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I try not to look down as I am pretty high off the ground and am doing my best not to rock this ladder. I grabbed it from the shed, and it has seen better days. The last thing I need is to fall from this height, but I need to get this done. Everyone told me it was too high and that I needed to hire a lift or get some scaffolding. Even Bob wouldn’t do it. But I am not hiring a lift or spending all that money on scaffolding when I know I can do it myself.
I took on this job, and I need to complete it, and while I prefer to be on solid ground, I also don’t want this small patch of unpainted boards to be the thing that makes mefail. I lost my job, I suck at relationships, I need to get this right.
My grip is white-knuckled as I swipe the paintbrush across the boards, just as I hear a truck pull into my driveway. I look down over my shoulder, spotting the familiar black and gold truck, and my breath catches.Tanner.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hope his bark is worse than his bite as Tanner jumps out of his truck with something in his hand before slamming the door, looking up at me like I am crazy.
“Just knitting a tea cozy from the golden thread of my hair. What the hell does it look like I am doing?” I shout down to him. His strides are quick to the base of my ladder, which he is now holding on to tight. He might want my land, but at least he doesn’t want me to die for it.
“You are ten feet in the air. On an old timber ladder that looks like it is about to snap in half!” he yells, and I roll my eyes at his clear disbelief in my abilities.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. I just had to paint this little section that I didn’t get to last week,” I tell him as I take one last look at my quick paint job and deem it a success.
“Will you get down? You are likely to fall and break a bone or something.” His growl is low and deep, and it shouldn’t make my skin break out in goosebumps, but it does.
“Trespassing again, I see…” I yell down to him as I start my descent. I go slow, because as demanding as he is, he is right, this ladder is a bit unsteady, and if he wasn’t holding on to it, I may have had an issue coming down it.
“I came to check up on you,” he says, and I almostmisstep at his words. “Take it easy,” he warns as I find my footing again and keep stepping down.Check on me?
“Still feeling guilty about the surveyor stake in the ground?” I ask with some sass as I am almost to the bottom.
“Maybe my intuition knew you would be crazy enough to climb a ten-foot ladder with an injured foot.” He is sarcastic today too.What a joy.
“Well, if your intuition is so good, then what is it telling you now?” I hit the lower rungs and turn, not realizing just how close we are. The breath leaves my lungs as we are now face-to-face. Mere inches between us as my breasts barely graze his chest. He doesn’t step back, and I don’t attempt to move either as he looks at me sternly.
My mouth dries immediately as the memory of him seeing me yesterday in nothing but my robe flies forward in my mind. The way he looked at me like he wanted to eat me whole has been on a constant thought rotation all night and day. And now as we stare at each other in furious heat, my heart starts beating harder and my stomach is doing flips. I am still not sure if he is genuinely caring and interested in helping me or just doing it for his own business benefit. I am at war with myself over each thought.
A strand of my hair is loose, and the breeze pushes it across my face. Before I can move to get it, his hand shoots out and brushes it away, his fingers skirting across my cheek slightly. All words leave me as I suck in a sharp breath at the light touch, our eyes never leaving each other’s.
“It’s telling me that these boots I got you will fit betterthan whatever the hell you have on your feet right now,” he grumbles, and my gaze flicks down to the bright-pink slides I am wearing. I agree, it’s probably not my best shoe choice, and I should have known better than to wear something like this on a ladder, but I did, and I am fine.
“You got me boots?” I ask him, tilting my head. Is he trying to butter me up? Maybe he thought I was serious about suing him.
“Hell knows you need them. Can’t be running around this place in bare feet again, or whatever the hell those are.” He nods to my feet, and I am wondering if this man has ever laughed before.
“Unless the boots are pink with rhinestones, I don’t think they will match my wardrobe,” I say with a smirk, just trying to push his buttons.
“You have enough sparkle in you, baby girl, I don’t think you need anymore. Besides…” he says as he pushes away from me and starts walking out the back. “You need boots to be at one with nature, not scare the poor animals away.”
I watch him walk toward the shed, my mouth open in surprise, my body reeling.Baby girl.That alone has my pussy clenching.
Seeing the bag that now sits at my feet, I pick it up, pulling out a boot. I don’t know a lot about work boots, but I know this label, and they are pure leather and expensive. I look at the size and am even more surprised that he got it right.
Brushing down my clothes, I run my hands through my hair, watching him sort out the animals and put them away for the night. There must be an ulterior motive. Ihave never received a gift just because from a man. There has always been a reason. As I watch Garry follow him willingly, I frown. I swear that goat hates me.
“Now what do you think you are doing?” I ask, stepping toward him.
“I called Kevin’s mom and told her not to worry about sending him up to help tonight,” Tanner says as he walks closer. His words make my heart pound.
“Why is that?” I ask, eyes thinning as I take in his expression for any sign of deception.
“I brought dinner,” he says gruffly, and I tilt my head to the side as a tingling erupts in my stomach.
“Dinner?” I ask, not able to hide my shock.
“Rochelle from the diner makes a good chicken pie,” he says by way of explanation before walking past me back to where he parked.
“Front door’s open!” I shout to him as I barely contain my smile before shuffling inside and turning on the oven. He comes in through the front door, putting bags on the counter, and looks at me in the kitchen where I am cleaning up a little.
