Julian looked at the phone for a long while after Marit hung up. She had thanked him for bailing her out with her mother and told him she appreciated everything. She told him she would see him next week at work and bid him a good night.

  Well…

  This didn’t happen often. Hell, it never happened. Women threw themselves at his feet. Those who didn't, he just had to give a wink and they were putty in his hands. Granted he had never come across a woman quite like Marit. There weren’t shy women in Vegas and if there were they learned real quick not to be.

  No. She was a different animal completely.

  Why are you thinking about trying something anyway Julian. Your divorce isn’t final and you know your mother is going to blow into town in a few months and have the locals chasing you out with pitch forks and fire.

  She had done it enough in the past when he went running from her and she went on the hunt to bring him back. Usually after her boyfriend broke up with her or she went through a divorce and needed him to help support her. Either way, she ruined whatever he tried to build, so after a while he stopped running and settled down in sin city where she could find him whenever she wanted.

  He didn’t need people to like him there, he just needed them to respect him. With the kind of cash his establishment brought in the respect came easy. But it wasn’t real. Not like it was when he was here in Terrace Creek with his grandfather or even now.

  “You ok boss?” A knowing voice called out, shifting Julian’s attention from the woman who had turned him down to the old man waiting for him. Rufus Lester, a staple figure at Beau’s Family Supply, he had started on the original team that opened the store. He reminded Julian a lot of his grandfather. especially considering the grey haired man with grease stains permanently dyed into his fingertips had taken him under his wing so to speak.

  “Yeah. Sure. What do you need Mr. Lester.” He just didn’t feel right calling a man double his age by his first name.

  A little smile creased over his lips that said more than words could have. “Give her time son. The tough ones are always worth the wait.” Turning, he departed from the office and punched out to go home.

  Yes they do. Julian mused while he began to prepare mentally on just how he could start to get to know Marit in a more intimate manner.

  **

  Another week passed without a lot of trouble, where Marit spent another pleasant week at work with Julian and spent her days off doing nothing but thinking about him. It was beyond annoying. So, to attempt to get her life back on its dull track, she spent time with her cousins shopping and having lunch as well as a few projects around the house with her Uncle Langston.

  “Hey Mare.” Her cousin Trinity called from the front door.

  “In back.” Marit answered, getting the last of her things put into boxes. Her mom had left the other day, again! For another conference and would be gone another week. Which meant she was alone for the garage sale.

  Turning, she found her cousin Trinity and her brother Tristan in the doorway. “Get the boxes Tris.” The tiny woman ordered, while her giant of a brother jumped to his task.

  Barely 5’3 with a body that could kill lesser men with those curves, Trinity was a forced to be reckoned with. Jet black hair matched her distinctly dominant personality with dark brown eyes set in the face of a dominatrix. If Trinity could have been anything in life without judgement from her family it definitely would’ve been getting paid by men to treat them like shit and order them about. No one said no to her, and Marit had on more than one occasion watched her bring old high school football players to their knees with a quick grab of their balls.

  “Hey cuz.” Tristan gave Marit a kiss on the cheek and snatched up the first box. “Oh and Westin’s been asking after ya, wondered if you’re coming to the bar tonight for the barbeque.”

  Trinity shot her brother a vicious glare and shoo’d him out. “That man even comes near you at the barbeque and I’ll snatch his balls off.” Her cousin had been waiting for a while to get in Westin’s face and Marit could tell she was hoping he’d finally be stupid enough to approach her himself instead of through her family members who didn’t know better.

  “It’s ok.”

  “Like hell.” The petite woman snarled out, telling Marit she was well aware of everything that happened all those years ago. Married and happy, Trinity still had time for her family and not even her husband got in her way when she was on a mission. Right now she was definitely on a mission.

  “So, am I heading to your house?”

  “No. Julian said he needed some help, so I put you over at his place.” Checking things off on her checklist, dark brown eyes flicked up and took in the sight of a blushing Marit. “That ok?”

  “Uh.. yeah sure. I mean you have it planned out and I don’t want to ruin your plans.” Hell no it’s not ok! I barely have enough sense as it is around him. What was wrong with her!

