Turning back to face him—no hardship there, given how he looked—she smiled. “It was a busy day, right? And I just moved in. I was more concerned with finding lights that worked than stocking the shelves.”
He tucked in his chin. “You don’t have lights?”
“A few. I’ll work on that tomorrow, too.” She wrinkled her nose. “I still have some cobwebs up on the ceiling, so I think I’ll get those cleared out before I bring in food.”
Equally as casual as she’d been, Hunter stepped closer. “Your doors and windows lock?”
“Windows are mostly stuck, but the few that’ll open also seem to lock.” Should she tell him replacements would be installed tomorrow? Eh...maybe. “I’ll have the door rigged.” She gave him a look of warning. “Anyone tries getting in, they won’t like the consequences.”
Instead of being offended, or even wary, he nodded. “Good.” And then, “Your refrigerator works?”
“Hard to believe, I know. Thing has to be two decades old. It’s short with a rounded top. Three burners on the stove work. There’s a slightly newer microwave over it.” She pulled a face. “No dishwasher, though.”
“I hadn’t been in the house, but from the outside...”
“Looks rough, I’m aware.” She stretched, gave a yawn and popped her neck. “I worked on it earlier today. Had to have a clean place to sleep, you know? After getting the lawn work in town done, I came back and did more to the house. That’s when I realized I needed light bulbs. I mean, there’s enough light for tonight, but tomorrow, that’s top of the agenda.”
“Along with buying food?”
She tapped her temple. “I have a mental to-do list.”
Bypassing all that, he asked, “What did you have for lunch?”
If she could read his expression, maybe the question wouldn’t bug her. She couldn’t, though, so she couldn’t figure his motive for asking. “Why d’you want to know?”
“Friendly conversation?”
Not buying it, Jodi asked, “So you run around asking random women what they’ve eaten?”
“Usually only those jogging with a gun and a flashlight.”
Ha! He really was amusing. “I didn’t jog far, did I? Hardly counts.” And yet much of her tension had eased. Weird.
Shaking his head, Hunter dismissed what she said. “You’re here, on my property, and you just moved in and don’t have food, so I was...”
When he stalled, she prompted, “You were what?”
“Concerned?” He watched her, and whatever he saw caused him to suppress a grin. “No, forget I said that. I take it back. No reason to get prickly.”
Was she prickly? Definitely. Her independence was extremely important in ways he’d never understand. His frank way of pointing it out took care of that, though. In fact, she almost laughed.
He tried again. “Let’s say I was feeling neighborly.”
The way he tried that on, almost tasting it before giving a nod, left her smiling. “Sure, let’s say that. So neighbor to neighbor, I’ll admit I don’t remember what I had for lunch, but it’s fine.” She probably had an energy bar in her truck. “I’m not that hungry.” A big old lie. Now that he’d made her think of food, she was suddenly ravenous.
“Or,” he said, “I could invite you to join me.” He held up his hands before she could even decide if she wanted to be surprised, offended or grateful. “I was about to throw a steak on the grill, but I can easily make it two.”
“Is the second steak for your dinner tomorrow?”
“No, I got it just in case.” His frown seemed directed more at himself than her, before he admitted, “After you told me you bought the house.”
“So you figured I wouldn’t have food?” She didn’t understand him.
“I figured you’d be busy moving in—and I was right. I’ll add baked potatoes, and I have fresh garden tomatoes. Sounds good, doesn’t it? I can see that it does.”
Before meeting Hunter, Jodi thought she was hard to read. He sure read her easily enough, though. That should alarm her—so why did she feel so lighthearted? “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“To eat? Everyone does it, I swear.”
Such a comedian. She again looked at the sky while she considered things. As if to convince her, Turbo got to his feet and came to stand before her, staring up at her with his dark soulful eyes. His droopy face should have looked sad, but instead, he somehow looked hopeful. She couldn’t resist rubbing his furry face. “He has enough skin for three dogs.”
“Agreed.”
“His ears are so velvety.” When Hunter didn’t reply, she peeked up and caught a weird expression on his face. “Well, they are.”
“I’ll agree to that, too.” As if bothered by something, he rubbed the back of his neck. “So. What do you say to food?”
“Where?”
Took him a second to ask, “Where what? Will we eat?” He glanced around as if not sure—or maybe he wanted to figure out what she’d agree to. “Kitchen?” He discounted that immediately. “Or we could sit on the back deck since it’s nice out. Our yards connect and obviously there is no fence.”
Meaning she could get away if she wanted to.
Getting that close with him wasn’t a smart move, though. Still, a steak off the grill sounded delicious. “I left the house dusty from cleaning, and after trotting up here, I’m probably sweaty, too.” She hadn’t run that far, but far enough. “I should probably shower.”
He drew a slow breath, shook his head and said, “You’re fine.”
If only she understood men better, then maybe she’d know what was going on in his head. The men she had known... Well, they ranged from pure evil to avenging angels. A guy like Hunter Osborn... Where did he fit? Not evil. She’d gotten a sixth sense about that. But he also wasn’t on a par with—
“Jodi?” Gently, he said, “It’s just dinner, that’s all. Food, maybe conversation if I can convince you to take part, but if not, that’s okay, too. And Turbo for sure will want more affection, but that’s it. That’s as far as your commitment goes.”
None of that sounded awful, so she gave in. “Okay, sure.” If he didn’t mind her raggedy appearance, she wouldn’t worry about it either.
“Great.” He gestured toward the house. “Come on. I’ll fire up the grill.”