“Naw. But since I’m here, Gillian, did you want to settle up your bill? You’re leaving today, right?”
Gillian gulped. “Actually, I—”
“Yes, she’s checking out.” Quint wiped his mouth with his napkin. “How much does she owe you?”
Ruby crossed her arms over her chest. A smug smiled turned up the corners of her mouth. “Just the keys. She paid up in advance.”
“She’ll get you those keys as soon as she gets back and packed up. Right, Gillian?”
“I guess so.” She narrowed her eyes at Quint.
Ruby walked off with a little more bounce in her step.
“Mind telling me what that was all about?” Gillian tried to cross her arms over her chest, but the bulky cast made it next to impossible as she tucked and untucked her arms several times before giving up and settled her hands in her lap.
Quint fought hard not to laugh. He cleared his throat and said, “No point in you staying up at the motel, seeing how your budget just got tighter.”
She batted her eyelashes at him. “And Heidi and I are gonna do what? Sleep in my car?”
“Nope. You’re moving in to my place.”
“I beg your pardon?” Gillian shook her head, blinked her eyes, but the room didn’t morph into some kind of weird dream. Quint still sat with his hands folded on the tabletop. No smile tipped up his full luscious lips. No jest crinkled his slate gray eyes at the corners.
“We can’t stay with you.” The temptation alone would drive Gillian insane.
He eyed her for a long moment. “As enticing as that sounds, I didn’t say with me.”
Heat ran through her cheeks. “Oh. I, uh. Okay.”
“I said ‘my place’. I have a house in town. It’s sat empty for over a year now. You’d actually be doing me a favor.”
Is that what the spider said to the fly before it got stuck in the web? You’ll actually be doing me a favor. Testing out the strengths of the strands. She shook her head. “Yeah, I don’t know. I appreciate it but—”
Quint held up his hand and stopped her. “It’s furnished. Sort of. I keep the water and electricity on.” He leaned toward her. “You never know when a stray Walters will come to town.”
“I wouldn’t want to take up something your family—”
“Nonsense.” Quint eased back into his seat. “Why pay for a motel room while you try to decide what you’re doing? I know money has to be a little tight right now. And like I said, you’d be doing me a favor. Having it occupied will cut down the chances of someone cleaning me out.”
Like the chances of that happening were anywhere over nil.
He picked up his cup and finished off the remaining iced tea. “But if you really don’t want to, I’m sure Ruby can extend your billing.” Quint stood to go.
“We’ll take it.”
Chapter Six
“What are you doing?” Zan handed Quint her two year old. “Two people in the diner heard you offer the Harwoods use of your house. Is that a good idea?”
He kissed the top of the little girl’s head and tickled her belly. Why did he have to have this conversation? “I’m being neighborly.”
“She’s not a neighbor. We don’t know anything about her.”
“Zan.” Quint settled the child on his shoulders and followed his aunt across the back yard to the corral where Jacob was gentling the new colt. “When did you get so…”
She turned and stared at him. “So…what?”
“I’d choose your words carefully,” Jacob warned. “Your aunt is a little persnickety today. She failed her last test.”
“I didn’t fail. I got a B. Shoulda been an A,” Zan mumbled. She set her five-year-old up on the fence. “Watch Daddy, sweetie.” She ran a hand through her short spiky hair. “You haven’t so much as whispered in the direction of any of the women in this town for anything other than a free meal here and there. Gillian Harwood shows up with a teenage daughter in tow and you can’t get within two feet of her without something catastrophic happening and giving folks stuff to talk about.”
“I didn’t break her wrist on purpose. It was an accident. That incidentally probably saved her life had she stayed down in the culvert.” For the hundredth time, his stomach rolled at the thought.
Zan shook her head. “And she didn’t run over you on purpose either, but she still hit you with her car.”
“Almost.”
She grabbed her daughter around the waist and righted her on the fence. “What’s next? One of y’all gonna end up in traction?”
“Funny.” Quint snuggled up next to the toddler. “Your mom is quite the comedienne.”
