Page 5 of I Need It

“I’ve never met an author, at least not one that made a living from it. I work in air conditioning and refrigeration, but I can fix anything.”

My eyebrows lifted. The last thing I expected was for him to have a job working with his hands. “Hmph.”

“What?” he asked.

“Your hands are soft. I assumed you had an office job.”

“Yeah. I wear gloves, when possible, but I’m extremely good with my hands. I work hard though. I’m gon’ be tired as hell in a minute.”

“What time do you have to go to work?”

“My first appointment is at ten. It happens to be my uncle’s rowdy ass. I only have one more after him, but I promised my cousin I would help him mow the hay fields.”

“Hay fields?”

I knew his ass was country. “Yeah. My family owns all kinds of shit. We sell hay, rice, grass, and roux. You may have heard of them. The Hendersons.”

I frowned slightly. “Like the Henderson rice in the grocery store?”

“Mm hmm. That’s us. My grandfather started the business. We all pitch in to help with the operations. I have my own company to run though.”

“Oh, so you work for yourself?”

“Something like that. My pop made me part owner. So, both of us are entrepreneurs. We already have something in common.”

I smiled slightly. “Yeah, I suppose so. Do you live in Beaumont?”

“Naw. A small town called Nome.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen it on my way to Houston. Small is right. I thought it was an extension of Beaumont.”

“You go to Houston a lot?”

“I live in Houston. I happened to be at a trail ride this past weekend and started feeling bad afterward.”

“Oh, in Cheek?”

“Shit, I guess. I was calling it Beaumont.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, their address says Beaumont. However, the community is called Cheek.” He paused for a moment. “Umm… can I come see you later?”

“Well… I don’t know. If they discharge me, I’ll be going to Houston. My dad is coming to town to help me.”

“But if they don’t?”

“Then yeah. That’ll be cool. Is your last name Henderson?”

“Yeah. You finna look me up?”

“Hell yeah.”

He laughed. “A’ight. I’m on Facebook and shit. You cool. I mean, you a little younger than what I usually go for, but my brother taught me a valuable lesson.”

“What lesson was that?”

“As long as she’s of age, don’t let the age gap play a significant role when it feels right.”

I frowned slightly. “I guess I need to tell you this right now then. I’m not looking for anything serious. So if that’s what this get to know you phase is about, then we may as well end it now. I don’t want a boyfriend either.”

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