I hesitated, he looked annoyed. “You want an answer? Turn around.”
I turned, unsure of what he was doing. When he spoke again, he was closer. The heat of him at my back was a physical thing. His voice, when he spoke, was quiet and brushed my ear. “What do you see?”
I tried to turn back, but he wrapped an arm around me and took my chin, keeping it forward with a gentle yet firm grip. “What do you see?” he said again.
The broad expanse of his bare chest made contact with my back, making it hard to think. With a wobbly breath that left me more lightheaded than anything, I scanned the horizon.
“Mountains. Valleys. Trees. Lots of trees. Birds. The blue sky. A few clouds.” I shifted my gaze all over, looking for more things to describe. “That’s it. Nothing but nature.”
“Exactly. Nothin’ but the raw beauty of nature.” That husky, mumbled voice by my ear was doing things to me. “Now tell me somethin’ else. What do you see when you look out a window in your house?”
“I live in a penthouse apartment, not a house.”
His chuckle vibrated against my back. “Of course you do. Same question. Close your eyes and tell me what you see out that high rise?”
“Um … more buildings like mine. Cars. Busy streets with lots of traffic. Streams of people coming and going. Everything is fast-moving. There’s a bridge in the distance.”
“Steel and concrete? Smog? Noise?”
I frowned and opened my eyes. “Mostly.”
“Would you describe your world as picturesque?”
“Not really.”
He released my chin but didn’t move away. His rough hands landed on my waist. “What would your condominiums do to this beautiful, postcard image I call home?”
I didn’t answer.
“Do you see that ridge up there? The one where the tree branches make an almost V shape? Like a slingshot.”
I followed his finger. A small outcropping stood out a short way up a steep incline. The land was dotted with large rocks and firs. “Yes.”
“My mother is buried on that ridge. When the cancer was tearing her apart, she made my dad promise he’d bury her ashes right there in that spot when her time came. That there, and the rest of the acres of land you’re starin’ at, are the reasons I will never go down without a fight. If there comes a day when I have to sell this land, when I have no choice left, it will be to someone who won’t ruin it with steel and concrete. It will be to someone who will preserve its beauty.” His grip on my waist tightened then was gone. The heat against my back vanished. “Does that answer your question?”
My mind muddled, and for a second, I couldn’t remember what I’d asked. Facing Easton, I saw firsthand the love and respect he had for his home. And I also saw there would never be a day he would allow someone like my father to ruin it.
I nodded, unable to find my voice.
“Now, I really do have to work. The barn ain’t gonna paint itself, and I hate havin’ a trail closed because of it. You gotta choice. You can run back to town and think about what I said, or you can help me.”
“Help?”
“You heard me. Should I find an extra roller?”
Was this his way of asking me to stick around? Glancing at the wet barn and down at the paint, I cringed.
“Don’t like getting’ dirty, do you?”
I scowled at Easton’s humor. Before he could start throwing more insults, I lifted my chin. “I can get dirty.”
“Good.” He took a long moment to scan me up and down before spinning and making his way to the front of the barn.
I looked down at my silk shirt and designer jeans, resigned that I was about to lose more clothing to this place. For whatever reason, it bothered me less this time.
Easton returned with a new roller, fresh in packaging. As he pulled it free from the cellophane, he eyed me.
“What?”
Something flashed in his eyes. He tossed the roller aside and stalked toward me, taking his time as his warm amber gaze licked a path all over my body. I felt it like a physical touch, searing my skin and igniting a fire in my core.
He stopped in front of me and focused on my shirt. “How much did that shirt cost you?”
“Is this where you call me materialistic again?”
He ran a knuckle down the fabric, the grazing touch along my chest, making me suck in a