“Momma funny.” The two-year-old clapped her hands together.
Zan huffed. “Don’t you get my daughter involved in this.”
“Told you,” Jacob hollered from the corral. “Persnickety.”
Zan stuck her tongue out at her husband. “Why your house though?”
“She lost her job, Zan, because I broke her wrist. No job, no money. No money, no way to pay rent.” He lifted his head up to the cloudy sky. The rain had stopped but the humidity hung heavy in the air still. “As long as I am staying out here at the ranch the house is sitting empty.”
“Which is why you should sell it,” she said so low he suspected it wasn’t for his ears.
“You find me a buyer in the town and I’ll happily sell it.”
Zan had the decency to blush.
“I might as well let her use it. It’s the least I can do until she can find some way to make a living with her wrist all jacked up. Worse case, she’s in the house until the cast comes off and she can get back to her massage thingies.” His mind flashed to those capable hands—not that he had any right to think about her that way. Not to mention why he’d want a virtual stranger to hang around for as long as possible. Zan might be right. He didn’t really have any business giving this woman run of his home in town. But when you injure someone and wreck their immediate future, it puts you in an obligatory state you can’t quiet explain.
“As long as you know what you’re doing.”
Quint eyed his aunt for a long moment. “I’m not doing anything.”
She smiled. “But being neighborly.”
“Exactly.”
“Wow. This is the biggest house we’ve ever lived in.” Heidi set her backpack on the kitchen table while she still hugged her bear.
The three bedroom, two bath house was at least twice as big as anything the two had had in over five years. “This is temporary. Remember.” Gillian could get too comfortable in this house. Something she and her daughter could not afford to do. Anywhere.
Heidi ran off down the hall. “Found my room.”
Gillian went in search of the teen. She was in the first room off the hall. Decorated in warm colors and dark wooden furniture, it was a little masculine for the teen, but four walls and a door was something she hadn’t had all to herself in some time. Again, guilt washed over Gillian. When Heidi grew into an adult, would she be able to understand all the trials they’d gone through, or would she resent her mother for the untraditional years of living they had?
At the moment, the smile on Heidi’s face was enough to give Gillian hope her daughter would be okay. “Good choice.”
The room tilted. “Whoa.” She settled her hand on the doorframe to keep from swaying. The ever present ringing in her ears since her fall grew. Nausea rolled through her and sweat beaded up forehead despite the chills.
Heidi frowned. “You okay?”
“I’m fine, hon. The meds the doctor gave me just make me a little woozy at times.”
The teen took Gillian by the elbow and walked her a few paces down the hall to the other two bedrooms. “Which one’s it gonna to be?”
Gillian pressed her back against the wall. “Give me a minute.”
“Mom, I think you need to go lie down for a bit.” She rubbed Gillian’s shoulder. “You need to a pick a room or I will pick one for you.”
; She smiled at her daughter. “Since when did you become the mom?”
Heidi stood and wrapped an arm around her mother. “When you turned green.” She guided her mother into the master bedroom and over to the huge sleigh bed. “Why would a single dude have something like this and live in that small shack like he does?”
“He doesn’t live in a shack.”
Heidi scrunched up her face and tilted her head to the side.
“Okay, a little bit of a shack. But I’m sure it’s so he can be close to the ranch and the horses and—” she waved her left hand, “—and stuff.”
“Still…”
The room tilted again. “Whoa.”
“Into the bed and lie back.” Heidi helped Gillian crawl under the covers. “I’m going to go get you a drink. Then you’re gonna nap. No arguments. Got it?”
“It’s barely seven o’clock.”
“Mom. Bed. Now.”
Gillian pulled the blanket up to her chin. “Yes, ma’am.”
Quint knocked on the front door. Of his own home. It was odd not to walk right on in.
“Hey, Quint.” Heidi popped a huge bubble of gum after she opened the door. “Mom’s in bed.”
