Spurs 'n Surrender (Operation Cowboy Book 2)(27)

“Here, I’ll show you how.” Danica crouched with a mouthful of nails and her hammer poised over one. After pounding in the first one, she tossed a grin Anya’s direction. “We built lots of treehouses together. This isn’t much bigger than one.”

Wydell snickered, but he didn’t need to add a told-you-so comment. Anya was getting good at reading him. Except when it came to his reactions to her. She never knew which Wydell she was going to get—the sweet one or the ornery one.



*



Watching Anya pound nails was erotic as hell. Her breasts jiggled just a little, her hair swirled around her shoulders. And she made this adorable face while she worked, catching her tongue between her teeth.

Wydell’s Wranglers couldn’t get any tighter.

He dropped his attention to her sexy-as-hell little cowgirl boots and groaned. Dammit, she’d been distracting him enough without the boots. But in them…

Brodie clamped a hand on Wydell’s shoulder. “You all right, man?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah.”

He squeezed, refusing to let go until Wydell gave him an answer he believed. “You sure?”

“I’m good. Anya broke my fall.”

She looked up and gave him a smile that made his chest feel tight as well as his jeans. The fact that she understood his traumas of the past were causing him to react harshly, and that she’d been in the way both times, gave him a small bit of ease. It was still embarrassing as hell for him, though. The other guys hadn’t freaked out over a dry nail gun being tested.

He didn’t like the thought of getting help for his troubles. Sure, it was fine for some, but he still had crap to do around Los Vista. Who had time for talking through his feelings?

From the corner of his eye, he saw Anya creep closer to him. What an ass he’d been to her, taking her comment about the war far too personally.

He was glad she’d come today, regardless of what had transpired between them. But if Boyd gave her that flirty wink one more time…

Positioning himself between Boyd and Anya, he directed Garrett on how to build the next wall. Before long all four exterior walls were erected. Standing back, he folded his arms and looked at what had to be the smallest house imaginable. If he didn’t know better, he’d think it was a garden shed.

“Damn, bro, that’s one tiny house.” The most amusing part of hearing Boyd say that was the glare Anya gave him. Score one. He wouldn’t be winking at her anymore.

Folding her arms, she said, “They’re all the rage in certain circles, leaving a smaller carbon footprint on the planet.”

Danica jumped to her rescue. “It’s true. It’s the new revolution. Wydell and Anya have a moneymaker in this idea. Just wait and see.”

Anya gave her a grateful smile, drifting closer yet to Wydell. A strange feeling of solidarity wrapped him and Anya together. He might not like her vision, but he was here to help her build it.

They exchanged a smile.

An hour later, they had all the interior walls standing. When Anya looked down at the plumbing projecting through the floorboards, she spun on Wydell. “Is this where you decided to put the toilet?”

“You know it is. The plumber was here before we had that argument last night.”

Around them, the hammering stilled.

“So is there a way to change it as I suggested?” She set a hand on one curvy hip. He remembered all too well how she felt in his hands. Dammit.

“It’s one house, Anya. We’re going to build what—ten more? We’ll change it on the next one.”

“Can’t we just switch around the plumbing?”

“Not without getting the plumber back here for a seventy-five dollar call charge and a hundred bucks an hour. But maybe you don’t mind squandering daddy’s money.”

Rage hit her eyes. Her lips twisted, and he waited for her wrath to explode all over him. But it never came. She whirled on her heel and stomped away. Garrett tried to intercept her, which was the wrong damn move.

In a few long strides, Wydell caught her. Turned her into his arms and kissed the angry retort right off her pretty lips. She gasped and shoved against his chest, but he drew her tight against him.

“You’d argue with me that the sky’s blue, Wydell Jackson.” Her voice hitched.

Tipping her chin up with his knuckles, he drawled, “Looks more cerulean to me.”

Her groan of fury was cut short when he slammed his mouth over hers again. Suddenly, a cacophony of hammering and sawing started behind him, as if everyone was busy trying to ignore them.

Wydell’s taste was never going to be enough. He slanted his mouth over hers and probed her lips apart with his tongue. She gave into him, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she kissed him back.

“Blue,” she gasped between gulping kisses.

“Azure.”

“You ass.”

“This is indeed a fine ass.” He creeped his fingers around to her backside, but before he could get a feel, she slipped from his hold.

Then with as much dignity as possible and despite her red cheeks, she returned to the group and grabbed her hammer. Neither Boyd nor Garrett looked at her again, which was good. At least they knew who she belonged to.





Chapter Five


Anya bounced on her toes, fizzing with excitement as the first delivery truck came up the road, followed by two more. Behind them, two construction company trucks trundled slowly toward the town. When they all stopped and parked near the tents that made up the Kents’ little village, she walked over to greet the people she’d hired.