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His eyes flick to mine, and I’m sure he’s a bit confused as to why I’m living down here after he’s seen my old house, but I don’t give him any further details, so he just simply says, “I bet I know your grandmother, seeing as how this is a pretty small town.”
“Her name is Geneva Jenson.”
Tyler’s gaze shifts upward like he’s going through some file in his brain, searching for Granny’s name, and then whips his eyes back to me. “She’s out on Dark Hollow Road, right?”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Yeah. That’s her.”
He grins. “There aren’t many people around here that I don’t know.”
I laugh a little. “Obviously.”
Tyler opens his mouth to say something, but quickly closes it. He’s looking at me like there’s more he wants to say but is holding back. After a long moment, he jumps back into business mode. “Pull your vehicle to the side over there and I’ll get your supplies loaded up.”
“Okay. I’ll let my dad know when he brings the truck around.”
Tyler nods and then hurries off into the building.
Dad pulls the truck up and I jump into the passenger seat so I can show him where he needs to park. I watch closely in the side mirror as Dad helps Tyler load my room supplies in the bed of the rusty pickup. Tyler’s muscles flex beneath the tattooed skin on his forearms as he stacks the wood we just bought c
arefully into the bed of the truck.
I can hear their voices inside the truck, but I can’t make out exactly what they are saying because of the muffled sound. Dad is chatty though and he’s laughing. He talks to Tyler nonstop the whole time they work. Tyler nods and smiles politely at him every now and then, but also seems to be answering a lot of questions. It’s probably a job requirement to be friendly here.
“Okay, see you tomorrow,” Dad tells Tyler as he opens the driver’s side door.
Tomorrow? I examine Dad thoroughly through my sunglasses for a clue as to what he means, but I get nothing. Sometimes Dad can be very hard to read.
“Why can’t we get whatever it is we need while we’re here? Why do we have to come back tomorrow?”
“We’re not coming back here. Tyler’s going to help me with your room,” he answers.
My gaze shifts over to Tyler, who is standing just outside my door filling out some paperwork. He catches me staring at him and a huge grin spreads across his face as he waves good-bye to me as Dad pulls the truck away.
Looks like I’ll be seeing a lot more of Tyler around this town.
TYLER
Damn. It’s hot as hell out here. I wipe beads of sweat from my face. This job sucks so much. I can’t complain to anyone about it, though. People tell me I’m lucky to have a job in this shit town in the first place. Half of the people in Wellston live on welfare, so to most, I’m doing pretty well for myself.
The problem with this job is that it’s so monotonous. I’ve got too much time to think, and that leads me into trouble. So many brilliant plans trickle from my brain during my shifts at Jones’s Lumber. This is where I finally decided I’m ditching this town for somewhere better the day I get enough money saved up to rent an apartment in the city. There’s no life for me here. This town has no jobs, no place to get my music career off the ground, and the girl situation . . . let’s just say that no one turns my head here. Yep, this place sucks for a young, single guy like me.
“Yo, Tyler!” Blake yells over the walkie-talkie. “Customer needs loading out front.”
That’s my cue to hustle my ass up front so I can sweat my balls off. Loading customer vehicles is grueling. The customers usually just stand there, watching me break my back as I load their shit in their cars or trucks. Some people are so lazy they won’t even put their own tailgate down to help me out.
I stride out of the loading dock, and nearly pass out. My God, she’s gorgeous. She is by far the hottest girl I’ve ever seen in this town. This girl’s body is smokin’. She’s rocking a pair of Daisy Duke shorts, a navy-blue tank top, and some oversize sunglasses. I think I even see a hint of a black bra. Damn, she’s sexy. She looks like a movie star with her sexy brunette hair and sense of style. I can’t tear my eyes away from her. I would give anything to have a girl like that.
“Tyler, did you copy that?” Blake squawks again on the radio.
“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” I answer him back.
“You need any help?” The walkie-talkie buzzes.
“No, no, I got this one.”
No way do I want Blake out here with her. If I’m ever going to have a shot with this girl, he can’t be around. Blake is our town’s unofficial badass and my best friend. He rides a motorcycle and owns a Mustang, and all the girls think he’s “so cute.” No. I don’t need him here to mess up my game.
After a couple more seconds of just watching her, I decide I need to say something, so I don’t look like a total perv. I notice she has a receipt in her hand and my mind jerks back to the reason I’m out here. I almost forgot she’s the customer I came to see.
