Riding the storm - By Julie Miller Page 0,61
together by disaster and had stuck together to survive, just as Turning Point’s very first settlers had.
But someone handsomer, more whole, and a helluva lot more boyish would show up once the flood waters receded. Then he’d revert to being Jolene’s beat-up partner and unwanted protector. And maybe, just maybe, a friend.
But he wouldn’t hope for anything more. He’d be a sucker if he believed half of what she’d just said about him.
But she was right about one thing. The sun would get hot by the afternoon. They’d better get to work.
Nate had always been able to set aside his own needs and fears to get the job done. “When I get back, I won’t find you up on the roof trying to patch the leaks and replace the shingles, will I?”
“I don’t know. It depends on how long it takes you to fix things up out here and track down Rocky. I’m going to check the animals first. Then I’ll find the ladder.”
“Jolene—”
“Just kidding. Well, a little. I want to clean up the living room and the kitchen. Then I’ll tackle the roof.”
“No.” Man, she was killing him with this kind of teasing. At least he prayed she was teasing. Even though the storm had passed, his duties watching over Jolene Kannon-Angel clearly weren’t finished. “Stay off the roof.”
“Work fast,” she countered, without giving him the promise he needed to hear. “I’ll wait as long as I can for you to help me.”
“Uh-uh. No ladders, no roof.”
She gave him a gentle nudge back toward the barn. “You’d better get started on that pen. I promise, no climbing until you’re there to hold the ladder.”
“No climbing, period.”
“Go. And don’t let Rocky catch you unaware.”
Maybe he did believe a little of what she’d said. Before she could turn to march back up the steps, Nate snaked his hand behind her neck, tunneled his fingers into the root of her braid and tipped her head back for his kiss.
It was a perfunctory meeting of mouths and spirits. She braced her hands at his waist, curled her fingers through his belt loops. Her lush lips parted beneath his and he staked his claim—for the moment—and informed her in no uncertain terms that he meant business. When he pulled away, he took her moist heat, her breathless sigh, and the sweet, maple taste of her with him.
She couldn’t ignore his message now. Or the worry behind it. “No roof.”
“Okay.”
Okay? She was agreeing with him? Promising?
He withdrew his fingers from the silken snare of her braid. She unhooked her grasp on him and hugged her arms around her belly.
“Okay.” He confirmed her answer, not quite believing it.
With one last warning look, he turned away and pulled on his gloves. He’d better work fast to get Rocky’s new home repaired and the bull secured inside. As soon as that task was completed, Nate intended to hustle his butt back to the house to help Jolene before she broke her neck or hurt the baby.
As he strode across the yard with an awkward gait, he glanced over his shoulder. He could feel the admiring heat focused on his fanny. Hell. She was looking.
Don’t pretend that there’s something broken or inferior about you. You’re not disabled.
If it was possible for a man with a crooked leg and a lot on his conscience to do it, Nate pulled back his shoulders and walked a little taller.
Crazy what that woman could make him feel.
Crazy.
“DO NOT FALL IN LOVE with him,” Jolene reminded herself, pounding the last nail into the plywood she’d used to cover the shattered front window. “You’ll regret it. Don’t do it.”
She dropped the hammer into Joaquin’s old toolbox and wished the clank and rattle of steel on steel would startle the useless notion right out of her head.
It was just a kiss! Her mouth tingled at the memory. Pressing her lips together, she tried to erase the flood of warmth and anticipation she couldn’t quite seem to shake. Okay, so there’d been more than one kiss. And he didn’t seem to think she’d been a total klutz about the whole man-woman intimacy thing, either.
Jolene brushed her hand against her neck, remembering the gentle touch of his callused fingertips there. Her own fingers drifted down into the vee of her blouse, following the trail he’d taken last night on the couch. The weight of her palm against her breast triggered an instantaneous reaction deep inside her. Jolene snatched her hand away when the sound of her own breathy