“So you just showed up and fixed it yourself.”
“My buddy Davis runs a construction company here on Red Oak Mountain. He gives me the scraps from jobs, stuff that would just end up in a landfill otherwise. I used those materials and did the work for free because what else was she supposed to do? Watch her house fall apart around her?”
I rubbed my temples, feeling the weight of the decision pressing down on me. “If I sign off on this wrong, I lose my job. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am to throw it all away.”
“And if you don’t sign off on it, she loses her house.” Clayton’s voice was gentle but firm. “Herandher great-niece. The little girl’s onlyseven. Her parents died in a car accident two years ago and Mrs. Andretti took her in without a second thought, even though she can barely afford to feed herself. Her name’s Mary Ann. You’d be putting Mary Ann out on the street.”
That was a low blow. Clayton was hitting below the belt, but everything he was saying was true.
My heart clenched in on itself. When we’d been out at Mrs. Andretti’s house I’d seen the little girl’s bedroom, a stuffed dolphin sitting against her pillows. Her bed had been perfectly made up, and everything had looked nice and new, in stark contrast to the rest of the house. I could tell Mrs. Andretti was doing everything she could to give the girl a good life.
“Is your life meaningful?” Clayton rumbled.
“What?”
“Your job. Knowing that your decisions hurt people like Mrs. Andretti. Does it feel meaningful to you?”
The question cut deeper than he probably intended. I stared at the images on my computer screen, all those damaged homes and desperate families, and felt something crack open in my chest.
Then I couldn’t look at them anymore. I shut my laptop, stood up and looked out the window into the rainy night outside.
Did it ever stop raining around here?
“No,” I admitted quietly. “It’s not fulfilling. It hasn’t been for a long time.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“Because I grew up in a place like this.” The words spilled out. “In a tiny shack in a tiny town in Texas where people have bigger hearts than homes. Everyone knows everyone, but nobody has any money. And the same families have been struggling that way forgenerations.” I swallowed hard. “I swore I’d get out. I worked my ass off for grants and student loans so I could afford college, and I left home at eighteen because the nearest university was four hours away.”
Clayton watched me with his steady eyes, listening intently.
“I thought if I got out and got a good job, I’d finally feel like I had stability.” I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Instead, I live out of a suitcase and call motel rooms my home base. My apartment in Tucson is just a place I visit a few times a month tocheck my mail. I can’t even have ahouseplant, let alone a Nuts and Bolts.”
Those dogs had worked their way into my heart over the past few days.
I’d gone from someone who got the ick around dogs to seeing the cute expressions on their faces. Their dog drool didn’t even bother me any longer.
“Life could be different,” Clayton rumbled softly. “You’re the architect of your own world, Rachel. You get to decide what you build with it.”
I searched his face for signs of manipulation, wondering if he was just saying what I needed to hear so I’d help Mrs. Andretti. But all I saw was sincerity, and something that looked almost like hope.
I’m falling for him, I realized with a jolt of panic.I’m actually falling for this stubborn mountain man. And he’s going to ruin my life.
The silence stretched between us, thick with everything we weren’t saying. At some point we’d both moved closer, drawn together by some gravity I couldn’t name, and now we stood near enough that I could count the flecks of gold in his eyes.
Clayton’s hand came up slowly, like he wasn’t sure when he’d decided to touch me, and his rough fingers traced along my jaw. The calluses on his palm caught against my skin, and I shivered at his touch.
I leaned into him without meaning to, my body making decisions my mind hadn’t approved.
“I fixed the furnace a few minutes ago while you were working,” he said, his voice husky and low.
“Oh.” The word came out breathless, disappointed. “That’s… good. That’s why it’s warmer in here right now.”
“Yeah. But I’m going to be honest with you, Rachel. I kind of liked having you in my bed.” His thumb traced my cheekbone,featherlight. “You’ve got options now, so I won’t force the issue. I’m going to leave my bedroom door unlocked tonight and you can make the decision about where you sleep.”
My heart stuttered in my chest.
Clayton hesitated for half a second, his gaze dropping to my mouth, and I thought he was going to kiss me. Iwantedhim to kiss me, wanted it so badly I could taste it.
