AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You tried to steal my driller.”
“And I’m sorry for that.”
“I appreciate the apology. But I still have to find a new driller.”
“No, you don’t. Don’t let him go. We’ll both sit down with him and explain that the situation—and the opportunities as he understands them—have changed.”
“He told me you need a driller. That one of yours is leaving.”
“He is, but I’ll hire someone else.”
“And leave Ben without a job?”
“I’m trying to save his jobwith you.”
“I’m not sure that’s going to work. He’s gotten so full of himself. You have him believing he’s in high demand and worth more than he is.”
“Which is why I’m willing to set him straight.”
She said nothing. He could tell she was still looking for a good reason for shoving him away in an emotional sense.
“You got anything else?” he asked.
She bit her lip. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Some other reason to hate me?”
“I don’t need a reason,” she said, but she sounded like a petulant child, and that only made him laugh.
“You’re not as tough or as mean as you want me to believe,” he said and surprised himself as much as her by standing up, lifting her chin with one finger and kissing her gently on the mouth. “Good night, Ellen.”
She didn’t move or even answer. She stayed exactly where she was as he walked away.
Thirteen
Ellen touched her lips. She couldn’t believe it. Had that really happened? Had Hendrixkissedher? He’d said he wanted to be friends. So then...why’d he kiss her?
Trying to figure out his motives was confusing enough. What made it even worse was that she’d liked it. A lot. Her heart was nearly beating out of her chest as she listened for the sound of his truck around front.
She could barely hear it when his engine started, and the noise quickly receded as he pulled out of the drive. Still, she remained where she was long after he was gone, reliving the moment his mouth had touched hers.
His lips had been so pliable and warm...
Had he been testing her? Taunting her? Trying to neutralize the threat she posed to Fetterman Well Services?
Maybe he’d decided that winning her over was the best way to gain the upper hand. If that kiss had been some sort of chess move, merely a way to win the power struggle between them, he’d use any leverage he gained against her...
She was tempted to call Talulah. She needed to talk to someone, and she knew her friend would be as shocked as she was by this latest development.
But she didn’t dare tell her what’d happened. That would make it too real. She wasn’t sure she’d enjoy hearing Talulah’s take on it, anyway. Talulah seemed to like Hendrix. She was probably just trying to be objective; Talulah was fair that way. But having her best friend be so open-minded where Hendrix was concerned made Ellen feel as if she was switching sides. And that frightened her, made her feel vulnerable, because it once again left her all on her own against the people who’d hurt her deeply.
Ignore what happened, she told herself.Pretend he never touched you.She’d been completely on her own before. For most of her life, as a matter of fact. She could manage.
It wasn’t easy to get up, go inside and finish out the day. She’d start something, then find herself staring off into space, thinking about how Hendrix had shown up out of the blue, talked and laughed with her friends as casually as though they hung out together all the time and teased her affectionately, as if he knew her better than he did and they hadn’t been enemies as far back as she could remember. She hated to admit it—would never admit it to anyone else—but she’d enjoyed being around him even before he kissed her.
You’re not as tough or as mean as you want me to believe.
This was an entirely new tack—and it was an incredibly effective offense. She had no idea how to combat a happy, joking, friendly Hendrix.
