Southern Exposure (Southern Desires Series Book 2)

by Jeannette Winters

  Their last deployment had been in and out without issue or casualty. Just the way they liked it. But sometimes he relished and welcomed the simplicity of building, painting, or whatever the job required of him. Otherwise he might have suffered terribly from the night terrors associated with war. He knew the importance of keeping so busy he had no time to think. Work so hard you pass out, too tired to dream.

  He reminded himself that all he’d seen so far was the outside of the apartment house. None of what he saw was on the to-do list Hannah had texted him. If she considers this in good shape, I can only imagine what the rest of the place looks like.

  Mark grabbed his tool belt and headed for the porch. Even though she didn’t feel the need to show up on time, he didn’t plan on sitting there doing nothing all afternoon. Not when there were so many repairs staring him in the face, waiting to be done. I’ve come all this way. Might as well accomplish something.

  The wood hadn’t rotted away, and he was able to bang in the loose nails and reinforce the railing that was about to topple over. As he looked over his handy work, he knew it was only a start to what looked like a major renovation. Maybe I should call for reinforcements on this assignment.

  The first couple times he went on the road he’d traveled light, sometimes only with a change of clothes. He honestly hadn’t been looking for work back then, just a diversion. But over the last few years, he’d sought out people who needed a helping hand. He never had to look far, as times were tough and many had their hands out. That’s when he learned to travel prepared for almost anything. Not only did he have most tools to handle basic repairs, but also his duffle bag packed and ready in case he got the call. Usually, he made it back to the base first, but over the past year that hadn’t always been possible. Most assignments had been overseas, but trouble was now hitting closer to home than anyone wanted to admit. He and his team needed to be ready at a moment’s notice. On more than one occasion he’d had no choice but to leave a homeowner high and dry in the middle of a remodel without any explanation. He’d received many irate text messages from them without being able to defend his actions. All par for the course.

  He wasn’t worried about Hannah being pissed at him. Hell, she can’t even remember how to tell time, never mind noticing if I disappear.

  As he put his tools back in the Jeep, a yellow Volkswagen convertible pulled up beside him with a country love song blaring. He didn’t need to look to know the driver was young. There was no way this was Hannah. She was Sissie’s cousin and probably around her age.

  A woman wearing a light blue and white polka-dotted vintage dress got out of the car and walked over to him. The dress hugged her torso—and perfect full breasts—like a glove. It wasn’t the heat of the day getting him hot at the moment. He normally had more couth than to stare, but damn, he couldn’t bring himself to look away. Even the flared skirt, leaving her hips to his imagination, enticed him. It hadn’t been that long since he’d had a woman, but his body was reacting like it had been years.

  His eyes finally made their way back to her face. Stunning. Golden-blonde long, loose curls hung sweetly, enhancing her already young, innocent look. As his eyes met her deep green eyes, he was drawn to her even more. Beautiful, but dangerous as hell.

  “Excuse me, sir, can I help you with something?”

  She even had the voice of an angel. Whoever this woman was, she needed to go before he forgot he was a gentleman, never mind here to do a job.

  “Nope. I’m here to work, and you’re definitely not dressed to assist.” Hinder? Yes. Help? No. With her close by, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to hit a nail on the head. His eyes roamed her body from head to toe. Maybe his last few deployments were longer than most, but there was nothing he didn’t find appealing about her.

  If he thought he was making her uncomfortable, he was mistaken. Those inquisitive eyes of hers roamed up and down his body as though he was a prized bull. Keep looking at me like that, young lady, and we’re going to have an issue. A sweet, delicious issue.

  “Laaawdy. Sissie just became my favorite cousin.” Until then he hadn’t noticed her southern accent.

  Mark had been referred to this job by Sissie. But she was much older than this young thing. She looked to be in her early twenties, which freaked him out with the thoughts running through his mind. It had to be her mother he was here to meet, not her. Please, not her.

  “I think I’m here to meet your mother,” Mark said as he pulled a clean T-shirt out of his bag and pulled it over his head. She never took her eyes off him. Don’t tempt me to pull you into my arms and test how sweet and innocent you really are. Damn. I don’t know if I want her sweet or hot and wild. Either way, she’s one person I need to keep at a distance.

  “Well, sorry to inform you, but you’re twenty-eight years too late.” He arched a brow, and she continued. “My mother died shortly after giving birth to me.”

  Oh hell. “What about your father?”

  “He passed away last year.”

  Oh double hell. Foot in the mouth issue, Collins? That’s not usually a problem you suffer from. Fucking snap out of it.

  Although she was trying to cover up the pain and extend her southern warm welcome, it was shining through her eyes. Mark watched her closely. Reading people was part of his job. What was it she wasn’t saying? The hurt seemed to include more than just losing both her parents, although that must have been hard enough. Something she didn’t want anyone to see. That only made him more curious. When things seemed odd, he made it his mission to find the answer. Nothing was as simple as it seemed to be, and that’s exactly what he thought looking at her.

  Mark reminded himself he was here for one reason only: to handle household repairs. Anything beyond that was off limits. And with how she looked at him, he knew it was already going to be difficult.

