Austin chuckled as he wiped up his mess. “Yeah, you’ve used more than your share this week.”
“You have no idea.” Debbie grabbed her phone off the counter. “Look at what Noah did yesterday while I was gathering the laundry.”
She held her phone out for him to see the little boy covered in peanut butter. Not only was Noah covered, the floor and the cabinet behind him had generous smears.
Austin laughed. “Was he eating it or finger painting with it?”
“He wanted a snack.” Debbie swiped to another picture of Noah surrounded by Froot Loops cereal.
Austin laughed. She sure had her hands full with that kid.
“Cody did that same thing with Lucky Charms when he was two. Is Noah always hungry? After I got him dressed this evening it was all I could do to keep him out of the pantry.”
“With as much energy as he has, he probably has a really high metabolism. The only time he’s not getting into the pantry or cupboards is when he’s swimming.” Her eyes squeezed shut, and a shudder shook her body. She wrapped her arms around herself.
“Noah’s fine, Debbie.” He pulled her into his arms. “You saved him. And we’ve taken measures to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Debbie wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her forehead into his shoulder. She sniffed a few times as her body relaxed into his.
Austin hadn’t held a woman besides his mother for five years, and those had only been brief hugs. Holding Debbie was way different than hugging his mom. She felt small and fragile in his arms. Soft and warm. Electricity tingled along each of his nerve endings.
He shouldn’t enjoy this so much. He and Debbie were nothing alike. So, maybe she wasn’t the vain, arrogant, rich person he thought she was, but it didn’t change the fact that her money made him feel like a poor nobody.
She’d never be happy living in a modest three-bedroom home—the only kind he could afford right now. Actually, he couldn’t even afford that. That’s why he was renting. And he could never handle her lifestyle.
Debbie seemed to need this hug, so Austin let her decide when to end it. He’d just enjoy it while it lasted and then pretend it didn’t affect him so strongly. Because no matter how pretty Debbie was and how much he’d like to lift her chin and kiss her, he couldn’t get over his feelings of inadequacy.
Debbie finally loosened her hold and leaned back but didn’t step away. “I guess I needed that. Thank you.”
Austin’s gaze went straight to her lips, the urge to kiss her stronger than ever. He released her and stepped back. “You’re welcome.” His words came out breathless. He cleared his throat and forced his gaze away from her full lips and beautiful blue eyes. He picked up the booklet with the gazebo on the cover. “Are you thinking about putting in a gazebo?”
“I am. It was delivered a few weeks ago. But my dad gave himself a hernia trying to unload it alone. So it’s going to have to wait a few months. My brothers said they’d build it, but no offense to them, even though they provide great muscle, they aren’t exactly builders.”
“I’ll help them.” Austin flipped through the pages of the book. “This looks like a piece of cake.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“You do realize I’m a builder, right? I’ve worked in construction since I was seventeen.”
“That’s kind of you to offer, but I couldn’t ask that of you.”
“Why not? You’re feeding my family every night. It’s the least I can do.” He tossed the booklet on the counter. Doing this for her would make him feel less like he was taking advantage of her generosity. “I don’t work this Saturday. I bet we could knock this out in a day. If your brothers are free, that is.”
“You shouldn’t have to work on your day off.”
“I don’t mind. I imagine Savvy’s going to want to spend the day painting, and Dallas and Cody love helping with this kind of thing.” Austin grinned. “They’ll probably burnout half-way through, so you might have to help entertain them the rest of the day.”
“I think I can handle that.” Debbie grinned so big her eyes lit up. “I’ll see if my brothers are available on Saturday.”
“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow after work.” Austin headed for the door. He needed to leave before he pulled Debbie into his arms and complicated the friendship they’d managed to build despite their differences.
CHAPTER13
Austin put a hand on Dallas’s shoulder as he slid down from the back seat of the king cab truck. “Hold on, buddy.” He waited for Cody to jump down and stand beside his brother. “Listen, today’s going to be a long day, and you guys are my helpers, unless Miss Debbie needs your help with Noah. Don’t forget to use your manners and obey Miss Debbie and her brothers who are going to be here helping.” He held up a finger as Dallas nodded and turned away. “No swimming unless Miss Debbie says it’s okay.”
“Okay, Daddy. We’ll be real good, we promise.” Cody bolted to catch up to Savannah who was already at the front door.
Dallas ran after Cody.
