A Bet Worth Making (Grayson County #2) (7 page)

“Thanks again for today,” she said and my smile spread at the sight of her anticipation—enough to match my own.

The men had left an hour ago, leaving us girls to continue brainstorming and daydreaming about the finished product. Summer was particularly excited about my idea for a porch swing—which made me like her even more.

“I’m thrilled to be chosen,” I told her, “and honestly, it’s great to see a client so excited about their project.”

Summer’s brows dipped. “Isn’t everyone excited to design their own place?”

“You would think but no,” I said with a shrug. “And not even just the commercial builders I’ve dealt with but some private owners too. Strange, right? Spend all that time and money and be so blasé about it, but that’s New England money, I guess.”

Summer nodded knowingly. “My mom used to have these country club friends when I was younger. Really ... aloof, I guess you’d called it. It’s like the more money they had, the less emotion they were capable of showing. Everything was ‘acceptable,’” she finished in a nasally voice.

We laughed and Summer reached for my arm, squeezing it. “I’m glad you came out. And I really am sorry about the thing with Casey. If you don’t like it there, you can always come stay with me and my dad. We have plenty of room at the farm.”

“I’m fine at Casey’s,” I assured her. And because I could sense her about to ask something more, I pressed on, bringing it back to the work she’d hired me for. “And I’m looking forward to getting started on all of this. I really love the designs you’ve chosen for your house.”

“Thanks. Me too. Ford thinks it’s ostentatious, but then he wants to live in a greenhouse so … I’m glad someone gets it.”

“Definitely,” I said. “Well, I better get going. It’s getting late.”

“Sure.” Summer reached for her handle and turned back. “Oh, wait. We’re doing dinner tonight at the Plantation. Everyone’s invited, staff and families. You’re welcome to come too if you’re free. Meet a few faces.”

My chest tightened at the thought of all the questions that were sure to accompany a roomful of strangers. “I think I’m all booked up but thanks for the offer.”

“You have plans tonight?” Summer asked, clearly surprised.

“Are you kidding? After the day we put in, a bubble bath and a glass of wine are calling my name.”

Summer smiled but her brows dipped in concern. “Fair enough. But if you change your mind, you should stop by. I think you’d have fun. The staff is pretty entertaining when you get them all together.”

Her genuine smile and obvious affection for these people she’d grown up with tugged at me. My chest ached for Gavin, for my dad, for someone familiar to share an evening with. But I shook my head. Familiarity, friendship; these were not the real reasons I was here. And just like that, my own elation at being hired was eclipsed by the familiar aching loneliness. Dad. He was the reason I was here. I’d lost him, and in his absence I’d agreed to meet the two people I hated most in the world.

Suddenly, going to dinner with Summer and her friends was the last thing I wanted. “I’m sure they are. I just don’t think that’s the kind of fun I’m looking for tonight.”

Summer softened and I caught a glimpse of sympathy before it disappeared. I hadn’t told her anything about me and already she felt sorry. Pity was the last thing I wanted right now. “If you change your mind, you know where to find us.”

That was the problem. In a town like this one, someone always knew where you were. Right now, all I wanted to do was hide.

Chapter Eight

Casey

My trigger-happy finger scrolled channels while I pretended to consider my on-screen options. Instead, I was considering my off-screen options with the concentration of a bomb tech. I was supposed to have been down at the farmhouse half an hour ago for dinner. Instead, I was inventing reasons to stay put on my couch.

Music—light indie rock from what I could hear over the television—leaked out from behind Jordan’s closed bedroom door. So did the damn scent of her—that bubble bath earlier almost killed me. She was driving me crazy. Was this what it was like living with a female? Damn feminine smells lingering about all the time?

She’d been here all of forty-eight hours and already my head was spinning. I’d never been in close quarters like this with a girl before—not for this long and not with one I wasn’t sleeping with. Everywhere I looked, she’d already left a mark. Shoes by the door, a jacket thrown over the kitchen chair, an open wine bottle on the coffee table along with the receipt from the corner mart detailing the bubble bath she’d purchased—I’d never let any girl leave more than a toothbrush so this was definitely a huge step.

I tried to recall exactly what I’d been thinking—other than getting laid without leaving my own house—but I came up empty. My knee bounced along in time to my nerves. I clicked through another channel.

In Jordan’s room, something heavy landed with a thud and I scooted to the edge of the couch and waited. Silence.

“You all right?” I called.

Nothing.

I clicked the TV off and went to Jordan’s door, hesitating. We hadn’t exactly laid out any ground rules for privacy—other than Jordan’s one rule about keeping clothes on. Which I intended to break at some point. Why did I feel like a creeper just for standing here then?

I knocked. “You okay in there?” I asked and the music shut off.

There was a long pause, and then soft footsteps shuffled closer. The door swung open.

