by C. A. Harms
“Why do you look disappointed?”
I stared at AJ, the once very quiet and reserved one. She was so embarrassed over the mere thought of any one of us knowing that she and Rhett were doing the nasty in an unfinished loft above the garage. The poor girl was mortified for weeks when the elder generation ransacked the project to find her standing in the doorway with her shirt on backwards from a hurried attempt to hide her nakedness. Now she was giving me the third degree about naughtiness that wasn’t even happening between Landon and me.
“What happened to you?” I asked, shaking my head at her. “You used to be so quiet and”—I couldn’t find the words—“less intimidating.”
I walked away, hearing her laughter echo behind me. “You do know who my fiancé is, don’t you?”
At that, Rhett peered over the back of the couch, giving me a curious stare. I was surrounded by animals, dirty-minded, pushy animals.
Chapter Twelve
Landon
“You sure this is okay?” Suddenly, I felt a little ridiculous suggesting that we go fishing, but I wanted to do something where Chloe and I would be alone. I didn’t want any interruptions from family or friends. I honestly just didn’t want to share her with anyone.
“It’s fine, really.” The way she responded gave me an empty feeling in my stomach. This was an idiotic idea.
“If you want to go back—”
“No, this is good.” Her eyes met my own, and she smiled. “It’s peaceful.”
It was, just the sounds of the birds, the crickets, and the wind rustling the trees that lined the lake on the east side. The added bonus was the way that same wind continued to blow Chloe’s blonde tendrils that had fallen from her ponytail. She wore shorts and a tank top, matched with her worn boots. The woman made my heart race; her beauty honestly took my breath away at times.
“Do you want a bobber on your line?” When she arched a brow at me, I reached inside the tackle box and held up one. “This is a bobber. It just helps you determine if you have a bite on your line or not.” Again she stared at me like I’d lost my damn mind. “You hook it on the line and the red half rests upon the water. When you see it bounce, the white dipping under, it means you have a nibble or a bite on the bait.”
“Um…” She bit her lip and pulled in inward.
“If you don’t have the bobber, you just go by the bend at the end of your pole. A tug will slightly bow the tip, and at that time, you basically go by instinct. If you get a slight dip, he may be just toying with the bait. If it increases, you just pick the right moment and pull back like this.” I demonstrated by pulling back on my pole.
She nodded, and I saw the way the corner of her mouth tipped upward. For a second, I thought that she may be completely lost, and then it hit me.
I lowered my pole and just stared at her, sharing a little silent showdown, until she caved.
“What?” An even bigger smile spread across her lips. Lips that I wanted nothing more than to feel against my own.
“You know all of this already, don’t you?”
She did her best to hold back her laughter. I saw humor dancing heavy in her eyes. I knew that she was doing this more for my benefit than her own when she forced her lips into a tight line and nodded her head.
“Why not just tell me that you can most likely out-fish me?”
“Because men need to feel like they are in control. I didn’t want to damage your ego. Besides,” tilting her head to the side, she looked up at me through those long gorgeous lashes of hers, causing my chest to feel tight, “the demonstration was adorable.”
“Adorable?” Not what I was going for at all.
I think she too knew I was struggling a bit with her choice of wording. I remained quiet as I stared at her, waiting for more than just that, an elaboration maybe.
“Sweet.” Her cheeks reddened.
“Why is it that neither of those words makes me feel very manly right now?”
Just then, I felt a tug on my pole, and I looked out toward the water. Seeing the hard pull, I positioned my hands and yanked back the rod. Reeling the line, I felt the rush as I continued to struggle with the weight on the other end of the line. Suddenly a fish began to surface, and I heard the movements of Chloe at my side.
What happened next surprised the hell out of me. She leaned forward, reaching over the edge of the boat, and just as the fish became fully visible, she pulled the line toward her and with her thumb and forefinger gripped the mouth of the bass. I was in awe.
“Wow,” Chloe examined the fish, “not bad.”
Turning the fish, she used her other hand to grab the hook, and I still remained in silence as I watched her free the fish and hold it up, turning it from side to side.
Lowering the pole to my side, I lifted the basket, and she pushed open the top and dropped the bass inside. Not once did she cringe or even flinch. The way she handled the removal and even the placement was a sure sign that I had been so wrong from the beginning of this adventure. I was not dealing with a delicate peach, not even close.
***
Sitting on the front porch of Mike and Maddison’s place, I tipped back the beer and emptied the last of its contents. The women were inside and the guys had ventured outside to ensure we were out of their way. AJ, Maddison, and Chloe were working in sync with one another like they were a well-oiled machine, chopping, slicing, and dicing, preparing dinner.
I’d been in this predicament many times before, being around for one of the dinners, only this time it felt different. Yes, things with Chloe and me were still so very new, and at this point, we were more friends than anything, but I could definitely feel something more developing. The lingering looks, the smiles and casual touches, they were all there.
It was intense but also a rush of excitement.
“I made a complete ass of myself today,” I finally said. The weight of Chloe and my fishing trip laid heavy on my shoulders. I swear she must think I was an idiot or an ass.
