She shrugged. “I’m married, not dead. And I’m only thinking of you, not myself.”
PJ’s lips twisted into a half smile. “I know him.”
“You do?”
“Yes, we dated for a while.”
“Shut up. You’re kidding, right? That gorgeous hunk?”
Knowing it would be out before long, PJ kissed Charlie, her heart pinching tight. Then she crossed to the door, her hand resting on the knob, ready to yank and run. “Look, I have to get to work. But you should know that the man you met last night is Charlie’s father.” She opened the door.
“Oh, no you didn’t.” Dana advanced on her, carrying Charlie. “You didn’t just hit-and-run. You have to stay and tell me everything.”
“I can’t. I’m already late for work. I promise we’ll talk this afternoon when I pick up Charlie.”
“Darn right you will.” Dana smiled down at Charlie. “And we’ll spend all day talking about your daddy, won’t we, sweet baby?”
PJ slipped out before she broke down in front of Dana. After the attack last night, the intense joy of seeing Chuck for the first time in almost a year and then breaking the news of Charlie to him, PJ was emotionally wrung out. And she hadn’t even pulled her eight-hour shift yet.
She trudged to her car and hurried back the way she’d come, anxious to dive into work so that she could forget everything else.
Ha. As if that would happen. With Chuck hired on as the handyman, she didn’t have a chance.
Cara Jo cornered her as soon as she entered the diner with its black and white tiled floor and fifties-style tables and chairs. “I can’t believe I slept right through everything.”
PJ shook her head. “I take it you heard about the incident last night.” She stepped around the counter and tucked her purse behind the stash of paper towels.
“I didn’t hear anything. No sirens, no screaming, nothing. I had to hear it from a deputy who’d stopped in for coffee this morning.” Cara Jo grabbed PJ’s arms. “Are you okay?”
PJ smiled. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“That bastard didn’t hurt you?”
A chill rippled across PJ’s skin, and she touched the base of her throat where the lamp cord had almost been the death of her. “Not much. Just scared the fool out of me.” PJ grabbed a full coffeepot and struck out across the diner, determined to end the conversation. After refilling several empty mugs and taking orders for breakfast, she returned to the counter and Cara Jo, a little more in control of her emotions and ready to launch her own attack. “Why didn’t you tell me about Chuck?”
Cara Jo’s brows rose innocently. “Chuck?”
“The handyman you hired for the resort?” PJ’s brows rose to match Cara Jo’s.
“Oh, yeah, him.” Cara Jo’s cheeks reddened. She rested a hand on PJ’s arm. “When Hank told me he’d hired a handyman, I didn’t know it was Chuck at first. Hank’s my new boss. I didn’t have a say. He hired him and told me he’d be starting today. It wasn’t until we were on the way to Fort Stockton that Hank let me know who he really was. I swear.” She held up her hand, her expression too solemn to be a hoax. Cara Jo had never lied to PJ. Why would she start now?
“Why didn’t you warn me then?”
“I was trying to find the words, but for some reason, I never could come up with the right ones.” She shrugged. “Are you mad at me?”
PJ sighed. “No. I can’t stay mad at you.” She set the coffeepot on the burner. “Do you have any say in who works as the handyman?”
“Not yet. I just accepted the position of resort manager. I haven’t even had a chance to move my stuff into the office.”
PJ sighed. Chuck would be around for a while. “I guess we won’t be seeing much of you around the diner once you get oriented with your new duties.”
“My first responsibility is to the diner. It’s my baby. I won’t desert you and the staff here.” Cara Jo hugged PJ. “And you’ll always be my friend, so don’t think you’re getting out of this relationship without an argument from me.”
Her heart warming at Cara Jo’s display of affection, PJ reminded herself how lucky she was to have Cara Jo in her life. When her adoptive mother had died of a heart attack, PJ had felt more alone than she had since she’d come to Wild Oak Canyon. If not for Cara Jo giving her a job and arranging with the resort for a place to live, she and Charlie would have been destitute. Then out of the blue, the scholarship had landed in her lap and PJ felt she was finally on her way to a new and better life for her and her daughter.
The bell over the diner door jingled and PJ glanced up, her heart flipping over.
Chuck entered, his gaze crossing the room to clash with PJ’s. Hank Derringer entered behind Chuck and then smiled and nodded toward Cara Jo and PJ. The two settled in the farthest corner in a booth.
“Want me to get them?” Cara Jo asked.
“No. I can do this.” PJ stiffened her spine.
“Does Chuck know about Charlie?” Cara Jo whispered.
PJ nodded, gathering two menus and two coffee mugs, her hands shaking. “He found out last night after he chased the attacker out of my apartment.”
Cara Jo whistled softly. “Wow, what a way to learn you have a baby daughter.”
A stab of guilt twisted in PJ’s gut. “Yeah. But what’s done is done. I have to live with the choice I made.”
“Any chance you two will get back together?” Cara Jo asked.
Her chest tightening so much she could barely breathe, PJ shrugged. She was afraid if she spoke, her voice would crack along with her composure.
“I get it. It’s too soon to talk about it.” Cara Jo gave her a pat on the back. “Go on. You’re tough—you can handle this.”
PJ wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t plan on hiding every time she ran into Chuck. Wild Oak Canyon was too small to think she could avoid him forever.
* * *
“ANY OTHER PROBLEMS after last night’s initial incident?” Hank asked.
Chuck dragged his gaze away from PJ as she strode across the black and white linoleum tiles of the diner toward them. He had a hard time focusing on Hank with PJ nearby. “What? Oh, no. I checked her balcony door locks and each of the windows and then bedded down in the hallway to make sure no one bothered her again.”
Hank sighed. “I figured something might happen, but I wasn’t sure what or when.”
PJ stopped at their table and set the menus and the empty coffee mugs in front of them. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.” Hank frowned. “Are you all right, my dear?”
PJ smiled down at the older man. “I’m fine, thanks to Chuck. I understand you hired him as the handyman for the resort.”
“I did. Thought we could use someone with carpentry skills who could also work with the horses since Juan is no longer with us.”
She nodded curtly. “I’ll be right back with the coffee.”
As soon as PJ was out of earshot, Hank leaned closer. “I don’t want anyone to know I hired you to protect PJ. The less connection she has to me, the less chance of her being hurt.”
“What’s going on? All you told me was that I needed to provide protection to an employee of the resort. What made you think PJ needed protecting?”