“Now remember-keep your eyes open and your mouth shut and you’ll avoid the trouble,” Dixie reminded Jamie as they sped along the highway toward Grafton on Monday morning.
“Easy for you to say. You were never accused of sabotage by your new boss,” Jamie grumbled next to her.
“Even more reason for you to keep my words, James Henry, and knock off that attitude,” she commanded.
When Dixie returned home on Friday to tell Jamie the news, he was less than delighted, but after arguing, pleading, and just plain demanding that he take the job, he finally agreed. Unfortunately, asking for a happy face was a little more than he could manage right now, and Dixie knew it. She sent a small prayer up to heaven that Jamie would behave himself.
Which is exactly what I should have told Mac Coalson. Should’ve told him to behave himself and demanded that he release her immediately. Woulda, shoulda, coulda, but didn’t.
Mac had managed to turn their confrontation into the most sensual experience she had ever encountered. The idea that he had wormed his way from being the enemy to a sexual partner didn’t sit well with her. But the concept of avoiding him entirely sent an ache to her heart. So as usual, she was arguing with herself as she drove up to his offices.
You got it bad, girl. One kiss and you’re hearing wedding bells and the patter of little feet. Get a grip.
Yes, but what a kiss! Stars and bells and fireworks! If his brother hadn’t walked in, who knows how that would’ve ended?
My point exactly. One kiss that curls your toes and you’re ready to throw all your principles out the window. You don’t even know him that well. He’s probably got women throwing themselves at him all the time and you’re no different, what with the way you practically devoured him.
I did not. I was just surprised at the depth of feeling in his kiss.
You and I both know what he was feeling, sugar; you just won’t admit that you were ready to become another notch on the bedpost. Slow down. Check him out. There’s probably plenty of people willing to talk about him in this town.
Well what if he doesn’t want to slow down? I’m not sure I want to know the answer to that. I think I’ll know when the time is right; my heart will tell me so.
That’s not your heart, that’s your libido, stupid.
Dixie put an end to chat with herself when she pulled in the parking lot of the construction company. Reminding her brother to behave himself once again, she hopped out of the Jeep.
“Dixie?”
She turned to Jamie and raised her brow. “I know all the trouble you went through to do this for me. But don’t be surprised if nothing turns up. If the Coalsons can’t find this guy, I’m pretty sure my help isn’t going to be needed very long.”
“Just do your best, Jamie. If nothing else comes of this, at least the Coalsons get to know you. They’ll realize they were mistaken in assuming that you had anything to do with any of this.”
“Yeah, and if not, you’ve just made it really easy for the lynch mob to find me. And I’m betting that they’ve got some pretty thick rope around here somewhere.” He waved his hand to encompass the yard, but there was a smile on his face.
“And if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were scared,” Dixie retorted as they walked toward the old barn.
“I can get over being scared, but you’ll always be short.”
Jamie and Dixie stopped their teasing as Mac walked out of the building. He was wearing a red flannel shirt and faded jeans that hugged his powerful size. Dixie smiled at his arrogant stride as he walked across the parking lot. He certainly had that sexy walk down pat.
Unconsciously, Dixie began hurrying toward him, her heels clicking loudly on the pavement. The noise echoed the pounding of her heart, and the sound brought her out of her trance. She glanced around to find Jamie several feet behind her wearing a frown. She realized then just how silly she must’ve looked, practically running to meet Mac, so she visibly forced herself to slow down.
Someone let out a whistle and she stopped halfway across the parking lot. Turning toward the sound, she saw Mac’s brother, Chance, standing in the bed of a truck a few feet away. She blushed furiously as she remembered the circumstances of their first meeting.
“Hi, gorgeous! What’s a beautiful girl like you doing in a place like this?” Chance shouted as a truck full of trusses rolled between them on the asphalt surface.
Dixie shook her head and laughed at Chance. He resembled Mac in quite a few ways – same tall lean build, same hair color, but his eyes were clear blue not steel gray. And looking at him didn’t give her a shiver of sexual awareness. Characteristically though, they were complete opposites. Mac was tough, almost stern, except when it came to kissing, she added dreamily. Chance, on the other hand, had a carefree attitude that indicated he was rarely serious, whether at work or play. His teasing banter helped put her a bit more ease. “Hi, Chance. How are you?”
“Doing fine now that you’re here, sunshine. You brightened my day. Care to light up my nights?” He accompanied the ridiculous remark with a lecherous grin as he looked her over from head to toe taking in all of her curves in her simple suit.
She laughed at his silliness. He was truly outrageous, but in a totally irresistible way. She could understand why he was labeled the “Casanova of the County” as one teacher had told her. Still, as long as a girl didn’t take him too seriously, he was probably a lot of fun. She would do well to keep that in mind when dealing with his oldest brother, too.
“Get to work,” Mac barked as he reached her side. Chance jumped off the truck and with a wave, headed for the offices whistling “You Are My Sunshine” very loudly and very off key.
