Page 116 of Fish out of Water
“You passed out.” Andrew’s frown deepened. “You got too hot.”
“Do you want something to drink?” I grabbed the bottle of water I’d tried to give her earlier and held it out.
“Not until the ambulance gets here.” Andrew shifted around the towel on her feet. “Right now we just need to get her cooled off.”
“Ambulance?” Collette tried to sit up but Andrew held her tight. “I don’t need an ambulance.”
“You absolutely need an ambulance.” Andrew squinted toward the front of the property. He pointed to one of the landscapers. “Go wait at the front entrance. I’ll be there with her in a minute.”
The landscaper immediately jumped into his cart and sped off toward the main gate of the park.
“I’m fine.” Collette tried to sit up again.
Andrew shifted around, changing his grip on Collette. “You’re going to the hospital to be checked out if I have to drag your ass there myself.” Then he pushed up from the ground, managing to keep his footing as he hefted Collette toward the cart she rode in on.
“I’m serious, Andrew.” Collette looked at me like I was going to help her. “I’m fine. You can put me down. I’ll drink some water and go sit in the air-conditioning. I’ll be fine.”
“Not happening.” He dropped into the seat, Collette still pinned to his chest.
He took off immediately, the tires of the cart sloshing through the water we’d successfully diverted. Collette stared at me over one of Andrew’s broad shoulders.
I cringed as I lifted my hand in a wave.
She was going to kill me.
Then again, she’d been trying to get Andrew’s attention for months.
She certainly had it now.
“Welp.” I turned to the remaining help I had. “We’ve got two more trenches to dig.”
I grabbed my shovel and went to the next line we’d marked out, jabbing the point into the ground.
Things went slower without Andrew to help, but we were still making pretty good headway when the landscaper finally came back in his cart.
But he wasn’t alone.
“Holy shit.” Grant stared at the water still rolling down the sidewalk. “What in the hell happened?”
“Fucking developer behind us.” I stomped on the side of the shovel, working it deeper. “They’re going to ruin this place.”
Grant watched as the landscaper who brought him in jumped out of the cart and grabbed a shovel, immediately going back to work.
“What time is it?” I dug into my pocket and pulled out my phone, fighting the screen with my wet fingers.
“It’s five thirty.” Grant was at my side, mud already caking onto the sides of his dress shoes.
“What are you doing? You’re going to ruin your shoes.”
“I have more.” He didn’t look my way as he unbuttoned one sleeve of his dress shirt and went to work rolling it up.
I stared in shock as he finished with his sleeves and grabbed Andrew’s discarded shovel, stepping in beside the landscaper who brought him in and starting to dig.
“You don’t have to do this, Grant.” I winced as dirt slung up onto his pants. “We’ve got it.”
He turned my way, coming closer than he should considering how sweaty and gross I was. His dark eyes skimmed down my dirt-covered body as he leaned into my ear. “I think you underestimate what I’m willing to do to have you to myself, Jules.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
