“Okay.”
Hailey guessed that was all she was going to get given how upset Lottie was. She’d give her some space and try to talk to her later.
Lottie flung a stick halfway across the backyard. “Fetch.”
The dog only stared at her with his tongue lolling.
“Fetch, Walter.” Lottie said it louder like Walter wasn’t an English speaker.
Walter yawned and scratched behind his ear.
“Fine. I’ll go get it.” Lottie made her way across the yard on lanky legs. As soon as she got to the stick, Walter swept in and grabbed it up in his mouth, then took off with it. “Walter!” Lottie chased the dog around the backyard, stumbling several times from her uncontrollable laughter.
Hailey choked on her own laughter. She didn’t want to intrude any longer on this moment, so she made her way inside and went in search of her guests.
They were in the front yard. She studied the four of them from the front door. Their body language was less tense than it had been when they arrived. The sun showed off Beau’s golden hair, making it look like the man was on fire. How appropriate. He was almost too beautiful to be real. Her body responded to his brightness like a reckless, horny moth with no regard for her own safety.
Good thing she’d inoculated herself against men like him.
Then why are you staring at him like an idiot?
She forced herself to tear her eyes from him. If she didn’t, she’d go blind or spontaneously combust. How would she explain that to her psyche, after all her I’m immune to men like him talk?
Her phone rang, and she fished it out of her pocket. She glanced at the screen and groaned. It was her bar manager, Newt. If he was calling, then it wasn’t good news. “Hello.”
“Hailey, it’s Newt.”
“Good morning. What’s up?” No need to pussyfoot around.
“Every toilet and sink in the place is backed up. It smells like a brick shithouse in here.”
She glanced at her watch. “Call Marty the plumber and see if he can get out there.”
“I already did. He’s at church and doesn’t work on Sundays. He said he’d be here first thing in the morning.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Well, the good news is that we don’t open back up till Tuesday. I hope he can get it cleared by then.”
“Yeah, me too. It’s bad.” Newt wasn’t known for his sunny disposition, but he sounded grimmer than normal.
“Great. Make sure the water’s turned off and get out of there. We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
“Will do. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”
She snorted without humor. “No problem. See ya.”
“See ya.”
A dollar-sign-shaped pit stretched through her stomach. She didn’t have room in her budget for a major plumbing problem. Roger had been right about one thing, damn him. Right now, the bar was a money pit. But she knew she could make it great again. She just needed the right draw—something to put Boon’s Saloon back on the map.
In its heyday the place had been the most popular country and western bar in Texas, rivaling even the world-famous Gilly’s in Houston. She looked at the rising country music star in her front yard. The couple of weekends he’d played at Boon’s when he first arrived had been huge. She hadn’t asked him to perform anymore because she couldn’t afford him and lately he’d had gigs at some of the bigger bars in Austin and Houston on the weekends. Plus, she didn’t like taking advantage of their friendship.
But she wasn’t opposed to using a place to live as leverage to get him to play at the bar.
Her lip went between her teeth. He could be the answer to her prayers, and also her worst nightmare.
She couldn’t let him live in the house, for heaven’s sake—she had a kid. But there was the room above the garage. It wouldn’t be comfortable having him so close, but she had a bar to save.
The sound of little girl laughter came from the backyard. Maybe it wouldn’t be terrible. Walter did make Lottie stupid happy.
Ugh, why did everything she did have to be so freakin’ hard? Couldn’t just one thing be easy? No need to camp on the answer to that question. It was always the same. No. Just look at her life for the last almost ten years.
Who knew a teenage pregnancy would’ve had such far-reaching consequences. Not only had her father rejected her and her baby’s daddy blamed her, but for years she’d been persona non grata in Zachsville. Her life had been like a Lifetime Movie. She wouldn’t have made it through that time if not for her mom and Boon’s.
So, yes, she’d do anything to save the bar. Even live on the same property as Beau Callen.
Chapter Eight
“We better get going.” Luanne disentangled herself from Jack’s embrace. “We’ll see you back at the house, Beau.”
“Why?” Were they not done raking him over the coals?
“Well, I’m assuming you’re not living here, since Hailey and Lottie aren’t moving in with Roger.”
“Oh. That.” He glanced at Jack, whose face was suspiciously neutral.
Luanne laughed. “Yeah, that.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and peered down the street. “I…I don’t know. Hailey said she’d help me find another place to stay that will take Walter.”
“And she already has.” He turned at the sound of Hailey’s voice.
Jack’s expression immediately brightened. “You have? You work fast.”
“It comes with conditions, though.”
“Okay, great.” He had to have space for Walter.
“Don’t you want to know the conditions?”
He shrugged. “I don’t really care what they are. If it’s a place to rent that will let Walter live there, then I’m good.”
Hailey’s cat-like grin gave him a moment of pause. “I’ll tell you anyway. I have a garage apartment. You can live here rent free if you play at Boon’s every weekend until you leave to go on tour.”
“Funny how you didn’t mention the apartment before I had to sleep in the princess bed.” He splayed his fingers across his hip bones. “And if I say no, then I can’t live here? That’s extortion.”
