Page 75 of A Class of Her Own

Stupid Willow and her manifesting and Ash and her meddling. Brooks had never smelledyummybefore this.

I turned to him, my hands gripping the wheel. “Look, you asked me to take down the wall, so I’m trying. But there are things you need to understand. Like how I’m thinking about kicking you out of my car.”

He shook his head. “I’m cool, Atwood. I’ve already gathered that your childhood was different, and your dad needs help. I’m an impartial community volunteer.”

“This can’t be something you use against me.”

His entire face shifted from one of happy community volunteer to serious courtroom drama. I wondered if that’s how he looked when he was arguing cases in court . . . if property lawyers did that. His jaw flexed, and he speared me with a look.

“I’m not looking for weak spots to exploit. Frankly, I’m kind of hurt that you’d think that after getting to know me better.”

I’d seen him annoyed many times, but this was probably the first time I’d seen him hurt, and I felt terrible about it, so I admitted something that was hard to admit.

“If you had any idea how many times as a young person I was convinced to trust someone and then they saw my situation and ran off to tell others about it, you wouldn’t blame me for being overly cautious and seriously worried about it.”

He took a slow breath, his eyes on my face, and I watched as his expression smoothed out. “That’s fair. If you’re that uncomfortable with me helping, I’ll get out and won’t have any hurt feelings about it. However, I have a free day and would love to pitch in.” He wrapped a warm hand lightly around the back of my neck. “It’s as simple as wanting to spend time with you, and if I can help you out a little in the meantime, that’s a double win. I promise to keep any secrets you need me to keep.”

“And no pitying me.”

“No pity.”

To recap: he wanted to be with me and help me with repair work at the same time, and he was down for secret keeping. He had inadvertently said the hottest thing any man had ever said to me, and I was quickly filling with warm goo.

“One of his rain gutters fell off, and I could use an extra set of hands to screw it back into place,” I said.

“Great. I have hands.” He released my neck and wiggled his hands at me.

“I fell through the back steps yesterday, and I could use someone to help me sort through the woodpile for pieces to replace it with. Some of the wood is hard to move by myself.”

“I’m basically an expert wood sorter and shifter.”

“I think the last time his house was cleaned was like a month ago. In fact, I know it, because it was me who did it.”

“I went to college; I lived with five other guys; you can’t scare me.”

A smile twitched, and I turned to start the car. “Okay. So, we agree that you know what you’re getting yourself into and will keep blinders firmly in place?”

He crossed his heart. “I hope my pay is good. I’m not cheap.”

“Ah, sadly, you’re a volunteer, and the pay is lousy.”

I was tense on the drive, both regretting letting him come along and incredibly grateful that he was there. His light chatter and easy vibes should have helped me settle down, but the way I’d catch him watching me with a little smile made me antsy. Ron had been understanding and open at first, too. I think he’d thought with his powerful personality he could whip my family into shape. Instead, it had become one more sore point between us, and I’d never brought another man to my dad’s house with me. This was a big leap of faith.

We talked through what needed to be done, and Brooks didn’t argue with the game plan I’d already laid out in my mind. In fact, he said he thought it sounded good, and I chanced a glance at him to see if he was trying to appease me or if he really meant it. He smiled back, and I relaxed a little further. He was fine with me running the show.

Seeming to understand my disbelief, he chuckled and reached for my hand. “Meredith, it’syourdad. Why wouldn’t I be okay with doing things your way when you’re the expert here?”

Once again, he melted my heart with logic.

We pulled up to my dad’s rickety little house, and I had to concentrate to keep from watching Brooks’s reaction to the place. I tried to see it like a first-timer, but there was too much history for me to be able to look at it with anything other than the taint of experiences. The gravel crunched as I eased my car around back. Dad’s truck was gone, and I momentarily wondered where he could have gotten off to. However, in some ways it made things easier because he didn’t like it when us girls got into his wood stash.

“Okay, this is the place.”

“Great. So, we’re starting with the stairs?” Brooks shoved his door open and climbed out. He pushed his arms into the denim coat he’d taken off while we’d been driving. “Your dad has a lot of land.”

I looked around and back to him. “Compared to the city, yeah. But this is how all the houses are out here. Well, at least how they used to be when I was growing up. There’s a lot of new growth now, but it’s still a small town.” I popped open my trunk. “I need to get these groceries inside first, so give me one second.” I made short work of depositing the food in the freezer and then led the way to the workshop and around the side to where the wood was stacked. “It’s good my dad is gone. He hates people sorting through his wood. Never know when one of these might be the perfect piece for a project. He wouldn’t want to waste it on making a new stair.”

“Your dad’s a woodworker?”

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