Ashley’s eyes widened. “Elissa, no. He’s yours.”
“He’s not and this isn’t about asking you out.”
Ashley pouted. “Then why do I want to bother talking to him?”
“Just go.”
Mindy watched the exchange. “That’s interesting. Want to tell me what it’s all about?”
Elissa quickly filled her in. Mindy sighed.
“So he’s really not here for you. Bummer.”
“I’m okay with it,” Elissa said.
“You shouldn’t be,” her friend told her. “Dammit, Elissa, he’s good-looking, nice and someone doing the right thing. Why aren’t you interested?”
“I have my plan.”
Mindy rolled her eyes. “Going another thirteen years without sex isn’t a plan, it’s a death sentence. I know you love your daughter and we all admire that, but you’re taking yourself a little too seriously.”
Elissa appreciated the concern. “You don’t understand. I have really,
really
lousy taste in men. If I’m attracted to Walker—and I’m not saying I am—but if I were, there would be something hugely wrong with him.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Not for me.”
Elissa watched as Walker held out a picture. Ashley took it, then shook her head.
Elissa poured his drink and carried it to his table.
“She’s not the one,” he said.
“How many Ashleys have you talked to?”
“Fifteen so far. I found the easy ones first. I had to travel to Oregon and Montana for two of them.”
“You’re not going to give up, are you?”
“Ben was a good kid. He had a lot of heart. Someone out there has to have cared about him, missed him. I’m going to find her.”
“I know you will.” Walker wasn’t the kind to give up. He had a lot of heart, too, although she would guess he wouldn’t want to admit it.
“Your friends are watching us.”
She didn’t have to turn around to know who he meant. “They’re intrigued by you.”
“Sorry to bring this into your work.”
“It’s okay. We haven’t had that many things to talk about in the past few days. Now we have you.”
“I’m not that interesting.”
“You’d be surprised.”
T
HE SPORTS BAR CROWD
groaned as the Mariners left two men on base. Walker ignored the game and walked toward the bar. His brother Reid leaned against the polished wood of the bar and smiled at the herd of women surrounding him.
When Reid spotted Walker, he slipped away from his adoring fans and promised he would be back later.
“You haven’t been in for a while,” Reid said as the two brothers claimed an empty corner table. “Getting lucky?”
Walker ignored that and ordered a beer from the busty, blond waitress who paused by their table.
“I’m good,” Reid told her and then turned his attention back to Walker. “Well?”
“I’m busy.”
“So you’re not getting any.” He motioned to the many women in the bar. “See anything you like here?”
“What do they see in you?” he asked.
“They think I’m charming.”
Walker wasn’t so sure about that, but Reid’s many years as a major league pitcher certainly helped his score quotient.
“But enough about me,” Reid said. “You’ve been back, what? Three months? All I know about is one short fling that lasted maybe two nights. It’s just not natural for a man to be alone, especially when he doesn’t have to be. You’ve got the soldier thing going for you. Plus, hey, you’re a Buchanan.”
“You don’t have anyone special in your life,” Walker pointed out.
Reid held up both hands. “I’m not talking about special. Who needs that? Just a little something to take your mind off things. It might help you adjust to life in the real world.”
“What makes you think I’m having any trouble adjusting?”
Reid shrugged. “I did. It’s a bitch to go from the roaring crowd chanting my name to this.”
“You’re doing okay.”
Reid’s stark expression said okay wasn’t good enough.
“It’s your first season out,” Walker said. “It’ll get easier.”
The waitress appeared with the beer. Walker took it and thanked her.
“You think it’s going to get easier for you?” Reid asked. “You want to tell me you don’t still dream about the bombs and the fear and the waiting for the next sniper shot?”
Walker never talked about his time in the military, but he wasn’t surprised to hear Reid’s accurate assessment of his life. He’d been in several hot spots. How hard was it to guess the big picture?
“It’s different,” he said.
“Agreed, but it’s still an adjustment.”
Around them the crowd cheered a home run. Reid didn’t bother to look at the giant TV screens.
“Are you sorry you left?” Reid asked.
Walker could read between the lines. He’d had a choice. Reid hadn’t. Once he blew out his shoulder, it was all over.
“I made the right decision,” Walker said slowly. “There are things I miss about the Marines, but not the killing. Every man has a line. If he crosses it, he becomes a psychopath. I was getting too damn close.”