She patted his arm. “Extortion is such an ugly word. I prefer mutually beneficial relationship.”
He sidled closer to her, crowding into her personal space like he knew she hated. “Mutually beneficial usually indicates more pleasurable endeavors.”
Her brows crinkled together. “You probably need to work on that one. It fell flat for me.” She peered at the others in their group. “How about you guys? Thumbs up or thumbs down for that particular come-on line?”
Jack, Gavin, and Luanne all stood with the same expression of amusement and wonder. Then one after the other they pointed their thumbs down.
He huffed a chuckle and stepped back. “Everyone’s a critic.”
“I think performing at Boon’s is a great idea,” Jack said.
Gavin scratched the scruff on his jaw. “We can talk to the house band about backing him up until we find a new bass player and backup singer.”
“Actually, I’ve got a guy in mind for a bass player, but I’ll give the house band drummer a call. I bet he’ll be fine with it. Don’t you think, Hailey?” Jack asked.
The conniving woman smiled like she’d just won the Miss Black-Eyed Pea pageant. “He’ll be great with it. Trust me.”
Beau thought they wouldn’t have much of a chance if they wanted to keep all their fingers, given the crazy glint in Hailey’s eyes. She was practically vibrating with maniacal excitement.
He didn’t mind playing at Boon’s. He’d like to play there if for no other reason than to hassle its owner, but he couldn’t just let her win. What kind of competitor would he be if he did?
He hadn’t missed the goosebumps that popped up on her skin when he’d gotten close to her. She wasn’t entirely immune to him. He moved to her side and picked up a strand of her curly hair. “I think this is a fantastic idea.”
“You
do?” She didn’t move away, but there was a definite tremor in her voice.
The piece of hair he held was soft as silk and smelled like clean ocean air. “This will give us all the time in the world to be together—practically inseparable.” He gave a tiny tug on the strand before he let it sift through his fingers. “I think that sounds amazing.”
She did move away then and pinched her nose. “Dude, morning breath much? You might want to take care of that.”
This woman was hilarious. “I’ll do that.” He’d brushed his teeth when he put on a shirt, but it was a good comeback and accomplished her goal of getting away from him. Point to her.
“I swear, Hailey. You may be the only woman in the free world who isn’t affected by Beau Callen.” Luanne chuckled.
“Yeah, well, he’s pretty to look at and says all the right things, but words are crap without action.”
Interesting. He’d file that little tidbit away for future reference.
Jack clapped his hands together. “Alright. That’s settled then. Beau, we’ll see you tomorrow at the studio.”
He held his hand out to Jack and looked him in the eye. “Thanks, man. For everything.”
His cousin squeezed his hand. “You’re welcome. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
They shared a hug, and Beau said low enough for only Jack to hear, “It’s not a problem. I understand.”
Jack released Beau’s hand and threw his arm around Luanne. “Thanks.”
Everyone said goodbye. Then Beau was standing alone with the most fascinating woman he’d met in a long time. And if the look on her face was any indication, then neither one was happy about it. “So you gonna show me this apartment?”
Hailey’s hand shook as she slid the key into the lock. She hoped Beau didn’t see it. Had she lied about having an apartment? No. Had she exaggerated its functionality? Maybe a little. It was just one big room, and there wasn’t a full kitchen, only a microwave.
The lock turned, and she threw the door open. “Here you go.” The game show host tone was probably too much.
He walked into the apartment and stopped. “What was this place?”
She came in behind him and threw the keys on the counter. “It was Derek’s man cave, or as I like to call it, his slut hut.”
“Care to explain?”
Dust flew into the air when she opened the blinds. “This is where Derek carried on his affair with my next-door neighbor, Ariel.” She unlatched the window and raised it a few inches. “Right under my nose.”
He halted in his inspection of the space. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I wish I were. She installed a gate in her fence that made it super easy for her to pop over here anytime he called. And since the gate and the stairs are in the back of the building, I never saw her coming over. I only caught them together by accident.” She moved to the other window and opened the blinds there too. “He didn’t know I’d stored the Christmas decorations in this closet.” She pointed to one of two doors on the back wall of the room. One Saturday, when he said he’d be in the cave the whole day and night because of college football, I decided to do a little decorating.”
“Uh-oh.”
Her arms went across her chest in case any of the scars on her heart still showed. “Imagine my surprise when I caught him decking her halls instead of watching football.”
“I’m…that’s not right, Hailey.” His usually relaxed face was all hard edges.
Her hair fell into her face, and she flipped it over her shoulder. “Yeah, well… I’m over it now.” Liar. Oh, she was past the betrayal, and she wasn’t in love with Derek anymore, but the you’re not enough message his infidelity sent was still alive and well.
He seemed to sense she didn’t want to talk any more about it because he changed the subject. “Where’s the bathroom?”
She opened the door to a room barely bigger than a closet. “In here.”
He stepped inside, and it was like the space shrank three feet. He glanced at the shower, then back at her. “That’s going to be a tight fit.”
