“Oh! Hey, Dean. That would be great, actually.”
I jog over and grab two bags. “Where to?”
“Well, I’m trying to turn this whole side into a vegetable garden, so I was attempting to disperse the soil all the way down.” She tilts her head and gnaws on her lip in thought.
I’d like to nibble on that lip instead.
No, nope. I’m here to help her, not drool over her delectable body in cutoff jeans and a blue tank top.
“Are you just putting the soil straight on the ground?” I ask.
“Umm, yeah?”
I shake my head. She’s just winging this whole thing. It’s kind of adorable, but it’s making my landscaping heart cringe.
“I’m going to run to the nursery really quickly and grab some supplies. Don’t put any of the soil down yet, but if you want to organize the plants how you want them and loosen them from their containers, we can probably get this done in a couple of hours when I get back.” I’m in full work mode now. If she wants a garden, I’ll be damned if it isn’t perfect.
“You don’t have to do all of that, Dean,” she says quietly, and I barely conceal the flinch at my name.
“But I want to.” I hope the sincerity is written all over my face. I’d do a hell of a lot more, but at least this project will give us a couple of hours together. This gives me the opportunity to see who she is now, and I can’t fucking wait.
“I’ll be right back.” I turn and start jogging toward the nursery.
It takes me twenty minutes to grab all the supplies I need. I’m not sure what tools she has, so I bring everything, just in case. Realizing that walking back to her place isn’t going to happen, I grab my truck to load everything in the bed. I’m back in front of Ainsley’s small bungalow in no time.
“That was fast,” she calls out as she makes her way to the truck.
“Good thing about small towns. It doesn’t take long to get from point A to point B.” I grin.
“Ain’t that the truth.”
When we have everything unloaded, I walk around the space, visualizing the garden and how to make it the most efficient.
“This is the perfect place to grow some vegetables.”
“Yeah?” she asks as her eyes light up.
“Oh, yeah. Good sun and shade, and some decent protection because of the house.”
“My sister has the green thumb. I do not, so I’m just hoping I don’t kill everything within two weeks.” She smiles.
I’ll come over every day to take care of this garden if it puts a smile on her face.
Woah, got a little ahead of myself there.
“I think you’ll surprise yourself.”
She claps her hands suddenly, and I see a slight blush on her cheeks. “Alright, let’s make me a garden.”
We get the space cleared and lay down the landscaping fabric before she steps back and looks at the space.
“I can’t believe we got all this done so fast. Also, thank you for knowing what you’re doing because I would have never done any of this.”
“No worries. I enjoy this stuff.” I shrug.
“My new boss owns a landscaping business. I probably should have asked him about some tips, but this was a little impromptu and he’s a stickler for not working on the weekends.”
I’m a stickler forhernot working on the weekends.