“So what do you do now?” Reid asked. “After you find Ashley?”
Walker shrugged.
“Penny did twenty minutes on how you put the baby furniture together,” Reid told him. “You’re good at that kind of stuff. Maybe you should buy an old house and fix it up.”
“I’ve thought about it.”
He wasn’t ready to move just yet. He liked where he lived.
Damn—he was in big trouble if he was lying to himself. It wasn’t the place he liked, it was Elissa. Her and that stupid chicken on her uniform. How she’d looked so fierce, standing on his porch with her baseball bat. He wasn’t anyone who needed protecting, but she hadn’t thought of that. She’d just decided he was in trouble and had come to the rescue.
He hadn’t met anyone like her in a long time—maybe ever. Determined and independent with a heart as hard as a marshmallow. She was sexy as hell, too. Especially when she earnestly explained why she wasn’t interested in dating or having sex with him.
But he wasn’t going to act on it. He knew better than to get involved. Things would only end badly for her and he didn’t want that.
“I know some twins,” Reid said into the silence. “Interested?”
Walker rolled his eyes. “Not all problems can be solved with sex.”
Reid grinned. “Most of them can.”
“I’
M READY FOR MORE
vegetables, dear,” Mrs. Ford said from her place at Elissa’s kitchen table.
Elissa glanced over at the nearly full salad bowl. “You made quick work of everything.”
“It’s all in the right tools.” The older woman held up a unique little gadget that looked like a cross between garden shears and kitchen scissors. “I saw this Toss and Chop on QVC and knew I had to have it.”
Elissa stirred the pasta, making sure it cooked evenly. There was a nice marinara sauce with a whisper of meat—a scant quarter pound she hadn’t put in the chili.
“I felt kind of guilty at the mall today,” she admitted. “Like a fashion spy or something.”
“Why? You went into the store, you saw what was popular and you left. Hardly a crime.”
“I know. If I could afford to buy Zoe’s clothes, I would. But one of the dresses I looked at cost forty-five dollars. It’s not even two yards of fabric.”
Instead, she’d gone into the popular stores and checked out the various hot styles. Once home, she’d sketched out a few things to make herself. She wanted to make sure her daughter felt good about her clothes when she started kindergarten. Elissa still remembered the year she’d turned eleven and had shot up a couple of inches practically overnight. She’d gone to school with jeans that were too short and had been teased mercilessly. To this day, she still remembered crying all the way home.
Growing up was challenging enough. She was going to do her best to make sure Zoe avoided all possible pitfalls.
“Jeans and T-shirts are easy,” Elissa said. “Thank goodness for Wal-Mart. But the rest of it…”
“You’ll do fine. Have you seen Walker recently?”
Elissa stirred the sauce. “Not your smoothest transition.”
“I’m old and therefore allowances are made. Have you?”
“Not really.” Not if one didn’t count his recent visit to the restaurant. She didn’t want to get into the reason why he’d been there and if she left that out, Mrs. Ford was likely to assume things were heating up, which they weren’t.
“You should consider him,” Mrs. Ford said. “You’ve often mentioned that Zoe needs a father figure in her life.”
If Elissa had been swallowing, she would have choked. “You’re suggesting Walker for the job?”
“Why not? He’s an honorable man.”
Elissa could imagine him doing a lot of things, but being a surrogate father to a five-year-old little girl? “There’s more to it than just being honorable. He’s not exactly emotionally accessible.”
“Neither are you, dear.”
“Ouch.”
Mrs. Ford shook her head. “I’m sorry if that sounded harsh, and I apologize in advance for speaking my mind. Elissa, you’re living like a nun. It’s not natural for a woman your age. You have a perfectly attractive, healthy man living less than ten feet over your head. You should do something about that. Use it or lose it, I always say.”
Elissa didn’t know what to think. Parts of her brain actually froze. Was her ninety-something neighbor suggesting she have
sex
with Walker? Sex?
“Actually, you don’t say that,” Elissa managed at last. “You said I had to be in love first. While I appreciate the advice…”
Sort of.
“The thing is, I don’t want Zoe hurt. I don’t want her to get attached only to have the guy leave.”
“Not all men leave.”
True. Sometimes you had to kick them out yourself.
