Page 5 of Cut to the Heart of It
This man was making me crazy, and I had known him all of five minutes. I stood in shock and a flush rose that I couldn’t control when he looked down at me with one arched brow. And I swore the edge of his mouth twitched again. His eyes traveled down, and as they did, I looked down and realized my top was soaking wet and since there was a little chill to the air, my nipples were hard as rocks, poking right out at him.
A chill ran up my back and I shook my shoulders and shot a grimace at him. I jumped in the seat and pulled the door hard. Cranking the car, I moved just my eyes to see if he was still there and saw him walking away toward a big white truck with mud around the bottom.
Ugh. He was checking out my breasts. In a wet shirt. Oh well. At least I’d probably never see him again. Maybe I could look up other gas stations in the area before I head home Sunday, so I didn’t have to chance seeing him here.
Why do all the John’s have to be so hot, yet such dicks?
Chapter 4
Johnny
What a little firecracker she was. Didn’t catch her name, but she was a sight for sore eyes. I seemed to have rubbed her the wrong way. Too bad; I wouldn’t mind rubbing her the right way. Oh well, she couldn’t get away from me fast enough. I cranked the truck and let it warm up a bit while I took my overshirt off. It was soaking wet and just made me colder.
I was trying to be nice and help her with the door. I couldn’t help that her headlights were glaring at me. And she looked pretty damn sexy with beads of rain running down her face and her hair damp like she was fresh out of a shower. She smelled like a mix of grapefruit and flowers. It was intoxicating, like her eyes. That green sure did get stormy fast. But I suppose I always did enjoy a feisty woman.
I cranked up the heat and adjusted my junk. “Down boy,” I joked to myself before putting the truck in reverse and heading back.
The rain was coming down in buckets and even the wipers on full blast weren’t helping me see the road. I slowed down and put my bright lights on. As I made my way up, the rain would ease up a little then pour from the sky again. The brakes on this truck would need to be checked if it kept up. We hadn’t had a rain like this in a while. So much for next week.
Driving past all the driveways to the cabins I made note of the gravel roads. So far, they looked alright. I’d need to come back and check tomorrow if this rain kept up. Two of the reservations were canceled last-minute and I gave them the deposit back due to the storm, but one didn’t. Hopefully he’d be fine out there. It was a reservation for one and we hadn’t had a man up in a while. He was probably a hunter or planning to fish the lake near the bottom of the mountain. Deer season just opened up, and there could be some good fall fishing, especially right after a storm. Not sure when this would pass through. It wasn’t supposed to come in until Monday, but we all knew the forecast was wrong. Even old Drew mentioned it when I called to check on the splitter.
I pulled in the long driveway and turned off the engine. It was still raining hard, but the tree cover helped. I grabbed one case of beer, my laptop, and my shirt before walking inside, taking note of our own gravel driveway. None looked to be washing away.
“Hey Dad. How was Uncle Bo?” Danny asked from the kitchen as I walked in. He was sitting at the table with his laptop. “I left dinner on the stove.”
Putting the beer in the fridge, I grabbed one, then pulled a plate down and scooped some of the casserole onto it. “Smells great. How much longer you got to work?” I asked as I plopped down at the table with my plate and beer.
“Should be less than an hour. That rain sure came out of nowhere.”
“Yep. Oh, Uncle Bo is fine. He says hi. Asked when you’re coming for coffee.” Bo lived down near the store that he owned and worked for the last fifty years.
“If the man would ever take some time off, I’d go see him. The last two times I drove down he was at the store. He hired help. He needs to be home relaxing.”
Bo was in his seventies, but you couldn’t tell him that. He drank beer, ate red meat every day, and worked long hours at the store. He always said he’d outlive everyone. Dad took pretty good care of himself, but his heart gave out a few years back. He was seventy when he went, and thankfully the docs said it was fast, so he didn’t suffer. He hadn’t done logging in years but had still insisted on overseeing the crew. I only popped in occasionally and spoke to the foreman by phone a good bit, but he was a good man, and I didn’t need to be over his shoulder.
“You got classes tomorrow?” I asked as I shoveled in the casserole.
“Yeah, group project, too. You need me tomorrow?”
I wiped my face with a napkin then sipped my beer. “Naw. But if this rain keeps up, I may run back to Bo and grab a few things.”
“We have a good bit of food and stuff.”
“Yeah, but we can put some things in the deep freezer just in case.”
“You worry too much, Dad.”
I grinned and took another sip of beer. I couldn’t argue with him. I did worry a lot about him. He was such a good kid; I didn’t even hold a grudge against his mother because I wouldn’t have him without her.
We sat in silence while I finished eating and he worked. I cleared my plate and cleaned up the kitchen and grabbed one more beer. “Going to bed, son.” I leaned down and kissed the top of his head. “I’ll see ya in the morning. Don’t stay up too late. Love you.”
“Love you. I’m not far behind.”
Tiny moved from his spot next to Danny’s feet and waddled up the stairs behind me. I held the door open until he made his way in, then gently pushed the heavy wood door closed.
Moving to the bathroom, I kicked myself for not changing when I got home, but the food smelled good, and I was starving. I stripped down and turned the shower on to warm up while I finished my beer.
Once the bathroom collected steam, I opened the glass door of the shower and stepped inside. The hot water felt great on my tired muscles, so I let the water run over me for a few minutes, just letting the heat seep in and loosen me up.
