t like me because of me, not because of some stupid bet that never existed.”

  “Then how come you said what you said about the way I smell? And how come you’re always staring at me?”

  “Because I like the way you look, Jill. I like everything about you, including your prickly attitude.”

  “I don’t have a prickly attitude!”

  His brows shot to the brim of his hat and his eyes widened almost comically. “Oh, really?”

  “Quit twisting my words around.”

  She tried to turn away when he caught her chin in his hand. “What do you mean you’re at a low point in your life?” he asked. “I thought your leg was better.”

  Damn him. For some stupid reason, she’d rather argue with him than endure the concern on his face. “It is.”

  “So what’s wrong?”

  All her bluster disappeared and in its place was an overwhelming sense of sadness. How could he take her from aroused, to pissed off, to close to tears in a matter of seconds? “I quit training. I gave up everything I’ve ever wanted because I thought I didn’t want it anymore. I felt good about my decision for about six hours and now I’m having a bit of a panic attack.”

  “So start training again.”

  “It’s not that simple. I fired my trainer. I’ve got a job now. I feel like I can make a difference here, at least for a little while. Training was starting to feel like chasing my tail.”

  “So spend the summer making a difference and figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life.” He brushed his thumb along her cheek, sending a shiver through her body.

  She huffed out a breath, exhausted from getting everything off her chest, and asked the question that had kept her up at night. “What are you doing back here, Ty? Why didn’t you go to Wyoming?”

  He ran a hand down her arm, but let go before their fingers could meet. “I’ve got things to do here, Jill. Something to finish. Something to prove.”

  His cryptic answer had her shaking her head. “How’s that working out so far?”

  He pursed his lips and a ghost of a smile lit his face. “Not too well, but I’m pretty persistent.” He stepped back, giving her a chance to take her first, full breath since they’d entered the office. He lifted his phone. “Thanks for the combination.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said as he turned his back and left. Crap. She’d just yelled at the only guy who’d piqued her interest in years. And now that she’d been up close and personal with him not once, but twice today, she wanted him more than ever.

  Chapter 15

  Ty stuck the nozzle of the gas pump into his truck, forced to grip the lever by hand when he realized the automatic holder was broken. He slid his sunglasses from around his neck onto his nose, leaned against the body of the truck, and glanced around the town of Hailey.

  He knew the town was the agricultural center of the valley, with its acres of potato farms and cattle ranches. Ty loved the summertime hay-cutting season when the air held the sweetly bitter smell of cut grass, so different from the Kentucky bluegrass smells of home. Tractors worked the land from morning until night. He often thought about the appeal of farming. Working the land with your hands, outside from sunup until sundown, where hard work and the luck of the weather could make or break a year.

  He stood up straight when he spotted Lyle Woodward coming out of the gas station’s food mart with a large drink in his hand and a cocky smile on his face. Ty had him by a few inches in height, but Lyle held the ace of spades: he had a long standing relationship with Jill that Ty was willing to bet included a romantic past.

  “Hey,” Lyle called out as he approached the SUV opposite Ty’s truck. “You’re Jill’s friend, right?”

  “Something like that,” Ty muttered and stuck his free hand out to shake. “Tyler Bloodworth.”

  “Lyle Woodward. Good to meet you.”

  The lever on the gas tank clicked shut and Ty eased the nozzle into the slot on the pump.

  “What brings you out to Hailey?” Lyle asked as he sipped his drink.

  Ty wiped his hands on his jeans. “Headed to Westmoreland for supplies.”

  “I figured a guy like you would be on the water on a day like today.”

  “I will be this afternoon, but I’ve got to make a quick run into town.”

  “You here to catch a wave or catch some fish?”

  “Fish,” Ty answered. “I’m working with Tommy this summer.”

  “Pretty much everyone in the Lower Fork works for Tommy this time of year.” Lyle scratched at his scruffy chin. “Where you from?”

  “North Carolina.”

  “What part?” Lyle asked.

  “Sequoyah Falls, about three hours north of Atlanta.”

  “I used to live in Atlanta,” Lyle said. “What brings you out this way?”

  “The fish,” Ty said. He couldn’t tell if Lyle was making conversation or interrogating him on Jill’s behalf.

  Lyle took another sip and eyed Ty over the lid. “We’ve got over two miles of the Rio Grande on our property. You’re welcome to fish it anytime as long as you give me a heads up before you come out.”

