Just thinking along those lines caused her body to tingle in odd places. Places she had thought dead. Beaten to death a long time ago.
“Why are you doing that?” she asked, nodding towards his hands, which were carefully pinching the flowers off a vine.
He glanced at her, but she couldn’t see his eyes very well through his dark sunglasses.
“It makes the plant healthier if it only has to produce one fruit or vegetable,” he explained patiently. “Imagine a woman giving birth to one child versus the risks of giving birth to five or six at once.”
She shuddered at the idea. “Pinch away!” But that wasn’t the only question she had. As they worked, she asked more questions, thrilled that he was patient enough to answer them. She also pulled weeds as she went along, tossing everything into the grass, just as he was doing.
By the time the sun was overhead, he called a halt. “We’ve done enough for today,” he told her, walking over to take the twine and scissors back. “Thank you for your help. Would you like some lemonade?”
She looked around, a teasing sparkle to her eye. “No lemon trees?”
He grinned, then tilted his head toward his house. “They’re inside.”
Carrie’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding, right? I was just teasing.”
He led her over to the shaded porch and waved towards one of the chairs. “Not kidding.” He disappeared inside, then returned with a pitcher of lemonade. “I made this earlier today, knowing I’d be out in the sun today.” He poured lemonade over two glasses filled with ice, then handed one to her. “Lemon trees are tropical plants. They wouldn’t be able to survive in this area during the winter months.”
She watched, thinking that even the way the man drank was a turn on. He gulped down the lemonade and she watched his Adam’s apple bob, thinking that the man was fascinating.
He glanced at her untouched lemonade. “You don’t like it?”
Carrie pulled her gaze away from his throat and looked down at her glass, praying that he couldn’t see the blush staining her cheeks. “I’m sure it’s wonderful.” She lifted the glass to her lips and tasted, then took a longer sip. “Oh my, this is really good!”
He nodded, and poured himself another glass. “Thanks for your help out there. I enjoy gardening, but sometimes, the plants get a bit out of control. Especially in June after the spring rains and the heat from the sunshine.” He paused and took another long sip. “By August, there won’t be as much to do, other than control the bugs.”
“That doesn’t sound as interesting.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Trust me, it’s not. But all this,” he said, indicating the large garden, “is worth it.”
She followed his gaze, admiring the plants. “I agree. It’s pretty amazing, everything you’ve planted and grown. Very impressive.”
He looked at her, and she could see the indecision in his eyes now that he’d removed his sunglasses. She wondered if she was imposing on him. Maybe he had things he needed to get done. And here she was, just sitting on his porch enjoying the view. “I’d better get…”
“One of my friends made some homemade pasta the other day,” Derick interrupted. “With that, plus your pasta sauce, why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?” He eyed her curiously. “You don’t have other plans, do you?”
Carrie knew that she should say she had something else to do. She didn’t, but she could easily get into her truck and go…somewhere. Anywhere. Just so that he didn’t know that she was sitting at home tonight, not doing anything.
So, it was a surprise when she heard herself say, “No. I don’t have any other plans. Pasta would be really nice.”
“Good,” he replied, nodding. “How about if you come on back around six o’clock?”
Carrie checked her watch. That was only a couple of hours away. She shouldn’t do it. He was a big, muscular man. But then she remembered the way he’d touched the tomato plants. The gentle way he’d touched all of the plants. Could she risk it? Just this once?
It wasn’t as if she were going to have sex with him. It was just dinner. And she could hurry home afterwards. She had a safe haven to return to tonight. With heavy locks on the doors.
“Yes. Six o’clock. That would be great.”
He nodded. “Good. I’ll see you at six.”
She nodded as well, and felt a bit silly, just standing there, staring at him. So she looked down at the glass, surprised to find that she’d drank all of the lemonade. It was surprisingly good. She set the glass down on the table and walked down the steps. Without saying anything else, because Carrie had no idea what else to say, she walked back to her house.
Once inside, she leaned her back against the door, closed her eyes, and tried to slow her breathing. Dinner. With a man! Just a meal, she told herself, trying to tamp down her nervousness. And excitement.
“Just dinner,” she whispered. Then she pushed away from the door and hurried up the stairs. She was hot and sweaty and, when she looked in the mirror, Carrie gasped at her reflection. She looked like a hag!
Oh no! This wouldn’t do! Her feminine instincts, long suppressed, flared at the horror in the mirror. “Time to pretty up,” she told her reflection.
Chapter 6
Derick’s beer froze midway to his mouth as he stared at the image walking towards his house. “Jolene” had abandoned her baggy jeans, tee shirt, and work boots for tonight. Instead, she wore a dress. A short, flirty summer dress that ended several inches above her knees. She’d also found a pair of wedge heels that made her legs look…hot!
The dress had obviously been purchased when she was a larger size, because the material floated around her body. But that didn’t matter. It made her appear almost ethereal as she crossed their lawns, the early evening sunshine glowing behind her. That backlit sun highlighted her figure, making the material of her dress almost translucent.
“Holy…!” he muttered to himself. “You’re going to be in pain by the end of this night.”
The beer thudded onto the bannister, the liquid inside foaming up and over the top in protest. But Derick didn’t notice. His eyes were glued to “Jolene”.
She’d done something with her hair. And she wore makeup. Not a lot, but enough that it highlighted her huge eyes and…brown eyes. Huh! He’d been so focused on other things that he hadn’t noticed that her eyes were a beautiful, rich, chocolate color that left him thinking about pouring warm chocolate all over her. Then licking it off.
Freckles, he realized when she came closer. She had cute, sexy freckles all over her nose and along her cheekbones. His eyes lifted, noticing her hair. There was something odd about her hair, but he couldn’t quite figure it out. But for some reason, he’d always associated freckles like hers with redheads.
“Am I late?” she asked.
Derick could barely breathe, much less respond. His lust was disrupting his thoughts. He must have shaken his head, because she smiled up at him.
Lashes. Her lashes weren’t dark like her hair, he realized. She’d added a touch of lipstick…well, more like tinted lip-gloss, and he wasn’t sure if she was blushing or if she’d added some color to her cheeks. But whatever, it looked really nice! But her lashes were…they seemed a different color. It was hard to tell since her beautiful, chocolate eyes kept drawing him in. But yeah, there was something off about her lashes. And eyebrows?