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Safety maybe. But certainly not fashion. She did believe in a safe work environment though, so she pushed aside her qualms of looking like the nerdy girl in chemistry class and put the safety goggles on.
Luke nodded then pushed the starter and the chainsaw roared to life. Kaylee was glad it was loud—hopefully the sound of it drowned out the small squeak of terror she let out when the thing started.
That terror was nothing compared to the fear that grabbed her as Luke handed her the chainsaw then stepped behind her and put his arms around her. Her heart was pounding so hard, he could probably feel it the way his chest was pressed so tightly against her back.
Resting his hands on top of hers, he guided the chainsaw toward the tree. “See that juncture where the branch is coming out of the tree? That’s where we’re going to cut. We need to break this tree up first before I cut it off the fence.” He spoke loudly in her ear, and the deep timbre of it sent shivers down her spine. “We want to keep far enough away that you don’t hit that fencing with the blade.”
Thoughts of the chainsaw sparking against the steel sent the other thoughts from her head, and she narrowed her focus to the task at hand.
Taking strength from Luke’s sure hands and his solid arms around her, she pushed the chainsaw against the branch, digging the blade into the flesh of the tree. Fragments of wood flew through the air around the cut, and she was thankful for the safety goggles. She kept the pressure on, then suddenly the branch gave way and fell to the ground as the blade made it all the way through.
Luke cut the power on the tool, and Kaylee practically jumped up and down beside him. “Did you see that? I did it! I cut that branch off. With a freaking chainsaw.”
“You sure did.”
“That was awesome. I’m totally using this in a book.” She turned her head to look at him, a grin pulling at her lips. “Can I do it again?”
He laughed, and she felt the sound of it echo through her body. She liked his laugh. And she liked making him laugh. She didn’t normally think of herself as a funny person. She could come up with witty banter for her characters, but she could never think of those clever things when she was holding conversations with actual people.
Yet, Luke seemed to find her amusing. He was always laughing around her. Although now that she thought about it, most of that laughter seemed to happen when she was channeling her inner Sassy, so maybe it was her character who he thought was funny, not her.
That thought sobered her a little, but she pushed it back, determined to enjoy the moment of doing something so completely out of her comfort zone. She never would have imagined when she woke up that morning that she would be using a chainsaw that day. Or any day.
She couldn’t wait to tell Faye.
Luke leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach. “Not the fanciest of lunches,” he told Kaylee who was sitting across from him. “But it tasted good and was filling.”
“I can honestly say this is the first time I’ve ever had, or even heard of, a fried bologna sandwich.”
“And what’s the verdict?” He waited for her to say it was terrible or that it didn’t compare to the kind of things she ate in fancy Chicago restaurants.
“I thought it was delicious.” She tipped up her empty plate and offered him a sheepish grin. “Obviously.”
Well dang. She surprised him again. Just like she’d been doing ever since she got here.
He kept expecting her to react one way, and she kept throwing him curve balls and defying his expectations. At times, he could see the hesitation in her, the slight pause where it almost looked like she was having some kind of internal debate with herself, like this morning with the calf. He could tell she was nervous and scared, but after that first few seconds of uncertainty, she squared her shoulders and walked right up to the cow. Granted, it was a baby cow, but it still seemed like it took a lot of courage for her to take that first step.
And the way she’d taken on that chainsaw. He was sure she’d balk at it—he could feel her hands trembling when she took the machine—but she still did it. Then asked to do it again.
It surprised him how much he’d enjoyed hanging out with her this morning. He’d laughed out loud as he’d recanted their morning adventures to Faye, telling her about the cows chasing Kaylee and her wanting to know what all their names were.
His sister had called when he was putting the ATV away and Kaylee had already gone up to the house to wash up. They hadn’t talked long, but he realized after they’d hung up that he had done most of the talking, and it had been a long time since that had happened. He just hadn’t had a lot to talk about. Apparently, it took a quirky author with a sweet smile showing up and spending time with him to make him realize how lonely he’d been. He had Dean and Emma, of course, but this felt different.
He’d had fun with Kaylee. She’d made him laugh. It was only when she mentioned using their experience in her next book that he remembered why she was here and spending time with him. And it didn’t have anything to do withhim.
It was all about her books. And her fancy writer career.
That’s why she was here. He’d known that since the beginning. So why was that bothering him now?
Good question. And one he wasn’t too interested in figuring out an answer to.
Time to change the subject.
“I like your shirt,” he told her. “I’ve been listening to Chase Dalton for years now. I’ve even seen him in concert a couple of times. And I think one of them was that same tour.” Back when Beth was alive, and he used to actually do things—when he used to participate in the world. But those days were gone.
Just like her.
He felt the familiar stab of hurt in his chest. But he pushed it away, just like he tried to do every time memories of her poked too hard at that ache.
