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“Are you gay?” she asked, watching him carefully.
He chuckled and slowly shook his head. “You’re not used to men who don’t want you. I get that. You’re a beautiful woman. So let me elaborate a bit. If this was another time and place and I hadn’t just caught you rifling through my duffel bag, and say you weren’t sporting bruises and a ripped dress, well then, maybe I’d do more than take a second look. But I don’t do complicated, I don’t have time for it. And from what I can tell, complicated is your best friend.” He nodded at the food. “Eat that, and then we’ll talk.”
He sat down on the edge of the bed and ignored her completely as he made his way through his burger and fries. Like everything else he did, he ate methodically and slowly. He opted for a can of beer instead of water, and when he was done eating, he tossed the wrappers in the garbage and then turned his attention back to Chess.
She’d managed a couple of bites of the burger and a few fries, but her stomach roiled something fierce and she didn’t feel so good. She knew she needed to eat, so she forced down another french fry, but when it nearly made its way back up, she carefully wrapped what was left of her meal and sat on the lone chair in the room. It was that or fall flat on her face.
“I’m Cash Bodine,” he said slowly, as if weighing his words.
“Chess Somers.” She moistened her lips and took another swig of water. “Where are we?”
He looked surprised at her words. “This is my room. Yours is next door. You couldn’t get in. I guess you lost your key.”
“Oh,” she said quietly. “Right.” Her hand drifted up to her cheek, and she winced.
“What happened?” he asked.
“What always happens,” she said, more to herself than anything. “I trusted someone and landed in a pile of crap because of it.”
“Lady, you need to shortlist the people you trust.”
“Don’t worry about that.” Chess glanced up. “There was only one name left, and, well, as you can see, it didn’t exactly work out.” She waited for him to say something, but he remained silent, those dark eyes of his relentless in their intensity. “I should go.” Chess started to get to her feet, but a wave of dizziness had her head spinning so bad, she nearly slid to the floor.
Cash was on his feet in an instant.
“You don’t have a key, remember?”
Shit. Right.
Hot tears poked at her eyes, and Chess stared down at her trembling fingers.
/> “I can head over to the office and see if the guy there will give you an extra key.”
“No,” she replied, barely able to speak. “I already did that.”
“He doesn’t have an extra? He should.”
“Jerry said my mother took it last week.”
“Okay, but he should still have a master.”
She yanked her head up and shuddered, sick and tired of life and the bum deal she couldn’t seem to shake. “I’m sure he does. But the thing he wanted in return wasn’t something I was willing to give him, even if I look the type who does that sort of thing.” Her eyes flashed as fire erupted inside her. “You know, the complicated type who’d get down on her knees for an extra room key.”
Her voice broke as Chess sank back onto the chair. Her vision blurred, and the howling wind and ice against the window filled her ears. “Maybe I deserve this,” she whispered.
“No one deserves that.” He was there in front of her, on his knee, looking up at Chess.
She started to giggle. “There’s a whole town on the other side of that door who’d say you’re wrong. They’d say karma is a bitch and she sure looks good on Chess Somers.” Her giggles dried up, and she whispered, “They wouldn’t be wrong.”
For the longest time, there was nothing but the wind and the storm and the sound of her heart in her ears. When he spoke, she jumped, his voice like a physical touch.
“You need some rest. I’ve got an old sweatshirt and pants you can change into. They’ll be big, but you can roll up the waist. It will be a lot more comfortable than your coat and that dress.”
Embarrassed, Chess grabbed for the edge of her jacket and pulled it tighter, but Cash didn’t pay her any mind. He didn’t listen for her answer either. He handed her a faded gray sweatshirt along with a red-and-blue-plaid pair of sleep pants, then nodded toward the bathroom.
“You’re stuck here for the night, Chess. I’ll deal with the guy in the office tomorrow morning. If it wasn’t so bad out there, I’d put his ass in place right now, but the storm’s so bad, I can’t even see my truck, and it’s parked in front of my room.” His voice gentled, and she felt something inside her melt a little. It was what kindness sounded like.
It was a sound she’d long ago forgotten.
