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It was sweltering on the damn roof, too.Awful neighborly of you to bring the wine.
I would’ve been happy to share it with you instead, but you never come around anymore. ;)
We’ll have a drink together someday soon.
When she didn’t press him for a date and time, he breathed a sigh of relief. Ellen was attractive, unique, open-minded and perceptive. She was tough as nails, too. He’d enjoyed getting to know her. But as soon as he could tell she was beginning to have feelings for him, he’d backed away.The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.
“Damn, it’s hot,” he muttered and mopped his face again. Then he finished patching the roof, took a shower so he wouldn’t smell like the cattle he worked with and found the portable cooler in the storage closet off the bunkhouse.
He had no doubt Charlie would want to be included on this errand—or at least know about it—but after the way he’d behaved on the phone, Brant wasn’t going to call him.
When Brant arrived at the farmhouse on Mill Creek Road, he found a dusty Lexus SUV with Washington license plates in the garage. That told him Talulah was home, but it would’ve been obvious, regardless. Music was blasting through the house so loudly he knew it wouldn’t do any good to knock. There was no way Talulah would hear him.
He could text her—if only he had her number.
He glanced at the property next door, but trees blocked his view of the house. He could ask Ellen for Talulah’s number, although he doubted she’d have it, either. The two women had just met. Besides, he didn’t want to be here for too long. This was supposed to be a quick errand. If he could get Talulah’s attention, it still could be.
The screen door hung crookedly on its hinges, leaving a gap that made it obvious the hook could no longer latch even if someone tried to lock it, so he stepped into the living room and called her name.
There was no response, but he wasn’t surprised. The music was even louder inside.
“Talulah?” He went from room to room, looking for her, but he didn’t see anyone. She wasn’t upstairs, either, which meant she had to be in the attic or the basement—and in this heat he was willing to bet on the basement.
Planning to make sure she’d accept the portable air conditioner before he hauled it inside, he’d left it in his truck, so he was unencumbered when he jogged down the narrow stairs. “Talulah?” he called again and had to bow his head as he reached the basement because of the low ceiling.
Since the music was coming from upstairs, it wasn’t quite as loud down here. He heard Talulah when she gasped and dropped the box she’d been lifting. Something that sounded like dishes broke, but neither of them paid any attention to that. Her eyes flew wide and so did his. She wasn’t wearing anything except a pair of panties and some slippers.
He immediately spun around to charge back up the stairs. But he forgot about the low ceiling. Whacking his head so hard he saw stars, he felt his legs crumple beneath him—and the next thing he knew, he was laid out on the floor.
Three
Torn between darting around Brant so she could run upstairs and get her clothes, which she’d taken off because of the heat, and making sure he was okay, Talulah froze. The second she realized he was bleeding, however, his well-being became more important than her modesty. “Are you okay?” she said, trying to cover her breasts with one hand while she dropped down beside him.
He squinted at her. “Are you really naked? Because if you’re not, I hit my head harder than I thought.”
She was tempted to laugh but couldn’t. She was too concerned. He’d hit his forehead near the temple and nearly knocked himself out. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting company. Should I call an ambulance?”
He closed his eyes. “No. Just...give me a minute.”
“Okay. I’m going to get dressed. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
She ran upstairs to where she’d shed her clothing one piece at a time. Then she turned off the music and found her yoga pants where she’d tossed them while throwing out the dated food in the pantry, but she was so panicked and sweaty it wasn’t easy to get them back on. She cursed as she struggled to pull them all the way up, but she didn’t want to take the time to go upstairs and rummage through her luggage to find something else.
Once she’d finally succeeded, she spotted her shirt thrown across the back of a kitchen chair, but didn’t bother looking for her bra. At least she was covered.
After filling one of her aunt’s flour-sack dish towels with all the ice that was left in the freezer, she hurried back to the basement to find Brant trying to get up.
“No, don’t,” she told him. “I have ice.”
He allowed her to press him back down and groaned when she set the makeshift cold pack gently on the knot forming on his head. “What are you doing here?” she asked, but he was so disoriented he couldn’t give her a coherent answer.
She bit her lip as she studied his face. How serious was this? Should she call for help?
“What’s wrong?” he said. “Am I dying?”
Her heart leaped into her throat. “Why would you ask that? How bad do you feel?”
She knew he’d been joking when he tried to chuckle. “The look on your face...”
