AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But it’s throwing axes.”
She stopped, her hands on her hips in that trademark way that was so purely Faye he wouldn’t have her any other way. “What? Do you not believe I can do it?”
“Oh, I know you can do it. I just didn’t think…” There was no good way of saying what came to his mind. Faye was more than a force to be reckoned with. He’d have to stay on guard if he wanted to continue getting closer to her.
Her head tilted to the side and her eyes danced. “What?”
Adam shook his head.
“Come on. You have to tell me now.”
He shook his head again. “You didn’t tell me whyyoulaughed.” The moment of peace only lasted for the blink of an eye.
She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. “I laughed because I realized something.”
“Yeah? What was that?”
“You’re a guy.”
He bit back a smile. “Impressive. It usually takes folks around here a few months to figure that out.”
She rolled her eyes again and shoved him this time. “What Imeanis that, as a guy, you probably want to be seen as a ‘bad-boy’ or someone who is ‘dangerous.’”
“And that’s laughable because…”
“Because you’re the furthest thing from dangerous that I know.”
That statement wounded him a little more than he cared to admit. No, he didn’t want to be considereddangerous—not to Faye, at least. Did he want her to view him as someone who could hold his own and protect her? Of course. Butdangerous? That wasn’t who he was.
The fact that she laughed only rubbed salt in the wound. Was it so unfathomable that he could be that kind of guy?
She sobered far too quickly and reached out with her hand. “I’m sorry. See? That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I knew it would hurt your feelings. It’s okay. Guys don’t have to be tough all the time.”
“And girls don’t have to be dainty, damsels in distress,” he muttered.
“Exactly! Thank you. That’s my point. I can be strong but still like to be carried—” She cut herself off and looked away. “The axe-throwing thing is just up the street.”
“Hold on.” He pushed forward, coming up next to her as they walked side by side. “You actually liked it when I carried you to the house, didn’t you?”
“Will you stop with the carrying thing? We don’t have to discuss it.” There was only a mild note of irritation in her voice, but it was strong enough for him to notice.
You were the one who brought it upwas on the tip of his tongue. They could start another little argument. Or he could let it drop. Clearly, she didn’t like to have this kind of attention on her. Faye didn’t want to admit that she might actually like the attention he was giving her. It was strange making that realization—and even harder for him to stop himself from teasing her.
So instead of pointing it out, he clasped his hands behind his back and walked by her side. They passed a few stores where the display windows were already turned off. She didn’t bring up when he’d refused to complete his statement about her being the kind of girl who would enjoy the axe-throwing thing. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized this was exactly the kind of thing Faye would be into.
She liked to work on her truck. She liked to be out on the horses. She liked adventure and risk. Why else would she brush off his concerns about the storm? Faye was just like a wild horse that had been trained but not broken.
And that was when he realized just why he liked her so much.
Working on cars was mechanical, literally and theoretically. Every part had a place, a purpose. When one didn’t work, it was replaced. There was a certain way to do said replacement, and when it was taken care of, the rest of the car fell into line.
He was used to that sort of life—where everything made sense.
On the other end, he was raised in a town with cowboys—who were pretty much the definition of chaos.
It wasn’t a bad chaos. On the contrary, it was exciting and thrilling to see the men riding their horses at the rodeos. But they were so much more than that.
Faye was so much more.
