Page 74 of Stay With Me

Her face turns serious. “I could watch a dog while I’m living here. And, after I’m gone, maybe your mom could watch him when you work? Like Jack’s parents did for his dog before he and Annie got together?”

A scoff escapes me before I can stop it. “No. My dad would never allow that. I wanted a dog more than anything when I was a kid, and he outright refused to even consider it. God, he was such an asshole about it. I remember overhearing him and my mom arguing about it one day and he said,‘Maybe if he was normal and had some real friends he wouldn’t beg for a dog.’There’s no way he’d let my mom dog sit for me now.”

Her pretty mouth turns downward into a sad frown.Shit, I forgot myself and said too much.

“I kinda want to go back in time and kick your dad’s ass for little Charlie,” she whispers.

Welcome to my world, sunshine. Get in line.

CHAPTER28

CHARLIE

Eighteen days. It’s been eighteen days since Emily moved in and turned my life upside down. I love having her in my space, my home, but being around her every day has been both blissful and tormenting. It’s more challenging each day to push my feelings for the woman aside.

When I’m not at work, we’re together almost constantly. Well, except for when she’s teaching summer school for a few hours each weekday morning. I take advantage of that time she’s away and alternate between working on her birthday gift in my wood shop and remodeling the office area. It’s hard to keep surprises a secret from her, so I had to tell her she can’t see the office project until I’m ready to do a big reveal.

At her request, I swear we’ve walked every inch of the ten-acre property in the last two and a half weeks—she’s enthralled with seeing it all.

Today is one of the more torture-filled days. It’s a searing eighty-five degrees outside and I’m working on the last four-foot section of fence I’m putting up to keep deer and other scavengers out of her garden. I know she wants to make sure she doesn’t infringe on my space while she’s here, so I took it upon myself and suggested she plant a patch to grow her veggies and herbs. I knew it was something she would love.

“Ooh, look at this dill,” she coos. “And the basil.” She leans down and smells the plants in the herb portion of the dirt. “It’s going to be so delicious when I cook with these. There’s nothing like fresh herbs to liven up a meal.”

I glance at her and the plants she’s standing near. To just look at them, I don’t know what they are, but they make her happy, so I’m glad they’re there. “They look great. And I can’t imagine your cooking getting any better. I swear I’ve put on five pounds since you’ve been living here and making meals.”

I sense her eyes on me and look over in time to see her leisurely scan my body, from my thighs to my torso and arms, before her gaze moves up to my face and meets my eyes. Almost immediately, a scarlet flush fills her cheeks, and she quickly looks away.

“There’s not an extra pound on you,” she says, as she bends to pull a weed and tosses it in the five-gallon bucket she carries around with her when she’s weeding.

I can tell she’s embarrassed that I caught her checking me out, but she has no idea how hard she’s made it on me sauntering around here in shorts and tank tops most of the time. Today, she’s killing me with old cut-off jean shorts, a black fitted tank top, and her ankle high rubber gardening boots with daisies on them. Her hair is in a messy bun on top of her head, and she looks downright stunning.

“I forgot to tell you, I got up before you today and went and checked out the sunflower patch. The flower buds are forming.” The joy in her voice is endearing and I feel a warm sensation in my chest. “Thanks for letting me do things in the yard. I know it’s probably annoying to have me planting stuff in your space.”

I pause what I’m doing and look over at her as she pulls more weeds. “Hey. Look at me, please.” She stops what she’s doing and lifts her head up to do as I asked. I focus my eyes on her sparkling ocean-blue ones. “I don’t mind at all. It thrills me to see you enjoying the property. Okay?”

A sweet smile teases at the corner of her lips, and she nods, then gets back to her work.

I look down and smile as I keep working on securing the latch for the gate. A few minutes later, I’m done, and I glance over at her to tell her.

Fuck me.

She’s now on her hands and knees working on clearing an area with particularly heavy dandelion growth. Her shorts have ridden higher on her thighs, though she’s still covered, and her tank top is exposing a stretch of skin over the small of her back. I swear it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

I’ve got to get away from hereor I’m gonna lose it.

“Um, hey, I’m just gonna go split some of that wood from the fallen tree. Okay?”Jesus, my voice sounds rough. She’s slowly killing me.

When Emily looks up at me, she’s got a streak of dirt on her forehead and a beaming smile spread across her face. “Sure. I’m just gonna keep plugging away in here.”

I spend the next forty-five minutes with the scorching sun beating against my back while heaving thick logs of wood onto an old stump and swinging the heavy steel axe over my head to sever the wood into pieces. I’d be lying if I said I’m not also attempting to release some of my sexual frustration. My arms ache from what amounts to a long arm workout, yet I can’t stop. Ineedthis distraction. Yeah, this is way more difficult than I thought it would be—resisting Emily, not splitting the wood. The wood is the simple part.

Yet, I don’t want her to leave. I’ve accompanied her to see several houses she’s wanted to look at, and though she hasn’t been very interested in any of them, I’ve found—and pointed out—some flaw with each of them. I can’t help but wonder if it’s my subconscious trying to sabotage her efforts at house hunting.

My focus homes in on breaking apart the stubborn piece of wood, intent on conquering it. With a grunt, I use all my force as I lift the axe over my shoulder and slam the blade into the hard piece of oak. I’m rewarded when a loud crack from the wood splintering fills the air, followed by the thump as the pieces fall off the stump and tumble to the ground.

Emily startles me when she speaks. “Wow. I think I could sell tickets to that show.” She’s teasing, but there’s a faint quiver to her voice that I’m not sure everyone would pick up on.

An awkward chuckle escapes me. “We’d have to go fifty-fifty on the profits.”

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