Freight Trained (3 page)

He took his time, looking up the long length of her tanned legs to that perfect ass, and her softly rounded hips.  His hands followed his eyes, lightly skimming up her calves, enjoying the silky softness of her skin, stopping at the end of his reach, his fingertips caressing the backs of her knees. 

"Scoot yourself back, darlin', and I'll help you down."  He watched her ass wiggle side to side as she shimmied her body down the roof until he could place his hands firmly on her hips.  "I've gotcha, let go."  She released the roof, giving him her full weight.  Her back to his front, her body sliding down as his hands slid up, coming to rest under her arms with his fingers grazing the sides of her tits. 

She tried to step out of his hold, but he dug his fingers in, holding her firmly in place.  She didn't resist him after that, and his devil liked that, too.

He leaned his head down, his lips close to her ear.  Some wispy strands of her hair, not caught up in the pile atop her head, tickled his cheek while its floral fragrance filled his nose.  "What were you doing up on the roof?"

She tried to turn her head, but he pressed his cheek to hers preventing the movement.  Again she didn't fight him, and he felt his dick swell at her compliance. 

The tip of her tongue came out to tease him, making his dick harder as she licked her lips before she spoke.  "I um... heard a noise."

Her voice was soft but throaty, sultry.  Fuck him, if she wasn't the whole package.  Sexy-as-fuck body, beautiful face, enticing voice, and pliant.  He was screwed and if he were smart, he would walk the fuck away right now, but that damn devil on his shoulder had other ideas.

Stepping closer, he heard her breath catch and wondered if she felt the effect she had on him.  He lightly skimmed his fingers along the sides of her breasts, her nipples visibly puckering through her thin T-shirt, and he found himself strangely curious how sensitive they were.  Would she like it best if he lightly caressed them with his tongue or would she like it wild, biting and sucking them hard with his mouth?

Mentally shaking himself, he brought his mind back on topic.  "What kind of noise?"  He had a deep voice with a slight drawl, and he felt that it sent a light shiver racing through her body.  His devil grinned, wide.

"Scratching.  Like something's crawling around."  She stepped away from his embrace, and he let her go.  He noticed recognition flash through her eyes as she scanned him from head to toe.  She hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "If you come in the house, you can hear it."

It was her hesitation that made him pause, going inside was a bad idea, but his devil was in full control so found himself saying, "Well, darlin', lead the way."

* * * * *

Abby couldn't believe she was standing in her front yard, talking with the sexy cowboy from the diner.  Cole, the patrons had called him.  She felt her face heat and quickly ducked her head to hide his effect on her.  God, he was even better looking up close, and he had been spectacular from afar.  She noticed her white tank was covered in a layer of dirt from the roof.  Her first inclination had been to swat at it, but the grime was well set and couldn't be wiped away. 

She knew he waited for her to show him into her house, but she needed another few moments to collect herself.  He had her flustered.  It was his smile
—
a little bit arrogant with a dash of naughty and completely sinful
—
that left her tongue-tied.

Taking a big step back, she made some funky arm gesture toward her front door, and stammered a mumbled, "It's right this way," as if he couldn't clearly see where the front door was.  God, she was such a dork.

Thankfully, he didn't call her out on her awkward social graces, and she led him into the house, happily not tripping over her feet in the process.  She may be shy and self-conscious but clumsy, she was not.  "The noise was loudest by the fireplace.  I'm just going to um..."  She looked down at her tank.  "Change my shirt.  I'll be right back.  Feel free to stick your head in the fireplace to listen for the noise." 
Stick your head in the fireplace?
  She cringed, thinking she should just shut up if that was the best she could come up with.

Deciding she'd probably make a better impression on him if she left the room entirely, she rushed to her bedroom, heading straight to the boxes stacked by the closet.  With all the cleaning, she hadn't had a chance to unpack yet.  She dug through the box she knew had all her tees, trying to find one that was feminine and cute, selecting another tank, this one pink with a line of buttons down the front that made even her B-cup breasts look voluptuous.  Why she was bothering, she didn't know.  She would never have the nerve to act on her attraction, and she was sure he didn't see her as anything more than an unsophisticated ninny. 

Abby tossed her clean top on the dresser, stripped out of her soiled one, then looked at herself in the dresser mirror.  To her mortification, she discovered dirt covered her forehead.  Flipping wonderful.  It must have happened when she banged her head against the roof in her frustration.  She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths while counting to ten.  She'd had dirt on her forehead the whole time, and Hunky Cole saw it.  How could she possibly go back out there and face him again?

She opened her eyes and found Cole's, staring back at her through the mirror.  In her frantic dash to leave Cole's presence, she didn't even think to shut her bedroom door.  He stood in the open doorway casually leaning against the frame, his legs crossed at the ankles with his arms folded across his chest.  His lids were slightly lowered, his head lightly cocked, and a small almost evil looking smile decorated his lips.  He looked as if he wanted to devour her, and she had a hard time wrapping her brain around that notion.  Strangely, she couldn't look away, his gaze hypnotizing.  It was the longest she'd ever held a man's eyes.  She was completely in his power.

Belatedly, she realized she stood only in her bra and felt her nipples harden at the thought of his eyes on her breasts.  Did his eyes stray to her breasts?  Was his look lustful or was it her imagination that she saw his nostrils flare?  She'd had such little interaction with men over the years, she wasn't sure.  She wasn't even sure what she was supposed to do now.  Did she call him out on his look?  Any other woman would probably flirt, let him know they were interested, but though she
was
interested, she knew not one thing about flirting.  So she would do what she'd always done when in a situation she was unsure of, she would ignore it.

