Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
S he was probably going to regret this.
Scratch that…she was definitely going to regret this.
Right now, Shiloh was done with men, in all their forms. Arthur could rot in purgatory, but even Granger wasn’t on her nice list, no matter how helpful he’d been a couple minutes ago.
The only reason she’d agreed to give him a job was because she knew what it was like for money to be tight, and she didn’t want Zane to struggle.
“Get Zane, and I’ll show you around the property,” she told Granger. Her hands were clasped so tightly that Shiloh was positive that she was going to tear a knuckle in two, but adrenaline and fear were still coursing through her veins, though she was trying hard to hide it.
Looking weak would only make things harder. She’d been a little hard on Granger, but she needed him to know that she wasn’t air-headed, despite the situation he’d seen when he arrived.
Shiloh wasn’t usually overpowered by anyone, but if a man turned to physical tactics, almost every woman alive was at a disadvantage.
“You really should consider telling the police,” Granger said as he walked away.
“I think about it,” Shiloh assured him. Officer Montoya was a semi-friend of hers. Maybe she could mention things to him? Or at least ask what her rights were when it came to keeping unwanted visitors off her property.
She went inside the house while Granger walked back to his truck, needing a moment to herself and wanting a drink of water. Apparently, fear made her throat dry.
After chucking down an unhealthy amount of liquid, Shiloh spun at the sound of pounding feet.
“Shiloh!” Zane rushed her, throwing his arms around her waist. “Are you okay? That guy looked really mean.”
Shiloh hugged the little boy back, noting that Granger walked through the door in a more sedate fashion than his son. “I’m fine,” she assured the little boy. When he leaned back, she squatted down so they were face to face. “Your dad showed up and acted like a big, tough hero. It was pretty awesome.”
Zane nodded and sniffed, wiping at his nose with the back of his uncasted hand. “I guess.”
“Hey…” Shiloh cupped the little boy’s red cheek. “Really. I’m fine. It’s all okay.” She leaned in just a touch. “You were right, though. That guy is mean, and if you see him again, run away, okay?”
Zane blinked several times and nodded jerkily.
“So…” Shiloh picked up his cast arm. “How many signatures have you gotten lately? Any new ones since I last saw you?”
Zane pointed out a few of his friends.
“I see that Tate made you a drawing,” Shiloh said with a laugh, pointing to the large airplane on the cast. “He took up half the cast!”
Zane grinned. “I like Tate.”
“Don’t tell him I said this,” Shiloh said in a fake whisper, “but I think he’s pretty funny…most of the time.” Her smile grew when she heard Granger snort in the background. “Now…” She slapped her knees and stood up. “You missed the cat wrangling and the bat chasing, but I’m pretty sure I’ve still got some important jobs for you to handle. You ready?”
Zane’s eyes were wide. “Bats?” he whispered.
Shiloh nodded slowly. “Yeah…that wasn’t a fun surprise.” She flexed. “But don’t worry. I won. This house is now bat free.”
Zane looked at his dad, then again at Shiloh. “Is my dad going to work here?”
Shiloh looked at Granger as well. “I think so,” she said. “Isn’t that the deal we struck?”
Granger nodded, a small wrinkle between his eyebrows. “I believe we did.” He looked at his son and jammed a thumb over his shoulder. “I’ll be doing yard work and landscape.”
“You always do that.”
Shiloh laughed a little.
Granger did as well. Sheesh, grumpy men shouldn’t be allowed to smile. It made them much more attractive. “It’s what I do, bud. You know that.” He took a backward step. “I think I’m gonna start with the weed whacker. Wanna come out and help pick up garbage?”
Zane scrunched his nose. “Do I have to?”
“Ask the boss lady, here,” Granger waved an arm toward Shiloh.
Zane turned his puppy dog eyes her way.
“I don’t mind if you stay in here,” she said. “But you gotta work. You gonna help me clean? Or help pick up outside?”
Zane’s shoulders fell a little. “I guess I’ll help, Dad.”
Shiloh ruffled his hair. “I think that’s a good plan. Outside is much better than inside. Plus, who knows what kind of hidden treasure you’ll find out there.”
Granger snorted once more, then went back outside, presumably to get his tools.
“What do you think I’ll find?” Zane asked.
Walking to her supplies, Shiloh got a large, black garbage bag. “I have no idea,” she admitted. “It could be broken toys, a garden snake or seashells blown in from a storm.” She turned and held the bag out to the boy. “But whatever it is, it’ll be awesome.”
“It doesn’t sound awesome,” Zane grumbled. He took the bag with his good arm and drug his feet toward the door.
Shiloh did her best to hold in her laughter, but Zane’s slump was pretty impressive and she had a harder time keeping a straight face than she should have.
Walking behind him, she waited for Granger to come back up with his weed whacker and watched the two of them get started. When the greenery started flying, she knew it was time to shut the door.
It was going to be a storm outside, and she wanted to keep as much of the debris out there as possible.
Turning back to her own work, she sighed. She kind of wished she was working out there instead. For some reason, she felt sort of chilly from her experience with Arthur, and the warm sunshine would have been a welcome sensation right now.
Shaking herself loose of the unwanted feelings, Shiloh grabbed her phone, turned on some dance music, and got to work. Nothing helped with a bad attitude or bad situation more than good beats and manual labor.
Granger went by the window closest to her, and Shiloh couldn’t help but watch as he swung the weed whacker back and forth, showing off the muscles in his arms and shoulders.
On second thought…maybe hard work wasn’t the right answer. The distraction of a good view was doing more for her than scrubbing cabinets ever had.
Granger turned off the noisy tool and set it down, wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. He grimaced at the amount of grass and weeds that were sticking to his person.
“You’re all green,” Zane said, coming up to Granger’s side.
