For the Love of Sin

Helen rolled her eyes. “Put them in the freezer. They’ll last longer that way. One a day,” she said, lifting her index finger for emphasis, “with a meal.”

Senada smiled. “You don’t know how happy you’ve made me.”

They had a full house on Friday evening, and Senada was busier than ever. Several customers casually asked her about Troy. She acted as if she didn’t know what they were talking about, but the back of her neck prickled with irritation. In the short time that he’d been there, he’d made a place for himself. The men greeted him; the waitresses flirted with him. At this very moment, he was in the back because the cook had asked him to take a look at the ice maker.

“Here you go,” she said, placing two pitchers of beer and four frosty mugs on a table. She shot a quick glance at the men dressed in denims and sporting cowboy hats. “Welcome to Padre’s. Are you new to town? I haven’t seen you before.”

One man gave her a long considering look. “We’re from the Circle K. I’m Chris Grant, the foreman.”

Circle K. Her father’s ranch. The room began to swim. Senada blinked, then took a careful breath and smiled. “Bet that job keeps you busy. I hear it’s a pretty big operation.”

He shrugged. “Busy enough, but Calhoun lets me off to come into town every now and then. Maybe I could show you the spread sometime. What’s your name?”

Senada paused. She considered conjuring up an alias and immediately felt impatient with her cowardice. So what if her father learned she was there. Maybe it was time. “Senada,” she said, and gave the group of men a half grin as she left. “If you need anything, yell.”

Her mind spinning, she slapped the door to the back room so hard, it hit the wall as she rushed through it.

Straight into Troy.

“Whoa!” He grabbed her shoulders.

“Sorry,” she muttered, still shaken.

He frowned, studying her. “What’s wrong? You look like somebody hit you.”

“Nobody hit me,” she told him. “Not really.”

He cocked his head to one side. “Hit on you?”

The tray she held separated her chest from his, but his hands felt warm and reassuring. His gaze was strong but gentle, and the combination sent a tumbling sensation in her stomach. For a moment, she considered dropping the tray and putting her arms around him.

She shook her head and immediately backed away. Where did that thought come from? She rolled her eyes. “They all order beer, and they all hit on me. It’s part of the program.” She looked past him. “What have you done to my ice maker?”

“Fixed it.” He pushed her hair behind one shoulder. “How are you gonna compensate me?”

He touched her as if it were no big deal, and it shouldn’t have been, but Senada felt her heart race. She swallowed an oath. Maybe she needed to check her blood sugar. “Your beer’s on the house. I’ll even throw in a burger if you want.”

“You’re all heart,” he said wryly.

“That’s me, sweet as—”

“—Tabasco sauce.”

She flicked her gaze back up to him. “Go home.”

He gave a slow, terrible, wicked grin and leaned close to her. “Not until I get what I came for.”

“Troy,” she said, throwing his innuendo right back, “you wouldn’t know what to do with it once you got it.”

Troy’s eyes lit with challenge, and he leaned dangerously close.

“You little thief!” The cook’s voice rang out. “What are you doing with those hamburgers? Six of them. I oughta—”

Senada broke away and rounded the corner to find a little boy, terrified and defiant, holding burgers in his hands. “It was only five! Pig!” he yelled back at the cook. “You’re a stupid pig!”

Pete’s face turned purple. “Why, you little—”

Senada’s heart twisted. “Hold on, Pete,” she said to the cook, then quickly assessed the boy. His clothes were worn, his cheek was smeared with dirt and he wasn’t wearing any shoes. “Are you hungry?”

The boy jutted out his chin. “So what if I am?”

She walked closer. “For starters, you could ask before taking the burgers. How old are you, anyway?”

“Twelve.”

“More like nine,” Troy muttered from behind her. “You gonna eat all those yourself?”

The kid looked at Troy warily, clearly intimidated by his size. “Maybe. What’s it to you?”

Troy shrugged and leaned against the counter. “Nothing. Go ahead. I’d just hate to see you get sick.”

“Sick?”

“Five burgers is a lot to eat.”

“It was six,” Pete insisted. “Six of my burgers.”

“I’ll cover it,” Senada said, finding the situation disturbing. “You can cook some more.” Pete grumbled as he made his way to the refrigerator.

“I wasn’t gonna eat them all,” the boy said.

Troy nodded. “You got a name?”

“Rocky.”

“You got a family?”

Rocky’s brown eyes glittered with defiance again. “Yeah. So what?”

“Where do you live?”

The boy made a quick dash for the door, but Troy was quicker. He caught the boy by the arm.

“Lemme go!”

“Where do you live?”

Rocky glared at Troy. “We ain’t got no house. It’s my mom, my sister and me. My dad’s in jail. My mom cleans rooms at the hotel, and we ain’t got no house.”