16. Leah Mae #2
“Trail gets narrow up ahead, so I reckon we should walk a bit,” he said. “But there’s a spot up there I’ve been meaning to scope out.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
His mouth twitched in a grin. It was so tempting to step closer to him. Maybe slip my arms around his waist again—but standing face to face. What would he do?
I looked away. He’d probably pull back and wonder what the hell I was doing. But that shy smile of his was so adorable. I wanted to kiss those sweet lips. Feel his stubble against my face.
“You comin’?” he asked.
“Yeah, sorry.” I took a few quick steps to catch up with him. “Whose land is this? Does it belong to anyone?”
“Old Jefferson Waverly owns it now—been in his family for generations. He doesn’t mind if I come out here, especially if I’m hauling stuff people dumped.”
The trail did narrow, so much that I had to walk behind him. He glanced back at me a few times, as if making sure I was still there. Each time he gave me that little grin just before turning ahead again. It made my heart want to burst.
He stopped so suddenly, I almost ran into him.
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about,” he said.
Just past him, almost overgrown with plants, was a very old car. From what little I could see, it looked like it could have been from the fifties. Who knew how long it had been sitting out here.
Jameson pulled away some of the brush and ran his hand along the side. “Will you look at this…”
“How did this even get up here?”
“Not sure,” he said, moving more plants off the hood. “I think there might have been a dirt road that came up here, long time ago. It’d be overgrown now.”
I took slow steps along the old car. It was mottled with rust and dirt, but parts of it seemed to be in decent shape, considering.
“What will you do with it?” I asked.
He pulled a piece of ivy off the front fender and caressed the smooth metal. “I’ll pull apart whatever I can and bring it back to my shop. It’ll take a bunch of trips, but there’s so much here I can use.”
“You’ll sculpt with it?”
“Absolutely,” he said, and I couldn’t help but smile at the enthusiasm in his voice.
He sounded like a kid at Christmas. “This is a great find. Poor thing’s been sitting up here for who knows how long, abandoned—its useful life long over.
But I’ll take it back with me and make it into something new. Something beautiful.”
My breath caught in my throat. “That’s… that’s amazing.”
He met my eyes. “It’s my favorite thing to do—take something no one wanted and give it new life.”
“Do you know what you’ll make with this?”
He ran his hand along the metal again. “A lot of things, I reckon. I’ll have to see what I can bring back, and what it looks like in the shop.”
We started uncovering the old car—pulling back plants and vines and dusting off dirt. It was impossible to tell what its original color might have been. There was a lot of dirt and rust. Some of the metal had holes where rust had eaten through, but much of it was still smooth and strong.
Jameson stood next to me and our arms touched as we brushed dirt off the side door. It made my heart beat faster.
A branch snapped, and something rustled in the brush off to our right. Suddenly Jameson’s arms were around me. He yanked me toward the back end of the car and pulled me down into the bushes.
“What—”
“Shh.” He gently touched my lips.
I held my breath. We crouched low, leaves and branches all around us. Jameson was behind me, one arm locked firmly around my waist. His body was tense and with his face so close, I could feel the warmth of his breath on my cheek.
“Jonah and I saw a bear out here a while back,” he whispered, his voice soft in my ear.
I gasped, a surge of adrenaline making my limbs tingle. A bear? Oh my god. That wasn’t good.
The rustling got louder, and Jameson tightened his arm around me. I tried to look, but I couldn’t see much from our hiding spot behind the car. I wanted to ask what we should do if the bear came close, but I was afraid to speak. Afraid to move.
Something bumped on the metal roof of the car. Instinctively, I huddled closer to Jameson. But the noise wasn’t loud, like the sound of something heavy. It was more of a click.
“I’ll take a look,” he whispered, loosening his grip on my waist, and we both rose slowly.
I peeked over the top of the car and let out a breath that was half-sigh, half-laugh. A fat squirrel sat on the roof, staring at us with beady black eyes .
“Well, shit.” Jameson let go of me, and we both extricated ourselves from the bushes. “Jesus. A squirrel?”
I laughed and brushed some of the dirt off my legs. “It’s okay. Better safe than sorry?”
He shook his head and gave the squirrel the side-eye. “Thanks for that, little buddy.”
The squirrel scampered off, climbing a nearby tree, and disappeared from sight.
Jameson rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry. Guess that was a false alarm.”
He looked so cute, acting all bashful, I couldn’t help but smile. “It’s really fine. Are we going to bring any of this back today, or do you need to come back?”
“I’d like to get what we can.” He seemed to relax at the change of subject. “Barring any more interruptions by forest creatures.”
He unfastened one of the fenders and the front bumper. I helped him detach the side mirror, but we couldn’t get to the other side. He took some smaller pieces of the car that he could get without too much trouble. Then we brought everything down to the trailer.
“This’ll do for now,” he said, stepping back to look at his haul.
“That was fun,” I said. “Like treasure hunting.”
“Exactly,” he said with a smile.
We donned our helmets and got back on the four-wheeler. I scooted as close to him as I could and wrapped my arms around his waist. God, he felt so good. I let my hands splay across his abs. Pressed my thighs against the backs of his. Just so I could feel him while I had the chance.
All too soon, we were back at his barn, and he pulled to a stop. I got up and took off my helmet, then shook out my hair .
When I looked up, Jameson was watching me, but he quickly glanced away.
I was feeling so many things, it was hard to keep track.
I’d had such a great afternoon. But I always had a great time when I was with him.
And now, unencumbered by a bad relationship, it was more difficult than ever to keep my emotions contained.
He took my helmet and I wanted to launch myself at him.
Throw my arms around his neck and kiss him. Take the chance.
He put the helmet down and paused, his eyes on my face. For the briefest moment, I thought maybe he wanted to do the same. Maybe he wanted me, too. Was he wrestling with the same emotions as me? Desperate for more, but afraid of messing up a good thing? Afraid it would be a mistake?
Please, Jameson. Do it. Step forward and meet me halfway. Then kiss me. Kiss me and tell me to stay.
But he rubbed the back of his neck and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I can get all this into the shop.”
“Oh, right,” I said, trying not to let the disappointment show on my face. “Are you sure you don’t want help?”
“Nah,” he said. “Hope you had a nice time, though.”
“I did. Thanks for saving me from the squirrel.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Anytime.”
We stared at each other for a moment, and there it was again. That glimmer in his eyes. But just as soon as I thought I’d seen it, it was gone.
“I should let you get back to work then,” I said. “Bye, Jameson.”
“Bye, Leah Mae.”
He smiled—that adorable shy smile I loved so much—and watched me go.