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“All right. Tell me what’s going on.”
He jammed his hands into his pockets. “We’re fucked is what’s going on.”
She winced. “How bad?”
“Nine hundred twenty-three dollars fucked.”
Kendall hooked her hand through his arm and stopped him. “That’s got to be most of our money.”
His arm was rock hard with tension. His face was that careful blank she was coming to know as his I-don’t-want-to-worry-Kendall face. She’d had boyfriends for months before figuring out their quirks. Less than a week with Shane and she was so in tune with him her skin itched. It was so fast. So much more than it should be. And God, she wanted it—wanted him—so very badly. She tugged one of his hands out of his pocket and laced their fingers. “We’ll figure it out.”
The little tick in his jaw fluttered, and he nodded. He rubbed her hand between both of his and slipped away to pace again. A battered pickup came into view a few minutes later. A kid rolled down his window. He was a carbon copy of Jasper minus thirty years. “You Shane and Kendall?”
Shane swiped both bags off the ground. “That’s us.”
The kid smiled wide with perfect white teeth gleaming out of his tanned face. “I’m JC. Hop in.”
They both rounded the truck, and Shane opened the door for her. “In you go.” She looked down. No running board this time. The truck was so old there was no handle. Just as she was going to boost herself, the bags hit the floorboards, and Shane’s wide hands grasped her hips. One touch and her skin charged.
She gave JC a small smile. “Hey there.”
“You all right, ma’am?”
She winced. No matter how many times she heard it with the bed-and-breakfast, she hated that word. “Yeah, just too short.”
“I hear ya. My dad is a kick-ass mechanic, but he definitely didn’t bring height to the gene pool.”
Shane stepped in because he was tall enough—the jerk—and slammed the door behind him. He dropped his arm over her shoulder. She gave him a sidelong glance. What the hell was with the proprietary bullshit? Her death stare had little effect; his focus was on the road ahead.
Kendall shifted and jammed her back into Shane’s chest. Instead of moving, he stretched his arm across the bench seat. Ass. Ignoring him, she turned to JC. “We really appreciate the pickup.”
“It’s too blasted hot to walk, that’s for sure. Dad was taking the Silverado off the lift when I left, so you should be ready to go.”
“We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”
Shane grunted behind her.
“Yeah, Dad told me you guys were heading to New York. Helluva haul.”
Shane shifted, and the end of her braid loosened. She nudged him, but he didn’t stop. Her hair tie dropped into her lap. She rolled her eyes and snapped the band around her wrist. Still no expression on his face.
“Three thousand miles plus a few detours.”
JC’s toothpaste-commercial smile flashed again. “I made the trip with a couple of buddies after college. We stayed at a bunch of hostels and worked our way across the states. We zigzagged a bit so we could see the high points. Was a fun two weeks.”
She looked at Shane, but he shook his head. That would definitely help them with the money situation. Then again they had subzero sleeping bags, so they could sleep in the truck if they had to. JC chattered on about his trip, and it was a short drive to the garage. He pulled in and stopped in front of the pumps. “I’ve got to get a part. Just head on past the pump. Dad’s got the bay doors open.”
“Thanks for the ride.” Shane hopped out and reached for her, then set her down in front of him. He played with the ends of her hair just above her waist, tugging lightly. Her skin tingled, and the restless itch returned sevenfold.
Kendall waved and shut the door. “All right. What was that about?” Shane hadn’t touched her all night, most of the way through breakfast, and now he was all hands?
He shrugged. “I like your hair down.”
That wasn’t it. Yes, he liked her hair, but that wasn’t the reason he’d been so handsy in the truck. “It’s not even nine o’clock and I’m already sweating, and you want all this down? No.” She lifted the heavy mass off her neck and rolled the tie off her wrist. “You try having all this hair.”
He covered her hands to stop her. His chest brushed hers as he shook out the curls. She closed her eyes at the light tugs. Just when she thought she understood him, he threw her off with this power play crap. And she didn’t want him to stop. He finger combed the curls and cupped the back of her neck. “You’re too goddamn beautiful for your own good.”
She peered up at him through heavy lids. What the hell did that mean? His fingers kneaded the base of her neck. His beard was softer with growth against her cheek as he nipped at her ear. “Keeping my hands off you gets harder every day, Sunshine.” And then he was gone. She opened her eyes, and he was stalking toward the bay doors with both their bags.
