Country Roads(6)

She shook her head, knowing in her bones her uncle wouldn’t steal from her. “It wouldn’t be about money.” She blinked against the tears still threatening. “I just don’t understand.”

Long, warm fingers closed over the white-knuckled fist she had clenched on her thigh. His touch was firm enough to offer strength but light enough to be comforting. She turned back to him to say thank you, but the words evaporated as she met his eyes. In them she saw compassion and sympathy and something else that sent a shiver of awareness rippling through her body. The feel of his palm against her hand took on a sudden charge of sensuality. She felt exhilarated, not threatened.

The blast of a horn shattered the strange mood. A big flatbed truck with flashing yellow lights pulled onto the shoulder in front of Paul’s car. He released her hand and swung open his door, saying, “The cavalry has arrived.”

It took Julia a moment to pull herself back to the dusty roadside. She must have imagined the moment of connection, because her rescuer seemed unaffected by it. He had shifted back to the problem of her car without a moment’s pause.

She got out of the car and joined the two men as they walked back toward her SUV.

“Bud, this is Julia,” Paul said. “Julia, Bud Skaggs.”

Bud wiped his hand on his coveralls before holding it out. “I hear you’re headed for Sanctuary but fell a mite short. We’ll get you there one way or the other.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.” Julia liked the small, wiry man immediately. He had grizzled hair and skin like wrinkled leather. The three of them stood looking down at the flat tire.

Bud shook his head and raised his gaze to Julia. “I’m thinking you might want to trade the whole vehicle in for a newer model.”

“Could you just take it to the gallery for right now? I’ll figure out what to do with it after that.”

“If that’s what you want, it’s fine with me,” Bud said agreeably. “Paul, if you move your Corvette, I’ll get this nice lady’s SUV loaded up on the truck.”

Julia put every ounce of the gratitude she felt into the look she gave Paul. “Thank you so much for everything. I’ll send whatever I owe you to the address on your business card.”

“Are you firing me so soon?” he said, lifting a dark slash of an eyebrow. “I think I should at least get to see these paintings and hear what Claire has to say about them.”

“Are you an art lover?”

“No, but I have a weakness for a good mystery. I want to know if your uncle is right or wrong about your new style.”

“He’s wrong,” she said, lifting her chin.

“I’m the last person to have an opinion on art, so don’t look daggers at me,” Paul protested, but the corners of his mouth were twitching.

“Hey, Paul, you going to move that ’Vette or am I going to drive over it?” Bud called out from the window of his truck.

“I’m on my way,” Paul said over his shoulder before he turned back to her. “You might want to ride with me since the cab of Bud’s truck isn’t usually in any kind of condition to carry passengers.”

As he strode away without waiting for her answer, Julia thrust her hands in her jeans pockets and watched him fold himself into his low-slung sports car. He pulled around the tow truck and stopped while Bud backed up to her Suburban and began hooking various chains to it.

Julia stood on the side of the road, the wind from the passing cars whipping her hair across her face, wondering how everything had gotten so complicated.

“Don’t look so worried.” Paul had walked up beside her. “We’ll get it all straightened out.”

“I’ll bet you’re a very successful lawyer,” she said, glancing up at him. “You have that air of trustworthiness down pat.”

“Maybe because I am trustworthy.”

She wanted to believe him, because right now she was feeling very alone. No matter how much she and her uncle had disagreed over her work, she had trusted him. Now she had no one…except Paul Taggart. She could feel her lips start to tremble, and she pressed them together hard.

“Hey,” he said, bending down so he could see her face. “Seriously. Everything will be all right.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and suddenly his arms were around her. His shirt held the scent of starch and a citrusy soap. It had been a long time since she’d found herself pressed against a male body, and she caught herself drawing more than mere comfort from his touch.

A grinding of metal on metal made her jump and pull away. Bud was winching her car onto the tilted flatbed. She swiped the back of her hand across her eyes.