An Unlikely Setup

by Margaret Watson

  Not well enough, or she wouldn’t need to talk to him. “I know what questions to ask.”

  Gervano set his fork on his plate and glanced at his watch. “It’s been good talking with you, Maddie, but I have another appointment. I’ll be in touch.”

  “With Laura,” she said. “My Realtor.”

  “Of course.” He squeezed out of the booth and picked up the check. “Thanks for your time.”

  As he walked up to the cash register, the door opened and Quinn stepped in. He froze when he saw Gervano, then watched as the YourMarket rep left the store.

  Maddie wanted to slide down in the booth. Instead, she sat up taller. She had no reason to be ashamed that she’d met with Gervano.

  “Hey, Quinn.” Jen smiled despite her obvious fatigue. “You here for something to eat?”

  “No, I came to ask if you’d be able to cook at the Harp tonight. But maybe it’s way too much to put you through….”

  “I’ve already worked a full shift here,” she said. “But I could cook for a little while. How about until nine?”

  “Anything would be a help,” he said. “Thanks.”

  “I have some fresh pie, if you’d like a slice,” Jen said. “Apple. Your favorite.” She nodded her head in Maddie’s direction. “Some company you might like, too.”

  Quinn’s eyes met hers, and she saw him make the connection between her and Gervano. His expression hardened. “The pie sounds good, Jen.”

  He strode over to the booth and slid in across from her. “Gervano was here to meet with you, wasn’t he?”

  “Not your business,” Maddie said, taking a bite of the now-tasteless pie.

  “He wants the Harp, you know.”

  “There’s a lot of that going around.”

  “Damn it, Maddie, he practically left a slime trail behind him when he walked out.”

  She hadn’t liked Gervano any more than Quinn had. “His money is green. That’s all that’s important.”

  “Do you know what YourMarket would do to this town?” His voice was a harsh whisper, and the handful of people in the diner were now openly watching them. “It would destroy Otter Tail.”

  “Isn’t that a little dramatic?” She kept her voice as low as his.

  “YourMarket drives down the prices so local stores can’t compete. It sucks the soul out of a community.”

  “Quinn, I know you don’t want to lose the Harp. Believe me, I’d sell it to you if I could. But I have to sell it to whoever can give me the most money.” For Hollis.

  “So kissing me this morning didn’t mean a thing.”

  “Keep your voice down,” she said. “And if I recall, you were the one who started it.” A horrible thought struck her. “Was that your way of trying to convince me to sell to you?”

  “Of course not. You think I wanted to kiss you?” He closed his eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”

  It was too late. Memories flooded her, and remembered humiliation made her want to get far away from Quinn. “I’m glad we cleared that up,” she said, sliding out of the booth. “Goodbye, Quinn.”

  She walked out of the Cherry Tree and didn’t let herself look back.

  QUINN FOUND HIMSELF watching the clock as 5:00 p.m. approached. Would Maddie show up for work? Or would she blow him off?

  In her shoes, he probably wouldn’t show. Not after what he’d said to her. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he’d realized how they would hurt her. And that he’d lied. He had wanted to kiss her. Just didn’t want to admit it.

  The pub was already beginning to fill up, and people were watching the door expectantly. Clearly, everyone had heard about their conversation at the Cherry Tree. Or maybe they’d heard about the stop for coffee that morning. Either way, the crowd was looking to be entertained.

  What had happened to his rules about not getting involved? About keeping his personal business private? His cool, detached lifestyle was crumbling around him. It had started the minute Maddie walked into the Harp that first night.

  Even before seeing her in the Cherry Tree with Gervano, he’d spent the day trying to figure out what had happened earlier. Maddie was right—he’d made a move on her. Women had turned him down before. He’d always said “so long” and carried on. He never took it personally.

  Because the women had never meant anything to him, he realized uneasily.

  Maddie did. And that scared the hell out of him. So he’d overreacted. And hurt her in the process.

  Then he’d gone and done it again at the Cherry Tree.

