Chapter 5 #2
All he had wanted to do was help a person in need.
It wasn’t unusual for him. But he hadn’t thought it through.
Having an attractive woman in his home was wreaking havoc on his senses.
Her shampoo smelled like strawberries and her perfume was something florally and he could smell them both everywhere he went.
And considering he was with her pretty much all day, every day, there was no escaping it.
She had charmed everyone who worked for him and who came into the shop and he had a sneaky suspicion that most of the cars that had come in today for routine maintenance had more to do with people wanting to get a look at MacKenzie than any real car issues.
If he had been thinking clearly, he would have started asking around if anyone had a spare room for her or–at the very least–asked some of the single women in town to come and befriend her so maybe they’d get a little time apart.
If he wanted to keep his sanity, it certainly made sense to look into doing that tomorrow.
Only…he really enjoyed hanging out with her.
At work, she had things running smoother than they’d ever been.
Without the constant distraction of the phone or the front desk, he and the guys were getting cars done faster.
And that led to a better turn around so they could work on more cars in a day, which meant more money for the business.
Because of MacKenzie.
Or…you could just hire someone who actually lives here.
There was that, but he didn’t know of anyone who had the same skills that would have caught on so quickly and who wasn’t afraid of a challenge.
Like MacKenzie.
Groaning, Devin punched his pillow. Why the hell was he over-romanticizing everything about her?
Maybe there were dozens of people in Sweetbriar Ridge who had the same skills or even more!
For all he knew, someone else would have come in and had things running even more efficiently.
Just because she’s beautiful, didn’t mean he needed to be this tied up in knots. What he needed was to get a grip.
Fast.
But when he thought about anyone else working with him, it didn’t feel right.
He knew just about everyone in town and there wasn’t a single one that he was going to feel this way–professionally, that is–about.
No one else had her laugh. Her smile. Her…
everything. Hell, Devin caught himself simply seeking her out during the day just to get a glimpse of her or to hear her voice.
Never in his life had a woman simply captivated him the way MacKenzie had from the first time he laid eyes on her.
But eventually, something was gonna have to give.
He was either going to kiss her or seriously find one of the single women in town to take MacKenzie on as a roommate.
Liar .
Okay, fine. He didn’t really want MacKenzie to stay anyplace else in Sweetbriar Ridge, and she had told him she wasn’t comfortable with that idea the very first night she came home with him.
He was a grown man who had self-control.
Sort of. Or at least he thought he did until she had come into his life.
Now he felt slightly out of control–at least with the direction of his thoughts–and he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do about it.
As corny as it sounded, Devin was a fairly traditional guy - he didn’t believe in casual relationships or flings.
At this point in his life, he was looking for a relationship - a long-term one.
He was ready to settle down and have a wife and kids.
That wasn’t going to be the case with MacKenzie.
She was here temporarily; she had a plan, a life, and it didn’t include staying in Sweetbriar Ridge.
Could he honestly indulge in something physical with her knowing it was going to end almost as soon as it started?
Just the thought of it put those X-rated images back in the forefront of his mind and…
well…everything south of the belt was ready with a resounding YES!
But Devin knew it would be rough for him to simply push aside his ultimate wants and needs for the sake of being with MacKenzie before she left town.
The bulk of the parts for her car were due to be delivered to the shop by the end of the week, and he’d already patched up her exhaust system and replaced the hoses.
He wasn’t going to charge her for them; it just gave him a little peace of mind to know it was done.
If everything went according to schedule, he could be done by Monday–Tuesday at the latest–and then she’d be gone.
On her way to…west.
That one still made him chuckle. Although, after several conversations with her on the subject, it didn’t seem as if MacKenzie knew where she was going to end up.
She was toying with the idea of looking up her mother, but otherwise, she was simply driving west until she got someplace.
Just the thought of doing something like that made Devin shook his head.
