Spurs and Heels(Divine Creek Ranch 5)(8)

“Yeah. I’m just—you heard?” At his silent nod, she continued in a

shamed whisper, “I’m just…a bitch.”



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27

Jack chuckled and said, “No, you’re not. Grace told me you

looked exhausted, and she was right. Ash is a nice guy. I don’t think

he meant to hurt your feelings. He’s outside with Joaquin right now. I

got the impression he was sort of hoping to see you today.”

She looked up at him, surprised. “You didn’t ask for his help?”

Oh crap, now she really felt like a bitch.

“Not specifically, no. When we pulled up, he asked if you were

here already. He seemed happy when I pointed out your car in the

parking lot.”

“Dang it. Thank you, Jack. I’m just going to stay back here and

finish packing up her bedroom. I owe him an apology.”

“He’s not one to take offense easily,” Jack offered, making her

feel worse, since she obviously was. “We’ll give you some space. Just

keep putting the boxes in the hall and we’ll take it from there.”

“Okay. After I finish, I’ll pack the kitchen cabinets. This shouldn’t

take long.”

They allowed her to work in peace, packing up Michael’s room

and coming in only to take the furniture once she had the bed stripped

and the end tables and dresser emptied. Joaquin and Angel took the

first load and returned after unloading it and brought lunch with them.

The tension had eased up by the time they stopped to eat around the

kitchen countertop. Ethan and Adam bantered back and forth with

Angel, Joaquin, and Ash while Jack and Juliana quietly looked on,

laughing at their stories and jokes.

When lunch was over and they’d gone back to work, Ash leaned

in to her as she emptied a kitchen cabinet. “I’m sorry I offended you. I

really didn’t mean it that way. I realize, after thinking about it, that it

probably didn’t come out sounding like a compliment but you’re—oh

shit, never mind. I’m going to stop while I’m ahead. I think you’re

very pretty, every bit of you.”

“I shouldn’t have taken offense, Ash. I saw you looking at my—

well, you know, and I’m self-conscious about that… part, and I



28

Heather Rainier

shouldn’t have jumped on you like that where others could hear. I

don’t know why I’m so oversensitive around you.”

“It’s your red hair,” he said with a grin, ducking when she made to

punch him as she struggled not to laugh, instead of being offended.

“I’m going! I’m going! Ah! See? You’re getting to know me now!”

She liked the way his unusual, bluish-green eyes twinkled and his

cheeks dimpled above his muttonchop sideburns when he smiled. Ash

Peterson was a handsome devil.

“Get to work!” Gesturing with a finger to the front door, she said,

“I need a ladder to get that clock down. Teresa told me she had it

wired to that nail because she was afraid that it would fall when she

closed the front door.”

Ash tried to lift the clock off the wall where it hung above the

front door, but he couldn’t see behind it to disengage the wire. “I’ll

bring you the ladder when Ethan comes back from taking his load. He

has one on his work truck,” he said, tugging on a lock of her hair

before making a hasty exit.

“Urgh!” she growled, unable to suppress a grin.

When Ash was a little boy, he was probably one of those who

showed he liked a girl by being obnoxious to them, tying their pigtails

together, and making fun of them. They would’ve been dire enemies,

for sure. Now, she thought he was charming in an obnoxious,

overgrown pit bull sort of way.

Being in proximity to Ash left Juliana feeling a little off kilter. He

wasn’t what she would call classically handsome. His features were

weathered and tanned and, if she had to hazard a guess, was in his late

thirties or early forties. The muttonchop sideburns and mustache he

grew hid part of his face but added to his outdoorsy, masculine good

looks. In contrast with his suntanned, callused exterior, his lips were

full beneath the moustache and looked deliciously kissable.

A tingle had spread through her whole body, zeroing in on her clit

when he’d leaned so close to her to apologize. She’d been able to feel

his breath on the nape of her neck, above the neckline of her top.



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Reliving the memory, she gasped, filled with a mix of outrage and

giddiness. He’d been looking down her V-neck shirt front the whole

time!

There was no suppressing the smile that spread across her face.