Her phone rang. Austen.
She put the phone on speaker so she could continue brushing Roxy. “Hello, brother dear. How’s life in the big city of Helena?”
“Typical. People being stupid and predictable. You have no idea how bored I am. Endless meetings. Nothing gets accomplished. No wonder I like the ranch better. There’s a lot to be said for physical labor, you know. A clear sense of accomplishment, for one.”
She missed her brother. She missed a lot of things.
“How’s your search for the perfect rental property going?” he asked.
“It sucks. I saw two over-priced shacks this week. And there’s no way I’m working out of a strip mall. Does that cry ambulance chaser or what?”
His laugh made Roxy bark. “Hey, is that my dog niece? Put her on. I still think we need to introduce her to Beau. They’d make beautiful giant babies.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Your girlfriend’s dog has been fixed—and, besides, Beau already has a relationship with Serena’s brother’s dog. A high-strung poodle, from what I hear. There’s no accounting for taste.” She hugged Roxy, rubbing her cheek against the dog’s soft coat. “Roxy would be a great catch, but such are the vagaries of love.”
Austen groaned. “Damn, girl, you sound depressed. If you were a guy, I’d say you needed to get laid.”
“If you weren’t a misogynistic ass, I’d tell you about a certain guy.”
“Who? When? Are you kidding me?”
“None of your business. What is your business is Zabrinski Law. I need help. There’s nothing worth renting in the downtown area.”
He made a crowing I-know-something-you-don’t sound, which used to irk the hell out of her. “Check your email. I just made a tentative deal…pending your approval.”
“Who? When? Where?”
His laugh made her grin. Damn. She’d hate him if she didn’t love him so much. She fumbled with her phone but finally got into her mail and opened the attachment. The image was a publicity photo for Ren Fletcher’s law office—the place she’d met with Ryker Bensen last week.
“What are you talking about? He’s selling?”
“No. He’s willing to rent us the second floor. He lived up there after his divorce, but now that he and Tully are married and expecting a baby, he plans to spend less time in town. I suggested this would be great passive income and he agreed.”
She was shocked but immediately began to see the potential. “I’m in,” she said. “It’s perfect.”
“Thank you. I am. Pretty much.”
Her joy must have been infectious because Roxy pulled away and started loping across the back yard like a puppy.
“Wait. I don’t remember seeing a set of interior stairs.”
“Yeah…well, there’s that. Putting in an elevator won’t be cheap, but we’ll have to be ADA compliant or the city won’t approve our application. Ren said if we could get an engineer to okay it, he’d be willing to split the cost since it’s his building.”
At least with interior work they wouldn’t have to worry about winter weather slowing things down. With a little luck, they could be open by the first of the year. Then, next spring, after her title was free and clear, she could look into building a house.
“Since I’m not going to have a house to move into any time soon, I’ve decided to take Mom and Dad up on their offer to move into the master suite after they leave for Arizona. No way can I take a winter in the basement. I don’t know how you stood it.”
He laughed. “I sneaked out half the time. Slept in the back of my truck. Under the stars. With my girlfriends. The folks either didn’t know or didn’t care. I never asked.”
“I hate you. I was a perfect angel, and they watched me like a hawk. You ran amuck and they turned a blind eye.”
“I know, right? Maybe that’s why you’re so tough on Emilee while Hunter flies right under your radar.”
They’d had this discussion before. She didn’t like it—probably because he was right.
“When are you coming home?”
“I have a breakfast meeting tomorrow, then I’m outta here.”
“I’ll see if I can schedule a meeting with an engineer next week. Fly safe, Striker.”
Her mention of his Big Sky Mavericks’ call signal made him chuckle. “You, too, Nitro.”
They’d had a magical childhood. Not the sort her children could claim.
Before he hung up, Mia asked for a favor. “Meg’s invited Em to come up for a few days. Would you be able to fly her? The thought of driving that far makes me queasy.” Since her treatments, she didn’t trust herself behind the wheel on long distance drives. Especially alone. She could take someone with her. Say…Ryker Bensen, for instance. But that would involve a hotel room and a lot of explaining.
