I nod in response as I pull out of the driveway.
“I had a job lined up at a retail store, but then they decided to close the location and all the other jobs that I’m qualified for — which aren’t many — are pretty much taken.”
“I’m sure you have more qualifications than you think you do. You used to do a lot of volunteering.”
“Well, that’s still available, obviously, but doesn’t pay anything. I need to save up for fall. I have a partial scholarship. Mom and Dad are helping me pay some, but I don’t want to graduate with a bunch of debt.”
“That’s smart.”
After a beat of silence, she asks, “can we listen to some music?”
I see Rubio smiling when I glance in the mirror. It seems Savannah has a need to fill the silence. It’s probably best to fill it with music rather than let her keep telling me everything about her life. Next she’ll be telling me about her boyfriend and I’ll start thinking of a million and one ways to kill a teenage boy who probably doesn’t appreciate what he has right in front of him.
Chapter 2
Savannah
By Eleven in the morning, it’s over ninety degrees. I’m wearing a hat that shades my face. Nate gives me most of the shady jobs, but I’m still sweating pretty much everywhere. Then Nate pulls his sweat-soaked shirt over his head and wipes his face with it. My body temperature spikes even further.
I try not to get distracted by the drops of sweat that cascade down his back or the play of strong muscles as they work under his smooth, tanned skin. But even fully dressed, Nate is a distraction.
He’s tall and wide and built. His hair is close cropped, which probably keeps him cooler in the summer. It also highlights the salt in his salt and pepper color. His well-groomed beard lends to the whole muscular mountain man vibe he has going on.
When I hear Rubio chuckling, I look over to see him give me a quick wink before turning back to his work, edging the grass. I’m in the shade of the trees, raking leaves into a pile while Nate mows the lawn.
I turn away, cheeks even hotter than before. I rake the pile of leaves onto a tarp that we’ll tie up and combine with the rest of the greens to take to be composted at the end of the day.
With the lawnmower’s motor whirring, we don’t talk a lot, so I have my earbuds in as I complete all the tasks Nate assigns me. It makes time go faster. After a while, I start swaying to the beat.
When I look up, it’s to find Nate and Rubio chuckling. I shake my head at them, but keep going with my work, trying not to pay too much attention to Nate’s naked torso.
As we ride in Nate’s truck from one job to another, I try to keep my thoughts to myself, but I’m nervous, so the words just seem to pop out. I tell Nate and Rubio about my volunteer work at the animal shelter and my plans to — hopefully — become a vet tech and eventually a veterinarian.
The plans aren’t new. They’re the same ones I had the last time I saw Nate, but he still acts interested in what I’ve been doing since I’ve seen him.
Every once in a while, over the past couple of years, I’d get up the nerve to text him. He always texted back, which made me feel good, but I’d quickly run out of things to say and then weeks or months would stretch between contact.
I’ve always felt a little tongue-tied around Nate since I first met him. Mom knew about my crush and thought it was cute. I don’t think she realized how salacious my fantasies about Nate became as I got older.
At the next house, as soon as we pull up, a woman steps out of the front door in a white bikini carrying two tall glasses filled with a sunshine yellow liquid. I hesitate to get out of the car. She’s everything I’m not — blonde, beautiful, tall, and modelthin. And when she sees Nate get out of the car shirtless, she licks her lips.
“Why do you always put this house on our job list?” Rubio grumbles.
“Because I can flirt faster than any of the other guys and I won’t actually fuck a client, especially a married one.”
When I look back at the woman, I see a flash of light catch on the large diamond on her left hand. Yet there she is in a string bikini, waiting for Nate to show up. She must have been waiting at the window. Her house is huge, and so is her yard, which means we’ll be here for a while.
“Nate,” she calls. “I thought you might be thirsty.”
“Is that second glass for you or for her?” I ask Rubio.
“She’s never offered me anything, chica.”
“Rude. I was afraid that was the case. And she thinks Nate will go for someone like her?”
Rubio pats my arm before getting out of the back seat. I get out next. We all watch as she approaches, hips and breasts swaying.
She stops short when she sees me. “Oh,” she says. “I didn’t realize you had a daughter.”
