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She nodded, pointing to the trashcan that was barely at the side of the road. Mostly, it was behind her shrubs that lined her mailbox, and I could just see the garbage man missing it.

So, like a nice guy, I walked over and pulled the trashcan down until it sat where it belonged.

“Thanks,” she smiled. “I debated whether to even put it out.”

I looked down in the trashcan and saw the whole thing filled to the brim with pictures and…clothes?

“You don’t need these clothes anymore?” I asked her.

She shook her head.

“You remember that ex-boyfriend I was talking about?” She turned her head.

I nodded, looking up at her and studying her face.

How anyone could leave her was beyond me. She was a freakin’ vision.

Although she was really short, I would guess no more than five feet two inches or so, she had long, curly brown hair that fell down to her waist. The biggest blue eyes in Texas, and a beautiful mouth that just begged for kissing.

Her breasts were full and round, just perfect. Not too big, not too small.

They’d probably fit perfectly in my mouth…

Shit!

I tore my eyes away from her breasts, turning them to gaze at the shrub behind her house, and immediately winced.

“You need to get that tree/shrub thing trimmed,” I said off handedly.

I wasn’t able to turn off the firefighter in me. It was always there in the background, pulsing like a living thing deep inside me.

She turned to study the tree where it was brushing the power line above it and shrugged indifferently.

“I don’t have the money to pay for that right now,” she admitted. “It’s taking almost my whole month’s paycheck just to cover my rent, my car—which, might I add, I’m not allowed to use—and the costs to pay for my house arrest.”

I could tell that she really didn’t want to admit that.

“Get your brother to take care of it,” I told her.

She shook her head.

“If I had my way, I wouldn’t ever have to talk to him again,” she admitted. “Thanks for putting my trash out. If you have a chance after they empty it, could you push it back into my yard?”

I nodded.

“I can,” I said, knowing when to shut up.

She smiled sadly at me and then turned to go to the side of her house.

I stayed watching her for way too long and ended up seeing her again about a minute later when she came out on the other side of her house next to the offending shrub I’d told her to trim.

She didn’t lift her gaze from the ground as she walked, turned the corner at the front of her yard and then disappeared down the side of the house.

Shaking my head, I pulled the keys to my truck out of my pocket and unlocked the doors.

The locks clicked open and I got inside, enjoying the new car smell that assaulted my senses the moment I got inside.

Pushing the button to the window, I lowered it nearly all the way, shivering slightly at the way the cold hit me to the bone.