Page 36 of Walking Red Flag

That, and if she thought she had it bad, all she had to do was see how Copper had it, and she’d know that her problems were insignificant in comparison.

When she got into my truck, I waited until her seatbelt was on before closing the door.

As I rounded the hood, I saw her eyeing all the shit around her, and grinned.

“Sorry,” I said as I got into my own seat. “It’s a work truck.”

“I can see that,” she said as she pulled a tape measure out of the crack between her seat and the console.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for that,” I said as I took it from her hand, my fingers brushing her palm. “Thanks.”

She flushed, and I wanted to run my finger down the length of her cheek.

Instead, I rolled the window down slightly and pulled out of my spot.

As I drove, I watched her face out of my peripheral vision, noticing her taking in every single turn we made.

“I live close to the lake,” I said. “Actually, I live on the lake if you want to be technical.”

Her brows furrowed. “What?”

I pulled down a street that not many people knew about, and her hands fisted in her lap.

Knowing she was probably freaking out right now, I said, “I live on a houseboat.”

Her mouth fell open. “What?”

I grinned at her incredulity. “I live on a houseboat. I was going to buy a place, but when my father passed away, he left me this thing in his will. As well as this parcel of land,” I pulled to a stop in a clearing. My motorcycle was under a covered porch area that housed a duck boat, my bike, and a spot for my truck. I pulled the truck in next to the bike before saying, “And I own about eight acres.”

“Wow,” she said as she looked out at the lake. “This has to be some prime real estate.”

“It is,” I said. “When my dad died, our grandfather separated the land and left all four of us twenty-four acres. We split it into three. My sister wanted nothing to do with the lake. This place holds some unhappy memories for her.”

She looked at me curiously, and I could tell that she wanted to ask, but I didn’t explain.

That would be something that I’d keep quiet.

I didn’t like telling my sister’s secrets.

If Keely felt that Milena should know them, then I’d share, but until then, I wasn’t going to make my sister vulnerable.

“You have three siblings? One sister and two brothers?” she asked instead.

“Yep,” I said as I got out of the truck.

She was unbuckling her belt and turning for the door handle when I had her door open.

“Thank you.” She blushed.

I wondered if any man had ever gotten the door for her.

Chivalry was a lost art among most men nowadays, but my grandfather taught all Clayborne siblings his ways, and he’d pitch a massive fit if he caught us not getting the door for a woman.

The way she was staring at me, a soft blush on her cheeks, let me know that she liked my grandfather’s teachings.

“This place is pretty cool,” she said as she stared at the house. “What’s that look like inside?”

I grinned. “Like a 1950s trailer on pontoons.”

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