Backroads Read online

  I can’t take my eyes off the way his body seems so relaxed as he watches the sun setting in the distance. The orange glow lights up his features. His arm is draped over the back of the swing while his legs are stretched out in front of him, his bare feet crossed over each other while his heel gently rocks him in the swing. The glow of the sun makes his muscles seem even bigger. My mouth waters thinking of licking his chest.

  I’m lost in thought when he turns his head and stares straight at me. I jump to the side of the window to hide and feel my face heat with a blazing blush, my heart hammering in my ears. Did he see me? I take a chance and peek around the corner to see if he’s still looking.

  Not only is he still looking, but he’s now leaning forward with his arms on his spread knees, rolling his beer bottle in his palms.

  He drops his head for a second before bringing it back up and flipping his hair back. Shit, that’s hot. He stands, still looking right at me. Is he going to come to the window?

  I see his mouth move, and I focus on his lips surrounded by his beard as he mouths, “Night,” then turns and walks into his cabin.

  I didn’t realize I’ve been holding my breath this whole time. When I finally let my breath out, my pulse racing, I know I’m in trouble with Chase Hunting.

  My alarm goes off way too early. I didn’t get much sleep. Once the room was pitch-black, the bright pink painted on the walls was slightly easier to handle, but the sun didn’t go down till almost ten. And then it took me forever to fall asleep because it’s so quiet out here. I could hear a coyote howling a time or two. The first time I thought the damn thing was right outside my window it was so loud. I’m used to honking horns and busy city streets; I’m not used to it being so quiet I can hear the wind blowing the leaves around.

  I wasn’t asleep long enough to enjoy the dream of Chase crawling up my body. Instead I woke aroused and frustrated.

  Linda didn’t tell me a time to be down to help her this morning, but I want her to know I’m committed to helping, so I throw on some jeans and a tank top and slide into the cowboy boots. They’re much more comfortable than what I’m used to, though I miss the calculated steps of walking in heels.

  I make my way to the kitchen and find Linda already bustling around preparing for breakfast.

  “Oh good, you’re up. I wasn’t going to wake you your first morning here, but I could use the help,” Linda says as she continues to work. “After we get the breakfast done, I can help you with those rooms if you want to get started on moving some furniture around or taping things off. I would love to have at least one room repainted before Beth comes on Friday evening. That girl has been tiring me out with all her poking and prodding for me to get them redone.”

  “I think we can have more than one done by Friday. It’s Tuesday—it doesn’t take that long to paint a room,” I say while filling a mug with coffee. I realize the Pink Room will have to be the last room to get painted so we can get the others set up for actual paying guests.

  Linda quietly asks me to get the plates down, set the table, and bring the food out as it’s prepared. She explains that she serves breakfast from seven till ten, keeping the food on warmers. If the guests don’t come down during that allotted time, she feeds whatever isn’t eaten to the pigs or the chickens.

  I’m internally jumping up and down for how excited I am to be around all the different animals. Growing up a small town girl, then moving to the city, I never had a pet. I didn’t even have any real plants in my apartment as I had killed too many of them to want to spend money on them. I gave up on real plants and brought home plastic ones. At least they always look beautiful.

  While I’m thinking of all the furry animals I’m going to see every day, Chase walks in. His dark, wavy hair is pulled back in a half ponytail/man bun thing that no other man could pull off. Before I can look away, his eyes find mine. I swear the blue in his eyes sparkle, as does the smile he’s not hiding.

  I feel myself blushing thinking all the thoughts of him I can’t rid myself of.

  Quickly I decide I can look, as long as I don’t touch. That’s not breaking my no-men vow.

  Linda greets him with a warm smile. “Good morning, Chase. The biscuits aren’t ready yet if that’s why you’re up here.”

  “Of course that’s why. No one has better biscuits than you, Linda,” he says while watching me.

