Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Rhett
Leaning against my pickup, I wait for my best friend to drive out to bring a tow truck for Brynlee’s car. Nothing looks to be leaking since I drove her home, and I can’t get my mind off Brynlee as I wait for Carter to arrive.
When the pretty blonde with brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen leaned against her Benz in the ditch, I thought she had to be a mirage. Or a dream. Some figment of my imagination. No one that perfect can possibly exist outside of a magazine, let alone standing right here in Copperwood.
Sure, we have pretty girls in town. And the next few over.
Some are even downright beautiful, but Brynlee Carmichael is on a completely different level than the others.
If she’s not already a model, she could be.
Hell, I’d buy anything she advertised. Which is why it was hard to tear my eyes from her, but I didn’t want to come across as a creep while I tried to help her.
But damn if I couldn’t stare at that girl all day long.
She’s a little on the skinny side for my taste, but she still has enough curves in all the right places.
A sexy hourglass figure I never quite understood until I saw her wearing a dress no one else in town would even think about putting on, let alone buying and wearing.
And those dimples when she smiles made me damn near fall in love right there.
“Get a grip, Dillon,” I mutter. “She’s not into men like you. But at least she didn’t recoil in disgust and assume you were a threat. Stranger danger and whatnot. Not only did she let you drive her home, she let you touch her.”
Of course, she would live in the house I’ve wanted since I was seven.
Growing up, I’d always loved the Carmichael house.
After they passed, I tried to buy it, but the lawyers for the estate said it was left to their granddaughter.
A granddaughter none of us knew existed, and she wasn’t selling.
She did, however, continue to rent out the land to the Jones Farm like Jensen and Kathleen had for decades.
Which means she’s not greedy or possessive.
“There has to be a flaw somewhere. Otherwise, this world is just not fair.”
There was no boyfriend with her. I suspect no man in his right mind would let his girlfriend or wife drive out into the country alone.
She didn’t wear a ring on her wedding finger, so she’s not married.
A girl like her would always wear one if she had it.
But there’s also no way she can be single. I’m not that lucky.
Carter pulls up in his truck and just stares with his eyebrow raised as he hops out. He gives a knowing look before saying, “So… she was pretty, wasn’t she?”
“How’d you—”
“The look on your face says it all, buddy.”
“Wait ’til you see her,” I say.
He looks around, confused. “Where is she?”
I point to her car in the ditch. “At her house. Just moved to town.”
“What house?”
“The Carmichael place.”
He leans against his truck as I make quick work of hooking the winch to her frame so he can pull it up to the road.
“I thought the granddaughter wasn’t goin’ to sell it. The lawyers mustn’t have told you that she was lookin’ to sell.”
“She is the granddaughter,” I say.
“Wait, she’s the granddaughter? She really exists?”
Nodding, I lean against his truck as the car slowly reappears up the ditch. “They didn’t leave the place to a ghost. I need you to follow me to the house. You’ll get to meet her, and damn…”
“That hot?”
“I would buy used socks if she was the one sellin’ them.”
Carter laughs, his dark hair blowing in the wind, and he disconnects the hook from the car when we finally get it fully on the road. “No wonder she spun out. These tires are bald as shit,” he growls.
Get it out now, tire salesman. You won’t be saying that to her face when you see it. That perfect face with those perfect lips.
“Follow me?” I ask, wiping my hands with a towel from my pickup and attempting to dust myself off as best I can.
I feel bad having to adjust her seat, but neither of us would be able to drive her car otherwise.
She doesn’t seem that short. And she wears heels, which doesn’t make a lot of sense for the country, if you ask me.
And it’s definitely not safe for her to be as close to the wheel, and if we become friends, I plan to tell her as much.
The last thing she needs is a broken cheekbone from the airbag if she gets into an accident.
Pulling up to the house, I pass the moving truck, park, and grab the key fob from the cup holder.
Brynlee runs out onto the porch as I step out of her car, and I see Carter’s eyes widen through his windshield as he parks behind me.
