“Okay.” Paige sat taller in her chair. “If you’re going to work for me, we’ve got to get a couple of things straight. First, I’ll pay you in cash, but not until the end of the weekend.”
“Huh.” So she wasn’t a total fool. That way he’d have to stay the whole time. Clever girl, he thought to himself. “Go on.”
“The booth opens at seven-thirty sharp and goes until nine on Saturday then half a day Sunday. I’ll need you there the whole time. Now we only have to decide on your wage.” She pursed her lips then clicked her tongue in thought.
“$250 a day?” he suggested. He got twice that per hour for consulting.
“That’s a little steep, but if it’s what you want, fine. I’ll see you in the morning then.” Paige shoved the leftover sandwich in her purse and rose to her feet. She took a step to leave then stopped and cocked her head. “Can I give you a ride to your car? General parking is quite a walk, and it’s getting nippy.”
Adjusting the wrapping on his hoagie and making himself comfortable, Sterling shook his head. “I’m taking the bus.”
“No, you’re not,” Paige said.
Man, she was bossy. “Yes I am,” Sterling said with conviction.
She sat down and stared at him. The gold flecks in her brown eyes seemed to burn. “The busses stopped running an hour ago.”
“There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” His father used to always say that. Odd, he’d successfully not thought about home for years now. No wonder when the man’s favorite phrase reeked of animal cruelty. Rewording his response, he said, “Then I’ll take a cab.”
“Where are you headed?”
He couldn’t tell if she was asking to check up on him or to offer him a ride. “Into the city.” To discourage her he added, “It’s a good hour drive.” It was really little more than half an hour.
She slapped the table with her open palm. “Are you crazy? That would cost you eighty dollars at least. You’re out of work.”
All he wanted to do was change out of his wet shirt, sleep in his own bed and get this girl off his back. “It’s alright. I can handle it.”
She squinted and stared at him for a solid minute. He couldn’t meet her gaze and wasn’t sure why. It felt like guilt, but what did he have to feel guilty about? He was offering the whole weekend to her for a fraction of what he’d normally charge.
Unexpectedly, she put her hand on his. Her skin was like velvet. He hadn’t noticed before. “I’ll tell you what,” she said. “I’ve still got to milk the goats. If you’ll help me, I can be done in half the time. Then I’ll drive you to the city tonight. Deal?”
Waiting for a cab in the sticks would take half an hour at least, so it wouldn’t be that much longer to go with her. Besides, his boss would be happier if he could get a look at the goat girl’s place. “Sounds like a plan.” He chucked the remainder of his dinner in the nearest trash can, and they headed for the door.
As they walked to her car, Sterling realized how right she had been. The temperature had plummeted, and the wet front of his shirt felt like someone had pressed a blue icepack to his chest. Paige was wearing a red sweater and seemed unaffected by the cold.
Upon reaching the hatchback, Sterling hopped into the passenger seat. While she started the ignition, he played with the climate controls on the panel, hoping to blast the car with heat.
“Sorry,” she said as she slid the car into gear and pulled onto the empty road. “My heater’s broken.”
Folding his arms tight across his chest, he sat back. “It is what it is.”
They hadn’t driven far before she flipped her head his direction once and then again. “Are you shivering?” Her face was turned toward him with her eyes still on the road.
He felt he owed her an explanation. “It’s silly. I got my shirt wet.”
“Oh.” She bobbed her chin. “While changing the bucket under the pump. I’ve got half a mind to chuck the whole contraption tomorrow.”
“No!” Sterling said. “How do you think I sold so much? I had women try out the type of soap that would be best for their situation. Brilliant product.”
“Thank you.” She returned her focus to the road.
He could only see her profile, and it was dim in the car, but even with those impeded conditions, he could tell her smile was beautiful.
She took a left. “Okay, I’ll keep the pump. Besides, it would break Joe’s heart if I threw it away.”
He supposed she was talking about the guy in black. “So is he a boyfriend?”
“He wishes he was.” That’s all she said.
Sterling hoped she’d elaborate. Was there something the guy did that bugged her, or was she just not interested in men in general. He had to ask. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Oh nothing.” Her tone was light. “I have other things on my plate right now.”
“I hear you.” Sterling had said those identical words to other women many times lately, but coming from her, they seemed cold. He shivered again.
“We’ve got to get you out of that shirt.” She rotated the wheel and pulled into a rustic turn of the century stone farmhouse facing a red barn with white trim. It reminded him of the scene on a tacky jigsaw puzzle. She cut the engine and opened her door. “You look to be about Uncle Bill’s size. I think it’d be okay if you borrowed some of his clothes.”