LITMIR.BIZ

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      “Hey, before we head out,” Jack said. “I did have a favor I wanted to ask you.”

      Oh, there was that other shoe dropping. Ace should have known it wouldn’t be that simple. “What favor?”

      “It’s about Sierra West.”

      Ace thought back to last night, to the verbal sparring with that pretty blonde, who was a lot less pretty when she was running her mouth. “What about her?”

      “She’s going through some stuff. You could probably tell by her behavior last night.”

      “Not really. I run a bar. Her behavior seems run-of-the-mill to me. Actually, she was pretty tame. And I don’t know her from a barnacle on the bottom of a fishing boat.”

      “Just trust me, she’s going through some stuff. She kind of had a falling-out with her old man.”

      “Is that so?”

      She’d said that all of her drama was over a man. He supposed that counted. It was difficult to imagine anyone opposing Nathan West. He was such an established figurehead in Copper Ridge, and as far as Ace had ever seen, a decent enough guy.

      But hell, appearances didn’t mean a damn thing, and he knew that better than most. Or maybe it was just Sierra throwing a tantrum because daddy wouldn’t let her into her trust fund. Who knew.

      “She needs work,” Jack continued. “A job. But she hasn’t had any luck finding one because she doesn’t have any experience that extends beyond working at the family ranch.”

      “And how do you know all this?” Ace had observed there was something weird going on between Jack and the other woman last night, something about the way he watched her that went past casual interest.

      But if there was anything shady going on he doubted that Jack would bring her up in front of Eli, considering Eli was Kate’s older brother, and he wouldn’t hesitate to cut off Jack’s testicles and feed them to his cows should Jack ever do anything to hurt his sister.

      They had only been together for a few months, but everyone in town knew that Jack belonged to Kate. Hell, they were already engaged. Which was really something, considering Jack had spent so many years avoiding commitment.

      “Oh, you know, she’s good friends with Kate,” Jack said.

      Ace knew there was more than that, but he could also see that Jack had no intention of sharing what more there was.

      “So what are you trying to ask me, Monaghan?”

      “I was hoping you’d give her a job.”

      “So, no one else in town will give her a job because she has no work experience, I just saw her drunk off her ass last night, and you want me to hire her?”

      “The chicks in your place serve hamburgers. That’s not exactly rocket science.”

      “Watch it, Monaghan, that’s my livelihood.”

      “I know. Sorry. I’m not trying to be a dick. But it does come naturally.”

      “Sure. But I’m not sure I want a completely inexperienced cocktail waitress stumbling around the place messing up orders.”

      That was total crap. He’d hired people with a lot less to go on. He’d hired a borderline drifter, Casey James, a few months ago just to help her get back on her feet. She’d ended up quitting when she’d fallen in love with Aiden Crawford, a local farmer. Working on her own land seemed to be more fulfilling than serving drinks. Which he understood, even if it had left him a little shorthanded.

      But he wasn’t admitting any of that.

      “I’m helping you out by investing in this place. I’m taking a chance, and I think it’s a good chance. Can you take a chance on her?”

      He didn’t want to. That was the simple truth. He so violently didn’t want to that he didn’t want to explore the reasoning. Because it was weird that he should care at all. She was rich, she was a spoiled brat. She had said some ridiculous stuff to him last night about him having it easy. But that shouldn’t matter.

      It wouldn’t, if she wasn’t such a pretty little thing.

      He gritted his teeth, ignoring that internal voice. He didn’t care if she was pretty. Pretty covered a lot of sins, but Jack had learned that early on. He spread his favors around fairly freely with women, he had no problem admitting that. But there was one type he always avoided.

      Sierra West’s type.

      He also never screwed around with his staff.

      If she was staff, that would put her in a double no-go zone. So, whether or not she was pretty should mean nothing. What she’d said to him last night shouldn’t mean anything, either.

      Still didn’t want to hire her. She reminded him too much of another time in his life. Of another woman in his past. Women like her were poison in a good glass of wine.

      You could drink the whole thing down before you realized you were already dead.

      “I’m not running a charity. I don’t give out first summer jobs to grown women who play like they’re high school girls. If she wants a job, she needs to come and ask me for one.”

      Jack frowned. “Do you have something against her?”

      “I wouldn’t go so far as that. But I gave her a ride home last night, and she was in fine form. Like I said, I’m used to that kind of thing, but it doesn’t mean I need to give that kind of thing a job. If she wants to come by the bar and apologize for her behavior and ask me directly for a job, then I’ll consider it because you mentioned it.”

      “Fair enough,” Jack said.

      Eli had been silent through the whole exchange, and Ace took a moment to study the other man’s expression. It was unreadable. Unhelpful.

      “Is there anything else I should know?” Ace figured he should just go ahead and ask.

      “Nope,” Jack answered, shaking his head.

      “Okay, then. Have her come down during the slow time. I’m assuming you’re going to tell her she has a job interview.”

      Jack rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “Kate probably will.”

      “However you want to work it out.”

      “Thanks. I do appreciate it, for what it’s worth. From what... From what Kate has told me, Sierra’s had a harder time than you might think.”

      “If she can deliver french fries to the appropriate table it doesn’t much matter to me.”

      “Well, that part will be up to you. In the meantime, keep us posted on everything happening here.”

      “Sure,” Ace said. “Did you want to help me pick out curtains?”

      Eli broke his silence with a laugh. “I don’t even want to pick out curtains for my own house.”

      “I suppose I’ll have to hire someone. That’s the problem with trying to open a place that sits a few notches higher on the restaurant scale than a dive bar. It means I have to cultivate tastes that rise above dive bar.”

      “If nothing else,” Jack said, “there will be beer. Beyond that, I’m not sure you can really go wrong.”

      “True enough.”

      After that, Eli and Jack turned to go. And Ace tried not to think about all the ways this could absolutely go wrong. Sure things, in his experience, were never really sure things. Life had a way of going wrong in spectacular and unforeseen ways.

      That was his only defense really. Expect an attack to come from somewhere, even if he couldn’t figure out where it might come from.

      At least he would have Sierra West’s attempt at a job interview and humility to entertain him.

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