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But she was afraid of letting the attraction she felt for Sawyer do anything but simmer between them. She was afraid of letting down her guard, and allowing another unstoppable force to turn her world upside down. And so when Sawyer said—
“I’d really feel better going alone. I won’t touch anything.”
—Mia nodded, and motioned him forward.
She hung back and watched him go, enjoying the view—the man filled the hell out of a pair of jeans—but feeling sad all the same. Tulsi was right, Paul was winning, and if Mia didn’t find a way to put her fears aside, she might spend the rest of her life watching one sexy opportunity after another walk away.
CHAPTERFIVE
Sawyer walkedthe perimeter of the old jailhouse’s ground floor, avoiding the center of the structure, where a few of the floorboards were missing and the remaining boards looked weak. Judging from the honeycombing on the walls near the floor, it looked like the building had sustained termite damage. Termites weren’t usually a major concern in such an arid climate—they needed a damp environment to thrive—but a swarm had definitely come through here at one time or another. If the rest of the buildings were in as bad a shape as the jail, his bid was going to be outrageous.
He refused to bid low and surprise clients with some “unforeseen complication” halfway through the job, the way some contractors did. Integrity had led to Kane and Kane losing a few jobs over the years, but Sawyer refused to sink to unethical tactics. Still, as his materials budget continued to mount, he almost wished his morals were screwed on a little looser. He really didn’t want to lose this job.
He wanted to stay in Lonesome Point. He was fascinated by the historic buildings, the town legends, and a certain redhead whose amber eyes lit up when she was telling stories.
Sawyer didn’t know if Mia had changed her mind about giving him a chance, or was simply doing her best to be a friendly tour guide, but there was definitely something between them. The air crackled every time their eyes met, and when she smiled that lopsided grin with the dimple winking from one cheek, Sawyer’s heart did funny things in his chest.
He’d never dated a redhead before, or a woman as tall as Mia—she had to be at least five ten—but there was something familiar about her. Looking into her eyes made him feel an unexpected mixture of relaxed and turned on, like the first glimpse of home after hard weeks on the road, and the start of a new adventure, all at the same time. And when his fingers had brushed hers, he’d felt the effects of that innocent touch in not-so-innocent places.
He was remembering the impossible softness of the skin on the back of her hand, when a cool hand came to rest on his shoulder, making him suck in a surprised breath. He turned, expecting to see Mia standing behind him—they were the only people who had come through the gate, and she’d said it would lock automatically behind them—but when he spun to face the wall, there was no one there.
Sawyer cursed beneath his breath and backed a step away. He didn’t want to believe in ghosts, but this wasn’t the first time he’d felt like he had company when he was allegedly alone in an old building with a colorful history. And he hadn’t imagined that touch. He could still feel the way the fingers had curled around the top of his shoulder, digging into the muscles there.
He backed another step away, intending to head for the stairs and a quick inspection of the second floor, when a loudcrackbroke the silence.
A second later, Sawyer’s feet went through the floor.
He braced himself for impact with the foundation, but his feet kept going, far below where he expected to touch ground. The jailhouse was elevated about four feet above street level, but he was over six feet tall.
He cursed again—not so softly this time—and reached out, digging his fingertips into the floorboards, managing to stop his fall before he went entirely through the floor. But his legs were dangling in open air, and he could feel a cool breeze blowing up the legs of his jeans, making him wonder what the hell had happened to the jailhouse’s foundation.
Sawyer was craning his neck, trying to get a glance over his shoulder, when a gasp sounded from the entrance to the building. He looked up to find Mia standing in the doorway, the sunlight streaming in behind her transforming her red curls into a ball of fire.
“Oh my God, are you okay?” she asked, starting toward him. “Let me help you up.”
“Stay there,” Sawyer warned. “The floor is rotten, and I’m not sure what happened to the foundation, only that it’s not where it’s supposed to be.”
“What do you mean it’s…” She trailed off, eyes widening as she stared past him, into the hole in the floor. “Holy shit.”
Sawyer started to turn his head again, but Mia stopped him with a sharp—
“Don’t turn around. We need to get you out of there.” She sank to her knees on the wooden floorboards a few feet away. “I’ll lay down so my weight will be more evenly distributed, and pull you up.”
“I weigh over two hundred pounds,” Sawyer said, holding her steady brown eyes as she lowered herself onto her belly. “Might be a little heavy for you.”
“I’ll manage,” she said, scooting closer. “Adrenaline is a powerful thing. I’m strong when I’m scared to death, I promise.”
“What’s down there?” he asked, but Mia only shook her head and held out her hand.
“Take it,” she said, fear and determination mixing in her expression. “I swear I won’t let you go.”
Sawyer hesitated, logic warring with gut instinct. His head said he was too heavy for a slender woman like Mia to lift, but his gut said he could trust her with his life. In his twenty-eight years on earth, his head had led him down dead end roads more than once, but his gut had never let him down, and his gut said to grab hold of this woman and hold on tight.
Sawyer reached out, wrapping his fingers around Mia’s wrist. A moment later, her hand clamped down, and she pulled hard, groaning as she dragged her arm across the floor, pulling Sawyer far enough out of the hole for him to swing his leg up and over the edge of the floorboards.
He rolled across the floor, releasing Mia’s wrist as he moved, but he didn’t stand up. He kept rolling until he was back on his belly near the wall. Only then did he come to his feet and make his way around the edge of the room to the doorway, where Mia stood brushing the dust from the front of her tank top.
“You okay?” she asked, gripping his hand as he stopped beside her.
