“Thank you,” she murmured.
He barely heard her over the blood rushing in his ears. You don’t need this, he told himself. Let her go!
Uncertainty flashed in her eyes and she bit her lower lip. His cock sprang to full attention. That got him moving. He released his hold and hastily stepped back.
“You’re welcome,” he said almost dismissively as he rounded her to get a better look at the mess on the garage floor. Anything to distract himself from her pretty face and hourglass figure.
Crouching, he ran a finger through the dark slime, rubbed it against his thumb, and then brought it to his nose. After a quick sniff to verify his suspicions, he wiped it on the ground.
“You always coat the garage floor with used motor oil?” he asked, glancing up at her frowning face.
“No,” she said, looking unsure of herself. “Pete kept it in a barrel around the side.” She pointed to the wall of the garage between them and the barn several yards away.
Studying the garage, he spotted the edge of a black fifty-gallon drum tipped on its side behind her car. He pointed at it. “Looks like it grew legs.”
Addie stepped up beside him and squinted into the dimness.
“How’d that get in there?” she mumbled and shook her head.
“Got any enemies?”
“Just the ones I fired this morning,” she said. “Ted’s just petty enough to do something like this, too.”
Cade turned and scanned the area. “You think he’d stick around for the show?”
“I doubt it. This is probably the only thing he did. Just wanted to let me know how much I need them and how pissed he is at me.”
“Are you going to report this?”
Her shoulders stiffened and she shook her head again. “No.”
He frowned. “You should. Someone was obviously trespassing and this vandalism could be considered malicious mischief.”
“It’s not worth the time,” she said, strength returning to her voice, but she still seemed nervous. Even more so when he mentioned telling the authorities.
Now why would she not trust the sheriff?
He let it go. If she didn’t want to report it, fine. It wasn’t his problem.
“Okay then, let’s get this cleaned up and check the other equipment for damage,” Cade said softly, reaching out to sweep small, consoling circles on her back. “Then we can finish the tour and start getting this place back on track.”
“Sure,” she agreed.
He dropped his hand when she turned away, headed for the barn.
“The shovels are out here,” she said. “We can use dirt from the side yard to soak it up.”
She was all business once more, but Cade had seen her hands tremble as she’d stared at the black goo. Whoever had done this may have only intended to make a mess to inconvenience her, but they’d almost succeeded in doing so much worse. If he hadn’t been there to catch her—or if he’d been a fraction slower—she would’ve hit her head on the car. It might’ve only knocked her out, but it could have caused a grave injury, too.
Something more was going on here than just a pretty woman looking for a farmhand. She’d told him about firing those men this morning, but when he asked, she hadn’t thought they’d be an issue. This proved her wrong.
Cade turned to follow her to the barn. Whatever trouble they brought, he couldn’t sit by and let some evil-minded asshole ruin or hurt her. It didn’t matter if he was attracted to her, that she was kind and generous. He’d never taken kindly to bullies, and he wasn’t about to start now.
Chapter 5
The sun sat low on the horizon, the sky filled with bright orange and pink clouds as the day began to fade. With dinner plates and utensils in hand, Addie pushed open the sliding glass door from her kitchen and stepped out into the warm, early evening air of her backyard. A cool breeze whipped at the skirt of her yellow cotton dress and caressed her bare legs—a reminder that Indian summer would soon be over. As usual, she’d tied her unruly hair into a messy bun on top of her head and—also as normal—little tendrils had escaped as she’d run around the kitchen making dinner. The annoyance of the wispy strands wasn’t enough to spoil her mood, however. She loved the summertime, but she looked forward to the brisk air and changing colors of autumn, and the upcoming holiday season.
Almost two weeks had passed since Cade began working for her, and she was still getting used to her duty as the food service provider. Normally, she’d eat whenever her writing schedule allowed, but her employee needed the meals she’d promised at regular intervals, and on time. Not that he’d complained—not even when the food was late. But after seeing how hard he worked each day, she knew he’d be famished by lunch and again by dinnertime.
To avoid starving him, she’d begun planning ahead and setting herself a timer to make sure she got started cooking early, especially for breakfast. He’d said he was fine with cereal and toast in the morning, but after that first day, it had been clear, to her at least, that cereal and toast alone weren’t enough. She’d gone to the grocery store that afternoon and stocked up on the basics for hot, hardy breakfasts.
When Cade stepped into the kitchen after his early chores the next morning, a wide smile had curled his handsome mouth and the appreciative look in his eyes had warmed her to her toes.
She smiled at the memory.
Crossing to the picnic table that sat a few yards from the house, Addie dismissed the dreamy image, though she was less successful with the warmth that swirled low in her belly. Shaking her head, she quickly set the table and returned to the house. Her bare feet made little noise as she stepped back inside to gather more items for the table.
Cade should be wrapping up his work any time now.
She’d been stunned by how many side jobs he’d completed in