Pulling her eyes from his, she quickly snatched her clean top and slipped it over her head before picking up her dirty one, swiping it across her forehead a few times, wiping away most of the dirt.  During that time, Cole stood silently in the doorway not moving a muscle. 

Fully clothed and as presentable as she would get without a shower, she looked at him once more through the mirror.  Pretending the last few minutes hadn't happened, she asked, "Did you hear the noise?"

He straightened away from the door frame.  "Yeah, I'm heading to the roof, now.  Wanted to let you know, so you didn't freak if you hear more noise."

Was he mocking her?  She tilted her head, trying to read his expression, but his features were blank.  His tone had been even, as well.  She wasn't good at reading people, which was funny because she had no trouble reading kids.  It wasn't until people became adults that they learned to hide their true feelings, and short of asking him outright if he were making fun of her
—
which she would never do
—
she would just have to let it slide.  She gave him a slight nod, and he disappeared from her view.  She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  No doubt about it, he rattled her.  She just wished she had the experience to know whether it was in a good or bad way. 

She heard stomping on the roof and rushed outside.  Shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand, she looked up at Cole.  "Do you see anything?" 

He walked to the edge and looked down, legs planted wide, hands on his hips.  "No.  The roof's clean."

She stared, transfixed, at the display of muscles, bulging and flexing on his arms as he climbed down the ladder.  Who knew she had a thing for arm muscles, or maybe it was just his.  She was fascinated by everything about him and was sure that wasn't a good thing, for her at least.

"It's possible the noise could be coming from your attic.  Have you been up there yet?"

He hovered over her, a large presence, shielding her from the sun.  Abby blinked a few times so dazed by his proximity, it took a few moments for his words to digest and realize he'd asked her a question.  "Oh, um... no, I haven't."

He was smirking at her again, and she couldn't tell if she amused him or he thought her an idiot.  Most likely the latter.  Again, something else to ignore.  "You want to show me the entrance, I'll have a look around."

"Yes, of course.  It's in the house.  You'll need to come in um... again." 
Again
, she made that stupid arm to the doorway gesture.  Why did she keep doing that?!

"Yeah, I assumed as much." 

Again, the smirk.  Really, she wasn't that amusing.  Going full force with the ignore plan, she led him back in the house and down the hall to the attic trapdoor.

"I haven't opened it yet.  God only knows, what's up there."  She stepped back as Cole pulled on the handle and a set of stairs came down.  "Do you need a flashlight?"

"Yeah, that might be a good idea."

Abby pulled out her phone and held it out to him.  When he didn't take it right away, she gave it a little shake and said, "It's got a flashlight app."

This time, more than a smirk appeared on his lips.  She was sure it almost qualified for a smile.  "Darlin', I have one of those on my phone."

"Oh, right, I'm sure you do."  Feeling stupid for not assuming that, she tucked her phone back in her pocket.  "I um... haven't come across a real flashlight, yet, but I can go look for one." 

She turned on her heel to leave, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her flight.  Tingles literally shot up her arm.  She didn't know that could really happen.  She'd thought it was some exaggeration used in sappy romance novels, but here was proof, her whole arm tingled, and the spot he held felt incredibly warm. 

He must have had the same reaction because he immediately dropped her arm as if it were on fire then ran that same hand through his hair, looking deep in thought. 

He sighed.

Now, she
knew
sighs from men were never good, this she learned from her father.  Anytime she or her mother did something to displease him, or he had something unpleasant to say, he would sigh.  Exactly like Cole just had.  Oh, boy.

He'd been staring at his boots but now, he looked up.  "It's okay, I don't need a flashlight.  Just gonna take a quick look around," he nodded his head to the open trap door, "then be on my way."

Okay, she also
knew
what that was code for.  She may be shy and socially awkward, but it didn't take a brain surgeon to read between the lines of that statement.  He couldn't get the heck away from her fast enough.  'Nuff said.  She retreated back into her shell.  She'd actually started growing comfortable around Cole, had opened up a little, and had interacted more than her usual when meeting a new person.

He did his thing in the attic, reporting he didn't see any critters up there, either, but stated it was possible it could be mice because he did see their droppings, he just didn't know how old it was. 

And through it all, she silently nodded, led him to the door, quietly thanked him for his time, then carefully shut the door behind him before leaning back against it, eyes closed, head bowed, strangely and utterly upset.  How she could be devastated over something that never was, would forever remain a mystery to her, but that's how she felt, crushed.  Crushed that the first man to catch her eye, the first man to give her tingles, the first man that made her want to burst out of her shell and explore the new and fascinating world of lust, didn't feel all those things back.  Yeah, that was definitely crush worthy.
             

Chapter Four

Abby was a bundle of nerves.  She had her first face-to-face meeting with the school principal in a few hours.  While back in L.A., she'd had a phone interview with Principal Thomas, and the school board had hired her sight-unseen, but what if they hated her after they met her?  Would they renege on their job offer?  Could a person be fired before they started? 

She was working herself into a tizzy, and that was never a good thing.  She needed to relax.  She went to the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea.  As she sipped, she looked around admiring her handy work, everything sparkled.  She hadn't set one foot out of her house all day yesterday, not even into her own backyard (she would admit, only to herself, fear of running into Cole had spurred that decision) and had not only finished cleaning but had unpacked everything as well. 

As usual since
the Cole incident,
she felt her cheeks heat and her heart pound whenever thoughts of Cole entered her head, which unfortunately for the longevity of her heart, happened quite a lot.  She must have reenacted their encounter at least a hundred times, tweaking and altering her actions until she did and said everything perfectly.  So instead of walking away, leaving her alone with his embarrassing rejection, he falls to his knees, declaring his love, sweeping her off to live happily ever after.