by Desiree Holt
While he was staring at her, she slowly opened her eyes.
“Morning, cowboy.” She reached up and touched his cheek, a tentative gesture, and he noticed the uncertainty in her eyes.
He closed his fingers around her hand and brought it to his mouth to kiss it gently.
“Morning to you, beautiful.”
She shook her head. “Hardly beautiful.” She drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Cade, listen. About last night.”
Shit, here it comes.
“I-I don’t want you to think I expect anything of you. Or that you’re obligated to, I don’t know, to whatever. I mean, I understand if—”
“Georgie.” He licked the tips of her fingers. “Last night was incredible. For me anyway. I’m hoping it was for you too. If I crossed a line, you have to let me know, but otherwise I have to say it was probably the best night of my life. And I want more. I just don’t want to presume.”
“I—” She stopped, wet her lips. “I don’t want to presume either. I’m not sure what this is all about or where it’s leading. I have no expectations and I’m not sure what I even have to give anyone. Except this.”
He pushed back the feeling of unease.
“I’m not asking for anything, Georgie.” He kissed her forehead. “And God knows, I’m far from the biggest prize in the world.”
She smiled at him. “That’s the old Cade. This is the new one.”
“The start of a new one,” he corrected.
“I think we both have a lot of baggage, so let’s take it one step at a time, okay? See where it goes? For now, let’s just plan on enjoying each other.”
“I need to remind you that your brand new friends will give you shit about this.”
A distant look came into her eyes. “People giving me shit is nothing new. I can handle this. And if not, then maybe we weren’t meant to be friends.”
“Georgie, I—”
“No. I meant what I said. Slow and steady, one day at a time.”
He leaned down and brushed his mouth against hers. “Okay. So how about we get up and start our day?”
That in itself led to some problems. He insisted on helping her into the bathroom, his hands steady on her as she hopped on her uninjured foot. But she insisted she could take care of everything herself.
“I promise I won’t break my neck. Go make some coffee. And I got fresh muffins at the bakery day before yesterday.”
He was nervous about leaving her alone, but she’d managed her life just fine before he’d come into it, dealing with all kinds of problems. She was a strong woman, smart enough not to do anything to injure herself more. Yanking on his clothes, he hurried into the kitchen to start the coffee. Then he raced out of the house and upstairs in the barn to what was the fastest shower and teeth brushing in the world. His clean T-shirt clung to his still slightly damp body as he ran back into the house.
And all the while, he kept telling himself what a lucky bastard he was. Somehow, after pissing off the world and all the fates, he’d been given a chance at redemption, and he didn’t intend to do one single thing to fuck this up.
Georgie was still in her bedroom. She had obviously showered too, because she was standing on one foot, a huge bath towel wrapped around her, trying to hold the towel with one hand and pull out some clothes while doing her best to keep the weight off her bad foot.
“Sit,” he ordered, lifted her in his arms and set her down on the mattress. “It’s okay to let someone help you,” he reminded her. “Even if you aren’t used to it.”
Over her grumbling protests, he took the garments from her and placed them beside her. When he unwrapped the towel and caught sight of her body, all pink from her shower and smelling like sixteen kinds of heaven, it was all he could do not to strip off his own clothes and take her right then. But this was Georgie, this was more than sex, and he’d control himself if he had to pack ice in his shorts.
He did allow himself the pleasure of placing a light kiss on each breast, bringing a slow smile to her lips. Then, gritting his teeth, he helped her into the frothy bits of lingerie, the jeans and the long-sleeved T-shirt. He eased both socks on her feet, being extra careful with the bad one, and tied one tennis shoe in place.
“No shoe on the other foot. Not today. Do you have any slippers?”
She frowned. “Slippers?”
“Every woman I ever met had bedroom slippers of some kind.”
“Oh. In the closet.” She pointed. “The fluffy things.”
He looked at them and grinned. “Yeah, these are slippers all right. And they’ll do for this.”
Taking one of the very fuzzy and fluffy slip-ons, he carefully slid her injured foot into it.
“No walking, though,” he insisted. “Not until we ice it again and see if the swelling has gone down more. And how it feels when you try to step on it.”
“And exactly what am I supposed to do all day?” she huffed. “I have work to do.”
“I’ll do it,” he told her. “You can boss me around.” He grinned. “You can have the power today.”
He ignored her protests when he lifted her up again and carried her into the kitchen. And kept on ignoring her while he propped her foot on the stepstool again and got fresh ice. Finally, he poured two cups of coffee, warmed two muffins in the microwave and carried everything to the table.
“I didn’t realize you were so handy inside the house as well as outside,” she teased, breaking off a small piece of muffin and popping it in her mouth.
“Actually, inside the house I do my best work.”
She blushed at the slow, meaningful grin he gave her.