  The older cousin in the room flashed a knowing grin to the younger one and nodded. “You ok to head over there? I’ll send Andrea over to clear out the yard when it’s six.” Everyone knew that Julian’s place would be the busiest in town because the women were gossips and they loved to put their noses into other people’s business.

  “Ok.” When Tristan grabbed up the last box, Marit followed her two cousins out and got into her loaded up truck. “Bbq still at 7?”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Trinity nodded as she walked to her gorgeous Mercedes SUV. Working for the mayor and with a husband that had a trust fund, she could afford pretty things. Not that Marit was jealous, she adored her truck and would rather punch anyone who told her to get rid of it. She would drive it until it’s dying breath, or hers. Whichever came first.

  “Five dollar entry fee, but I’ve got you and the girls covered.”

  “What about me.” Tristan called out as he made his way to his sister’s car.

  Trinity shot him a look of disbelief and scoffed. “Get yourself.”

  Marit chuckled and backed out first, heading off down the road to the Hollis farm house. Despite her nervousness, the moment she opened her door she was welcomed with a hug and that smile of his that never failed to leave her cheeks stained.

  ***

  “Thank god you’re here!” Julian whispered in Marit’s ear, his arms tightening around her body as though he didn’t want to let her go. “Help.”

  When Julian decided he had rattled the woman with him enough, he released her and stood back where she could see that his entire yard was full of faces he would recognize and others he would not.

  “Ahhh…” Marit breathed, catching sight of the full yard. “Yeah, its the County yard sale. So you have people here from four towns.” She informed him, walking to the back of her truck to start the unloading process.

  Julian beat Marit to it, taking a box from her hands and giving her a chiding look. “I’ll get these.” His tone said to not even try to take anymore. Julian may be a city boy, but his grandfather had stressed that a man’s job was to take care of a woman and he shouldn’t let her do a man’s work if he could help it.

  Perhaps it was an archaic way of thought, and Julian rarely practiced it back home, but something in him didn’t want Marit to do what he could do for her. “Can you check on everyone please?”

  Marit smirked and shook off her surprise when Julian refused to let her take her boxes. However she knew a ‘don’t even try it’ tone when she heard one, so she accepted his good manners without a fuss. “I take it you’ve gotten your butt pinched a few times this morning?”

  Julian looked down into amused eyes, though her blush was out with the mention of his ass. “These women are very…”

  “Handsy? Forward? Strong?” Marit chuckled.

  Julian shuddered at the remembered groping. They were surprisingly strong, the older ones especially. “All of it.” It’s not like he hadn’t been groped before, but to have a woman old enough to be his mother or his grandmother was definitely new.

  How did he respond? He couldn’t scold them, and he certainly didn’t want to encourage them. It was just an awkward situation, but with Marit here he felt more than relieved. “You don’t mind?”

  Marit shook her head. “Not at all. Can you put my things out? I have everything tagged. If they try to haggle with you, send them to me.” Her smile grew, pulling one out of Julian despite the mountain of people in his yard that made him nervous.

  Marit had arrived at nine a.m. and by noon she had successfully sold numerous pieces while Julian manned the money box. She set up rules, no checks, cash only, and when the women would try to play Julian into breaking those rules, all it took was a look from Marit wherever she was and the women immediately gave up.

  Julian was fascinated with how easily she handled the crowd and how she seemed to know those who would try to trick him and those who wouldn’t. Her sales skills weren’t anything to laugh at either. With a short story and a quick laugh, she sealed the deal and by lunch most of the big items had already been picked up.

  Only a few more remained and she had mentioned that she was positive they would be gone by the close of the day. “You’re a life saver.”

  Marit jumped when Julian’s deep voice whispered into her ear, his body pressed lightly against her back. For a man his size and build, she knew he was strong, but there wasn’t a single soft spot on his broad torso. The thought brought out the blush in her cheeks which trailed down her neck. “T-thank you.” His proximity shook her.

