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She shoved the money through. The bills fell around him, and she didn’t care. “You paid eighty-seven dollars,” she told him, “not a hundred. You also undertipped. Consider yourself repaid.” After that, she headed up the walk again and didn’t look back.
She didn’t step on the burrs this time, at least.
* * *
Beckett lockedthe door after her. “Next time,” he said, “consider sending me out with the money.” He couldn’t have said how he felt. Alive, though, that was sure.
“Ha,” Quinn said, sounding breathless. “Like I didn’t let you do too much already. I suspect my reputation is going to precede me after this and the orthodontist, and not in the usual way. This dating thing issonot working. Maybe I’d do better in San Francisco, because I’m sure not a hit in Montana. Ouch. Myfeet.”She lifted a leg and looked at the bottom of her foot. “Ow. I guess Joel’s out for finishing my attic, too. And—seventy bucks. Check, Venmo, what?”
Beckett grinned. And then he laughed.
A startled moment, and then she was laughing, too. He saw Janey with her mouth open, and Troy looking stunned, but right now, he was laughing. Quinn held her arms over her stomach, staggered some, and gasped, “Hisface.He couldn’tbelieveI didn’t want him. He hated my house! And how could he imagine I’d consider sleeping with a guy who whined about his child support payment?Why was I even thinking about a second date, other than not wanting to admit my total failure to Martin? I mean, he chews! And the way he tried tohityou. Just … justwhalingaway. I’ll bet he’s a …” She was still laughing. “Aterribledancer. He can’t even walk backwards!”
“Missing his hat,” Beckett managed to get out. “That’s his excuse? Most men would’ve just sent a text.”
She waved a hand. “And said what? ‘Your dreams have come true, because I’m willing to take you out again, even though I already spent almost a hundred dollars for nothing, and your body isn’t made for sin,’ not to mention all the stuff you didn’t let him say? Made forsin?What kind of 80s dialogue is that?”
Janey said, “Dad! Hehityou?”
“Nah.” He couldn’t stop grinning. “Not so I’d notice. Some men don’t like hearing ‘No,’ and they like it less if there’s another bloke standing around to see it, that’s all.”
“But Dad,” Troy said, “you aren’t s’posed to fight!”
“What?” he said. “That wasn’t fighting. That was turfing a fella out, that’s all.”
“Which you didn’t need to do,” Quinn said, wiping her eyes. “If he calls the cops, how embarrassing will that be for me? Judges aren’t supposed to get in brawls.”
“You weren’t in a brawl,” he said. “I was in a brawl, possibly. You were a bystander.”
“I was not a bystander! And I was doing just fine using my words, did you notice? Though I’ll admit I appreciated the intervention,” she added. “Exactly what my dad would’ve done.”
“I’m a throwback, maybe,” Beckett said. “Or just an Aussie. And that bloke’s not calling the cops and admitting I chucked him out. He’d never live it down.”
“He’s Angel’s dad, though,” Janey said with a sort of moan. “Angel Leeming. Now she’sreallygoing to hate me.”
“Cheerleader,” Beckett told Quinn, still ridiculously amused. His face hurt a bit, yeah, but it had been worth it. “Doesn’t like Janey.”
“Oh,” Quinn said. “She’s jealous, huh? Because you’re pretty and have an interesting accent and come from an exotic place? Well, if her parents were fighting like that before the divorce, I’m guessing she hasn’t been very happy at home.”
“She’s notsad,”Janey said. “She’smean.”
“Sad makes people mean,” Quinn said. “Some people. So. Adrenaline always makes me hungry. Let’s go have some soup and sandwiches, and you can tell me about Angel, we can talk about Troy’s possible bedroom, and your dad can tell me how he wants me to pay him back.”
“You already paid me back,” Beckett said. “That was worth it. Most fun I’ve had in ages.”
“If we’re going to do this thing,” she said, “we’re going to do it equitably. Joel’s right, I may not be the most feminine woman on the planet, if that means I don’t like owing people. You’ve paid for dinner twice, and I’ve eaten at your house, too, so come on. Payback, Volume One. Soup.”
22
NEGOTIATION
He did a bit of research on his phone during lunch—and he’d just say here that it was rare to find a woman who put enough meat and cheese in a sandwich, not to mention knowing that ham made any soup better—after explaining to Quinn about the need for clothes-buying and the trip to Kalispell.
“TJ Maxx?” he asked her. “Old Navy, Ross Dress for Less, JC Penney? Or just go to Walmart here in Sinful? Faster. We don’t have time to go to heaps of places, but we may need someplace with advice about bras and so forth. Not much advice at Walmart.”
“Dad,”Janey said, sounding pained to the point of anguish,“no.Angel laughs about Ross Dress for Less! And Walmart?No.It has to be things like Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters! And you can’t talk about … aboutbras.Not in front of other people!”
“Forever 21?” he said. “You’re not forever 21. You’re notcloseto 21. You’re eleven, and if buying the right clothes means you’re a snob, we’re not doing it. Also, if I don’t talk about bras tosomebody,I don’t know how I’m buying you one, because I don’t have a clue.” He knew which kinds he liked best, and how to unhook one with one hand. As for buying one for an eleven-year-old, though? Or more than one, because you probably needed more, didn’t you? Abby had had half a drawer of them, along with her undies. He’d used to see them pinned to the washing line, the utilitarian ones and the frothy ones both, and … and enjoyed the sight. Made him feel good, somehow. Like a husband.