  The door opened and Quinn tensed. But instead of Maddie, Sam Talbott and Annamae Simpson strolled in, arm in arm. Apparently, whatever Maddie had said to him had worked. Quinn rolled his eyes at the expression on Sam’s face. The kid might as well have tiny hearts circling his head.

  “So you guys are back together,” he said.

  “We are.” Sam smiled idiotically down at Annamae. “Is Maddie here yet? I want to introduce her.”

  “Nope.” Quinn concentrated on the glass he was filling with beer.

  “When she gets here, tell her we’re in the corner booth.” He nuzzled Annamae’s neck. “She’s the one who made me realize that Annamae is my true love.”

  Quinn watched as Sam steered his girlfriend away from the bar. A few days ago, the kid had been slobbering all over Maddie. Now he was in love with Annamae again.

  True love. Quinn snorted. Yeah, right. True lust was more like it.

  He had no problem with lust—he liked it just fine. He had a little trouble with the whole true love concept.

  “Hey, Quinn. What’s up? You just eat something that tasted really bad?”

  He yanked his gaze away from Sam and Annamae and watched Paul Black take a stool. “What are you doing here tonight?” he said, forcing a smile. “Didn’t you get your fill last night?”

  “The Harp is the place to be,” his friend replied with a sly smile. “I’m expecting a good show tonight.”

  “You’ve heard Hank’s band before. Do they have someone new playing with them?”

  “I wasn’t talking about the band.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake. I thought you were an adult.”

  “I am. That’s why I enjoy leisure activities with adult themes.”

  “Entertain this,” Quinn said, flipping him a finger.

  Paul laughed. “Give me a half-and-half to go along with my amusements, would you?”

  “That drink is a pain in the ass.” He filled a glass half-full with Harp beer, then grabbed a spoon and let Guinness flow over the back of it until the glass was full. “You’re a pain in the ass, Paul.”

  “Then my job here is done.” He took his beer and stood. “I like Maddie.”

  As Quinn stared at him, speechless, Paul wandered toward a group that included Delaney Spencer and Ian Hartshorn, a political science professor from Collier College over in Spruce Lake. Apparently, the gossip was bringing them in from miles around.

  Quinn filled small bowls with pretzels and set them on the bar hard enough that they rattled. People here were supposed to be on his side. They were supposed to be helping him keep the Harp. Did they have any idea Maddie might sell the pub to YourMarket?

  “So tell me about the new waitress, Quinn. I’ve been hearing a lot about her.” Hank Martin, whose band was playing that evening, leaned against the bar, and Quinn reached to pull him a Guinness.

  “You’re here early, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “Nothing better to do.” Hank sipped the dark beer.

  As Quinn filled another order, the door opened. There was a beat of silence, then everybody began talking again.

  Maddie hesitated in the doorway.

  After a moment, she walked in, wearing the body-hugging green T-shirt and jeans she’d worn last night. As if she was coming to work. His heart began to pound.

  “Is that her?” Hank asked in a low voice. “She’s worth coming in early for.”

  He started toward Maddie, and Quinn reached a
cross the bar and yanked him back. “Don’t make me hurt you, buddy.”

  The musician slowly smiled. “Is that how it is?”

  “You both work here. I don’t want any drama.”

  “Whatever you say.” He settled on a bar stool, looking at Quinn expectantly.

  Maddie grabbed a clean apron, tied it on and disappeared into the growing crowd, ignoring him.

  Quinn lost track of her for a while, but a few minutes later she returned to the bar and dropped off several drink orders. Before she could move away, he stepped in front of her, then herded her to a corner of the pub where no one could overhear them.

  “I didn’t expect you in tonight.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “You thought I’d leave you without a waitress? That would be bad for business. It might hurt the bottom line.”

  He saw pain, deep in her eyes. “I need to talk to you.”

  “I don’t have time to chitchat. There are a lot of thirsty people out there.” She hurried away without looking back. Just like she hadn’t looked back as she left the Cherry Tree.

