“I got robbed,” he said, “at my last stop. I had my money and my cell phone up to that point. If you’ll just lend me your phone I’ll have your money to you in no time.”
Doug, the small man who’d sat watching the whole time, burst out laughing, his crooked teeth giving him a comical look. “Lend me your phone, he says. Don’t he know we ain’t got no phone in these parts?”
Ryder gave him a look of disbelief. “No cell phone service, maybe, but you’ve got to have a landline phone.” He looked at Blake. “You do, right?”
“Nope. Never did and it looks like we never will.”
“What? But how is that even possible? This is the United States, for Pete’s sake, and it’s the twenty-first century.”
“Tell that to the phone companies,” Blake said, her tone dry as toast. “All the phone companies we contacted said they weren’t wasting money to come all the way out here. Too expensive and not worth it for a couple of hundred people.
“I see.” That seemed to stump Ryder. Then he looked hopeful. “What about cell phone service? Do you guys have that?”
“They’ve been promising that for years. This town's still waiting.” She shoved her hands inside her pockets. “Anyway, let’s cut to the chase. You owe me over a hundred bucks and it looks like I’m not going to get any cash out of you. You know what that means, don’t you?”
Ryder gave her a suspicious frown. “No. What?”
“If you can’t pay in cash you’ve got to pay in kind. You’ve got a lot of cleaning to do tonight, buddy.”
His brows fell. “Excuse me?”
Just in case the thought crossed his mind to try arguing his way out of things Blake pulled her hands out of her pockets and folded her arms across her chest. “You’re going to work off your debt,” she said, her voice cold. “Tonight.” Then she gave him a mirthless smile. “Lucky for you I’m the gentle, forgiving type. Otherwise I’d just have Ted break your arms.” Of course, she didn’t mean a word of that. She just wanted to put some scare into him. She was not about to be ripped off by some slick city swindler.
It looked like the message was beginning to sink in because Ryder glanced up at Ted who stood at least two inches taller and looked like he weighed about a hundred pounds more. It was obvious he was sizing him up but, smart man, he didn’t go the route of tackling the big man. He glanced back at Blake. “What do I have to do?”
“I’ve got a sink full of dirty dishes in back,” she said. “You can start there.”
Ryder’s brows fell. “Start?”
“Yeah. You didn’t think that was all, did you? The back bar and the tables won’t clean themselves, you know. And you’ve got the floor to sweep and mop.” Then she smiled. “When you’re done doing that I’ll let you know what else.”
The look Ryder gave her was a mixture of incredulity and horror. She had to fight to hold the laughter in. He was cracking her up and he didn’t even know it. “You’re going to earn this hundred and fifteen dollars,” she said with an emphatic nod. “Trust me on that.”
As she turned she pretended not to hear Ryder’s groan. “Come on, then, " she threw over her shoulder. "Roll up your sleeves. Dish washing time.”
When Blake took her conscripted helper to the kitchen she almost felt sorry for him. The stack of dirty dishes was a formidable sight, and that was before she threw the pots and pans into the mix.
“There you go,” she said, showing him the dishwashing liquid and the sponge. “Give me a shout if you need me.”
“You’re going?” For a fleeting second he looked lost, like he didn’t know where to start.
It was too funny. Blake could just imagine his life back in whatever city he came from. He probably had people doing everything for him. He might even be one of those spoiled guys who’d never done a lick of housework in his life.
“Yeah, I’m going to finish watching the news.” She headed toward the door. “We don’t have all night so get cracking.” And before he could say another word she was out of there, leaving him to get through the pile as best as he could.
And if she had to be totally honest with herself Blake would have to admit that she’d practically fled from the kitchen, not because she was scared of the stranger who’d arrived on her doorstep. Quite the contrary. From the moment Ryder Kent walked into Beaumont’s she’d known he spelled danger. Danger for her heart, that is. She’d felt an immediate attraction for him, an attraction so strong she’d resorted to hiding behind a tough exterior. The last thing she wanted to do was fall for some slick trickster’s charm. It was what had sent her scurrying to this dive of a town in the first place. More trickery, she could do without.
And so she hightailed it out of the kitchen, leaving Ryder to fend for himself while she hung out with Ted and sought refuge in the nightly news.
“That sort of worked out for you, didn’t it?” Ted relaxed in his chair as he watched her watch the T.V.. She knew Ted. He wasn’t going to leave until he knew she had everything, the stranger included, under control.
She nodded. “You know I hate doing the dishes.”
“Yeah. You complain about it every night.”
“Ad nauseum,” Doug added, making Blake turn to give him a cutting glare.
“Anyway,” the little man said, rising to his feet, “it’s past my bedtime. I’ll see y’all in the morning.”
Blake gave him a goodbye wave and Ted gave him a grunt and then he was off. They heard when the engine of his truck roared to life and, seconds later, the rumble grew more distant until it faded into the night.
After that Blake settled back to watch the T.V and soon she heard the low buzz of Ted’s snore. She smiled. He was a good friend. It was past his bedtime, too, but she knew he wasn’t going to leave until she’d locked up and all was safe.
She’d been caught up in the television and Ted had been snoring a good thirty or forty minutes when Blake frowned. She hadn’t heard a peep out of Ryder since she’d abandoned him in the kitchen. He hadn’t stuck his nose out, not even once. Could he have sneaked off? She gave her head a slight shake at the thought. There was no way he could have started his truck and driven off without her hearing it.