Mia Ross - Loving the Country Boy

Brutally clear, he added silently. He didn’t know why her icy warning still stung, but only a complete moron would ignore it.

“She’s only been in town a couple of days,” Chelsea reminded him. “When she gets more comfortable here, her feelings might change.”

“Not hardly,” he said evenly. “Besides, she’s not staying that long, so there’s no point in trying to make something out of nothing.”

“But you would try, if she wasn’t going back to California?”

Heath hesitated. Would he? Their unexpected run-in had knocked him for a loop, and he hadn’t quite regained his usually even-keeled perspective. He kept trying to convince himself that was a normal reaction for someone who’d narrowly avoided an accident and was now late for work. The explanation made sense, but part of him knew that wasn’t the reason he still felt off-kilter.

It was Tess.

Thinking that way would only get him in trouble, Heath knew, so he shoved the thought back into the corner of his mind he didn’t visit very often. “You take care of yourself and that little one. Your assistant will be back soon.”

With a good-bye wave, he trotted down the porch steps and met up with Tess just as she was finishing a call. She hit the end button and said, “Gram wanted me to tell you hi and thanks for lending a hand with this.”

“Lemme guess,” he replied with a grin. “She couldn’t care less about the car, and she wants to pay me for the repair work.”

“So you’re a mind reader,” she teased with a mischievous grin that reminded him of her cousins. “What am I thinking?”

The tone was more playful than flirtatious, which was fine with him. Closing his eyes, he rested his fingers on his temples as if he was concentrating very hard. “You’re thinking your coffee is cold by now, and you need to get some more while you’re in town. Around here, the best place for anything food-related is The Whistlestop.”

“Wow,” she said around a barely muted yawn, “you’re good.”

“Not really.” He chuckled. “That’s the third time you’ve yawned since we got here. Either you’re incredibly bored, or you’re not totally awake yet.”

He opened the driver’s door and motioned for her to get in. When she blinked at him, he realized she wasn’t following along. “It’s all yours.”

“You want me to drive?”

“You’re dropping me off, so that’s the easiest thing to do.” The sunlight glinted off the flecks of gold in her eyes, and he caught a spark of something he couldn’t quite put a finger on. But anyone could see he’d hit a nerve with her. “Am I wrong?”

“No, it’s just—” She stopped abruptly, and he waited for her to continue. Thankfully, her annoyance drifted away, leaving behind appreciation. “My ex always drove, even if we were in my car and he didn’t know where we were going. It kind of bugged me.”

“I can see why.” He could also understand why the guy was an ex. Anyone that heavy-handed wouldn’t last long with this very headstrong woman.

“It’s refreshing to be treated like someone with a perfectly good head on her shoulders,” she confided with a sigh.

“I can’t imagine treating you any other way,” Heath blurted before it occurred to him how a comment like that might come across to her. Her grateful smile eased his concern, though, and he was glad he’d spoken his mind.

“Thanks, Heath. That might not seem like much to you, but it means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome. Want a hand up?”

“No, I’ve got it.”

Standing on the toe of one high heel, she grasped the interior handle and pulled herself into the cab of the old pickup. He shut the door behind her and strolled around the truck before settling in on the other side. With a little coaching from him, she quickly got the hang of the vintage equipment, and he said, “You’re a natural. That clutch isn’t the best, but you’re doing fine.”

“You mean, for a girl?” she teased with a smirk.

Busted, he thought with a grin of his own. Since she didn’t seem offended, he figured it wasn’t an issue for her. “Sorry, but yeah. The women I’ve known couldn’t handle a brand-new manual transmission, much less this one.”

“I guess I’m not like them.”

That was an understatement, but he managed not to tell her so. Instead, he pointed out the turn that led to Main Street. With no power steering, the mill truck took some strength to maneuver, and as she made the sharp turn, she groaned with the effort. “This thing handles like a pontoon boat.”

Heath chuckled. “Driven a lot of those, have you?”

“Trust me, once was enough.”

“Must be a big change, coming here after spending so much time in California.”

“Yes, it is.”

She didn’t offer anything beyond that, but his instincts were telling him it wasn’t because she had nothing more to say. They were basically strangers, but he couldn’t shake the suspicion that she was holding something back.

None of his business, he cautioned himself as she pulled into the lot at Morgan’s Garage and put the truck in Park. All the Barretts were known for their stubborn streak, and despite her upper-class background, Tess seemed to have inherited it in spades. Harsh experience had taught him that the quickest way to irritate a woman was to step in where he wasn’t wanted and try to solve a problem she was confident she could handle on her own. Even if she was wrong.

Getting out, he walked over to the driver’s window and leaned his elbows on the frame. “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

Her puzzled expression made it clear she had no clue what he was talking about. Then, slowly, understanding dawned in those stunning eyes, and she rewarded him with a grateful smile. “That’s sweet of you, but I’m fine. Really,” she added emphatically, as if she was trying to convince herself as much as him.

He thought he knew better, but he also knew this wasn’t the time to press. Pushing away from the pickup, he said, “Remember this old girl’s only got three gears, and her top speed is about forty. Any questions?”

“Actually, I do have one.” Angling to face him, she went on. “Why do so many guys refer to cars as female? I mean, women don’t call them ‘he’, so why do you call them ‘she’?”

She punctuated her question with an arched brow, and he couldn’t help laughing. “I got no idea. Keep her under forty, though, and you should do okay.”

“Not a Ferrari.” She added a sassy grin. “Got it.”

Stepping back, he waved as she left the parking lot and headed for the diner where he’d recommended she get her coffee. This morning had turned out nothing like he’d expected, he mused while he strolled inside to punch in.

With Tess in Barrett’s Mill for an extended visit, he had a feeling things around this quiet little town were going to get very interesting.

Chapter Three

The next morning Tess was pulling her hair into a chignon when her cell phone began playing the ringtone she’d assigned to Chelsea. It was too early in the day for a social call, and she dropped her brush in midstroke to answer it. “Hi, Chelsea. Is everything okay?”

“We had a terrible night, so we’re meeting the doctor at his office in half an hour. I’m so sorry to do this to you now. We barely had time to cover anything yesterday.”

The stress in her voice came through loud and clear, and she sounded on the verge of tears. The kitchen phone started ringing downstairs, and she assumed it was Paul calling Gram with the same update.

Wishing there was more she could do, Tess summoned a confident tone to reassure her distraught cousin-in-law. “He told you everything was okay at your appointment yesterday, right?”