Page 20 of Cowboy Falling Hard

“It’s over here.” Orchid started walking toward it, and Dwight followed.

“You need to take that hose,” she pointed at the hose that was wound up on the hook on the pressure washer, “and screw it into the spigot.”

She picked up the hose as she spoke, realizing too late he was bending over for it too.

Their heads knocked into each other.

Sharp pain rotated out on either side of her skull, and she let out a startled yelp.

“I’m sorry. I know I have a hard head. That had to have hurt.”

“It must have hurt you too,” she said, one hand gripping the hose, the other pushing on the spot where her head hurt.

“Are you okay, Miss Orchid?” Powell said, concerned.

Orchid tried not to be irritated with herself. Dwight was acting like he hadn’t felt a thing, while her head felt like it was going to split wide open.

She could be tough like him.

She tried to be anyway. “I’m fine.” She tried to mean it.

Taking a breath, she pulled her focus from the pain and onto what she’d been doing.

“So anyway, try not to headbutt anyone whenever you grab the hose, and you screw it into the spigot right here.” She showed Dwight and then turned the water on. “You don’t want to run it without water in it. I did that once, and it was an expensive mistake. You’ll ruin it, and it will be unfixable.”

“Got it. I do believe that Coleman might have mentioned something about that and used you as an example.”

“That’s lovely. I’ll have to thank him later. I’m so glad I can provide an object lesson for him to use with the new hires.”

He snorted.

“I... I didn’t realize you were planning on getting a job here.”

“I didn’t realize I was either.” He looked at the coupling between the spigot and the hose like there was something interesting going on between the two of them. Or, more likely, he didn’t want to meet her eyes.

When he didn’t say any more, she asked, “How long are you planning on staying?”

Now he did move his eyes to her, and if she wasn’t mistaken, there was some hurt in his. She hadn’t meant to insult him.

“Does it bother you that I’m here?”

Immediately she felt bad. Like he might have taken her statement like she was hoping he wouldn’t be there long.

“No. I... I like you.” That was the truth. The absolute truth.

“I guess I wasn’t getting that impression. Not today. Not Thursday either.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No. That’s my line. I talked to Miss Charlene. She pointed out a few things that I might have been doing wrong. I can’t fix what’s already done, but she made some good points, and I’m going to try to make some changes. Not that I’m trying to talk you into anything, I just thought maybe that would ease your mind about my presence here.”

“Your presence is not a problem. I promise. It’s just that...you’re a professional baseball player. I don’t know a whole lot about the sport, although you did teach me a good bit about it on Thursday.”

“Sorry.”

She waved that off. She hadn’t meant that as a slam, but too late she realized it probably came out that way. “But I’m just assuming you’re making a lot of money at your baseball job. You...aren’t working here because you need money.”

“No.”

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