Beauty and the Bayou

by Erin Nicholas

  Or maybe it was the ridiculous amount of wood and equipment that truck had delivered.

  Possibly it was the three young guys who were unloading said wood and equipment, and making asses of themselves over Juliet.

  Though it could have been that Juliet was now dressed in work clothes. Or what Sawyer assumed she thought were work clothes. She had a long-sleeved white tee paired with khaki work pants and her hard hat. She also now had safety goggles on. And steel-toed boots.

  Holy fuck. He’d been right. He was a goner. Even without the tiny tank and short shorts. He was all in on her current look. She was wearing the damned goggles even as she watched the guys unload the truck and directed them where to put everything. Which was ridiculous. She didn’t need the things on now.

  And then there was the neon green safety vest she wore. Was she afraid the guys were going to back over her with the truck or whack her with one of the wooden planks they were carrying?

  But it made him freaking like her.

  Even as he was annoyed by it. There was no way this woman, with that body, needed to add neon, look-at-me green to the ensemble. All the men were definitely looking.

  For his part, he was hard as a rock looking at her in her goggles and vest and boots. She was the epitome of the fantasy he hadn’t even realized he had.

  “Just need you to sign right here,” one of the guys told Juliet, turning the clipboard he held slightly so she could see it but not enough that she didn’t have to lean in a little. Enough that there was no way the guy wasn’t going to catch a whiff of that lilac scent from her hair. Probably enough that one of those encased-in-glow-in-the-dark-green breasts would brush against his arm.

  Sawyer didn’t even realize he was stalking across the expanse of dirt and grass between his vantage point from the path to where the over-the-top amount of wood and boxes of bolts, screws, and nails sat until he was nearly on top of them.

  Juliet smiled at the man. “Great. Thanks. I appreciate you guys coming out with such little notice.”

  She leaned in to sign, and Sawyer noticed the guy looking down the front of her vest.

  Jesus, how did she not realize she looked like the star of an online erotic story that started, “When I hired Building Babes to put in my man cave, I had no idea that they were going to send Juliet over to do the pounding and screwing.”

  Okay, maybe that was just him.

  Also, maybe he’d been without sex for too long.

  “I assume you guys will come back and haul the extra away at no cost?” Sawyer asked the guy.

  He had no reason to think they’d do that. Why the hell would they? But it caused the guy to look up from Juliet’s cleavage into Sawyer’s face. So that Sawyer could give him a hands-off look.

  The guy caught the meaning of his look, but he didn’t seem to buy that Sawyer had a claim here. He smirked. “I’ll do whatever Juliet wants me to do with my wood.”

  No. He hadn’t said that. Looking straight at Sawyer like that? It wasn’t very fucking subtle, that was for sure. It also wasn’t all that clever.

  “Oh, I’ll definitely let you know if I need anything smaller,” Juliet said, handing the pen back to the guy.

  “Smaller?” the guy repeated.

  “Well, smaller is the only reason I can think that I’d need to call you,” Juliet said.

  Sawyer studied Juliet’s face. Did she realize what the guy was implying?

  “Oh, honey, we’ve got bigger, too,” the guy said. “A lot bigger. As big as you can handle.”

  Juliet lifted a brow and Sawyer felt satisfaction expand his chest. Oh yeah, she knew what the guy was insinuating.

  “I really think we have big covered,” she said. She cast a look at Sawyer, then back to the guy. “I mean, it could be too much, honestly. But I’ll need to give it a try before I know for sure.” Yeah, there was no question what she was inferring, either.

  Holy hell, he liked her.

  Yeah, you’ll need to give it a try, Sawyer thought. No worries. It will be exactly how much you need.

  He wasn’t even shocked by the thoughts. He hadn’t had any like them in months, but he welcomed them. This was normal. When a hot girl talked about big wood, especially with a little gleam in her eyes, it was normal to think dirty thoughts. This was good. Maybe faking being okay for his family wasn’t going to be that difficult. Maybe it wouldn’t all be fake.

  Sawyer didn’t even bother to cover his grin as he met the other man’s stare.

