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“We won’t.”
“You know this is going on the front page of the Gazette if we do,” he said.
“I expect you to use your connection at the paper to keep that from happening.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “What the hell? Not as if I’m going to get any work done tonight anyway.”
“And it’ll be a lot more fun than sitting out here waiting for Mr. Kitty to make an appearance.”
“Mr. Kitty?”
“Makes him seem less scary.” She jumped to her feet. “Be right back.”
Mandy hurried inside and pulled on her sneakers, trying not to think about how excited she was to go out pranking with Ben. Or how the idea of it seemed to dispel her earlier fatigue and frustration. She didn’t dawdle, not wanting him to have second thoughts. Maybe she should let him go home. Maybe she could ignore how much she liked being around him. But she simply didn’t want to.
He looked up at her approach. “We’re really doing this?”
“Come on. Live a little.”
She expected him to call a halt to her crazy plan, but when he didn’t, she nearly sprinted to his truck. Granted, that probably wasn’t the wisest move when a mountain lion could be lurking about. She’d probably just made herself look even more like dinner. But she made it safely and breathed in a quick, deep inhalation while Ben took one more look at the surrounding area before opening his door.
His truck smelled like him—a mixture of horses, leather and another striking scent that reminded her of pine trees and long, tall Texans making Wranglers the sexiest piece of clothing on the planet.
Ben secured the rifle in the rack in the back window then slid into the driver’s seat. “I must be crazy doing this.”
“Sometimes you need a little crazy in your life to make things interesting.”
As Ben turned the truck around and headed down her driveway, she watched his hands on the steering wheel. They looked strong, probably also a little rough from his work on the family ranch. She really needed to find a safe topic of conversation before he caught her staring or, heaven forbid, drooling. Maybe she ought to toilet-paper Devon’s house instead for putting these kinds of hot-and-bothered thoughts in her head in the first place.
“So, did Greg happen to say what all he was going to have to fix on my car?”
“No, just that it would take a few days.”
“Well, that’s frustratingly vague.”
“Just part of the frustrating theme of the day.”
“It wasn’t all bad.”
Ben glanced across the cab at her. “Which part exactly didn’t make you want to crawl under the covers and start over tomorrow?”
Now, why had he gone and mentioned crawling under the covers? Images that had no place taking up residence in her head strolled right in and made themselves at home.
“Let’s see. I may have been on my feet all day, but at least I have a job.” She held up two fingers. “I did have some nice wine before my feline scare.” She pointed out the windshield at the road in front of them. “And this will be fun. I haven’t done anything like this since high school. Oh, but don’t tell my mother that. I don’t want her image of me as the perfect child to be shattered.”
He chuckled. “I doubt my mom thinks of me as the perfect child.”
“I was under the impression you and your mom have a good relationship.”
“We do. There’s no doubt she loves me. She’s just not blind.”
“My mom isn’t blind,” she said with mock offense.
He looked over at her, eyebrow raised. “Uh-huh.”
Mandy playfully swatted his upper arm with the backs of her fingers, which just made him laugh even more.
When they rolled into town, she directed him to the alley behind the strip of stores along Main Street. He parked outside the back door of A Good Yarn. She fumbled with her ring of keys when he stepped up behind her. She’d swear she could feel his warm breath on her neck and wondered what would happen if she turned to face him.
Oh, get a grip on your hormones, woman.
She managed to finally slip the right key into the lock. A rush of cool air wafted over her when she opened the door. She flicked on the light to the storage room just inside the door and Ben entered behind her.
“You’d think we live in North Dakota judging by how much yarn you’ve got here.”
She noticed him eyeing the shelves of brightly colored yarns stretching up one wall. “Knitting is enjoying a resurgence in popularity.”
“It must be, to support a store in a town this size.”
“We have other things, too.” She pointed toward the shelves filled with bolts of cloth, sewing notions, candles, soaps and a variety of other craft items. “And tourism is growing by leaps and bounds, which really helps.”
He nodded. “I’ve gotten a bit more work because of the rodeos.”
“Saddles, right? I saw the article Arden did about them.”
“Yeah.”
Realization hit her. “That’s what you were going to work on tonight, isn’t it? I’m sorry. I get myself caught up in stuff sometimes.”
“It’s okay. The way today has gone, I would’ve probably just nailed my thumb to the saddle anyway. Or cut it off.”
“So I’m actually performing a service, then, saving you from yourself.”
He huffed out a laugh. “Where were you when that pigeon attacked me?”
“I can’t be everywhere at once.” She kicked one of the boxes that contained the streamers. “Let’s usher this day out on a fun note.”
* * *
MANDY WAS RIGHT. Turning Greg’s truck into what looked like a pickup-shaped piece of cotton candy was just what he needed to lift his mood. The only problem was he was having a hard time not cracking up. From the light in Mandy’s eyes and the way she kept having to cover her mouth, it appeared she was having the same problem. When she snorted after tying a big pink bow on the truck’s trailer hitch, he nearly lost it.
“You know, this can also be a long-time-coming payback for when Greg got me in trouble in high school. He hung those pictures of swimsuit models all over the school and put Mr. Kushner’s face on them, then swore up and down that I did it.”
“I remember that. It was hilarious. Well, not that you got in trouble if he did it.”
“Oh, he did it, all right.”
“Why didn’t you tell everyone it was him?”
“Let’s just say it was better to take the heat for that than deny it.”
“That sounds as if he had something on you.”
Ben shrugged. “Maybe.”
