filling the bucket in the kitchen when she heard shouting. Turning off the tap, she picked up the half-full pail and hurried into the garden in time to see the figure of a man hoisting himself astride the stone wall, his curses mingling with the roaring fire and the wild frenzied barking of what sounded like a pack of rabid dogs.
‘What the hell are you playing at?’ he snarled at her as she approached. ‘Have you lost your reason, woman?’
How rude. The abject apology she’d been about to make died on her lips. She stared into a pair of eyes so blue they were dazzling—which wasn’t helpful in the circumstances—and stopped dead in her tracks, which caused a good portion of the water in the bucket to slop over onto her grubby work trainers. ‘This is my property,’ she said coldly. ‘And this isn’t a smoke-free zone.’
‘I’ve got nothing against the smoke,’ he bit back, his tone acid. ‘It’s your determination to start fires all over the neighborhood I’m objecting to, and the danger to life and limb. One of my dogs has had its fur singed as it is.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, equally acidly.
‘You sound it.’ He ducked as a particularly large piece of burning paper wafted past his left ear. ‘There’s bits of this stuff floating in my swimming pool and all over the grounds, and my dogs are playing a game of Russian roulette as we speak. Damp it down, for crying out loud.’
‘I was about to when you materialised.’
‘With that?’ He eyed her bucket with scathing disgust.
‘You might as well use an eggcup. Where’s your garden hose?’
‘I don’t have one.’ She glared at him, her eyes narrowed.
‘Give me strength…’
As he disappeared back into his own garden Willow stared at the spot where he’d been, her cheeks burning, and not wholly because of the heat from the fire, which was intense. What a horrible individual and how dared he growl at her like that? Anyone would think she’d done this on purpose. Couldn’t he see it was an accident? She’d hardly meant to send stuff into his stupid garden.
As the breeze mocked her by gathering a handful of paper and causing it to pirouette over the wall she groaned softly. He had a point, of course he had a point, and she would have apologised if he hadn’t rushed in all guns blazing. She slung the remaining contents of the bucket on the fire. It treated the paltry amount of water with the contempt it deserved and blazed fiercely as if to confirm she was fighting a losing battle.
She was just about to run back to the house for more water when there was a scrambling noise and the man reappeared. ‘Stand back,’ he said tersely.
‘What?’ She stared at him, taken by surprise.
‘I said, stand back.’ He bent down to someone on his side of the wall as he spoke, adding, ‘OK, Jim, I’ve got it.’
Willow saw the garden hose in his hand a moment before the jet of water hit the flames. For a minute or two all was hissing and spitting and belching smoke, ash from the fire covering her and the surrounding area along with droplets of water. She had instinctively moved when he’d shouted at her, but she was still near enough to the bonfire for the spray to reach her. She stood, utterly taken aback as she watched him douse the flames as though he was enjoying himself. He probably was.
‘That’s done it.’ He passed the hose back to the unseen assistant and turned to look at her. ‘Never start a bonfire without having the means at hand to put it out should something like today happen,’ he said with what Willow considered sickening righteousness, and then he grinned at her.
She stared at him. The piercing blue eyes were set in a tanned face that was more rugged than handsome and topped by black hair that reached the top of the collar of his open-necked shirt. His smile showed dazzling white teeth and he seemed totally at ease on his perch on the wall now the imminent danger was over. ‘Morgan Wright,’ he said calmly when she continued to gaze dumbly at him. ‘As you may have gathered I’m your next-door neighbour.’
‘Willow Landon,’ she managed at last, suddenly aware of how she must look as the blue eyes washed over her. ‘I—I moved in last week. I’ve been doing some gardening,’ she finished lamely.
He nodded. He was dressed in a blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black denim jeans, and his whole appearance was one of strength and virile masculinity. Willow knew she was filthy, her hair bundled up into a ponytail and no make-up on her face. She had never felt at such a disadvantage in the whole of her life. ‘I’m sorry about the fire,’ she said stiffly after a moment had ticked by, ‘but I was about to see to it, like I said.’ She took a deep breath and forced herself to add, ‘But thank you for your help. I’m sorry to have bothered you.’
His eyes had narrowed slightly at her tone. ‘Self-pres-ervation,’he drawled after a moment’s silence. ‘There’s a wooden summer house on my side of the wall and I’d prefer not to see it go up in smoke just yet.’
‘I hardly think that would have happened.’ She eyed him coolly.
Dark eyebrows rose in a wry quirk. ‘Your mother ought to have warned you about being so friendly,’ he said, his blue eyes laughing at her. ‘Folk could get the wrong impression.’
She knew she was being unreasonable in the circumstances. Unforgivably unreasonable. And she wasn’t usually this way. Somehow, though, everything about this man caught her on the raw. She swallowed hard, willing her voice not to falter when she said, ‘Thank you again. I’d better start clearing up,’ as she turned away, wishing he would disappear as quickly as he’d arrived.
‘Want some help?’ The deep voice was unforgivably amused.
‘No, I can manage.’ She didn’t look at him as she spoke.
‘I’ve no doubt about that but the offer still stands. Two pair of hands make light work and all that.’
‘No, really.’ She met the blue gaze again and the impact was like a small electric shock. She felt muscles clench in her stomach as everything in her recoiled from the attraction, but her voice was steady when she said, ‘I think I’ll go and have a wash and leave the clearing up until tomorrow, actually. Give it a chance to die down completely.’
‘Good idea—you don’t want to burn yourself.’
Again his eyes were laughing; the covert mockery was galling. Warning herself not to rise to it, Willow pretended to take his words at face value. ‘Exactly. Goodbye, Mr Wright.’
‘Morgan. We’re neighbours, after all.’
She nodded but said nothing, walking back to the cottage and aware all the time of his eyes burning into her back. She didn’t look round when she reached the door but she knew he was still sitting on the wall watching her; she could feel it.
Once inside the cottage she leant against the door with her eyes shut for a long moment. Great, just great. What an introduction to her nearest neighbour. Now he would think she was a dizzy female without a brain in her body, which wasn’t exactly the sort of impression she wanted to impart to folk hereabouts.
He had been laughing at her the whole time. Well, not the whole time; he had been too angry at first, she amended, opening her eyes with a soft groan. And she hadn’t made things any better,
