Chapter 5 #3
Something told her Alex’s bid for PBC’s leather tooling work wasn’t his only risk.
He was too buttoned up, too intense for all that broodiness to be about a contract.
One that could help his career, sure. But she had a feeling this man’s work was only one small square in a much more complicated pattern.
“Well, we’re a fairly decisive bunch. You finish those designs and you’ll have your answer soon enough. ”
After that, Alex was silent, and Greer tried to respect that he had no interest in chatting more.
Within a few minutes, they were at the south end of her dad’s—no, now Cal’s and hers—fifty acres.
She pulled into the turnoff and hopped out of the car to unlock the pipe gate.
The chain clanged against the metal as she let it fall.
When she’d pulled through and continued to drive down the rutted track, Alex said, “Aren’t you going to lock it again?”
“We don’t have many security issues out here in the country.”
The old barn sat with its broad side facing the road, and Greer parked near the huge double doors. The structure was a typical Texas Hill Country barn made of weathered wood and topped by a metal roof. It had been a while since she’d come this close to it.
Cal kept mentioning he needed to get out here and do some work on the property, but Greer put him off every time. That wasn’t fair of her. Just because she was having a hard time facing her dad’s things shouldn’t give her an excuse to neglect them.
The barn was still standing tall, but the maroon paint was flaking, and one of the doors sagged. Thankfully, though, the roof showed no signs of rust, and Greer blew out a breath of relief.
The structure was still solid, but it needed some TLC.
Alex, on the other hand, was staring at the barn with a tight mouth and squinty eyes.
“It’s a barn,” she snapped, her guilt over neglecting her dad’s property rearing its head again. “Did you expect the Taj Mahal?”
“Don’t try to put thoughts in my head.”
“You were scowling.”
“I was thinking. There’s a difference.”
Silly to be hurt by his reaction. After all, she couldn’t expect him to be excited or invested in a half-formed idea she’d only come up with today. She opened her car door. “Let’s go see the inside.”
The non-droopy barn door wouldn’t budge, so Greer attacked the wonky one. She was able to drag it open a couple of inches, but it stuck in the dirt.
Alex elbowed around her, grasped the door’s edge, and lifted.
The muscles under his long-sleeved shirt bunched with the strain.
Greer was so busy watching the flex and release that she didn’t realize he’d wrestled the door open until a wave of musty air billowed over her.
You’re not here to check out Alex. You’re here to check out your future.
She strolled inside and grasped a pull string on one of the dozen bare bulbs that lit the place and gave it a good yank. Light flashed and exploded with a pop of glass. Fine shards rained down on her, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around her head to protect herself.
“Shit,” Alex said, low and rough. “Don’t move and close your eyes.”
“Got that covered.”
Footsteps stomped away from her. Seconds later, she heard the click from another fixture, and light seeped inside her closed lids. Then slow, gentle hands began picking at her hair, and Alex’s warm fingers grazed the back of her neck, forcing a shiver up from the depths of Greer’s body.
“I said don’t move.”
Like she had any control over the way her body reacted when this man was close. “Don’t worry about getting it all. Half of it’s probably lost in there, and it would take two lifetimes to find it.”
“You can’t walk around with sharp stuff stuck in your hair. Besides, I’ve almost got it.”
Greer’s instinct was the shake her head to try to dislodge the broken pieces, but she remained still.
Or at least as still as she could under Alex’s handling.
When he lifted the hair from the back of her neck, an image cruised through her brain, one of him pulling back her head so he could kiss her.
His lips would be rough on hers, his tongue pushing into her mouth. Because that was the kind of man he was—demanding, delicious, dangerous.
This time her body didn’t settle for a shiver. It went for an all-out from-the-toes-up shudder.
“Are you cut?”
“I’m fine.” Her words were low and breathy. God, no, she wasn’t fine. She was sick. With Alex fever. You just met him today, and you’re thinking about kissing him. What is wrong with you, girl?
He sifted back through her hair another time. If he had even half this amount of patience in bed, he’d be lethal. “I think you’re good to go.”
Oh, yeah, she was totally primed. “Thanks.” She opened her eyes to find Alex still standing close. His chest seemed to be rising faster than normal and his pupils dilated wide.
He quickly looked away and stepped back to make a show of checking out the barn’s interior, mostly empty except for a few pieces of old farm equipment under tarps. “So you want to build a co-op and this is what you have to work with?”
She smiled up at him and pumped a little wicked into her expression.
If he thought the barn was rough, he might be tempted to go back to Raylene’s after she showed him the accommodations she was offering.
“C’mon. I’ll show you the office and bathroom area before I explain more.
” She led him up a set of wooden stairs.
What she was about to do was spur of the moment, not to mention risky. But somehow it felt absolutely right. With one shove, she opened the door to an efficiency apartment-size room and said, “Alex, welcome to your new home.”