Granger pushed his safety glasses up and took off his headphones. “Yeah?” He touched Zane’s dirty hair. “I think we match.”
Zane shook his head and sent grass pieces flying everywhere.
Granger chuckled. “I guess we’re both taking a second shower today.”
Zane scrunched his nose. “Yuck.”
“Hey, you two.”
Granger spun, nearly taking Zane out with the weed-eater. Keeping a curse to himself, he tucked the tool at a better angle and faced Shiloh’s grinning face. Hot embarrassment began to crawl up Granger’s neck when he thought about how sweaty and gross he was.
Shiloh, on the other hand, had a dirt smear across her forehead, hair pulled into a large, messy bun and an apron around her waist, but she still looked good enough to eat.
Clearing his throat, Granger shoved his attraction aside…again.
“I thought you two could use a drink.” She walked forward, pulling two bottles of a blue sports drink out of the apron pockets.
“Yes!” Lunging forward, Zane grabbed one and held it up to his dad. “Can you open it for me?”
“How about I get that?” Shiloh said, giving Granger a playful wink. “Your dad’s hands are pretty full.”
Zane bounced on his toes while he waited for Shiloh to unscrew the top, and Granger used the time to force himself to get back under control. He’d had women wink at him before. It wasn’t supposed to affect him like this.
Taking his drink, Zane disappeared around the front of the house, and Shiloh opened the other bottle, holding it out to Granger.
“Thanks,” he said in a gruff voice.
Shiloh’s smile widened. “You’re welcome.” She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels. “So…how goes the jungle taming?”
Granger raised an eyebrow as he took a long drink. Blue wasn’t his favorite, but it was cold and it felt good going down. “Do you have colorful descriptions for every task?”
Shiloh shrugged. “Probably. It’s part of the curse of being a realtor. We don’t have wood floors. We have hand-laid, oak, hardwood floors.”
Granger frowned. “Hand laid? Is there another way to put down a floor?”
Shiloh laughed softly. “Probably not, but the description still sells.”
Granger grunted a laugh and took another swig, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “What made you take on this place?” he asked. Shiloh didn’t look in a hurry to leave, so Granger figured it was better to keep the conversation on safe topics.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Shiloh asked, eyes wide and entirely too innocent for a woman who’d given him a verbal set down only an hour ago. “It’s the best place on the block.”
Granger frowned. “Uh…”
It had been a long time since Granger had heard a grown woman giggle, and normally it would have driven him crazy. Giggling was for teenage fangirls who had no control over their emotions.
But something about the low giggle that slipped from between Shiloh’s perfectly shaped lips hit him right in the gut.
He should never have taken this job. There wasn’t enough cold sports drink in the world to cool the warmth in his chest.
“Sorry,” she said, another giggle bubbling out. “But you should have seen the look on your face.” She leaned forward. “You couldn’t decide if I was joking or truly nuts.”
“Are you going to tell me which one it is?” Someone needed to smack Granger upside the head. Flirting was not on the agenda.
Shiloh tilted her head from side to side, pursing her lips. “Nope. I think I’ll just let you guess.” With another wink, she spun and walked to the front of the house, disappearing the same way Zane had gone.
“Grange,” Granger muttered to himself. “You’re the world’s biggest idiot.” Sighing, he followed, only to find Zane and Shiloh sitting on the front steps.
“We were just talking,” Shiloh said as Granger propped the weed whacker against the porch.
“Should I be worried?”
Zane rolled his eyes. “Daad. Don’t be embarrassing.”
Shiloh pinched her lips between her teeth, and she widened her eyes dramatically as she tried to keep from laughing.
Granger, however, bent over so he was closer to Zane. “Dude…I’m your dad. It’s my job to be embarrassing.”
Zane scowled.
“He’s right,” Shiloh offered. “It’s in the Dad Code.”
“Dad Code?” Zane’s scowl shifted into a frown. “What’s that?”
“Something you’ll learn when you’re a dad,” Granger supplied. When his eyes met Shiloh’s, he knew he was smiling as wide as she was. Crud. He forced the smile away. “You two were talking?”
Shiloh nodded. “Yep. We’ve decided I owe you boys dinner.”
“Oh, no—” Granger began, but Shiloh held up her hand. “Nope. I won’t take no for an answer. You’ve already worked a crazy amount on the grass, and you made Arthur skedaddle like the snake he is. I’m absolutely feeding you dinner.” She smiled up at Granger like she’d won the argument, but she had no idea that he could be just as stubborn as her.
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said in a low tone.
Shiloh raised both eyebrows. “Not a good idea?” She scoffed. “Right. Because it’s a great idea. All of mine are, you know.” She offered a high-five to Zane who enthusiastically returned it. “How does hamburgers sound?”
“Will there be ketchup?” Zane asked.
Shiloh gave him an incredulous look. “Is it really a hamburger if it doesn’t have ketchup on it?”
“Yes!” Zane pulled his fist and elbow into his side. “I love hamburgers.”
“What about cheese?” Shiloh pressed. “Do you like cheese on your burgers?”
As the conversation continued, a sinking feeling was building in Granger’s gut, even as a counteractive sticky warmth built in his chest.
He was going to explode with this many emotions building inside of him. Is that how women felt all the time? It was crazy!
He absolutely couldn’t spend a bunch of time with Shiloh. She was too enticing, too sassy, too beautiful, and as he’d seen earlier today…too vulnerable. The combination of all those things made her the absolutely worst person for him to spend time with.
He’d held onto his attraction, and his heart for several years now and he had no desire to let it go now. Women were dangerous, and Granger had the past to prove it.
But as Zane jumped to his feet and continued to plan the barbecue with Shiloh, Granger knew he’d already lost the argument about dinner.
Now he just had to hope that he could win the argument about his heart.