Mac turned his gaze on Dixie and she felt her blush intensify. “Hi,” she said softly, wishing her voice didn’t sound so breathless. She wanted to look into his eyes, to gauge what he was feeling, but they were hidden behind the sunglasses, and all she saw was her reflection. He looked tough and hard and incredibly sexy this morning. She wondered what he would look like after making love, then reddened even more at these thoughts because he was looking at her as if he could read her mind.
“Hello,” Mac replied, then grimaced. His voice sounded like he was gargling with broken glass. He couldn’t think of anything else to say. Damn. Couldn’t even think when she looked up at him like that. He had stood at the office window waiting for a sign of her. When the Jeep pulled into the parking lot, he had bounded across the room and out the door, suddenly feeling as nervous as a kid on his first date.
He was glad he had put on his glasses. He didn’t know if it was the glare of the sun or the woman walking toward him that blinded him. He noticed that she had put her hair up again. He longed to pullout the pins and run his fingers through that silky mass of gold. She was wearing a suit, this one in navy blue. It had some sort of pale pink lace shirt under it. It looked as if it would rip into pieces with little effort, leaving her naked and vulnerable to his gaze. It was the color of cotton candy. He loved cotton candy, and there was no doubt he was hungry.
Jamie’s cough broke the awkward silence. “I should let you get to work.” Dixie smiled nervously. “I’ll pick Jamie up around five o’clock, if that’s okay?” She glanced at Jamie just long enough to give him a murderous glare. He ignored her and turned to watch the men loading a lumber truck.
“Yes, that’s fine.” Mac cleared his throat. He wanted to ask her to have dinner with him tonight, but it was a bit awkward with her brother standing there hanging on their every word.
“Well then, goodbye.” She fiddled with the strap of her handbag.
“Bye.” Mac cursed himself for missing the opportunity to get to know her as he looked at her lips and remembered just how soft they were.
Dixie finally turned away and Mac watched her walk to the car, his eyes taking in the gently swaying hips, legs ensconced in pale pink stockings and high heels. He sighed with genuine regret as he turned to Jamie and motioned him to follow Mac into the office.
He motioned for Jamie to take the chair while he took his seat behind the desk. Mac spent a few moments studying the boy that slouched in the chair across from him. Although his eyes were brown, he did resemble Dixie. The blonde hair was a little long with bangs that he kept from getting in his eyes with a quick flick of his head. He had a lanky frame, but Mac could tell he was strong. He could also tell he was nervous but trying to hide the fact by appearing bored.
If Jamie was telling the truth about this mystery man, and from discussions with the other boys involved, Mac tended to believe that he was, he might be an asset to the company. Mac contemplated a way to put the kid at ease. Maybe a little background information would help to loosen them up. “Why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself? How did you and your sister come to settle here in Grafton?”
“Just cut the crap. You don’t really want to know about me, you just want to find out more about my sister. I saw the way you were looking at her. The sunglasses weren’t hiding anything,” Jamie snapped belligerently. “Dixie said that you had seen reason, but I personally think saw my sister and decided you wanted her. Well, I’m going to set you straight on that level. It’s not happening.”
Mac held onto his temper, but the urge to throttle the boy for his insolence was almost overwhelming. “Actually, yes, I would like to know more about your sister, but I’ll wait to ask her the questions. I think that would only be proper, given the circumstances, don’t you?”
“Maybe you think having me under your thumb will set you in good stead with Dixie. Well, I’m the baggage Dixie’s dragging around, so you mess with her, you mess with me.”
Mac stared at him, willing to wait him out until he answered.
“Fine,” Jamie huffed. “Dix and I lived with Grandpa Harris near Clover Creek, Tennessee. It’s a small town a few miles into the Cherokee National Forest. Actually we lived about ten miles from town in a log cabin my grandfather had built after my grandmother had passed. We lived in a small valley with the Appalachian Mountains surrounding us. It was a pretty great place to grow up.”
“Dixie and I left Clover Creek when Grandpa died. We sold the farm because that’s what Grandpa wanted us to do. The town had grown around us, and it just wasn’t the same without Grandpa anyway. But we came here to look up one of Grandpa’s old friends, C. J. Callahan. Grandpa wanted him to have a few things from the war. They were in the same regiment in Korea. And Grandpa considered him a good friend. They stayed in touch for years.”
Mac leaned back in his chair. “I knew Mr. Callahan. He was a good man and a darn good fisherman. Taught me a lot about the sport. We would go fishing in the river almost every Sunday after church. When we cleaned them, my mom had them fried up and then after supper, C. J. and Dad played chess for a couple of hours. Now that you mention it, I remember C. J. talking about a friend named Harry that lived in Tennessee.” Mac smiled of the memory and a companionable silence was found as each man lost himself in the memories of past days spent fishing and lazing in the sun.
Jamie relaxed a bit. “When we arrived, we found out Mr. Callahan had died around the same time as Grandpa. Since we were here and we didn’t have anywhere to go, we just decided to stay and help out with rebuilding the town.”
Something Jamie had said didn’t add up. Mac leaned forward and prepared to catch the kid in the lie. “According to the police report, you’re only sixteen. Can’t believe your sister, as a teacher, allowed you to quit school to wander the country.”
