When he finally looked up, she was still sitting as ramrod straight as the moment she pulled out of the penitentiary. What would it be like to care so much and function normally with the weight sitting on your shoulders every day? Lauren lived byallthe rules. Zach adhered to absolutely zero of them.
When he couldn’t take the silence for another second, he shoved the manual in the glove box. “Where are we?”
“I’m not sure. Why don’t you check the map?” Lauren asked in her best teacher voice.
“No phone. Remember?”
She tapped the console between them.
Zach opened the top to find a folded map covering a brown leather Bible. He picked up the map and studied it. “What’s this?”
“A map. Do you know how to read it? We just passed mile marker?—”
“I know how to read a map. Why do you have it? You have a pocket computer.”
“Back in the olden days, like the 1900s, people used these to find their way around.”
Zach stared at her. Lauren looked totally normal, but she was anything but. “It’s like you’re a land pirate or something.”
“If you’re curious about where we are, the answers are in the land pirate manual, or we can talk about something important like where you’ll be living.”
Zach stuffed the map back inside the console. Now they were getting somewhere. “Talk to me.”
“I live on the east side of town in a house that my grandparents used to live in. They deeded the land and the property to me five years ago.”
Zach rubbed his hands over his face. As much as he’d love to know what living with Lauren would be like, curiosity wasn’t enough to make him think it was a good idea. “Sorry, but I’ve never lived with a woman before, and I don’t intend to start now.”
Lauren held up a finger. “I am not saying youcan live with me. Let me finish. Three years ago, I bought the property adjacent to mine, but the house that’s on it needs a lot of work before I can rent it out like I want to.”
“And?” Zach prodded.
“And you can live there rent-free if you help me fix it up. My house also needs some renovation. That’s the offer. You get a place to live, and I get free labor.”
Zach turned the offer over in his head, examining it from all sides. “I’m not anyone’s first call when they need a handyman.”
“The internet is a beautiful thing these days. I’m sure you can figure it out.”
The joke was on her. He would never admit it, but he wasn’t the best at “figuring things out,” hence his recent stay in prison. The only thing he’d learned in the last three years was how to be observant and stay alive.
“What about bills?” Surely there was a catch. Honestly, he couldn’t afford anything. He’d been planning to crash with one of his old friends, but Lauren’s place was probably ten times better than whatever his friends could offer. Living on the wrong side of the law didn’t pay much.
“I’ll take care of the utilities. You’ll still need to get a job because this one is only paying in room and board, but as long as you help me move things along and don’t cause problems, you’re welcome to stay.”
“You’re not going to give me a curfew or a list of rules?” That was the kicker. She probably thought shecould have full control if she got a little bit of leverage on him, and being told what to do wasn’t something Zach would voluntarily sign up for.
“I’m not your mom,” Lauren spat.
No, Lauren Vincent was definitely not his mom. Whatever random woman had given birth to him said, “See you in hell” before his first birthday, leaving him with his dad who could give the devil himself a run for his money.
“A job is going to be hard to come by with my record and no car.”
Lauren’s carefully constructed mask slipped just a little. “We have a lot to figure out.”
We? Who was she talking about? Her and the mouse in her pocket? When did they become a twosome?
“One thing at a time,” she continued as if she hadn’t just slid herself into his life without warning.
Definitely a ninja.
