The Mechanics of Mistletoe - Liz Isaacson Page 0,3

Walkers really, as he knew Jeremiah quite well from their ranch owners meetings too.

“Take your time,” Bear said, and Micah’s grin only grew. He thankfully ducked out of the she-shed a moment later, leaving Bear alone with Sammy.

Finally.

Alone with Sammy, away from his own ranch. Outside of anything that had to do with their professional, working relationship.

In Bear’s fantasies, he wanted a completely different kind of relationship with the woman, and he managed to smile at her as she stood up. She wore a dark blue tank top and jeans, both of which had plenty of dirt and grime on them.

Bear absolutely loved that about her. She was strong and sexy and not afraid to get dirty. She shook her hair over her shoulders and smiled back. “Hey, Bear,” she said easily, like she didn’t think about him in her quiet moments.

Panic reared inside Bear, and he couldn’t say anything back.

She looked down at her tools, which she’d spread over a nearby counter, flicking her gaze back to his a moment later. “What are you doing here?”

Ah, it was a great question. And Bear had no idea how to answer it.

Chapter Two

Samantha Benton picked up another wrench, though it was the wrong size. Bear Glover had been touched by God Himself when he was created—at least in Sammy’s opinion. He exuded power, and he was easily the most handsome man Sammy had ever laid eyes on. With hair the color of fresh motor oil and those bright, bright blue eyes.

Yes, the Lord had definitely carved Bear out of a special piece of cloth. Very special indeed.

Sammy could feel those eyes on her, though the man said nothing. She put down the wrong wrench and picked up the flat-head screwdriver. She was of the opinion that almost any problem could be fixed with a wrench and a flat-head screwdriver, and while she’d only spent twenty minutes with the kiln, she knew the exhaust fan just needed to be cleaned or replaced.

She’d try to clean it first, and if that didn’t work, she’d order a new fan for the unit. Things with moving parts spoke to her, and Sammy could diagnose almost any machine within the first hour of meeting it.

If only Bear Glover had cogs and wheels and screws inside him. Then maybe she’d be able to figure him out too.

“Sammy,” he said, and she nearly fell to her knees when he said her name. Down she went, all the same, and he didn’t need to know it was because of the care he put into the two syllables of her name.

“Yeah?” She got right back into the side panel of the kiln. The man had serious pull over her, and everything would be easier if she just focused on her work. That was what had gotten her through going out to Shiloh Ridge for the past three years. That, and the excellent money he paid for the work she did. And yes, he was easy to look at and made her feel like the young woman she’d once been.

The woman she’d been before she’d had to become a mother overnight, grieve the loss of her sister and brother-in-law, and hold the remaining members of her family together.

Sammy’s dating life had dried up when she’d gotten custody of Lincoln. It was already on the decline, because she’d opened her mechanic shop six months before the terrible accident that had claimed her sister’s life.

She kept telling herself that she’d go on a date when Lincoln started school. Then it was when he could read by himself. Then when he could tie his shoes without help. Then when he knew how to ride a bike.

The truth was, no one was asking, and Sammy didn’t have time to find someone herself. She felt perpetually surrounded by men—at the shop, at the ranch—but none of them interested her half as much as Bear.

She looked up again to find he’d moved closer. He ran his fingertips along some of her tools, and she said, “Did you say something? Sorry, I got lost inside this thing for a second.”

He looked at her, those eyes overpowering her in less than a breath. “I was just going to ask you—” He pulled his hand back from her tools. She kept them in a bag she’d bought online that was made for chefs to carry their knives.

And it went with Bear’s hand, her tools clattering all over the cement floor in the she-shed. The noise was absolutely astronomical, and she