How could somebody do that? There was no way he could just pick up and go without a destination in mind, and there was no way he could do it without a proper plan.
Or with a car that was in clear disrepair.
He really needed to stop harping on that one fact.
There had been a good reason behind her hasty departure and the need to get out of town, and he should feel good about showing up when he did to help her.
The thought of some stranger pulling up while MacKenzie was alone on a deserted stretch of highway made him shudder.
“Ow, shit …”
Devin sat up in bed at the sound of MacKenzie’s hushed curse from the hallway. What was she doing up this late? She’d mentioned being tired while they’d shared dinner–burgers they’d grilled on his back patio–so he was kind of surprised to hear her up and about at this hour.
And you said you were tired too. Maybe we’re both liars…
Sitting quietly, he listened. A minute later he heard the distinct crash of a glass breaking and more swearing from MacKenzie.
Jumping up from the bed, he immediately pulled the door open and made his way toward the kitchen.
The first thing he noticed was that it was still pretty dark in there–no lights were on–the second was MacKenzie hopping around and cursing like a sailor.
Flipping on the overhead light, Devin immediately walked toward her and lifted her up, placing her on top of the granite countertop. She let out a small scream as her skin hit the cold surface, but then she was back to cursing.
Next, he went and grabbed a broom to start clearing up the floor. “You all right?” he asked, his voice sounded just a little gruff.
“I’m not sure yet,” she replied with a small whine.
When Devin looked over at her, she was examining her foot.
“I didn’t want to turn the light on when I came out here because I didn’t want to wake myself up more than I already was.
So when the glass slipped from my hand and shattered, I had no idea how to avoid any of it because it was so dark!
” With a moan, she added, “I know I stepped on some of the glass. Just not sure if any of it’s stuck. ”
Careful not to suffer the same fate, Devin quickly swept the floor and got all the glass onto the dustpan and into the trash before going over the area a second time, just to be safe. When he was done, he turned all his attention to MacKenzie.
“So? How does it look?”
She shook her head. “It feels like there’s something in there, but I can’t really see it and I sure as hell can’t get a grip on it, but I can feel it. It hurts like hell, too.”
Devin reached over and gently grasped her ankle and turned her so the light was better for him to see what they were dealing with. “Let me grab my first aid kit and we’ll take care of this.”
When he turned to walk away, MacKenzie said, “Sorry about waking you up. And the glass.”
He shrugged and grabbed the small kit from the drawer at the far end of the kitchen island. “I was surprised to hear you up this late.”
It was her turn to shrug. “I was thirsty.”
Nodding, he pulled out a pair of tweezers and cradled her foot in his hands as he lowered his head for a better look.
She was wearing next to nothing–an oversized t-shirt and…
he swallowed hard…red panties. With the way she was positioned, it was hard to miss.
Doing his best to keep his attention focused on the task at hand, he ran his thumb gently along the arch of her foot until he heard her soft hiss of breath.
Without a word, he took the tweezers and pulled the tiny shard of glass from her foot. He examined it and put it in the trash before going back and inspecting for any more pieces. After the second one, they both agreed that there weren’t any others.
Devin cleared his throat as he straightened. They were still close. Very close and he could see her pulse beating rapidly at her throat and knew his own was no different. That was also when he became aware that all he was wearing was a pair of boxers.
Hell.
“You should probably…um…rinse your foot and we’ll put some antibiotic cream and a bandage on it.”
He saw her swallow as she continued to look at him before nodding.
A slow breath left his lungs as he turned and tried to put his attention on getting what she’d need from the kit and then putting the dustpan and broom away.
Behind him, he heard the water turn on in the sink and heard her hiss as it hit her foot.
Leaving the room, he went to grab her a towel to dry off with.
When he returned, he handed it to her and together they worked in silence to get her foot cleaned and bandaged. He cleaned up the rest, put the kit away and then went and poured MacKenzie a glass of water. She looked at him quizzically.