forever, not with bills to pay and a roof to replace. “You’ll notice the office is arranged very nicely, with plenty of storage space in the back and a private rest room.”
Percival Carter glanced nervously around the office, as if making a decision caused him a great deal of anxiety. A narrow-faced man in his forties, he combed lank strands of hair over his balding head in a failed effort to disguise his receding hairline. His double-breasted brown suit, which matched his prominent eyes, looked as though it had been purchased in another era. “I’m sure my mother would think this is very nice.”
“Your mother? Does she work with you?” Joanna asked.
“Oh, no. At least, not regularly, though she does help me with the filing occasionally. I don’t have a large-enough accounting practice to warrant a staff. There isn’t that much call for a CPA up here in the mountains. But Mother did, ah, encourage me to rent one of your offices.”
“Well, that’s very nice of her. I hope you’ll be happy here.”
“Oh, I think so, Ms. Greer. You see, I’m a bachelor.”
Joanna’s spirits plummeted. “Mr. Carter, I’m afraid the ad you saw—”
“Oh, it was my mother who—”
“It’s very misleading.”
The familiar tall figure of a man filled the doorway, and Joanna drew a quick breath.
“Permit me to disagree. As the advertisement promised, the landlady is indeed attractive, marriageable and has a son who is bright, intelligent and inquisitive.” A slow, seductive, smug smile tugged at the corners of Kris Slavik’s mouth.
Joanna wanted to throw something at him. Or crawl into a hole. “Excuse me. I’m trying to conduct some business here.”
“That’s okay.” Kris looped his arm over the older man’s shoulders, demonstrating the fact that he was at least six inches taller than the would-be tenant. “Since Percy and I are going to be neighbors, so to speak, I can bring him up to speed on the property. You know, stuff like which trees not to park under. The birds can wipe out your car’s finish in fifteen minutes if they’ve been munching on some of those late-ripening berries.”
“Kris! Will you stop—”
“It’s all right, Ms. Greer.” Percy smiled at her with endearing shyness. “Since I’ve met you, there’s no way he can discourage me from renting the office. Besides, my mother would be apoplectic if she thought I’d missed this chance. She’s quite anxious that I marry and produce a grandchild for her before she passes on. Though I doubt I’ll provide much competition for this gentleman. The two of you make a very attractive couple.”
“Thank you,” Kris said. “I quite agree.”
Joanna rolled her eyes, then glared daggers at Kris. “We are not a couple! He has paid a years’ worth of rent in advance, so I’m stuck with him. But we are definitely not a couple.”
Glancing up at Kris, Percy said, “I would appreciate it if you’d point out those trees to me. I wouldn’t want my vehicle to suffer any irreparable damage.”
“You got it, buddy.”
“But wait!” Joanna protested as the two men started to go outside. “Are you going to rent the office, Mr. Carter?”
“Of course. If you’ll prepare the lease forms, I’ll have a check cut and brought around for you first thing in the morning.”
Shoulders sagging, Joanna exhaled a long breath. Kris Slavik was definitely trouble. Not only had he acted possessive of her in front of a possible tenant, her heart had leaped into her throat when he’d appeared in the doorway. Normally she was immune to men, even those she found quite attractive, albeit in Kris’s case a little rough around the edges. Aware she wasn’t a candidate for marriage, much less an affair, she made it a point never to lead men on. They generally got the message without too much effort.
Kris was different. He appeared to have a serious case of selective deafness.
He was doing it again.
Joanna clenched her teeth as she showed another prospective tenant around the premises. A newly licensed real-estate broker, Larry Smythe was tall, dark, handsome and far too smooth a talker.
Kris Slavik shadowed their every move. He had on a different pair of jeans today. Not new, exactly— still faded and with a worn zipper—but ones without any holes in the knees. Joanna couldn’t be sure, but she thought he had on one blue sock and one brown. Apparently he put on whichever socks he happened to pick up.
With a critical eye, Larry examined the outside of the building and the window frames. “Of course, I’ll have to install an air filter. This close to the highway the fumes could be dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” Joanna questioned.
“It hasn’t bothered me any,” Kris muttered.
Larry’s perfect teeth flashed in a smile. “Not everyone understands that even what appears to be clean air needs to be filtered in order to avoid contaminates like pollen and lead. It always pays to be health conscious.” He sucked in his stomach and stood a little straighter. “I’ll put in my own water purifier, too.”
“If that’s what you think you need,” Joanna agreed.
“Looks to me like a real-estate broker would want to locate right in town,” Kris said, kicking at the old concrete on the back step of the remaining unrented unit. A piece crumbled away.
“I plan to catch the eye of folks who are just arriving in town,” Larry countered. “Besides, word-of-mouth advertising is the best you can get. And I intend to be the very best.”
“Naturally,” Kris grumbled. He jammed his fingers in his back pockets. This guy reminded him of all those superjocks in school who had given him such a hard time. Their shoulders were a little too broad, their guts too flat and their brains too small. But the girls went for them. Particularly goodlooking girls like Joanna, who Tyler had told him had been a cheerleader in high school.
Larry was the kind who was hard to discourage, too. He was confident of his sexual appeal as well as his business acumen and wasn’t about to give up easily. But everyone had a weakness.
In his own defense, Kris had learned as a kid how to outsmart someone instead of trying to outmuscle him. If he was going to have any chance with Joanna, he’d have to keep several steps ahead of good-ol’-boy Larry Smythe. It might not be an easy task, but Kris was both determined and confident.
Kris flipped his visor down to protect his eyes and brought the welding rod close to the bicycle frame. With a sharp snap, the electric current arced into a brilliant spot of blue-white light. Carefully he laid down a bead that would join metal to metal. The transformer hummed behind him, pumping electricity through the line, and the air in the garage filled with the biting smell of burning aluminum.
From the corner of his eye Kris caught sight of a pair of slender legs and shapely, feminine ankles. Momentarily distracted, he struggled to keep his hand steady as he finished circling the bar with the bead, then lifted the rod away.
“Hi. School out already?” He raised his visor and smiled at Joanna. He’d been so engrossed in his project he hadn’t been aware of the time. “Always nice to have my landlady drop by for a visit.”
“I heard that humming noise.” She indicated the transformer. “I was afraid something was wrong. The electrical wiring in this building is a little old.”
“I haven’t had any problem so far.”
“Good. With only a volunteer fire department