Page 24 of The Way You Are

Jake nodded. “We have a deal then.”

“You said you’d write up our agreement. I’ll look at it.” I might come to my senses tomorrow and decide I’d be crazy to subject myself to more of Jake. But my traitorous heart was beating a staccato rhythm.

“Why are you smiling?” Jake asked me.

“I’m imagining what Berta will look like without rust.”

“She’s going to be amazing.” Jake smiled at me, and even though we were discussing my rusted-out van, I felt a pang in my heart.

“I can’t wait.” I needed to guard my heart because this man was liable to wear down my defenses. I’d vowed I wasn’t looking for another fixer-upper. A man with a damaged past. I wanted a nice guy from a good family with no baggage. Was that too much to ask? Or did everyone have a complicated history?

None of it mattered, because Jake wasn’t interested in me. But I couldn’t ignore the fact that he’d come when I called tonight, and he’d seemed worried for me.

“Thanks for coming tonight. I’m sure I interrupted your evening.”

“I’ll always come when you call, Lily. Hopefully, it won’t be necessary once we fix up Berta.” He gave me another one of his rare smiles.

I wanted to take a picture of it and keep it for later. I doubted he smiled often, even with his friends and family.

I settled deeper into the seat. Jake wanted to restore Berta. It was some kind of a professional challenge for him. And who was I to stop him? If he wanted to help, I’d take it. Because, in the end, Berta was what mattered. She was good for me and the business.

This pesky crush I had on the mechanic would pass. Jake would do something to upset me, and I’d remember why he irritated me so much and why we couldn’t be anything more than business associates.

He towed Berta to the garage, and I opened the door and slid out of the seat. My ankles twinged when I hit the ground. Jake rushed around the truck’s hood. “I would have helped you. You should have waited.”

“I’m okay.” I pulled out my phone as Jake did whatever he needed to do to unhitch Berta.

“What are you doing?” Jake asked when he was done.

“Calling for a ride.” I turned the screen to show him there was a car ten minutes away.

“I can take you home.”

I smiled. “That’s not necessary. I’ve already interrupted your night.”

His jaw tightened. “Let me take you home. I don’t like you getting a ride from a stranger.”

I bit my lip. Was this a good idea?

“I know you don’t know me well, but I won’t let anything happen to you.”

My heart skipped a beat when he said that. Tucking my phone away, I said, “Okay.”

“You ready to go?”

Suddenly, I was exhausted. Whether it was from the adrenaline of the situation or just being with Jake, I wasn’t sure.

He led me to a large black truck. “I would have thought you’d drive a motorcycle.”

“I do, usually,” he said simply as he unlocked the doors.

The interior of the truck was black leather and spotless. There wasn’t a spare jacket or piece of paper. Jake was different than I expected.

I gave him directions to the farm. He pulled down the long driveway and stopped in front of the white house with the wraparound porch. The one I’d spent many hours rocking on the chairs with my grandmother while she imparted wisdom and advice. A pain pierced my heart. I missed her.

“Are you okay?” he asked when I met him at the hood of his truck.

“Yeah, this place just holds memories of my grandmother.” There was the house and then the newer barn. The original barn had crumbled years ago.

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