He’d have to try to make a better impression the next time their paths crossed. Meanwhile, it was long past time to hit the rack again. He carried the brownies into the kitchen for later, but at the last second he snagged a couple to eat on his way back into bed. Mmmm, extra fudgy with big chunks of walnuts, just the way he liked them. They ranked right up there with his mother’s, which was saying something.
Later, he’d return Amy’s plate as an excuse to talk to her again and let her know how much he’d enjoyed her thoughtful gesture. Maybe a bottle of wine or a bouquet of flowers from his mother’s garden would go a long way toward smoothing any ruffled feathers. Something else to think about later. For now, he followed the siren call of his bed.
He tossed his jeans back on the floor and sighed contentedly as the soft cotton sheets settled against his bare skin. For the second time that morning, he was asleep within seconds.
—
Amy wandered around the backyard, letting her imagination run wild about how the place would look six months or even a year from now. She’d only been living in the house for a week, so there was a lot left to do just getting settled in. But when she tired of unpacking her extensive book collection or arranging the kitchen cabinets, she came out here to enjoy both the fresh air and the possibilities.
She couldn’t wait to start marking out flower beds and haunting the local nurseries for just the right plants. But all of that would have to wait until she could get the fence situation resolved. She’d gotten two estimates for the cost of installing a six-foot-high cedar fence around the entire backyard. A third contractor said he could come out next week, but he’d already told her that the two estimates she’d gotten weren’t out of line with the current costs of materials and labor.
She had no reason to doubt his word, but she’d really been hoping he would come up with a bottom line that wouldn’t give her sticker shock. At least all three contractors had told her that she could save a little bit if she tore down the old fence herself. With only one side of the yard fenced right now, how hard could it be? That’s why she’d approached her neighbor about the matter.
She found her gaze drawn toward Mikhail Wanjek’s house for about the twentieth time since leaving his front porch three hours ago. The real estate agent who’d sold her the house hadn’t been able to tell her much about her new neighbors, only that the house on that side had sold a few months before to someone moving in from out of state. Amy wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but Mikhail wasn’t it.
Thanks to her own family, she was used to being around tall men who made her feel petite even at five foot eight. However, she was sure Mikhail had a couple of inches on even Will, the tallest of the lot. Add in the rumpled blond hair, icy blue eyes, and a well-sculpted bare chest, and the man was sex on a stick.
Too bad he’d been a bit of a grump. To be fair, she’d obviously dragged him out of a sound sleep. Besides, after growing up with four older brothers, it would take more than a fierce frown to scare her off.
At least he’d agreed that the fence needed to come down, a job she was about to tackle. After talking to Mikhail, she’d gone grocery shopping and then made a quick stop at the neighborhood hardware store to pick up leather gloves to protect her hands from splinters and a crowbar to pry the boards apart.
These days, her energy level had vastly improved, but she didn’t want to risk overdoing things. It wasn’t as if she was on a specific timetable. If she did one section a day, she’d have the fence down within the week.
She spread a plastic tarp to help keep all the debris corralled in one spot. One last trip back inside to get a bottle of cold water, and she was all set. Getting started was harder than she’d expected, but she finally managed to work the end of the pry bar between the railing on her side of the fence and the first board. She threw all of her weight and strength into it and finally succeeded in opening up a gap. One more try resulted in success, even if the nails made an awful screech as they pulled free of the wood.
The second board came off with far less effort, but the third one split down the middle with a loud crack. She winced, for the first time thinking about the man next door who might still be sleeping. No one had ever told her that demolishing a fence would be such a noisy proposition. After she finished removing this one last board, she would abandon her efforts until later in the day.
Using a pair of pliers, she tried to work the nail free from the railing, but it had to be all stubborn about staying right where it was. She released her grip on the pliers long enough to flex her hand before trying again. Still no luck. Frustrated, she tossed the pliers on the ground and squeezed through the hole she’d opened up in the fence. Maybe pulling on the board from the other side might loosen it up a bit.
She got a good grip on both sides of the wood and gave it a hard yank. When it broke free, Amy went stumbling backward, fighting hard to regain her balance. To her surprise, instead of hitting the ground, she landed hard against a solid wall of irate male. She had years of experience dealing with that particular species, the only difference being that the ones she was most familiar with were all related to her.
At least Mikhail made sure she was steady on her feet before ripping into her. “Want to tell me what the hell you think you’re doing?”
She would’ve thought the answer to that question was obvious, but maybe he was still suffering from lack of sleep. “I’m tearing down the fence.”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I can see that. Let me rephrase my question. Why are you out here trying your best to hurt yourself?”
Okay, enough was enough. “I can handle tearing down a few boards.”
Those piercing blue eyes made it abundantly clear that he seriously doubted that, but at least he didn’t say it out loud. “Have you ever done any demolition work before?”
“Well, no.”
He bent down to pick up the board she’d dropped and handed it to her. “Then why are you doing it now?”
She tossed the broken piece of wood back through the gap in the fence with a little more effort than was really needed. “Because the contractors both said I could save a little money by tearing out the old fence myself.”
Mikhail folded his arms across his broad chest and stared down at her. “I thought we’d agreed that we’d talk more about the fence later. You never said that you were going ahead without discussing the cost or a specific time frame.”
“That’s not how I remember it. I told you I wanted to replace this section at the same time I fenced the rest of my yard. I distinctly said I’d pick up the entire cost because I was the one getting a dog and needed the fence done soon.”
When he started to shake his head, she wanted to stomp her foot in frustration. However, she’d also learned from dealing with her brothers that he’d likely see that as a sign of feminine weakness on her part. “Look, I’m sorry if you misunderstood the situation, but I really do need to get started on the fence. And as I said, I’m paying for it.”
“How much?”
Again, the answer should be obvious. “The whole amount.”
He shot her a disgusted look before bending down to stick his head through the gap in the fence to look at her backyard. When he straightened back up, he said, “That’s not what I meant. I’m assuming you have written estimates from the contractors you talked to. How much are they going to charge you?”