Jordan blinked back at me, frowning. Even with the less-than-thrilled reception, my pulse quickened at the sight of her all fresh-faced with damp hair hanging over a white tank. “I’m fine. Why?”

I averted my gaze, hoping to hide the fact that she screamed sex right now. And my body was happy to scream it right back. Behind her, the room was a mess of clothes strewn about. The sparse furniture had already been rearranged with the full bed shoved against the opposite wall.

My brows rose. “Redecorating?”

“Changing the vibe,” she said, turning back to her messy room. She left the door hanging open and I hovered, uncertain whether it was an invitation or just a slip on her part.

“What’s wrong with the vibe?” I asked.

“Nothing yet,” she said, scooping up a pile of T-shirts and dumping them into a dresser drawer. “But the next time you decide to have a party, I don’t want my walls vibrating …or thumping or whatever.” She shrugged and I stared at her, eyes narrowing as her meaning became clear.

“Do you pre-judge everyone this quickly or is it just me?”

She looked up and her jaw fell open a little. “What? No, I didn’t mean…” Her face flushed, contrasting with her blonde hair in a way that made my irritation harder to hang onto. “I didn’t mean it like that … I wasn’t going to ask you to change anything about your life so I was thinking I’d make it easier on me to … never mind.”

Gone was the judgy city girl. In her place was a blushing, fumbling version that I wanted to kiss pretty damn bad all of a sudden.

Instead, I folded my arms over my chest and smirked. “I told you before, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Oh, well, I didn’t know if that mattered or not for you when it came to…” she trailed off, reddening again.

Oh, yeah, this was going to be fun. “If you wanted to know that bad, you should’ve just asked.” I took a step forward but Jordan shook her head.

“It’s none of my business—”

“Sex in general or sex with me?” Jordan glared and I laughed, enjoying the way she turned embarrassment into a death-stare competition. “I’m not going to bring girls over while you live here,” I added.

“Well … you can,” she finally blurted.

I took a step closer, watching her visibly tense at our closeness. “Thanks for the free pass. But I’d be an idiot when I’ve already got the hottest girl in the county sleeping across the hall.”

Jordan’s chin went up. “I told you, I’m not looking for a hookup. I need a room while I do my job. That’s it.”

“And I’m a redneck—not your type. I get it.” I threw up my hands in defense.

“I never said that.”

“Didn’t have to. Doesn’t matter,” I added before she could argue again. “I’m not trying to hook up.”
Yet
, I silently added. “I’m just trying to be friendly.”

I winked and Jordan looked less than impressed. She propped a hand on her hip. “And that’s how friends act down here? Flirting in each other’s bedrooms late at night with strangers?”

“It’s not late,” I said and earned a tiny smile. “And if you told me something about yourself, you wouldn’t be a stranger.”

She sighed, wisps of blonde hair sent flying as she huffed. “All right,” she said and I almost fell over. I hadn’t actually expected her to give in and warm up. In fact, I was all set to turn on my heel and leave it alone for the night. Quit while I was ahead or whatever Frank was always saying.

Jordan sat on the edge of her bed and nodded at me. I slid to the floor right where I was, my back propped against her newly placed dresser. If it was conversation she wanted, it was best for me to keep out of reach.

“What do you want to know?” she asked.

“Well, I know your name’s Jordan DeWalter since you changed your mind on the paperwork,” I said. Jordan rolled her eyes and I knew why. I hadn’t asked for or needed a written lease but she’d insisted the moment I’d gotten home earlier. We’d argued over it for an hour. Unsurprisingly, she’d won and we’d both signed something she’d written up herself, complete with house rules.

It had taken me all of five seconds to place her last name and even less time to realize I wasn’t going to ask about the possible relation until she willingly divulged. It made me wonder, though, if the DeWalter I knew over in Windsor had anything to do with the angry look Jordan wore whenever she mentioned people from a small town. If so, I couldn’t blame her.

But I still wanted to know her. And here she was; apparently going to let me try.

“Where’d you grow up?” I asked.

“Connecticut. My dad was an IT guy for a government contractor after retiring from the Navy a few years back so he did a lot of work for the base nearby.”

“Was?” I asked.

Jordan’s expression immediately went blank and I regretted even asking, already knowing what was coming.

“He died six months ago,” she said, her voice suddenly hoarse. “Leukemia.”

“Shit, Jordan, I’m sorry.” I cussed myself for not recognizing the grief. She was disguising it as anger, but now that she’d told me, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t picked up on it before. It was that gooey center I’d suspected all along. Only, it wasn’t armored over because of an ex. She’d lost a parent.

“It’s okay,” she said.

“No, it’s not. When I said I wanted to know about you … I didn’t mean to pry.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I didn’t want to say it. The words always sounded like an invitation for pity. But I needed to even the playing field. “My parents died when I was a baby. I can’t remember them. Uncle Frank raised me as his own so I got a good deal, but I get it. Anyway, I’m sorry.”