Mrs. Ford’s dark eyes narrowed. “It’s important for Zoe to know what a healthy romantic relationship looks like. She needs to understand how a man and woman relate to each other.”
“That’s why we watch television,” Elissa said cheerfully. “There are plenty of perfect families there.”
S
ATURDAY
E
LISSA ARRIVED
home with Zoe only to find Mrs. Ford standing on the front porch. It was warm and the old lady shouldn’t be out in the sun. The fact that she was gave Elissa a bad feeling.
“What’s wrong?” Elissa asked as she got out of the car.
“It’s the plumbing, dear,” Mrs. Ford said with a sigh. “It’s all backed up. I spoke to the answering service. Our landlord is on a cruise and the usual plumber isn’t answering his page. The service is trying to get someone here on an emergency basis, but they keep pointing out that it’s Saturday and it’s very expensive for that kind of call.”
Elissa groaned. Was that their way of only
pretending
to make the call?
“Let me call them,” she said. “Zoe, honey, stay out here with Mrs. Ford.”
“Why?” her daughter asked.
“Because when the plumbing backs up, it gets really stinky.”
Mrs. Ford smiled. “Stinky is a very good word.”
Seattle’s other name—the Emerald City—came from the abundance of trees and lots of rain. But the rain mostly fell in winter. Summer could be hot and sunny for weeks at a time, like now. Unfortunately, most apartments weren’t air-conditioned—no one thought it was worth the expense for only a few weeks out of the year.
Which meant Elissa’s apartment was not only stinky, it was stifling when she went inside.
The smell was thick and disgusting. She had the feeling it would never wash out of her hair. She quickly went around the apartment and opened all the windows, then did the same in Mrs. Ford’s place. On her tour, she noted that every sink and both tubs were backed up.
The same thing had happened right after she’d moved in. Tree roots caused the problem. A quick visit by the plumber with some nifty tool had cleared things up, leaving only the mess to contend with. She had an unfortunate feeling this time wasn’t going to be so easy.
“Elissa?”
She heard Walker calling her name and walked toward the sound. She found him in her kitchen.
“Hi,” she said. “Welcome to the neighborhood. Any chance I can convince you not to flush or run water?”
Being the upstairs apartment, Walker wouldn’t have the backup, although anything he did up there would spill into her place.
“Mrs. Ford said she didn’t think the service was trying that hard to find a plumber,” he said by way of answering.
“Apparently our usual guy isn’t answering his page. I was just going to call them and give them a stern talking-to. I’m guessing this is caused by tree roots. Our main line runs across the driveway and then into the grove of trees on the east side of the property. At least that’s what it was last time.”
Walker checked out her kitchen sink, then asked, “Do you know where the trap is?”
“Sure.”
She led the way outside. Zoe danced over to stare at Walker. “Can you fix the stinky plumbing?”
Elissa held in a smile. Later she would explain that the plumbing itself wasn’t the culprit.
“I’m going to try,” he said.
Zoe’s eyes widened. “You can
do
that?”
“We’ll see.”
Elissa showed him the trap.
“I’ll go rent a snake,” he said. “Let’s see if that fixes the problem.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she told him, even as she thought she should keep her mouth shut. After all, Walker would get the job done a lot faster than a long argument with the service, then sitting around and waiting on a plumber.
“What’s a snake going to do?” Zoe asked. “Do you have a cage for it? I don’t like snakes.”
“It’s not a real snake,” Elissa told her daughter. “It’s the name of a special tool.”
Walker smiled. “I’ll show you when I get back.”
“Okay.” Zoe looked doubtful.
“I should have this fixed in an hour,” Walker told Elissa. “Why don’t you ladies go get lunch or something? It’s too hot to be standing outside and you don’t want to go inside with that smell.”
He had a point. Mrs. Ford already looked a little flushed.
“I’ll leave the back door open in case you need to get in the house,” Elissa said.
“Thanks.”
Five minutes later they were in a blissfully cool fast-food restaurant. As Zoe stared at the kids’ menu and tried to decide on lunch, Mrs. Ford nudged Elissa in the ribs.
“Father figure,” she mouthed.
Elissa grinned. “I know. Who can resist a man with a snake?”
T
HREE HOURS LATER
the pipes were clear and the last of the mess had been cleaned up. Elissa had insisted that Mrs. Ford keep her afternoon movie date with her friends.
