Was it entirely fair to assume J.P. would be the same sort of man? Was it some self-fulfilling prophecy? Had she treated J.P. like she wished she had treated Connor, only to inadvertently turn him into someone just like her ex?
The thought snaked its way from her head down to her stomach, sickening her.
It wasn’t reasonable to assume all men were the same. She knew how ridiculous that was. But she had worked hard to rebuild her confidence after Connor had torn it down, and she wasn’t going to let a cocky construction worker demolish it all over again.
Her gaze meandered over to her bees and past the collection of hives, settling just beyond the fence line where J.P. lobbed a ball over the dusty ground for Waylon. His movements were fluid, almost graceful. That caught her off guard. He usually carried himself as a force to be reckoned with, but there was a softer side under the tough exterior. He had revealed that when he had cared for her when she was sick, and again in his thoughtful gesture of bringing grilled cheese by.
And last night, when he’d held her hand…
She mindlessly rubbed her knuckles.
It had startled her at first, but then immediately felt right. It took everything in her not to flip her own hand around and thread her fingers between his. When she reflected on it, it was the most unnatural thing to think to do, and yet—in the quiet moment between them—it had been her only inclination.
That thought still lingered in her mind now as she studied him from afar.
She didn’t expect him to look in her direction. He’d been so wrapped up in the game of fetch with Waylon. But something drew his attention to the edge of the yard, redirecting his focus toward Nora’s property, and his eyes moved across the landscape until they lifted and met hers.
She couldn’t hide. The gardens and flowers surrounding her were in full bloom, but they didn’t rise higher than waist level. There was no camouflaging her out here, and no way to conceal the heated blush that climbed up her neck and sprawled over her flushed face.
His hand lifted in a low wave.
She couldn’t ignore it, though she wanted to. She wanted to crawl into the wheelbarrow parked by the side of the flowerbeds and roll herself right out of sight, but instead she returned his wave with one of her own and hoped that was that.
Of course, it wasn’t.
He had already started walking toward her, his lengthy gait covering the space separating them in impressively efficient time. “Hey,” he said once he was within earshot.
“Hey.” She stood from her bench and closed the gap, but the split rail fence still came between them. Waylon wriggled his way underneath and nudged her palm for a pet. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your game.”
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your…” A single brow lifted as a question mark on J.P.’s forehead. “What is it exactly that you were doing?”
Ogling. She had been ogling. “Just doing a little reflecting.”
On things she certainly shouldn’t have been, like how his huge hand had smothered hers in a way that made her feel protected and cherished all in one simple, innocent gesture.
“That’s a good spot for reflecting.” He lifted his chin toward her iron bench surrounded by a carpet of brilliant flowers. Slowly, he dragged his gaze back to her.
“Yeah? You think so?” she asked. “It’s not too close to the hives for you?” She would have jabbed him with her elbow if they were closer, just to emphasize her teasing tone.
“I’ve decided to drop my grudge with your particular set of bees.”
“Really?” This sounded interesting. “Is that right?”
“It is. I’ve come to the realization that it’s unfair to be upset with yours since they obviously aren’t the ones doing the stinging. Just because one group of bees has it out for me, it’s not right to assume they all do.”
Something a lot like a boulder dropped into the pit of Nora’s stomach and sank there. Her hand pressed to her belly to keep herself from doubling over and she fought to catch her breath.
It wasn’t fair to treat J.P. like he was Connor.
Of course, she knew that, but hearing J.P. reiterate that truth made her heart climb into her throat, made the backs of her eyes scratch with unspent tears. How had she been so wrong about him?
“I mean, I get that they have the potential to hurt me, but they don’t have a real reason to.” He gave a little shrug. “But the ones back at the ranch house? Those guys do. I’ve been disturbing them for days. They obviously see me as a real threat, and understandably so.”
But he wasn’t a threat, not to Nora, at least, and that sudden realization had her heart pulsing erratically in her neck.
“They’ll know you’re not the bad guy once we get them out of that wall and into a better situation. Really, walls aren’t great places for hives, and it’s not like they could stay there permanently. Eventually, they’d have to be dealt with.”
“I appreciate you agreeing to help me with that.” His eyes held hers for a moment so long it felt close to a physical touch. “I don’t know what I would do without you…”—his throat bobbed in a swallow—“in this situation.”
