Page 110 of Beauty and the Bayou

The guys had to wade into the bayou to the pilings and then lift the sections of the dock into place, nailing and screwing to secure them.

Sawyer was making her like watera lotmore.But she wasnotskinny-dipping.

“Oh my God, what the hell is he doing?”Kennedy asked, breaking into Juliet’s thoughts.

The girls all leaned closer to the window.

“Um, he’s taking his shirt off,” Maddie told her with a smirk.

Juliet pulled her eyes away from Sawyer and realized that Bennett had just stripped his shirt off like the other guys had.

“Why?”Kennedy asked crossly.Though her gaze was definitely glued on Bennett.

“So his shirt doesn’t get wet?”Tori said, teasingly, looking at Kennedy.

Juliet glanced over, too.

“Oh,” Maddie said, staring out the window.

Tori and Juliet spun to look.Bennett had just shucked out of his jeans as well, leaving him in only navy-blue boxers.

Kennedy’s nose nearly hit the glass.

“They’re going to let him get in the water?”Kennedy asked.“What the hell?That guy doesn’t know how to put a dock together.”

“You mean, the ivy school educated attorney with a master’s degree in conservation and biodiversity can’t figure out that you put the flat wooden parts on top of the poles and then screw them into place?”Tori asked, this time not looking away from the scene outside.

“The guy lifts briefcases for a living, not tools and docks and… stuff,” Kennedy’s voice trailed off as Bennett hoisted one of the dock sections up overhead and waded into the water.“Oh…um…wow.”

“Same,” Tori said in agreement.

“Damn,” was Maddie’s assessment.

Juliet had been watching the guys, too, and felt the same way.Wow.Same.Damn.That all covered it.

The girls watched without speaking as the guys put the pieces of the dock together.At one point, they pulled stools up and settled in as if it was a sporting event.Kennedy literally grabbed popcorn from behind the counter after a little while and passed out cups to each girl.Maddie handed diet sodas around.They made small comments here and there, but for the most part they all seemed quite content just watching the whole scene.

When the guys were done, they all emerged from the water like a small team of water warriors.Their shorts were soaked and clinging to their bodies, their torsos were glistening in the sun, their hair was slicked back, and they strode up the bank with huge, satisfied grins, clearly proud of themselves and feeling the testosterone flowing.

It was like candy to the girls.They all got off their stools, got rid of their snacks, and watched their men stride across the side yard.

At least Juliet assumed they were all coming toward the building.She really hadn’t looked away from Sawyer in about forty solid minutes.

“Bennett looks damned good, too,” Maddie said.

“With mud all over his ass and blood dripping down his arm?”Kennedy asked crossly, moving away from the window, scraping one of the stools across the floor behind her.“Sure.Super hot.”Then her voice dropped to a mutter, “Dumbass city boy.They never should have let him out there with them.”She moved behind the counter and pulled out the first aid kit, setting it on top with a thud.

“Mud and blood?”Maddie asked, looking out the window again.

“Well, your eyes were clearly on Owen,” Kennedy said.“Baxter fell three times, including slipping coming up the bank.Right in the mud.At some point he must have tried to put a nail through his hand or something because there’s blood everywhere.”

Maddie frowned and leaned closer to the window.Juliet did, too.She definitely hadn’t seen Bennett fall and couldn’t see any blood from here.

“He’s laughing right now.Seems fine,” Tori commented.

“That’s because he thinks this is all a big game,” Kennedy said, pulling gauze and ointment and cotton pads from the first aid box.“He thinks coming down here and jacking around in the dirt and water is so fun.Just because he was a stuck-up snob growing up and did stupid shit like playing tennis and golf and now thinks he’s going to be all manly and tough by messing around on the bayou with real men.He doesn’t realize that he could get hurt out there.Or hurt someone else.The man needs to stick to file folders and briefcases.Stuff where he can’t make an ass of himself.”

Juliet felt her eyes go round.Kennedy cared about people, of course, but she also figured most of the people she hung around knew what they were doing.She was definitely not the type to fuss about others.She was the type to figure that falling down was a great way to learn about walking carefully on the slippery banks of the bayou.But right then she sounded a lot like her big brother.Juliet looked over at Maddie and Tori.They were both fighting smiles as well.

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