Her heart leaped as high as the birds whistling their song above her. She had plenty of ideas for how he could make her happy, but for now, she’d stick with the necessities at hand. Tilting her head to the side, she planted her fists on her hips and schooled her face into the best don’t-mess-with-me expression she could muster. “All right then. I need you on your knees.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed on a hard swallow. “Excuse me.”
She pointed to the flowerbed. “Before we plant the bulbs, we need to pull the weeds. We can’t do that standing up.”
Growling, he hooked an arm around her waist and yanked her against him. “That’s all you want from me, huh? Weed pulling?”
Now it was her time to swallow past the ball of desire lodged in her throat. She tipped up the brim of his hat so she could look into his eyes then rested a palm on his chest. “For now, yes. I can’t make any promise for later.”
“Oh, I can. I promise you what I have planned will be a hell of a lot more fun than playing in the dirt.”
Chapter 20
Midmorning bled into late afternoon, and relief seeped through Reid’s sore muscles. Tending the flowerbeds might have given Eve some comfort, but his dirt-caked fingers and throbbing side were glad to be done for the day. Scrubbing his hands in the kitchen sink, he tried to block out the splatter of water rushing from the shower in the next room.
Because if his mind drifted to the shower, it’d create a vision of the woman currently standing under that spray of warm water.
His stomach muscles clenched, and he shut off the faucet. If he washed his hands until he stopped thinking about Eve, his skin would crack and bleed. He located a towel to dry off his palms and was sidetracked by his ringing phone.
A quick glance at the screen before answering showed Madden’s name. “Hey, man. What’s up?”
“Just checking in,” Madden said. “How are things going?”
Reid grabbed the towel and dried his hands before tossing it on the island and walking into the living room. The furniture was sparse—a large gray sectional in the middle of the room and a television balanced on a stand too small for its size—but it was enough for now. He sank onto the oversize cushion of the sofa and leaned back with the phone pressed to his ear. “Things are good. I might even see if she wants to crash here for the night. She likes it here. I even put her to work.”
Madden chuckled. “Oh yeah? She hanging backsplash in the kitchen?”
“Not quite. We cleaned up the front flowerbed and planted some bulbs for spring. Put down some mulch. I thought it’d be good for her.” He didn’t dive into detail as to why he’d wanted Eve to lend a hand in cultivating the garden and appreciated Madden’s lack of questions.
“Tell her I said thanks for the help.”
The padding of footsteps on the wooden floors reached Reid’s ears seconds before Eve emerged from the hallway. Her wet hair hung down her back and her face was free of makeup. Black yoga pants showed off her toned legs, and her fitted long-sleeved shirt made his imagination go wild. “She’s here now. You can tell her yourself.”
As she sat beside him, Reid activated the speaker function.
“Hi, Eve,” Madden said. “Heard you and Reid did some work outside. Appreciate it, but don’t let Reid boss you around.”
“Ha!” Reid said. “You must not know Eve very well if you think that’s possible.”
Eve jabbed him with her elbow. “Watch yourself.”
Madden’s chuckle rumbled through the line. “Trust me, I’ve known Eve a long time. She only does what she wants. But other than the gardening, you guys holding up okay?”
Reid hooked an arm around Eve, letting his fingers dangle along her bicep. He wouldn’t let Madden know just how well he was doing here with Eve. “We’re good.”
Eve grinned, gaze latched on him. “Yeah. No complaints.”
“Glad to hear, but I didn’t just call to check in. I spoke with the sheriff’s department about Tyson Brown.”
Eve’s body tensed, and Reid pulled her closer.
“They watched video from town this morning and were able to catch the plate number off a truck that a man matching his description drove away from the coffee shop. The vehicle is registered to his former father-in-law. Law enforcement all overthe county is on the lookout for the vehicle as well as Tyson. His photo is being circulated online and posted in local businesses.”
“It’s about damn time,” Reid grumbled. “So now we have his name and know what his vehicle looks like. Any news on where he’s been staying?”
“No.” Madden heaved out a long sigh. “Deputies haven’t seen any activity on a credit card, and they’ve spoken with the proprietors of all the local hotels. No one recognizes the guy. Deputy Silver said they’re going to look farther out of town. See if they can nail down his location. He’s got to be holed up somewhere.”
“Unless he’s sleeping in his truck,” Eve said.
