Her Bucking Bronc (3 page)

Hannah didn’t want to fight and she didn’t understand why nasty words kept falling out of her mouth whenever he was in front of her. Something about Dylan ignited her like a match striking a rock. Hell, she almost smelled the fire between them. The air just about sizzled.

She climbed into the truck, noting the dried clumps of mud on the expensive floor mats, the GPS mounted on the dash and the road atlas on the seat. He was full of contradictions.

“I’m not usually argumentative,” she began.

He snorted as he clipped his seatbelt. “I know this story. It starts with ‘once upon a time’.”

“Shut up.” She spoke without rancor. Dax had been surprised by the way she had responded to Dylan. He wasn’t different from any other man she’d met in the last two years. She refused to believe he was.

He couldn’t be, because she wasn’t ready for it.

“Look, we’re going to be working together for four months. Can we call a truce?” He stuck out his hand.

The heat in the truck made the air between them shimmer. She blew a stray hair from her cheek, but it returned, stuck to her perspiring skin.

“Fine, but I’m gonna be involved in every decision no matter how small it is.” She shook his proffered hand, her none-too-small one being swallowed by his. They were like paws, full of calluses and long, strong fingers. He didn’t dainty-hand her, but shook her hand with enough force to know it was an actual handshake.

“I don’t expect anything less, Harry.” He smiled and she was struck by how handsome he was, really, how much
more
handsome he was when he flashed those pearly whites. She looked away, unable to face her growing attraction to him.

He turned the ignition and the engine rumbled to life. There was definitely some big horsepower in the truck. The vibration traveled up her legs and into her torso. She closed her eyes and reveled in the blast of air from the vents.

“You, ah, okay?”

She opened one eye and peered at him. “Just peachy keen. Can we get moving? It’s almost lunchtime and there’s a sandwich place by the permit office.”

He saluted her, much to her annoyance, and proceeded to punch an address into the GPS. On a normal day, she would have given him directions in exacting detail. However, for whatever reason she didn’t examine, she chose to sit back and let him do his thing.

As he drove east to the building department, she closed her eyes and let her mind drift. She had spent the last two years holding on to control of everything and everyone around her. Now, she simply let it all go.

Hannah wasn’t even sure she knew why. She didn’t like the man, but he put her at ease. Again, a contradiction. She rubbed her forehead and tried to quiet the thoughts bouncing around in her skull.

“Where do you park?”

“There’s a lot behind the building.” She watched as he maneuvered his super-sized truck into the lot and toward a parking space without a hitch. His arms flexed as he turned the wheel, easing the vehicle into the narrow spot. The sun reflected off the golden hairs hidden within the brown hairs on his arm.

She studied his profile and noted his eyes weren’t the black color she originally thought. They were a myriad of browns—from dark chocolate to whiskey—swirled together, and surrounded by long, dark lashes. It wasn’t quite noon, but the man already had a five o’clock shadow. He must’ve shaved the day before. Most men didn’t do that twice in one day.

His hair was thick and soft looking, tempting her to run her fingers through it. He wasn’t a pretty boy or someone who dressed fancy to impress. Dylan struck her as the genuine article. Like it or lump it.

She respected that about it him even if she would never confess that particular fact. He was still obnoxious and high-handed. The restaurant construction was hers and she would be there to own it every moment. Since Cindy’s had burned down, she’d been a complete mess, emotionally and mentally. Okay, physically too. Some days she didn’t shower or eat much.

Hannah was smart enough to recognize a downward spiral toward depression. After the bottom dropped out of her world when the love of her life died, she nearly lost herself completely. It was only the love and support of her family that saved her. She wouldn’t waste that by falling victim to it again. Losing her heart was far more devastating than losing a building.

She would survive and she would rebuild. Cindy’s would be her phoenix, rising from the ashes to triumph. And if Dylan Bennett got in her way, she’d knock him on his perfectly shaped ass.

He put the truck into park and glanced at her. “You plan on dogging me on this whole thing, right?”

“Yup.” She sat up straighter and picked up her purse from the seat. “Like a cocklebur on a dog’s ass.”

“Don’t slow me down, don’t countermand me, and don’t get in my way,” he warned as he stepped out of the truck.

She snorted to herself as she opened the door. “Good thing I don’t listen to bossy men.”

“Good thing I don’t care what bossy women think of me.” He appeared beside her, holding the folder and looking like a walking sin.

She stuck her nose in the air and walked past him, but not before snatching the folder. He mumbled and cursed under his breath. For the first time in a very long time, Hannah felt alive, and that was scary and exciting. She’d be fighting with this man every day.

This was going to be an interesting four months.

* * * * *

Dylan pulled into the jobsite a week later, pleased to see the demolition completed. The dust and soot forced the workers to wear masks as they took down the remaining wall and removed all the ash.

He’d gone to the hotel each night with a black circle around his face and a white nose and mouth. He was looking forward to working on such a clean slate. The anticipation of building something from nothing was a thrill that would never get old.

As he hopped out of his truck, he spotted the tailless cat. The damn thing was ugly as all hell, with half an ear, a scar on his left shoulder and a stub of a tail. It had wandered around behind him for days. He’d ignored it at first, but then he found himself talking to it, much to his annoyance.

“Why are you still here?” he grumbled as he sipped at his coffee.

The cat blinked and began cleaning his paw.

“Do you have a new pet?” Hannah’s voice, not heard for the last seven days, echoed in the crisp morning air.

Hell and damnation. Since she hadn’t shown up at the site, he wondered if she’d changed her mind about being involved with the rebuilding of the restaurant. Apparently not.

“Where have you been?” tumbled from his mouth. He resisted the urge to slap his forehead in frustration. He definitely had
not
missed her.

