Justice Reborn (Cowboy Justice Association Book 8) (3 page)

Evan sighed. His years in law enforcement had made him wary. “Then what makes you think she’s perfect? Obviously you just met her today.”

“She was real sweet and she didn’t seem like she was going to rob us or anything.” The waitress shrugged her shoulders as if Evan had asked a stupid question. “Do you have anyone else in mind?”

He didn’t and he hated to clean. He should have gone on a cruise or something instead of taking on this project.

“No one,” he admitted with a heavy sigh. “I just want to make sure that anyone I hire – even for temporary work – isn’t going to abscond with the family silver.”

Tammy’s eyes widened. “I didn’t realize. You have a lot of family valuables?”

Well, shit.

“Not exactly.” There was no family silver and even the dishes had chips. There wasn’t even a television, only a clock radio from about 1975. “I just want somebody honest.”

“You sure wouldn’t have to worry about her hurting you or anything. She was just a bitty slip of a thing compared to you but it looked like she needed the work.” Her pen poised over her order pad. “What will you have tonight?”

Evan held out the menu. “The roasted chicken with mashed potatoes. Thanks, Tammy.”

“You got it.” She tucked the menu under her arm. “I told that girl if she was interested in the job she should come meet you here at dinnertime so keep a look out.”

Tammy started to move away but Evan had one more question. “How will I know it’s her?”

“For one, you’ve never met her before and two, she has pretty red hair. You’ll know her.”

She had a point. Unfamiliar faces were a big deal around here.

He had just ordered his dessert when a young woman tentatively entered the diner, her gaze sweeping around the room as she twisted her hands together nervously. Her hair was more auburn than red but she had the traditionally fair complexion that went with it, along with bright green eyes that seemed to take everything in at once. Average height and curvy, especially back behind and on top, she wasn’t what he’d had in mind for the job of cleaning his house. She didn’t look all that strong but if she was willing to work hard he’d give her a chance.

Beggars couldn’t be choosers. Or whatever his grandma used to say to him.

Tammy stuck her head out of the kitchen and pointed to Evan and the girl nodded, approaching him as if he was going to scream or wield a knife. The closer she came, the prettier and younger she looked. Hell, how old was she? She barely looked twenty-one.

“Hello,” she said, her eyes firmly fixed on the tile floor. “I’m…I’m Lisa Halliday.”

“Hi, Lisa. Tammy told me I might meet you tonight. Why don’t you join me for some pie?”

She looked up, her lips pressed together in what appeared to be real fear and his heart softened in response. The girl was plum scared and she had no need to be. He might not give her the job but he could talk to her for a few minutes. He wasn’t that much of a hermit.

Yet.

“Um…”

Evan patted the table and gave her an encouraging smile. “Come join me. I hate to eat alone. I’m Evan Davis, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”

She smiled then, showing off pearly white teeth as she slid into the booth. Still fidgeting, he signaled to Tammy who quickly came over, order pad in hand. “What can I do you for?”

“The coconut cream pie here is really delicious,” Evan said, hoping she’d loosen up a little bit. He was beginning to wonder if he’d grown horns in the last five minutes.

Lisa nodded. “That sounds good. I’ll have that. Thank you.”

Tammy shot back into the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone at the table although the diner itself was quite busy. The sound of clattering dishes and lively conversation was loud enough to give them the privacy they needed.

“Thank you for speaking with me. I’m sure you’re a busy man.”

Evan couldn’t bottle up the laughter that bubbled out at her statement. “Lisa, I am far from busy. In fact, I have lots of free time. So why don’t you tell me a little about yourself. How did you come to be in Cypress Corner?”

Her fingers wound around the paper napkin. “Actually, I lost my job not long ago and I decided that this was the time to travel. You know, see the country. This might be the only chance I get. I’ve been taking the bus and I figured I could get odd jobs along the way.”

Two pieces of coconut cream pie were placed in front of them along with a glass of water for Lisa and a refill of coffee for him. He picked up his fork and waited for her to do the same. She lifted a mouthful to her lips and her tongue snaked out and licked at the velvety custard.

