Page 2 of No One But You

I turned away from my nemesis and watched as a beat-up silver Ford pickup pulled up to the side of the road. To say the man who climbed out of the truck and strutted toward me was striking would be an understatement.

He wore a beige Carhartt button-up and a baseball cap on backward. His eyes, which were a unique silver-gray, held mine and caused my heart to do a strange fluttering thing, and they popped in contrast to his sun-tanned skin and, from what I could see sticking out from under his hat, jet-black hair.

My eyes traveled down his tall, muscular body. He wore work boots which had seen better days, and faded, paint-splattered jeans that were well-worn and perfectly tight, hugging his thighs. I stalled at the bulge right under his hips, and my mouth went dry.

Good Lord. Keep moving, eyes.

A loud moo pulled my attention away from the gift strutting toward me and back to my adversary in the field.

“Just go drink that water. You water hoarder,” I spat in its direction. I don’t know why, but that cow really pissed me off.

“I can’t figure out why that cow would be walking away from you. He was keeping you company, and you sure don’t seem grateful.” His voice was deep, smooth as whiskey, and sexy as hell.

I started to pull my gaze from his, and a distinctive scar, which started by his brow and dipped below his eye, caught my attention. It was the shape of a crescent moon, roughly two inches long, and stood out clearly, suggesting it had been a part of his skin for quite a while. The scar’s edges were jagged in places and added a bit of intrigue to his boy-next-door good looks. The couple days’ worth of scruff on his face, which I yearned to rub my hands over, gave a rugged allure to his chiseled jawline, and he carried himself with confidence, which increased his overall irresistibility and caused a tingling throughout my body.

What the hell, Kora?

I was taken so off guard, I needed to clear my throat to make my voice work. “Yeah, well, the cow was keeping me company, but when he wouldn’t share his water source to keep me from dying of dehydration, I threatened to skip the chicken and eat his cousin instead next time I was at a barbecue.”

“Well, I’m sure that’s what irritated him.” The corner of this stranger’s mouth ticked up, and a sexy-as-hell dimple appeared in his left cheek.

Just when I thought this man couldn’t get any hotter, I was mistaken. I smirked to hide the blush I was sure colored my cheeks and nodded. “Yeah, well, water would have been nice, but a tire would be even better.”

“I guess you hit one of those craters back there?”

“Yeah, I did. I wish this county would spend a little bit of money to fix these back roads, since most of their citizens live back here. But they’re so cheap. It’s much more important that city hall has a newly paved parking lot and cute rocking chairs on the front porch.”

“Those rocking chairs are a perfect place for the locals to hang out and play checkers. I think it’s a great addition.”

Really? I glared at him through lowered lashes. “You can’t be serious.”

There was that dimple again.

Did the heat just tick up a notch? I puffed out a breath. “Look, this has been great, but you wouldn’t by any chance have a tire in the back of that beat-up truck, would you?”

“Wow.” He took a step back. A flicker of annoyance crossed his features, and his brow furrowed. “You don’t even know me, and you’re bashing Matilda. No one bashes Matilda.”

Okay, now that was funny. It looked like poor Matilda had been bashed on multiple times. I laughed out loud. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be bashing your truck. I’m sorry.”

“Matilda.”

“Your truck is really named Matilda?”

“Got a problem with Matilda?” he asked as he stepped forward, his hand out. “I’m Kai.”

My brows rose. Nice name. I smiled and shook his hand. “Kora.” His hands were rough like he wasn’t scared of hard work, which matched his clothing choice perfectly. “I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new, visiting family?”

Kai shook his head and pursed his lips. “Nope. No family. Just got into town yesterday, so I guess that qualifies as new.”

“So, what brings you by this way?”

“Well, a woman on the side of the road looking like she’s in need of assistance.” Again, I noticed his voice: deep yet soft, and totally sexy.

This guy was amazingly hot, had a unique sense of humor, and a sexy as hell dimple. He can assist me anytime. Again, I needed to clear my throat—probably a lack of water. “Yeah, well. The woman stuck on the side of the road appreciates your help, but I meant Orlinda Valley. What brings you here? Business, pleasure?” I turned my face up to see him better. He was tall, at least six feet four. And built. God, was he built.

He wiped his hands together like he was preparing for battle. “Let’s deal with this tire. Where’s your jack and spare?”

“Yeah, about that.”

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