Page 10 of The Fixer

“Looks like,” she quickly agreed. Why had her heart kicked up its rhythm? “So you workheretoo?” Realization struck like a two-by-four being wielded by a maniac. He was broke! That was why he was pushing for the extreme restoration: He needed to extract a big fat paycheck from her! How else was he going to make the payments on his shiny new truck? Work in a town this size had to be slow.

“He helps us out when he can,” Hailey offered. “He’s a good brother that way.”

A goodpennilessbrother. Got it.

“Hey, handsome,” came another female voice. “I’m better now that you’re here too.”

Joy swiveled her head and caught Dixie, the hostess, winking at Charlie. Where had she come from?

He winked right back. “Glad to hear it, gorgeous. What can I do for you?”

“Oh, so many things, but my man wouldn’t like it very much. How about you get me four pints of Fat Tire for some thirsty folks instead?”

“Coming right up.” Charlie stepped behind the bar, looking at ease and at home, plucking glasses and pulling beer taps as efficiently as he had measured her mother’s store. He bobbed his head to an old rock-and-roll tune barely audible above the din. Joy dropped her chin in her palm and watched in fascination. When Germaine struck a duplicate pose, Joy immediately straightened. No way did she want anyone thinking she was mooning over Charlie Hunnicutt too.

Germaine let out a noisy sigh. “Love them Hunnicutts. I’m aiming to catch me one.”

Was that a thing in this town? “How many are there?”

“Three, but only two are available.” Germaine nodded toward Noah. “He’s taken, and the other one doesn’t date and is scary serious besides, but Charlie …” She sighed again.

“Hedoesdate, and he’snotserious, I take it,” Joy probed, wanting to know if this guy was a party animal who would flake out on her later.

Germaine giggled. “Charlie is the fun one. F. U. N. Fun.”

Yes, I know how to spell “fun,” thank you very much.Joy suppressed an eye-roll and took a slug of her wine. “Why do you want one? A Hunnicutt, I mean?” And why hadn’t Joy heard of these brothers before? Oh. Because she’d shunned this townandthe woman who might have filled her in on its population.

Germaine batted her eyelashes at Charlie’s back. “Because they’re the best catches on the entire Western Slope. They’re handsome, they’re rich, and they run this town.”

Joy didn’t mask her surprise. “They do?”

“Oh yes, ma’am.” Germaine turned toward Joy and began drumming her fingers on the bar top. “You’re not fixing to steal him, are you?”

“Charlie?” Joy’s surprised yelp came out a little too loudly.

The man in question glanced over his shoulder. “Need another wine, miss?”

“No, that wasn’t directed at you.”

He pivoted slowly and faced her. The devil danced in his gray-green eyes. “Is there another Charlie in here tonight?”

Gawd, hewashandsome. So different from the men she dated—when she found time to date. Like Sterling, they were more about expensive suits, perfectly coiffed hair, and buffed nails. While they had muscles, theirs weren’t the kind that could toss you over their shoulder fireman-style or rip off your clothes. In fact, sex tended to be tame. Civilized. Sedate. In other words, not the kind that ended in orgasms for her. Joy wasn’t sure she’d everhadan orgasm, but she had become an expert at faking them.Thank you, Meg Ryan.

Charlie’s cocked eyebrow brought her back to the here and now. Had two sips of wine already gone to her head?

She cleared her suddenly sticky throat. “No, I-I was telling, um, Germaine here something, and then ‘Sorry, Charlie’ slipped out. You know, that old expression?” Then she barked out a pretend laugh that unfortunately turned into a snort.

Charlie frowned. So did Germaine. Joy took another sip of wine and muttered, “Maybe I will have another one.”

He delivered it quickly and with a note of formality he didn’t use on the other customers, including wiggly Germaine. No, with them he spread around plenty of easy smiles and flirty eyebrow waggles. Though Joy told herself his demeanor toward her was different because she was a client, the fact of it didn’t sit well for some reason.

A slight shift in the air had Joy glancing to her side. Dixie stood there. Joy startled at the woman’s materialization out of thin air.

“We have a table open now, hon. Ready to move?” Dixie held out a hand presenter-style toward an empty four-person table. The table was somewhat isolated, exactly the way Joy had wanted it, but suddenly she didn’twant to be alone.

“I’ve changed my mind. I think I’ll eat here instead. Why don’t you give it to that young family? They look hungry and tired.” Joy pointed toward two droopy kids, a frantic mom, and a possibly hangry dad who stood just inside the front door.

“I’m sure they will be dee-lighted. Thank you, missy.” Dixie hurried away, her voluminous top billowing around her.

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