Everything she knew about Wyatt Carr was wrapped around admiring him from afar when he rode in on his motorcycle—how could she not notice? The bike made more noise than any other car in the parking lot, and he was a hunk. Just seeing him, all badass and wearing a leather jacket, made her think about him all the time, even though she'd never met him.
She sat down in the chair, ignoring the work in front of her. Knowing Jess's father wasn't married because the kids' mother had lived somewhere else, and Jess had mentioned she lived with her dad now, she tried to figure out the family basics.
She might've had a fantasy or two about Wyatt. In those daydreams, he was never married or had kids. Seeing him as a single father wouldn't change how she admired him from afar.
He was sexy in a rough, take-no-shit, way. While his son's face had a softness because of age, Wyatt had chiseled good looks underneath a beard and a swagger that showed off a cute butt in his 501s. She hadn't seen the color of his eyes since she'd only seen him from a distance without him noticing, but now that she'd seen his son's eyes, she imagined them brown.
The door on the cuckoo clock snapped open on the other side of the room above the couch. Counting through the bird calls, she hurried to write the new total of the rent payments received. If any others came in later, she'd catch up after she got home.
Only giving herself a half hour to get ready and get to the bar, she put on her makeup with a heavy hand, knowing her opponents tonight would walk in with the attitude they were playing against a woman, and she could use her looks in her favor.
Glancing in the mirror, she grabbed the can of hairspray, leaned over, and sprayed all her hair, concentrating on her bangs. Without standing straight, she blindly grabbed her hairdryer from the bathroom counter and blew out her hair until it was dry.
She stood, pushing her hair out at the sides, giving it one last spray to hold. Unplugging the dryer, she went out to her bedroom and grabbed her case, counted the money she allotted for the night, grabbed another ten dollars in case she got hungry, and left the apartment.
Taking her car, even though Riverside Bar was only two blocks away and it would be faster to walk than drive, she looked forward to the one night a week away from the apartments to do what she loved.
Parking right in front of the building, because it was safer when she walked out alone late at night, she carried her case inside. As was her ritual, she went straight to the back corner and picked a nearby table. Setting her case on the surface, she looked around for Carrie.
The server stood amongst the dart players to the left of the room. She glanced at the clock on the wall behind the bar. In five minutes, the first game would start.
As if on cue, she spotted Charlie Bodine and Davis walk in as if they owned the place. Refusing to move away from the table, she kept her stick in the case until the draw was pulled. Two years ago, she'd made the mistake of going to the bathroom before a tournament and someone had weighted her cue stick while she was gone. She hadn't noticed and lost the first game on a round-robin.
Charlie stopped in front of her and tucked in his shirt. "Evening, Ms. Farran."
"Mr. Bodine." She looked to the right. "Davis."
Out of everyone who would sign-in for tonight's tournament, Charlie was her only competition. He'd started being more formal when she continually beat him.
Davis, who always wore a black, long-sleeved shirt, turned his baseball cap around. "Has Carrie started throwing the names in the hat yet?"
"No." She ignored Charlie tilting his head to look at her bare legs below her jean mini skirt.
Joey pointed her toes inside her high heels. Some men were too easy to distract.
There was too much at stake to pretend she wasn't serious about winning. The five hundred dollars was a drop in the hat compared to the pot on the yearly competition at Blackfoot, but she was on a winning streak, and five big-ones every Friday went a long way to help make her goal more attainable.
Carrie approached the table. "Is everyone here?"
"Gene and Rabbit are in the parking lot," said Davis.
She hid her surprise. If there was someone Charlie hated more than her, it was Rabbit. Ironically, even though Rabbit was a smart player, she rather liked his easy-going spirit. Besides, he wore a leather vest that had Tarkio Motorcycle Club on the back, and it reminded her of Wyatt Carr and his Harley.
Adrenaline filled her. The more people who signed up, the bigger the pot.
"I'll wait five minutes, and then I'll have to get you started." Carrie waved over another server. "I'd suggest putting in your orders if you want anything to eat or drink now. We've got a full house tonight."
Knowing she wouldn't eat or drink anything unless she had a break in play, Joey gazed around at the crowd. She'd never seen the place packed shoulder to shoulder on a Friday night. It wasn't the pool tournament bringing in the crowd, and she wondered what was going on.
She half-turned to check out the dart competition going on, and her gaze landed on a familiar body, less than ten feet away. Never having been that close to Wyatt Carr before, she jerked her head up and greedily gazed at his profile while his attention was on the dartboards.
The music covered her sigh. God, he was as gorgeous as she'd imagined. At that
