Hard Justice(59)

She concentrated on the drawer. "No."

That didn't feel right. "No one but your friend Lexie?"

Her face flushed, but this time it was with uncertainty. "Why do you ask?"

She thought he was being nosy. Or maybe she thought he was hitting on her.

The truth was probably a mix of both. "You being here alone...it's not a great idea."

Like a challenge, she said, "I already had new locks put on the doors."

His mouth quirked, but he didn't want her to think he was laughing at her, so he tipped up his chin, scratched the beard stubble underneath and decided on a few facts. "Last week, two blocks from here, some punks broke into an older man's house. Beat him up, robbed him. Less than a month before that a woman got jumped in her own front yard, middle of the day. Luckily Nathan was around and he stopped them before she was seriously hurt."

"Nathan, your neighbor?"

That was the part she found interesting? "Yeah, he's the sheriff." Continuing, he told her, "In the past two months people around here have had their cars jacked, been robbed, assaulted-"

"Your neighbor-our neighbor-is the sheriff?"

Jason stared at her. "You're not listening to the important part."

She waved a hand. "I get it. There are still some criminal activities. But the area is on the upswing, right? They're fixing up the park, new businesses are moving in and they're even going to reopen the old neighborhood pool-"

"Which is right across from a cemetery."

That slowed her down, but only for a heartbeat. "That's just because the cemetery expanded, right? And now it'd be too expensive to move the pool. I'm sure it won't bother most people. Definitely won't bother me."

She'd done her research. Or maybe Realtors had their pitches down. "The key point here is that it's a work in progress. They're still fixing up the park, too many businesses are pending and the pool probably won't be ready until mid-July, if then." He took a step closer. "Right now, this week, the area is not safe for a woman alone."

Agitated, she glared at him. "So I should what? Not stay in my own house? My first house? Should I put it right back on the market? Lose the opportunity of a lifetime?" She took a step closer, too. "Rhetorical questions, because I can assure you, I'm here to stay."

Jason stared at her earnest face, taking in each appealing feature. On top of soulful eyes, a lush mouth and a fine body, she had guts. And damn it, he liked that, too. "Get a dog. And a shotgun." He reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, then found a business card. "And if anything spooks you, anything at all, call."

"I'm not helpless. I can take care of myself."

She said that so defiantly that he almost smiled. "Sure. But if you just need a hand with something, any heavy lifting, we're right next door."

"Muscle for hire?"         

     



 

The smile cracked, and from that came a laugh. "You do seem to pick and choose what you hear and don't hear."

She looked at his mouth, and sighed. "I heard all of it. I'll consider the dog once I have the yard ready. I don't know enough about guns to get one."

"I imagine Nathan could teach you."

"Three guys right next door, and a sheriff next door to them. How much safer could it get?"

She was cute when she teased. Maybe he should tell her about Sullivan across the street. Talk about a badass...but no. He wasn't going to do Sullivan's work for him.

"The other side of your property butts up to woods. No lights. Wild animals."

She scoffed. "Wild animals, huh?"

"Middle of the night, when you hear noises you don't recognize, or maybe even gunfire nearby, no one is going to seem close enough."

"Now you're just trying to scare me."

True. She needed to stay alert. Because he watched her, he could almost see her thinking as she put the business card on the refrigerator with a flower-shaped magnet. She turned pensive, too quiet.

"I mean it," he said, drawing her out again. "If you need anything-"

"No." All too serious, she laced her fingers together and looked up at him. "You're really nice. I mean...really nice. All of you are. And I appreciate it. What we got done today would have taken me at least a week on my own. I'd been hopeful of just getting unloaded and getting my bed together so I'd have a place to sleep tonight."

His thoughts veered in directions that they shouldn't, thoughts that included her and a bed. Fewer clothes. Less talk.

"Before buying the house, I lived with roommates. Four of us in a small apartment. And before that I lived with a relative."

Relative-not parents? He wondered about that, but then she continued explaining.

"I'm happy to be on my own. You don't have to worry that I'll impose on you, not for any reason." She rocked to her heels a little, her fingers laced tightly, looking uncertain, self-conscious. "I'm grateful for the offer of a helping hand, and as reassuring as it is to know there's backup so close by, I want to do this, the rest of it, on my own. It's important to me."

Yeah, it had been important to him, too, so he understood. But understanding and believing she could do it were two different things. She lacked muscles, yet much of what needed to be done would be labor intensive, work that included heavy lifting, pulling and endurance. Given her clumsiness with the dolly, he doubted she knew her way around the toolshed. What her house needed would require more than a hammer or a screwdriver.

To be sure, he asked, "You have experience with remodeling?"

"No. But I'm not dumb. I can read instructions."

Instructions wouldn't really cut it, but rather than belabor the point, he merely nodded. "Let's go eat." He'd be glad to get that part of it over with. Whether his brother or nephew realized it, Honor Brown was going to be trouble. With her next door, their peaceful bachelor existence would soon be shot to hell.

Honor bit her lip. Her gaze dipped down to his chest, then shot back to his face. Her eyes were big and innocent when she said, "Only if you put on a shirt. Because otherwise, I just can't do it."

Jason sighed. And so it began.