Page 2 of Falling For You

The driver finally turned off the growling engine, and I scowled and wandered over to the fencing as the driver’s door pushed open. Two black work boots hung underneath the door before they thumped to the ground in a cloud of dust.

The open driver’s door still blocked my view, but I was curious. Our neighbor who owned this stretch was about seventy and never did much with the land, but maybe this was one of his children.

Judging by the size of the boots, the man was a big guy.

I snickered, wondering if anything else about him might stack up.

And that was when I realized I’d been spending far too much time alone.

The animals behind me calmed as the noisy truck finally sat silent, and the stranger stepped away from his vehicle.

He turned to close the door with a bang and lodged both hands on his waist, scouting the land’s vastness.

The gentle hills stretched in front of him. The horizon was painted with a canvas of vibrant green and rust, speckled with sunlight and shadows from towering pines and sprawling maples.

I wondered if he smelled the same sweetness of maple leaves and woodsmoke as I did.

But something made him stop on the property and climb out of his big truck, and I wanted to know what it was.

My brows pulled into a frown as I watched him.

There was something about him that seemed out of place. Even though he looked the part from behind and had a big, burly truck to bounce across the land, something else seemed… off.

His charcoal flannel tugged at his broad shoulders, and his jeans wrapped his hips enough to show his muscular form. From this angle, he looked pretty darn good, and I hoped the rest of him was as pleasant.

He cleared his throat and turned toward the property line.

My heart nearly dipped to my toes. Even though I was a reasonable distance from the stranger, I spotted the radiant green of his eyes as his gaze swept along the fence separating our properties.

His tousled dark blond hair and scruffy beard were the only unkempt things about him. His chiseled features and strong jawline squeezed my chest a little, and I was impressed by how good-looking this guy was. Something about him told me he knew it. I suppose it was just the way he stood his ground, almost like he owned the place.

I didn’t want to be caught staring, so I looked for an exit plan. It was a little too late, as my boots crunched on a tree limb under my foot and his eyes connected with mine.

A jolt of electricity shot through me when his gaze focused on me as his hand flew to his forehead, shielding the evening sun from his eyes.

“Howdy,” I stammered.

Howdy?

Where did that come from? I never said howdy. What had gotten into me?

A faint smile touched his lips as he nodded in my direction. “Good evening.”

I glanced at the truck behind him and then back at the man when I realized what it was about him that struck me as odd.

Everything was new—his truck, boots, and probably his shirt and jeans, judging by their vivid colors. It was like he was playing the part.

“Are you Vern’s son?” I asked, pretending I wasn’t merely buying time to check him out.

He frowned and took a few steps forward. “No, I’m not.”

“Oh.” I popped my lips into a circle and blew air as I glanced toward the sky. “His nephew or something?”

He shook his head. “I’m not related to Mr. Medowski.”

The man studied me for a few seconds while I tried to figure out what in the world to say to excuse myself from this extremely awkward encounter.

It probably wouldn’t have turned out that way for most people, but I had a real knack for bringing out the uncomfortableness and ratcheting it up a notch or two just for fun. My toes kicked some leaves into the air, and I sighed as I returned my gaze to his.

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