All Summer Long (Fool's Gold #9)(36)
She looked away, but not before he saw her blush. “My mother was just here. How can you even think about sex?”
“I’m a guy. I can think about sex nearly anytime. So what’s your work schedule like?”
“I’m on the next two days. I traded shifts to help a friend.”
“So the day after? Your place? We’ll play escaped prisoner and the warden’s wife?”
She laughed. “No, but we’ll move forward with your plan.”
“Good. I like my plan. Now about those remaining pastries. How many do I get?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHARLIE DROVE ONTO the Castle Ranch, parked her truck and climbed out. She’d spent the better part of an hour convincing herself it was okay to go ride her horse. Something she did nearly every day she was off. It was no big deal. Only it felt like a big deal. Because of the kissing.
Just a few hours before, Clay had stood in her kitchen and kissed her until she’d felt her world turn upside down. The things that man could do with his mouth, and she had a feeling he hadn’t even been trying that hard.
Sure, she’d been nervous. Maybe even scared. But then she’d found herself relaxing and everything had been different. Better. Her lips still tingled and there was a sense of pressure low in her belly. That along with the thought of seeing him again kept her stomach churning. She was confused, but in a good way.
Which had made the decision to come ride Mason anything but easy. Because this was Clay’s ranch, too. Or at least his mother’s. And he was staying here. So the odds of running into him were decent. Once she saw him, she wasn’t sure what to say or how to act. All circumstances the average fifteen-year-old would take for granted. She was definitely stunted on the man-woman front.
She climbed out of her truck and told herself that she was strong. If the situation got uncomfortable, she would simply hit someone. That would make her feel better.
She started for the corrals behind the stable. Shane usually let Mason out early so he could enjoy the late-summer weather. As she walked, she heard the rumble of a big engine and what she would swear was men yelling.
She doubled back and headed for the sound. As she came around the stables, she saw a massive flatbed delivery truck and a huge piece of farm equipment. Shane and Clay were literally climbing up and down the whatever-it-was, while another man shouted instructions.
“It’s always like this.”
Charlie turned and saw the delivery guy walking toward her. “Like what?”
He motioned to Clay and Shane. “This is nothing. I’ve seen lifelong friends go at each other over who was going to drive a Bobcat first. And this is a whole lot bigger than a Bobcat.”
Charlie’s knowledge of farm construction could fit in a teaspoon. She knew a whole lot more about how buildings came down than how they went up. She knew which beams were most likely to fall first in a fire and the safest way to cross a burning roof. But she knew nothing about the big-tired, drilling monster in front of her.
“What does it do?” she asked.
“Clears land. It’ll dig up anything in its path. From what I heard, they’re going to start farming some of the land. This’ll get ’em ready in no time.” The delivery guy grinned. “As soon as they stop fighting about who gets their turn first.”
“Someone’s going to teach them how, right?”
“That’s his job.” He motioned to the man shouting.
Charlie shook her head. “I guess an instruction manual is out of the question.”
The delivery guy chuckled. “You got that right.”
He headed back to his truck. Charlie watched Shane and Clay finally settle in the driver’s seat and the one next to it. Clay was behind the wheel. The men shouted back and forth. She caught a word here and there, but knew this was something she couldn’t understand. She drove her engine because it was her job. She enjoyed it but more for what it could do for the people in her town than because it was big and powerful.
Clay was such a guy, she thought indulgently as she walked back to the barn. A good guy who was taking extraordinary care of her. After their first session together, she was optimistic about her chances of getting to normal. Once that was accomplished, they could both get back to their lives. He would become a volunteer firefighter and start his Haycations, while she would figure out the best way to bring children into her world.
She hoped they would always stay friends. In a town like Fool’s Gold, they would run into each other often. He was going above and beyond with her and she wanted to make sure things were never awkward. Something to remember, she told herself as she went to collect her horse.
She smiled as she thought about how worried she’d been about seeing him. At least now she could enjoy her ride in peace. After all, she was merely a woman. There was no way she could compete against man nirvana—otherwise known as very big farm equipment.
* * *
CLAY MOVED THE résumés in front of him, switching which one was on the left, then discarding a couple. Two remained and he still didn’t know what he was supposed to do.
He got up from the small desk in his bedroom at the ranch house and walked downstairs. Coffee wouldn’t make the decision any easier, but getting a cup was a distraction.
He went into the kitchen and found Dante Jefferson standing by the window, staring out at the view. Dante was Rafe’s business partner. A lawyer by trade and temperament, he hadn’t been happy when Rafe had wanted to move the business from San Francisco to Fool’s Gold.