Page 111 of Rough and Rugged

I cleared my throat. “What are you doing here? This is Sarah North’s cabin. Or rather, itwasher cabin. I’m her granddaughter, and she left it to me.”

“Good to hear. I was hoping it wouldn’t get sold off. Sarah loved this place. She and my grandpa were good friends.”

“Your grandpa?”

“Charlie Rivers. You know him?”

Relief flooded through me. I’d met Charlie a few times. Since he owned the nearest cabin, he and Grandma had come to rely on each other. In return for his services as a handyman, she’d make him home-cooked meals.

“Sure, I know Charlie,” I said. “He mentioned having a couple of grandsons, but I didn’t know they lived in the area.” For all the weekends I’d come up to visit, I’d never run into this bear of a man. If we’d met, Idefinitelywould have remembered him.

“I own a place in the Kern River Valley, about twenty minutes away. When Grandpa started having health issues, I rented it out and moved up here to keep him company. He had a close call a few months ago, so he went to live with my brother’s family in Bakersfield. That way, he could get the care he needed.” The somber tone of his voice implied it hadn’t been an easy decision.

“I’m sorry. That must have been hard.”

He let out a long sigh. “It was tough. He’s stubborn as hell. I’m sorry about your grandmother.”

The sorrow washed over me, fresh as ever. Even if Grandma had been gone for months, being here without her felt strange. “I still miss her so much. I came here to clean up her—I mean,my—cabin, but it looks like you beat me to it.”

He gave me a sheepish smile. “Sorry if I intruded, but when I told Grandpa about Sarah’s passing, he asked if I’d tackle a few jobs that he never finished. I was trying to put this window frame back in place, but I dropped the damn thing on my foot.”

That explained the yelling I’d heard earlier. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good. I was just pissed off. Hope you don’t mind having me around today, but there’s a lot more that needs fixing.”

What was his angle? No one in my family ever did anyone a favor unless there was something in it for them. “Why are you being so helpful? It’s not like you’ll benefit from it.”

A smile played on his lips. “I love fixing up shit. It helps get me out of my head.” He held out his hand. “I’m Sam.”

His hand engulfed mine, but his grip was gentler than I would have expected. “I’m Maggie. It’s nice to meet you, but you don’t have to stick around. I can handle this.”

“How much do you know about carpentry? And electrical wiring?”

“Um… nothing? But I don’t have any money to pay you.”

“Not a problem. You can repay me some other way.”

I pulled my hand from his grasp. “You think I’m going to sleep with you because you fixed a window frame? Not a chance, buddy.”

His eyes raked over me again. A flush of heat raced through me, little tendrils of fire settling right between my legs. It had been a long time sinceanyonehad regarded me that way.

He broke the silence with a burst of laughter. “I was going to suggest you cook me dinner. I’m low on groceries, and if I spend all day helping you, I won’t have time to run into town.”

My face was now a fiery inferno. “I… I’d be happy to cook you dinner. Is pasta okay?”

“I’m okay with anything. Do you need help bringing stuff in?”

“Nope. I’m good.” What I really wanted to do was dunk my entire body into the creek to cool off. Not only because I’d humiliated myself, but also because being around Sam had made me rather… warm.

Get a grip, Maggie. He’s just here to help out.

Even so, I couldn’t discount the way he’d looked at me.

Not once, but twice.

Chapter Three

Bysixo’clock,Samhad repaired five window frames, mended Grandma’s rocking chair, and tackled the loose boards on the front porch. Meanwhile, I’d swept, dusted, and vacuumed all the rooms, washed the windows, and scoured the kitchen and bathroom. I was so filthy that I couldn’t have lookedlesssexy. Sam, on the other hand, resembled a hot lumberjack no matter how sweaty he got. Maybe out of deference to me, he’d put his shirt back on, but it didn’t diminish his appeal one bit.

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