Page 5 of A Little More

“So, you’ve said.” Rolling her eyes, she climbed into his truck. A small dimple formed in her cheek. “If I need a tractor fixed, you’ll be the first person I call.”

He winked. “Crazier things have happened.” He wasn’t used to a woman pushing back when he tried to help. His friends. His mom. Even his ex-wife. They always poured out their problems at his feet, letting him help them when he could, whether he’d offered to or not.

A couple of minutes later, he pulled his truck onto the shoulder of the road in front of a couple acres of unused land. His own house sat half a mile beyond the tree line, over a small, mostly dried creek bed, just out of view. Another reason he wanted to build on this spot. A quick ride to work when the creek wasn’t high.

“This is great, Nash.” Lexi walked along the road, her camera clicking in rapid succession as she took pictures. “I love the backdrop of those tall pine trees. I think a hybrid of those first two designs I showed you would work perfectly in this space. The length would give us enough to have a decent amount of parking.” She took a few more pictures, mumbling to herself. Not much of what she said made sense, but she was fun to watch.

A car passed on the highway a few feet behind her, but she seemed oblivious. He moved closer. Lexi didn’t have a clue where she stood with the way she continued to talk about the store. He didn’t give a damn about the design at this point.

“Lexi—”

“Over there.” She pointed, but Nash didn’t look. Couldn’t take his eyes off her. He’d moved within an arm’s reach now. “I think that should be the playground. Flip it around from how I had it in the design. More to the right. We can extend the front porch out, include a side entrance.”

With one look over his shoulder at the tractor-trailer hauling tail towards them, Nash snatched her into his arms and stumbled into the ditch. The big rig flew by, kicking up dust and leaving hot, choking exhaust behind.

Her stiff body didn’t move. Didn’t even feel as though she’d taken a breath. He leaned back, keeping an arm around her waist while making sure her feet were steady on the incline of the ditch. Her confused look melted into embarrassment. She relaxed.

The feel of her curves pressed completely against his body spiked his attraction from minor to major. It made it easy to forget his rules about women. Unaware of the movement until it’d happened, he slid his hand from her waist and up her back.

“See, I can be helpful.” He pulled her a little tighter. Who wouldn’t want to hold onto a gorgeous woman? He grinned at her confusion. “You were awfully close to wrestling with an eighteen-wheeler.”

She blinked, gave her head a little shake, and pulled away, untwisting her shirt immediately. “Sometimes, I get distracted when I start to visualize the building.”

“You’re too cute to end up as a hood ornament.”

She pushed away a wild curl before climbing out of the ditch. “Thanks, I think.” Lexi held up her camera, almost using it as a shield. “I got enough shots.”

“Great. Let’s head over to the gin.” He held open her door. She averted her eyes as she climbed into the cab.

As she put her camera back into the bag, he leaned into the truck a little, forcing her to look in his direction. Definitely embarrassed. He caught sight of her hands trembling before she slipped them under her legs. And scared. Pulling her back into his arms until she calmed down would never work. Completely unacceptable.

He didn’t think all woman were like Catherine, issuing him an ultimatum that either he stays with her in Jacksonville or they'd get a divorce, but he didn’t have any intention on falling for a woman that might put him in that situation. That wouldn’t happen again. And Lexi, with her successful career and life in Atlanta, fit that exact profile.

The most he could consider would be something short-term.

She needed a change of pace. A little bit of fun the old-fashioned way to help her forget the close call with the tractor-trailer. Because he loved to see her smile.

Something about her brought out a side of him he’d buried while dealing with his dad’s death and the divorce. Taking care of another woman was out of the question.

“Buckle up tight, Lexi, cause I’m going to take you cross country.”

2

Her insides would never be the same again. Lexi held on to the handle of the door as Nash took the truck across the backside of a cotton field. Or maybe it was peanuts. Dirt fields ready for planting. Or they were already planted. She might be able to see better if her eyes could focus from all the bumps and ruts the truck seemed to hit.

“Hold on.” Nash sent her a wild grin that twisted her insides up even more before sending the truck through the tree line and down a hill. Did he not realize the old bucket of rust was about to rattle apart? She could almost hear the metal screaming in refusal to stay together.

He wrenched the steering wheel sharp to the right before going all the way back left. The muscles of his forearms tightened.

The back end of the truck spun around.

She held on for dear life.

Mud flew, splattering the side of her window until she faced a wall of brown. “We’re going to get stuck, Nash.” Damn, her voice sounded scared. “Are there no real roads to get to the cotton gin?”

And, of course, he smiled bigger if that was possible, taking them in another circle. Why did he have to be so cute and aggravating? “Sure, there are, but this is more fun.”

“I don’t think the owner of the property will like you throwing all this mud around.”

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