“The shower head is detachable.”
“It is?” He craned his neck to examine the spout. “How?”
“There’s a little lever to release it, there.” She pointed from the doorway.
“Where?”
“Right there.”
“I don’t see it.”
The man was pretty, but not very bright. “Let me show you.” Unfortunately, the room was barely big enough for one person, let alone two. The only way to get to where she could demonstrate how the nozzle worked was to squeeze past him. No big deal. She could do this. “’Scuse me.”
“Sure.”
She turned sideways and inched in front of him. A jolt of awareness ricocheted through her like a lust-fueled pinball machine as soon as their bodies made contact.
Her body begged for more quality time with his pelvis plastered against her butt, while her mind calculated how fast she could get out of the position. A small groan from the man behind her spurred her to step into the stall away from him. “The lever is right here.”
He rested one hand on the wall and leaned in to inspect the lever. “Well look at that.”
“I’m not sure how—” A cold, forceful stream of water shot from the shower head. She screamed and was rewarded with a mouthful of liquid. A spastic cat had nothing on her as she fought to get her hand on the faucet and flip it off.
“At least I don’t have to worry about the water pressure.” He reclined against the sink counter, holding his belly as he laughed like an idiot.
Her hair was a sopping mess and stuck to her face. She shoved it back so she could see her attacker. “Why’d you do that?”
“That—” he mopped his eyes with the sleeve of his t-shirt “—is for making me sleep in the princess bed when there was a perfectly good sofa to sleep on up here.”
“What?”
“You knew you had this apartment last night, and you didn’t say anything about it until you wanted something from me.” He wagged his finger at her. “That’s not very neighborly of you, Ms. Odom.”
“And a surprise shower is?” A darker t-shirt would probably be best in this situation, not the pale pink and completely see-through one she wore. She refused to cross her arms over her chest like a delicate flower.
He shrugged. “It felt right at the time.”
“Shut up and get me a towel. They’re under the sink.” She blinked several times.
“What’s wrong with your eyes?”
“I think one of my contacts got washed away.” She turned and surveyed the shower floor. “Ugh, that was my last pair. Now I’ll have to go buy new ones.”
A flash of guilt skittered across his face. “Here, let me help you.”
He didn’t have to sound so put out. This was his fault, or it would’ve been if she actually wore contacts. She waited until he was on his hands and knees in the stall then flipped on the shower. Of course, it meant she got wetter because she was still in the blast zone, but it was totally worth it.
“What the hell?” He twisted to turn off the spray, but accidentally bumped into her, knocking her feet out from under her.
She screamed and slid down the wall. It’d seemed like a solid plan until she was sprawled in the corner of the shower with him on his hands and knees over her. This wasn’t awkward at all.
They stared at each other for several long seconds like neither could believe they’d gotten into this inelegant and intimate position. All either could do was stare and breathe. Water and electricity didn’t mix, and the current shooting between them was supercharged.
“Hailey.”
“Yeah?”
“You look like a drowned poodle.” He snorted.
She choked on a laugh. And as fast as it had flared, all the sexual tension drained from the small space they occupied. Their combined laughter filled the room. His head went to her shoulder. Her hand went to his back, and their bodies shook with uncontrolled
hilarity.
He pulled back and gazed into her eyes. “Do you even wear contacts?”
Her teeth came down on her bottom lip, and she shook her head.
They cracked up laughing again.
Finally, he crawled to his feet and extended his hand to her. “Well played, Ms. Odom. Well played.”
She rose and retrieved two towels from under the cabinet. “Why, thank you. That means a lot coming from such a worthy adversary.” But he wasn’t her adversary. He was her friend, and only her friend. She’d do well to remember that too.
He had a career to build. She had a bar to save. Not in any universe could those two things be combined.
Once they’d dried off and cleaned up the water in the bathroom, they moved back into the main room. She pointed to a space behind the sofa. “There used to be a bed, but I threw it out after I caught Derek and Ariel together. The couch is comfortable. That should work until you can get a bed. Don’t you think?”
“Sure.”
She tried to see the room through his eyes. She supposed it wasn’t much. Maybe an olive branch to sweeten the pot. “I’ll call the cable company and have them do a reinstall. I had it disconnected after Derek…”
“I’m surprised you didn’t burn the place to the ground.”
She chuckled and squeezed her hair with the towel. “I thought about it, but I needed someplace to put my car.”
He turned in a circle, taking in the small space.
“It has a microwave, and I’ll get you a hot plate so you can cook.” She was back to her game show host voice.
“Thanks.”
“Listen, I know it’s not ideal, but it’s what I can offer you. Take it or leave it.”
He stared at her a long moment then stuck out his hand. “I’ll take it.”
“And playing at the club?”
“I’ll do that too.”
The tension in her muscles that she didn’t know she was holding washed away and left her knees wobbly. “Okay.” She held out her hand. “Welcome to Casa Odom.”
He gave the room the once-over. “Really?”
Running After a Heartbreaker (Brides on the Run #4) Page 6