A Bride for Jericho Bravo

Marnie stared at him for a moment, bemused. Was he asleep?

“Go on, fill it out,” he said, without opening his eyes.

So she did, giving Tessa’s address as her residence and her own cell for a phone number. In the section for previous employment, she put down the payables/receivables job and her father’s garage, lying about the dates a little, extending the time she’d worked at both.

“Done?” He opened his eyes and sat up.

She handed the form across the desk to him.

He leaned back again, hoisted his boots to the desk and stroked his neatly trimmed silver-gray beard as he read. “What area code’s your cell?”

“Santa Barbara.”

“How long you been in town?”

“Since yesterday.”

He slanted her a look. His eyes were a brown so deep they appeared black. They were kind eyes, but she saw doubts in them and had the sinking feeling he wasn’t going to hire her. “This is an Olmos Park address. You got a house in Olmos Park, Marnie Jones?” Meaning what did she need with a temporary job at a motorcycle shop if she lived in a wealthy neighborhood?

“It’s my sister’s house. I’m staying with her.”

“The job is for six weeks, while Desiree’s having that baby you might have noticed she’s about to drop any minute.”

“Six weeks would be great. I’m kind of … open-ended, at the moment.”

He chuckled, a deep, smooth-as-velvet sound. “Open-ended, huh?”

“Yes.”

“Say you decide to head on back to Cali before the six weeks are up. Where does that leave me?”

“But I won’t. That wouldn’t be right. If you hire me, I’m here for as long as I say I’ll be here.”

He tipped his shiny, smooth head and studied her. “You telling me I can count on you?”

“Absolutely.”

“You seem like a nice girl, Marnie.” He definitely had that tone—the one that said he was trying to gently ease her on out the door. “But your office experience is sketchy.”

She was leaning forward by then, willing him to hire her. Strangely, the more certain she became that he would turn her down, the more she wanted the job. “I know all the computer stuff. I learn fast. And I’m no slacker.”

“Let me ask you this. You even know what a chopper is?”

She remembered the bikers she’d met at her dad’s garage and the things they had explained to her about their world. “I do, as a matter fact. It’s a custom-built motorcycle, with radical styling, and a raked front end—longer forks at a greater angle than a standard bike.”

He gave her a slow nod. “Close enough. But I still don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what?”

“Truthfully now, you want to work here, why?”

It was a good question. And she wasn’t sure she had an answer. Probably because it was a damn sight more to her liking than the hamburger place she was heading for next.

Not that she could tell Gus that. “Well, my dad owns a garage in my hometown. It’s on the form there. I always liked it, helping him out, running the office for him. And, also, um …” She blew out a hard breath and brought out the big guns. “Your partner is my brother-in-law.”

Gus’s black Converse high-tops hit the floor. “Jericho?”

She swallowed and nodded.

“His family is rolling in green.”

“So I understand.”

“If you’re married to one of his brothers, you don’t need a temporary job here. We both know that.” He was looking at her like he didn’t believe a word she’d told him.

She suppressed a sigh. “But I’m not married to one of his brothers. His brother, Ash, is married to my sister.”

He smiled again. Slowly. She couldn’t tell whether her being family to his partner made a difference—or he continued to think she was lying through her teeth. “Well, angel. You should have said so upfront.”

“Yeah. Guess so.”

“You talked to Rico about this?”

“The ad said to ask for you,” she offered lamely.

Gus was already on his feet. “He’s in the shop. Wait right here.”

He went out and she waited, eyeing the two pit bulls, both of which seemed to have forgotten she was there.

Gus returned with Jericho in no time. When he led her brother-in-law in, the room seemed cramped, dwarfed by Jericho’s size and his considerable presence—and by Gus, too, who wasn’t as big as Jericho, but had energy and charisma to spare.

Jericho didn’t sit down. Neither did Gus. That couldn’t be good.

“How you doin’, Marnie?” Jericho asked.

“Hey.”

“Gus tells me you’re looking for temporary work.”

“That’s right.”

With a nod, Gus clicked his tongue at the dogs. They followed him out. She was left alone with her huge brother-in-law who did not look especially thrilled to see her.

Jericho hitched a hard thigh up on the edge of Gus’s desk and rested his big tattooed elbow on his knee. “Okay. It’s just us. What’s this about?”

She told the simple truth. “I’m staying in San Antonio for a while. And I need a job while I’m here. I looked in the want ads … and there was Gus’s ad. It seemed kind of …” I don’t know, karmic maybe?”

“Karmic.” He didn’t look amused. He ran a huge hand down his face. “Look, Marnie …”