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He poked his head through the entrance, but this early in the morning all he could see was darkness. Had the door been opened wider, and the building wasn’t shaded by some enormous oak trees, he might have gotten a better idea of what they were dealing with. From the looks of it, this building was going to be more work than the one on his property—and Wade did most of the work on that one.
A car door slammed shut and Lucas jumped, nearly knocking his head against the door. He retreated from the barn and turned. No one was immediately visible. The back driver’s side door was open, and someone was bent over to get something inside the car.
Then Ella stood and shut the door.
Her long blonde hair fell around her shoulders in soft curls. She wore a flowing red coat that came to her knees and hungopen to reveal a pair of fitted jeans and a black blouse. Ella strode toward him so fast he didn’t have much of an opportunity to let his gaze linger. Her bright blue eyes flashed with what could only be disdain. She shoved a clipboard at him with a sheet of lined paper. “I need you to take notes while we do a walk-through. I don’t know what the local hardware store carries, so I’ll need you to check on that after we’re done.”
Lucas fumbled with the clipboard and then shot an irritated look at her. “I’m not just some grunt you can boss around. I don’t know about you, but I’m not getting paid for this. It might do you some good to have some manners.”
Her shrewd eyes swept over him from head to toe. “With all due respect, I can tell you don’t want to be here just by looking at you. This isn’t something that is yourscene. And if you can’t handle being told what to do by someone like me, then I suggest you have a discussion with my father about finding a replacement.” She turned away from him, placed her own clipboard on the ground and grabbed ahold of the door to pull it aside.
Initially stunned, Lucas didn’t move right away. Then he lurched into motion. “What is that supposed to mean? That this isn’t my scene? You don’t know me. Heck, I don’t know you. What makes you think you can judge me before you’ve even met me?”
She stopped tugging on the door, her face red from the exertion of only moving it a couple inches. Her eyes narrowed as she dusted her hands against one another. “Are you forgetting that we used to be in the same school? In the same grade? And yes, we even took a few classes together. I might not have run in your social circles, but I know you.”
He scowled at her. “I doubt that.”
“Ohreally? You weren’t the kid who slept through class because you stayed up too late? You weren’t the kid who wascaught dating two girls at once? Or was it someone else who dated his way through the whole cheerleading squad that I’m remembering?”
He would have laughed if he wasn’t feeling so judged by her tone and the look on her face. “I’m not going to apologize for having fun in high school. I was a kid. That’s what kids do.”
Her voice lowered, filled with venom. “In my experience, the people we are in high school are the same people we become as adults. Answer me one thing. Did you even volunteer for this? Or were you roped into it?”
Lucas stiffened. How could she know? Had her father said something? A strangled scoff burst from his lips. “Just because I enjoyed having fun in high school doesn’t mean I’ve never had a selfless bone in my body. Have you considered that maybe I just don’t advertise my generosity?”
Ella didn’t respond right away, though her eyes did remain narrowed as if she were trying to find any evidence he was lying. He held his breath, unable to move. She could call his bluff right there, and then what? He’d be humiliated more than he already was.
And why did he feel humiliated? In high school he had zero interest in doing anything for anyone but himself and his family. There was nothing wrong with that. Hadn’t he been taught that he had to fend for himself? No one was going to do anything for him; no one was going to come to his rescue. Lucas was alone—except for the few times his family had come to bat for him.
He shifted under her scrutiny. When they were younger, he hadn’t recalled her being nearly this critical. She might have even been nice, but like she’d already mentioned, they didn’t run in the same social circles.
“I don’t believe you,” she finally said.
“Well, lucky for us both, you don’t have to. I’m here, aren’t I? I’m not going anywhere. So, you might as well get used to it.”
She snorted but didn’t argue with him further. Instead, she turned back to the door. Her fingers wrapped around the stubborn piece of wood, and she yanked hard.
Lucas observed, biting back a grin as he watched her struggle.
Ella didn’t miss his reaction at all. She scowled at him. “Nice to see where your charitable works end.”
“Actually, quite the opposite.” He put all his weight onto one foot and grinned at her. “From the way you’ve been treating me, I take it that you’re a very capable woman who wouldn’t dream of needing help from a guy. If I were to step in without you requesting my help, that would make you feel like I don’t think you can handle it.”
She stopped. For a moment he thought she’d just shake her head and ask him to help her. But she didn’t. Ella placed a hand on her hip, and that wasn’t the end of it. “Boy, you haven’t changed, have you? Do you think you’re being cute? Because you’ve already insisted that you’re not lazy. May I remind you that I grew up in the same town that you did? We were both taught manners and respect. It wouldn’t matter if the person struggling with the door was a man or a woman. I know that I would have offered to help, regardless.”
Sheesh, the woman was ruthless. In three seconds flat, she’d managed to put him in his place. He didn’t know whether to be impressed or offended. Maybe it was a little bit of both. But when she reached for the door again, he launched forward without a second thought. Together they pushed and pulled until the door screeched on the wheels. It moved slowly at first, and then suddenly whatever was stopping it gave way.
The two of them stumbled upon the door’s release and they were thrown against each other. Ella’s back was pressed against the wall of the barn and Lucas hovered a few inches from her.He’d managed to free his hand and used it to maintain a slight distance between them as it rested against the wood at her side.
He stared down into her blue eyes, eyes that could cut him to the core or push him to want to be better. She wasn’t affected by his charms or his smile, unlike most of the women he’d dated before—a fact that intrigued him more than anything else. It wasn’t that he was interested in dating her—because he definitely wasn’t. He was simply… curious.
Ella’s surprised expression mirrored his own until she seemed to come to the realization that they were incredibly close. Then the mask came down again and she gave him a gentle shove. Her hands swept down her body, straightening her coat and her blouse. “Come on,” she muttered. “We have a lot to do today.” She scooped up her clipboard and disappeared inside the barn.
Lucas shuffled back a step when she’d pushed him but couldn’t seem to find his center. Ella was all business. Not even Annabel was like that. Wasn’t it the guy’s job to be in charge like that?
“Hey! Lucas! Are you coming or not? I don’t have all day.” Her voice echoed through the door and his head whipped around in that direction. As if against his own will, he hurried toward her.
He didn’t know where she grabbed the device she held in her hand, but she was walking the perimeter of the building, pressing the prongs into the wood. Every so often, she would scribble something onto her notepad and then continue walking. The air was cold between them. Lucas could sense it. He would have to be blind to not notice that she despised him; he just couldn’t figure out why.
