Page 140 of Mr. Flirt

“Ouch.” She waved her hand in the air. “Splinter.”

I raised my brows, trying not to let Grace Bailey’s allure dazzle me into confusion. She’d already run off with my best friend once. I didn’t need her to start hitting on Uncle Carter just for fun.

“Should I call an ambulance?” I quipped.

“I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” The tartness in her words stirred up a little something that seemed like fun. “I need to get back to my daughter.”

She bent down for her bike when I noticed the dangling chain and the popped tire.

“You’re not going to attempt another ride on that thing, right?” I eyed the bicycle, remembering her on the same one so many summers ago. We’d meet at the ice cream store, which also happened to sell twenty flavors of popcorn, and sometimes we’d head off to the community pool or over to Buttercup Lake. It had been such a carefree time.

“Like you’d care...” Grace scowled, which looked absolutely adorable. “Jackson.”

Ah, so she did remember me.

“I care very much, or I wouldn’t have directed you to the pile of mulch. The spill could have been much nastier.”

“So now you’re a hero?” she asked wryly.

I detected a hint of a smile, but I was pretty sure I could turn it upside down really quick-like if I misspoke.

“No. Just a concerned citizen. Listen, I’m glad you’re okay. I’d be more than happy to plop your bike in the back of my pickup and drive you to wherever you’re headed.” I licked my lips and saw Uncle Carter watching us. I couldn’t strike out in front of my uncle.

My eyes ran down her bare skin, and I pressed my lips together to resist the urge to say what I really wanted to say.

“What?” She folded her arms over her chest. “Haven’t you seen a woman before?”

I scratched my jaw and laughed. “I haven’t seenyouas a woman.”

She tapped her foot. “And why would that matter?”

“I suppose it doesn’t.”

My uncle snickered, and I noticed how long it had been since he’d coughed.

“But what I was observing was that you have a lot of splinters, and the moment you run a towel over your body, you’re going to feel like you slept with a porcupine.”

“Thanks for your concern.” She eyed the pickup in the driveway. “I’ll be sure to tweeze them out before bathing.”

“You know, you could just put a raisin over each one and stick a bandage over it,” Uncle Carter hollered with no cough again.

And I started to wonder if he’d been waiting for me to finish his yard work before his bout with pneumonia ended.

Grace looked perplexed. “A raisin?”

“Yup. It dries out the skin and makes the splinter pop out. Potatoes work too. By morning, you pull off the potato, and the splinter’s stuck right in it,” he explained.

I wasn’t sure I believed my uncle’s home remedies, but Grace seemed intrigued.

“They look mostly superficial.” I shrugged. “You could just get some duct tape and run it over your skin quickly. It should pull most of them out.”

She turned her attention to me and then back to my uncle. “I’ll be sure to try the raisins tonight.”

“Good girl.” My uncle waved and stood before heading inside.

I ran my hands through my dark hair and let out a sigh. “So, do you want to be your typical stubborn self and push your bike home, or would you like to be sensible and let me give you a lift?”

“What makes you think I’m stubborn?” She eyed me, and I was dying to know what was running through her mind.

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