heard her.” Garrett gestured. “A storm’s rolling in. It’ll be best if she finishes up before that.”
“I’ll hurry,” she promised again.
As he unlocked the front door, Garrett said, “Soon as I get you settled, I’ll move your luggage into the cab behind the seat in case the rain starts.”
“Thank you.”
With Adam and Shohn staying several feet behind her—probably to avoid breathing her in—they stepped inside the house.
Zoey stopped and stared. “Holy cow.”
For the first time since they’d arrived at his place, Garrett seemed to relax. “Like it?”
Head back, she looked around at the cove ceilings, then down at the high baseboards. “It’s incredible.” Everything looked vintage, but also shiny and new.
He checked his watch, then said, “If you finish in enough time, I’ll show you around.”
Oh, shoot. She was holding him up again. “Lead the way.”
As he headed for the stairs, they passed a cozy living room on the left, an impressive study on the right. Straight ahead she could see a beautiful country kitchen. Everything looked quaint and original, but in really good shape.
At the top of the stairs, immediately to her right, was the bathroom. Stopping at a closet he got out two big, fluffy white towels, a washcloth and a blow-dryer. “Shampoo, soap and all that is already in the shower.” In the all-white bathroom, he lowered the toilet lid and set everything on top of it.
She could have guessed he’d be a neat freak. Men as controlled and contained as him wouldn’t appreciate clutter.
Unfortunately, she was a messy, cluttered catastrophe.
“So much character.”
He did a double take.
“The house, I mean.”
He studied her as if he’d never seen a woman before. “I’ve always thought so.” He looked around. “There’s just something about an older building and all the extra detail put into it.”
She nodded. The freestanding tub had a shower stand at one end, an oval curtain rod suspended from the ceiling. “It’s just...awesome.”
“Pipes are old. Might take a minute for the water to get hot.”
“I bought an older house too, but judging by the pictures I’ve seen, it’s nothing like this.”
“Pictures?”
“Your sister helped me pick it out.”
“You bought it without seeing it?”
She shrugged. “Yeah. I needed a place.” For herself—and her mother. Her house would need a year of work before she even got close to this perfection. “Maybe I can show it to you sometime.”
Appearing curious, he said, “Sure.”
Forgetting herself, Zoey put the clothes—panties on top—with the towels. The glossy subway tiles on the wall drew her fingertips. “This looks vintage, but can’t be. It’s in such great shape.”
“I redid most of it using the same style. Salvaged what I could, but yeah, a lot is new.”
Maybe she’d be able to get some pointers from him. About to ask him, she glanced his way and found him staring at her panties again. Taking one big step she put herself in front of the clothes. “Thanks again. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
Still he stood there, watching her in a funny way.
“I think I’ve got it from here.”
His gaze went over her face, then he shook his head and started out. “If you need anything else, let me know.”
* * *
After moving her luggage, Garrett walked into the kitchen, where he knew Shohn and Adam would be waiting to rib him. The second they saw him, he said, “Shut up.”
Shohn laughed. “You gotta admit, it’s pretty funny.”
“Not from her perspective, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, probably not.” Shohn asked, “A kid really threw up on her?”
“Yeah.” He relayed the story.
“Almost happened to me once,” Adam admitted. “A fifth-grade girl came up, said she was sick and started gagging. I got a garbage can under her in the nick of time, and it was still gross. Felt really bad for her, too. The other kids teased her until I made them all run laps.”
Garrett wondered how Zoey felt about walking through the airport in such a messy state. Had she gotten stares? Whispers? She’d put up with it in school. She shouldn’t have to put up with it still.
“So...” Opening the fridge and searching around, Shohn helped himself to a cola. “Why’s she using your shower?”
“Like she said, she just flew in.”
“She’s not from around here?”
He shook his head. “She moved away back when I was a senior. Remember Gus Donahue?”
“He’s that guy who died in a car wreck, right?” Buckhorn rarely lost one of their own, and when they did, especially a kid, they remembered.
Adam frowned with the memory. “Jumped a hill and wrapped his car around a tree.”
Distracted, Garrett pulled out a chair. “Upstairs in my shower is Zoey Hodge.”
Shohn dropped into a chair across from him. “The girl who broke up with him?”
“The girl,” Adam said with a frown, “who too many blamed?”
“One and the same.”
The old pipes in the house rattled when the water came on. Both his cousins looked up at the ceiling as if they could see her showering overhead.
They looked with sympathy, but damn, even with the surprise of her wrecked appearance, Garrett was starting to feel a little differently. Maybe because no woman had ever used his shower.
Or maybe because she bit that full bottom lip the same way he’d always imagined doing.
Or it could be those hot little panties she’d soon be slipping into...
“She’s moving back?” Shohn asked.
“Here for a visit, far as I know. Her mom got hurt pretty bad when she fell from her horse. Zoey will be helping out. But the mom had been staying with the uncle—”
“Who was Gus’s coach.” Adam let out a low whistle. “Surely he doesn’t blame her?”
