He continued, “Anyway, the old fool left me this wreck in his will.” His eyes widened in bewilderment. “Still have no real idea why. Perhaps he wanted to annoy me because he knew how screwed the place was.” His laugh held a trace of humor.
“Where’d you move from?” I struggled to place his accent.
“Seattle.”
“Man, you’re a long way from home.” He nodded. “So you looking at fixing up and getting out?” I tensed, waiting for his answer. A rush of feeling filled my gut at the thought of him leaving before I had the chance of knowing him. This was not the fucking plan at all. It was probably a good thing if he said yes. No hope or expectations.
He shrugged and winced when he shifted his leg, his ankle no doubt giving him pain. “I managed to get a transfer to a veterinary practice in town. My old job said there’d always be a place there for me, but I don’t know. This town is sort of growing on me, you know?”
Releasing a small laugh, I nodded. “Yeah. I moved in about three months ago. I kinda like the quiet life of Kirkby. It’s different. God, crazy different at times, but it suits me for now.” I had no idea why I’d tagged on “for now.” Maybe it was that I liked the illusion of choice, but I’d made a commitment to my family and would always be there for them.
His eyes were fixed on mine the whole time I spoke, seemingly interested in every word I said. Uncomfortable under his scrutiny, I steamed ahead, disliking feeling out of my depth. “So, the house, when you said it needed a lot of work, you weren’t kidding.”
He sighed. “Yes, I know.” Taking a gulp of his drink, he glanced around the space before looking back at me. “It needs doing. There’s no getting out of it.”
I nodded before handing him my notes, giving him a few moments to look over them. “There’s also the attic that needs work. The insulation has sagged and ripped in parts. The roof looks fine, but what do I know?” he added with a laugh. “The hatch has one of those pull-down ladders if you want to pop your head up? The opening is in the back bedroom.”
I stood, giving him a smile. “I’ll take a look now.” Once up the stairs, I found the opening, pulled down the steps and poked my head up. Removing the small flashlight from my belt, I looked around the open space. The roof did look fine, plus there was no damp from what I could see. But all the insulation would need tearing down and replacing. The poor guy would need a lot of dough to be able to fit out this place to spec. Shaking my head, I made my way downstairs, hoping he wouldn’t be too horrified when he received my quote.
His eyes were on me as soon as I entered the kitchen. “Uh-oh! By that grim expression, I’m assuming it’s not a simple patch-up?”
I offered him a light smile. “Sorry, man. It’s not actually a hard job, just messy and expensive to replace the whole insulation for the area.”
“Figures,” he mumbled.
I stood awkwardly at the door, wishing there was something I could do to help him out. He seemed like a nice guy, obviously as hot as sin, and it was clear he hadn’t signed up for this mammoth task. “Have you thought about just selling it?” I offered.
With a small shrug, he answered, “I did have that passing thought, especially when I first came, but not so much anymore.”
I nodded in understanding. “I can get a quote to you in a few days. There are just some materials I need to price up first.” I cleared my throat uncomfortably. “You know the materials alone are going to cost you, right?” I tried to keep my face blank but was sure my regret was transparent.
A smile lit up his face, and I grinned back, finding it impossible not to. “It’s all good. Just give me a fair quote, and we’ll be good.”
“Okay, well, I best be going.” I hesitated. “Thanks for the coffee.” He made to stand. “Please, I can find my way out. Just keep off your ankle.” I grimaced internally as the desire to protect him surged through me. I needed to get on the road before I offered to piggyback him where he needed to go, or something as equally stupid.
“Thanks.” He grinned. “We’ll chat soon, yeah?”
I nodded dumbly, wanting nothing more than to chat about the prospect of a date, but knowing it was completely inappropriate. He threw me a weak smile just before I turned and left, my heart beating ridiculously fast while my dick remained unwilling to play hard to get. “Yeah, see ya,” I called over my shoulder as I hightailed it out of there.
Chapter Five
TANNER
For three days,I’d been bartering prices from local merchants to get Carter the best price going. I’d finally pulled enough favors to get him a good deal. Even though the quote seemed crazy high and would have most men balking at the cost, I knew it was low. My prices alone for labor would be barely enough to keep me afloat, but my property out East was finally under contract, plus, what was a man to do when his dick was leading him?
After finalizing the quote, it would be an easy task to email it to him. It seemed, though, I was a glutton for punishment. Instead, I pulled up to his house. It was past seven o’clock in the evening, but like a needy fucker, I wanted to make sure I could hand it to him personally rather than leaving it in his mailbox.
I looked down at my grubby work clothes, and reached for the spare shirt I kept in my truck. I tugged on the clean T-shirt then pulled out my body spray and doused myself, not wanting to offend the guy, and then grabbed his quote. I hesitated at his door, remembering our first and last encounter. It wasn’t every day I had the chance to see a fine cock on display within the first five seconds of meeting someone. I’d got an eyeful though with Carter, certainly a good enough view that it had fed my imagination the last few days.
Sighing deeply to calm my increased heart rate, I composed myself enough to knock on the door. This time there were no screams or cries for help. Instead, I heard soft padding feet make their way to the door before it opened. A barefooted Carter stood before me, wearing jeans and a chest-hugging tee. He looked every bit as sexy as I remembered.
“Hey, Tanner.” A bright smile lit up his face. “Come in.” He backed away from the door and headed to the kitchen. I noticed he was no longer limping, which was good. “Close it behind you, please. I have food on the stove.”
I swallowed as I watched him walk away, my gaze going straight to his ass. The denim cupped it perfectly, and I immediately flashed back to what it looked like in the flesh. Shaking my head, I pushed the door shut and followed him. When I stepped into the kitchen, two pans were on the stove. Steam filled the room, and I couldn’t not think how fucking hot he looked being domestic.
I cleared my throat. “Sorry to interrupt. I have your quote.”
“Oh, fabulous, thank you.” He looked over his shoulder at me while he stirred one of the pots.
