Hawk tied off a loop with his good hand. “Town seems to think otherwise.”
Adam’s head snapped up. “Town?”
Hawk glanced at him, amused. “Word travels.”
“Fantastic,” Adam muttered.
Hawk went on, unbothered. “She’s pretty.”
Adam snorted. “That’s your contribution?”
“Just an observation,” Hawk said.
Adam shook his head and went back to the post. He didn’t want to think about Bianca’s mouth, or the way she’d watched him when he talked, or how easily the conversation had become warm and charged. He didn’t want to think about how long it had been since anyone had looked at him that way.
They worked another minute. Rain pattered against the wire, and a cottonwood’s leaves slapped wetly in the wind.
“She seems smart and likeable,” Hawk said.
The woman had been funny, too. “Yeah, but she’s from the city and likes her money.”
“Shit. Who doesn’t like money?” Hawk muttered, lifting his good arm to wipe mud off his cheek as rain beat against his drenched cowboy hat. “Nothing wrong with that.”
Adam shrugged. “Not my type, you know? My mom was a professional gold digger. I’ve told you stories.” Sitting around campfires at night, everyone told stories. “In fact, Bianca’s mom sounds a lot like mine. Hers ultimately married a Hollywood mogul and mine a tech genius. For the money.” The woman had never been happy, though. Probably still wasn’t.
“You’re different than your mom,” Hawk said reasonably.
True. “But I ain’t wearing designer jeans, now, am I?” Adam shook his head.
“You don’t have the body for it.”
Adam snorted. “Look who’s talking.” There were more rips in Hawk’s jeans than Adam’s, and that was saying something.
“It’s not like you’re poor,” Hawk said.
“My finances aren’t anyone’s business. Especially a Hollywood scout who’ll be gone before the huckleberries bloom.” Adam drove the post again, too hard. The impact jarred his arms. “Though I wouldn’t mind dating her while she’s here.”
Hawk snipped off the wire. “Ah. The famous let’s-have-the-month move. You know that never works, right? Someone always falls hard and then gets hurt.” He slid in the mud and quickly recovered. “Maybe you’ll be the one to fall. I saw how you looked at her.”
Adam wiped rain off his face with the back of his wrist. “Like I said, she’s pretty. But I’m not interested in knowing more about her than what I already do.”
Hawk glanced at him. “You’re lying.”
Adam stared at him, then looked away. “I’m not.”
Hawk didn’t push. “Maybe she wants to know more about you. Maybe she actually sees you. Most people don’t.”
Adam barked a laugh. “She sees a business owner who can help her do her job.”
“Maybe,” Hawk said. “Or maybe she sees a man who shows up. Who fixes things. Who takes care of people.”
Adam clipped the wire with a sharp snap. “You’re giving her a lot of credit.”
“I’m giving you credit,” Hawk said. “You do a hell of a lot for everyone around here.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”