Return to Silver Creek: Not Interested

April hastily pulled her hair into a ponytail before stepping out of her car. She clutched her coffee and bagel, then slammed the car door shut with her foot, hurrying across the parking lot toward the large farm supply store. She was late for her first day at work, and she couldn’t believe it. The alarm clock she’d purchased just yesterday had failed her.

She spotted the woman who had interviewed her right away. She had flowing brown hair and bright-blue eyes. Her smile was infectious, and her friendly demeanor was evident as she waved to April from the customer service counter.

“Hi, April!” The woman greeted her warmly. “Just to remind you, I’m Bethany. Let me take you to the back. There’s a short video you need to watch, then someone will come get you for a quick tour.”

April nodded. “I’m really sorry I’m late.”

Bethany glanced at the clock and, to April’s surprise, chuckled. “Five minutes doesn’t count here. We’re lucky if the boss is only a half hour late. I love my brother, but Tuck is notorious for being late.”

“Oh,” April responded, unsure of how to react to that information as she followed Bethany down the hallway.

“Okay.” Bethany drew out the word, her smile still in place. “This is Tucker’s office. Just hit the spacebar to start the video, and don’t worry about finishing your breakfast in here. He really won’t mind.”

“Okay, thank you.” April returned Bethany’s smile.

“No problem. I’m just glad he finally agreed to hire someone with accounting experience.” Bethany waved as she headed toward the door. “Oh, and the bathroom is right across the hall. People often mistake this office for it. If someone comes in, just redirect them.”

“Absolutely.” April nodded as the door closed behind Bethany.

April found herself liking Bethany. She seemed genuinely kind, and April wondered if they might become friends. She quickly dismissed the thought. Someone like Bethany Davis probably had more friends than she could handle and certainly didn’t need more.

Since moving to town a month ago, April had only really interacted with her brother. Mick was entertaining, but also incredibly annoying. April had decided not to tell him where she was working until after her first day. Partly because he was driving her crazy with questions, and partly because she didn’t want to jinx it. This job was the first really good thing that had happened to her in a long time. Longer than she cared to admit.

She found herself absentmindedly playing with her left ring finger. A mix of pain and anger filled her as she thought about the past three years. Her ex-husband’s words echoed in her mind, and she shook herself out of her thoughts. She was more than capable of anything she set her mind to. At least, that’s what she wanted others to believe; what she needed them to believe.

A couple of hours later, April was tasked with familiarizing herself with the store and its merchandise. She overheard two men talking nearby but chose to ignore them. She figured they probably knew more about the store than she did.

As usual, she tried to avoid eavesdropping on their conversation. Instead, she leaned in to read the label on a bag of horse treats. Suddenly, she felt something smack her ass, and a wave of anger washed over her.

Without a second thought, April turned and slapped the nearest man across the face. Both men stared at her in shock. One was old, probably in his nineties, and used a wooden cane. He was balding, and his wrinkled face broke into a wide grin as he started to laugh.

The younger man next to him, the one she had slapped, was blushing furiously. He had dark-brown hair and a full, well-groomed beard and mustache. His icy blue eyes were wide and almost the same color as her hair.

“Sorry about that, young man. They don’t usually react like that.” The old man chuckled.

“This is why I insist on accompanying you, Mr. Lewis. You never did learn to keep your hands to yourself.” The younger man glared at the old man.

“Pft. I spent my whole damn life keeping my hands to myself. Now that I’m going to die anyway, I might as well enjoy myself.”

April stood there, slack-jawed, as the old man shuffled away. The younger man next to her studied her with a smirk. She couldn’t decide whether to be mortified or furious at his clear amusement.

“You should keep a better watch over your grandfather,” she snapped, deciding on anger.

“He’s not—” the man began, but she cut him off.

“I don’t care how old he is, that is completely unacceptable behavior.” She crossed her arms, glaring at him. He just smirked down at her, leaning back against the shelves. “If the owner saw that, he would be completely within his rights to ban him from the property.”

“Nah, I don’t think Tucker would do that.” His arrogant grin infuriated her, and she wished she had slapped him harder.

“Oh, really?” she retorted. “And why is that?”

There was a brief silence as he met her gaze, his dazzling blue eyes sparkling with amusement. As the silence stretched on and her anger faded, she felt something else. A tension that made her both want and despise the man for simply existing.

“Tucker!” Bethany’s voice echoed from the end of the aisle. “Where did Mr. Lewis go? You promised you were going to keep an eye on him.”

For the second time in the ten minutes she had known this man, April felt like a complete fool. Tucker’s smile widened as he watched the realization cross her face. Her heart fluttered at his expression, but she steeled herself, determined to regain control of the situation.

“Oh, you met April.” Bethany sounded pleased.

“Not officially.” Tucker straightened up as his sister approached.

“Okay then, Tuck, this is April Miller. April, my brother and the store’s owner, Tucker Davis. April’s the one I hired to manage the books. Well, technically you hired her.” Bethany shrugged, glancing back and forth between the two. She shifted awkwardly before continuing. “Well, I’m going to go find Mr. Lewis before he gets himself into trouble.”

Then she hurried down the aisle in the direction Tucker had indicated with a nod of his head. There was another long silence, but this time, April stubbornly refused to break it. She felt she had said more than enough already.

“Just out of curiosity, do you usually smack your boss on the first day? Or am I just special?” Tucker asked, smirking playfully.

April felt her cheeks heat up, and she wished she could just disappear. This was possibly the worst first impression ever. But she could bounce back from this, or at least she hoped so.

Tucker couldn’t stop smiling at the fiery woman in front of him. In the last ten minutes, he had learned that she was strong, independent, brave, and incredibly sexy when she was angry. And she was just as breathtaking when she was embarrassed.

He had the urge to reach out and touch a strand of her long ombre hair. It faded from black to blue to silver at the ends, and it looked stunning against her fair complexion and dark-brown eyes.

She was at least a foot shorter than him and probably didn’t weigh more than a hundred pounds soaking wet. Her curves, while subtle, were enticing. He had never seen a woman stand up to someone when they were clearly outmatched, but she had.

Suddenly, he was taken aback. His girl? He knew nothing about this woman, and while he intended to change that immediately, she was in no way his. Not yet.

“You lied to me,” she accused him.

“Oh, really?” Tucker asked, surprised.

“You led me to believe you weren’t the owner,” April insisted. “That’s fraud.”

Tucker couldn’t help but laugh out loud. When he finally stopped, he saw that her face had turned even redder, and she was biting her lip. He wanted to taste that lip. Without thinking, he reached out, running his finger across her bottom lip, relishing the feel of her slight gasp against his fingertips.

“Should I borrow some handcuffs from my brother-in-law, the sheriff?” Tucker murmured, watching her reaction closely.

Slowly, her lips parted, and her dark-brown eyes widened before darkening with desire. Tucker had never wanted to kiss someone so much in his life. But before he could say or do anything else, her expression shifted into a devious smirk.

“If only you could be that lucky,” she retorted, grinning teasingly before turning and walking away.