Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“You see this right here?” he asks while he takes his fingers and twists a part of the pipe with his fingers.
I guess that explains what part I’m supposed to tighten.
“Yeah,” I respond, doing my best to will my brain to soak up this information. Maybe Wiz is such a jerk because plumbing is boring as hell.
“This is called a union nut.”
“A union nut?” I blink.
“Yeah. It’s basically made of three parts. There’s a nut—”
“Okay.”
“There’s also a female end and a male end.”
“Wait, what?”
Jake grins. “It’s like basic anatomy, honey. When the female and male ends join, the nut seals when the two ends are pressed tightly together.”
“You’re making this up,” I grumble, glad it’s mostly dark under the sink and wondering why Jake has lowered his voice. It sounds like he’s made the tone more raspy and graveled—like he’s playing with me and reminding me of thoughts better left in the past—and it hasn’t slipped past me that he tacked on the word honey a second ago. He used to always call me honey, and while I loved it back then, I can’t allow myself to even notice it now.
“Nope. Basically, unions are a type of very compact flange connector.”
“And with that you’ve basically gone over my head,” I complain.
He grins. “All you really need to know is that it needs to be tight because, when you deal with female ends, tight is better.”
“You did not just say that.”
He laughs, causing those lines to crinkle around his eyes. I can see them despite the bad lighting. “I did.”
“Men are such pigs. I guarantee they’re the ones that named all this crap, too.”
“I’m not sure I can deny that. I really have no idea,” he replies, still laughing. “You tighten this up, and that should stop your leak. Can I do it? Or would you rather have the honor?”
“I’ll do it.”
He kind of scoots over, and it’s then I realize how close together we are. I don’t know why it didn’t hit me before, but it is now—as is the scent of his cologne. I do my best to shrug it off and bite down on my lip as I move even closer to him and angle my body so I can do what I need to do and get out of here… to safety.
I somehow manage to tighten it. I feel kind of proud of myself. It was simple, and Jake had to explain everything, but the point is, if it happens again, I could probably tackle it without much thought.
I turn to look at him, his face so close to mine that I can feel his breath—sweet and minty.
“I did it,” I murmur.
“Now, we turn on the faucet and see if anything looks wet,” he replies, and it’s not my imagination that his voice has dropped in tone again—or that his eyes are staring at my lips.
Shit. What is going on?
Jake hates me. I hate him. That’s our reality. What is this undercurrent of electricity that seems to be moving between us?
Why am I turned on?
I could deny it, but there’s no point. I am turned on, and my body is definitely reacting to Jake in ways that it has no right to do.
“You two about done under there?” Reed asks before I can do something even more stupid like kiss Jake.
What is wrong with my hormones?
Jake clears his throat, but for a second, I think I see regret in his eyes. “Yeah, we’re done,” he says, staring at me intently. “For now,” he adds but in a whisper that is meant only for me. Nervous butterflies take flight in my stomach. I feel completely out of my depth, and I don’t know what to think or do. So, I do the only sane thing I can do.
I ignore it and go join everyone else. There’s safety in numbers, right?
CHAPTER 18
Jake
“We win!” Lennon yells, making me laugh.
He’s so happy. We had a great weekend, but it was clear he missed his mother. That means having pizza here is probably the best idea I’ve had in a long time. Reed’s idea to play Rummy after pizza was even better. I can admit that I felt a little let down when Lennon wanted to be Katie’s partner over me but watching the two of them together has been worth it.
“We did. Give me five!” Lennon gives her five, and Katie raises her hand. “Up high,” she laughs. Lennon gives her five again, stretching on his tiptoes. “Down low,” she adds, moving her hand way down. Lennon tries to hit it and Katie cackles, “Oh, too slow,” moving her hand before Lennon can touch it.
“Mom!” Lennon protests but giggles at the same time.
Katie wraps her arms around him and hugs him close, and he hugs her back, smiling so much that his mouth must hurt. I watch them, and my heart squeezes in my chest. I’ve loved my life. I loved being on the rodeo circuit. Breaking up with Katie was the hardest thing I ever faced, and fuck, it’s the one thing I didn’t want to do—ever. I did it for her, even though it killed me and nearly brought me to my knees when she moved on with my brother. When I finally found out about Lennon, I mostly hated her and Jeff.