After scrubbing out the tub three times, Elissa doused the whole thing in bleach. Still, she was going to have Zoe shower for a few days, until the pipe backup cooties were all gone.
She wandered over to Mrs. Ford’s apartment where Walker stood at the sink, rinsing the old porcelain.
“You didn’t have to do the cleanup,” she said. “We’re so grateful to have drainage again. That was enough.”
“I didn’t mind,” he told her as he turned off the water. “Mrs. Ford is too old to get down on her knees and scrub out a tub and there was no reason for you to do two.”
There was no reason for him to do one. “But Walker…”
He shrugged. “I’ve cleaned worse, believe me. I’ve dug trenches for latrines. This is easy.”
“If you say so. You’re going to submit a bill for the snake to the landlord, right?”
“Oh, yeah, I’ll be sure to get reimbursed for that.”
She had a feeling he wasn’t going to bother, which made her crazy. “You shouldn’t have to pay.”
“It doesn’t matter, Elissa. I promise.”
It was the principle of the thing. But she had a feeling it was an argument she wasn’t going to win.
“Come for dinner,” she said impulsively. “It’s my small way of saying thank you. I’ll be grilling chicken and I’ve already made potato salad. There’s even strawberry shortcake for dessert.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You have rules.”
“You’re mocking me,” she said. “Zoe will be there and Mrs. Ford, which you very well know. This isn’t a date.”
“Or even sex,” he added.
She felt herself blushing. “Right. Not sex. Come on, Walker. I know you like my cooking. I don’t think you hate the company. What’s the problem?”
He didn’t speak for so long that she thought he wasn’t going to answer. Then he said, “I don’t want to be around Zoe.”
Anger and protective instinct battled for primary emotion. She narrowed her gaze. “You don’t like my daughter?” she asked in an icy tone.
“I think she’s great,” he said. “I like her a lot. I’m not the right guy to hang out with her.”
Elissa thought about how patient he’d been earlier when he’d shown Zoe the snake and explained how it worked. He’d been careful to keep her from touching the sharp blades, even as he’d let her turn on the engine.
“That doesn’t make sense,” she murmured. “Is this a soldier thing? You’re too emotionally scarred by what you’ve seen and done to deal with a child?”
“You don’t have to make it sound so movie-of-the-week.” He shrugged. “I’m not comfortable around her. I don’t want to hurt her.”
His words and his actions didn’t match. Was there something else, something he wasn’t telling her? What was it? Had he lost a child of his own? Fallen for a woman with kids only to have things go badly? There had to be an answer, but she wasn’t sure she had the right to pursue the question.
“I’ll respect your position,” she said. “If you don’t want to eat with us, will you at least come get a plate?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
He nodded at her and left. She returned to her own apartment and thought about all the guys who had tried to use Zoe to get to her. They’d failed, while Walker’s reticence made her trust him more.
For a guy who wasn’t trying to get her into bed, he was doing a damn fine job of seducing her.
W
ALKER STROLLED
into The Waterfront about ten in the evening. The dinner crowd had thinned to just a few guests. At a round table in the back he saw Dani, Penny, Cal and Reid. They waved him over.
“Family meeting?” he asked as he approached.
Reid pulled out a chair for him. “Just a friendly gathering. I told you attendance wasn’t mandatory.”
“Hey, kid,” he said and kissed Dani on the cheek. He did the same with Penny, then took his seat. “Who’s minding the store?” he asked Reid.
His brother grinned. “I had many volunteers.”
Penny threw a napkin at Reid. “Your life is shallow.”
“But fun.”
“It’s time to settle down,” Penny told him.
“Not interested. Besides, Walker’s home now. Go find him a wife.”
Walker reached for an empty glass and the open bottle of wine on the table. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Reid, I’m serious,” Penny said. “You’ve been playing the field long enough. It’s time to pick one nice girl and make a life with her.”
“I don’t like nice girls.”
Everyone chuckled. Walker listened as the banter continued. Reid and Penny had been friends for years, even after Penny and Cal split up. He’d once confessed to Walker that he’d suspected they would get back together and he’d been right.
“How’s the restaurant business?” Walker asked his sister.
Dani jumped, as if she hadn’t been paying attention. “What? Oh. Good. I’m keeping busy. Nothing new.”
Penny smiled. “There is something new. Or some
one.
”
“A guy?” Walker asked.
