Playing For Keeps (Emerald Lake Billionaires 2) Read Online Free

job, better than Ryan would have been able to manage. Now that he had actual walls, he could imagine the colors, the light fittings, and the art that would bring his home to life.
    He left the buckets of paint in the middle of the living room and looked for Danny. The guy had a habit of turning up unexpectedly and scaring the living daylights out of him. Ryan didn’t know what it was about him, but he knew better than most how to move silently around the big house.
    Ryan walked toward the kitchen. As well as moving quietly, Danny was also the hungriest person Ryan knew. If he couldn’t find him, the kitchen was a good place to start.
    “I thought you’d be in here.”
    Danny looked up from the kitchen sink. “It’s all right for you,” he said with a grin. “You get preferential treatment because you’re the boss. Some of us have to put up with Jamie all day.”
    “I heard that,” Jamie said from the doorway. He pointed to the punch-out sheet in his hand. “Standing in the kitchen isn’t going to keep us on track. The flooring contractors arrive in two weeks. If we haven’t got the house painted by then, we’re in serious trouble.”
    Danny wiped his hands on a dishtowel and opened a packet of cookies. “I need food. I brought half a dozen packets of Oreos with me this morning. Do you want some?”
    “I know what your Oreo breaks turn into. Before I know it, you’ve eaten an entire week’s worth of cookies in ten minutes.” Jamie walked across to the counter and helped himself to an Oreo. “If I wasn’t happily married to your sister, I would’ve thought twice about hiring you.”
    Danny put half a dozen cookies in his pocket. “If my sister knew that you were starving me, she wouldn’t make you any pecan pie.”
    Jamie smiled. “Your sister knows you better than I do. Why do you think she makes me pie and not you? It’s because I appreciate what she does.”
    Ryan knew that this conversation could go on for hours. His cell phone rang and he looked at Jamie and Danny. “You two can argue over Oreos for the whole afternoon if you want to. Some of us have work to do.” He picked up a cookie on his way through the kitchen. With his other hand, he answered the call.
    “Ryan Evans speaking. How can I help you?” There was a moment of silence, almost as if the caller hadn’t expected him to answer his phone.
    “I don’t know if you remember me, but it’s Sophie. You helped me yesterday when my car ran out of gas.”
    Ryan recognized her voice. It would have been hard to forget the pretty brunette with the long straight hair and brown eyes. He’d thought about her last night, wondering how she was getting along. “Did you make it back into town?”
    “I did. Thanks for your help yesterday. You probably think it’s strange that I’m calling you, but I’m not sure what else to do.”
    Ryan stopped in the hallway. “What’s happened?”
    “It’s not life-threatening,” Sophie said quickly. “I’m okay, but I’m wondering if you could help me? I’m looking for a job. I’ve been everywhere in Bozeman and no one’s got any vacancies. Have you heard of any jobs that are available?”
    Ryan didn’t know what it was about Sophie, but from the moment he’d met her, he’d felt as though he’d known her for years. “I don’t go into town all that much, except for building supplies.”
    “That’s okay. I just thought I’d call you and ask. What are you building?”
    Ryan looked at his half-finished home. “A house. It’s on the shore of Emerald Lake.”
    “I don’t know where Emerald Lake is, but it sounds pretty. Do you need someone to help you?”
    Danny and Jamie would laugh if he suggested employing Sophie. She was the most unlikely looking builder he’d ever seen. “Do you have any construction experience?”
    “I’ve painted two apartments. I know how to fix a leaky faucet and fill holes in the walls. My last apartment looked terrible when I moved in. No one recognized it