Page 4 of Barn Burner
He scrunches up his nose. “Ouch, that doesn’t sound good.”
“Mhm,” I hum and round to the front of his car while giving him a wide berth.
I’m not quite sure how to take this overly friendly guy yet, but I can’t exactly leave him stranded. My mom brought me up better than that. I peer under the hood, trying to look for obvious signs of damage. I’m not a car expert. That’s my youngest brother, Cooper’s, wheelhouse, but I know some. Enough to know that the sweet scent that’s lingering in the air is comingfrom the antifreeze. I press the back of my hand against the coolant tank, quickly snatching it back when it burns my skin.
Yep, definitely overheated.
“Were you right?”
I stiffen as the guy steps up beside me and places his hands on the front of the car.
Straightening slightly, I turn to face him. He’s so close, the brim of my hat almost touches his nose. He’s pushed his dark sunglasses on top of his head, now showing off beautiful, rich chocolate-brown eyes, laced with flecks of gold.
He really is fucking gorgeous.
“Mhm. Engine overheated.”
“Damn, that sucks. Do I just leave it to cool down for a bit, then I can carry on?”
I shake my head. “I wouldn’t because you could cause more damage, and it’ll wreck your car.”
“Ugh!” He groans, dropping his head forward as he mutters to himself, “This summer fucking sucks.”
The sense of defeat lining his drooped shoulders has pity pooling in my chest. A lot of people come out this way for a vacation. They visit the various hiking trails around the Rockies or hit up the Calgary Stampede that happens every year in the city. Usually, I avoid it all. I like to live a quiet life, and my idea of a vacation is taking Prince on a pack trip for a couple of nights. But judging by the packed car, he was heading out on a solo adventure that has, quite literally, gone up in smoke.
He pulls out of his phone and taps the screen a few times, then lets out another frustrated noise. “Fuck! Still no signal.”
“You probably won’t get any ’til the trees clear,” I say, then feel like a heel for rubbing salt in what I assume is an already sore wound.
He huffs a laugh, one devoid of any humour. “Not that I can use it anyway. I stupidly saved the wrong number for thebreakdown service, so it’s not like I can call and hitch a ride, and I don’t remember what the company is called because I never thought I’d have to use it.”
He pushes himself off the car, and my eyes definitely don’t fall to his ass as he goes back to the spot where I first found him and drops down onto the grass.
Well, fuck. Now I definitely can’t leave him here. I don’t want jeopardizing his safety to linger on my conscience.
Just the sight of his ass in those jeans.
Fuck’s sake. Am I really that hard up that I’m eyeing a stranger’s ass? I know it’s been a while, but Christ.
Taking a deep breath, I say the words I hope I won’t come to regret. “I can give you a tow back to my ranch. My brother can take a look. He’s good with cars. He might be able to fix it, depending on how bad the damage is.”
His eyes widen as a hopeful smile spreads across his face. “Really?”
I grunt, and he jumps to his feet again, like an agile cat.
“Wow, thanks. I mean, I really appreciate it.” He shoves his hand out. “I’m Brayden.”
I drop my gaze from his face to his hand, hesitating for a beat before giving it a firm shake. “Jesse.”
“Ha!” He barks out a laugh. “That’s amazing!”
“Is it?” I ask, dropping his hand.
“Yeah! Jesse, and—” He points to my hat. “—you’re a cowboy.”
I frown. Is he seriously going to make fun of me after I’ve just offered to rescue his ass?
Stop thinking about his ass.
