Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Reid
“Reid! Wait up.”
I’d just fired up my old truck and put it in gear when Avery’s voice reached me through my open window. When I turned, I saw her running down the path and across the overgrown front lawn toward me.
At least she got the front door open.
With a shake of my head, I put the truck in park.
“You weren’t going to leave, were you?”
That’s exactly what I was going to do. Avery seemed like a nice enough woman, if not a bit overly happy for my taste, but she was a city girl. And no matter how sexy she looked in that tight T-shirt and how well my hands had fit her round ass cheeks, just right , that was enough of a reason for me to keep my distance from her.
Even if my dick had other ideas.
“Places to go,” I said. “Besides, you got in okay. I figured you’d want some time to check things out.”
“Oh, I’ll need some time all right.” Her big blue eyes widened, and she sucked in a breath. “In fact, I think it’s going to take me awhile to figure things out. But that’s actually why I stopped you. Well, that and I wanted to thank you again. I don’t know how I would have gotten in if you?—”
“You would have figured it out.” I forced myself to look over her head at the inn. If I didn’t, my eyes were going to keep dipping down to the very inviting cleavage that my vantage point of the truck afforded me. “You seem like a very capable woman.”
It was true. Even though the only tools she seemed to own were pink with flowers on them, Avery seemed a lot more competent than most of the city girls I ran into these days.
And a lot cuter, too.
Especially when she smiled at me like that.
“I’d like to think I’m not totally useless,” she said. “But it doesn’t take an expert to see that I’m going to need help with this.” Her pretty smile faded a little. “I think in my head it was still the same place I remembered from when I was a kid, you know? I guess I didn’t really expect…” She turned to look at her project.
I followed her gaze and saw the inn through her eyes. To say it was a fixer-upper would be giving it the benefit of the doubt.
It would have been a challenge for someone who knew what they were doing. For a DIY-er, it was going to be a project of monumental proportions.
“It is a big project.” My eyes traveled over the peeling paint and the sagging porch. I remembered exactly how beautiful the inn had been once. More than once, I’d driven past and thought about what it would take to restore it to its former glory if only I had the capital. “It’s a magnificent building,” I said almost to myself. “A handyman’s dream.”
“Is it?” She spun around to face me, her eyes sparkling. “A handyman’s dream?”
Her enthusiasm should have been my warning.
“It is,” I answered honestly. “It’s a heritage building and without inspecting it, I’d guess that it was built properly and has good bones. If I remember correctly, there were some quality plank floors and unique details throughout. With the right care, I have no doubt it’ll be a rewarding project, for?—”
“You.”
My head snapped away from the inn to see Avery nodding. “No.”
“Yes.” Her hand reached out to squeeze my arm. Her touch was hot on my skin, sending sparks through my bloodstream directly to my dick that still hadn’t received the message that this woman was off-limits.
“No.” I pulled my arm back and instantly regretted it. “I’m not the man for this project.”
“But why not?” Avery stepped back and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Your brother said you were the best handyman in town, and I need the best for this. The inn deserves the best. Besides, didn’t he say you were looking for work?”
It was tempting. Working on a project of that size and quality would be amazing. Something I could really sink my teeth into. But… “No,” I said again. “I won’t be a part of the destruction of this town.”
Avery took a sharp step back as if I’d slapped her. “The destruction…what are you talking about?”
“The last thing this town needs is more tourists coming in here and destroying everything that’s special about Trickle Creek.” My thoughts flashed back to my clients from earlier and their determination to strip every single piece of uniqueness and charm from their property. I’d be damned if I would be part of that very thing happening to the Tamarack Inn.
“Look.” I put my hand on the gear shift. “I know your type, Avery. And I might not be able to prevent the destruction of this town, but I sure as hell am not going to be a part of it.”
“Reid, I?—”
“Find someone else,” I said, and like the asshole I am, I put the truck in drive. “Good luck, Avery.” And I drove away.