  “I’m working for you? You’re Hannah?” he asked even though he knew the answer. He just didn’t like it.

  “In the flesh and blood,” she replied sweetly, with a teasing roll of her shoulders.

  Damn. I should’ve left when I had the chance. As soon as she was late, that Jeep should’ve headed back to Buffalo. She would only be one thing—a complication. And I never have and never will allow any of those in my life. Don’t need them. The day Sissie told him about her cousin she’d played it off that Hannah was frail and older. It’d been a long time since anyone had been able to pull one on him. He had to give it to her. She was good. Mark had two options: ignore the lovely in front of him and do the job, or walk away and let her find someone more suitable.

  He reached out a hand and said, “I’m Mark Collins, your contractor for the next month or so.”

  She placed her delicate hand in his. It was cool and soft against his rough one. “Welcome, I’m Hannah Entwistle, the lucky person who has inherited this monstrosity of a home, and it looks like you’re the lucky man who’ll make it shine again.”

  Shine? How about we strive for sturdy? “Let’s see what we’re working with before you get your hopes up.” Mark already knew he wasn’t the right person for this job. If the exterior was any indication of what the interior looked like, this was going to need a crew, not one handyman, to whip it back into shape. He couldn’t even guarantee how long he was going to be on the job.

  “Why don’t you come on in, and I’ll show you where you can put your things while you’re here.”

  Mark thought she’d apologize for keeping him waiting so long out in the heat, but not one word. Could she really be that clueless? He’d been waiting almost two hours for her. He was so punctual that it drove people crazy. He didn’t expect everyone to feel the same as him, but this was ridiculous. “Do you know what time it is?”

  He stood there amazed at how carefree she was as she answered. “Nope, but I know it’s Saturday. A stress-free day.”

  Glad one of us isn’t stressed.

  “You know I lost an entire day’s work already.”

  “And you’re going to lose a
nother one tomorrow. We don’t work on weekends. Things around here are much more relaxed.”

  And there is the answer why the house looks like it does. He wasn’t looking forward to sitting around for a second day. All he needed was to see what had to be fixed, and he’d make his own schedule, weekends included.

  Hannah turned and headed to the house.

  “Where are we going?” Mark asked, still standing by his Jeep.

  She turned back and said, “My apartment. I have a guest room ready for you.”

  There is no way she’s inviting a perfect stranger into her house. She should check my ID, confirm that I am who I say I am. If this was Casey, I’d have— Who was he fooling? Casey had become stubborn. When she was young, she’d listen to his voice of reason. Not any longer. Maybe Derrick will have better luck.

  He didn’t know why his temper was soaring, but he couldn’t hold his tongue any longer.

  “How naïve are you?” His tone was harsh. “You met me less than five minutes ago, and you’re inviting me into your home? Not only that, you’re actually considering letting me stay in your apartment?” She knew nothing about him except that her cousin Sissie sent him. “I could be anyone with less-than-honorable intentions just waiting for the opportunity to get you alone so I could—”

  “Are you?” Her voice was calm and soft.

  “Am I what?” Mark snapped at her.

  “A creep or a pervert waiting to hurt me?” she asked with her hands on her hips. There was no hint she was joking, but he was tempted to laugh. What person would actually admit it? You are that naïve.

  “No.”

  “Well, then what is the problem?”

  There was no making her see any differently at this point. Oh, you sweet girl. You truly have no clue, do you? Looks like there is a lot more work to be done here than just repairing an old rundown house. “None I guess.”

  He reached in the Jeep, grabbed his duffle bag, and went to stand by her on the porch. You’re lucky I took an oath to serve and protect.

  Hannah’s heart was pounding even though she refused to let it show. Sissie hadn’t said what Mark looked like. If anything she played it off like he was an older retired gentleman who did this work for fun. Not even close, Sissie. Unless she’s recently become blind, which I don’t think happened, then she’s up to something.

  Mark seemed to want to hide his good looks under a mass of unruly hair and a beard that needed a trim. But when she pulled up and found him shirtless, she almost melted. Every muscle was cut and defined, begging her to trace them with her fingers.

  Slow down, girl. This man is not here to get ogled. He’s here for work. Hannah needed to stay focused. There was so much work to be done, and she had limited funds. If it wasn’t for the fact that Mark was willing to work for peanuts, she knew it was only a matter of time before this old house began falling down around her. Here to work, no distracting him. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to enjoy the view as he worked.

  She was smiling as she held the front door open and went into the main hallway. “There are four apartments as I mentioned before. Each apartment is set up similar to mine with two bedrooms, living room, full bath, but their kitchens are smaller than mine. Since I have the side with the original kitchen, we left it large. I guess my father thought I would want to cook for an army one day because it is way too big for just me. I don’t think I mentioned that my father did all the renovations himself. The original house had eight large bedrooms upstairs with two full bathrooms. You’ll see that he moved two bedrooms downstairs and added kitchens in each apartment, but he wasn’t able to complete all the work, so you’ll have your work cut out for you.” She looked him over. He looks like he could handle just about anything thrown at him. “I have one rented upstairs on the left to the perfect tenant. I never see or hear him. He even slips the cash under my door each month on time.”

