Page 3 of Burden to Bear

I moved in that direction, and the next thing I knew, I was finally face-to-face with the woman I’d been stealing glances at all day long.

The cold air rushed into the heated garage, and I took in the sight of this woman. While she was bundled up in her jacket, and I couldn’t get a glimpse of all the areas of her body I would have wanted to, there was no question I was captivated by her face.

She was gorgeous.

She had long, straight brown hair that had golden highlights in it. Her eyes were brown with hues of amber that made them appear lighter. She had a petite button nose and a set of full lips that I was struggling to tear my eyes away from.

We’d been standing there in silence for a brief moment, but when she spoke, I focused my attention on her beautiful eyes again.

“Hi. I’m so sorry to interrupt you, but I just moved in next door, and I wanted to stop by to introduce myself,” she started. “I also just met Russ and Janel, who live on the other side of me, and they were unbelievably sweet. Of course, they told me I should come here to see you as well, and they were the ones who said that if you didn’t answer your door that you’d likely be in the garage here and that I should definitely knock. I hope that’s okay.”

She spoke a mile a minute, rushing to get all the words out in a hurry, even though there wasn’t a sense of panic in her tone or expression.

“It’s more than okay,” I assured her. “I had intended to come over earlier to introduce myself and welcome you to the neighborhood, but I had a project I needed to get finished first. I just completed that about five minutes ago, so I’m sorry I didn’t make it over to you.”

Shaking her head, a smile on her face, she insisted, “That’s totally okay. I’m just glad you’re a nice guy who isn’t mad I disturbed you.”

Extending my hand to her, I said, “I’m Brock, by the way. Brock Benson.”

“Gosh, what’s wrong with me? I came over to introduce myself and never told you my name,” she returned as she reached for my hand. “It’s so lovely to meet you, Brock. I’m Mia Shepherd.”

Mia.

I finally had a name to put to the face of the woman I’d been watching nearly all day long.

A gust of wind blew past, and I watched as the cold made Mia shiver.

“Would you like to come in for a minute and get out of the cold? It’s heated in here,” I explained.

Mia shook her head. “Oh, um, no, that’s okay. I don’t want to interrupt whatever you’re doing or take up too much of your time.”

“You wouldn’t be. Like I said, I just finished a project.”

Instead of responding, Mia allowed her eyes to shift away from my face and deeper into the garage, where she likely took in the sight of the equipment I had. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and I could only assume she was attempting to figure out precisely what I was doing in here.

When she made no move to say anything, I stepped back out of the doorway, turned slightly, and pointed in the opposite direction. “I use this equipment to do odd machining jobs for people.”

Mia lifted her chin a touch as though she wanted to give me a nod of understanding, but the look in her pretty eyes told me she still had no clue what I’d just said. So, I clarified, “Sometimes, someone will have a piece of equipment they need repaired. Let’s say, a tractor. Maybe something will break on the tractor, and they’ll need a replacement part. If that part is either backordered, unavailable, or doesn’t even exist, I can make them what they need out of metal, so they can get themselves back up and running sooner.”

“That makes sense. And all of this equipment helps you do that?” she asked.

“Yep.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind if I ever break something that serious at my place.”

“Speaking of which, how do you like the house so far?” I asked.

The most beautiful smile I’d ever seen spread across Mia’s face. She didn’t need to respond, because I already knew what her answer was going to be. “I love it. I’ve been renting for years and saving up. This is my first real house, so it’s extra special.”

It was hard to look at Mia being so happy and not feel the same. I returned the smile and said, “Well, congratulations. That’s awesome. You picked a great first house, and the neighborhood isn’t bad, either.”

Nodding her agreement, Mia said, “I’m quickly realizing that. Russ and Janel were so wonderful, and you’re nice, so I was already thinking I was lucky. I’m relieved to hear I can expect more of the same being here.”

Another gust of wind blew past. “Are you sure you don’t want to come inside?”

She gave me another nod. “Yes. I should actually get going. It’s been such a long day moving in. I didn’t realize how tired I’d be.”

“Did you need help moving anything else, or have you gotten it all squared away? I’m happy to help.”

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