I was convinced I was the problem and had pretty much given up on the opposite sex for anything more substantial than a few nights tangled in the sheets.
Cole didn't reply. Instead, he shoved open his door and jumped out of the truck, jogging around the hood.
When he stepped up to my door he offered me his hand.
“What are you doing?” I asked, staring at his hand like a snake about to bite me.
“Helping you out of the truck,” he replied.
I took his hand, and the touch of his skin warmed me from the tips of my fingers down to my toes.
I let him help me out, wincing as my feet hit the ground and a pain shot through my body. “You know I can do it myself,” I reminded him.
“I’m sure you can, but you shouldn’t have to.”
I didn’t get a chance to reply. Instead, Cole leaned down and swept me up into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held tight. He smelt so good, and he was so warm and firm. It would’ve been so easy to close my eyes and relax into him, but I wasn’t that girl. Even if right now, I wanted to be her so badly.
“What are you …?”
“You can’t walk on that leg.”
“Can too.”
“Grace.” My name came out as a growl I felt in my tingling core.
“Cole,” I returned as sassily as I could muster.
“Stop wiggling,” he complained, bumping the truck door closed with his hip before carrying me across the lawn.
“Put me down. I’m too heavy,” I whined pathetically. The truth was, I didn't want him to put me down. Not right now, not ever. But Cole was a stranger, and I was only passing through.
“You’re not heavy, Grace. You’re perfect,” he replied, and I swooned.
“I’m far from perfect, Cole.”
“You’re closer than you think,” he answered, but before I could press him further the screen door squeaked as it was thrown open.
“Grace! What happened?” I heard Gabriella screech and buried my face in the crook of Cole’s neck. The moment was gone. The bubble had burst. And I knew the second Cole’s truck bumped back down the drive, I was going to be under interrogation about the sexy stranger carrying me up the stairs.
Chapter four
Cole
It had been two days since I’d had Grace in my truck and in my arms. Every time I climbed behind the wheel, I could smell her perfume in my truck. Gone was the stench of dirty old socks and cow shit, replaced with something sweet and intoxicating.
But it wasn’t just my truck that had me thinking of the curvy blonde. It was everywhere. It was while I was cooking dinner or doing the dishes. It was while I was hauling hay or scrubbing the troughs, but mostly it was late at night when I was too tired to fight it. The moments I was lying alone in my bed I thought about her.
Earlier this afternoon I’d caught myself looking for an excuse to go to town. Normally, I had to force myself to go, and eventhen, it was only when absolutely necessary, but the last two days I’d been drawn back to Wattle Creek or more accurately Sweet Dreams B&B.
Grace had my mind spinning. It’d been a long while, too long, since I’d had a woman warming my bed. But Grace was more than that, she was someone who was occupying my mind. She intrigued me. She frustrated me. Little Miss Independent didn’t know how to say thank you when someone helped her. I tried not to take it personally, and after I got over myself, I decided it was because she’d never been treated like she should. The city wasn’t a place nice girls like Grace should be. Not alone. And it wasn’t because I was some sexist asshole that didn’t think women should work. If Grace wanted to work, then more power to her. I just didn’t think that nice girls like Grace should have to put up with entitled assholes in fancy suits who let injured women call Ubers. That still pissed me off.
It was almost dark, and I trudged up to the house and fed my dog, Rocket. He was a good dog and the best friend a lonely guy could ask for. It wasn’t until he was snorting and snuffling that I wondered if he was enough. I’d thought he was. Rocket, me, the ranch. We worked hard, stayed out of trouble, and lived a simple life. Twenty minutes with a woman who smelt like peaches and had the softest skin I’d ever felt, and I was second-guessing everything.
After a quick shower, I threw together a sandwich, popped the cap on a beer, and went to sit on the porch. Summer was fading, and soon enough, it would be long forgotten, but on nights like tonight, I wanted to enjoy the fresh air and the peace and quiet.
I’d just finished my beer and set the bottle on the floor beside me when headlights bumped down my drive.
No one came out here.
