HE REALLY SHOULDN’T LIKE TEASING Andy as much as he did. It was wrong to take pleasure from riling her up. It made him feel like a boy pulling a girl’s hair to get her attention. Not that he’d ever been that innocent, but he’d heard people talk about shit like that. Having the old lady fuss over him made messing with Andy even more fun, and he wasn’t going to complain about the attention. Or the chili and corn bread. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten something cooked—not just reheated—by someone he knew. Millie’s food was phenomenal. But seeing the way Andy’s eyes flashed at him and feeling the heat underneath all that ice she was flinging at him, he couldn’t help himself. Even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. Messing with the sexy farmer was his new favorite thing.
Jake had gone back to his plowing. There really wasn’t room for Liam to ride with him. They’d barely made it back to the house in one piece the first time, and there was no reason for him to go back out there and stand in the field. He wasn’t ready to leave either. Knowing he was around, even at a distance, seemed to help his friend. That was more than enough reason to stay. Yanking Andy’s chain was an added perk.
He’d parked himself at the bottom of the stairs to wait for her. He figured he’d offer to help and he had a favor to ask her. It would probably be easier to get her to say yes if he made himself useful instead of just a pain in the ass. He had a feeling competency was a powerful currency with her.
He almost called out to her as she started down the steps, but she seemed so intent on whatever she was thinking about, he didn’t want to interrupt her. Either that or he liked looking at her when she wasn’t paying attention and he didn’t have to pretend to be doing something else. She might be petite, but the woman was strong, all lean, willowy muscle with exactly the right kind of curves. She wore her chestnut hair pulled back in a smooth ponytail and his palm practically itched to wrap it around his hand. To tug hard enough to exposed the slender column of her throat. He’d fought the urge the entire time he’d been behind her on the four-wheeler and it hadn’t dissipated yet.
She took the last two steps, still clearly lost in thought as if her body were on autopilot while her mind wandered. He’d never been that unaware of his surroundings. In his line of work, a person who did that ended up dead. Still waiting for her to notice him, he opened his mouth, intending to give her a heads-up before she ran right into him. Before he got a chance to say anything, she glanced up, her gaze met his, and she pulled back, losing her footing and tumbling forward.
He didn’t think; he didn’t need to. His reactions were made for situations like this. Instead of stepping out of the way and letting her fall, he moved into her, snagging her around the waist as she went past him. Her momentum threatened to pull him off-balance, but he was ready for it, using the force of her fall to swing her in a circle. For a fraction of a second, he cradled her against his chest, losing himself in the warmth of holding her in his arms. Then she squirmed, pinning him with a glare that threatened to strip the flesh from his face, and broke the spell.
“You okay?” he asked, setting her on the ground.
She moved away from him so fast he worried she’d trip again, but he kept his hands at his side, afraid to make things worse.
“Fine,” she said through clenched teeth.
They stood for a moment: her glaring at him, him soaking up the view of her ready to blast him.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
There might be fire in her eyes, but she had ice in her voice. He half expected to see crystals form in front of her.
“Actually,” he said, laying on the closest thing he had to charm. “I was going to ask you that question.”
Her expression turned wary and he pushed his temporary advantage.
“I can’t help Jake with the tractor, but he asked me to stay until he got back. I thought maybe you had some work I could do for a couple of hours.”
He didn’t tell her he was staying either way. It was a given. He’d stay as long as Jake wanted him to. He’d just rather not be in the way if he could help it. And he was curious about the distracted woman with the bumper sticker-covered car who seemed to grow lettuce for a living. He couldn’t begin to figure out how to put all of that together.
He saw her working his request around in her head. The woman had no poker face. Every thought she had was written clear as day in her expression. That kind of lack of guile held its own danger but he doubted she’d appreciate him commenting on it or be willing to take his advice if he did. Truth be told, part of him liked the idea that there were still innocents in the world, even if it meant people like him had to do the heavy lifting. There was something sweet about the bubble she’d built for herself, but he sure as hell wasn’t telling her that. Just because he liked poking at her didn’t mean he wanted to see her claws come out for real.
“Have you ever planted anything?” she asked, her expression shifting to pained.
“Aside from flags and bugs? No, but I’m a quick learner.”
“Of course you are. Follow me.” Not waiting to see if he listened, she started across the lawn toward the long, half-round tunnel that looked like it was covered in clear plastic.
The first thing he noticed when they got inside was the difference in temperature. There weren’t any fans or heaters that he could see but the plastic tunnel was noticeably warmer than the outside air. It wasn’t as sealed off as a greenhouse and with nothing but a thin layer of plastic between the inside and out, he doubted it held its temperature overnight but it certainly seemed to capture the warmth from the springtime sun.
“What is this?” He could barely stand up and it looked like a good stiff wind would blow the structure away.
“It’s called a hoop house,” she said slowly, as if she were talking to a child. “It lets us extend the growing season a couple of weeks in both directions.”
“It’s not very sturdy.”
“It’s not supposed to be. It’s designed to be moved. A permanent structure wouldn’t do me any good. It would cook the greens before they had a chance to mature. This will only stay over this row until it’s a couple of degrees warmer outside. Then we’ll move it until we need it for shade in the middle of the summer. Come on. Grab a flat and I’ll show you what to do.”
She motioned to trays filled with tiny green plants sitting between two rows of rich, dark earth. The narrow path in between appeared to be the same soil, but it had been tamped down instead of raked smooth. He picked up a tray full of dark red leaves that were just starting the curl into something that looked a bit like a ruffle and followed Andy to the end of the row. The plastic felt like it was closing in on him and he had to keep reminding himself to stand up straight. He wasn’t sure why it mattered, but he didn’t want her to see him hunched over.
“You can start here.” She dropped to her knees at the end of the row and reached up to take the tray of plants from him.
He swallowed hard so she wouldn’t see what he was thinking, what he had no business thinking. But looking up at him with her eyes that shifted from green to golden brown, she was so beautiful he had to break eye contact to catch his breath. The idea of gripping her ponytail took on an entirely different meaning. One he had no fucking business thinking about.
Handing her the tray, he dropped to his knees beside her so fast he thudded against the packed earth hard enough that he knew he’d feel it later. It was okay. He needed the pain to jolt his thoughts back onto a civilized track and away from the Neanderthal he didn’t want her to see.
“Show me,” he said, deliberately turning away from her to face the empty row.Eyes on the job at hand. Piece of cake.It wasn’t like the plants were going to try to kill him or anything. “Do I need a shovel or something?”
