While Heath started the pickup and pulled around the disabled sedan, he couldn’t help glancing over at his passenger and wondering what her deal was. He’d grown up running wild with her cousins, the infamous Barrett boys who were the stuff of local legend. Knowing them as well as he did, he definitely pegged the family resemblance in the stunning brunette with the dark, intelligent eyes, sitting beside him.
Other than that, she struck him as a whole different animal. In a slim skirt the color of lilacs and a tissue-thin blouse a couple of shades lighter, she looked decidedly out of place on this backwoods road in the heart of the Blue Ridge valley. Then again, she’d traveled across the country to help out at the iconic sawmill that had given the town its name and still provided many of its residents with a decent income. To do something like that, she must be incredibly generous. Or desperate.
Thinking of her being in trouble bothered him for some reason, so he went with the other option. “It’s nice of you to come out and lend a hand with the mill. I’m sure your family really appreciates it.”
“At the wedding, Chelsea mentioned she’d be out with the baby for a while and would be looking for someone to take over while she’s gone. When I lost my job a couple weeks ago, it seemed like a good time to try something different. So here I am.”
“That’s great for them but tough for you,” he commented with genuine sympathy. “Mind if I ask what happened?”
“Oh, the usual. I was managing an adorable little boutique in Beverly Hills. After a few months, the owner’s husband started paying more attention to me than to her, so she fired me.”
The sarcastic tone rang a bell with him, and he barely managed to keep back a grin. Apparently, a streak of wry Barrett humor was lurking behind that cool, polished exterior of hers. Interesting.
She didn’t volunteer anything more, and Heath took the hint that she’d rather let the subject drop. Fine by him, he mused as he concentrated on the road in front of him. He had enough on his plate these days without taking on someone else’s problems.
After a couple of minutes, the silence seemed to get to her. “So, you grew up around here?”
“Born and raised.”
“You said you liked Alaska,” she pointed out. “Have you been anywhere else?”
“Louisiana, Iowa, Arizona. Being a mechanic, I can pretty much work anywhere.”
“What made you decide to come back here?”
Heath still hadn’t come to terms with the answer to that, and he fought the urge to joke his way out of responding. He’d been doing that for months, to avoid reliving the pain that had chased him back to the safe, quiet town where he’d spent his childhood. But something told him if he dodged a question from the pretty woman beside him, she’d know it. And she’d never trust him. Why he cared what she thought about him, he couldn’t say, but loyalty to her family was as good a reason as any.
As he parked in the turnaround near the mill house, he finally settled on a version of the truth. “It was time to come home. I’m almost thirty, and my adventuring days are over.”
She studied him for a long, uncomfortable moment, and it took everything he had not to look away. Clearly, she suspected that he hadn’t given her the whole story, but he hoped his explanation would be enough to satisfy her curiosity, at least for now.
“That’s interesting,” she said with quiet determination glittering in her eyes. “Because mine are just getting started.”
Suddenly, there was a bang in the truck bed behind them, and a big, furry face popped in through the open back window. Tess shrieked and plastered herself up against the passenger door, shielding her head with her designer purse.
Chuckling, Heath greeted their slobbery guest with a pat on the head. “Hey, Boyd. How’re you today?”
The bloodhound woofed, licking Heath’s hand while his tail wagged enthusiastically. When Heath noticed him eyeballing Tess, he warned, “Behave yourself, dude. The lady’s had a tough morning.”
In response, the dog sat politely and reeled in his tongue, even though his head was still hanging over the seat. Apparently, that was as good as it was going to get. “Tess, I’d like you to meet Boyd. The story is he found your cousin Paul at a lumber camp in Oregon and followed him home. Personally, I think it was the other way around.”
His comment had the intended effect, and she uncoiled herself from the corner to give the hound a cautious once-over. Thrilled with the attention, Boyd let out a quiet woof and cocked his head in what even a committed dog-hater would have called a friendly gesture.
“Pleased to meet you, Boyd,” she finally said, patting his forehead. “You’ll have to excuse my manners, but you scared me half to death.”
The hound woofed again, and Heath reached over to ruffle his floppy ears. “See? He’s sorry. He’s the welcoming committee around here, and he was just doing his job.”
“Very well, too,” she added, scratching around his collar with a smile. “Paul found himself a real gem of a sidekick, didn’t he?”
Her gooey tone was totally at odds with her hard exterior, and Heath couldn’t help admiring how quickly she’d shifted from terrified city girl to down-to-earth animal lover. Apparently, she reserved that cool, distant manner of hers for humans. It probably should have bugged him, but in reality it was a relief.
During the short time they’d spent together, he’d learned that Tess had a sharp mind and a tongue to match. He was fairly well traveled, and experience had taught him to steer clear of women like her. They were always one step ahead of him, and eventually he got tired of trying to catch up.
His conversation with Tess hadn’t changed his opinion in the least. In fact, he was determined to give women like Tess a wide berth, now more than ever.
Copyright © 2015 by Andrea Chermak
ISBN-13: 9781460388570
Family Wanted
Copyright © 2015 by Renee Andrews
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Family Wanted (Willow's Haven Book 1) Page 18