She slaps her hands on the sides of her thighs, and I try to hide my smirk. She’s too cute.
“Somethin’ wrong?” I call out to her.
“Holy Mother of Mary,” Carter murmurs as he walks up beside me.
“I know, right?” I mutter back through the side of my mouth.
Her shoulders sink. “They took off without… ugh!” Brynlee says. “You were able to get the car out of the ditch that fast?”
I elbow Carter before he can make the comment I know is on the tip of his tongue. The one about how I made a lot of things happen fast. Good things.
“You should look at replacin’ your tires. They’re as bald as my granddaddy.”
“He has a very shiny head,” I agree, surprised he brought it up. I was certain her beauty would kick it out of his mind, but I underestimated just how the man feels about appropriate tread. “Brylee Carmichael, this is my best friend, Carter Lang.”
Walking down the steps, she holds out her hand and smiles. “It’s nice to meet you. I should have listened to the mechanic about the tires, but I was in a hurry. Then again, I probably wouldn’t have Rhett as my knight in shining armor had I taken the time, so I think it all worked out, right?”
“Definitely a city girl,” Carter says.
I’m still stuck on how she referred to me as her knight. She enjoyed meeting me?
“It’s really that obvious?” she says and looks crestfallen. Even that looks adorable on her.
“It’s not a bad thing,” I assure her. “We don’t get too many city folk around here, that’s all.”
Shaking her head slightly, she plasters on a smile. “Is there any chance I could ask another favor of you?”
“Anythin’,” Carter blurts.
Elbowing him, I whisper, “Married, remember?”
Her smile changes to a genuine one, and I wish she had a cap in her teeth.
Or maybe buck teeth. Something, anything, to make her just a little less perfect.
“The movers put my mattress in the living room along with… well, everything else. Instead of the bedroom. On the bedframe. And since you mentioned possibly needing mouse traps, I’m not really in love with the idea of sleeping on the ground.
As in, I’m kind of terrified to, actually. Would you maybe help me move it?”
“Of course,” I say, not only to help Brynlee but also to get a look inside. I’ve only ever seen the entryway.
She leads us inside, and both Carter and I share a look at how ridiculous the movers were to leave everything here like this. They have boxes stacked taller than me, and we quickly lower the stacks to reasonable heights for her.
“Oh, thank you. I think my step stool is in one of the boxes stacked towards the top. They were really anxious to get to some game, but they offered to stop by tomorrow. It sounded silly, so I declined. Then I saw where everything was left. Marking the rooms on the boxes was pointless.”
Carter looks at me. “Banden brothers?”
“Probably,” I say and laugh. “Sounds like them. Besides, do we have any other movers around Copperwood?”
“Tommy and Dave something,” she says. “I met them for about three seconds when they took over bringing my stuff here just outside of Atlanta.”
“Banden brothers,” we say together and nod. “Figures.”
We make a path for the mattress before grabbing it and carrying it down the hall and into the master bedroom.
It’s heavy, but I’d have moved it on my own if Carter wasn’t here to help, just to be of service to this woman.
And to see inside this house. Even as we carry the heavy object, I can’t help but wonder if the floors are original.
But I also don’t know if it’s appropriate to ask her or not. City folk get touchy about things.
“This was in the house,” she says and leads us to a fourposter bed. “I’ve always dreamed of having one of these, and it’s perfect for my mattress. I figure I can donate the frame I brought with because this one’s so pretty.”
Brynlee walks out of the room, and I look at Carter as we set the mattress down, lifting my eyebrows. “Was I right?”
“Holy shit,” he says. “Wow.”
“Right?”
She returns with sheets, and Carter takes point and helps her make the bed. Between the two of us, he’s the least dirty, and I hate the idea of him touching the fabric she’ll sleep on.
A possessive nature I’m not familiar with kicks in, and I don’t know how I feel about it. I’m not usually this way, but I can’t tear my mind away from the beauty leaning over to tuck the fitted sheet under the corner of the mattress.
