Out of Bounds by Ellen Hartman Read Free Book Online Page A

with Posy Jones, her mom and this fundraiser, he’d put it straight.
    * * *
    P OSY WAS AT an enormous disadvantage and she knew it even before she walked into that office and got her first glimpse of Wes Fallon in the flesh. As it were.
    Seeing the mayor suck up to Wes made her sweat. There’d be no hometown advantage here for her mother.
    Her only option was to bluff...hard...until her mom came back with the cash.
    She knew Jay Meacham mostly by reputation, but she had met him a few times at downtown business-booster events she’d attended with her mom. He wasn’t exactly a thought leader, but he got the job done and kept people happy. In a town like Kirkland where the citizens were involved and motivated, the mayor needed to be better at making friends than he was at making policy.
    It had been bad enough that Chloe Chastain would be thrilled to expose Trish as a swindler. On top of that, her mom had stolen from a charity that actually seemed to do good work. Watching Wes sign a hat for the mayor brought it home that he and his brother were both minor celebrities. Her mom didn’t stand a chance if she got caught.
    “I think Posy and I should head to my office,” Wes said. “Nice to meet you, guys. See you on the courts.”
    He seemed to remember the T-shirt in his hand. “I brought you a shirt, Jay. Almost forgot to give it to you.”
    Jay thanked him much more sincerely than was necessary for a white T-shirt that wasn’t even autographed.
    Then Wes was right up close to her and she registered just how tall he was. At least six-six. She’d known the number, feet and inches, from her internet...research...but pictures and a few statistics had done a terrible job of preparing her for Wes in real life. His shoulders alone, broad and straight, deserved their own section in Google. She was used to looking down at people or looking even tall men in the eye, but Wes was a good six inches taller than her and built on a large scale. The dark stubble on his jaw and a military-style buzz cut made him look older and more commanding than the long, thick dark hair he’d had in his photos.
    She swallowed.
    Puppy Pete would have dropped to his belly if Wes loomed over him like this, but Posy straightened her shoulders, happy for once that they made her look even bigger.
    Bluff. Hard. Game time.
    “I don’t mean to interrupt. If you and the mayor want to talk about basketball, I can wait in your office.” She smiled her professional helpless-lady smile, all teeth and bright eyes with a deferential tilt to her head. When she went incognito on quality control visits for her job, that smile came in handy for assessing concierge service. Some men fell right into that particular smile and never noticed that she was grading them on everything from their attitude to their knowledge of the local hot spots.
    “I think we’re about finished,” Wes said easily. “But thanks.”
    He had not fallen for the clueless smile.
    He motioned for her to go first and then followed her out and down the hall.
    “I’m sorry I didn’t bring a hat,” she said, switching tactics on the chance his ego was big enough to let her distract him. “I didn’t realize you’d be signing merchandise.”
    He glanced down at her. “It’s probably better you didn’t have one.”
    “Really?”
    He stopped in front of a door and opened it. “Yup. I charge five bucks for an autograph. I only did the mayor’s for free because he’s an old friend.”
    Her eyes widened. His ego was that big he charged for his autograph?
    “Somebody has to keep me in solid-gold sneakers.”
    When she’d seen him sign the hat, she’d actually hoped he might be a dumb jock. It would have made her job so much easier. But, true to form, she could not catch a break. Wes was sharp. And funny. And capable of laughing at himself.
    “Good to know. I’ll bring a five when I bring my hat.”
    “Until then, maybe you’d like a shirt or a sticker.” He bent toward a box near his