Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
She walked around him.
Oh, heck no.
Turning once more, he stood in her way as she spun around. Grasping her around the waist, he picked her up until her feet dangled.
“Eek!”
Crap. He hadn’t meant to scare her. But he also didn’t set her down, unsure whether she’d start pacing and muttering again.
“What are you doing?” she asked, putting one hand on her chest as she gaped down at him.
“Getting your attention.”
“You could have just said my name.”
“Really?”
“Or stood in front of me. Waved your hand or something.”
“Never would have thought of that,” he said sarcastically.
“Oh. You, um, you tried that already, didn’t you?” she asked.
“I did.”
“Hmm. So, you decided to just pick me up?”
“Seemed like a way to get your attention.”
“I’d say it worked,” she replied mildly. “Do you have any plans to put me down or . . .”
“Figured I might just keep you like this so I can be sure you’ll listen to me.”
“You don’t think your arms will get tired?”
“Not anytime soon. And if they do, I can always put you over my shoulder.”
“That’s a possibility. I might start to feel ill, though.”
“Yeah? How about I sit you on my hip?”
Interest filled her face. Did she like that idea?
“Or over my knee.”
“I don’t think there’s a reason for any of that since I’m listening now, right?”
He eyed her for a long moment, then slowly set her down. But he quickly took hold of her hand and led her over to an armchair. He sat and opened his legs, drawing her between his thighs. Then he took hold of her hands. “We have a few things to discuss.”
Her stomach made a grumbling noise.
“Quickly. Since you sound hungry.”
“We could skip the chat and go straight to the food.” She glanced over at the door worriedly.
“It’s stopped snowing,” he reassured her. “Some has settled, though. You okay with that?”
“I think so. I’m trying to be, anyway.”
He squeezed her hands and she turned back to face him.
“We’ll leave your car here and you’ll drive back with me.”
Panic filled her face as she shook her head. “I can’t . . . it’s that bad? I’ve been saving some money to fix it up. It can’t be fixed?”
Shit. He wished he could lie and tell her that it was a write-off. That would solve his issues.
“It’s fixable,” he told her reluctantly. “The mechanic said he can get it running well enough to get you to Billings. It needs a new battery. And the heater isn’t working.” He shot her a stern look and she grimaced. “You want to explain why you thought driving a car in January without a working heater was a good idea?”
“Well . . . I didn’t need it in Georgia.”
“Greer,” he said warningly.
“And I thought if I dressed warm, it would be okay. It’s not like I had a lot of choice. I don’t have the money for a new car . . . but I supposed I should have gotten it fixed before I left.”
“And you didn’t because . . .”
“Coming here was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. Plus, I don’t like dealing with mechanics. I never know what they’re talking about or if they’re ripping me off.”
Fuck.
It must have been hard to deal with some things on her own.
“I just figured I’d be all right, you know? And I can’t leave it here. I need to know that I can leave whenever I want.”
“Fine. We’ll pick it up later once he calls me. But, and you need to listen.” He grasped her chin and gave her a firm look. “Are you listening?”
“Yes. You have my full attention.”
“I will be driving behind you the entire way. If you do happen to lose me, then you stop and wait for me. If your car starts acting up, then you pull over and tell me. Got me? No more driving on and ignoring damn warning lights.”
“Yep. I understand.”
“I also told him to put snow tires on it.”
She opened her mouth to protest.
“And I won’t hear any arguments. You need them to be safe.”
“Okay. Do they cost a lot?”
“Like I said, you don’t need to worry about that.”
“Why wouldn’t I need to worry about that?” she asked suspiciously.
“Because I’m going to pay for them.”
Oh, heck no.
He didn’t just say that he was going to pay for her snow tires, right? Oh, and he likely thought he was going to pay for all the repairs?
Yep. Not happening.
She gave him a firm look. “No.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re not paying for my car repairs.”
“I am.”
“Uh, nope. You are not.” What the heck? She put her hands on her hips. “Hack, you can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
Why not? Was he being serious right now?
Seemed that he was.
She let out a deep breath, her irritation disappearing. It was sweet he wanted to do this.
Misguided, but sweet.
“Because it’s not up to you. It’s up to me. I’m just a favor to a friend, remember?”