Georgie studied the man opposite her over the rim of her coffee mug. The very last thing in the world she’d expected when she ended up here at the back of beyond was to have blow-your-mind sex. And especially not with a man who’d looked like a leftover from the dump the first time she’d seen him. But whether he wanted to admit it or not, Cade Hannigan was a complex creature with a lot of layers. Beneath the braggart and the shithead were a lot of layers that were slowly unfolding.
That electric sizzle was there between them from the moment he’d showed up at her front door, literally with hat in hand. But just because they’d had one night of amazing sex didn’t mean they had anything else going. She wasn’t ready to look beyond the physical attraction yet. Cade still had a lot of proving to do, and she had to get her own mental house in order. Make sure she wasn’t just grabbing onto him because he was the first person to treat her decently in a long time.
And wasn’t that just a hoot. The man her new friends had told her was dog shit treating her with respect.
Her stomach cramped at the thought of the women. She’d been putting them off and putting them off, but she had to face them soon. And what would she tell them? Until yesterday, she could truthfully have said she knew what it was like to need a second chance, so she’d taken a gamble on Cade. They would think that was bad enough. But could she hide from them the fact that she and Cade had slept together? Had had mind-blowing sex together?
That she saw a Cade Hannigan who had apparently been hiding from the world all his life?
As if on cue, the cell phone in her pocket chimed. She fished it out, looked at the readout and made a face.
Cade raised an eyebrow. “Bad news?”
“Depends on how you look at it.” She turned the phone around so he could see the caller ID on the screen. “Jinx. She’s chomping at the bit to write that damn article.”
He shrugged. “You can’t avoid them forever, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She sipped at her coffee. “I don’t want her coming out here.”
“I get it.” Every bit of expression left his face.
“Oh, Cade, no.” She put her coffee down and leaned toward him. “I’m not worried about myself. I don’t want them giving you any kind of grief. Not when—things—are going so well.”
“I don’t know, Georgie. You planning to hide me aw
ay forever?”
“You know I’m not. I just want to give us…time. A little time. To see what’s happening here.”
“I won’t blame you if you change your mind, you know. I could always leave.”
“Absolutely not.” She slammed her mug down so hard coffee sloshed over onto the table. “My place. My life. My choice. So forget about that.” She popped a piece of muffin in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully, then lifted her bad foot and wiggled it tentatively. “I may not be able to wear a real shoe on this tomorrow, but if I ice it all day today it will be a lot better. It’s my left foot so I ought to be able to drive.”
“Not on your life.” He shook his head. “You think I’d let you out of here wounded like that?”
Georgie threw back her head and laughed. “Did you say let me? Cade, I don’t need anyone’s permission for anything. I’m smart enough not to endanger myself or anyone else. Let me set this up. If tomorrow I think I can’t do it, I’ll reschedule.”
He held up his hand.” Okay. I don’t really have the right to tell you what to do anyway. Maybe the asshole in me is coming back after all.”
She reached for his hand and linked her fingers with his. “Not when you’re trying to do something nice for me. Thank you.”
He raked his other hand through his hair. “This is all strange to me, Georgie. Having something like this—” he pointed at her and then at himself, “—I don’t even know what to call it.”
“Me either. So like we said, we’ll play it by ear.”
“You stay off that foot while I’m outside,” he reminded her.
“I will. If you’ll get me my iPad. When I signed up for satellite service I included Internet in the package so I can get online. I can start looking for furniture and stuff. Although I’m hoping to check out some moving sales around here too. Maybe pick up some authentic Hill Country artifacts and things.”
“Too bad you weren’t shopping when they had the fire sale at our ranch.” There was no missing the bitterness in his voice.
“Forget about that. There are plenty of places to look anyway. I plan to study the ads in the newspaper too. Now get my iPad, fill up your thermos and get on outside. Do you think you’re ready to start scraping the paint yet?”
He grinned at her and eased his hand away from hers, saluting her with two fingers. “Yes, ma’am. On my way.”
“So tell me again how you hurt your foot?” Jinx helped Georgie into the booth at Bit and Bite before sliding in across from her.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid. Sheer stupidity.” She sighed. “I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing and dropped a hammer on my toes.”
“Jesus, Georgie. Sounds like you need a keeper. I thought you were hiring someone to help you?”
The waitress set two mugs of coffee in front of them and then left to take care of other customers.
“I, um, did.” She buried her nose in the mug, sipping the hot dark liquid.
“So?” Jinx cocked an eyebrow. “Who is it and where did you find him? How come we didn’t get to check him out?” She sat back. “You can’t be too careful who you hire.”
“I, uh, don’t think you know him,” she waffled.
Well, actually, that’s true. She wouldn’t know this Cade Hannigan.
They took a moment to scan the menus and place their orders. Then Jinx leaned forward, an eager grin on her face. “Amy and Reenie hated it that they couldn’t make it today. They’re so jealous I get you all to myself. So give me all the dirt. How’s it coming? How much have you gotten done? When can I see it? And when do you think it will open?”
“Hold it, hold it.” Georgie laughed. “I’m a long way from that right now. Still doing the basics.”