  MADDIE DROPPED OFF another handful of orders and picked up the drinks Quinn had filled, then eased back into the crowd. She could feel Quinn’s gaze boring holes in her back, but she ignored him.

  She’d finished delivering the drinks and was taking more orders when a man turned away from the group he was talking to and held up an empty glass. “Another Guinness, please.”

  “Sure.” She scribbled it down, then reached for his glass. He held it just out of reach.

  “You’re the new waitress.”

  Wavy blond hair brushed his collar and framed a rugged face. When he smiled at her, a dimple flashed in his right cheek and his brown eyes twinkled. “Hank Martin,” he said, holding out his hand. “My band is playing tonight.”

  “I’m Maddie,” she said, relaxing. “I’ve heard good things about your group.”

  “We’re not as good as Paul—but then, we don’t have Delaney.” He grinned. “We try harder, though.”

  “Can I get you something to eat?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “Andre is gone. Jen Summers is cooking for us now.”

  “Really? Is she making something other than burgers and fish and chips?”

  “How about a chicken wrap?”

  “Excellent.”

  She wrote it on her pad and took his glass. “I’ll get you another beer, too.”

  “How do you like working here?” Hank asked.

  “It’s fine.” She plastered her professional smile on her face. “The people are great.”

  “Yeah, mostly.” He nodded toward the bar. “Other than the boss. He just about took my head off a few minutes ago.”

  Maddie glanced over her shoulder to see Quinn watching them. “No job is perfect,” she said lightly. “Nice to meet you, Hank.”

  Once Hank’s band started playing, the pub got more crowded, and it was easy to avoid Quinn. She dropped off the drink requests when he was busy with a customer at the bar, and picked them up when his attention was elsewhere.

  She wasn’t interested in going another round with him.

  But in spite of her resolve, she knew every time he was watching her. His gaze touched the nape of her neck and drifted down her back, making her shiver. And she caught herself paying too much attention to him.

  It infuriated her that she was still aware of him.

  Her nerves were stretched taut and close to snapping when Jen touched her arm and murmured, “We have a problem.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “JEN!” A CUSTOMER JOSTLED Maddie’s arm, and her tray dipped as she struggled to balance it. “What’s wrong?”

  Jen steadied the tray. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Give me ten minutes to deliver these drinks and check the crowd one more time. I’m due for a break.”

  “Meet me in the kitchen,” Jen said in a low voice.

  A few minutes later, Maddie slipped through the swinging door and found Jen grilling a chicken breast and making a salad.

  “Hey, Jen. What’s up?”

  The other woman paused, holding the knife she was using to chop a pear. “Martha told me you’re selling the Harp to YourMarket.”

  Maddie’s heart plummeted. She dropped her tray onto the stainless steel counter. “Why on earth would she say that?”

  Jen held her gaze. “That guy you met at the diner. He was from YourMarket. He used his corporate credit card to pay his bill.”

  Gervano was an idiot. “He didn’t even make me an offer, Jen. He just wanted to meet. That’s it.”

  “But he’s going to make an offer.”

  “I have no idea.” The edge of the counter cut into her palms as she gripped it. “Please don’t say anything to anyone else. And ask Martha not to, either. I don’t want everyone angry at me.”

  “I won’t say a word. Can’t vouch for Martha, though. Nothing she likes as much as gossip.”

  “This gossip might hurt Quinn.”

  Jen turned the chicken on the grill. “Is that what you and Quinn were fighting about? You were in his truck at the crack of dawn, which was a positive development. Then this afternoon, I thought I’d have to hide the steak knives.”

  “‘A positive development’? What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means Quinn has isolated himself in this pub ever since he opened it. He doesn’t get involved, with anyone or anything.” She smiled. “But maybe that’s changed.”

  “Yeah, we’re involved, all right. In a bad way. He wants to buy the Harp from me. And I can’t afford to sell it to him. That’s what we were fighting about.”

  Jen whistled. “That’s ugly.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So what were you doing in his truck this morning? Negotiating?”

