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“Talulah lives next to her,” Kurt volunteered. “You know that Victorian farmhouse on the property just beyond Ellen’s? That belongs to Brant and Talulah.”
“Jordan’s never been to my house,” Ellen explained. “He’s...he’s from Libby.”
“Libby, huh?” Kurt said. “What do you do up there?”
“I’m a dentist.”
Kurt’s eyebrows slid up. “Really. I have a cousin who lives there. You don’t know a Don Taylor, do you?”
“I’m afraid not,” Jordan replied. “I haven’t lived there long. I was born and raised in Portland, only decided to move to Libby a year ago when I heard that the father of a friend I went to dental school with was retiring and selling his practice.”
The waitress arrived with their food. Hendrix stepped back and pulled Kurt out of the way so she could put down their plates. It was the perfect opportunity to disengage. But he’d become so intrigued by Jordan’s connection to Ellen, he had to ask the dentist a question himself. “So...is this your first time in Coyote Canyon?”
Jordan unwrapped his silverware so he could put his napkin in his lap. “It is.”
“Then you must’ve lived in Anaconda for a while,” Kurt said. “Otherwise, how’d you meet Ellen?”
“I’ve never lived in Anaconda.” Jordan picked up his burger. “We met online a few weeks ago.”
“Online?”Kurt repeated. “You mean like...on a dating app?”
That struck Hendrix as odd, too. Not the online dating part. A lot of people used the internet to meet someone. It was that Ellen was looking for a man in the first place. She was so waspish she was practically unapproachable, which was probably why he couldn’t remember her being associated with any of the guys in Coyote Canyon—not since she’d gone out with Brant for a few months after she first moved to town.
“Yeah.” Irritation had flared up and showed in Jordan’s expression. “Is there something wrong with that?”
Kurt lifted his hands. “Of course not. I just...”
When his words dwindled away, Hendrix took charge. He couldn’t imagine Ellen putting up a profile any more than Kurt could, but all the pieces were beginning to fit together. This was a date. The dentist was all cleaned up, freshly shaved and wearing cologne—and he and Ellen were just getting to know each other. “Sorry,” he said. “In case you can’t tell, Kurt’s had a little too much to drink. We’ll let the two of you enjoy your dinner.”
Ellen and Jordan mumbled something polite in return and nodded as Hendrix dragged Kurt away.
“Did you hear that?” Kurt asked as they weaved through the crowded bar to reach the gaming section in back.
“Hear what?” Hendrix asked.
“Ellen’s been using a dating site. Why, for God’s sake? I mean...there are plenty of guys around here who’d be happy to go out with her. What’s wrong with one of us?”
Hendrix looked over his shoulder, but Ellen’s eyes were still following them, so he immediately glanced away. “Don’t tell meyouwant to date her,” he said, even though Kurt had already made that fairly clear.
His friend jerked out of Hendrix’s grasp. “Hell, yeah, I’d like to date her. Who wouldn’t—besides you? She’s hot, man. And I bet she’d be a wildcat in bed.”
Hendrix got the same feeling. He knew she was a passionate person—and he was becoming converted to her sex appeal. He just couldn’t bring himself to acknowledge it. “She doesn’t seem like your type.”
“I didn’t think so at first, either,” Kurt admitted. “But thanks to Brant and Talulah, I’ve had the chance to get to know her. I understand whyyouhate her, butIthink she’s cool.”
Hendrix didn’t respond. He and Stuart had lost a lot of business to Ellen. He didn’t want to lose his friends to her, too. He couldn’t argue the point, anyway. There was no question she had plenty of charisma. It was just that it didn’t hit you at first. It built gradually, sort of snuck up on a person. That night when he’d gone to her place to apologize and she’d come to the door in her robe, he’d felt something different than ever before—a sudden upwelling of desire, which concerned him more than anything had in a long time.
It would be the greatest irony in the world if he ended up wanting Ellen. He could only imagine how she’d relish the power that would give her.
He had to stamp out the attraction. He just wasn’t sure how.
“Don’t you think she’s pretty?” Kurt asked, still clearly upset that some stranger from out of town had swooped in to take what he’d been hoping to get himself.
“Not at all,” Hendrix replied, but that was such a blatant lie he was afraid Kurt would be able to see right through it.
Seven
For the next couple of hours, Hendrix couldn’t stop surreptitiously watching Ellen and her date. And he wasn’t the only one. Kurt commented on every move they made. “Look at that,” he said with disgust. “Look how close they’re dancing.”