  “Yeah, okay, well, whatever.” The guy tore the top page off his clipboard and handed it over to Juliet. “You have my number.”

  She handed it to Sawyer. “Sawyer will give you a call if we have any problems.”

  The guy finally gave a resigned sigh. “You Sawyer?” he asked.

  “Yep.” Sawyer tucked the number into his front pocket.

  “Great.”

  Yeah, Sawyer thought so, too.

  The guy headed up the incline toward the trucks, and Juliet turned and started toward the pile of wood.

  That was it? No more flirting? No more wood innuendo? How about some direct comments about the size of the wood around here?

  Sawyer grinned. Totally normal thoughts.

  Before he could start that conversation, however, Chase came ambling down the hill, a cookie in hand, and Juliet gave him a smile. Sawyer watched the siblings for a moment. Juliet looked so affectionate when she looked at Chase. Clearly she was exasperated with him, but it was also obvious that she loved him.

  Damn, he knew that mix of feelings well. Very, very well.

  Sawyer went to join them.

  “Do you have work gloves?” she asked Chase as he stopped in front of her.

  “Uh, no.” Chase finished off the cookie and looked his sister over. “I don’t have any of that, either.” He grinned. “But I’m guessing there’s a bag with my name on it in your rental car.”

  Juliet nodded. “There is. Behind the driver’s seat. Hope the vest fits.”

  Chase laughed. “I’m not wearing a safety vest.”

  She frowned. “You should. They’re not used to having us around down here. It doesn’t hurt to be sure they see you.”

  Chase rolled his eyes. “Jules, these guys all see you. Trust me. And I’m not wearing a bright green safety vest.”

  Sawyer glanced around. Were there other guys gawking at Juliet?

  “You’d prefer yellow?” she asked dryly.

  “I’m not wearing a vest,” Chase said again.

  Juliet sighed. “Okay, if you get run over, don’t complain to me.” She shrugged out of her safety vest and pulled on the life jacket that had been hanging on the end of the sawhorse. Then she pulled the safety vest on over the life jacket.

  Overkill. For sure.

  Sawyer grinned.

  “If that happens, I’ll only expect the small balloon bouquet, not the large,” Chase said with a nod.

  Sawyer almost chuckled. Chase had a sense of humor. That was going to be handy down here.

  Juliet reached for an accordion folder on top of the closest stack of wood planks. She flipped it open and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Here are the plans. I figure we’ll cut and weather treat the boards here, get enough for the first section, and then do the framing closer to the shore.”

  Sawyer looked from her to the paper she spread out on top of the wood. She knew about the weather treating and framing, huh? Okay that was good. He squinted at the paper. That actually looked like true plans for a boat dock. With specific measurements and everything to scale. He leaned in. “Did you do this?”

  She cleared her throat and Sawyer realized he was essentially leaning over her. He straightened but didn’t step back. He didn’t mind being in her personal space and she smelled good. If she wanted more room, she could ask for it.

  “I did,” she said, looking back at the plans. “I based it off of what was here before. But if you want it shorter or longer or wider or whatever, just say so.”

  “You had
the measurements of the original dock?”

  “Yes.”

  “How?”

  “Owen.”

  Right. Sawyer had to quit forgetting that everyone was in on this but him. He let out a breath and focused on her plans. “Looks good,” he said, surprised to find he actually meant it.

  She gave him a dazzling smile, and Sawyer realized in a flash that a smile like that could get him to agree with her on pretty much anything. He needed to tread very carefully around Juliet Dawson and her smiles. And her safety vest.

  She leaned and grabbed the tool belt that had been draped over the woodpile. She strapped it around her waist, settling it on her hips. Then she plucked a pair of safety goggles from the front pocket and put them on.

  She smiled up at him behind the plastic lenses.

  Dammit.

  He turned to Chase. “You need to get suited up?”

  Chase grinned. “I think I’m good.”

  “At least wear work gloves,” Juliet protested.

  “Jules, I’m good,” Chase insisted. He gave her a little frown. “Sawyer’s not wearing work gloves.”

