“One beer? I haven’t been out of work that long. I’m not desperate.”
“One beer and the gratitude of Deputy Nate Hendricks. That could come in handy. A cop on your side. And think of your old friend Charlie!”
Yeah. Cute little Charlie. She needed a place to stay. And the Stud Farm was one of the few cheap, nice options in this tourist town. “Shit,” he muttered.
“Yea!” Jenny cried, confident she’d won him over.
Walker shook his head and scrubbed a hand through his hair. It was too long and starting to curl over his collar. He’d meant to shave his beard and get a cut weeks ago, but now it was turning cold and he couldn’t bring himself to shear any of it. Still, it would’ve given Nicole less of a hold if he’d gotten rid of it.
He downed the rest of his beer. “I’m not going to lie to an old lady. But I’ll do what I can, all right?”
“All right. Thanks. You’re the best, Walker.”
“That’s what they say.”
“You’re also incorrigible. Good thing, because here comes Rayleen.”
He grimaced and nudged his glass toward Jenny. “Free refill?”
“I thought you weren’t desperate.”
“I’m not. I’m scared.”
“All right,” she laughed. “Free refill. After you pull it off.”
Walker took a deep breath and turned with a grin to meet the harmless-looking white-haired woman. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite landlord. Hey there, Miss Rayleen.”
“Turn back around, Walker,” she snapped. “I wasn’t finished looking at your ass.”
“I’d think you’d have it all mapped out by now. You look often enough.”
“There’s no such thing as enough when it comes to a fine piece of tush, fool.”
“Why, thank you, ma’am.” His smile came more easily now. He really did love this menace of a woman. “I was just asking Jenny here where you were hiding.”
Rayleen raised a silver eyebrow and settled into her normal seat at a table at the corner of the bar. “You finally decided to up your cougar game? Ten-year age difference no longer a challenge?”
Walker felt his cheeks heat a little at that. Was she talking about Nicole? Did everyone know? But he shook it off. She was kidding, and if he didn’t want to own up to his actions, then he’d do better to behave well in the first place. “Nope. I wanted to ask about the apartment across from mine. Is it still vacant?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Maybe. Why?”
“My old friend Charlie is looking for a place.”
“Hmph. Just how old a friend is Charlie? Some dried-up cowhand?”
“Nope. My age, give or take.”
Her eyes sparked with more interest now. “Yeah? Is he a cowboy?”
“No. More of a security expert, I believe. Works at a resort.”
She stuck a cigarette between her lips and let it dangle there. He’d never actually seen her smoke one. She just liked having them on hand, apparently. Her gaze darted down his body and then back up. “How tall is he?” The cigarette bobbed.
Walker cleared his throat and shifted. “Aw, hell, Rayleen. I don’t know. Shorter than I am.”
“Hm.”
Everyone knew Rayleen liked a lot of eye candy hanging around. Walker didn’t care. He was just happy for the chance to get a decent place at a decent price. And he could use her fondness for his ass to his advantage now. “I have heard the word ‘cute’ bandied about on occasion.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, then.” She shuffled a pack of cards with a flourish and started dealing out her first solitaire game of the day. “That snowboarding instructor I’d hoped to rent to broke his damn leg or something. Won’t be here this season. A shame. He was almost as big as you. Not sure about this whole cute thing.”
Walker shot Jenny a look and she made a hurry-up motion with her hands.
“Well,” he tried again. “I’ve known Charlie a long time. Since high school.”
“Charlie who?”
Walker rolled his shoulders. This was it. “Charlie Allington. You know the Allingtons?”
She shrugged. Charlie had left town for college, so she might never have been around after reaching legal drinking age.
“Charlie’s one of Nate’s cousins,” he clarified.
Rayleen made a noncommittal noise, but she liked Nate. Maybe that would work in their favor. Rayleen flipped over another card. Jenny hovered close by, rubbing a slow circle into the bar with a rag.
Finally Rayleen shrugged. “All right. I am getting a little tired of these seasonal workers. That last one really tore up my wood floors. What the hell was he doing in there? Playing hockey?”
He shook his head sympathetically. They’d all had to listen to Rayleen complain about refinishing those floors, but he’d heard the real reason for her anger was that the kid had called Rayleen a nasty old bitch when she’d kept his security deposit. Walker shook his head at that. What kind of punk would say something like that to a woman?
She flipped another card. “How long does he want to rent the place?”
Walker met Jenny’s eyes. “Through the winter?” She nodded.
“So he’d be up for a six-month lease?” Rayleen asked.
“I’m not sure. Probably.”
“Okay. Tell him to come on by. No pets. No water beds. A month’s rent as a security deposit up front. If I like the looks of him, I’ll offer a six-month lease. If I don’t, it’ll be month to month and he can get gone before the skiing starts.”
“Thanks, Miss Rayleen.”
She shrugged. “I ain’t doing anyone any favors. I’m just looking to fill in the next couple months of dead time before the season.”
“Aw, you’re sweeter than you let on.”
She snorted. “Not hardly, boy.”
Shit. “Here’s the thing....”
The cigarette went still between her lips and her eyes rose to meet his with a hard gaze. “What?”
Walker glanced at Jenny, who shook her head, but Rayleen would find out sooner than later, and his mama hadn’t raised him to lie to old ladies. “My old friend Charlie? Charlie is actually short for Charlotte.”
“Charlotte?” She cackled. “What kind of a name is that for a...” The amusement left her face and was quickly replaced with tight anger. “No,” she said firmly. “No, sir. I don’t care how fine your behind is in those jeans, I ain’t letting one of your floozies move in here.”
“She’s not one of my floozies! I haven’t seen her since high school!” He frowned at his beer and muttered, “Not that I have floozies.”
Rayleen snorted. “I said no, and that’s that.”
“Come on. Charlie is a great girl. And she’ll take good care of the apartment, not like some twentysomething snowboarder looking for a place to party with his friends.”
“He’s right,” Jenny finally jumped in. “The last two seasonal renters were a nightmare. And you say all the time how disgusting men are.”
“Hmph.” She took up her cards again.