Jamie grinned. “Yeah, you got that right. Grandpa taught me and Dixie at home. She finished homeschooling and passed all the exams when she was sixteen. Then she went on to get her degree last year. I’m finishing my senior year here with Dixie homeschooling me, but I plan to enroll in college in the fall. I’m going to major in veterinary medicine.”
Mac frowned as he did a few quick mental calculations. “You’re saying Dixie is only twenty-one?”
Jamie grinned at the quick change in subject. “Yes sir. She’s always been smart and she just dug in her heels and finished college in under four years. She turned twenty-one in February. It was a streak of luck that y’all needed a new kindergarten teacher this January, and Dixie was here to fill the spot… Is something wrong?” Jamie noticed Mac’s sudden frown.
“No,” Mac cleared his throat. “I was just remembering the argument your sister and I had about you coming to work for me. If I’d known how intelligent she was, I would’ve prepared better. I would’ve bet no one could change my mind about you boys, but she did.”
Jamie laughed and nodded. “She does that to me all the time. Just when I think I might win an argument, she sticks out her chin and gets stubborn as a mule. Before I know it, I’m doing what she wants anyway. She’s an immovable object when she knows she’s right.”
On a more even footing, the two men went out to the yard, and Mac introduced Jamie to his younger brother, Brandon, who was in charge of the cleanup of the vandalized houses. He also was responsible for the architectural aspects of the company. They found him crosschecking a load of materials from the local lumber company.
Mac grinned in satisfaction as he looked over his dream. For a small construction business, the yard was large and well stocked. Stacks of lumber surrounded the perimeter of the yard and two large flatbed trucks were filled with trusses. Several other trucks were equipped with utility bodies to transport the tools and small materials needed for each particular job. In one corner, backhoes sat idle alongside a dump truck. Upon closer inspection, Jamie realized that all the service trucks were black and bore the Coalson Construction Company emblem of three vertical “C’s” in blazing gold lettering. The trucks were clean and well organized. The ladder racks were completely filled and ready at a moment’s notice. The company obviously knew its business and went about it in the most efficient manner.
Jamie asked informative questions and, Brandon answered cautiously. But after a few moments, he relaxed his guard and began to give detailed answers as Jamie appeared even more intrigued with the construction business. As they passed a group of men filling one truckload of sod and the attached trailer with small bushes and decorative gravel for landscaping, Brandon was waxing on about his favorite subject, architecture. Mac knew Jamie was in good hands.
“Hey, Mac, who is the new kid?” a coarse voice shouted.
Mac groaned in frustration. Jeb Hawkins, the resident bigmouth was coming over to them. Mac wouldn’t have kept the man on, but he had married Jessie Janzen, the girl Mac had first kissed beneath the oak tree near the cemetery when he was twelve. She had been a sweet shy girl and she was still a sweet shy woman. She had seven kids and worked two jobs just to make ends meet because Jeb, more often than not, drank his paycheck away. If Mac could, he would sign over the checks to Jessie but knowing her, she’d just give Jeb the money he wanted anyway.
“Jeb, this is Jamie Harris. I’ve hired him to help clean up the mess at the Stoney Creek Subdivision.”
“Harris, huh? Ain’t that the name of the boy Ben Yates picked up for trespassing over there?” He grinned evilly. “Kind of like asking a kid to guard a candy store ain’t it?”
“Or giving a drunk the keys to the liquor cabinet,” Jamie mumbled under his breath.
Mac grimaced, but Jamie had a point. The man reeked of beer and sweat.
“What did you say, boy?” Jeb stepped up threateningly.
“He said, he’s had it,” Brandon walked forward. “And I don’t blame him. It’s probably real tiring having to explain himself all the time. Come on, Jeb, go see Chance about that fencing,” Brandon nodded to Chance and he led the man off.
“Just a word of advice, kid,” Mac leaned in. “Don’t get riled over every little thing people say around here. You won’t last a day without a fight if you do,” Mac turned to his brother. “Why don’t you get Jamie started?” Brandon nodded and led Jamie away.
Mac headed back to the office contemplating everything he learned about the Harris family this morning and how their small family had affected his peace of mind. Before he had been content with his life devoted to business; his life had been simple. But did he really want simple? A flash of Dixie’s soft mouth under his made his groin tighten. Well, he knew one particular part of him wanted some complications.
He sighed as he entered his office and encountered Dottie wearing a severe frown and looking at her watch. “Are we going to work today or have we decided to take the day off and play with our trucks?”
Mac set back his teeth. Sometimes he wondered just who was running this place. His name was on the door, but Dottie kept things in line. He acknowledged her rebuke and grabbed the messages out of her hand. He derived a small amount of satisfaction by slamming the door in her face, but she just snorted loudly and asked if he was prepared to make coffee for the next month. He couldn’t even win an argument with an old lady on his payroll, how on earth was he gonna resist Dixie?
“It’s not even noon and I need a drink,” he mumbled.