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“Yeah, just a complete klutz tonight.” He went back into the trunk for the machine box, wishing she wouldn’t stand so close. Her Christmas cookie scent pervaded the area around him, making his mouth water and he didn’t even like them. Too much frosting.
It took a moment to get a grip on the box because his hands were slick with sweat but finally he hefted it into his arms.
“Thanks for the help.”
“It’s no problem.”
“Why didn’t you say anything yesterday when I told you I’d liked you?”
“I…didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”
“Which is?”
Clark’s brain sputtered like an old junker engine as he collected his thoughts. What was the wrong idea? He was attracted to Merry and the more he got to know her, the harder it was to come up with viable reasons why they wouldn’t be good together.
God, someone save me from the ninth circle of hell I’m in.
The roar of an engine broke the awkward silence and they turned in unison as a monster of a motorcycle pulled into the Winters driveway. The rider turned off the bike and swung a leg over before removing his helmet.
Clark’s older brother, Sam, grinned at him.
“Hey, bro, I’m home.”
Son of a bitch, that is not what I meant.
Chapter 8
Merry
Merry sat on her mother’s couch across from her sister Sunday afternoon, looping her crotchet hook through the project in her lap. Holly hadn’t stopped talking about Clark’s brother showing up for the last fifteen minutes and Merry wished she’d find a new topic. Between her embarrassing scene with Clark before his brother’s timely rescue and Woodsman cancelling their date last minute, she did not want to talk about men on an empty stomach.
“I don’t care that he’s ten years older, Sam Griffin is foine!” Holly crowed from her perch on the love seat, twisting a red curl around her finger.
Merry shook her head with a smirk. “Since when are you into bad boys?”
“Hey, just because he drives a motorcycle and has tattoos doesn’t make him bad. He could be a cinnamon roll. Ooey, gooey, squishy and sweet. Loves puppies and kittens.”
“I think I’m going to get a dog,” Merry said, trying to change the subject but her sister was determined to streamline the topic.
“If Sam were a dog, he’d be a Doberman…all sleek and protective.”
Merry rolled her eyes. She couldn’t say much about Sam, because their meeting had been relatively brief. Clark carried in the espresso machine and collected Jace within a matter of minutes, whisking his brother and son down the hill to the cottage. Merry should have been grateful for the interruption, as it saved her from further embarrassment.
The real shock had been Clark’s admission he’d liked her too.
It was painfully obvious he didn’t feel that way about her now, and she wanted to kick herself for the fumbling attempt at suggesting there might be something between them. On top of all of that, there was also the matter of Jace. She’d never dated anyone with a child before and it came with its own complications.
Wow, she was really getting ahead of herself. Clark hadn’t shown her a shred of interest, so all of the runaway thoughts rushing through her head were unnecessary.
And then Woodsman…
Hey KnottyGirl25,
I have a family emergency and need to cancel. I am so sorry to do this last minute, but I hope you’ll give me another chance to make it up to you.
Yours,
Woodsman27