  Ty dipped his chin. An invitation to fish private water wasn’t an offer he’d expected from Lyle. It was an offer he couldn’t refuse. “You serious?”

  “Sure. As long as you don’t mess with the cows, my stepdad won’t care.”

  “I appreciate the offer and I’ll take you up on it the next time I’m free.” Ty dug his phone out of his back pocket. “Can I get your number?”

  Lyle lifted up the corner of his mouth in a grin. “Jill’s got it. I gotta run.” He bolted for the SUV and pulled out of the lot before Ty could respond.

  “Huh,” Ty muttered. “What the hell was that all about?”

  ***

  Jill had just gone over her ledger updates with Tommy and he’d left her to continue when Ty poked his head in the office. “Hey, Jill. Do you have a minute?”

  She swallowed and fought the urge to run her hand over her ponytail. She’d bothered with more makeup than usual this morning, but by now she’d chewed off her lip gloss and probably smeared her mascara. Ty had been in the back of her mind since their office encounter and she’d kept an eye out for him since arriving at the shop. “Sure.” She held out her hand toward the seat in the corner.

  He ignored her invitation to sit and leaned both arms on the desk, his face closer than she was comfortable. She laced her fingers and looked up into his beautiful eyes. “Can I get Lyle’s phone number from you?”

  “Oh.” That was so not what she thought he’d say. She reached for her purse, but dropped her hand when she remembered her mistake. “I, um, accidentally left my phone in the charger at home. I don’t know his number off the top of my head.”

  He pursed his lips at her and then stood up to his full height, pulling his phone from his back pocket. “What’s your number?” he asked.

  She shouldn’t have felt like a swooning teenager who’d been asked that question by the high school quarterback, but she did. She gave him her number and he programmed it into his phone. “There,” he said. “I just texted you my number. When you get home, would you mind texting me his?”

  “No, of course not.” She looked down at the paper in her hands. She shouldn’t ask. It wasn’t any of her business, but… “Why?”

  Ty flashed her a quick grin that had her toes curling in her shoes. He really was too good looking. “He offered to let me fish his stretch of the river. I want to set something up before he forgets.”

  “Lyle won’t forget. His mind’s like a steel trap.” But she did wonder what had possessed him to invite a stranger to fish on Dodge’s land.

  “Where is his place, exactly?” Ty asked.

  �
��About seven miles north of the Dairy Barn, right along the highway the locals call the Rifle Range.”

  “What’s the property like?”

  “It’s beautiful. Over a thousand acres right at the base of the canyons. The river is spectacular, although I’m not sure about the fishing. I don’t think Lyle or his stepdad are big fishermen.”

  “It was a generous offer.” He eyed the desk. “Everything going okay in here?”

  She glanced at the orderly surface. “So far so good. I’m organizing the office. Tommy seems to appreciate my help.”

  “He doesn’t suffer fools, so if you’re still here, you’re helping.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Any more panic attacks?” he asked.

  She felt her cheeks heat. Couldn’t he do what she’d decided to do and forget that embarrassing little incident the other day? “Not so far. I’m trying to take it one day at a time.”

  “Sounds like a good strategy.” He stuffed his phone back in his pocket, but made no attempt to leave. “You know, I was thinking about your issue with what to do after this summer.”

  “You were?”

  “Yeah.” He leaned one hand on the desk and crossed his ankles. “Whenever I have a problem that seems too big to handle, I go fishing. Not with a client, not with anyone, just by myself. I find I breathe easier when I’m doing what I love. I think you should keep running. I’ve seen you run and you get this look on your face that’s like you’re in another zone. The kind of zone that makes the rest of us want to cut off our arms to get there.”

  How did he know that? How could he understand so perfectly that when running felt best, she was lost in the joy of it, her mind comfortably blank, each and every sense alive? “I do?”

  “You do. So whatever you do this summer, don’t lose that love.”

  “I’m trying to find it again,” she confessed. “I miss it.”

  “I know you do. It’s still there, Jill.”

  She nodded at him, perilously close to tears. “I hope so.”

  He studied her, his eyes so full of compassion. Just when she thought she’d drown in the cool depths, the corner of his mouth lifted into a cocky grin. “If you can’t find that zone, let me know and I’ll take you fishing. Something tells me you just might like it.”