Page 11 of Winning His Wager

He’d use a bit of it, just enough to check out the product. That was all he was doing with it. Quality control. Like a factory or something.

Then he’d sell it, but he was going to jack up the price. The law of supply and demand, baby.

“You are ten minutes late.” His sister had her resting bitch face on. Great.

“There was a damned wreck. Truck slid off north of town.” Something had obviously crawled up her ass. No denying that. Abby was going to be in her mood all damned night. He’d have to deal with her and then listen to their dad coddling her. Abby was his father’sprecious girl,after all.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, but not like he really wanted to know or anything. Sometimes, she was so damned hard to take.

“What’s wrong? That damned bitch Dylan moved out of the inn, that’s what’s wrong. She’s living with Fletcher Tyler now. As his housekeeper. Go by his house. I want to see if her stupid car is there for myself.”

That Tyler guy had a ranch literally right outside city limits. It wasn’t a great place, but it was decent. Will knew where it was. He’d past it a thousand times just this month alone. “Got to, anyway. Wreck closed our road. We’re going to have to circle up behind the house.”

She bitched about that for a moment. What was wrong with her? Didn’t she give a shit? “Hell, Abby, the truck driver died. Have some compassion. What’s so special about Fletcher Tyler anyway?”

“I have plans for him, moron. He’s going to be rich someday. Think I want to work at the inn forever? I’m not a stupid Talley or anything.”

That she wasn’t. Then it sank in. “You said Dylan? That’s the seriously hot little one, right?”

She’d been there when his friend had been killed. Will had heard the rumors too. Everyone was talking about it. And Will had seen her driving down that road himself that day.

“Hot? You think that freak is hot? What are you smoking now? She’s nothing but an annoying little bitch who thinks she’s better than everyone now because she’s a Talley.”

And Dylan was apparently another woman Abby had a problem with. His sister could be such a stupid jealous bitch sometimes. Especially where hot women were concerned. He thought Abby was intimidated by them or something. It was no wonder she barely had any friends, and no decent guy would touch her with a ten-foot pole let alone his dick. “If you hate the Talleys so much, why do you work at the inn?”

“What else am I going to do, go work at a factory and get all hot and sweaty and aged before my time?”

Nothing wrong with working at a factory—their mom had before she’d died. But Will kept that to himself. Abby could be a royal bitch when she wanted. And he didn’t want to fight with her.

He still hadn’t decided what he was going to do about Dylan.

If she was living with Fletcher Tyler, was she screwing him?

He thought about that for a moment.

It definitely pissed him off.

What had he been thinking—that he’d screw Dylan himself? Like he could see that happening. Screw the woman who could help put him jail? No fucking way. She hadseenWill out there that day. It was just a matter of time before she told the cops that or something.

A woman like a Talley wouldn’t even look twice at a man like him. Will wasn’t that much of an idiot. But he could certainly imagine that she did.

6

Someone poundedon the door fifteen minutes after six the next morning. Fletcher was in the kitchen, pulling on his socks and waiting for his breakfast to warm up while his new housekeeper was still sleeping. He jumped up before the knocking could wake her.

She’d tossed and turned all damned night. Whimpered a few times—nightmares, he’d bet on it. Of course, it would be nightmares. She’d been through hell just a few days ago. That didn’t just go away after a good night’s sleep or anything.

How could it? She’d been a first-row witness to what had happened to her cousin just days ago, had found two dead men no older than she was murdered in her family’s backyard a week ago, and four months ago had nearly been killed by a deranged lunatic who was riding around with a professional hitman. That would be hard for anyone to handle, let alone a woman in her early twenties who had grown up isolated and protected the way she had.

He wasn’t ready to deal with her right now, anyway. After the power had come back on, waking him for the day, he had just stayed right where he was—and watched her. Wondering what he was supposed to do with her next. It hadn’t been hard to watch her—when she wasn’t watching him back.

He’d gotten a kick out of watching her for as long as he had. She’d made cute faces in her sleep. She still seemed to be filled with energy, with life, even while she was asleep. He’d not been able to look away. He hadn’t figured out why, but he just hadn’t.

The knocking came again.

Fletcher pulled open the rear kitchen door. Just to see his brother Ben standing there. With Dylan’s father right next to him. Ben grinned at him with that stupid expression that meant Fletcher wasn’t going to like what was about to happen.

“Yo, baby bro. Held daddums-in-law off as long as possible.” Ben stepped inside, shivering. “Damn, it’s cold.Iwas all curled up aroundmywoman, keeping her warm and toasty, when this guy pounded on our door, demanding to know what you were doing with baby-Dylan.”

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