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Itwasa man down there, not quite in the lounge. Beard, jeans, work boots, and outside voice. Oversized belt buckle on somewhat oversized body, all of him taking up too much space in the room, like he was trying to crowd Quinn into a corner. Beckett recognized the type by now, since he had more than a few of them working on his job. Montana Man, slightly overbearing variety. Give up even a bit of territory, and he’d push for all of it.
Quinn looked tense, and when the bloke looked at Beckett, that look wasn’t friendly. The bloke didn’t say hello, either. He said, “What the hell?”
Then the kids came downstairs, and he said, “Oh. It’s your brother.”
“Well, no,” Beckett said. “Not. Beckett Hughes. Who’re you, mate?” Which came out more hostile than he’d intended, but who was this bloke to be throwing his weight around? Six first dates, Quinn had said. This wasn’t the orthodontist, and it wasn’t the middle-school principal. Unless he was very much mistaken, this was Date Number Three.
Quinn might think she wasn’t appealing, but Beckett had seen her in those jeans, and so had this wanker.
Janey was going to have to wait a bit on the new clothes.
21
THE CONTRACTOR
She wasn’t the kind of woman men fought over, so that wasn’t it. She was familiar with the sight of two men bristling at each other like wild boars in rut, though.
Probably some work-related thing. Maybe Joel had wanted the job, and it had gone to an outsider? She said, “Beckett Hughes, Joel Leeming. Construction manager for Brett Hunter, and general contractor. Beckett is considering moving in. He hasn’t said he hates my house yet.” Possibly because she was curious to see what would happen.
“What the hell?” Joel said again. “What are you doing going out with me, then?”
“He’s not considering getting involved with me,” she said. “Just considering being my housemate.” Oh, whoops. Kids. “With his kids. Janey and Troy.”
Joel ignored the kids. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
“No,” she said. “I think you’re mistaken. And so far out of line, you can’t even see it in the rearview mirror. Why are you here, exactly?” Which wasn’t the way to get to a second date, but she’d just decided she wasn’t all that excited about a second date anyway.
“I told you,” he said. “I came by to see if I’d left my hat here.”
“Probably not,” she said, “since it didn’t leave your head all night, and I can see the crease from it on your forehead now, which means it’s in your truck. I’ve heard that song, ‘You Can Leave Your Hat On,’ but there’s a limit.” She longed to say,What happened to men taking off their hats indoors?She didn’t, because she wasn’t exactly the Etiquette Queen herself. She also didn’t say,I don’t believe you.
Wait. Shehadbasically said that.
“Fine,” he said. “You’re giving out some mixed signals there, but some women seem to enjoy watching how off-balance they can make a guy. Is that the point, then? You’ve got no problem kissing me last night, but today you’re telling me to kiss your—”
She said, “Excuse me. There are children here,” in her most controlled courtroom voice, and he shut up. “You have two kids yourself, you said.”
“Yeah. Angel and Rocky.” He looked disconcerted now.
“Oh.” It was a soft exclamation, and it had come from Janey. What was that about?
Quinn said, “If we’re going to have a conversation, let’s sit down. Do you want some tea? Beckett? Joel?”
“Tea?” Joel stared at her. “Why would I want tea?”
She wasn’t going to let him rattle her. She asked, “Beckett? Tea?”
“No, thanks.” He still looked alert, but also amused. Of course, she was a little amused herself, so …
“I don’t get it,” Joel burst out, like he couldn’t control himself. “What are you looking for? I’m not it, but he is?”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with him,” she said, because maybe her own self-control wasn’t perfect at this moment, “Since you talked about your ex half the night—no, you’re not it. You didn’t litigate your divorce, which made me think it was amicable, but clearly it was more complicated than that. I was a family-law attorney, did I mention that? I see a lot of divorce. Probably better to wait to start dating until you’re over the ‘defensive and bitter’ stage. Or the ‘crying in your beer’ stage, because I’ve got the sense you fluctuate.”
“You mentioned plenty about your important job,” Joel said.
“I mentioned it once,” she said.
“She didn’t ask you enough fascinated questions, is that it?” Beckett put in. “And yet you’re back here anyway. She could be asking you whatyou’relooking for, of course. She’s not doing it, because I’m thinking she’s sussed that out.”
