Dom arched a brow at him. “Somethin’ eating at you, Theo?”
Yes. The fact his dick wanted to crawl across the deck boards and bury itself in Sadie’s sweet pussy for one. Throw in being a disappointment to his family for dropping out of college, and Cort and everyone else at the Bellamy believing he’d burned down the shed and then flooded a pasture with his carelessness seemed like good places to start.
He shook his head. “Everything’s good, man. Just thirsty.” He lifted his beer in salute, and Dom nodded and moved on to talk to Kaoz, but Theo knew their conversation wasn’t finished.
His eyes wandered over to Sadie. She stood talking to Jada and Jada’s sister Joss, the bowl of fruit still in her hand. Theo located a deck chair, pulled it closer with his boot and dropped down to it to covertly watch her.
She smiled and laughed. When he met her, he didn’t see even the barest hint of grief glimmering in her eyes. If he had, he would have hesitated and maybe asked a few questions before having a romp with her in his truck.
Fragile, Dom had said. Looking at her now, he might agree with that. She had a delicate look in her eyes, which she turned on him at that exact minute.
Their gazes connected for a full heartbeat before she dropped hers, over his body all the way to his boots. Then she reversed and landed on his fly.
Jesus H, hold my hand.
He ached for her fingers wrapped around his cock again. He’d learned in his teens when he first led Katie Delray into the woods behind the football field that a woman could lead a man around by that appendage.
But that wasn’t all there was to Sadie.
He shifted his leg, and she jerked her stare up. It clashed with his again, and he gave that electricity right back to her, dipping his stare over her hair, breasts, lingering on her hips and hitting her boots before he popped it back to her face.
She twisted back to her friends, presenting him with her luscious ass.
Full globes that he could still feel cradled on his palm while he finger-fucked her.
Hell. Whatever game they were playing, he liked it. Yessiree, he liked it a lot.
Too bad he couldn’t be involved with Sadie. Hell, he could hardly trust Jordy to leave him at the ranch for long and his job was already on the rocks.
Besides, he wasn’t in the business of mending broken hearts—not even with amazing backseat sex.
* * * * *
“Oh my God.” Sadie pivoted in a circle to drink in every corner of the latest house the real estate agent had to show her.
Which wasn’t a house at all. It was an old schoolhouse, complete with tall windows, a high ceiling and wide open space. A blank canvas, perfect to make into her own.
“The place could use a little work, and since it’s a historical building, you’ll have to work with the codes…” The real estate agent stopped talking, probably because she realized Sadie wasn’t truly listening since the moment she unlocked the front door.
“Amazing,” she whispered, hearing her voice echo lightly back to her in the empty space.
“The owner bought the place thinking to renovate into a small home, but he never got around to it. When I heard it was on the market, I thought of you.” The woman smiled at Sadie.
She was prepared to sign the papers right now. Of course, asking about the price was something normal people did. Maybe she should at least try to act as if she cared about money, even if the schoolhouse was exactly what she’d been searching for and she’d pay any amount to own it.
To hell with haggling over prices and tedious numbers. She was already dreaming about draperies and a porcelain tile backsplash.
She turned to the agent. “When can I move in?”
She grinned. “The owner is eager to sell, so I imagine the paperwork will go through quickly. But…don’t you even want to hear the asking price?”
“Oh,” she said, distracted by the details of the heavy wood molding surrounding the windows. “what is the price?”
She heard the amount, mulled it over in her mind and said, “I’ll write him a check today for the full amount, while her mind flip-flopped to half walls to partition the living room from the kitchen and a big window added to the bedroom, codes permitting.
She couldn’t wait to get started. While the agent stepped outside to contact the owner, Sadie grabbed her phone and texted Jada.
I found it.
What? Where is it located? Is it that little ranch?
She shot off the address to her friend and a second later received an I’m on my way.
Sadie had so many plans rushing through her mind that she needed to make a list. She was so busy creating lists of supplies she’d need that she jumped at the sound of Jada’s squeal from the doorway.
Her friend bounced up and down a little. “Oh my God, Sadie! I wondered if the address might lead me to the schoolhouse, but…wow!” She hugged her.
Her own excitement was off the charts. This was the break in the clouds she needed—a place to call her own, her peaceful haven where she could dream and find new passions that didn’t have to do with Jackson.
“First, I’ll need all new electric wiring. Plumbing too. I’ll put the kitchen over there.” She waved a hand at the wall where two high windows broke up the long wall and allowed golden sunlight to pour in. She looked down. “I’m thinking tile floor in the kitchen, but nothing sterile and cold. Something with a wood look. Then transition to hardwood throughout the rest of the space.”
She turned to Jada. “Maybe you know some names of contractors I could call.”
“I can help you.”
The agent was back, listening to their talk. “I’ll leave you with a list of contractors as well, but I must warn you many are booked out pretty far. It might take you longer than you want to have the schoolhouse renovated.”
Sadie looked to Jada, who bit her lip and nodded. “It’s true, unfortunately. When Dom and I were updating bathrooms in our house, it took months to get workers on the job.”
“Well…good thing I’m handy with tools. I can build partition walls myself. The electricity and plumbing I’ll need help with, and the floor…” She cocked her head. “I might be able to tackle it after a DIY video or two.”
“Or you could call Theo Sutton.”
At the name the agent dropped, Sadie’s jaw dropped too. How many men went by the name of Theo in a small town such as Crossroads?
“Oh yes, Theo’s great. You know him from the party.” Her lips gave a quirk, because she still wanted the dirt on how Sadie and Theo knew each other. “He does the odd job or two when he isn’t working on the Bellamy Ranch.”
She waved a dismissive hand. “I’ll cross those bridges when I come to them. I’m just so excited to have a chance to buy this place!”
But Sadie already made up her mind she would not be calling Theo Sutton to lay her floor—or lay her.
Chapter Three
“Come here, boy. Got ya somethin’.” Theo held out the bulky shopping bag to Jordy.
As the kid stepped into the sunlight streaming in through the shed door, Theo saw he’d grown overnight.
“Damn, I think you grew since yesterday. I don’t even know if those’ll fit you.” He pointed to the bag Jordy accepted.