Texas Bodyguard by Jean Brashear

Author:Jean Brashear
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Texas
Publisher: Jean Brashear
Published: 2018-07-02T16:00:00+00:00

“Look, we really don’t have to go to my place,” Sean said as they drove. “I could take you back to Vanessa’s and come to get you after I shower and change or…”

“What? You’re reneging on me? Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”

Oh, man. Her cheer and mischief only made him feel worse. “I’m not sure if it’s better to tell you the place isn’t so bad and see if that predisposes you to believe that when you see it…or tell you it’s one step up from a dump. Then you might feel so sorry for me you’d work hard to disguise your horror.”

“Does it matter what I think?”

Their gazes locked. “I’m afraid it might.” Then he pulled his away to concentrate on his driving.

Keep it light. Don’t think about all the lies underpinning everything.

Easier said than done. He grasped for the first topic that hit him. “Skeeter’s great, isn’t he? I’ve been thinking about getting a dog, except—” Crap. He’d been about to say that his work hours were so unpredictable. “It wouldn’t be fair to have a pet in a war zone.”

“Now I really cannot wait to see this place.”

“Well, you’re about to get your wish.” He rounded the corner and onto his shady street. Halfway down, he pulled into what could laughingly be called a driveway, two parallel, broken tracks of concrete about forty years past useful. He glanced at the two-story structure that could be the setting for a haunted house movie, its weathered paint—what there was left of it—a contrast with the brand-new roof that could have bought him a Harley and given him fun instead of merely keeping him dry.

“As bad as you thought?” He tried not to wince as he waited.

She didn’t say anything as she emerged from his truck and turned a slow circle to look at the houses around him, a jumble of beautifully-restored Victorians side by side with teetering bungalows and single-family-turned-boarding-houses for students.

Get back in the truck, he wanted to order, the longer she went without speaking. I know it’s a dump, but—

“The trees are amazing,” she said first.

He didn’t give a damn about the trees. Though he did, of course—they were a compelling reason to buy here. But—

“This feels like a neighborhood, a real one. Like you could make a home here.” Her eyes were wide with wonder as she looked at him.

His tension eased a little. “Sort of. I mean, people are trying.” He gestured around. “But there are holdouts, landlords who don’t give a damn about the neighborhood or its character—like that one.” He pointed to one across the street and down, dirt lawn and junker cars lining the driveway and in front.

“But look at that one,” she said, gesturing to the house to his right. “They’ve really made it shine.” She focused on his then. “Your house has good bones, doesn’t it?”

It did, but he was surprised that she saw that. “You know construction?”

“Um, does it count that I love to watch HGTV?”

He enjoyed the relief of laughing.

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