All I Ask(50)

“This is a hammer,” Derek says with a smirk.

“I know what a hammer is.”

“Well, I don’t know what you know. Do you know how to use it?”

I know I’d like to hit him in the head with it, but that would probably be frowned upon when you’re working on rebuilding a barn that was burned down.

“Yes. I do.”

Derek challenged me to do something for someone else without anything to gain. I know Mr. Mitchell needs his barn back after the storm took part of it down so he can care for the horses he helps, which is why we’re here. I called all the football guys and organized the whole thing.

There are about twenty kids, but the best part was that when the town caught wind of what we were planning, the adults lined up to help as well. Then, Mr. Harvey donated lumber and others helped out financially.

I can’t explain the joy I feel inside knowing we may actually build this thing today.

It was nothing compared to the look on Mr. Mitchell’s face, though. He had tears in his eyes and kept shaking his head in disbelief.

“Okay, killer, let’s see what you’ve got.” Derek takes two steps back with hands raised.

I really question our friendship some days.

I take the nail, lining it up, and pull the hammer back. Please don’t let me hit my finger.

“Today, Tea.”

I turn and stick my tongue out at him before going back and hitting the nail.

Well, attempting to, because instead of it going into the wood frame, it falls to the floor.

“Crap.”

He laughs. “You have to hold it until you hit it. The nail doesn’t stay there because it knows it’s about to get hammered.”

“I knew that.”

He raises one brow. “Really?”

“Yes, really. I didn’t want to hit my finger.”

Derek takes the nail between his finger and thumb. “Then worry about hitting mine.”

My eyes widen because there’s no way I’m going to hammer his hand. It was bad enough worrying about hurting myself. “You’re nuts.”

“No, I trust you.”

Now he’s really crazy.

Our friendship has saved me in so many ways. I don’t worry anymore about Kelly and Lori, who have told me that my being friends with the animal-whispering nerd has officially left me out of the cool crowd. I told them that was perfectly fine with me and then reminded them that all of us have secrets.

I am not weak. I’m strong and have power as well.

Derek gave me that back.

Not by doing anything magical either, just by being my friend. While he may trust me, I’m not about to smash his finger.

I drop the hammer to my side. “I trust you too, but I don’t trust myself with blunt objects.”

“It’s not going to nail itself, Tea. If you don’t do it, I’ll be forced to stand here all day.”

He leans against the wood just to prove his point.

“Stop being an idiot.”

“Stop being a chicken.”

“Fine,” I huff. “You asked for it. When your finger needs to be amputated and you can’t work with animals, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t hit my finger and we won’t have that problem.”

“And will you forgive me if I hit you?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

Derek’s smile grows. “On whether you hit it or not.”





Chapter Twenty-Four





Teagan




Present



My father has always griped about shopping with my mother and I never understood why. She’s never in a hurry, she likes to window-shop a lot, and overall, she’s just relaxed. Dad isn’t that way. He likes to get the task done so he can move onto what he really wants to do—like fishing or football.

House shopping with Derek has given me a whole new understanding for my father’s pain.

First, the agent that is driving us around is an idiot. She’s gotten lost twice, and this town is not that big. Then, Derek’s being the most ridiculous person ever. Each freaking house he finds something else, something that doesn’t even matter, as a reason to move on to seeing the next listing.

“What was wrong with that one?” I ask as we leave the fifth showing.

“Too…beachy.”

The agent clears her throat. “I can find something less beachy if you’d like.”

“Thank you.” He grins as though he’s won a prize.

“We live on an island! The whole damn thing is a beach.”

“Yeah.” He sighs. “But it was old beachy.”

I didn’t know there was such a thing. “So you want more of a new beach feel?”

“I want it to feel like home.”

“It won’t be a home if you never pick it.”

He chuckles once but covers it with a cough.

“We have four more homes lined up that we can look at,” the agent informs us.

“Great. Teagan and I are ready for more.”

Yeah, so ready…

I groan. “I should’ve cut my hair off when I was under that table.”