AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He frowned as he gazed down at his phone. He was tempted to call her back, or text her, or order chocolates or something else to be delivered to her house. She seemed to like the flowers he’d given her last night. As awkward as it had been to carry them to the door, he was convinced he’d made the right call. That she’d kept looking at them—as if no one had ever done anything quite so nice for her—made him want to do it again. That he was so eager to change her mind where he was concerned was hugely ironic, though. She was the only woman in the world he knew he should stay away from—for his own good.
He thought of Jennifer Pullman. His ex-girlfriend’s chief complaint was that he didn’t seem to be fully invested in their relationship. She’d said he was too quick to shrug her off or see her only when it was comfortable and convenient. He felt bad that he hadn’t behaved the way she wanted, but he hadn’t felt very strongly about her or any of the other women he’d dated. He’d thought he was flawed in some way, destined to be somewhat indifferent in his romantic relationships.
So why did he feel so compelled to follow up with Ellen? Was it just because he’d been without a woman for six months and was looking for more great sex? Or was he simply acting as the contrarian because he couldn’t really pursue Ellen?
He had no idea, but all he wanted was to be with her again. He kept picturing the sight of her naked body with all the tattoos he now found so beautiful, and remembering the way she’d locked her legs around his hips as he moved inside her. His enjoyment had fed off hers...
But he’d gone too far with her, damn it. Now she was in his blood. “What am I going to do?” he asked himself.
“Who are you talking to?”
Startled, he looked up to see Lynn. He hadn’t expected her back so soon. “Just myself, I guess,” he said, stuffing his sandwich back into his lunch container.
She frowned. Since their argument, they’d both attended their usual morning meetings, where she’d treated him coolly—proof that she hadn’t yet forgiven him—but they were on speaking terms. Mostly. It could depend. She had moments where she seemed to soften a bit, and others when she was clearly holding a grudge. It depended on her mood and what she was thinking about at the time, he supposed. “What was it you were saying to yourself?”
“Nothing.” He glanced at his watch. “I thought you went to town to get your nails done.” It’d been only an hour since she left, not the usual two hours. No wonder she’d managed to surprise him.
“I did, but Sally’s mother cut her hand while slicing an onion and needed to be taken to the doctor. We had to reschedule.”
“I hope her mother’s going to be okay.”
“Didn’t sound serious. The wound just needs to be cleaned and stitched.”
“That’s a bummer all the way around, since you had to waste a trip to town.”
She put her purse on her desk, which faced his and sat down. “I don’t mind. I actually learned something interesting while I was there.”
“What was that?”
“Have you heard what happened to the well Ellen just drilled?”
Hendrix sat up taller. Hehadheard, but he thought it was odd that she already knew. “I have. Jay called me an hour or so ago, wondering if I was the one who’d thrown something down it.”
She gaped at him. “He thought it might beyou?”
“He knew I was upset that Ellen got the job and couldn’t imagine anyone else who’d do such a thing.”
“What’s he talking about? A lot of people don’t like Ellen.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” A lot of people didn’ttrustEllen, but that was because she dared to be different—and because of Lynn. All the things his aunt had said over the years had certainly fanned those flames. Hendrix could see attitudes changing as time went by and more people got to know Ellen, however. In his opinion, Lynn didn’t allow for that change. She saw only what she wanted to see, or she’d be aware of the shift in public sentiment, too. “Besides, it would have to be someone who also knew she was drilling that well.”
Disgruntled, probably because he’d stuck up for Ellen again, Lynn made a face. “I think it serves Jay right, if you want the truth. That was a dirty trick, giving Ellen our estimate and allowing her to undercut us. You don’t treat a neighbor like that.”
Hendrix stood. He needed to take a load of pipe over to a jobsite and was already running an hour behind schedule. Ellen was disrupting more than his sleep. He couldn’t seem to concentrate or get anything done. And now Lynn was causing further delay.
He hated to think his aunt might be responsible for sabotaging the Haslem well. But Lynn was in the well business, too, and had been for years. She would know how easy it would be to cause a problem. “Who toldyouabout what happened?” he asked.
She pulled her chair closer to the desk. “Sally.”
Her nail tech couldn’t have been too worried about her injured mother if she was wasting time passing along town gossip, Hendrix thought. But maybe he was hypersensitive at the moment. He was certainly more defensive of Ellen than he’d ever been before. “And who told Sally?”
“There wasn’t time to ask. Jay’s wife, probably. Sally does her nails, too. Why?”
“Just wondering.”
She powered up her computer. “Where’s Leo? With Stuart somewhere?”
“Yeah. Stuart took him to Monicello.”
