The Mechanics of Mistletoe - Liz Isaacson Page 0,45

when he and Micah had finally finished her parents’ roof.

We need a good date, he continued in his mind. If it be Thy will, I’d really like a good date with Sammy….

The following evening, Bear came out of his bedroom, ready to take Sammy to dinner. “What do you think?” he asked those collapsed on the couch. Ranger was slumped there, with Lincoln curled into his side. His cousin had his arm around Link’s shoulders, and the two of them only moved their eyes to look up at Bear.

Bishop, the only other person in the house, whistled and said, “Wow, Bear, you clean up pretty nice.”

“Thank you,” Bear said with a smile.

Ranger nodded, his dark eyes bright. “The big night.”

“Yeah.” Bear turned away from his cousin, because he couldn’t carry any more pressure than that which already rested on his shoulders. The big night. If this date didn’t go well, he was certain he and Sammy would be over.

He really didn’t want to be over. Pulling in a deep breath, he surveyed the kitchen, but there was nothing to do here. Bishop took care of keeping the house clean, especially the kitchen. He had a thing with smells, and that kept him scrubbing the dishes and making sure the garbage got taken out.

Sammy should be here any minute, and Bear’s pulse started knocking in his chest. He pulled open the fridge but promptly closed it again, because he was going to dinner at any moment.

“I’m going out to the porch,” he said, because it felt weird to have the woman come pick him up. Literally no one had ever done that, and Bear felt himself sliding into grumpy.

“Panda bear,” he muttered to himself as he went outside. “Be nice, Bear.”

He’d been outside for maybe two minutes when he heard the crunching of tires over gravel and the rumble of an engine. Sammy’s truck came into view a moment later, and Bear couldn’t look away from it.

She grinned when she saw him, and she parked and jumped from the truck as if she couldn’t wait to see him. “Hey,” she said, her white skirt billowing around her legs and revealing a sexy pair of cowgirl boots that made Bear’s throat turn to sand.

“H-hey,” he said, grinding the word through his throat.

She came up the steps, a laugh flying from her mouth. “I have the best news ever.”

“Yeah?” Bear slid his arm around her waist as easily as he drew his next breath. “Let me guess.”

“All right.” Sammy beamed up at him, pure happiness shining from her face.

“You got my chicken tenders for lunch.”

“Yes,” she said. “But that’s not it.”

“It’s not? I had to talk to two people on the phone to get those delivered.”

She put her hands on his chest and grinned. “You hate talking to people on the phone.”

Except for her. “It’s not my favorite,” he admitted. “Let’s see…you got that black Mustang running.”

Her smile slipped as she gazed up at him. “I did. How did you…that’s not it.”

“No?” He tilted his head at her, trying to see all of her secrets. They’d talked quite a bit over the past couple of weeks, and Bear made the mistake of dropping his gaze to her mouth again.

He’d been doing that a lot lately, and tonight, she wore shiny, sexy, pink lip gloss on those very kissable lips.

“You’ve been working on the Mustang for a week,” he said. “It was a lucky guess.” He looked over his shoulder as he heard a bang inside the house. “I can’t guess the best news ever. Better just tell me.”

Her smile returned, and she said, “I signed a contract with Luther Farm Supply.” She squealed and bounced on the balls of her feet. “I get to work on all the tractors that come in. It’s a huge contract that’ll basically ensure that my shop will survive for a long time to come.”

“Wow,” Bear said. “That is great news.”

“You don’t seem that excited,” she said.

“I’m not,” he said with a smile. “If you’re working on everyone else’s tractors, who’s going to come work on mine?” He cocked his eyebrow at her, a pointed question mark to the one he’d already vocalized.

“I’ll come work on yours anytime,” she said, her flirtatiousness already on high tonight and they hadn’t even left yet. She looked away from him. “Let me say hi to Lincoln and give him a hug, and then we’ll go.”

She started to slip away from him, and Bear’s grip on her waist tightened. “Just one sec,”