Page 12 of 40 and (So Over) Fixing It
“Cool! Think she’d let me go for a ride?”
“No way, son.”
Thad threw a pout over his shoulder. “Ah, Dad, why not?”
“Because your mom would skin me alive if she found out I let you do something that dangerous.” And no way in hell would he willingly watch Thad ride one of those monster bulldozers either.
JD threw over his shoulder, “Party pooper.”
Thad opened his mouth, probably to agree with JD, but the sound of the truck door slamming shut distracted him. He turned back around, then began a jog through the brush toward the woman making her way into the shed not too far from them now.
Carter took the extra time to examine the woman in front of him. Tall, though not as tall as him. The blue-jean coveralls and thick flannel shirt she wore obscured a lot, but her figure was lean, athletic. Once again he found himself doubting JD’s knowledge of the woman’s age. Her face had a timeless quality, making her seem younger despite the fact that the braids from Saturday had been traded in for a ponytail at the back of her head that struggled to hold the abundance of warm brown strands that complemented her tanned complexion nicely. Not that he wanted to notice her complexion or how nice it was. He reminded himself that this was the woman who’d almost run them off the road mere days ago; a nice face and body wasn’t going to make up for that kind of miscalculation in judgment.
Neither JD nor Thad seemed to have similar misgivings. In fact his son ran right up to the woman, presenting his hand with an enthusiasm that sparked a surprising bite of jealousy in Carter’s chest. “Hi, I’m Thad.”
The woman smiled down at Thad and took his hand with enthusiasm. “Hi, Thad. I’m Erin.”
“You’re the construction girl,” Thad said.
Erin winked. “I’m the construction boss.”
JD laughed as he joined the pair. “Indeed you are.”
Erin glanced up at her employer. Eyes the color of forest moss snagged JD’s, then flitted to Carter’s face. Those eyes widened when they met his.
He felt the impact deep in his bones, a jolt of electricity that took his breath away and replaced it with an acute discomfort in his groin that threw gasoline on the smoldering anger he still held. He wasn’t attracted to this woman. He wasn’t. He was here to spend time with his son, not have his hormones go crazy over some reckless woman he shouldn’t be noticing at all.
“Hello,” Erin said, her voice softer than it had been with Thad.
He frowned. “Hello.”
A vee appeared between Erin’s brows. The moment drew out until JD cleared his throat. “Erin, this is my friend Carter.”
She reached a hand out to shake. “I recognize you from JD’s pictures.”
Carter didn’t respond verbally. He didn’t want to respond physically either—Erin’s hand might as well have been a snake—but he forced himself to be polite.
He should have listened to his instincts. The moment her hand, stronger and rougher than even most men he’d known, slid against his, he felt a fascination rise up inside of him. He wanted to know why her hands were rough. Why she had to be this strong. He wanted—
Shit.
“I think you recognized me from almost mowing us down two days ago.”
JD growled low in his throat, obviously displeased with Carter’s rudeness. Carter couldn’t tell him it was all self-defense.
For the briefest moment Erin seemed at a loss for words. Then her shoulders squared and her mouth firmed. “Yes, I apologize. That was certainly irresponsible of me.”
“And understandable,” JD cut in. “You thought your dad had had a heart attack.”
And now Carter felt like even more of a dick. But maybe that was better than playing Mr. Nice Guy. After all, he’d played Mr. Nice Guy with his sister, and look where that had gotten him. Being propositioned for a role asdaddy.He should have learned his lesson by now.
“Nonetheless,” Erin said, her voice stiff, “it won’t happen again.”
“Good.”
Yea, definitely a dick. JD glared at him for a moment before turning back to Erin. “We were touring the site. Want to join us?”
Her gaze bounced off Carter’s chest before returning to JD. “Sorry, I have some things I need to take care of.” A vague wave toward the shack said those things were work.
