Ugh.
Nola was offering discounted coffee to the volunteers and, good as his word, Jeff had shown up and was directing most of them. Indy went to work on one of the beds near the train station.
She heard the sound of a motorcycle and glanced over her shoulder, relieved as Conrad Gilbert parked his bike, took off his helmet and walked toward her. She almost forgot to breathe as she took in his broad shoulders, skintight tee and the slim-fitting jeans that hugged his body like she wanted to. She was glad she had her sunglasses on, so maybe he wouldn’t be aware of her checking him out as he walked toward her.
The closer he got though, she started to realize he was still ticked. She brushed off her knees as she stood up, guessing that it would be better to be standing than cowering at his feet when he got to her.
“Hello, Conrad. So nice to see you here today.”
He glanced around as if just noticing the townspeople working industriously around him.
“Yeah, I bet. Were you worried I wouldn’t show up?” he asked.
She told herself there was nothing sexy about his low-timbered, rough-edged voice, but that was a lie and she knew it. “Yes. Thank you for coming. I know it wasn’t what we agreed but I had to do something for the townspeople.”
“I swear if you mention the curse, I’m not going to be happy,” he said.
He was being a bit of a jerk, and it was time to draw the line. She needed him back in town of course, but she wasn’t going to allow him to bully her. “I won’t. But to everyone in Gilbert Corners it’s a real thing and we have to respect that.”
He made a growling sound, shoved his hands through his thick hair and started to turn away, but Jeff Hamilton stopped him.
“Conrad, I wasn’t sure you were going to actually come to town for this. I spoke to your cousin Dash on Friday. Thank you for coming and for suggesting that the Gilbert Trust pay for this.”
She watched as Conrad talked to Jeff. She was surprised to learn that he’d arranged the money for this cleanup. The town council had simply said that funding had been found. She had tentatively hoped she’d already broken the curse in their eyes. Of course, she had lost the bet she’d made with Conrad, and she had no doubt he was going to be very demanding of whatever he asked of her.
“I’ll help Indy,” he said.
“Great,” she said, realizing she’d been staring at the two men for too long. “I can use the help on this bed. There’s a stubborn—”
“I meant with the organizing. This isn’t the kind of thing I normally do,” he said, gesturing to the ground and the overgrown flower beds.
“I’m glad to have your help on both parts of the project. I can show you what you need to do here. Do you have some extra gloves, Jeff?”
“Here, take mine. On second thought...you probably need some extra-large ones,” he said, taking a pair from the canvas tote he carried and handing them to Conrad. Jeff waved and went back toward the main park area.
“I don’t do menial labor.”
She gave him a look down her nose that never failed to bring even the most recalcitrant person in line. “This is charity.”
He growled again.
“You don’t scare me. I need your help getting this thick weed out. I’m not strong enough and your T-shirt is broadcasting the fact that you should be.”
“Should be?”
“I don’t judge a book by its cover,” she said.
Then turned and knelt back down on the ground digging the dirt around the stubborn root. A moment later he knelt to the ground next to her. She took a deep whiff of his cologne which had been teasing her memory since he’d left her a week ago.
“Which one?”
“Right here,” she said, pointing to the spot. He worked quickly and efficiently, and for someone who’d professed not to do this kind of work, he was actually really good at it. As he worked, she couldn’t help but study the thorned-branch tattoos on his arms, and in the sunlight she noticed the scars underneath.
He’d been badly injured. She’d read the newspaper report on his accident when she’d done her research, but seeing the decade-old scars affected her. She almost reached out to touch him, but pulled herself back.
It was interesting to her that he chose to emphasize his injuries with thorns. She’d never be able to wear her pain on her body. She wrapped it deeply inside where she hoped no one would ever notice it. To her, Conrad had made a brave choice.
And the more time she spent with him the more he intrigued her. He was like an attic treasure, she thought whimsically. She had no idea what she was going to uncover as she pulled him into the light.