  “Oh, you filthy tease,” she laughs. “Go get some coffee. They’ll be ready soon.”

  I swear even the way he pours himself a cup of coffee is sexy. He’s wearing another white tank top that is so tight against his tan skin. It’s another good argument for looking without touching.

  Without asking or saying a word, he refills both my cup and Linda’s before setting the pot back down.

  “How was your first night at Brickett Ranch?” he asks. His voice causes my skin to break out in goose bumps.

  “It was good. Different than the city, but good. I’ll get used to how quiet it is soon. I hope.” I laugh awkwardly.

  “So it’s too quiet here for you?” He actually looks like he’s concerned about my sleep. “You could try turning the TV on for some noise.”

  “TV is too distracting. If I turn it on, I find myself paying too much attention to it instead of ignoring it like I should. I like the quiet—it’s just really quiet here.”

  Making small talk with him is easier than I thought it would be. The more we talk, the more I find myself wanting to talk to him.

  See, we can do this. Work together. Maybe be friends.

  Linda has been bustling around tirelessly. I feel guilty; I should be doing something. “Linda, is there anything I can do to help before working on the rooms?”

  “No, no, dear. Don’t worry, I got this part of it.” There is a ding from the stove. “Ah, Chase, your biscuits are ready. Do you want anything on them?”

  “I got them, and no. I just like to get them when they’re warm.”

  He moves to turn the stove off and grabs an oven glove to pull them out. He’s obviously done this before, and I see how he helps her without being asked. Setting the pan on the counter, he grabs a spatula to transfer them to a basket to cool.

  “Thank you, Chase. Grab what you want. Maybe one of these mornings I’ll have you come get Holly to fetch the eggs. You can show her the grouch.” They share a secret smile.

  He grabs three of the biscuits and takes a bite out of one. “Mmmmmmm. God, these are so good. We can do tomorrow or the next day. Whenever you’d like,” he says to me.

  My mouth has suddenly gone dry watching him devour the biscuit. When Linda turns, I realize I haven’t responded. “Yeah, sure, whenever.” I think I heard something about fetching eggs before I got distracted.

  Chase drinks the rest of his coffee, then takes his mug to the sink before rinsing and placing it in the dishwasher. Someone taught him manners. Or maybe Linda just expects that out of him.

  “Good. I’ll catch up with both of you later. Let me know if you need any help in those rooms.” He says this to me, winking as he takes another bite of a biscuit and heading out.

  I find myself following him with my eyes as he walks across the farmyard to a truck he gets into.

  “Wow, what did you do to him?”

  I turn to see Linda drinking her coffee and watching me. “What do you mean?”

  What does she mean? We didn’t say anything inappropriate to each other, nor did I snap at him the whole time.

  “That boy right there doesn’t talk to anyone much. Not even me. Especially not a woman. And he just had a conversation with us. You did something to him. Huh... interesting.” She turns and starts carrying the platters of food out to the big pine table.

  I grab one and follow. “What do you mean ‘interesting’?”

  She smiles. “Nothing, dear. Well, nothing yet. I’ll let you know. Now, eat while this is all still hot. The warmers keep things warm, but nothing like eating when it just comes off the stove or out of the oven.”

  S
he makes sure I load a plate and sit before she retreats to the kitchen again. Her comments have me wondering why he chose to come in and talk to us if that isn’t what he normally does.

  When Linda had first asked me to repaint the rooms, I didn’t think it would be a big deal. There are only four of them. The Green Room is a dark room though, with a shade of hunter green on the walls. The Yellow Room is so bright I feel like I could get a tan just being in there. The Purple Room reminds me of something from the seventies, not to mention a large purple dinosaur everyone tries to forget about. Then of course, there’s my room, the Pink Room.

  Thank the lord she hired Beth when she did, or who knows what else she would have come up with.

  I change clothes quickly as I don’t want my pants and boots to get covered in paint. I end up in some old pajama bottoms that are just a tad longer than a pair of brief underwear. I keep my white tank top on and decide to go barefoot.