“You know I’m going to bug you until you tell me, so you might as well go ahead.”
“It was a long time ago. Not relevant anymore.”
Mandy shook her finger at him “Oh, no you don’t. You can’t start that story and not finish it.”
Why had he opened his mouth?
Mandy shoved his shoulder in a playful gesture matched by the mischievous grin she wore. The sudden urge to kiss that grin right off her mouth challenged his willpower not to act on that thought.
“Come on. Fess up.”
He used the last of his roll of streamer to completely cover the driver’s side mirror. “I had a thing for Shantele Drayton, but I knew I didn’t have a chance so didn’t want her to know. The only reason Greg knew is I let it slip one night when a bunch of us were out camping. Luckily no one else heard me.”
When Mandy didn’t respond, he glanced toward her and found her staring at where she’d managed to cover the rear tire in pink. He got the impression, though, that she was staring instead at a memory.
“Mandy?”
“I think that about does it.” She took a step back and admired their handiwork.
The mood had changed, and he had no idea why.
“You okay?”
“Yep.”
“Uh-huh.” He didn’t think he’d ever heard anything less convincing. It must have shown on his face, too.
“Fine. I just think Shantele was a self-centered twit. Every time she found out somebody wanted something or liked someone else, she either took it for herself or spilled the beans.”
“You sound as if you’re speaking from experience.”
“It’s possible.”
“And that experience would be...?”
Mandy propped her hands on her hips. “If you must know, Devon and I were shopping for homecoming our freshman year and there was a dress I really wanted. But I had to save up to buy it. The lady who owned the store agreed to set it aside for me for a week until I got my babysitting money. When I went back to get it, not only had Shantele bought it, she was wearing it out of the store as she walked by me. She’d been in the store that first day and overheard Devon and me talking about the dress.”
“But the lady said she’d save it for you.”
“The dress was on sale, but Shantele offered her full price. Money talks. Devon was so mad because she could have bought it for me, but I wouldn’t let her.”
“Did Shantele have something against you?”
“I won the spelling bee in third grade and she came in second.”
“You think she held a grudge that long? Over a spelling bee?”
“She’s probably still walking around now with that grudge. Shantele is used to getting what she wants. But I smile every time I hear the word tantrum. Kind of appropriate that she couldn’t spell it. So I personally think you were better off without her.”
“Sounds as if you’re probably right. I never said teenage boys were smart.”
Mandy laughed at that, then pulled out her phone and aimed it at the truck. “This would be better in the daylight, but I’ve got to at least try to take this for posterity’s sake.”
When she snapped the photo, it felt as if the flash lit up half of Blue Falls. And moments later, Greg’s front porch light came on.
“Oh, crap!” Mandy said as she fumbled her phone, nearly dropping it.
A shot of adrenaline mixed with laughter went through Ben as he grabbed Mandy’s hand and pulled her away from the truck. “Come on.”
Mandy squealed then laughed as she kept pace with him. The sudden appearance of headlights caused her to yelp. He switched their direction and pulled her into a darkened area on the opposite side of Greg’s garage, which sat a short distance from his house, surrounded by cars in need of repair—including Mandy’s.
They were both breathing heavily, but the sound of Greg’s surprised “What the...?” was still clear and caused Mandy to descend into a fit of giggles.
“Shh or you’re going to get us caught.”
When she dropped her forehead against his chest, his breathing screeched to a halt. He resisted the urge to place his hand against her back to bring her closer. Instead, he smiled as he felt the laughter shaking her body.
“I’ll find out who you are!” Greg called out, which only made Mandy shake harder with suppressed laughter.
“Cut it out,” Ben whispered close to her ear, trying to ignore the flowery smell of her. “You’re going to make me lose it, too.”
“Sorry,” she whispered as she looked up.
Her laughter froze when their eyes met. The brightness staring back at him stole what was left of his breath. And from the way she was gazing up at him, he knew he wasn’t alone.
Chapter Four (#u1cfc2515-c8ef-5520-af0f-c630b2529d11)
Come on, lungs, breathe!
Honestly, how could someone forget how to breathe? But as Mandy looked up at Ben’s face, it was as if someone had flipped the switch on her respiratory system to Off.
Damn, he was even more handsome up close. Thank goodness they were in near darkness. If he looked this good hiding in the shadows, this type of proximity in full light might just be her end. His mouth parted, and she felt her traitorous body start to move toward him.
But the sudden sound of footsteps on gravel caused them both to jump. Ben’s arms came around her and pulled her even deeper into the shadows. Greg might very well be about to find them, but all she could think about was the warmth and weight of Ben’s palms against her back, the faint smell of laundry detergent clinging to his shirt even after a long, hot day. The way her breasts were pressed against his chest and how much she liked how that felt and wasn’t in any hurry to end the contact.
It seemed to take forever for Greg to give up with a muttered curse and head back toward his house. That he hadn’t looked in just the right spot to see them was no small miracle. Ben didn’t move until the sound of Greg’s footsteps totally faded. When he did, part of her wanted to whimper.
But he only eased his hold on her, not totally releasing her.
“That was close,” he said.
“It was.” Every part of her wanted him to kiss her. Before that afternoon, she couldn’t even say when she’d last had a passing thought about Ben Hartley. Now she was having thoughts that would make the knitting club that met at A Good Yarn blush. Or maybe they’d remember their own youth and cheer her on. Was she daring enough to steal that kiss herself? She was just beginning to lift onto her toes when Ben set her farther away and stepped out of the nook where they’d hidden.
