Page 45 of The Rookie

“I will.”

Shit.

Her laughter follows me out the door, and I guess the whole town now knows we’ve been hanging out, and of course, Breton thinks we’re a couple and still isn’t happy about it. She scowls at me every time I see her. But she doesn’t need to get her panties in a twist, because there is a part of me that’s worried Wes is still doing all this to make her jealous for reasons I don’t want to think about.

I jump into my car and head toward the Hatfield farm. I wave to a few people out for a stroll and check my face in the mirror. I pinch my cheeks to give myself a bit of color and consider changing out of my work coveralls, but why bother? He’s seen me in them before, and I’m not going to change who I am for anyone, right? Not that Wes is asking me too.

I take the twists and turns in the backroad and creep into his driveway, but his car is nowhere to be found. I’m about to back up when Mrs. Hatfield comes from the old farmhouse. She waves at me, and I park my car and climb out, the warm afternoon air falling over me.

“Mrs. Hatfield,” I say. “How are you?”

“How many times have I told you to call me June? You and your three sisters, always with the Mrs. Hatfield.”

I just laugh at that. “You’ve met my mother, right?”

Now she laughs. We were never allowed to address our elders as anything other than their proper titles, and I can’t get out of the habit, even though I’m an adult now.

“Are you looking for Wes?”

I glance around, take in the tree branches swaying in the warm breeze as fresh floral scents fill my nostrils. “Yes, I guess I must have missed him.”

“Nope, Rider and Jules went sightseeing, and Wes is helping on the hill.” She turns to point, and I follow her gaze through the massive orchard. “He’s fixing a fence back there. Why don’t you head on over and say hello?”

I crinkle my nose and consider it. “I don’t want to bother him if he’s working.”

“No bother at all.” She waves one hand, like she’s shooing away a fly. “I was just about to bring him water.” She holds up a Thermos. “You’d be doing me a favor if you brought it to him.”

“Oh, sure. Not a problem.”

She hands me the bottle, and I head toward the hill. I check out all the buds on the trees as I make the long trek up the hill, following the sound of a hammer hitting a nail as it echoes in the vast space. In the distance, a cow mooing reaches my ears and I grin as it reminds me of our intimate time on the island. As those thoughts go through my head, my body warms and it has nothing to do with the late afternoon sun.

I’m breathless when I reach the top, and I can barely speak when I spot a shirtless Wes standing there in nothing but jeans and work boots driving nails into a wooden fence.

Holy farm boy hotness.

I gasp, and sputter and try to fill my lungs, and the ridiculous sounds have him turning my way. I bend forward, and with the Thermos tucked under my arm, I brace my hands on my knees and take gulping breaths.

“Hill,” I manage to get out, but I’m pretty fit so I think my body is reacting to the gorgeous sight before me. A smile splits his kissable lips, and he drops the hammer.

Before I even realize what’s happening, he hurries to me, scoops me up and sets my ass on the fence. He inches my legs open, stands between them and twists the lid off the Thermos.

“It’s a big hill,” he says. “Take a few breaths and then drink.”

I do as he says, and he tips the cold water to my lips. I take a big drink, and when I’m done, he does the same. He tightens the lid and drops it to the ground. I inhale, glance around, and try to sound normal when I speak. “The valley is beautiful from up here.”

“I know,” he says, as I try not to think about the way he’s spreading my legs, and getting himself a little closer to the needy spot between my legs. You know what else I’m trying not to think about? How sweaty he is, and how much I like it.

“Jules and Rider are gone out?” I ask, even though Mrs. Hatfield already told me they were.

“I think they needed some quiet time, and it gave me a chance to help Mom and Dad with things around here.”

“You like working on the farm?”

He nods, and for a second I get the sense that my presence here has really thrown him off. Did he not want me to see him working up here, or something?

“I don’t mind helping out. It’s good work, lots of time to think.”

My gaze narrows in on him, and I note the seriousness about him. “Do you have a lot to think about?”

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