He pulled his pocket watch out and glanced at the time. The sun hadn’t even started to go down yet. “Is she okay? Should I get the doctor?”
“Naw.” She shook her head and talked around another huge bubble. When it popped and covered her mouth and nose, she removed the pink gum from her mouth to pull it loose and said, “The meds are just whacking her out a bit. She turned three shades of green and wobbled back and forth.” Heidi snorted and sounded just like her mother.
“Maybe I should…” He motioned back to his truck. The last thing he wanted to do was become a nuisance.
Ryder bounded up the porch steps, a couple of other kids followed in his wake. “Hey, Quint.” He tucked his hands into his pockets. “Hey, Heidi, we’re all going over to Steven Jensen’s house. We’re having an X-Men movie marathon.”
She glanced at Quint, her eyebrows raised in question. He leaned forward and whispered, “Lives a block over.”
“Gotcha, thanks.” She turned back to Ryder. “I don’t know.” Her shoulders slumped and the smiled slid from her face. “I should prolly stay with my mom.”
“I could stay for a while.” Quint volleyed his gaze between the teens. “I don’t have plans tonight. And I’m sure you’d rather see Wolverine rather than babysit your mom.”
Wide smiles spread across both teens’ faces.
“Super.” She shoved a glass of water in his hand. “Tell her for me, will ya?” Heidi, Ryder and the other two teens were down the porch stairs and halfway to the Jensens’ before he realized what he’d just offered to do.
Why did the sudden need to run skitter through every inch of his body?
Condensation from the water glass ran down his fingers as the cool, air-conditioned air feathered over his face. “Wasn’t born in a barn, boy.”
Quint closed the door and headed toward the back of the house. He peeked into one room then another until he found Gillian in his bed. All tucked up like a sick child. But she wasn’t a child. She was a woman, all woman, with curves in the right places and one hell of an ability to kiss.
Why looking at her in his bed made him uncomfortable…he wasn’t ready to examine where his thoughts headed. He’d traded places with Heidi as nursemaid. Not some letch getting an eyeful whether she knew he was watching or not. As she slept. In his bed.
He was never more thankful for hanging on to the house rather than putting it on the market. Affording the pint-sized pixie a place to stay, his decision was one of the best he’d made in a very long time. When Jacob had started his own ranch, Quint had moved into the small, foreman’s cabin to stay close for when he was needed. He hadn’t seen any reason to move all his furniture out—not that it would have fit in the close quarters.
Especially the large sleigh bed. With one beautiful woman bundled up under the covers.
His groin tightened. Maybe he was a letch. Regardless, he had a duty to his patient.
Focus, man. He pushed through the bedroom door. “Knock-knock.”
“Heidi, I must be hallucinating.” Gillian kept her eyes shut and tugged the blanket up. “I’d swear I heard Quint’s voice.”
He chuckled. “Is that a good thing or bad?”
A lush smile crept up at the corners of her pink mouth. “Mmm, very good.”
Heat crawled up his spine and spread low in his abdomen. He was in a perpetual state of arousal when he was near her. “I’m glad you think so.”
“Hmm?” Gillian propped open one eye and peered up at Quint. “W-what are you doing here?”
“Playing nursemaid.” He handed her the glass of water, then took it back and set it on the nightstand. “Let me help you.” He tried not to think of the little zip of electricity that shot up his arm as he helped her sit upright and handed her the water again. “Drink it all.”
“Yes, sir.” She finished the drink in one long swallow and handed him the empty glass. “All done.” She swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand then fussed with her matted hair. The blanket pooled at her waist revealing a light-colored T-shirt. It was cockeyed and tight across her chest.
He tried not to audibly gulp and distracted himself by sliding the fat club chair over to the side of the bed. “How’s the arm?”
“Still attached. A little achy. A lot of annoying.” Her words slurred slightly. “Those are some powerful meds.”
Quint smiled. “They cause hallucinations and everything.”
Gillian laughed quietly and burrowed back under the covers. He reached out toward her and arranged a couple of pillows under her cast to cushion it. “Comfy?”
