Somebody Like You by Lynnette Austin

glasses, he rubbed at the tic in his eye. If he said something like that to any of the guys, they’d lock him in a rubber room. And rightly so.
    Annie was intelligent, fun, unexpected, and damned easy on the eyes. He sighed and swerved the Escalade around some slower moving traffic. His exit was coming up, so he slid back into the right-hand lane.
    He’d like to say she was comfortable to be with because she was. But at the same time, he felt worked up when he was with her. Agitated. Yeah, a sexual thing. The woman gave off heat without even trying. Simply looking at her made him want to turn caveman and drag her off to his bed. Hardly a good thing since she worked for him. Maybe he should just fire her, cart her off to bed, and be done with it.
    Something was fishy, though. She shut down when the conversation turned to her. Hell, she wouldn’t even fill out the paperwork so he could cut her a paycheck. Every time he brought up anything personal, she talked her way around the barn and back without really telling him a thing. She was close-mouthed. Hardly the basis for a good relationship.
    But then, he didn’t really want a relationship with her, did he?
    She hadn’t bought much at Sadler’s, had brought less than nothing with her. Exactly what he’d expect from someone on the run. He figured one morning she wouldn’t show up for work, and he’d head on over to Dottie’s place to find her gone without so much as a note. Not a clue as to why or where she’d gone.
    Wasn’t that essentially what his pal Brawley had done to Maggie? Led her on, then cut and run? Cash had been the one left behind to help her pick up the pieces. Not pretty.
    He and Annie really didn’t have a “thing,” though, did they? Might be best if she did take off before whatever was going on between them developed into more.
    His mind worried the situation like a tongue on a sore tooth. Annie’s manners, her jewelry, the new Harley. Had to be some money someplace.
    He’d been born and raised here. This was home. But Annie? What was she doing in Maverick Junction, Texas? Cash reached for the mug of iced tea he’d brought along and took a swig. What brought her here, and why did he care? It was none of his business. None whatsoever. And he’d do well to remember that.
    Still, as he exited the main highway and took the ramp to the airport, his mind drifted to last night. That simple, accidental kiss had burned him. But when they’d both pulled away, she looked surprised but unaffected.
    Annie was a hard nut to crack. If he was smart, he wouldn’t even try.
    *  *  *
    Annelise finished the last of her chores, then scurried into the little bathroom at the back of the barn. She washed up as best she could and slipped into the fresh top she’d tucked into her saddlebag that morning.
    She sighed, relishing the feel of silk against her skin. She loved this blouse. She’d bought it in Paris at one of the last runway shows she’d attended. It was a world apart from the cotton tanks she’d picked up at Sadler’s.
    Giving Hank a shouted good-bye, she escaped into the sunlight. She had plans.
    When she straddled her Harley and slid on her helmet, she accepted she’d willingly give up silk forever for this. She dropped her dark glasses into place and with the wind in her face, headed to town.
    Staying busy was her key to maintaining her sanity, because she would go nuts if she didn’t do something while waiting to hear from Ron. Grandpa was all right—for now. He was back home, living life. True, he was a ticking bomb, but it wouldn’t go off today or tomorrow.
    The treatments had bought them some time. But she couldn’t just sit and twiddle her thumbs. Better that she get her hands dirty, spruce up Dottie’s apartment, and make it her own—even if only for a short while. Dottie had taken her in and given her a place to live. A home. Her very first on her own. The least she could do was leave it a somewhat better place than she’d found