“There’s no new guy,” Dani told him. “Just stuff.”
“Rebound guy,” Reid said. “Good for you. Hugh was an asshole. You need to be distracted.”
Dani shook her head. “You’re the last person I would take dating advice from. Your idea of a committed relationship is sticking around long enough for dessert.”
“You looking to get involved?” Cal asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
“Of course not,” Dani told him. “My divorce isn’t even final. It’s not a rebound thing, it’s just…nice.”
“Leave her alone,” Penny said.
“Why are you protecting her?” Reid asked. “You’re the one who mentioned the other guy.”
“I’ve remembered that we girls are supposed to stick together.”
“I’ll change the subject,” Reid said. “Walker’s buying a boat.”
Everyone turned to him. Cal grinned. “Really? How big? When can we go fishing?”
Walker glared at Reid. “I’m not buying a boat.”
His brother chuckled. “I know, but I distracted everyone.”
“A boat would be nice,” Dani said. “We could take day trips.”
“There’s no boat,” Walker told her firmly.
Just then a guy in a tie walked up to the table. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “Penny, here are the numbers on the menu changes. Everything looks good. Also, I have a couple of suggestions for the tasting dinner.”
Penny looked at him, her eyebrows raised. “I’m sorry, Ryan. Did I hear you correctly? You want to change my tasting dinner?”
“You’re trying to scare me and it’s not working.”
“Have you heard about the time I threw a meat cleaver at my husband’s head?” she asked sweetly. “Do you really want to mess with me?”
He put another piece of paper in her hands. “I found the perfect wine for the corn cakes.”
“We had the perfect wine.”
“We had one that was close. This is better.”
Penny studied the sheet. “I’ll be in tomorrow and make the corn cakes, then we’ll talk. If you’re wrong, you’re in big trouble.”
“I can handle it.”
Dani shifted in her chair. “Walker, this is Ryan Jennings, the new general manager. Ryan, this is my brother Walker.”
Ryan walked around the table and shook hands. “Pleased to meet you.”
Walker nodded. “How are you settling in?”
“Great. This is a terrific restaurant. I have a great staff, which makes all the difference. Dani is being very patient with me.”
Dani dismissed his comment with a flick of her hand. “There’s nothing to be patient about.”
Ryan excused himself.
Walker waited until he was gone before turning to his sister. “So that’s the new guy.”
She blinked several times and did her best to look innocent. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Cal and Reid both looked at him.
“Ryan?” Cal asked.
“That’s my guess,” Walker said.
Dani glared at him. “How did you know? We barely looked at each other.”
“Impressive,” Reid said.
Cal turned to his sister. “Dani, workplace romances can be difficult. Have you thought about what happens if things don’t work out?”
“There’s no
thing,
” she told him. “We’re flirting. That’s it. Besides, you and Penny got back together at work. In fact, it was in this restaurant. So maybe you should get off of me.”
“I’m just saying—”
“Cal, let it go,” Penny said. “Dani’s a grown-up. She knows what she’s doing.”
“State the rules up-front,” Reid said. “That’s what I do. If one of the servers wants to go out with me, I say fine, but you have to be able to handle it when it’s over.”
“‘Go out’ being a euphemism for ‘have sex with’?” Penny asked.
“I want them to know the score.”
Dani pushed away her wine. “I love you like a brother, Reid, but you’re a real pig when it comes to women.”
“I
am
your brother and why am I a pig? Why do all women object to the fact that I don’t want to settle down and be with one person for the rest of my life? Is it the challenge? Do you each want to be the one to change my mind?”
“Not me,” Dani said quickly. “That’s gross.”
“Not me, either,” Penny told him.
Cal and Walker grinned. “We’re not interested, either,” Cal said.
Reid shrugged. “You know what I mean. Why are you getting on me? Walker doesn’t want to settle down, either.”
“But he’s not quite so icky about the volume thing,” Penny said. “Besides, there’s hope for him. I think secretly, Walker wants to bond.”
Walker groaned. “Let’s get back to talking about Reid.”
“I agree,” Dani said. “Walker will find the right woman and fall head over heels. Reid, when you find the right woman, I’m going to guess you’ll screw it up completely.” She paused, then added. “I don’t mean that in a cruel way. It’s just you’ve never had to work for anything in your life. What happens when that changes? Are you up to the challenge?”