“So how far have you gotten? I don’t think it’s too early to write an article about it. People are plenty curious. I say let’s give them something to talk about.”
Georgie took another swallow of coffee. “I’ve got the dining room and living room ready to paint, got plumbing estimates for the bathrooms.” She shook her head. “Holy cow, Jinx. You’d think I was furnishing the royal bath or something the prices they’re talking. And I need an electrician to do some basic rewiring.”
Jinx was making notes on her phone. “I have a great plumber I’m going to put you in touch with. He won’t try to build up his entire retirement fund on this one job. Got an electrician too.”
“I need people who can work within my budget,” she warned.
“No problem. Now. What about the outside? Is your handyman, or whatever, taking care of that?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “That’s under control.”
They paused while the waitress set their plates in front of them.
“I’m curious,” Jinx went on. “Where did you find this guy, whoever he is? I usually have a handle on whoever is looking for work around here, either through our want ads or word of mouth.”
“I just got lucky.” Georgie picked up half of her club sandwich. “Let’s eat and then we can talk about the article.”
“Okay. I want to come out and take some before pictures too. I don’t want to wait until you’ve got too much done.”
“How about this? I’ll take some shots with my phone and email them to you. Will that work?”
Jinx studied her, a curious look on her face. “Georgie, is there some reason you don’t want me to come out there? Something you don’t want me to know?”
Georgie busied herself wiping her lips and taking another swallow of coffee, schooling her face into a bland expression. “Not at all. I just want to wait until it’s a little more, um, presentable.”
“If you say so. Well, anyway, tell me about your vision for the place. Do you have a name yet?”
“Still working on it. Maybe you and the others can help me.”
Jinx took a lot of notes while they finished eating and then sat back with a smile.
“Okay. Send me those pictures and I’ll do an article that will really pique everyone’s curiosity.”
“I hope they don’t all decide to come driving by and snoop.” Crap. That was all she needed.
“I’ll ask you again. Is there a reason you don’t want anyone there?”
“Just that I want to be able to have a big reveal when I’m done.” She reached for a smile. “Maybe you can help me out there.”
“I’ll do what I can. But, honey, in a small town in a small county, everything is everyone else’s business. Better get used to it.”
This should prove interesting.
“Well. I need to get home and answer some emails and things. Thanks so much for lunch.” She took her wallet out of her purse. “My treat.”
“You can get it next time. This one’s on me. Oh—” Jinx stood up and hitched the strap of her purse over her shoulder, “—I almost forgot. The Starks and Montgomerys and a couple of other folks are coming over to my place Saturday night. Well, my folks’ place, but I’m camping there until they get back. Anyway, Dillon and I are doing a barbecue and we’d love you to come.”
Georgie busied herself gathering her things. “That’s very nice of you, Jinx, but I’m really an outsider here.”
“Not any more. Come on. It will be fun. And you’ll get to meet more people who can help you spread the word. I’ll text you the directions. And if your foot is worse, one of the guys will pick you up.”
This is a big mistake, Georgie said to herself, even as she nodded her acceptance. Huge mistake.
She twisted it around in her mind all the way home. She expected to feel uncomfortable. The odd man out, so to speak. But could she stand up to an evening of questioning without giving anything away?
Cade was up on the extension ladder working on one side of the house when she pulled into the driveway. She took a moment to admire how much he’d gotten done today. A couple more days and they’d be ready to paint outside. A tiny thrill of excitement flittered through her.
He waved at her and scrambled down the ladder to help her out of the car. But
his smile disappeared when she told him about the invitation.
“You know they’ll grill you within an inch of your life,” Cade said. “I know those women. They wouldn’t give a gnat any peace.”
“You’re right.” She chewed on her lip. “Maybe it would be best if I just text Jinx and tell her I can’t make it.”
“Hell, no.” Cade raked his fingers through his hair. “That will just up their curiosity. Then they really will show up here.”
Her laugh was slightly hysterical. “Either I have no friends, no one in my love life, or I have all of that and on opposite sides of the fence, so to speak.”
Cade stared off in the distance. “My being here is really screwing things up for you. Preventing you from having real friends. Establishing yourself in the community. Maybe I should—”
“Don’t even say it.” She touched her fingers to his lips. “I can handle it. I’ve faced tougher people than them in worse situations. And I’ll leave early.” She gave him a shy look. “If I’m a good girl, will I get a reward when I get home?”
Cade grinned at her. “You can have your reward tonight, if you want.”
“Are you sure you’re not too tired?”
He brushed his hand against his jeans before cupping her chin. “I think I’m up to the task.”
“I’m telling you,” Jinx said into her phone, “there’s something she’s not telling us.”
She had set up a conference call with Amy and Reenie and was busy picking over every morsel of conversation from her lunch with Georgie.
“We don’t know her all that well,” Amy pointed out. “Maybe we’re just coming on too strong for her. Overwhelming her.”
“No.” Jinx fiddled with the highlighter she was holding. “It’s more than that. She’s hiding something.”
