“Was going on,” she corrected. She’d eaten every bite of her food and dipped back in with her fork for another potato. “An accountant would be obligated to report anything that looked…fishy.”
“What are a few more crimes on my sperm-donor’s long list?” he asked. “Too bad he’s dead. He’ll never pay.”
She put her hand on his upper arm in a way that told him to listen up, to pay attention. “Manny’s an immigrant, Ethan.”
“I know, but he’s legal, and he didn’t know what de Lorean was up to. He’s got nothin’ to worry ab?—”
The look on her face, eyebrows up, chin down, made him break off mid-word and replay what he’d said. Then he said, “You’re right. It could be bad for him.”
“It could get him deported,” she said, blunt as always. “Or worse.”
“I’ll talk to Garrett,” he said. It occurred to him how often that phrase was his solution to a problem. Uncle Garrett always knew the right thing to do. “Until then, I wonder if you and Hy would consider stayin’ at the ranch?”
“But the guy who threatened me is dead.”
He nodded. “We’ve just established there’s always a bigger bad guy. And I don’t want to scare you, but Garrett says Angus Silver has an older brother. Nathan Silver.”
“And?”
“He’s as big a criminal as my old man was. And I was the last person to see his brother alive. It would be a lot easier to keep you safe at the Texas Brand. There’s always family around, and you can see anyone comin’ for a mile in every direction. We’ve got fences, gates, and guns.”
She closed her eyes and he wondered what she was thinking. But she said, “Yeah, sure, I’ll talk to Dad after we finish up here tonight.”
“So what did you have in mind for the afternoon? It’s too early to start surveilling the shed.” He finished his last bite, then gathered up all the dishes and headed around the bar and into the kitchen.
Lily followed. “Why? You have something in mind?”
“I thought we might pick paint colors for upstairs, then start prepping the room. Spackle the cracks and tape the trim,” he said as he put the dishes into the sink and turned on hot water. He’d left some basics around, so there was dish soap to squirt in.
Lily seemed to think about it, then said, “If I’m moving to the ranch tonight, I’m gonna need to pack a bag. And you can handle paint prep without me,” she said. Then she dove into her tool belt and pulled out a handful of paint-sample cards, each one striped in shades of color. “I marked my favorites, but you’re the owner.”
Lily spent the afternoon with her dad, packing up for a few days at the Texas Brand. She was sure it wouldn’t be longer than that.
It wasn’t yet dark when she headed back to Mad Bull’s Bend and pulled her car around onto the grass behind the cantina. She headed in through the rear door, which led to the kitchen. “Ethan?”
“Upstairs,” he called.
She headed upstairs, surprised to find blue painter’s tape bordering every bit of window trim and crown molding.
Ethan was on a ladder, carefully smoothing spackle over nail holes in the wall. He wore jeans and boots and a tight-fitting black T-shirt. She got stuck watching the flexing and relaxing of his biceps as he worked.
Her own T-shirt was tight, too. A lot of good it did, with her flannel over top. She took it off right then and there, dropped it over a tall bucket and said, “It’s warm up here. You’ve been busy.”
“Couldn’t help myself. This room has a perfect view of the shed, so I figured two birds, one stone.”
She looked around noting he’d taped her paint sample strips to the walls in several locations.
“Now that I’m up here, I’m liking that pale lavender,” she said. She untaped it from where it was and re-taped it to the spot where the light still hit. “Even prettier in the light.”
“That was my favorite, too,” he said.
“Maybe with a creamy trim?”
Ethan snatched a paint strip off the wall, moved it to the spot beside the lavender sample, and awaited her opinion.
“It’s a good look,” she said. “Peaceful, but feminine. You sure it’s not too girly for you?”
“I’m secure in my manhood.”
