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.“That guitar weighs a ton toward the end of a shift.”Zeke had a feeling that the guitar was the least of her burdens.“So what brings you to the Blue Parrot? You don’t strike me as the supper-club type.”The waitress returned just then.Zeke accepted his drink and said, “Bring the lady her usual, please, and put it on my tab.”“Water,” Natalie said with a flippant smile that Zeke suspected had been practiced to hold admirers at bay.“Charge the gentleman five bucks.He’s loaded.”Zeke sat back to regard her.He had stepped on her toes, and she was letting him know right up front that she wouldn’t easily forgive him.He shot from the hip himself and admired that about her.She directed her attention to the table, centering the candle, smoothing the cloth.“I talked with Chad this evening.He seems to like you.” She looked back up, her gaze sharper this time.“I have no clue as to why, but that’s my thing.It seems that you were right, and I was wrong.This experience is good for him.Working with you today bolstered his confidence.He needs that right now.”His fingers skimming beads of condensation, Zeke turned his glass.“I came here to apologize.Don’t give me an out.I’m notorious for never saying I’m sorry.”“I believe you.”He gave a startled laugh.“I have that coming, I guess.”“Yes,” she agreed.“I apologize for making rash assumptions and acting like an ass.”Her expression guarded, she continued to study him.“May I ask what brought this about?”“Your daughter paid me a visit tonight.”Her expression went from guarded to surprised.“Rosie?”“Do you have two daughters?”“No, thank heavens.One’s a handful.Why was she at your place?”“She came to negotiate.” Zeke grinned, remembering.“I am now in possession of her life’s savings, earmarked for a Barbie dune buggy.”“Oh no.”“Oh yes, and she drives one hell of a bargain.I didn’t know whether to shit or go blind.” Zeke winced and glanced around, hoping no one else had heard him.“Pardon my French.”“Don’t blame the French.My mother’s maiden name is Devereaux.”No wonder she had gorgeous legs.French women were famous for them.“My Irish, then.”Her eyes started to twinkle, warming him as they had yesterday afternoon.“Ah.That explains the stubborn streak.”Zeke chuckled.“It’s the Scots who are stubborn.”“With the Irish running a close second.”He conceded the point with a shrug.“I wasn’t quite stubborn enough to come out on top with your daughter.”“Few people do.My Rosie is indomitable and too cute for her own good.”“True.After she asked why I’m mean and obnoxious, she informed me that Gramps and the cows have nefarious plans for my cabbages.Being a smart man who has no desire whatsoever to get his ass kicked by a geriatric, I quickly agreed to her terms.”Natalie’s lovely and very kissable mouth twitched.“Which are?”“You and Rosie are welcome to help Chad work off the debt.I don’t want to be responsible for his missing camp and getting brain rot from Valerie’s rap.”She burst out laughing.The sound wasn’t quite as magical as her voice in song, but close.“My daughter.She repeats everything she hears.”“And quite eloquently, I might add.”“I’m sorry she bugged you.Chad’s right, I guess.She can be a pest.”“I’m glad she came.Trust a child.I was being mean and obnoxious.I began to realize that this afternoon when I got to know your son a little better.”“So you’re coming to like Chad as much as he’s coming to like you?”Zeke nodded.“He’s a troubled boy, but not a bad one.I was wrong to take such a hard line, threatening to bring the law into it.” He took a sip of his drink to compose his thoughts.“I also want to apologize for suggesting that you mollycoddle him.Before he left today, I wanted to make things better for him myself.” He picked up a complimentary book of matches, studied the Blue Parrot logo, and then said, “I can see his heart in his eyes, and it’s a broken one.What the hell’s going on with his dad?”Her eyes went bright with what he suspected were tears.“Nothing.” The smile that had touched her mouth a moment ago vanished.“When it comes to being a father, Robert isn’t.I can’t think of another way to say it.”“I gathered as much.”She fiddled with the midnight-blue cloth napkin in front of her.“I sound like a bitter ex-wife.It’s so dead boring to be typical, but I can’t help myself.”“You’re concerned about your son.There’s no crime in that.”Her brow pleated in a thoughtful frown.“I don’t mean to paint a black picture of Robert.He’s just—well, being Robert.His parents never paid any attention to him, and that’s all he knows.”“Don’t make excuses for the bastard.”She laughed softly, then puffed air at her bangs, reminding him strongly of Rosie.“There is no excusing Robert.I only meant that it isn’t really his fault.He’s being as good a father to Chad as his father was to him.All too often, we become our parents.”Zeke guessed there was a lot of truth in that.He’d been told countless times that he was a Xerox copy of his dad.“Your son doesn’t think he’s good at anything.When he actually does something without screwing up, he’s amazed.”“Robert is a little critical.”“A little?”“It’s complicated.” For a moment, Zeke thought she would leave it at that.“I think he feels inadequate, actually.He hides it very well.If you met him, you’d never for a second believe that he has self-esteem issues.Robert is one of those people who are smarter than everyone else and better at everything.Sports, academics, business, you name it.Poor Chad never quite measures up.”Zeke doubted that Chad had been Robert’s only victim.He had known men like that, and in his experience, they took shots at everyone around them.He felt himself becoming lost in Natalie Patterson’s swimming brown eyes and experienced something akin to fear.The lady packed a wallop.Just like her daughter, she tugged at his heartstrings in a way he didn’t understand.He disliked the feeling, and he suddenly just wanted to get out of there.He raised one hip to fish for his money clip, then tossed a twenty onto the table.It was more than enough to cover his drink and the five-dollar glass of water.He hoped Natalie would pay his tab and keep the rest.Judging by her daughter’s clothing, she needed the money a lot more than he did.“I’ve said what I came to say.” Brilliant, Zeke.“I, um—” His mind went blank.“I have to go.”She pushed erect before he could shove back in his chair.“Thanks for stopping by, Mr.Coulter.I appreciate the apology and your change of heart.Chad needs a little leniency right now.Camp is important this year.”He stood, nudged the chair back under the table with the toe of his boot, and hooked his thumbs over his belt.“Now that I’ve gotten to know him better, I agree with you.He should go.If the damages aren’t worked off in time, I’ll give him a week off and let him work after school.”She picked up the twenty, sidled around the table, and moved close to tuck the bill into his shirt pocket.The musky scent of her perfume filled his senses.The warmth of her body, moving a scant inch from his, seared him like a brand.“The drink is on the house.”Recalling the duct tape on Rosie’s sandals, Zeke wished she would take the money.Instead he stood there like a dumb cluck and watched her walk away.Or, to be more precise, he watched the sway of her hips.Natalie Patterson was not a thin woman.Her body was soft and well rounded in all the right places.Not a mere flame, he decided, but a wildfire, and only a fool would get burned [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]