Page 19 of The Contractor & the Entrepreneur

She laughed. It was a glorious sound after the stress of the last half hour. “I do have running shoes, but unfortunately they’re in the other suitcase.”

“I think it’s fortunate. You look incredible and you’ll have to lean on me to get through the mud.” He winked, hoping he wasn’t being too forward and scaring her away.

Her returning smile was radiant. “I think you’re one of the only men I know that I would agree to lean on, and like it.”

Rhett swallowed. That felt more substantial than just helping her through the rain. She’d said she trusted him. Was she going to let down her guard around him?

Maybe his original thoughts of Mama praying her here weren’t so far off.

He put the damper on the fireplace so it would die, left a faucet dripping in the kitchen so the pipes wouldn’t freeze, and went out back to shut off the generator.

“How did you know to do all of that?” she asked as he walked back through the cabin now lit by the murky day outside.

“I’ve been to a few snowmobiling cabins that are off the grid.” He shrugged. “No big deal.”

“I can’t believe I thought I could come here on my own.” She looked around. “I don’t even know how to properly light a fire, let alone put one out.”

“Central heating at my house; no need to worry about making a fire.” Rhett winked and hefted her suitcase. He locked the front door before pulling the handle closed, not that it would do much good. He suspected the cousins would be back as soon as they were armed and drank some liquid courage. They hadn’t planned on him being by Sloan’s side. Had they known she was coming or had they simply been living here since their grandfather died?

Helping her to the truck, he thoroughly enjoyed his arm slung around her trim waist, her clinging to him, the scent of heady gardenia.

“Don’t get any ideas that I spend my life relying on men,” she said, blinking up at him as they slowly made their way.

He chuckled. “You take independent woman to a new level, Sloan. I’ll keep my ideas to myself.”

“Yeah, right.” She laughed with him. “You told me my clothes were all wrong and cussed me up one side and down the other when you thought I was here to represent Sloan Jensen.”

They reached the truck. “Hold that thought and hold onto the truck handle.”

She transferred to the truck handle and thankfully obeyed. “I’m only listening so I don’t take another dip in the mud pond.”

“Smart girl.”

It was a relief they could banter again and that she’d agreed to stay with him. He wasn’t sure what that would look like, or if they were moving too fast, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her being exposed to her cousins and he wanted her by his side.

He opened the rear door and hefted the suitcase back in. Closing it, he ushered her away from the truck door, opened it, and wrapped his hands around her waist.

She looked up at him and moistened her lips.

“Did I really cuss you?” he asked, his hands tightening on her waist.

“Oh yeah, I was near tears.”

“Sloan.” His gut turned over. He’d been upset about the situation, but he didn’t want to cause her distress. That was ironic because he would’ve happily caused the Sloan Jensen he didn’t know earlier today loads of stress.

“I’m teasing.” She lightly tapped his face and grinned. “No man can make me cry.”

“Oh.” His brows rose. She was such a feisty and independent woman. He wanted a woman who could stand by his side, but he wasn’t certain about one who had to prove herself constantly. What demons was she battling from being in the construction industry her entire life or maybe living in her father’s shadow? He didn’t know her well enough to even guess at the reasons sheprickled often, but at least she had let him defend her against Jaxon and Preston Lewis and trusted him enough to stay at his house.

He didn’t know what to say, and could guess she wasn’t ready to answer the questions spinning in his head. So he simply lifted her into the truck.

“Thank you,” she said.

He tipped his hat to her, shut the door, and strode around.

The implications of what he was doing hit him. His employees, the sub-contractors, and the other general managers all thought of Sloan Jensen as the enemy.

Now Rhett was carting her around, fighting her battles, and putting her up in his guest bedroom. He was planning how to protect her in the future and help her with the development.

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