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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.”
“How long have you lived in Missoula?”