“Working with Lucas on the changes to the plans. The demolition isn’t the interesting part. Besides, I wanted you to wonder where I was.” She tapped his shoulder with what he assumed was the rolled-up blueprints. “I’ve also been ordering the new equipment to make sure it arrives on time for the opening.”

Dylan took a big gulp of coffee and successfully scalded the hell out of his mouth. Hannah was going to turn him into an idiot.

“We haven’t sunk one footing or hammered one nail.” He turned to glare at her. “We don’t have an opening date to plan for.”

Hannah had her hair back in a ponytail, her eyes bright in the sunlight streaming from the east. She looked pretty. Damn pretty.

And he didn’t want to notice.

“Oh yes we do, and I like to plan. I have a to-do list a mile long. November 1st is opening day.” She handed him the rolled-up plans and walked toward the cleared site. He pressed his scalded tongue against the back of his teeth. The last thing she needed was encouragement to get started on her mile-long list.

“I didn’t agree to November first. Anything could delay that date. We should plan the opening at least a couple weeks later.” It was a big job and he wanted to plan for contingencies.

“I’ll make sure it happens. We will hit that date no matter how we get there.” She sounded more sure than a human being should.

“The grading crew will be here in the next half an hour.” Dylan tried not to watch her as she walked in a wide circle around the site. “You can’t be walking about when they get started.”

She ignored him. “This restaurant has been my heart and soul for as long as I can remember.” She opened her arms and slowly spun in a circle. “Sometimes I feel like I was erased along with the restaurant. Perhaps both of us will be reborn.”

Her voice had thickened and he had a moment of horror in which he thought she might be crying. Jesus, he was there to do a job, not babysit the crazy owner. The damn cat wandered over and rubbed against her leg. She glanced down and smiled.

“He reminds me of you.” She squatted down and petted the mangy feline. “Rough and tough on the outside, but soft and squishy inside.” The cat’s purr was loud enough Dylan heard it.

He snorted and wondered if he’d stepped into a bad dream. Maybe he was asleep in the hotel bed and hallucinating.

She glanced up at Dylan. “I wanted to be here on the first day of the new building. I didn’t want to stare at the ashy remains of the restaurant I loved.” She got to her feet. “I told you I wanted to be here every day.”

“That you did.” He heard the unmistakable sound of a truck pulling a large load coming up the road. “I think the machinery is about to get here. If you’re going to be here, you need to stand fifty yards away.”

“Fine. I’ll keep my distance.” She frowned and her lips tightened. The woman had the plumpest lower lip he’d seen. Honestly, he shouldn’t have even noticed it, but now that he did, he couldn’t stop looking at it. Probably better than looking at her spectacular tits.

God, if only she would go find someplace else to work on her to-do list.

Then to his astonishment, she rose up on her toes and spun in a circle like a ballerina. Her right leg came out at a right angle and then bent at the knee to form a perfect pose. On top of everything, she was a ballet dancer?

She spun in one more circle before she leapt through the air like a goddamn gazelle and landed on her foot, then threw her arms in the air and bowed at the waist.

“What was that?” He walked closer and the cat strolled to his side. Then it proceeded to walk beside him like it was a pet dog. Tanger was an odd town.

“A dance of life, Mr. Bennett.” She smiled and he was struck by how lovely she was. Hannah Blackwood was gorgeous, voluptuous, and more dangerous than the grading equipment pulling in the parking lot behind him. “I wanted the building to be reborn.”

“Are you finished?” He didn’t like how curt he sounded. That was the farthest thing from the truth. He was annoyed with himself, not with her.

She curtsied and walked away, her nose in the air. He told himself there was no reason to feel guilty. He was hired to do a job and that didn’t mean she needed to be in his way.

The next few hours were full of everything he knew well. The grading commenced and he pushed aside all thoughts of Hannah. The morning went well, with only a few hiccups.

When lunchtime rolled around, his stomach rumbled for attention, but he ignored it. Instead he laid out the plans she’d given him on the hood of his truck and started studying them. They were complete and included the engineer’s specs.

He was impressed. Considering Hannah was the mastermind behind this building, he didn’t expect this level of detail. Most women involved in the construction industry were not bosses. Not to say they couldn’t do it, but more that they weren’t interested, and men didn’t like a woman fiddling in their domain.

Hannah didn’t seem to care about what she should do. She just did it. He would need to remind himself to not underestimate her, but he also didn’t need to let her run roughshod over him. Or dance on the damn site again.

“Are you hungry?” She appeared as if he’d conjured her, holding an old-fashioned picnic basket and smiling.

Damn.

Hannah didn’t know she was going to cook for him until she was packing the food up. The morning had been full of searching websites for décor, lighting, and equipment for the restaurant. Her stomach had reminded her the noon meal was approaching.

She managed to make steak sandwiches with caramelized onions, Havarti cheese, and toasted pretzel buns she’d baked two days earlier. She’d made enough for three people and packed it all up along with cold soda and two pieces of the apple pie she’d made four days ago.

Apparently Hannah cooked and baked when she was upset. Most people ate. She communed with flour and baking soda.

When she arrived at the jobsite, her stomach fluttered after she spotted him. He was looking through the plans with one foot resting on the bumper of his truck. His ass was nicely defined in his worn jeans.

She didn’t want to notice how attractive the man was, but he had the physique of a man who worked for a living. Not to mention a spectacular ass.

Too bad he was a bit of a jerk.

Hannah had put on her happy face and tried her best to be nice to him. If she wanted the restaurant rebuild to go on schedule and to her specifications, she had to be nice to him. Even if he was hard to be nice to. And stubborn.