Jennifer Lohmann - Love On Her Terms

“The driveway or another person to help?” Levi held his hand out for the drill.

“Both,” she said, though she was shaking her head. “But you’ve only promised to stick around to build the thing. I neglected to ask you to help me move it in place.”

“That’ll cost you a beer.” He gestured for the drill and grunted when she shook her head again. “What, I don’t get beer for my labors?”

She laughed. “I’m not shaking my head at the beer. I’m shaking my head at giving you the drill.” She crab-walked around the driveway, the weight of the drill obviously pulling down at her hand, until she was next to him. Then she bumped him with her shoulder. “Move over. This is my raised bed and my drill. I get to use the power tools.”

“I’ll give up my beer in exchange for power-tool responsibility.”

The way her nose wrinkled as she pretended to consider his request made him want to laugh. “No dice,” she said, with another nudge. “I’ll pay you two beers for a lesson in power tools.”

He gave up with a bark that didn’t quite cover up his laugh and scooted to where he could hold the wood steady while she drilled.

It took Mina a few times with the drill to figure out how to control the power. Levi was pretty sure she was muttering and swearing under her breath each time the drill slipped and she had to release her fingers, but she managed to control any cursing by the time the whirl of the tool stopped. And each time she wrinkled her nose in frustration, took a deep breath and leaned forward with renewed concentration. When she had finally gotten all the holes predrilled and the screws in to attach the first short side of the bed to the post, she looked up at him in triumph.

“You didn’t give me any instruction, so I’m not sure I owe you the beers. But I got it done anyway, and I’m feeling generous. One beer, not two.”

He smiled at her continued reevaluation of their bargain. If he didn’t pay attention, he’d end the day having built a raised bed and offering to make dinner, too. “Your first lesson in power tools is that it would have been faster if you’d let me do it.”

“Does that mean you’d rather not have any beers?” She took the clamps off the board, then slid down and started clamping that end to the post.

“No,” he said, slipping into his role as assistant. To his surprise, he was having fun. “Just being honest. I have experience with this. You don’t.”

“But I’ll never get experience if I don’t do it. And if I mess it up, the store has more boards I can buy.”

“But you can’t pick up another helper.”

“Like I said, Ivan can help me next weekend.” She said the man’s name again, as if he should know who Ivan was. Her boyfriend? He hadn’t seen anyone regularly coming to the house—or noticed her spending nights away. Not that it mattered to him if his cute neighbor had a boyfriend. He was over here to be neighborly—trying something new like the horoscopes always suggested—not because he was interested in anything else.

Liar, liar, pants on fire, as his nephew Skylar would say.

“Besides, I don’t see you leaving in a huff because I won’t let you hold the power tools.” Her smile had turned into an impish smirk, and Levi knew he was staying, beer or no beer, power tools or no power tools.

“I said I’d help you build this bed, and I will,” he said with conviction that surprised even himself. “I’m a man of my word.” He paused. “Around household projects, at least.”

“A caveat of household projects? Is that a promise or a warning?” Figuring out how to put her whole body into the push of the drill didn’t seem to change her ability to keep that playful smile on her face.

Levi hadn’t enjoyed watching a woman’s face move so much since...well, since he’d first met Kimmie all those years ago. That realization hit at the same time Mina finished drilling and released the body-weight pressure she was putting into the wood. The sudden change knocked him off balance and on his ass, his hand flying out behind him for an equilibrium he couldn’t seem to find.

When he looked up, Mina was staring at him, her mouth and eyes wide in surprise. Amusement shone in her eyes. She recovered well enough to close her lips, but one corner of her mouth stayed lifted in surprise. Levi pushed himself back upright, chuckling at his clumsiness, and it seemed to be all the break Mina needed to laugh herself.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“Yes. I didn’t expect...” He’d expected to spend the afternoon thinking about his house and his chores and being anywhere other than here. He hadn’t expected to have an offer to get more wood so they could build another raised bed lingering on the tip of his tongue. “You moved sooner than I expected.”

“Well, Levi of no last name and worn hems, you’re less grumpy than I expected.”

Levi laughed, not a bark, not a chuckle or an acknowledging grunt. The laugh escaping his mouth was a full belly laugh that made his stomach muscles hurt but lightened the weight of his head on his shoulders. “Worn hems, huh? I guess my pajama pants are a bit old.”

“So is the T-shirt you were wearing.”

“You don’t let up, do you?”

“Not when I’m winning,” she said, her face bright with both the sunlight shining down on her and the pleasure radiating from within her.

“Let’s get this bed finished so I can have the beers that you owe me,” he said, emphasizing the s on the end of beers.

As they built the rest of the raised bed and dug holes for the posts, Mina chattered along, much like she had when standing on his front porch. Chatter was her default setting, he realized, and it had only been mindless and haphazard on his porch because he’d been silent, and she’d been nervous. Now, as he occasionally asked questions and bantered back, her conversation was still light, but it was also interesting. Levi had never expected to care about the glories of Russian curses, but so long as Mina was the one talking about them, he was eager to become an expert.

* * *

THE LEGS OF the wheelbarrow sank into the grass when Mina let go of the handles. The bed was done. It was even full of dirt. Levi had called someone he knew who ran a rock and soil yard, and they’d gone in his truck to pick up a load of topsoil and compost mix. She might, might, be able to squeeze in a few fast-growing greens and harvest something before the bitter cold weather set in.

But that was a task for another day. Despite the cool air hinting at fall, all the work they’d put in meant dirt stuck to the sheen of sweat on her skin like those minuscule brambles that stick to your socks after a hike. Her hair had fallen out of the bobby pins and was adhering to her face in clumps. And sniffing herself wasn’t required; she knew she stank.

Levi grimaced as he ran his hand along the back of his neck and gave his shoulder a few hard rubs. The world could be deeply unfair. Mina was pretty sure she looked like something the cat dragged in. Levi, who had to be just as dirty and probably also stank, looked rugged and capable. The streak of dirt across his cheek made the light brown of his eyes stand out, and his teeth looked whiter when he smiled at her.

“I’m going to be sore tomorrow,” he said with another rub at his neck.

“Since you weren’t happy giving over responsibility for the drill, I assume you do this sort of thing on a regular basis.” Maybe she just liked to imagine what he would look like chopping wood. “Or was that just because you’re a man and like to be in the driver’s seat?”

He let out a low sound, somewhere between a snort and a chuckle. The outright laughter that had caught her by surprise earlier was gone but not forgotten. She didn’t need it to know he was having a good time. “I supervise more than I hammer, so if you want to drive, I’m man enough to be a passenger and enjoy the scenery.”