him, Hogan laughed. “So you two were going to unload all this?”
Lexie elbowed her way past him. “Why not? We got it in there.”
A partial truth. She and Lexie had loaded all the boxes, but her old roommates had supplied their boyfriends to get the heavier stuff inside. They’d tired of her constant late-night runs and were probably happy to see her go. Lending a hand only helped speed up the process.
“No way,” Colt said as he rejoined them. “You’re both so little.”
“I have a furniture dolly.” Honor pointed at the folding metal moving contraption in the corner of the truck that she had hoped would make it easier to get everything unloaded. “The truck rental place recommended it, and it really did come in handy.” When moving the boxes.
Hands on his hips, Jason studied everything. “The dolly won’t help you with a couch.”
“We could do it,” Colt said.
Incredibly he sounded hopeful. But Honor had just met them all. No way could she ask for their help and she didn’t want Colt putting his uncle on the spot. “It’s fine, really.” Having no real idea, she swore, “We can get it all, no problem.”
Ignoring her protests, Jason squinted from the sun and asked Colt, “You didn’t make plans?”
“With who? I don’t know anyone here.”
Honor felt for the young man. She’d been uprooted once herself, and it had sucked. “How long have you lived here?”
“About a month.” He held his arms out wide. “But the only people around are ancient.”
“You’ll meet younger people when school starts.” Hogan viewed the contents of the truck with a critical eye. “We were supposed to be helping your uncle with that—”
Jason cut him off, saying, “I need to buy a new part anyway.” His gaze went from the truck to the front of her house. “Before we can get started, though, we need to clear a path.”
“No, really,” Honor tried again, horrified by the idea of imposing on them. “I don’t need—”
“The mower won’t make it.” Colt gave her yard quick scrutiny. “But I could break out the Bush Hog.”
Hogan agreed. “Wouldn’t take too long to clear the front. The back would be a job, though.”
“Save it for another day,” Jason said. “I doubt that back door opens anyway.”
As the three men talked about a game plan, Honor turned to stare helplessly at Lexie.
Her friend thrust a fist in the air. “Take-charge men,” she whispered. “Lucky you.”
“I can’t—”
“Yes,” Lexie insisted. “You can.”
Overwhelmed, Honor shook her head and, raising her voice to be heard, addressed the men. “Really, this is not necessary.”
“We don’t mind,” Colt told her, and he headed off for the garage.
Apparently to get the Bush Hog...whatever that was.
“Got a key?” Hogan rubbed his hands together. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”
Lexie leaned in close to whisper, “One step at a time, remember? Trust me on this.”
Honor wanted to resist. First impressions mattered, and theirs would be that she couldn’t handle her own move. They were strangers, and they owed her nothing.
But Lexie was excited for the help, and Colt seemed so anxious to dig in. But Jason... Her gaze skipped to him and she found his expression now masked, impossible to read.
His words, though, were pretty plain.
He held out a hand, palm up, for the key. “The sooner we get started, the sooner we can be done.”
* * *
Within an hour they had the front yard cleared, with a path created in the backyard so she could at least get to her driveway. Not that it would matter if he couldn’t get that warped door repaired, but she’d been resistant enough that he didn’t want to push things. Honor Brown already looked plenty confused by their willingness to pitch in.
Confused, and somehow worried.
Colt could work on the rest of the yard later. Once the worst of it was thinned out, she might be able to keep it in shape with a regular mower.
Only he hadn’t seen one in her truck.
Everything else had been in there, though. Furniture, clothes, dishware and a few decorations.
She was average height for a woman, slight of build, but she worked tirelessly beside them, insisting on carrying in boxes that strained her shoulders despite the fact that he, Hogan or Colt could have carried three without a problem.
Curious behavior.
The mid-June day was sunny and hot and as they worked, sweat beaded on her smooth cheeks, and little wisps of her honey-blond hair clung to her temples and the nape of her neck.
He couldn’t help noticing that on her, the overheated look was sexy as hell. He wasn’t a man obsessed with sex 24/7, but seeing her now, all warm and dewy, especially with the satisfied way she smiled while working...well, hell, he was only human and he couldn’t help that his thoughts veered to carnal activities—the best way he knew to work up a sweat.
In many ways, Honor Brown seemed naive and innocent. But there was something about her determination that obliterated that impression. He had the feeling that when necessary, she could hold her own. For sure whenever one of them tried to relieve her of a load, her big brown eyes turned defiant.
That, too, was somehow a turn-on.
Her slightly taller, blonder, much bolder friend, Lexie, showed she had more sense by staying inside and unpacking what they carried in.
It surprised Jason when he saw the inside of the place. It was still a pit, but a much cleaner pit than the last time he’d seen it a few months ago. Cobwebs, dead bugs, broken furniture and dirt were now gone. Apparently Honor had been over one day last week to scrub it out. How he’d missed her, he had no idea. Must’ve been when he and Colt had gone off fishing, and Hogan was meeting with his lawyer.
By dinnertime they had everything unloaded and most of the big items reassembled and situated, including mismatched bedroom pieces, a stack washer and dryer and shelving in the small living room.
Her couch, which had been the first thing put in the truck so was the last thing out, still had a secondhand sale tag on it. So she’d bought used furniture? Didn’t matter to him—except that she was clearly stretching her budget, and given the costs inherent in buying a rehab house, that didn’t bode well for anyone.
The fact that she was so attractive didn’t help much, either.
As he and Hogan
