Page 17 of Fragile Sanctuary

I grinned widely at her. “As Lolli says, it’s just the human body.”

“I can never look in that direction. You know that, right?”

A laugh bubbled out of me as I pictured Fallon walking into my new home, laying eyes on the artwork, and promptly turning the shade of a tomato. “I bet she’d make one for you, too.”

The blood drained from Fallon’s face. “Please, don’t suggest it.Lolli will make one, and then I’ll be forced to find a spot for it, and I’ll die every time I look at it.”

“Shep has his behind his office door.”

Fallon dropped her head back to her hands, groaning.

I pulled my gaze away from her and toward the flicker of movement I saw out of the corner of my eye. At least, I told myself it was a flicker of movement that had me seeking him out. Anson had the tailgate of his truck down and was bent over some large pieces of paper. Blueprints, maybe? He had a pencil balanced between his lips as he studied them.

“New guy on the crew?” Fallon asked.

I quickly tore my gaze away from him, clearing my throat. “That’s Anson.”

Fallon’s eyes went wide. “Bestie from college, who’s basically been a ghost since he moved here? That Anson?”

“The one and only.”

Nora and Lolli had tried to get him to come to dinner or other family get-togethers more times than I could count. But Shep always came back with the same answer: No. There were excuses at first, but eventually, Shep just shook his head when Nora or Lolli asked if Anson was coming.

Fallon nibbled on the corner of her lip. “He’s certainly not hard to look at.”

“Nope,” I said, popping the P. “But his personality ruins it.”

Fallon choked on a laugh. “Tell me how you really feel.”

I leaned back against the porch steps, letting the sun heat my skin. “He’s just not the warm-and-fuzzy type.”

She studied me for a moment. “You’ll fix that in a matter of days.”

I arched a brow in her direction.

“Please. I’ve seen you turn the most cantankerous rancher into a puddle of sweetness at the nursery. This is nothing.”

“Cantankerous, huh? Pulling out the big guns.”

Fallon grinned at me. “I just speak the truth. You have a way of making people see the brighter side. I’m sure Anson will be no different.”

She wasn’t wrong. I’d never seen the point in letting the hard things you were going through weigh you or others down. Not even a bad day, for that matter. If a customer at the nursery was in an especially foul mood, I just made it a game. How could I get them smiling before they left?

I pushed to my feet, brushing off my jeans. “You’re right.”

Fallon scrambled up after me. “I’m always right, but why am I slightly terrified of the gleam in your eyes right now?”

“I’m just going to invite the man to dinner,” I said simply.

She swallowed hard as she glanced from him to me and back again. “He seems like he’s pretty busy right now.”

“It’ll take two minutes.”

“I’m just going to wait here because I’m having secondhand anxiety.”

I snorted. “Go check out the dick flower. Maybe that’ll help.”

“You’re the worst,” Fallon grumbled.

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