“Yeah. I don’t have tools.”
“Who mows your lawn?”
“I have a lawn service.”
“I’ll need their names, too.”
“Okay.”
“I’d rather you handle your yard yourself, or have me or my brother do it.” He surveyed the yard. “You could plant clover this season. Stays green all summer, requires less mowing, less water. And it’ll attract deer, good insects.”
“And maybe bring me some luck?”
“How about you make your own luck and let me install those flood lights ASAP?”
“Yes, sir.”
His brow cocked and a grin tugged his lips.
I smiled wanting those lips on mine. STAT.
A moment passed as he checked the inside of the shed. For what? Who knew.
I ducked inside, out of the rain. “How do you know so much about nature and animals?”
“Grew up in the woods.”
“When you weren’t busy raising your brothers?”
No response.
“I’m right, aren’t I? I have to admit I know a bit about your family. Everyone around here does. And it makes sense, then, the guilt. You’re the oldest son and you’ve always been the leader of the pack. Right? Your brothers idolize you. The unbreakable Phoenix Steele. And now, you’re the one needing help, and you can’t stand it.”
“Am I going to get a bill for this later, Doctor?”
“No. I’m just trying to crack open that shell a bit.”
He turned toward me, a black outline against the darkness.
“Might want to get a jackhammer, Miss Flower.”
21
PHOENIX
After closing up the shed, I followed Rose Flower up her sloping backyard, and while I kept one eye surveying the woods, the other kept drifting to her curves. Who would have thought. Of all the people, I was catching feelings for mytherapist.
There had been an immediate, visceral reaction the first moment I saw Dr. Rose Floris. A normal reaction considering the woman was smoking hot, but what wasn’t normal was the dip in my stomach the second our eyes met. Nerves, but something deeper. Something that I was certain I hadn’t felt with another woman. But that was nothing—nothing—compared to the moment she told me she was being stalked. The fire that had ignited inside me was so intense, it reminded me of being in a war zone. A protectiveness that rivaled what I felt for my own brothers. A possessiveness that flicked a switch in me, a dangerous desperation to keep her both safe and to eliminate anyone who challenged that.
Anyone who challenged me.
Who challenged what was mine.
Mine.
MyRose Flower.
I didn’t like what this woman was doing to me.
