In the wake of her question, my ears are ringing.Fuck, this just keeps getting better and better.
I have zero idea what the odds are of something like this happening, but I also know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. Clearly, we’ve done something to make the universe pretty goddamn happy with us lately, and I, for one, will take it.
She blinks a few times. “Some. At the club where I used to work, I did inventory and reports sometimes. I’m fast and I don’t mind repetitive work.”
Her voice carries that city tone, confident and a little defensive, like she’s learned not to let people see too much. I lean back in my chair, snapping into full interview mode even though I already know I want to keep her close.
“What club?” I ask casually, mostly to hear her talk again.
Her eyes flick to mine, the expression in them sharp for a second before she blinks it away. “Just a nightclub. Nothing special, but it was a pretty popular place. Stock moved fast and staff turnover was high.”
An answer that doesn’t give away a single scrap of information.
The deflection is smooth and practiced. I’ve seen that kind of guarded before. Boone had been that way during his divorce. Chance after Afghanistan.
She isn’t just hiding something. She’s protecting herself.
I let it slide, deciding not to call her out or press for more than she’s willing to give. “We mostly just need someone to clean up files, log reports, and keep us from drowning in admin. The pay is decent and the hours are flexible.”
“Wow.” She gives me a small, relieved smile. “That sounds kind of perfect.”
Well, that’s good enough for me.
“Congrats,” I say without even looking at the others. “You’re hired.”
Her mouth falls open. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
Her smile is small and tentative, but it reaches her eyes, and damn if that doesn’t light something in my chest I haven’t felt in a long time. “When do I start?”
“Is tomorrow too soon?” Boone asks, raking a hand through his hair as he looks at her.
Those stormy eyes are so intent that, for a beat, I’m worried he might be too intense for her, but she shakes her head and even flashes him another smile. “It’s right on time, actually. I was hoping to find a job before the end of the month. I never would’ve guessed that I’d find one before I even unpacked. Just,uh, you’re not playing with me, right? This is a real job that you actually need someone to do?”
“It’s a real job.” Chance pulls his phone out of his pocket, brings up the contract he’d been drafting, and hands the device over. “You can check the document. It was created almost two months ago.”
As she scrolls, skimming the contents, I see the moment she came across the clause detailing her salary. Her eyes widen a little, and Boone must’ve noticed it too, because he explains.
“We value our privacy and, in our business, discretion is key. You’re going to be working with sensitive information. Nothing too crazy, but you’ll have a fair amount of access to us, our business practices, and our servers. We’re willing to pay for loyalty.”
“I can see that.” She finally passes the phone back to Chance, looking at us a little differently now, like maybe she’s starting to understand that we’re not just three weirdos running around the woods, waiting for any trace of smoke to race to the rescue of damsels in distress. “I guess you really do have a lot of windows, huh?”
I chuckle. “It’s hard to miss anything that happens in the valley when you’ve pretty much got a 270-degree view.”
“Fair enough.” More tension eases from her shoulders, and she relaxes a little as she asks us questions about the company and life in Silver Ridge while we eat.
We tell her everything she wants to know, then she ends up on the porch with us for our nightly drink, even kicking her sneakers up next to our boots. As always, the propane heaters hum and the night stretches quiet around us.
Roxie sits bundled in a blanket, cradling a beer between her palms. Chance leans against the railing beside her, talking about the local wildlife. Bears. Coyotes. Basically, the Montana starter pack ofdon’t go out alone at night.
Boone just listens, that unreadable expression of his giving nothing away. I watch her, noticing how easily she laughs with Chance, teases Boone about being too serious, and even asks me about coding like she actually cares.
It’s obvious that she’s smart, effortlessly reading the room before she speaks. She also doesn’t fawn or flirt to fill the silence.
Honestly, it’s almost eerie how well she fits. Maybe a woman really had just fallen right into our laps and maybe this time, she’s the one who would finally understand what we have going on, and actually want it.
“Do you really expect me to believe that you wrestled a bear?” She gives Chance a look that says there’s no way she’s falling for it. “I might be new around here, but evenIknow that’s not possible.”
