Page 31 of Taming I Do
Satisfied I’d gotten myself under control enough to face her again, I locked the trailer and stalked back to my truck. “I didn’t know what to grab, so I just threw some of your stuff into a bag.”
She held it in her lap, tight against her stomach. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m sorry about tonight. My mother shouldn’t have called you. I could have taken care of things myself.”
I eyed her across the dimly lit cab. “Your manager is your mother?”
“Yes.” She let out a breathy sigh.
“That’s got to be interesting.” I shifted into gear, eager to get her back to my place so I could get her settled and put a little distance between us.
Her arms tightened around her middle. “Don’t you work with your family?”
Damn, I’d gone and pissed her off... again. “Sure, but that’s different.”
“How so?” Her back pressed against the door like she wanted to get as far away from me as possible in the small space we shared.
“I don’t know. We work the land. Everyone does an equal share. We’re building something we can leave behind for future generations.”
“Oh, I get it.” Her head rolled back against the headrest.
“What?” I’d barely said anything. What could she possibly “get”?
“Sounds like you don’t respect my vocation.”
Whoa. “Come again?” I sensed dangerous territory ahead. Not to mention, her mom’s call had dragged me out of a deep sleep, so I wasn’t operating at 100 percent.
“You think working the land is more meaningful than what I’m doing.” She turned her head and gazed out the window.
“I never said anything like that.” I’d been around enough women to know there was no easy way out of this kind of conversation. “I’m sure what you’re doing is an admirable use of your time.”
“That’s right. A portion of the money we raise on the cosmetics line is going to my mentor’s nonprofit and will help young girls.”
“That’s great.”
“It is.” She nodded to herself.
I wanted to laugh at the stubborn set of her shoulders, but that would only get her all riled up again. Best to focus on things I had control of. “I’ll head back to the trailer tomorrow and see what I can do about your cricket problem.”
“Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”
“In the meantime, I think it might be best if you stayed at the big house with my parents.” That was the best option. The safest option based on how my body seemed to react to her.
She swiveled her head to face me. “Just for tonight though, right?”
“Maybe a few nights. If I have to do a bug bomb, you’ll probably want to stay out of the trailer for a few days.”
“Okay.”
Her acceptance surprised me. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who agreed to anything easily. “You have any brothers or sisters?”
“No, just me and my mom. My dad left when I was three.”
“It’s been just you two the whole time?”
“Not exactly. I’ve had a few stepfathers along the way. But none of them had kids, so I’ve never had any stepsiblings. How about you?”
