He's Got Her Goat (10 page)

“Oh no you don’t. I expect fair payment.” She jabbed a finger toward her foot.

He filled the bowl and consigned himself to the job, even untying and removing her shoes. When he was done, he raised his eyes to check her mood. She gave out a satisfied sigh and got to her feet. He tried to give her back the bowl again, but she wouldn’t take it and turned to Paige. “You can rent it for the price of one of those soap things.”

Paige handed her a round soap cake. “I hope you enjoy it.”

The woman actually smiled back. “I’d enjoy it more if he came with it.” She tapped Paige with her elbow and laughed with a harsh crackly cough.

The next customer had already taken her place, and Sterling was almost out of patience. He walked to the pump, feeling little more than a slave and wondered why he was putting up with it all. As he lifted the handle and pumped it three times. No water came. Then Paige’s hand settled against his own.

“You don’t need to do this anymore,” she said.

He gave her a half smile. “Couldn’t if I wanted to. We’re out of water.”

She turned to her customers. “Sorry, we’re taking a break for lunch. No more feet washing for now. Thank you all.” There was a chorus of disappointed moans from those waiting.

Paige packed up the display shelves, and Sterling was shocked how little product she had left. She turned to him. “What do you say we go get lunch and mail those boxes?”

He was a little surprised. “You’re closing the booth?”

She nodded. “With the water gone, there’s no reason not to. I think we could both use a break.”

Chapter Eleven

P
AIGE WAS ASHAMED OF HERSELF
. What had gotten into her? When she saw Sterling washing Julie’s feet, she almost throttled them both right there. He was so tender with her. His hands were incredible, strong and gentle at the same time. She knew Julie was interested in him, but it almost seemed that he felt the same way. And what if he did? She was the one with a schoolyard crush. That’s all it was. She had to get over this if she wanted to offer him a permanent position, which she did. He was fabulous with the goats and incredible with the customers. But after the way she had behaved that morning, what were the chances he would want to work with her?

As they drove, she peeked sideways to the passenger seat. His eyes were closed, and there was no expression on his face. He obviously didn’t want to talk to her. Who could blame him? She was a hypocrite. Accusing him of selling her soap by flirting and then forcing him to do just that. She imagined having a display at a big department store with foot washers. It would be tacky and tasteless. Her soap was better than that. When Lindon Beauty Cakes got into department stores, they should reflect the quality of her family name. But, that was years away. First she had to hire some help.

At the post office Paige realized they hadn’t spoken a word in the car. She broke the ice. “You can stay here, if you want. I’ll take care of it.” As she stepped from the vehicle, she hoped he’d be a gentleman and at least help with the front door while she balanced the heavy boxes and carried them inside, but she could see through the windshield that he hadn’t moved.

Getting the orders in the mail felt like a huge weight off her shoulders. Back at the Honda she hopped in the driver’s seat and turned the key. The sound of the engine coming to life nearly made Sterling leap from his seat. She laughed.

He ran a hand over his face and gave three wide blinks. “Sorry, I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”

She should have realized he’d been asleep. “No wonder. I never should have started that washing thing.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I have officially been cured of my foot fetish.” He closed his eyes.

She wanted to let him rest, but she couldn’t. Something still annoyed her about the day. Certainly, she hadn’t behaved well, but from the way Julie and Sterling were talking, it was like they knew each other. Julie was insulated in a world of high fashion and elite friends. He said he was out of work, and judging by his clothes didn’t come from money. The two didn’t compute.

Paige turned left and pulled into a parking slot in front of a little Thai place. She swiveled his direction and tried to sound firm but not accusatory. “How do you know Julie?”

STERLING DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY
. Could he out and out lie to her? He knew he couldn’t, but he couldn’t tell the truth either. What would happen if he ripped off the scab right now and confessed everything?
You see, my boss set me up with Julie a few weeks ago. That’s the same boss who told me to investigate your business for a possible takeover even though I don’t think there is any legal way to purchase a sole proprietorship like this against your will, but she could find a one. That’s what she does. Oh, and by the way, I’m not a poor unemployed hick but make over 300k a year and hope to quadruple that with my next deal which I am getting because I’m lying to you right now.

Her next question was louder. “Did she grow up in Dallas too? Is that how you know her?”

He bobbled his head and opened the car door. “Huh.” The gesture was meant to put her off, but Paige took it as assent.

A bright grin spread across her face. “I bet she was a wild teenager.”

“Yeah.” He couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t lie to her. As they met on the sidewalk, he took her arm. “Paige, I dated her once but just once.”

Only a trace of her smile remained. “That’s okay.”

“Truth is, I’d rather be right where I am than anywhere else in the world.” He meant it. Every word. He watched as her empty smile widened and seemed to fill every part of her.

Lunch flew by. They recanted the events of the last two days as though those were the only days that mattered.

She laughed as she recalled their meeting. “I couldn’t believe how much Austin admired you. What’s up with that?”

“I admire him more. He’s obviously a great judge of character.” He raised his glass to her, and she met it.