“Mmm.” Her eyes slid shut.
If she moaned one more time, Quint might come undone. He’d broken the woman’s wrist and not only had she not railed at him, she’d thank him for not leaving her.
He frowned. Such an odd thing to say but under stress and duress there was no telling what flashed through people’s minds.
“You still here?”
Quint shifted in the chair. “Yeah.”
She yawned. “You, Quint Walters, are a good guy.” Her voice weakened. “Can you promise me something?”
“What’s that?”
“Promise me you’ll keep Heidi…”
With his elbows on his knees he leaned closer to the bed. “Keep Heidi what?”
“Hmm?” Gillian snuggled on the pillow. “Keep her safe.”
He blinked several times. Strange request. His instant reaction was to run like hell and stay as far away from Gillian and her daughter. But his rational brain kicked in. She wasn’t asking him to become a father. Was she? “Safe from what?”
“If anything happens to me. We have no one else.”
His chest tightened. Sure sounded like impending father-dom. What did he know of her? Did she have some fatal disease? He couldn’t wrap his mind around that. She and her daughter seemed to be “hiding”. Maybe there was some real boogey-man out there they were avoiding. “Are you expecting trouble?”
Gillian didn’t answer him. Deep, even breaths lifted her shoulder as she slept on her side.
Quint sat staring at Gillian for a couple of hours. So many questions bombarded his every waking thought. Twice he’d deliberately bumped the bed and tried to rouse her, but she was out. The night crept in before she finally stirred. Her cast clunked on the headboard when she stretched.
She turned her face to him and her eyes fluttered open. “Oh.” She laughed quickly. “I thought I had dreamt you up.”
“Nope.”
“I had a weird dream with you in it so I wasn’t sure.”
His eyebrows rose. “Really? What were we doing in this dream of yours?”
“Nothing like that.” She smiled over at him. “You have a dirty mind. We were square dancing.”
“I can honestly say I have never been square dancing in my l
ife.” He chuckled. “So you were definitely dreaming.”
She rubbed the tip of her nose. “I hope I didn’t snore or talk in my sleep.”
“You did talk a little.”
A red tint darkened her cheeks. “Nothing embarrassing, I hope?”
Quint debated asking her about what she said, but more than likely it was sleep-talk. After falling into the culvert, breaking her arm and losing her job all sorts of insecurities could be plaguing her. “Naw.”
“Have you been sitting watching me sleep the entire time? I think that’s taking nursemaid duties a little far.”
He snagged a magazine from the floor and held it up. “I caught up on my—” he flipped the magazine around and held in a grimace when he saw the cover, “—teen fashion.”
Gillian’s eyebrows rose and she nodded. “Gotcha.”
“I have a proposition for you.” He cleared his throat as a zip of electricity ran up his spine. “For Heidi really.”
Her eyes widened slightly before she narrowed them at him “Go on.”
“I, we, Jacob has been needing some help out at the ranch and I thought Heidi might be perfect for it.”
“A job?” Gillian sat up quickly in the bed. “You want to give my daughter a job?”
“Sure, why not?” Quint leaned back in the chair and set his left ankle on his right knee. He toyed with the edge of his jeans.
“She’s never held a job before.”
“It’s not like I’m asking her to do my taxes. It’s mucking the stalls and feeding the animals on Jacob’s ranch. He boards several horses along with his own livestock. He always needs an extra hand around.” He shrugged. “Ever since she went riding with Ryder the other day, I’ve been thinking about it. She had a blast out on the ranch. It would give her something to do. Keep her occupied.”
He hazarded a glance up. Gillian had a crocked smile. “And her thoughts less occupied with a certain teenage boy.”
Quint fought his own smile and waved. “A minor added bonus, though he works on the ranch too. But at the very least there’d been a couple more eyes on them at all times.”
A blush colored her pale cheeks. “You’re a sweet man.”
Wrong Turn, Right Cowboy: Paintbrush, Book 2 Page 7