Page 19 of Cowboy of Convenience
"Well you haven't cuffed me yet, so—" Evelyn's eyes suddenly jumped to his, wide and unblinking as a blush bloomed across her cheeks, like she was shocked by what she said.
“You’d have to do way more than that for me to want to put cuffs on you." He’d had more women than he could count make all sorts of suggestive comments about his cuffs. Enough that the thought of putting them on a woman for any reason besides hauling her into the station held no appeal.
And the last thing he’d ever want was Evelyn unable to use her hands. He was greedy like that.
Evelyn gave him a little smile, her cheeks still flushed. "That's good to know."
"Now, some of your friends have gotten real close to landing their asses in the back of my cruiser." He shook his head. "But I probably wouldn’t have cuffed them either."
Evelyn’s smile widened. "Gertrude carries a cuff key in her purse just in case."
The laugh that came out of him was loud and shocking. He hadn’t laughed like that in longer than he could remember. "Why does that not surprise me?"
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Because you've met them?" She leaned back toward the food, grabbing her fork yet again to pick through the enchiladas. "They're all freaking bonkers. I'm actually surprised I haven't had to bail any of them out yet."
So was he. “Well it’s not for lack of trying. Those girls seem to think getting arrested would be a badge of honor.” He stood up and went to work collecting trash. "Luckily things are a little more laid back here than they are in the city. We can be a little more flexible in how we handle things."
Even if he could have left Moss Creek and gone somewhere else, he wouldn't have done it. As stifling as it could be at times, there was nowhere else in the world he would rather be. Certainly not somewhere he’d be required to haul in every old woman who acted out after a lifetime of being told what she could and couldn't be.
"They aren't that flexible where I'm from." Evelyn said it like she had first-hand knowledge.
Grady paused, lifting his eyes from where he was stuffing used napkins and silverware wrappers into the paper takeout bag. "Does that mean you've been arrested before?"
"No.” Evelyn snorted. “That would never happen." She chewed her lower lip for a second. "My family is pretty well-known, so even if I had done something wrong, the cops would have just called my grandmother to come get me."
It hadn’t taken him long to figure out Evelyn hadn’t come from humble beginnings. Sure her yoga studio was doing well by Moss Creek standards, but there was still no way it would pay for the top-of-the-line SUV in the driveway or the handbags he’d noticed more than one woman in town admiring. They all looked the same to him, but he wasn’t so clueless that he didn’t know how much one of the damn things could cost.
“So I guess they’re flexible for some people.” Evelyn's fork dropped yet again. "Everybody else is pretty much fucked, though." She closed the lid on the food and shoved it away.
The change in her mood was quick and drastic, happening almost in the blink of an eye, and it sent her careening right back to a conversation they’d had too many times already.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" She was starting to sound like a broken record. "Because I will understand if you want to go.”
Grady shook his head, a little pissed at whoever made this woman think she didn’t deserve help. "I’m not fucking going.” He took a breath and tried again, gentling his tone as much as he could manage. “We’ve come too far already. I’m in it to win it now.” He smiled, imagining Sasha sitting across the street stewing. “My goal is to have shithead Sasha running back to New York before the weekend."
It'd been forever since something challenged him. Since there was something to look forward to.
There was no way he was giving it up. Even if he only had a few days of fun, it would be more than he'd enjoyed his life in longer than he could remember. "Hell, I’m half considering getting a horse now and parking it on his front lawn. See if I can get him to leave before the sun goes down."
Evelyn’s head dropped back on another of those laughs that hit him right in the gut. "Let’s put that off until tomorrow. I don’t know if I have it in me to deal with whatever temper tantrum he’ll throw over that.”
"That’s the good thing about having me here." Grady stood, stretching his sore muscles. "You won’t have to deal with him.” He stacked up the remains of their meal. “Because I can’t wait to deal with his temper tantrums.”
“Ugh.” Evelyn slumped down in her seat. “But you’re not here all the time.”
Grady paused, eyes lifting to hers. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Evelyn scrunched her face up at him. “Is this an interrogation?”
“It can be.” He went back to stacking the containers before carrying them to the fridge. “Or you can just tell me what I want to know.”
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Sasha came over here the minute you left this morning.”
Of course he did. “I don’t think I want you staying here alone when I’m not here.”
Evelyn blinked at him. “Where else am I supposed to go?”
“You could stay at my place.” The offer was easy to make and even easier to get behind. “You won’t have to worry about him coming to bother you there.”
