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Shit. He tried to sneak a look over his shoulder toward Charlie. She caught his eye and offered a sympathetic wince. “I’m sorry. Really. I’ve been busy. I’m scrambling for work.”
“Maybe I could help get you hired on somewhere. If—”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he interrupted. “It’s already complicated enough.” He glanced around the room and saw enough eyes on them to make him squirm. “As a matter of fact, why don’t we talk outside?”
“Don’t want to be seen with me?”
“Jesus, Nicole. You have a husband!”
She shrugged. “As if he cares.”
“He cared enough to fire me, apparently.”
Mouth tight with anger, she finally said, “Fine,” and headed toward the door. Walker followed, wondering if the back of his neck was as red as it felt. Thankfully he still hadn’t gotten that haircut.
Why the hell had she come here and drawn attention to both of them? At least he didn’t have to wonder what the town knew anymore. Everybody suspected. If they hadn’t before, they certainly would now.
He almost started down the sidewalk to take her to his apartment, but the idiocy of that struck him before he hit the first step. The porch of the Crooked R wasn’t exactly private, but twilight had settled in and it was cold enough that no one else had taken a seat on any of the ancient bar stools.
She bumped into him when he changed directions and headed for one end of the porch. “Don’t you live right there?”
“I do,” he said, and left it at that.
For a moment, he thought she was going to explode. Her jaw clenched, her eyes narrowed and she drew in a deep breath. Walker braced himself for some of the cursing he’d heard her aim at her husband during fights. But in the end, she let the breath out slowly and paced to the railing to look out at the street.
“You’re treating me like shit, you know. I know I’m not your girlfriend, and I know I’m married, but how can you just walk away from me like I’m nothing?”
“I’m sorry,” he said, and meant it. “I don’t want to make you feel bad. I just...”
“I’m lonely, Walker. My husband and I aren’t talking, and you’re the only one who ever treated me as more than the owner’s wife. It’s a hundred times worse now. People don’t know if they should even be nice to me.”
“We shouldn’t have done what we did. What we were thinking about doing. If he thinks we—”
“Oh, please. Like he doesn’t cheat? Everyone knows that black-haired bimbo who stays in the Settler’s Cabin every July isn’t there to get in touch with nature. Jesus Christ, last summer she didn’t even bother with one trail ride. Do you all think I’m an idiot?”
“Ah.” Walker swallowed hard, glad she was facing away from him. Yeah, they’d all known. It was part of the justification he’d given himself for messing with her in the first place. “So why don’t you just get divorced?”
Her back stiffened. “Why don’t I get divorced? Really? I like how you say that as if it never would’ve occurred to me.”
He shrugged. “Well?”
“You want the truth? My husband wants me around to raise his kids and I stay because of the prenup. Lovely, isn’t it?”
He didn’t understand rich folks. Wouldn’t she rather be free and a little poorer? “You can leave, Nicole. Just move on. I’m sure you love your stepkids, but they have a mom. You could start over.”
She turned to face him. “I don’t want to start over. I just want what I had. A nice house. A pretty life. And you, Walker. You were always around when I needed you.” She smiled. That sweet little smile she used when she wanted something. “It would be good between us. You know it would.”
Well, hell. Yes, it’d be good, but he couldn’t say he’d ever had bad sex, per se. You got what you put in, as far as he could tell, like most things in life. “Yes, it’d be good, but... It’s not right. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to treat you badly. I thought it was just about convenience for you. You were bored. I was there. But if your husband suspects...” If everyone suspects... “It’s silly, I guess, but a man has to have some standards.”
“Some standards, huh? Real nice, Walker.”
“I’m not talking about you! I’m not one of those guys. We were both there, together, doing the same thing. I’m just talking about myself. For whatever reason, it seemed harmless for a while, a few kisses, some fantasies...but I don’t want to take it further.”
“You damn sure did that night in the tack room.”
Walker took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair, trying to scrub away the panic that raced through his head at the memory. Yeah. He’d already shoved up her skirt and unzipped his pants when someone had walked past the tack room door. He’d thought his heart was going to jump out of his chest in that moment, waiting for whoever it was to open that unlocked door and expose them. It had only taken him a few seconds to zip back up and straighten her clothes and then feel damn grateful they’d been interrupted. Nicole hadn’t been so thankful.
She crossed her arms, her hands gripping her own elbows as if she was trying to find a little security. “I miss you,” she whispered.
