“I’m also smart, Miss Hart. I know how to read between the lines.” He leans forward, his eyes serious, everything youthful about him slipping away. “If I had to choose between you and your late father to look after my little sisters, I’d choose you every single time. And I love my sisters more than anything on this earth.”
I swallow hard, feeling choked up. “So does that mean you’ll take the job?” I whisper.
He grins, and all that boyish charm comes back. “Heck yes.” He looks around, pausing when he sees a couple of men by one of the trucks, and lowers his voice. “I also have some slightly less than legal ideas for the land in particular, if you want them.”
Intriguing. “Such as?”
A wicked glint appears in his eyes. “Boobytraps.”
I throw my head back and laugh before offering him my hand. “I knew I liked you the second you got here.”
He blushes but looks eager when he takes my hand. “I’m excited. Thanks for taking a chance on me. I won’t let you down.”
“I know. I have a good feeling about this.”
“Could I come by next week to get things set up, or is that too late? It’s just that I’ll need to order what you’ll need?—”
I wave him off. “Next week is fine. I’ll text Jenny to make sure you have a credit card for everything you need. I don’t want anything to come out of your pocket, okay?”
“Okay, and thanks again. I’ll call Jenny when I get home.”
“See you next week then. Make sure she gives you my mobile number too, in case you need it.” He gives me a thumbs up and heads to his car. I watch him leave before I head inside to grab another drink.
When I walk into the kitchen, I find Riggs with his back to me, his head bowed as he talks on his cell phone. “No, I understand. Thanks anyway. Call me if anything else becomes available—” He pulls the phone from his ear and looks at it before realizing they’ve hung up. “Fuck.”
“Everything okay?”
He whirls around before nodding. “Everything’s fine, ma’am.” He walks out, leaving me to wonder if he knows what a shit liar he is.
I grab coffee in a fresh mug because I forgot to bring the other one in and admire the new fridge, taking in the bags and boxes on the countertop. I hear a voice coming my way, so I headback out to my spot on the porch, which is where I spend the rest of my morning. I see eight people total, and with the exception of David, not one of them fits. So much so, I’m getting a sneaky suspicion.
When Greg, the man I just turned away, blazes out of here, I pick up my cell and dial Jenny.
She answers on the second ring, but she sounds distracted. “I’m on my way to court. You have five minutes. Everything going okay there?”
“With the delivery folk you surprised me with, yes, though we’ll get back to that. What’s with the interviewees?”
“I don’t know what you mean?”
I sigh. “They’re awful, Jen.”
“Really? Dammit. I really thought some of them would work out.”
“I’ve hired David, but the rest I wouldn’t even pay to mow my lawn.”
“You don’t have a lawn,” she huffs. “Which one’s David?”
“The kid.”
“Ah. I thought you might like him.”
“And the rest? You thought I might like egotistical, condescending, patronizing?—”
“Okay, okay, I get it. I messed up. I wanted you to see that there are some fucking idiots out there, and those are the ones who didn’t just get out of prison. And no, this isn’t about you. I’m talking about dangerous men, ones that you’d be alone with. I couldn’t in good faith set you up to be raped and murdered,” she snaps, making me groan.
“Fine. I get it.”
“So you’ll let me hire an actual bodyguard of my choosing for you?” she asks.