“That is good.”

“The only one better is the peach cobbler but they only have that on Wednesdays.” He shoveled a forkful into his mouth. He had a major sweet tooth and this hit the spot. “You were saying?”

“Actually, I was done. I’m just traveling the country and seeing the out of the way spots. Places that aren’t touristy.”

Evan almost choked on his pie. “You’ve come to the right place. The only tourists we get here are people lost on their way to Disney World.”

“I’ve never been.”

“It’s fun. You should go while you’re down in this area. So how come you’re not driving? I would think that would be much easier than riding the bus.”

Lisa wrinkled her nose and sighed. “It would be, but my vehicle has seen better days and I didn’t want to be stranded on some dusty side road in the middle of nowhere. If I work hard I might be able to buy a cheap used car but the bus isn’t so bad. It’s air conditioned and there’s plenty of interesting people too.”

“You’re very polite, Lisa,” Evan chuckled although he still thought it was strange that she’d set out to see the USA on a bus instead of a car, but then he was a guy that liked to be behind the wheel. She might hate driving for all he knew. Maybe she wasn’t good at it, either. “Why don’t I tell you about this job? Once you hear about it you might not even be interested.”

“I’m interested,” she replied quickly, almost too quickly. When she was laid off she must not have had much money in savings. Evan was already feeling sorry for her, which was a bad thing because his emotions had no part in making this decision. He needed the best person for the job, not the person who needed the job the most.

“We’ll see.”

He watched her expression closely, looking for a tell of some sort. Just from their short conversation he could tell she was well-educated and well-spoken. Not the sort of person who threw over their entire life to bum around the country seeing the sights. She seemed like someone who should be dressed in business attire and carrying a briefcase.

“This house has been in my family for a few generations. My grandparents on my mother’s side lived in it for forty years before she passed on and it was just my grandfather. His health as well as his mental state went downhill and he became something of a hoarder. It’s not as bad as what you might see on television but it is bad. Add in the fact that the house hasn’t been maintained and it’s pretty much a nightmare. I won’t make anything but coffee in the kitchen as I’m sure there are molds and fungus that haven’t been identified by medical science yet.”

He might as well tell her the bare truth and maybe scare her off. There was nothing glamorous about this job. In fact, he’d been sure that no one would take it and he’d be stuck doing it. By himself it might take months. But that was okay. He had the time. So far he hadn’t made any progress in figuring out what he was going to do with the rest of his life.

Sucking in a breath, Lisa contemplated his words. “I’m no stranger to hard work, if that’s what you’re worried about. I spent a summer detassling corn and believe me that is some hot, sweaty, backbreaking work right there and for very little money. I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty.”

That prompted Evan to glance down at Lisa’s hands, which were small but capable with short nails. There was no way she’d be able to keep a manicure with the kind of labor he was needing.

“You’ll get them dirty all right. Along with the rest of you. There’s cleaning and painting and stacks of crap that have to be sorted through. But I will pay a fair wage and if you stick it out until the end I’ll pay you a five hundred dollar bonus.”

Her expression brightened considerably which solidified his thought that she was down on her luck. He ought to do a thorough background check plus references on her but hell…would he have done that with anyone local? If Barney or Darrell down at the horse farm had offered to help him out part-time he would have been grateful as hell and took them up on their offer and he didn’t know them much better than this woman.

There wasn’t anything of value for her to steal and he’d be with her pretty much the whole time. His only real fear was that she’d do a good job but would hate the work and quit. That’s why he’d dangled the carrot of a bonus if she finished.

“Are you thinking by the hour or a flat rate for the job?”

He took the last bite of pie and pushed the plate away, his stomach pleasantly full. “I wouldn’t know how to price it flat so I think hourly is the most fair.”

He cautiously named a rate that he hoped wouldn’t send her running from the building.

She tilted her head and nodded. “I can do that.”

She must be desperate to take this crappy job for little pay.

