Page 6 of Heat Stroke

Finally, he smiles and steps back.

Thank God!

Reaching behind him, he pulls gloves out of his back pocket. I glance down at them in surprise and he nods. “Iama builder, Wren. I have my own.” He smirks. “In fact, I have my own hat and glasses, too. But, they’re in my truck. I’ll borrow some today, but I’ll remember to bring them in with me the next time.”

NEXT time!?

Why the hell would there be a next time?!

I must have made a sound because he wryly says, “You can just go ahead and save this locker for me. I don’t mind helping pull my own stuff when I’m able.” He winks. “You’ll be seeing quite a bit of me for the next little while, Wren.” Leaving me gaping, he walks to the spare hats and tries a couple on before tapping the top twice. He turns. “I guess you’d better get used to seeing me.”

My mouth falls open in utter astonishment. I don’t even know what to say.

Blaze gestures to Trés and raises his brow as he calls out, “I’m here to work… Let’s get to it.”

I barely withstand the urge to scratch my head.

What the hell just happened?!

Blaze

The look onWren’s face is priceless. She’s still just standing there staring at me like she can’t decide if she wants to scream at me or stab me. Personally, I hope she does neither.

I meant what I said. I’m going to be around a good bit. I like getting my hands dirty. It’s why I own a construction company. I don’t just design and delegate. I love getting my hands into everything we work on. Building things and seeing them come to fruition brings me immense joy.

I shouldn’t have teased her though. I already know she hates me from my past treatment of her and that’s not the way to rectify the situation. Old habits just die hard, I guess.

Looking back toward the lockers, I see her eyes are a stormy green again… she can’t hide her emotions with those eyes. She never could. I call back at her, “You just going to supervise?”

Her jaw hardens as she stalks over to me. “Not hardly.” She bumps me with her shoulder and I try to stop my grin as she passes me. I can’t help but follow her ass with my eyes as she walks. It’s perfect and fills out her jeans so well she could be the brand ambassador.

Turning quickly, she catches me appreciating her delectable derriere. She is not amused. She glares and smiles cattily. “I’m aware that my ass is amazing,Mr. Carrington, but ogling it isn’t why you’re here. You want to get your hands dirty and help, right?” She points to the stack of cured 2x4’s in a massive pile. “There you go. Two-hundred-ninety-four boards per unit. You ordered forty-three units.” She jerks her thumb to the neat stack of units behind her. “That’s thirteen. We have a good bit of work left to do. Get on it.”

The man standing next to her side-eyes her with a surprised look before sliding his clip-board under his arm, taking off his leather glove, and holding out his hand to me. “Trés Langlois. Mill foreman. Nice to meet you, Mr. Carrington.”

After slipping my glove off, I take his hand and shake it. “Nice to meet you. Call me Blaze. Everyone does.” Laughing, I glance over at Wren. She rolls her eyes and turns back to counting boards. Effectively shunning me.

Trés nods. “Will do. Thanks for lending a hand. We could do it without you, but it will certainly go faster with the extra help.” He slips his glove back on and I do the same. We chit chat as he introduces me to some of the other men, and, before I realize it, three hours roll by.

It’s hot in the mill, but still cooler than outside in the Louisiana heat. June in Louisiana is no joke, especially this year. We’re already hitting heat indexes in the triple digits and it’s not the hottest part of summer yet.

It’s going to be a scorcher.

Trés is a great foreman. He reminds everyone every half hour or so to hydrate. Heat stroke is a real danger and no one wants to lose crew to it. Myself included. I supply my guys with all of the Gatorade, Powerade, and water they need. I’m happy to see that LeSalle Lumber does the same for its employees.

I’m taking a short break to hydrate and wipe the sweat from my face with my shirt when I see Wren looking at me with a peculiar expression. She almost looks puzzled. My brow raises in question and she quickly looks away.

Is she surprised that I’m here sweating my ass off, working alongside these guys?! And her?

Swiping another Powerade from the cooler, I walk over to her. She looks up as I approach. Holding out the cold beverage, I say, “You need this as much as we do.”

She nods and rolls her neck as she pulls her hat and gloves off. She tosses the hat to the side and slips her gloves into the back pocket not holding a red bandana before taking the bottle and pressing it against her flushed cheeks and neck. She pops the top off and chugs half of the bottle before sighing and holding her wilted ponytail off her neck. Pieces of hair are sticking to her temple and cheeks. She mutters, “Thanks. I was going to grab one in a second. Appreciate it though.” She glances around at the stacked units we’ve done before looking back at the stack of still unloaded wood. “We’re making good time. Probably only another two hours or so and we’ll be done.” She’s still holding her long hair off of her neck.

My eyes drift to her pulse. I can see it in the dip of her neck.

Shaking my head, I nod. “Yeah. Thanks for helping with the order. I know it wasn’t supposed to be ready until next week.”

Keep talking, Blaze. She’s actually talking to you, so, just keep talking.

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