Oh, Fudge (Hot Cakes #5) - Erin Nicholas Page 0,27

and heading for the door. “If I swing by to see how Mike and Larry are doing too, would that give your family time to send everyone over that needs to stop by and check on you?”

She narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. “It’s bugging you that there’s work that needs to be done and you’re not helping, isn’t it?”

“Well, I mean, it’s cold out, and those boys probably haven’t eaten enough gumbo in their day to counteract it.”

She laughed. “Fair enough.” Then she nodded. “Yeah, I think Tim will stop by and then maybe my grandpa. He’ll want to check the furnace and be sure you did a good job.”

Mitch paused with a hand on her doorknob. “Your grandpa can fix furnaces? Will he think it’s weird you didn’t just ask him in the first place?”

She shook her head. “He’ll just roll his eyes and tell me that I don’t have to be so damned independent all the time and that I can ask family to help out and I don’t always have to hire help.”

“You hire help instead of asking your family?” He immediately regretted the question and his raised eyebrows.

She frowned. “I do. It’s my business and my apartment. I can handle taking care of it.”

“You’re an independent little thing, aren’t you?”

She lifted her chin. “I am.”

“Noted.”

He was not used to that. Everyone he knew leaned on everyone else he knew. That was just the way of it. But everyone helped everyone out. Each person did their part. If someone couldn’t fix a furnace, they could sure as hell make an amazing étouffée, or would help with plumbing or painting, or would do your laundry. Or they might just tell you when you needed to pull your head out of your ass when you needed it. Which was, honestly, a lot more helpful than being able to fix a furnace. Anyway, it wasn’t as if anyone was a freeloader or getting away with anything.

“And don’t call me a little thing,” Paige added. “That sounds patronizing as hell.”

Also noted. He nodded. Then gave her a little grin. “You know, with that attitude, you’d fit right in with the bayou girls.”

“Oh yeah?”

“They don’t take any shit from anyone.”

She tipped her head. “And you respect that?”

“Completely.” He shrugged. “It’s what I know. Of course, if I hadn’t respected it, my grandma would have smacked me upside the back of my head. And made me clean up after the crawfish boils for a month. By myself.”

“Big job?”

“Very.”

She smiled. “Well, with that attitude, I might let you stick around.”

He really wanted to. A lot.

But as the words hung between them, and he felt that she was thinking about maybe clarifying that she meant for a couple of days, he quickly pulled on his coat, gave her a wink, and stepped out the door before she could.

He was in so much trouble.

6

He thought about that as he walked with Max’s toolbox in hand on the way to the town square. He didn’t want Paige to point out that this was a couple-of-days-only fling? Hell, shouldn’t he have been the one making sure that point was made and made often? That they were absolutely in agreement there? That’s how it would have been with any other woman.

That’s the way it had been with every other woman.

But this one was… different. That was the best word he could come up with and it wasn’t a great word, honestly. He was intrigued by her. Intrigued enough that these few days with her didn’t feel like enough.

So what did that mean?

He thought about that as he checked the wiring for the multiple small booths and the large main stage that dotted the grassy area in the center of town. The paved walkways that crisscrossed the space had been cleared of snow, and the pine trees that were scattered through the square were decorated with twinkle lights. Those along with the ones adorning the wooden booths and the front of the stage were all dark at the moment, however. As was the lighted APPLE FESTIVAL sign that hung from the archway that declared this the Appleby City Park.

Linda had said there would be music and heaters that needed to be plugged in to keep cider and other treats warm. He also noted tall standing heaters placed among the booths for people to gather around in case things got especially chilly during the festival.

Mitch shook his head. He’d fixed a few furnaces in Louisiana but