  Juliet squinted up at Sawyer. “That’s because Sawyer probably has calluses that are two inches thick.” She looked at her brother. “Or did you develop calluses from the keg stands and video game controllers?”

  Sawyer felt the corner of his mouth twitch. His callouses weren’t that thick but, yeah, he worked with his hands, and yeah, his palms could probably leave a few tiny abrasions on Juliet’s smooth skin.

  He felt his lower body tighten and almost pushed those thoughts away. But, no, that was okay. Getting turned on by the thought of touching a woman, leaving faint marks, was normal. He was fine.

  Safety goggles, no. Running his rough hands all over Juliet’s body, yes.

  Chase sighed. “Where are the gloves?”

  “Here.” She pulled another pair from another pocket on her tool belt.

  “You had a backup pair?” Chase asked.

  “Of course.”

  “Of course,” Chase muttered.

  “You guys start over there,” she said, pointing toward the farthest stack of wood. “I’ll start here.”

  There were sawhorses set up in both locations and there were already boards resting on top of them for cutting and staining.

  “We’re working separately?” Sawyer asked her.

  She glanced at Chase and said, “The guys already hooked the extension cord to the saw and got it all set up,” she said. “But be sure you read the safety instructions.”

  Chase opened his mouth, then shut it, and nodded. “You got it.”

  Juliet waited until he was a few yards away, then said to Sawyer, “I haven’t gone over any of the plans or anything with Chase. I’d love it if you’d do that.”

  “They’re your plans.”

  “But you can review them with him.”

  “Why wouldn’t you do it?”

  “Mostly because I think it would be nice for him to learn it from you. But also because he’ll think I’ve overdone it all.”

  Sawyer nodded, fighting a smile. “Have you?” He already knew the answer. He didn’t know her well, had really just met her, and yet some things about Juliet were very obvious.

  “Probably,” she admitted.

  One was that she went a little overboard on things. Another was that she was aware of it and was adorably self-deprecating about it.

  Adorably. There was that word again.

  “Why do you want him to learn it from me? Isn’t it a good thing for him to realize his sister knows how to use power tools and stuff?” Sawyer had been raised around extremely capable women. It had never occurred to him that his grandmothers, mom, sister, aunts, or really any of the women he knew, could not do something they wanted to do. But some men needed to be whacked over the head with the idea that women were as capable, if not more capable, than men.

  “Oh, Chase is very aware of what I can…and can’t…do,” Juliet said. Her gaze flicked away from Sawyer’s for a moment, then came back.

  “Does he give you a hard time about things you can’t do?” Sawyer felt himself frowning. Did Juliet need him to teach Chase some manners?

  “What? No,” she said, shaking her head. “Chase is awesome. We’re close. He’s always been great about…everything.”

  There was a little pause before “everything.” Just like there had been before she said “can’t” before. “What’s everything?”

  “Just…everything,” she said. “How things are. He’s always been my ally. Always been there with me. But I know he wants to do more. He does more with his stupid fraternity brothers and Ryan and Rhett…” She trailed off and then gave a little shrug. “I’d like him to have some more down-to-earth experiences.”

  Sawyer felt a little lost. Chase wanted to do more. What did that mean? He’d been Juliet’s ally? That was a strange word to use. Wasn’t it? “Who are Ryan and Rhett?” Sawyer wasn’t sure why that was the question he’d finally settled on asking. But he sensed the rest of it had to do with something personal with Juliet. He didn’t need to get personal with her. Or Chase. He was personal with more than enough people. His people were a handful and he knew more details about all of them than he really cared to, honestly.

  He knew about the side effects of Leo’s cholesterol medication, Ellie’s issues with her now-ex boyfriend, Trevor, about how Ellie and Leo were hooking up again, after being divorced for several years but remaining best friends, and how doing it on the crappy couch in Leo’s trailer was bad for Ellie’s hip. And that was all just his one set of grandparents. Yeah…he knew more than enough details about his people’s lives. His dance card was full.