I got to my feet, headed for the door—suddenly, mindless television didn’t sound so bad comparatively—but Jordan jumped up. Her hand closed over my wrist, and I turned back. “Don’t go,” she said.

It wasn’t the words that froze me in place. It was the look in her eyes. Tears swam in her sapphire blues and behind them the wall came down just long enough for me to see the pain. The real Jordan—the one she was bent on covering up.

“I’ve been a real bitch to you, and I’m sorry,” she said, looking up at me through thick lashes.

I stared at her for a moment longer and then I let a smile form at the corners of my mouth. “I probably deserved it,” I said and earned a quiet laugh that ended abruptly.

Her expression fell, her brows creasing in concern. “How did they die?”

“Car accident. They’d gone out for a date night, the first they’d managed to schedule after having me, and a drunk driver sent them over the guard rail on a mountain road. They didn’t survive the fall.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said and her hand tightened on my wrist. I slipped it free and held it in mine.

“Me too,” I said.

Tension, thick as a humid August, hung between us. I didn’t dare move, not even to lean closer. I ached to kiss her, but I knew it’d be a mistake.

Not yet
, I told myself.

Okay, maybe just a hug…

My phone rang and I cursed out loud at the timing. Jordan smiled wryly and stepped away while I scowled at my caller ID and then pressed the phone to my ear as I answered. “Frank, this better be life or death.”

On the other end of the line, Frank sighed. “Well, kid, it’s the second.”

“What?” I asked, alarmed.

Jordan stared at me, brows raised in question while Frank went on. “I had a chance to look at the Nissan and … well, tell Jordan I’m really sorry for her loss.”

“Shit,” I muttered. “Uh-uh. You can be the messenger on this one,” I told Frank, and before he could argue, I held out the phone to Jordan.

“What?” Jordan asked, biting her lip.

I just shook my head and shoved the phone at her. “Frank for you,” I said simply.

Jordan took the phone and I waited while she talked to Frank, mostly listening and murmuring, “I see” between long pauses.

When she was done, she handed the phone back, and I tried to read her expression, but it was curiously blank.

“Cars down here run a little cheaper,” I began. “If you want, I can check out the lemon lot over by my friend’s store—”

She ran a hand through her hair. “No, thanks, I’ll—I’ll figure it out.”

“You have that car a while?”

Her smile wobbled. “My dad bought it for me.”

I nodded, at a loss. For all her bravado and attitude, she looked damn fragile when she talked about her dad. They must’ve been close. I took a deep breath and hoped whatever truce we’d struck earlier still held. “You like burgers?”

She blinked, the unexpected question no doubt distracting her from whatever trip down memory lane she’d been on. “Yeah.”

“Good. I’m shit in the kitchen but I can man a grill.” I waved at her to join me as I headed for the hall. “Come on. I’ll let you make a side dish with vegetables in it or something.”

I didn’t wait. I wanted to see if she followed. For a moment, I was the only one walking through the hallway and my chest tightened in worry that she’d called my bluff.

But a second later, I heard her footsteps behind me.

I exhaled, and went to fire up the grill.

***

Over burgers and sweet potato fries, we ran the gamut of childhood memory highlights. It seemed like safe territory for both of us, and my stories of trying to pull one over on teachers made Jordan laugh. We ended up back in Jordan’s room while I hung a couple of her framed design pictures. When I finished, Jordan sat cross-legged on her bed and I lounged across from her, feet hanging sideways off the mattress, as I finished the remnants of the popcorn I’d made while Jordan had cleaned up from dinner earlier.

Somewhere in the midst of it all, Jordan had thawed and opened up, joking and talking like we were just a guy and a girl hanging out. I tried not to look too damn pleased with myself over it.

“Wait, you actually got pantsed in front of the entire basketball playoff crowd—willingly?” Jordan asked, disbelief clear.

I topped her glass off with the last of the bottle of wine and handed it to her. I had cold beer in the fridge but damn if I was leaving this room for any reason right now. We were finally getting along.

“A bet is a bet.” I shrugged.

“That’s crazy,” she said.

“If you want proof, ask anyone you meet on the street in Grayson,” I said. “Unfortunately, they’ll corroborate.”

“I’m sure it’s something they’ll never forget.” Jordan laughed and raised her glass. “And that makes you the winner of the most embarrassing moment. I can’t top that.”

“Let me guess, popular crowd? Never picked on?”

“Ha. More like, my older brother would kick your ass if you tried,” she said. “He made sure none of the normal hazing took place.”

“Sounds like a good deal.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Not when he also scares away all the boys.”

“Ah. Double-edged sword. Summer used to say the same thing.”

“You two are close,” she said, tilting her head in curiosity.

It was a question I heard often. “Sibling close,” I agreed, with emphasis on the sibling part. “Frank and her dad, Dean, are buds from way back. She and I grew up together so we fought like cats and dogs but protected each other against anyone else. Us against the world, I guess.”