Oh, he was a funny one. She barely repressed her grin. “What is it you do?”
He hitched his chin back toward Worth. “Classic cars.”
“You fix them up or something?”
“Or something.”
Ha! He was playing her own game against her. “So, Hunter Osborn, do you live here in Triple Creek?” It was such a small town, she felt sure she would have seen or heard something about him already. A man like him didn’t blend in easily.
“Actually, I live out a ways, forty minutes north.”
No way. It took a second for her brain to absorb that. Tilting her head, she asked, “Where it’s more remote?”
“Nothing but me, the foothills and one of the three creeks that gave the town its name.” His dark blue eyes took her measure and his brows crowded together. “What’s wrong? You look thunderstruck.”
Because she was. “How much land do you have?”
“Now who’s digging?”
Giving a theatrical wince, she said, “Sorry, I’m just surprised. There’s only like two places out there, right? I was told each had something like twenty or thirty acres, with five acres between them.”
“There’s one house,” he corrected. “Mine. The other is a dump that’ll eventually fall down.”
“Well, I hope not.”
This time his brows lifted. “Why not?”
“Because I’ll be living there.”
* * *
SON OF A BITCH. Hunter was so pissed that by the time he returned to Worth he wasn’t in the mood for diplomacy. “Are you paying me or not? If not, say so now so I can quit wasting my time. I have places to go.” Like home, before Jodi Bentley started moving in!
“Looks like the girl put you in a shit mood.”
“She’s a woman, not a girl, and the mood is all on you.” Liar...but then, the rest wasn’t any of Worth’s business. Not that he wouldn’t know soon enough. Worth kept up on all the gossip, and always knew everyone in and around the town. “Now, pay up.”
“This ain’t right, damn it.”
Hunter rarely threw around his size and strength, but at the moment, he used what would be most expedient. Stepping into Worth’s space, he growled, “You have ten seconds to give me the entirety of my money, and like Jodi, I have a contract. So what’s it to be?”
“That girl is a bad influence,” Worth grumbled as he grudgingly dug out his wallet yet again. “Mark my words—I’ll have her run out of town by the end of the day.”
“Yeah, good luck with that.” The girl had made mincemeat of Worth. Worse, she’d apparently settled in and planned to stay.
Who was she and what was she up to? And why the hell was she buying a shack that probably wasn’t livable? At least, it didn’t look livable. The one time he’d investigated the property, critters had scuttled under the collapsing front porch and along the roofline. He hadn’t been inside the place, but from the outside... Hunter scowled.
The main body of the small house was stone, and from what he remembered, that was largely intact, minus some crumbling mortar. A few windows were broken and boarded up. The eaves were rotted in places, one side with gutters swinging loose. The last winter storm had torn away pieces of aluminum siding from the addition, which Hunter thought had served as a sunroom.
Was there working plumbing? He didn’t know.
The house had already been empty when he moved to Triple Creek eighteen months ago, and empty it had stayed. Off the more-traveled, blacktop road, a narrow dirt lane led to his property. The place she’d bought was beyond that, so he had no reason to drive by it, and oftentimes, when the spring and summer foliage was thick, he could barely see it.
By foot, he supposed it could be more directly accessible from the main road, but that’d mean cutting through brush and trees and rocky terrain.
He could ask Worth about the place, about whether or not it was habitable...but damn it, that felt disloyal, so instead, he snatched up his money and then went about finishing his business.
Worth followed as he unloaded the car. “What did she say to you?”
“If you had questions for her, you should have asked her instead of running her off.” Edgy for reasons that didn’t make any sense, Hunter added, “And if your car ever needs work again, you’ll pay up front or find someone else to do it.”
“You know there isn’t anyone else around here! Why the hell do you want to crucify me for trying to get a bargain?”
“It’s called reneging on a deal.” At the moment, Hunter wouldn’t mind saying a hell of a lot more—but he’d made a point of keeping his temper in check since moving here and he wouldn’t let Worth prod him into blowing his cool. He’d relocated to get a grip on the past, to put his life back in perspective, and he couldn’t do that by overreacting to an idiotic confrontation.
Once the car was out of his trailer, he let Worth look it over again, then made sure to have him sign the invoice, stating he was satisfied with the job. With that done, he handed the keys to Worth and said, “Word of advice—forget whatever harebrained plan you have for annoying Ms. Bentley. From what I could tell, people around here like her, and those same people are your customers.” Without giving him a chance to reply, Hunter stalked away and got into his truck. He had an urge to go straight home, but he made himself stop at the grocery to get a steak for his grill...and then, because he couldn’t resist, he got one for Jodi, too. Not that he planned to ask her to join him. He wouldn’t.
But just in case...
* * *
IT WAS WORSE than she remembered from her one time there. Hunter hadn’t been around on that visit. She’d driven right past his place with no sight of him. If she had seen him, would he have factored into her decision to buy? Possibly. By appearance alone, she knew he wasn’t an average guy. That might’ve spooked her then. After all, she wasn’t looking for trouble—not anymore. These days, she hoped to take a different path.
Since she’d met him, though, she figured he’d be a reliable neighbor. Not that she planned to lean on him or anything. That wasn’t what either of them wanted. No one looking for companionship—friendly or romantic—would move out to the edge of nowhere with only a rinky-dink town nearby. For a misfit like her, though? Seemed perfect. She had her solitude, and when the mood struck her, she could practice her social skills with friendly townsfolk.
Now, as the sun slowly sank behind the mountains, Jodi had misgivings. The plumbing was sound, the electricity, too; she’d ensured that before buying it. Unfortunately, many of the ceiling lights were missing bulbs. And seriously, she didn’t do the dark, just like she didn’t do confined spaces. Or basements. She definitely didn’t do basements.