“Thank you,” she says and smiles warmly at Carter. “Do either of you know who I could call to install a filtration system? I’d really like to avoid giving myself tennis elbow by scrubbing clean all those hard water stains.”
Moving towards me, Carter slaps me on the shoulder. “The only person I know who’s installed one is right here.”
I know what he’s doing, and as much as I would love it, I know there’s no hope Brynlee would ever have any interest in me. I’m far too average for someone like her, and any attraction she could have will surely disappear the moment she meets any other man in town. I’m the nice guy. An average Joe.
“How much would you charge?”
I smile and shake my head. “Install would be free. I can get a list of everything you need to order. Most aren’t stocked in town, so you’ll have to have them shipped.
Next to no one other than repairmen understand how terrible the minerals in the hard water are on appliances.
Everyone just keeps replacing them every few years and complains about the low quality,” I ramble.
God, I wish I could stop doing that around her.
“Are you sure? That’s really nice of you, Rhett.”
“Story of my life,” I say with a sigh.
Nice guys always finish last. I’m pretty sure they’ll etch that onto my headstone when I die. Alone.
“Rhett’s the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. That’s why he’s my best bud,” Carter says. “Knows how to treat a lady, too.”
Elbowing him, even though I appreciate his attempts to talk me up, I force a smile. There’s a snowball’s chance in hell this woman would ever be interested in me. Not unless she was blind or never left her house to meet another man ever again.
Instead of the sympathetic smile I get from most women, Brynlee looks almost bashful.
“I find that nice guys tend to be severely underrated. Or maybe that’s just the city girl in me.
I’m not sure I’ve ever truly met a nice guy until you two.
Or women, actually. Everyone I know is mean deep down to their core. ”
“Movin’ from Atlanta?” Carter asks.
“Chicago.”
We share a look with each other, both wondering why in the world someone would move from Chicago to the middle of nowhere. Especially with all the places between there and Copperwood.
“I know,” she says and sighs. “To be honest, I felt like I needed to start over. Fully over. My grandparents left me this beautiful house, and I figured, why not? I know I stick out like a sore thumb, but hopefully that’ll change as I get more accustomed to things around here.
I’ve never really been to a country town before, let alone lived in one.
All I know are tall buildings and suburbs. I’ve never even been to a state fair.”
Her nice demeanor takes me by surprise. Someone who looks like she does should be mean. Bitchy. “I’ll look through my stuff and get you the specific parts you’ll need to order for the system. Does that work?”
Her smile slips a bit, and she begins looking around the room. I glance at Carter, who looks equally confused, as she hurries to a box. Pulling out her purse, she rummages through it for her phone. “Uh, yes, that’s fine. Sorry, it’s been a really long drive today. Can I get your number?”
I say it, watching her red nails tap it onto her screen, and my phone rings in my pocket. Grabbing it, I see the 872-area code. “Yours?”
“Yep! And how much do I owe you for getting my car out of the ditch?”
“Oh, fifty, but I can get that from you later,” Carter says and waves a hand in the air.
She reaches into her purse to pull out her wallet. “Is cash okay?”
When she pulls out the bills, it’s hard not to notice the multiple hundreds. I’d be lying if this didn’t raise a few questions about why she’d want to start over in the middle of nowhere.
“Cash is fine,” he says and takes the fifty from her.
“Thank you both again. I would still be stranded on the side of the road not knowing exactly where I live without you, Rhett. I look forward to hearing from you,” she says and smiles again.
“Just give me a holler if you need anythin’ else,” I say.
We walk to her front door, and Brynlee says, “Be careful what you offer. You might regret it.”
Carter mumbles, “Doubtful,” under his breath, and I elbow him as discreetly as possible.
Yes, it is very doubtful I will ever regret doing anything for Brynlee Carmichael. I would do just about anything she asked me to. Which makes her very dangerous for a guy like me.