Page 4 of Scarred Mountain Man
“You okay, Summer?”
So much for hiding it.
Daisy had been doing the books on her laptop while we waited for the last child’s parents to arrive. I helped that child find her lunch bag, which had somehow disappeared, while also constantly glancing over my shoulder at the big glass windows overlooking the parking lot.
Yeah, apparently I hadn’t been so subtle about that. Once we were finally alone, Daisy turned her attention to me.
“I’m fine,” I said as I switched the sign around toClosedand locked the door.
I went over to the closet to grab the vacuum cleaner and tried not to glance at the window again. He’d said 5:30, hadn’t he? It was only 5:42, but a knot had formed in my stomach.
What if he wasn’t going to show? My car wouldn’t start, so I’d be stuck here. It was no big deal. Daisy would give me a ride home and even swing by and pick me up in the morning. But this wasn’t about being stuck. This disappointment was more like I was being stood up for a date, which was absurd. It wasn’t a date. He was merely being a nice neighbor.
“My car battery’s dead,” I told Daisy as I plugged in the vacuum near the rug. Somehow, the kids always managed to drop crumbs and debris and generally make a huge mess every day. “My neighbor said he’d stop by to get it going. It has to run for at least thirty minutes. But it might need jumped again.”
With that, I started up the vacuum and began cleaning. That was by design. I didn’t want to give Daisy a chance to ask more questions.
It didn’t surprise me that, a couple of minutes later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I still nearly jumped in response, though. Yeah, I was definitely on edge.
I spun and found Daisy staring at me, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. Behind her was the subject of that expression—my very tall, very muscular,verygorgeous next-door neighbor.
Trying to look cool and failing miserably, I jerked around, looking for the vacuum cleaner’s shut-off button. I’d found it without issue a few minutes earlier, but now I was at a complete loss. Finally, I spotted it on the top of the base, next to the handle. I pressed the button, shoved the vacuum cleaner into the upright position, and turned, doing my absolute best not to trip over the power cord as I walked toward him.
“Keys,” I blurted. “You probably need my keys.”
I could have at least said “hi” to him. Daisy had headed back to the desk and now seemed engrossed in whatever was on her laptop screen, but I knew full well her attention was on us.
“Yep,” Ryder said. “Have you tried to start it?”
I shook my head. “Not since this morning.”
I’d had no reason to leave this property today. Both Daisy and I brought our lunches. We didn’t feel right running out to get food when the kids all came with packed lunch bags.
I went behind the desk where Daisy stood and ducked down, grabbing my keys. As I straightened, something occurred to me. His plan was to start the car and let it run for thirty minutes, but I was finishing up. I didn’t have thirty minutes to wait around for my car to run.
“It’s time to go,” I said, glancing over at my best friend and boss before looking back at him. “I guess I could drive it around for thirty minutes, or maybe I could let it idle in my driveway. That’s probably safer than here.”
“Or you could take a drive up the mountains with your neighbor,” Daisy said. “Maybe he could show you those trails I was telling you about.”
I stared at my friend. I knew exactly what she was up to. She was playing matchmaker.
“We can do that,” Ryder said. “Maybe we could run to the hamburger stand in Adairsville, grab some burgers, and head up that way. We’ll have a picnic. Eat our burgers while we wait for the battery to fully charge. I need to jump your car off first, though.”
Oh yeah. That. He could very well go out there and start it without issue, at which point this whole discussion would be pointless. I never imagined hoping my car battery would be dead, but that was exactly what was going on in my head right now.
I walked around the counter and headed straight for the door. He hadn’t made it more than a few steps inside the doorway, but now I noticed it was unlocked, even though theClosedsign was still prominently in place. I’d have to lock it behind him and come back in to finish vacuuming.
I held the keys out to him. He reached out his hand, but he didn’t take his eyes off me. A heck of a lot of thoughts went through my head as our eyes locked in a stare.
One was that this attraction I felt to him was not one-sided. No, he felt it too. The second thought was a memory of him in his bathroom last night. Naked. Touching himself while I watched.
Did he know I was watching? I’d wondered it last night, but something in his stare told me he’d been aware of me before this morning. It wasn’t far-fetched. I’d moved in a good two weeks ago. He had to have seen me coming and going at least once. Maybe he’d been watching me through his window—like I’d been watching him. Maybe he’d even peeked inside my bedroom from his bathroom, and that was how he knew I’d seen him.
No. That was all ridiculous. But the memory of him fisting his erection, stroking it faster and faster, was doing things to me again.
As heat rushed to the area between my legs, I became aware that my hand was still in his, the keys between us. Neither one of us had withdrawn. Suddenly, I released my death grip on the key fob and let the whole bundle drop into his hand. He gave a nod and, without a word, turned and walked out.
I reached for the lock but thought better of it. What if my car started right up? He’d have to come back in and tell me so there was no point in locking up. I turned to look at Daisy.