  After shoving what I can into the middle of the rooms and covering everything with plastic, I get to work priming the walls. A few coats of primer are going to be needed on the green and purple rooms before I’ll be able to get the colors covered up.

  I dip the roller into the paint and work it up and down the walls. With my phone in my back pocket, I have my earbuds in and jam away to songs I haven’t heard in a long time.

  I’m not used to using my whole body to get work done. After chipping a nail, I have to admit my manicured nails aren’t going to last. It doesn’t take long before my back, arms, and legs start to hurt. Living behind a desk the last two years hasn’t done me any favors, and after long hours of boring paperwork I couldn’t bring myself to go to the gym after a while. It was showing now.

  I push through the pain and use the music to keep my mind off it, shaking my butt to the beat of the song.

  I work for several hours, lost in my task, when I turn to see Chase braced on the doorframe as though he’s been there for some time watching me.

  Startled, I let out a cry of surprise. “Ahhh!” I pull the earbuds from my ears. “Don’t you know it’s rude to just stand and watch someone?”

  Standing straight from his relaxed stance, he runs his hand over his beard, stroking it into a point while he walks into the room. “I said hello when I got to the room, but you didn’t respond. So I decided to do the polite thing and wait for you to notice me.” His smile can’t hide how much he enjoyed watching me.

  I had been listening to Britney Spears’s “Slave For You,” and I know there was a lot of gyrating from my hips as I danced through the tempo. Lord only knows what I looked like.

  I knew I should have closed and locked the damn doors.

  “How long have you been standing there?”

  Clearing his throat and looking guilty, he takes a breath. “At least two songs—one slow song and one with a faster beat, if your ass bouncing around told me anything.”

  “Oh my god,” I say more to myself than to him. I’d been lost in the music and completely oblivious to anything.

  He watches me with an expression I can’t read.

  “Did you enjoy what you saw?”

  Without a pause, he responds with “Very much.”

  A blush creeps up my neck, and he must see it as he steps closer to me, almost in my space, reaching out to tuck some loose hairs behind my ear. “Don’t be embarrassed. You’re beautiful when you let go.”

  I can feel the heat of his body and smell the outdoors on him, his intoxicating scent that is all him as he takes another step closer, bringing us almost chest to chest. I have to look up at him as he towers over me.

  Just as he’s about to say something, Linda calls out, “Holly, where are you?”

  She must have ducked her head into the room next door first. We both take a step back from one another just as she enters. Looking back and forth from Chase to me, she seems startled to find I have company. “Oh Chase, come to join the painting party?”

  He smiles and looks around the room. “It looks like Holly has things under control. I thought I would stop in to see if she needed any more paint. I’m going to be running into town to get the rest of the lumber for the fence. I could stop and pick up the paint and anything else she might need.”

  “Oh, that was nice of you. In fact, she could go with you. I was going to drive her into town tomorrow, but she can go with you today. She probably needs a break anyway. Don’t you?” She glances at me with a wink so quick I hope he didn’t see it.

  Truth is, I do want a break from painting, if only to sit down for a few minutes. But do I want a break with Chase? Alone? For who knows how long?

  Yes, yes, and yes.

  But also no, no, and no. He confuses me.

  Again, I remind myself to look and not touch.

  “I guess. Though I don’t know if I really need anything more right now. Unless you don’t have the paint picked out for the rooms? I’ll be done priming the first coat today I think.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. I’m not allowed to pick out paint anymore. Beth has the colors picked out and a list of other items at the hardware store you guys can pick up,” she says, moving farther into the room. “I’ll get this stuff cleaned up if you want to head out now.”

  I’m glaring at Chase even though I know none of this is his doing. Still, I’m going to point the blame at him.

  “Excellent.” Chase claps his hands together with a grin on his face. Looking me up and down, he says, “I’ll go get the truck if you want a few minutes to clean up.”

