“Aren’t you gonna eat? I know you’re starved, young man. You told me so yourself.”
He grabbed a sandwich off the table. “It’ll be a working lunch, same as always.” He locked his gaze to Jade’s. “But don’t you worry. I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter Three
Tobin didn’t even taste a single bite of his sandwich after he stormed out of Garnet’s kitchen.
He crossed the yard and headed straight for the machine shed. He threw his shoulder into the wooden door because it always stuck—not because he was pissed off.
But he was pissed off.
After slamming the door behind him, he didn’t bother with the light. He didn’t need anything out here; he just figured it was a place where neither Garnet nor her granddaughter would follow him.
Her annoying, pain-in-the-ass, argumentative granddaughter.
Her goddamned beautiful granddaughter.
Holy hell the woman was the most stunningly exotic beauty he’d ever laid eyes on. The round face with those almond-shaped smoky-topaz eyes. The warm caramel hue of her skin, her full mouth that almost distracted from the tip of her stubborn chin. And that hair. Glossy black that fell in a straight line below her shoulder blades. She was small—he topped her by at least a foot, but she had some delectable curves.
By god the woman had some balls showing up here and accusing him of having ulterior motives. Maybe he did; he refused to let an adult woman be railroaded into life changes that would put her in an early grave. Yanking her away from her home and her friends . . . everything that made Garnet vibrant would wither away with no one around to appreciate it. He’d never doubted that’s why she donned such outrageous getups. It got a reaction. It got people outside her normal circle talking to her. Or rather, Garnet talking to them.
He’d taken her to the farm and ranch supply store in Rawlins about six months after they’d become friends. He’d gone to get his supplies, which took ten minutes, and in that time he’d lost track of Garnet. When he found her, by the warmers where the baby chicks were penned, he watched her scoop up a baby chick and bring it over to an elderly woman sitting on a bench by herself.
The woman’s hands were gnarled and she could only stroke the chick’s downy head with a misshapen finger, but she wore a big grin the entire time Garnet cupped the chick in her hands. When the woman started to talk, Garnet listened. A harried woman around Tobin’s dad’s age came over and chewed the woman out for wandering off. Garnet held the chick out to the woman and told her the world would be a better place if everyone had more patience with children and old people. Kids because their excitement came from how they saw potential in everything and old people because they had to give up the things that were important to them, and that had defined them.
It’d really struck home that this sweet, kooky woman had such a big heart. She’d gone out of her way to forge a connection with someone who looked as if they needed it. That was the first of many times he’d witnessed Garnet’s generosity.
He’d bet that Jade had benefited from that generosity. But how well did Jade know her grandmother beyond that?
You’re just hopeful she’s not the bad guy because she’s hot. And a little mouthy.
Heaven help him, but that kind of woman was catnip to him.
Tobin had been prepared to square off against a moving company. Nothing had prepared him for the mixed emotions she evoked with one haughty look.
But there was no doubt in his mind he’d still be squaring off against her.
After killing a couple of hours outside, he jogged up the steps and saw Jade lounging on the love seat next to the porch swing. Beside her was a laptop, a tablet, a cell phone and an e-book reader.
“Before you grill me on GG’s whereabouts, I promise I didn’t put sleeping powder in her tea. She conked out on her own in the sitting room.”
“Look, I never said I thought you intended to harm her. I said I didn’t want you to hurt her. And before you go all ‘I’m an English major’ on me or something, I’m aware of the similarities in the meanings of those two words. But that means you’re also aware of the differences in their meanings.”
She smiled. Not a sarcastic smile, but a genuine you amuse me smile and damn if that didn’t just cause a funny tickle in his gut.
“Pull up a chair, Tobin, and let’s see if we can have a civilized conversation this time. Because looking at you . . .” Her gaze wandered across his shoulders and lingered as it moved down his arms. “I know I would lose badly in an arm-wrestling contest against you.”
Tobin laughed, but holy hell. That almost seemed like a compliment.