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Then again, how disappointed would she be five years from now, and she was still writing instead of following her heart?
Maybe by the time she left Wishing Well, she’d have an answer.
CHAPTER 7
Jo
Sunlight, heavy with the promise of a warm summer day, streamed through the screen door as Jo pushed it open. She’d chosen her favorite pale green sundress with sandals—not because her grandma had insisted that she deliver lemonade to Jack after grabbing a bite, but because it would keep her cool.
“Meddler,” Jo muttered as she strode past the all-weather wicker rocking chairs and down the steps.
Accepting Serenity’s invitation to accompany her to her wedding appointments had given her a good distraction from the conversation she’d had with her grandma the other night, and a convenient escape from Jack since he was usually gone by the time she returned home.
Her plan was to avoid him until the memory of that kiss or the tingling in her lips faded. Unfortunately, neither seemed close to happening.
She reached the edge of the back of the house and peeked around the corner. Her gaze landed on Jack, hoisting a piece of lumber onto his shoulder and moving it to the deck he was rebuilding.
Sweat had already plastered his shirt to his body, showing off his muscles. All those muscles. Her mouth went dry as a vision of him dipping her and planting a kiss on her lips flashed through her mind. Her heart flip-flopped at the thought.
He strode to the deck, set the wood down, and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. It almost felt like she was watching a home renovation reality show. Everything slowed, like the universe was Vanna White waving to the board of letters with the intent of highlighting just how fantastic Jack looked. Sweaty or not, he was a hunk.
Just then, he turned and caught her staring. She startled and yanked her gaze away, waited for a beat, and peeked again. One corner of his lips was quirked up. Oh, yeah, he’d definitely caught her ogling him. And by the looks of it, he was thoroughly enjoying making her wriggle.
Well, she was a warm-blooded woman, and what woman wouldn’t appreciate a handsome man doing the manly things he was doing? That’s right. It was just… appreciating God’s creations. Sort of like watching the sunrise or the sunset. Although, those didn’t have the Wedding March as a soundtrack.
Shaking her head, she worked to clear her thoughts. Or, at the very least, ignore them so she could deliver his drink. She thrust her shoulders back and strode over to him, offering the lemonade her grandma had fixed that morning.
“Grandma thought you’d be thirsty, so she sent me out here.”
He took the drink, his eyes glinting with mischief. “Your grandma, huh?”
“Uh…” She rolled her eyes. “You…”
Taking a step closer, he held her gaze. All of a sudden, her blood went from warm to teakettle screaming hot. “You… what?”
Her throat was tight. Swallowing was almost impossible. The way he was looking at her, almost like…like desire flashing in them. Impossible. She stepped back. “You know you’re attractive. Don’t act like you don’t.”
His lips quirked higher, making his cheeks rise. Instead of responding, he took a long gulp of lemonade, finishing it with an “Ah.”
“That hit the spot. Thanks.” He turned and nodded to the deck. “It was in worse shape than I thought. It’s taking a little longer than expected.”
Whew. Thank goodness he hadn’t kept up the flirting. A couple more smoldering looks, and she wasn’t sure her knees could remain solid. “That’s okay. Stuff like this always takes longer than expected.” She shielded her eyes as her gaze skated along the exterior of the home. It’d taken a beating in the years since she’d left. Rotten wood along the edge of the house, peeling paint, and general disrepair made it look sad.
Jo sighed heavily. “I should have come back before now. Should have known it was so rundown. It needs a ton of work.” The owner’s suite was okay. It still needed work, but not like the rest of the house.
“Yeah, I know. Charlie can’t afford it, though.”
“No, she can’t.” And she would never sell the place. “It seems a shame to let it fall apart.”
Jack nodded. “I know. I offered to buy it.”
Her eyes widened. “Did she hurt you?”
He laughed. “No, but she made it clear that she was never selling and that if I asked again, she couldn’t guarantee my safety.”
Her shoulders bounced as she pictured her grandma chasing after Jack with a switch. “Yeah, we had a few people sniff around when I was a kid. It didn’t end well for them either.” That usually led to their bed-and-breakfast talks.
“When I got the job, I spent some time at the library looking up information on it. I guess you know it was a hotel in the late 1900s.”
