Page 7 of Something New

She was more nervous than I was, which I was thankful for. The boy squirmed again, and she got tired of holding him and let him down.

"Stay right here next to Nana. We're walking back to the house in a minute. Do you need anything? I'm sorry you were at the hospital. Is that what you said? Are you okay? Do you need somewhere more comfortable to sleep? We have a hammock up closer to the house. We just hung it a few days ago. We also have cabins."

A hammock sounded amazing.

"No, thank you," I said. "I know my brothers would be upset if they got back and couldn't find me. And I'm comfortable here, as long as you don’t mind. I'm really comfortable." I leaned back on my hands right where I was sitting to demonstrate how comfortable.

"I don't mind, sweetheart, but I hate to see you sleeping out here. We've got those cabins. They're not remodeled yet, but the beds aren't bad. You could go to one of those. Do you know where the cabins are? Ethan, don't climb on that big rock. You're welcome to sleep in one of those. The doors are unlocked."

"Oh, I do appreciate it, but I'm comfortable here. This is great." As I spoke, I was already stretching out, finding a comfortable position.

"Okay, sweetheart. I'll take Ethan and we'll be out of your way…"

She continued talking, but I was so dead tired that I didn't hear a thing. The boy was safe, the lady was nice, and she was informed that I was staying there.

The next thing I saw was the blackness of sleep.

Chapter 3

Three hours later

I got some good rest, but it felt like I was only asleep for a matter of seconds.

It was a while later when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Excuse me," I heard a man's deep voice, and it startled me.

It was a lot to take in all at once.

I had been dead asleep, and I had forgotten where I was.

The sun was terribly bright.

I was out in the sunny woods when I should have been in my own warm bed. The woods were of no consequence to me, though, because I had other things to deal with.

Standing no more than three feet away, was a man, a stranger, a male stranger. The sun had shifted and was shining directly on me now. His face was hidden in the shadow, but I knew it was a man, and I knew it wasn't either of my brothers. I still had on my sunglasses, and I could see that he had some on as well. I sat up and shielded my eyes with my forearm.

He was actually gorgeous. I couldn't see his eyes, but the rest of his face was perfect, unbelievable. For a second, I thought I might be dreaming. He was what male perfection looked like. I thought he might be an angel.

"Hello?" I said, sitting up and blinking. My mouth was dry. He was standing, and I scrambled onto a nearby rock so that I wasn't so flat on the ground.

"Are you okay?" he asked, peering at me.

I cleared my throat, glancing in the direction of the tunnel. My mouth was dry. I didn't see my brothers or anyone else. I cleared my throat again. "I'm fine. My brothers own the construction company that's making the tunnel out here."

"Do you mind if I sit down?" He gestured to the rock next to me, and I felt like I was dreaming. His dark hair was long on top and he looked like an ad for shampoo. It was supposed to stay tucked behind his ear, and he adjusted it as he moved toward the rock. His mouth and his jawline were that of a male model. I had been sleeping hard, and it was surreal to wake up to such a sight. The whole thing felt slightly supernatural to me. I thought there was still a chance I was dreaming. I hesitated for so long that he casually sat even though I didn't give an answer.

"I'm JJ Kennedy," he said. "My parents own this place."

He waited for me to respond.

"My brothers are working on your… I told you that… the tunnel. Kirkpatrick Construction."

"Yeah, I, uh, I was out here, checking out my parents' house since they're about to move in, and I… I was talking to your brothers for a few minutes. I asked if I could come over here and talk to you. I hope you don't mind that I woke you up. I think you might want to move out of the sun."

"No, no, it's fine," I said, touching my face.

I had no idea why he had come over to me, but I was too attracted to him to care to ask. I worked in clubs and at festivals all over, and I was accustomed to a fair amount of male attention while I was working. This setting was completely different, though. It was bright outside, and I had been sleeping for long enough that it was taking me a second to remember where I was.

---