“I know he is.” She took a sip and set the cup down. “That’s the only reason I trusted you.”

A tinge of guilt skittered across the back of his mind. He’d have to give Austin a good position if
Earth Tech
came through.

She pointed to Sterling with her chopsticks. “You got me good when you pretended you couldn’t milk, too.”

He took a slurp of curry. “I hadn’t done it for twelve years, so I didn’t want to disappoint.”

“You haven’t disappointed me at all. Quite the opposite.” She grew serious. “I want you to consider staying on full time. You won’t get rich, but you’ll have enough for your own apartment and can earn more as we grow. You’ve got such a good nose for business, I know you’d be an incredible asset.”

That was the understatement of the century. He’d never heard of his Stanford doctorate referred to as a nose for business, but it was nice to hear the compliment all the same. “Let’s take this one step at a time.”

The light in her face dimmed. “If that’s what you want.”

He grasped her hand across the table. “I’m yours for twenty-four hours. Use me well.”

“I will,” was all she said. She lowered her eyes and began eating her lunch.

He could tell she was disappointed, but that’s all he had to give. He scanned her corkscrew curls, sparkling eyes and genuine smile. Though she may not be great investment material, she certainly was intriguing, and Sterling planned on enjoying getting to know her with every minute he had left.

Chapter Twelve

W
ITH A FULL STOMACH
, Sterling couldn’t keep his eyes open. As they drove back to the market, twice she asked him questions that he thought he had answered but never did. He kept drifting out.

Pulling into the parking lot, she didn’t cut the engine. “You’ve got a driver’s license, right?”

“Of course,” Sterling said.

“Why don’t you go to my house and take a nap? You didn’t get that much sleep last night. I can cover the afternoon by myself.”

“No.” He sat forward. “I’m alright. I can do it.”

“Sterling, I’d rather have you sleep this afternoon and milk the goats at six. You can come by this evening when you’re done. We still need to finish the next batch of soap after the day is over. I’d rather you help me with that.”

He could see the logic in her plan but didn’t want them to be apart. “Who will wash all those women’s feet?”

She laughed. “I think that’s a service we can suspend indefinitely.”

“Fair enough.” He got out and walked around the car.

His hand rested on the top edge of the driver’s door as it opened. She stood right into his arms and looked in his eyes. He lowered his head, so they were almost nose to nose and smiled. She didn’t look away.

A soft breeze brushed a stray curl free. He lifted his hand and slid it across her forehead and behind her ear. Inches closer, and they would be kissing. The thought thrilled him. She bit her lip, and he knew she must be thinking the same thing. But there was too much at stake. No matter how pleasant it would be, he had to wait. Tomorrow he could kiss her goodbye and have all the benefits without any of the downside. It’d be one great kiss, too.

“What are you thinking?” she asked. “You suddenly looked so happy.”

“How grateful I am for running into Austin.” Even with his course of action decided, it took more willpower than he thought he possessed to take a step backward and let her pass.

She took three strides from the car then looked back. “I’m glad you ran into Austin, too.”

He watched her until she was lost in the meandering crowd. This was turning out to be a great weekend after all.

It was a struggle to stay awake long enough to get home. Once he pulled into the driveway, he threw the car in park and almost staggered to the bedroom. He was out before he even knew it and slept as deeply as he could remember. He woke at five in the evening and went to do the milking. He finished, took a shower and went into the bedroom with his jeans on but nothing else. The shirt he had borrowed from her Uncle Bill was no longer smelling fresh, and he hated to borrow another without asking. In his state of indecision, he laid back on the bed and only closed his eyes for a second, but it was long enough for sleep to reclaim him.

CLOSING TIME WAS FAST APPROACHING
, and Paige was getting nervous. She had expected Sterling to be back over an hour ago. The nearer it got to nine, the more she had to analyze the reality of what she had done. Even if he was adorable and a hard worker, she didn’t know anything about him. In fact, the only thing he’d shared about himself was that ten or twelve years ago he’d lived with his family and hadn’t seen them since. They must have done something awful. She wondered if that was how he became a drifter, going from dead end job to no job at all.

Yet a part of her couldn’t believe that. He was so intelligent and had great teeth. Even his nails looked groomed. But the whole bus things in the deli made it pretty clear he was homeless. Paige shook her head and accepted the possibility that he stole the car. At least there was no product in the back, and the car was getting old. With what they had sold that weekend, he’d easily made enough to cover the cost of the dented beater. She’d call it payment for his time and wouldn’t report it to the police. Given the whole Blanche thing, they might not believe her anyway.

La’Dawn, the jewelry vendor, pulled a string, and a curtain of beads rattled into place, not really blocking anything but probably making the girl feel better. It was Paige’s cue that quitting time had arrived. She began packing up her boxes and planned on calling a cab. She’d give him another half an hour just to be sure. If he actually had left, it was probably because of what happened when she was getting out of the car. The way he lingered made her think he was going to kiss her. Maybe she scared him off. Being that near him, smelling the musky scent of him, was sheer heaven. She closed her eyes to relive the moment and took a deep breath.