Page 3 of The Miner's Miracle
Grady raises a brow. “A nuisance you can’t stop staring at, apparently.”
“I’m not—” I start, but the image of Tessa flashes in my mind: the way her eyes light up when she’s furious, how her curves fill out those jeans she wears when she’s gardening. I shake my head and scowl.
“She’s… just my neighbor,” I mutter.
“Sure,” Liam says, rolling his eyes. “And the sky’s pink.”
Barron leans forward, his grin downright wolfish. “Let me guess—she’s sweet. Curvy. Pretty. And she gives as good as she gets when you argue.”
“Shut up,” I snap, but the heat crawling up my neck spreads to my ears.
Barron throws his head back and laughs. “Oh, man. You’re done for.”
“I’m not done for anything,” I growl. “She’s a pain in the ass.”
“Pain in the ass or not,” King says, “it’s been what? Four years since you retired from service and moved back to Devil’s Peak? About time someone came along to shake you up.”
“I don’t need shaking up,” I snap.
“Sure you don’t,” Fox says, grinning. “That’s why you’re sitting here, complaining about her like a lovesick teenager.”
The table erupts into laughter again, and I grit my teeth. “You’re all a bunch of jackasses.”
“And you’re a grumpy old man with a neighbor who’s clearly under your skin,” Grady says, clapping me on the shoulder. “You might want to figure out why that is.”
I finish my beer in one long pull and push back from the table, ignoring their knowing smirks as I stand.
“I’ve had enough of this,” I mutter, grabbing Shep’s leash from where it’s looped around my chair. “Come on, Shep.”
The dog looks up from where he’s sprawled at my feet, wagging his tail lazily.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” King calls after me as I head for the door.
I flip him off without looking back, their laughter chasing me into the cool night air.
Back at my cabin, the first thing I notice is the light spilling out of Tessa’s kitchen window. It casts a soft glow over her yard, illuminating the neat rows of flowers and vegetables she’s planted.
She’s bent over one of the beds and the way her jeans hug her generous curves are enough to make my dick twitch and throb stubbornly. No other woman has ever had this effect on me, just the way her hair falling in loose waves over her shoulder as she works does things to me. Even from here, I can see the determination in her movements, the way she bites her lip when she’s focused.
Shep tugs on the leash, pulling me closer to the fence that separates our yards. Tessa looks up at the sound of his excited bark, her eyes narrowing when she spots me.
“Back from the bar already?” she calls, her voice laced with sarcasm. “I thought you miners drank until dawn.”
“Not all of us have time for socializing,” I retort, unhooking Shep’s leash. He bolts toward her, tail wagging like a maniac.
“Traitor,” I mutter under my breath as Tessa kneels to greet him, her laughter soft and warm as she ruffles his fur.
“He’s got good taste,” she says, smirking up at me. “Unlike some people.”
I lean against the fence, crossing my arms over my chest. “You know, for someone who’s always complaining about me, you seem to have a lot of time for my dog.”
“He’s the only decent thing about you,” she shoots back, standing and brushing the dirt off her hands.
I can’t help the grin that tugs at my lips. “You’ve got a mouth on you, Nurse Sunshine.”
“And you’ve got an ego bigger than this mountain,” she fires back. But there’s a spark in her eyes, a flicker of something that makes my chest tighten.
We stare at each other for a moment, the air between us charged. Then Shep barks, breaking the spell.
