Before she closed the door, he said, "Joey?"
She stopped. "Yes?"
He stepped forward, cupped her face, and kissed her one more time before turning away and walking off.
Watching him leave, she wondered if there was more going on with him than he was saying.
Chapter 14Wyatt
THE POOL GAME ENDED. Joey shook Charlie's hand. Wyatt pushed off the wall and met her at the table as she unscrewed her pool stick. She'd lost by one shot.
He slid his hand underneath her hair and rubbed her back. "It was close."
She snapped her case shut. "I can't afford to lose."
He pulled her back against his chest, wrapping his arms around her. "If you're having money problems, I can—"
She turned in his arms. "Not that kind of problem. I wanted to enter the Blackfoot Tournament at the end of the year. I was using my winnings to try and earn the entrance fee that needs to be turned in by November."
He whistled softly. "Don't the players usually get sponsored for that tourney?"
"Yeah, but I haven't been in Missoula long enough for any of the local businesses to have faith that I can win, so I'm trying to pay the fee myself."
"Tiger, I own Carr Construction." He brushed her hair off her cheek. "I sponsor a Little League baseball team."
"That's a little different. I wouldn't ask you or take your money." She kissed him. "Besides, it's ten grand. It's probably foolish to play anyway. It would be throwing away all that money if I lose, and I need to save up to have the apartments in Unit C repaired."
"What's wrong with them?"
"The apartments?" She yawned. "There was a kitchen fire years ago before I started managing the apartments. Grandpa never had the damage repaired, just kept the doors locked. I'm losing income with them sitting empty. In my head, if I won the Blackfoot Tournament, I was already planning to spend part of the winnings on updating the apartments and building a nice nest egg for myself." She sighed. "Saying it out loud seems silly now."
"It's not silly. I've seen you play." He knew the tournament paid out a quarter of a million, which would go a long fucking way for anyone. "Do you want me to take a look at the apartments and give you an estimate?"
"Will you?"
He nodded. "We can go over there tomorrow before I have to pick the kids up at my mom's house. No obligation to use Carr Construction. I can at least give you a number, and that way you can shop around and see what others will charge you."
"How's Travis doing?" she asked.
He led her over to the table and sat down with her. "He was excited to go to my mom's. She has bowling tonight, and he was going to hang out at the alley with her. A few of his old friends from his last school will be there."
"Oh, that's good. I bet he'll enjoy seeing them."
He was reluctant to have Travis away from him after the last time he ran off after breaking the rules and going with Dean. But he could tell his son was looking forward to hanging out with his friends. He hoped it was exactly what Travis needed. If his son could see that living with him wasn't going to separate him from his old life, maybe he'd stop running off.
"I went to the junior high and the high school yesterday and talked to the principals, updating the list of people who are allowed to pick the kids up. But once the last bell rings and they walk off school property, there's nothing they can do if they get into someone's car that's not on the approved list." His lip curled. "He's old enough, this shouldn't be happening. Roddy was telling me I should just let him be. He'll come home when he's hungry or needs to crash, but I've lived that life. I was that kid that answered to no one, and it's a rough life. I want better for my kid."
She drew circles on his thigh. "You are giving him better. Travis just can't see that right now, but he will."
He sat back in the chair. "Let's get out of here and go home."
"Are you going to turn my bad night into something good." She popped out her lower lip. "Please?"
A growl rumbled in his throat. "All night long, tiger."
Pushing up from the table, he caught her when she bounded to her feet. Her heels made her four inches taller, and she rolled against him, kissing his neck. He looped his arm around her shoulders, moving chairs out of their way.
In the center of the room, Roddy shoved away from the table where the Tarkio members gathered and motioned him over. He owed Tarkio Motorcycle Club for dropping everything and helping him comb the streets looking for Travis. While he'd found his son, the outcome could've ended differently.
He clasped Roddy's hand, keeping Joey by his side. "How's it going?"
"Do you have a second?" asked Roddy over the music blaring in the bar.
He wanted to get home, but he nodded. "Yeah."
"Let me grab Curley, and we'll meet you outside."
Taking Joey out the front door, he led her to the Harley. She handed him her case, and he tied it on his bike. It was the first time she'd ridden and he enjoyed all two blocks of having her plastered against his back.
"I can walk back to the apartment if you need to stay and talk to the bikers," she said.
"It's not safe for you to be walking the street in the middle of the night alone." He slid the helmet down on her head. "Roddy works for me at Carr Construction. He had all day to say something to me if it was private."
"Why don't you wear a helmet?"
"Free country." He knocked his knuckles against the shell. "I