“Can’t say I’m shocked,” Rhett interjected, and I flipped him off. “No really, though, how?”
“Took Chloe fishing.” I noticed a smirk on Rhett’s lips instantly.
“She schooled you, didn’t she?” Mike popped the top on a second beer and held it out to me.
“I spent five minutes explaining the purpose of a bobber before I realized she knew more than I could ever teach her.”
Mike chuckled, and Rhett tried to hide his own humored reaction to my confession.
“Felt like a dumb ass.” I wasn’t normally so rattled around women.
“You honestly have no idea who she is, do you?” I wanted to argue with Mike and tell him that I knew her, but the truth was I had no fucking clue.
“Chloe may look like a sweet little flower on the outside. She may appear as though she has never gotten her hands dirty and prefers a salon over a saloon, but that girl is a whole lot tougher than she looks.” Rhett nodded with Mike’s words.
“She’s an only child, and you’ve met her father, a hard ass to the core. Uncle Ben and Aunt Leann got the best of both worlds when they had Chloe. She is a girly girl in some sense, giving Leann the sweet girl to share all the things a mother should share with a daughter. Then Ben, he has had a little tomboy from the beginning, because Chloe has never shied away from all the things a little boy loves.”
“All the women in this family, maybe with the exception of Grace, can give any man a run for their money.”
Rhett’s sister did seem a little high maintenance, but that lay at the hands of her father and brother. They treated her like she was made of glass.
“Chloe doesn’t need to be pampered.” Mike leaned forward and rested his elbow on his knees. “I’m not saying she wouldn’t love a sweet gesture, a nice night out and such. But just know that that girl, she knows how to fish, she has probably been hunting, and she very well could outshoot you, too.” I stared ahead at him, saying nothing as he filled me in on the woman I now understood just how little I
knew about.
“Chloe knows how to build. She spent years right along her father’s side building and remodeling. She knows how to play a mean game of pool, so don’t you ever allow her to convince you she can’t.”
I felt like the person they were explaining couldn’t possibly be the same girl as the blonde-haired beauty tucked away inside working her way around the small kitchen.
“Chloe is a good girl,” Mike added with conviction. “She is smart, determined, and yes, even with all the things I have just revealed, she is still capable of getting hurt.” This gained my full attention as I looked up to meet the hard stare of a guy I’d known for years. “She will pretend to be unaffected, she can hide her feelings easily from those who may not know her well, but let me assure you, she can break.”
I knew what he was referring to. Looking over at Rhett, I could see the same look in his eyes, too. This was my warning from the both of them. My warning to be good to Chloe or to walk away now.
Chapter Thirteen
Chloe
I’d spent the morning at my parents’, washing and folding baskets of clothing that I had procrastinated on until I was left with the bare minimum. Laundry was the one thing I hated to do; it was tedious and so time consuming. Yes, it would probably be less of a hassle if I had my own washer and dryer, but that wasn’t the case.
I hated the laundromat. I found the idea of all those strangers washing their clothes in the same appliances as I was disturbing. The visions of what may or may not be soiling their clothing made me nauseous.
Weird, yes, but I couldn’t keep my mind from going there. I’d tried the laundromat once, and I left only to go to my mother’s and rewash all of my clothing again after I found one of the many people doing atrocious things. One man blew his nose on a washcloth and then tossed it in the washer. Another woman openly tossed in underwear that were covered in—
I shiver at the thought.
I couldn’t even think it fully through; it’s too chilling.
So I used my parents’ washer and dryer. But the problem was I had to load it all up and bring it over, only to do it all over again to take it back. Like I said, tedious and time consuming.
I’d spent the morning sorting, washing, and folding. I was a wreck, my hair a mess, and I was in desperate need of a shower. The last thing I needed was to go out in public. Yet here I was, at the one place I should have definitely avoided in my current condition.
I heard the hammering of nails into the drywall and the sounds of saws cutting through wood. A distant sound of a radio playing country music loudly. Plastic hung in the doorway ahead, used to shield the rest of the house from the renovations taking place just on the other side. The smells of reconstruction, the thrill of seeing something develop before your eyes with each step completed, all feelings I was familiar with.
I paused just outside the door and took in a deep breath, calming my racing heart before I stepped inside the room where all the action was.
Instantly, my eyes found him, though I did my very best to pretend I wasn’t immediately drawn to him—Landon, standing with his back to me. I felt my pulse quicken when I took in his masculine form, his strong muscles flexing with each movement he made. Strong shoulders, the V’ed shape of his body that led to his hips. The way his worn jeans hung low on his body was sinful and captivating.
“You bring my cooler?” My body lurched forward in reaction to my father’s voice. With a quick stumble of my feet, I lost my grip on the cooler, and though I attempted to save it, I wasn’t successful.
Watching as if it was all happening in slow motion, I saw the blue Igloo cooler hit the floor and skid on its side.
A deep chuckle, a pause of all action around me, and I knew if I looked up at that second, I would see I had now gained the attention of every guy on the site. My lungs felt heavy, like taking a deep calming breath was next to impossible.