  “That doesn’t strike you as odd?” Mark asked as he stared up the staircase.

  Not when he pays me. “He minds his business, and I do the same.” She was already struggling financially and couldn’t afford to question every little thing. If she had her way, she’d fill the place with people just like him. “The top right is vacant, but I have someone looking at it the end of next week. I’ve let people look before, but there is still work to be done in there before anyone will want to move in. If there’s anything you can do before they come and take a look, it might be a great help in getting it rented.” Rent means money, and money means I won’t lose this place. The one problem is it’s going to take money to get it up to par, and that is one thing I don’t have right now. How did I ever get in this bind?

  She knew the answer, but there had never really been a choice. And she would do it again. Her father’s medical expenses had cleared out every cent he’d had as well as hers. She didn’t regret any of it. He’d been a wonderful, loving, supportive father and she’d do it all over again if it meant having more time with him. But now she was left without a degree and faced paying her student loans on a very limited income. If it weren’t for her promise to her father, she’d have left this place a year ago. Instead she was here in limbo, unable to let go of the past and unable to move forward. She had to make this place work. Then she could take some time to think about what she wanted. It’d been so long since she’d given that a serious thought, but she wasn’t ready to let go, to say goodbye.

  Leaving this house and moving to a much smaller place was a logical solution. If she had stayed in college, she’d be working as a vet somewhere instead of part-time waitressing at Al’s Diner. After her father passed away, she’d thought about going back to college, picking up where she’d left off. But the truth was, she didn’t have it in her then. She was out of the studying groove and the courses she’d be required to take were mentally taxing. The longer she went without returning, the harder it became. Now she was too far in debt to even consider going back to school. This place was all she had to fall back on.

  I hate to admit it, but you’re my last chance to make this work so I can get out of here. Sissie sent you here for a reason. It better be to work, Mark, or you’re going to find yourself out of here in a flash.

  “I can’t make a promise until I see what shape it’s in.”

  She was glad he didn’t promise her the moon as others had. They’d say they wanted to help me with the house, but in fact, it wasn’t the house they were interested in. I might be alone, but I’m not that type of girl.

  She’d never been a typical southern flirt. She was shy and reserved. Her only boyfriend had been in her first year of college. She knew he wasn’t the one for a long term relationship. So when he said he wanted to just be friends, she’d been in total agreement.

  “The bottom left is vacant as well. I live in this one on the right.” She pointed to her closed door.

  He stood so quiet and still as she spoke that she found it unnerving. She could see in his eyes he was in deep thought. Was he already regretting taking on the job? She couldn’t blame him. The pay was horrible and the work hard. Not something anyone with a brain would find appealing. Dwelling on what she couldn’t change was only going to stress her. Forcing herself to ignore his strange behavior, she began providing him with more details.

  “I don’t know what tools you brought with you, but there’s a doorway to the backyard behind the staircase. There’s a shed outside with additional tools. I’ve no idea what good they’ll be or if they’re what you’ll need to do the job, but you can use any you need. They haven’t been touched since . . . well not in a few years.”

  She tried not to think of those last few years her dad had been alive. When things became too much for him to be on his own, she did what any daughter would do: put her life on hold. She left college with three years to complete so she could be home by his side. One year became two and then time quickly slipped away, just as her father had. Where had the time gone? One minute she was a child sliding down the long oak banisters from top to bo
ttom and the next she was off to college in Rhode Island and starting a life of her own. Or so I thought. Now I’m back to square one and stuck in a house filled with memories. It’s almost too much to bear.

  She needed to snap out of it. There’s no future in yesterday. “Let me put my purse in my room, then I’ll show you where you can put your bag.” Hannah opened the door to her apartment and went inside.

  Mark stood just outside the door as though it wasn’t open. “I noticed you didn’t unlock the front door. You don’t lock the door to your apartment either?”

  She shrugged. “The deadbolt lock on the apartment door broke off on the inside about a year ago. It’s on your list to fix.”

  “A year ago? You’re living in this house with some guy you don’t know anything about upstairs, and you don’t even have a lock on your door?”

  He was shaking his head in disbelief. She didn’t see what the issue was. This was her family home. She didn’t know where he came from and what the people were like there, but in all the years she’d lived here, not even something as small as a paper clip had gone missing. The good people of Savannah took care of each other. They loved and supported each other; they might borrow something but, to her knowledge, never stole anything. Such was the quandary of southern life. You either loved it and never wanted to leave, or you felt the ties but needed to spread your wings elsewhere. What’s wrong with me that even though this is my home town, I still feel like an outsider?

  “You make it seem much worse than it is.”

  “Make it number one on that list,” Mark said sternly.

  Boy, he’s so uptight. I think he needs a vacation more than he needs to work. “Has anyone ever told you that you worry too much?”

  He was staring at her so seriously when he replied, “Every person I meet.”

  Hannah wasn’t going to let his stress become hers. Teasingly she said, “Oh, here I thought you were just being overly protective of me.” Not that I wouldn’t appreciate someone to look after me once in a while. I’ve learned there is only one person I can count on, and that’s me.