Page 38 of Mustang Summer

The house was cozy, its cool environment a welcome change from the muggy air outside.

It was dim, too.The top level had an open floor plan with a sizable kitchen.Lord, her mother would’ve loved the counter space.But the blinds were drawn and when she stepped around the bannister, she saw that the living room curtains were closed as well.

She set her backpack down.“Can I help with anything?”

Brock scratched the back of his neck and looked around.“I was thinking about grilling some burgers.It’s too hot to use the oven.”

“You have air conditioning, don’t you?”

“I do, but it saves several dollars a month if I close the curtains before the sun gets strong and try not to use the oven or leave the TV on too long.”

“The TV?”She eyed the enviable big screen anchored above the mantel.

“Have you ever felt the heat it puts off after it’s been on a couple of hours?”

No, she hadn’t, but he must’ve put a lot of thought into it.Like he seemed to with everything he did.

She settled on one of the barstools that lined his island.Her stomach grumbled as he withdrew a pack of what looked like homemade patties from the freezer.“Burgers sound great.I’m starving.”

“There’s fruit in the fridge and I can run out and pick some peas or beans after I start the grill.”

She envied being able to have a garden.Her house had such a tiny yard and she had to grow everything in pots, which limited her options.“I’ll do it.Just point the way.”

An empty bowl slid in front of her.“It’s right outside the sliding door.”

He opened the door and stepped onto the patio.The wave of heat proved that his methods to keep his house cool worked.

“Can I go barefoot?”

Fiddling with the grill, he stopped to look at her feet.She expected a smirk, or a snide remark about how a garden was full of dirt.

“If you pick the peas.The fencing for the vines borders the garden so you won’t have to go into the soil and get dirty.”

With a grin, she charged down the patio stairs and across the yard.She’d always loved running around barefoot, but that was another thing that had gone away as she’d gotten older.

She filled the bowl and recalled a recipe for peas that her mother used to make.If Brock had the ingredients, all she needed was a little stove time.

Turning to walk back to the house, she paused.No sounds of traffic.Birds chirping here and there.A handsome man tending the grill.And a lush expanse of lawn she could parade around like a garden fairy.

It was picturesque…and a fantasy she hadn’t known she harbored.

Here she wasn’t worried about what was going to happen to her dad.She didn’t blame Brock for her brother’s mistakes.

Relaxation sank into her bones and the tension drained out of her the longer she stood in the middle of Brock Walker’s little paradise.

Josie took her time wandering back inside.Without asking, she raided Brock’s kitchen to find what she needed, and it wasn’t hard.He didn’t clutter his cabinets with ingredients he didn’t need.His home was as orderly as his garage.She didn’t like a mess, but she wasn’t going to spend her life cleaning up after Jesse and Bill.Sometimes she didn’t even clean up after herself.When she was in a design frenzy, her cleaning tendencies dropped to below acceptable levels.

Giving the peas a little flip, she added some seasonings and hoped Brock liked her addition to supper.

She was in Brock’s house.Cooking.

So intimate.But the way he manned the grill and wasn’t in here hitting on her, she wondered how he interpreted what was going on.

She liked him.

After a day spent by his side, she wanted him.

Who knew?Quiet men were a huge turn on.How would she have known?The men in her life have been loud and arrogant, real alpha males.

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