“How about we have a one week trial?” he offered. “If it goes well we continue. If not, then we go our separate ways with no hard feelings?”

“Sounds like a plan. Do you want me to start tomorrow?”

He liked that she was eager but then it was probably because she really needed the money. His heart twisted in his chest a little bit at the idea. He was surprised by how much he genuinely wanted to help her out. That’s why he’d gone into law enforcement – to help people – although it had rarely worked out that way. If this worked, she’d be helping him out just as much. This was no giveaway job. She’d earn every penny he paid her.

“I would. I know you don’t have a car so how about we meet here for breakfast at seven? Then I’ll drive you to the house and we can get started.” He appraised her from head to toe. “I’d wear the oldest clothes you have because you’re going to get filthy.”

Lisa frowned and looked down at her attire. “I don’t have much with me but I didn’t bring anything fancy either.” She held out her hand. “Should we shake on it?”

He reached out and enclosed her small hand in his much larger one. It felt small and delicate, and for a moment he wasn’t sure hiring her was the best idea. But she was the only option he had and frankly she seemed to need the help.

“Deal. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” she echoed, a real smile blooming on her face. Lisa was a lovely woman and he’d do well to not notice that in the future. They’d help each other and then she’d move on while he figured out what in the hell he was going to do with his life. But it did feel good.

He actually had plans and a reason not to oversleep.

*   *   *   *

Back at her hotel room later that evening, Josie slumped against the headboard of the bed lost in her own thoughts. The television played in the background but she’d kept it low enough that she could hear if a car passed by the window or footsteps echoed on the stairs outside. She hadn’t slept well since the night her entire life changed and she honestly wasn’t sure if she ever would again.

She was filled with a black, clawing fear.

Every minute of every day she worried that they’d find her. She’d been so naive when she’d ran from home in her own vehicle, her cell phone tucked in her backpack. When the sinister-looking men had showed up at that motel at the edge of D.C., she’d known immediately she had been incredibly foolish. Of course they could trace her car or phone. Heck, she’d even used her own credit card to pay for the room. She might as well have posted a neon sign with a giant arrow pointing to her location.

With her adrenaline pumping and true fear strangling her throat, she’d called the poor night manager of the motel and screamed about armed men in the parking lot, which had sent him running out of his office with a shotgun. That had created just enough of a distraction that she’d been able to slip out of her room and dart onto a passing city bus that she’d ridden into the center of town. From there, she’d hiked the mile and a half to the seedy bus station where she’d purchased a ticket – cash this time after cleaning out her account at an ATM at the drugstore – for the next departing bus.

Florida.

She could have ridden the bus all the way to Orlando but she feared the cost of hotel rooms and food would be way out of her budget in a tourist town. So far she’d made the right choice. The room here was clean and cheap and so was the food. Evan had even insisted on buying her pie at the diner this evening, although she’d argued with him until she’d realized it was a futile action. He seemed like a nice man.

Josie had decent instincts about people and Evan seemed like one of the good guys. He had an easy way about him, his expression open and honest. It wasn’t in her nature to trust much, but she could extend enough to take the job.

Sliding off of the bed, she stripped off her clothes and placed her panties and socks in the bathroom sink to soak using some of the free shampoo provided by the hotel. Clothes she’d washed this morning, hung on the shower rod already so she would have something to wear in the morning. She hadn’t had time to grab much when she’d ran and she certainly hadn’t packed for a trip to a semi-tropical location. Two pairs of jeans, two pairs of shorts, four t-shirts, four pairs of panties, bras, and socks, plus one hoodie wasn’t going to be enough and she’d need to think about buying a few things when Evan paid her. She might also need to think about a prepaid phone in case she needed to contact someone.

Right now all she could hope for was a little peace while she made some money before moving on once again.

She was just nodding off when she heard the growl of an engine and then the slamming of car doors. A quick glance at the illuminated face of the bedside clock told her it was three in the morning. Her heart stuttered in her chest before accelerating, her palms damp with perspiration.