  Maddie laughed, and some of her tension eased. She missed talking about stuff with Hollis and her other girlfriends.

  “A raccoon got into the kitchen last night, and I freaked out. When I ran outside, I locked myself out of the house. Quinn came over to apologize—”

  “After he left the pub at two.”

  “—and found me stranded. He had a key at his house. That’s it.”

  Jen cut the chicken into strips and put it on the salad, then filled a small cup with what appeared to be homemade salad dressing. “He looked pretty worked up when he came into the Cherry Tree for coffee. Most people don’t get that passionate about unlocking doors.”

  “Maybe there was other stuff, but it’s over now.”

  “He was an idiot, wasn’t he?”

  Maddie sank onto the stool on the other side of the counter. “He was.”

  “It comes with the Y chromosome,” Jen said. “He really is a good guy.”

  “That remains to be seen,” Maddie muttered. “Was that it? Because I should deliver that salad.”

  “I wanted to tell you to be careful.”

  She frowned. “Quinn may be angry, but he’s not going to do anything to me.”

  “Quinn would chew off his own hand before he hurt a woman,” Jen said impatiently. “I wasn’t talking about him.”

  “Then what?”

  “One of my customers at the Cherry Tree told me he’d seen Andre at a bar in Fish Harbor. He was drunk, and he was going off on you and Quinn. He’s pissed at Quinn for firing him and he blames you.”

  “He was threatening me?” Clearly, coming to Otter Tail had been a mistake on every front, Maddie thought, annoyed.

  “Not in so many words. But you and Quinn better be careful. Andre has a temper.”

  “David’s house has heavy-duty locks. I found that out last night,” Maddie said. “I’ll make sure I use them.”

  “You should have Quinn see you home after work, too.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Maddie said quickly. She’d chew off her own hand before she asked Quinn for anything. “I can take care of myself.”

  “I’m going to tell Quinn about Andre, too.”

 
; “Absolutely tell him Andre was talking smack. He needs to know. But don’t you dare say anything about me. If you do, I’ll—I’ll…” She shoved her hands into her pockets. “I don’t know what I’ll do, but it’ll be messy and it will involve pain.”

  A smile flickered at the corners of Jen’s mouth. “Quinn’s a smart guy. He’s going to figure it out. He’ll know Andre was talking about you, too.”

  “If he’s so smart, why was he such an ass?”

  “You should be asking me that.” Quinn’s voice. Behind her.

  She spun around. “Eavesdropping?”

  “Looking for you. I noticed you’d disappeared.”

  “I was taking a break.” She lifted her chin. “Do I need your permission now to go to the bathroom?”

  “I’ll deliver this salad,” Jen said, sidling past her and Quinn. “You two have fun.” She pushed through the swinging door, leaving them alone.

  “If you’re searching for the bathroom, you’re in the wrong place,” Quinn said.

  “Then I must have taken a wrong turn.”

  She tried to walk past him, but he stopped her with a hand to her arm. “You’re right. I was an ass, and I apologize. Okay?”

  “For what? There are so many things to choose from.”

  A muscle in his jaw twitched. “For the way I acted at my house. And for what I said at the Cherry Tree.”

  “Fine.” She stepped around him. “I need to get back to work.”

  “Wait.” He put his hand on her shoulder, and she stilled. His touch made her shiver, and she hated that.

  “I lost it when I saw you with Gervano. But it wasn’t just about him buying the Harp. There’s something off about that guy, and I was worried about you.”

  Maddie rolled her eyes. “And you would know this because you didn’t like the way he looked?”

  “Okay, I was pissed because he wants to buy the Harp, and you were listening to him. I’ll cop to that. But there’s more to it.”

  Maddie jerked her head toward the other room. “As much as I’d like to have a heart-to-heart, there are a bunch of people out there who want drinks. They’re going to get testy if we’re back here baring our souls instead of serving their beers.” This time he didn’t stop her. “Bad timing, Quinn.”