One huge emotional hurdle at a time.
“Not a problem. I’ll see if Serena can come along. She hasn’t met Meg, yet.”
They pinned down some details then Mia went inside to shower. Mom was in the kitchen chopping veggies for homemade pizza—a favorite at the Zabrinski house. Mom’s sourdough crust was the best around.
One huge emotional hurdle at a time, she reminded herself.
“Hey, Mom, would you mind if I invited someone to pizza tonight? Not sure he’ll come, but he’s on his own and…”
“The photographer/squatter you kicked off your land?”
Mia rolled her eyes. Was nothing private in this town?
“His name is Ryker Bensen.”
“Sure. I’d like to meet him. Louise suggested Bailey hire him to take photos of the wedding. I want to make sure he knows what he’s doing.”
She did? Mia wasn’t sure how she felt about that development. It was starting to sound as though Ryker Bensen was setting up shop and planned to stay in Marietta. Permanent was so not part of her plans. Her vague plans. More wishful thinking than a set-in-stone want list.
That settled it. She was going to invite him to pizza night. She had a few questions for Ryker Bensen, too, starting with…“Would you be open to a brief, no-strings affair before you head off on your merry way—regardless of the outcome of the property?”
*
What am I doing? Ryker silently asked himself as he pushed the doorbell of the sprawling, contemporary ranch-style house set on a huge lot in a development north of town. The age of the trees told him this neighborhood was several dozen years old. But someone had painted this home recently and added a few updates, like new windows and landscaping.
“I’ll get it.”
“I will.”
“I said…”
The door opened with a jolt, as if both of the people opposite him had pulled the doorknob at the same time.
“Hi. Am I at the right place?”
“Yes. Come in,” Mia’s daughter said. She’d changed out of her school clothes into a stylish layered top over black leggings. Her long straight hair reached nearly to her butt—or the subtle extensions did, at least.
“Better bring your bike in,” a boy—her younger brother, Ryker guessed—said. “Somebody stole my skateboard out of the front yard a few weeks ago.”
“Mom told you not to leave it there.”
The boy stuck out his tongue.
“You two remind me of me and my brother. We fought all the time, but now we’re best friends.”
Emilee’s left brow shot upward, skeptically. The boy gave her a snarly look.
Ryker put out his hand. “We haven’t met. I’m Ryker.”
“Hunter.”
“Cool. I like your name. Whose class are you in?”
“Bateman’s.”
Ryker rolled his bike into the entry, grateful the rain that drenched his move had passed. “Ah…that explains why we didn’t meet. My boss did your room.”
He’d seen the proofs and was pleased to know Emilee’s were lovely. Her smile seemed sweet and genuine, which had surprised him given her attitude the first time they met.
Hunter closed the door and turned toward the brightly lit kitchen to call out, “Mom, your boyfriend is here.”
Emilee slugged her brother in the shoulder. “Asswipe.”
“Mo…om, Em hit me. Hard.”
Ryker looked longingly at his bike but after a heartbeat of indecision, he hung his helmet from the left handlebar and shrugged off his backpack so he could grab the bottle of Chianti he’d brought for the occasion. “Wine makes even the most difficult occasion tolerable,” Colette often said.
He hoped she was right. He’d accepted Mia’s surprise invitation with reservations. Other than the hour or so it took her to help him move his stuff to the Fish and Game, he and Mia hadn’t had a real post-sex-in-his-tent talk. He didn’t expect the subject to come up tonight. That’s why he’d planned to take her to dinner at the local Italian restaurant, which was within walking distance. But she’d declined his invitation saying, “My mom’s pizza beats anything Rocco’s puts out. Just sayin’…are you interested?”
Yep. He was. Interested enough to meet the family.
Chapter 9
‡
“This is the…best…pizza…ever,” Ryker said, savoring the flavor with every chew. “And I spent a month in Italy when I was nineteen, so I consider myself a bit of a pizza connoisseur.”