The Bachelor Next Door

“You’re a real tools expert.” But there was no censure in his tone, only the teasing lilt she’d come to expect.

“You’re treading on thin ice, Santini,” she warned him, playing along with his game.

“I’m scared, Gambrel. Real scared.” He handed her a rubber-handled hammer. “Turn around.”

She did and was engulfed by Rafe. His body warmth and musky scent surrounded her as he wrapped the tool belt around her waist and fastened it. If she leaned back an inch she’d be pressed up against his chest. A shiver passed through her, and temptation warred with good sense as she thought of his naked chest.

“There you go,” he said. His voice sounded different. A deeper, huskier version of his usual tone that made her aware of the difference between them. He stepped away from her and put his hand on her shoulders, turning her to face him.

“Thanks,” she managed to squeeze out of her dry throat. The weight around her was unaccustomed and felt weird.

Cass settled the hammer into one of the loops. Rafe passed her a scraper and a few other tools she couldn’t identify. “Is that all?”

“Distribute the weight of the hammer and the mallet.”

She moved the tools around. Well, she felt downright handy now.

“Do those shoes have good soles?”

“Yes, I think so.”

He knelt down near her knees. “Let me take a look at the bottom of your shoes.”

His breath brushed across her thigh and the muscle quivered. He was so close. Cass’s fingers itched with the urge to bury themselves in his thick black hair.

Cass swayed and her leg scraped against his cheek. The stubbly texture of his skin felt good against the smoothness of her own. Thank heavens she’d shaved her legs yesterday. She leaned away from him in embarrassment. He probably thought she was a love-starved widow.

“Put your hand on my shoulder for balance.”

His words were harsh, almost guttural. Cass knew their brief encounter had affected Rafe as much as it had affected her. She hoped it had. Her heart was beating loud enough to be heard a mile a way.

Oh, damn. She didn’t want this headlong rush into desire. Not now when her life was finally starting to balance out. She was independent and in charge of her own life, but a part of her still longed for someone to hold in the middle of the night. Not just anyone, but a certain man who could fill the emptiness inside of her.

Her hand rested on the tightly corded muscles of his shoulder as he examined the bottom of her shoes. He straightened and gave her the once-over. “Okay, you’re ready to work.”

They labored on the roof for the next two hours. Cass found roofing a hard but interesting task. They’d almost completed the section by mid-afternon, and she was relieved to know that she’d helped Rafe.

The sun was hot and Cass felt her face begin to pinken. “I need a break.”

Rafe glanced over at her. “You sure do. Go sit over there in the shade.”

A large maple tree provided shade on the east side of the roof. Walk across the roof by herself? No way. “I’ll stay right here.”

“Scared, Gambrel?”

Cass wasn’t the type to take a dare. She freely admitted to her faults. And she wasn’t going to pretend to be someone she wasn’t. She doubted that this strong man ever did. “Yes, I am.”

He reached out and brushed a finger across her cheek. “There’s no need to be. I won’t let you fall.”

But she was afraid that he would. Not fall off the roof. Rafe was too good a crew boss to allow any of his workers to get physically injured. But with each minute she spent with this man a part of her trod deeper into dangerous territory. Emotional territory that could spell trouble for her. Territory she hadn’t explored since the early days of her marriage.

He offered her his hand and seated her in the shade before retrieving two cans of fruit punch from an ice chest. He walked with the surety of a cat... no a streetwise warrior. Someone who knew that he could take on any situation. Cass envied him his confidence.

She’d felt weak and shaky most of her life. First with the loss of her father when she was sixteen, then with the loss of Carl when she was twenty-six. Instinctively she was drawn to strong men, yet a part of her resented their strength.

He was watching her, and that made her nervous. She took a long sip of the punch. The sweet liquid left an aftertaste and she set the can aside. “I’d like to invite you to dinner before we leave for the game tonight.”

“It would be easier to grab something at the Orena.”

Cass digested that. “Were you able to purchase tickets for us?”

“I told you I have season tickets.” He stared at her for a full minute before continuing. “Why didn’t you want Andy to go alone with me?”

Cass hedged for a moment. Short of out and out lying, there was no way to avoid the truth. “I don’t like the enthusiasm you have for sports. Andy looks up to you. What you do, he wants to do, and he’s so small for his age, I’m afraid he’ll get hurt.”

“Watching a game?”

“You know that once he gets the bug for any game he’ll be hooked, and then I’ll seem like an ogre if I don’t let him participate.”

“Cass, I’m not trying to influence your son. I thought the game sounded like a good idea, but if you didn’t want him to go, you should have just said no.”

“I know, but Andy wants to get involved in some afterschool activities, and I wanted to ask for your help with something.”

He stared at the top of the aluminum can. “I have no experience with kids, Cass.”

“I know. This is kind of a-man-who-was-once-a-boy question.”

He grinned. “Well, I was a boy once.”

“Somehow I suspected you might have been,” she said before blurting out, “Andy asked me to let him join peewee football.”

“That’s up to you,” Rafe said. Cass knew he didn’t want to be caught up in their lives.

“Rafe, I don’t want Andy to grow up being a little wimp because I never let him try things. But I also don’t want him to get hurt, and football is dangerous. I’ve heard tales from other mothers in the PTA.”

His light eyes were piercing in their intensity. “Injuries happen, Cass. But participating in a sport helps develop discipline.”

Silently Cass heard the censure from their first meeting. Discipline was something Andy lacked. Her son ran wild when he wanted to, and Cass knew she was to blame. “Can you suggest an alternative to football?”

“Let me think about it.” He stood up before tugging her to her feet. “You need to get out of the sun for a while.”

“What’s that mean?”

“You’re turning pink, lady.”

She ran her eyes over his almost bare body. His olive skin had merely deepened in the late-October sun, but if she stayed out much longer she’d look like a lobster. “I’m going.”

She held tightly to Rafe’s fingers as he led her across the steep roof to the ladder. She glanced down before taking her first step onto the aluminum ladder and felt the world tip on its axis. She closed her eyes as dizziness swamped her.