“Well, thank the Lord your momma packs that thing to the brim.” I heard the humor in my father’s voice. “Leaves little to no room for everything to get shifted around when you decide to toss it across the work zone.”
My cheeks grew warm, and I refrained from looking at the many men I knew without a doubt were enjoying the show.
“You know your way around a work site, girl.” Again my father continued to add to my affliction without actually knowing he was. “So this reaction leads me to believe that a certain someone may be the reason behind your clumsiness.”
“Dad.” Kill me now. I felt like I was eight years old all over again and crushing on Tom Wheeler, the senior my father hired to help on weeknights and weekends.
I heard the scuffle of boots against the plywood that lined the floor, and I closed my eyes, knowing that it was someone other than my father. Silently, I prayed that it was any one of the many men I knew to be there other than Landon.
When I heard my dad chuckle, I knew that my fears had come to a head. “Here you go.” The blue color of the cooler flashed past me as I opened my eyes briefly in response to the country boy voice. The twang did things to me, embarrassing things. It didn’t seem to matter what it was Landon said; it always managed to make my head spin and my heart race.
“Thanks for the lunch, darlin’.” With a quick kiss to my cheek, my father was gone, and I was left alone with the one man who made me feel like I couldn’t manage to breathe evenly.
Then I remembered my appearance, and I panicked. Lifting my hand, I combed my fingers through my hair and cringed when I was met with a rat’s nest of curls atop my head.
My eyes widened, and I made eye contact, immediately regretting it as it all hit me at once.
Oh shit, I forgot to wash off last night’s make-up.
Landon chuckled. “You okay?”
He stood only a few feet away, still shirtless and sweaty. Remnants of sawdust speckled his chest. He wore a baseball cap backward, the sandy blond hair sticking out from beneath and curling on the edges. My fingers tingled as I fought the desire to lift my hand and feel the locks. A pencil tucked in behind his ear and a tool belt wrapped around his waist only added weight that had managed to cause his pants to hang low on his hips. It was distracting, extremely. The man was a dirty mess, but the hottest mess I had even seen.
“I’m good.” My response was breathy, and instantly I wanted to slap myself to clear the explicit dirty thoughts that were currently running around in my mind. Those horny bitches were making me look like a fool, my palms were sweating, and my heart was thumping rapidly.
“You sure?” I didn’t miss the smirk on Landon’s face. Smug ass grin and it was assurance that he knew I was anything but okay. Yet he was playing it out all debonair and in control.
“Yep.” Calm, remain collected.
I ignored the snicker from my left, knowing already that it belonged to Rhett. I could do this.
“I’d test that theory if we didn’t have an audience.” I was stunned silent by his words. Over the last couple weeks, Landon and I had fallen into this weird friendly pattern. A pattern I would admit I wasn’t a huge fan of. Don’t get me wrong, I liked being able to hang out, laugh, and simply enjoy the company of each other, but I feared more than anything that it was all we would ever be. I found myself often wondering if he had realized that he wasn’t interested in anything more than having another pal.
But this comment, it gave me hope that maybe I was wrong. I had never wanted to be wrong about anything more than in that moment.
“May I ask what that test would consist of?”
Landon glanced over his shoulder, I was sure to locate my father. When he turned his body back to face mine, it held a tantalizing look, a hungry one. “I’ve noticed how you get a little flustered whenever we’re close. The way your chest rises faster with your shallow breaths. I’ve noticed it all, and I would love to see where that takes us if we weren’t always surrounded by prying eyes and nosy ears.”
I did my best not to react, but it was pointless; the man had figured it out. He had
figured me out. Nothing he’d said was untrue.
“Layne, leave my girl alone and get your ass back to work.” Landon widened his eyes just a bit to lay emphasis on just what he meant about us always getting interrupted somehow. As he began to back away, the smirk on his lips tipped into a full gorgeous smile.
“Catch ya later, Kitten.” I never thought being referred to as a cuddly little animal would trigger such an excitement inside of me, but it did. I secretly loved the pet name I had been assigned by this handsome man. I had a feeling that when we were finally given the chance to have some alone time, neither one of us would be able to hold back.
Chills racked through me. I was so ready to be under his spell.
With a wink, he pivoted on his feet and got back to work. I, of course, took a few extra minutes to observe him. Those flexing muscles, the way his jeans hugged his perfect ass, I was overheated, and I knew if I didn’t leave soon, I would do something stupid. Like run at him and pounce.
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I found not only my father watching me with observant eyes but every other man on his crew.
Busted.
With a little wave, I hurried to leave, and once I reached my car, I allowed myself a few minutes to calm before driving off toward home.
Chapter Fourteen
Landon
“Ma.” I entered in through the back door of my parents’ home into the kitchen. From the very second I opened the door, I could already smell the scent of baked goods. Something sugary and sweet. My mom was a goddess in the kitchen.
“Well, if it isn’t my handsome son, finally stopping by for a visit.”
Stepping up behind her, I leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I was just here three days ago.” Smiling, I pulled back, and she nudged me in the side with a pushed-back elbow.