  “Rhett is our oldest brother,” Juliet said. “Ryan is second. They love to ski and go hang gliding and scuba diving. I think now that he’s been off at college, Chase is realizing that he’s missed some things and wants to be a little more adventurous.”

  “Honey, I’m not takin’ your brother hang gliding,” Sawyer said. Fuck no. Even if he knew how or had the means, there was nothing about that that sounded good to him. Now he flashed to all the dangers of it, but even before he’d become a safety-obsessed wacko, nothing about hanging thousands of feet over the ground sounded fun.

  “Good,” she said. “I don’t want him to hang glide.”

  She gave a little shudder, and Sawyer assumed that she felt similarly about being that far up in the air without a solid airplane around her.

  “I want him to have some more down-to-earth experiences. Everything about Autre is different from what he’s used to and there’s a lot of…” Again she trailed off.

  Sawyer chuckled. “There’s a lot of a lot of stuff down here. Critters, humidity, bullshit, moonshine…just for starters.”

  “I was going to say testosterone,” she said. “There’s a lot of testosterone down here.”

  That caught Sawyer off guard, but he laughed again. “Well, yeah, there’s that, too.”

  He wasn’t going to pretend that he didn’t know what she was talking about. What he and Josh and Owen did for a living required strength and stamina, being good with their hands, and a willingness to get dirty and sweaty. He knew from the boatloads of tourists they took out every year that even the outdoorsmen from up north found the hunting, fishing, trapping, camping, and boating on the bayou interesting and different. Then there were the guys who wore suits to work in offices every day. They loved the stories about living and working on the bayou. And then there were the women. It wasn’t hard to get the impression that people found what he and the guys did down here…manly, for lack of a better word.

  “I’ll tell you what,” he said, letting his southern drawl really hang out. “I think drivin’ airboats and huntin’ gators is way manlier than hang gliding.” He did. He really did. So was fixing those airboats and butchering those gators and well, pretty much everything else he did down here on a daily basis. Fuck hang gliding.

  Juliet almost rolled her eyes.
He could tell it had almost happened. And it made him grin.

  “Yeah, well, based on his recent escapade with the airboat and all,” she said, “I think maybe Chase wants a little more of the bayou experience. He could definitely use some time around hardworking testosterone instead of golfing testosterone.”

  Sawyer appreciated her admiration. Okay, she hadn’t said she admired him and what he did for a living, but she obviously was more a fan of his influence on Chase than their own brothers’ influences. Interesting. He wanted to know more. But he was not going to ask. He also wasn’t going to flex his muscles in front of her. Much. That urge was as juvenile as thinking of sex anytime someone said “nailed.”

  Tommy would have done the same damned thing though.

  The thought hit him out of the blue.

  But it was true. Tommy would have loved hearing about how masculine Juliet thought they all were and he would have strutted for her for sure. He would have definitely thought of sex with “nailed” and “pounded” and “drilled.” He probably would have said something flirtatious and inappropriate to her about it, too.

  Because it was all just in fun. It just meant that he wasn’t taking things too seriously. It was just a dumb way to make a beautiful girl laugh and maybe blush a little.

  There was no harm in that.

  Maybe having a few juvenile urges wasn’t all bad. Maybe it meant that the good old boy inside Sawyer hadn’t completely disappeared.

  “Okay, you want some real men hanging out with your brother, you got it,” Sawyer said, giving her a grin that felt surprisingly easy. “And if there’s anything you can think of that you might need from a real man with plenty of testosterone, you just let me know.”

  It was a dumb, cocky thing to say and Sawyer was shocked by how much he loved having said it. Especially when that did get a little blush from Juliet.

  He also vaguely remembered flirting. And being dumb and cocky. It was all coming back so quickly, he was a little shocked.

  She cleared her throat and shook her head. “Am I going to regret having my baby brother hang out with you all?”

  Sawyer laughed and said honestly, “Maybe. But I promise that even if he builds up a tolerance for moonshine, falls in love with fried gator, learns to swear in French, and ends up knowing all the words to ‘Jambalaya,’ he’ll also know how to build a dock and maybe even how to catch and clean a catfish.”