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drawing every eye to him. Fuck it. Maybe he wanted the recognition after all. That might impress her enough to give him a second look.
    “How much for the chair?” Ty asked.
    “Oh, honey, he asked about the chair! Did you say fifty dollars?”
    “Not even that much. He could have it for twenty dollars,” she said, finally looking in his direction. He saw no recognition in her stare, but the most vibrant bright blue eyes held him transfixed. Oh man, he liked her.
    “Charge me a hundred dollars for the chair. If you have a set, I’ll buy them both. It’ll look good on my porch,” he said, holding her gaze for a few seconds more before turning away. Although he hadn’t played the dating game in many years, he knew there were rules, and he couldn’t act overly interested—that was Cole’s deal. Besides, he didn’t know how he knew, but she wasn’t going to be taken in by Cole’s charm. She would need a little gentle prodding.
    “Oh, honey, you sold two. Congratulations. It’s been such a hard few years for her,” the woman said, running the card again.
    “Mom.”
    Ty looked over to see her face had changed: a sternness there.
    “I’m sorry, honey. I’m just happy. I bet you’re the new resident we just got the house ready for. I never suspected. Is your place that nice log house on the ridge? We always wondered who’d bought that thing. You own that by yourself?” she asked, and Ty chuckled a little to himself. The matchmaking didn’t go unnoticed.
    “Yes, ma’am, I do,” he said, smiling down into his billfold as he added the card back in its space.
    “Kenzie, do you hear that? Honey, he owns that house. I thought your chairs would look real good on that porch too, remember?” she asked, placing the charge slip in front of him for a signature.
    “I hear that, Momma. Thank you, sir, for buying the chairs.” Ty looked up at Kenzie before signing his assumed name. The strain was still in her eyes but a big, pretty smile lit her face making it all more than worth it.
    “She donates all her money to help battered women,” her mom said proudly, and slowly the pieces began to come together. That explained a whole lot. Usually people who donated like that had a history. Ty kept an eye on her, much like Cole, but he wondered if his buddy noticed the slice of pain that crossed her face at the mention of abuse. Probably not. Cole’s thoughts aligned too closely with his dick, and he wouldn’t easily recognize all the signs of not-interested she was putting out there to them.
    “Good cause. We’ll be by tomorrow in the truck to pick them up,” he said, picking up all the bags. “Connor, grab your boy.”
    Since Ty planned to be there many weeks, and Cole would be leaving in a couple of days, he’d bide his time. If he could manage to even get her to the house, he didn’t want Cole monopolizing her. Ty shoved the bags he had in his hands toward Cole, dumping them in his arms as Connor pushed him from behind. “She not interested.”
    “Dude, I’m making progress,” Cole said, looking offended, but moving with them toward the door. Again the laughter around them proved they were still the main attraction in the store.
    “Right, sure you are. Now get in the truck,” Ty said. At the door, he took a chance and glanced back over his shoulder. Kenzie made eye contact, but there was a sadness in her eyes, and something unexpected tugged at his heart. He’d done the right thing by giving her a break. She clearly had more on her mind than just them. He’d have to take his time to figure her out.

Chapter 3
     
    With the last swipe of the industrial-size mop, Kenzie dropped the mop-head inside the rolling water bucket and pushed it toward the back room. Tonight was different than the others before where nothing but sheer boredom filled her thoughts. Instead, the entire time she cleaned, her mind stayed fixated on the three men who’d stopped in earlier that day.
    She wasn’t sure what made them