Was she being too legalistic in her approach? That was an obvious occupational hazard. That was why she’d mentioned the chickens to begin with. But her efforts to be charming had fallen flat—at least for Mr. D. Boone.
She scanned the last email D. Boone sent, the one she was now responding to.
I have an agreement with Emma. I know her well, and I know for damn sure she wouldn’t go back on her word. A deal is a deal. On that note, are you holding up your end of your deal? When’s the last time you fed Emma’s chickens?
She ground her teeth together. How dare this complete stranger lay some kind of chicken guilt trip on her? How could she feed the chickens when she lived three thousand miles away? Besides, Emma liked feeding her own chickens. She was a stubbornly self-reliant pain in the ass.
Kate hadn’t mentioned Project Kick Boone Out to her grandmother because she feared that Boone was right. Emma would throw a fit about breaking an agreement. Her hope was that she could coax him to leave.
Or her. She didn’t actually know D. Boone’s first name. But the emails were so brusque and uncooperative that she’d jumped to the conclusion that they had to come from a man.
An extremely aggravating man.
But then again, weren’t they all?
A sound caught her attention, the low rumble of a vehicle coming from behind her.
Potential rescue? Possible kidnapper? Since this was Lost Harbor, odds were on rescue, but she was taking no chances. She rummaged in her bag for the bear spray Emma had made her bring.
The vehicle slowed to a stop behind her. It was a large crew cab truck with so much clearance it could probably drive right over her little Saab. The man who jumped out of it was equally large. His long legs came first—clad in work pants and mud boots.
AKA what she should have been wearing.
Then came the rest of him—broad and tall and muscular and a little intimidating, considering that she was alone in this forgotten spot on the side of a remote Alaskan road. He wore a weathered work jacket unzipped over a gray Henley.
With easy strides, he made his way through the mud to her car. She kept her hand on the can of bear spray next to her on the seat. He noticed that move, and his lips quirked. They were very appealing lips, she noted. Firm and full, with a sensual curve to them.
“If I help you un-muck your car, will you promise not to mace me?” His deep voice fit the general oversize nature of his physique.
She relaxed enough to allow herself to smile at the stranger. “Do you think you can get me out of this? It’s a mess. I swear, that mud came out of nowhere, Officer.”
One corner of his mouth lifted, indicating that he’d gotten her joke. But he maintained his serious expression. “You have to pay attention this time of year. No cell phones while driving.”
Ah, so he’d spotted her phone on the seat next to her bear spray. “Are you planning to help me or lecture me?”
“Maybe a lecture would help you.” His reasonable tone made her teeth clench.
“I can guarantee that it wouldn’t. No one likes to be lectured.”
“I said it might help you, not please you.” The word “please” in his deep, rumbling voice sparked a surprising little thrill deep in her belly.
Oh no. None of that now.
“If you want to please me, you could tell me what you recommend here. Do I need to call a tow truck?”
He took a step back and surveyed the muddy ruts that had claimed her tires. “What have you tried so far?”
“Not much. Just a little cursing and whining and regretting the fact that I didn’t bring my mud boots. I tried powering out of it, but that made it worse.”
“Yes, that would make it worse. The tires can’t get any purchase on the mud, so they just dig the tracks deeper and deeper the more they spin. They need something solid to grip onto. I’m surprised you haven’t encountered this situation before. It is break-up, after all.”
“I’m not from here.” She bit off each word as she spoke it. This was sounding suspiciously like that lecture she’d told him she didn’t want. “I’ve never seen break-up before. Not this kind, anyway. But I’m sure you don’t want to hear about my love life.” She could practically hear the