  I can’t help but notice his eyes on me. The fact that he thinks I need a few minutes to clean up irritates me.

  One glance down though and I’m surprised to find I’m splattered with paint.

  “That sounds good. Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you out front.” I keep my voice as nonchalant as I can.

  I can do this. I just need to stop seeing him with my vibrator in his hand.

  I’m not sure if Linda knows what she just did for me. I went into the house with the intent to talk with Holly alone. Now I’m getting a chance to be with her alone.

  Watching her dance around the room shaking that tight little ass of hers was the best thing I think I’ve seen in a long time. Her indecently short shorts gave me a peek at her bright pink underwear every time she reached up on her tiptoes. Yes, I looked.

  I could have watched her all day. Though, spending time with her is way better.

  I see her coming out of the main house. She’s ditched her tiny shorts for a pair of tight jeans that hug her body in all the right ways, and the boots are back on.

  I jump out and run around the truck to get the door for her.

  “What the hell kind of truck is this?” She gestures to the truck.

  I know what she’s referring to. It has a six-inch lift kit on it and big tires. “This is Linda’s truck. She lets me drive it.” I smirk at her.

  “Linda? My aunt drives this truck? How the heck does she get into it?” she says in disbelief as she walks closer to the open door.

  “Well, she doesn’t drive it as much as I do. Hold on, I forgot about the step.” Running back around to the driver’s side, I open the back door and reach in for a fold-out step Linda has stowed back there.

  When I come back around to her side, I see her trying to lift her leg up to the door. All she’s accomplishing is showing off her ass while dancing around on one leg.

  “I could lift you in if you’d like.”

  She whips around with a scowl and a “don’t you dare” look in her eyes.

  “It wouldn’t be any problem on my part to help you out. If that’s not your thing though, this will help.” I unfold the step and place it near the truck, holding my hand out for her to grab.

  To my surprise, she takes my hand and slides into the truck. I can see her smart mouth looking for another comment, but instead she says, “Thank you.”

  “Anything for you, Princess. Anything.”

  Before she can say anything about my endearment, I shut
the door. I jog around the truck, throw the step in the back, and jump in. My tall frame doesn’t have an issue with the height of the truck.

  “Buckle up.”

  I am very aware of how the seat belt is snuggled between her breasts. As she clicks it home, she catches me looking and folds her arms in front of her. “Eyes on the road, cowboy.”

  Shit. Pissing her off is not my goal today.

  We drive in silence for a while before I try to make conversation. “Did you stop in Springfield on your way to the Brickett Ranch?”

  She rolls her eyes and makes a sound of disgust. “No, I didn’t. I got lost trying to find it.”

  “Lost?” The Brickett Ranch is only ten miles from town. How could she have gotten lost?

  “Yes. My GPS on my phone sent me to the wrong address. It sent me to a field in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know how long I spent driving around before I actually found the place. I’m surprised her guests find it. It’s so out of the way.”

  “What address do you have?” I’ve never heard of anyone not finding the place.

  She fishes her phone out of her pocket; how it fit in them I can’t fathom. She flicks through a few things on her phone and rambles off the address.

  It’s not hard to figure out the problem. “You have the last two numbers mixed around on the address. I bet that’s why you had a hard time finding the place.”

  “What!” She looks at me openmouthed and then back at her phone, typing furiously on it. “No! Do you have any idea what I was put through yesterday trying to find it?” She makes another sound of disgust and flings her phone on the seat, then folds her arms over her chest.

  “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” She just rolls her eyes, causing me chuckle. “Really we aren’t that far from town. It’s only a little more than a ten-minute drive when you need to get something. And you only have to make one turn.”

  “Look, I’m not upset with you. I’m more upset at myself. It’s been a hell of a month, and to find out my problems yesterday were brought on by me just makes me mad at me.” She breathes out heavily.