  Julian had a feeling he had made Marit uncomfortable, though looking over her shoulder he could see that becoming shade of pink he enjoyed coloring her neck. No, she was not a woman used to attention from a man, which both infuriated him and pleased him. He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t want another man coming close to her, but the fact that men had passed her over so easily that she was now 30 and nervous like a school girl with such simple contact angered him also.

  She was a beautiful woman. A kind woman with a sassy streak that was charming. This woman wouldn’t lay down and take someone treating her badly or her family, but she was warm and open enough to be understanding to those who needed kindness. Over the past few weeks Julian had come to learn that Marit didn’t think highly of herself and had heard the talks between her mother and her.

  Julian certainly wasn’t a fan of Judge Pearce. She wasn’t a tiny thing either, but she fussed at her daughter endlessly to go out with some guy she wasn’t interested in and continually told her she would never do better than that guy. He was half a mind to talk to Andrea about it, but as it was, Julian wasn’t sure what he should do with his feelings toward Marit.

  She was a small town girl, a simple girl, and here he was wrapped up in a divorce that his ex-wife was fighting tooth and nail. If she even had one inkling that he was interested in another woman she would whine and cry to the media and have paparazzi down here so fast Terrace Creek would be front page news.

  He didn’t want that for these people or Marit especially. All he did want was to be left alone and finally have his mother and wife off of his back and out of his life.

  Marit turned to face him, putting distance between their bodies but that smile of hers that warmed his heart came out to play. When she did things like that the cracks came to his resolve faster than he could repair them. He had never really known something kind and gentle without paying for it in some way.

  But Marit offered her tenderness without wanting anything in return. It was a precious gift he wanted to hoard all for himself. The fact that she let him hug her also didn’t help things. The citizens here were an open and affectionate lot in their small town and Julian had been welcomed in without a second thought. It spoiled him and he found himself seeking it from Marit without thought and she never pushed him away.

  “So, how much did I make?” She asked, changing the subject while turning to look at the three tables her things had been set up on.

  Julian shrugged and tucked away his musings on the woman in front of him for now. He had plenty of alone time to make plans and break them the second Marit was around him. He knew he was getting too close too fast, but there was something about her that called to him, made him want to protect and shelter her from the cruelty of the world.

  When her expectant gaze settled on his features he came back to the real world again. “I pooled it. So we can split it when the day is over.”

  Marit didn’t seem pleased at all with that answer. “Julian.” Her tone surprised and disbelieving. “I can’t accept that. You have way more here than I do and your things are far more expensive.”

  Julian shrugged. “Come on. We both know I wouldn’t have sold anything without you. Those women were here to check me out, not my stuff. You earned your share.”

  “No really Julian I can’t. This is for you to get started here…”

  “Marit.” Julian was up and before he could stop himself had the woman’s hand in his to get her attention. “I have money. Trust me. It’s fine.” His bright blue eyes shimmered happily at her and despite her better judgement Marit accepted his offer.

  “Ok. Fine. But that doesn’t mean I won’t buy you something with the money or …”

  “Take me to dinner?” Julian asked, and for a moment Marit thought he was completely serious. Her blush fired right back up.

  It took the poor woman several seconds to recover from his wicked tone and the provocative look buried in his eyes, but she managed it. “You really don’t know how to cook?”

  Julian recognized Marit’s discomfort for what it was and followed her change of topic. Yeah, he would definitely have to go at this slow and easy. If he could actually follow through on any of his plans. Either he was going to leave her be or he was going to listen to the call of nature that surrounds every man and go after her without restraint.

  One day he’d figure it out, probably after he had done something stupid anyway. Normally he was a man that was methodical and planned everything perfectly when it came to business and other elements in his life. Women had always been his weak point. Somehow all sense just went out of his head.

  “No I don’t.” Julian admitted with a slight tone of embarrassment. He had grown up in hotels and casinos, so a kitchen was only another room to work and steal from, not to use.

  Determination glimmered back at him through her hazel eyes and before he could question it, she was at her truck and looking at him to follow. Jumping up, he grabbed the money box and made his way to her truck and slipped into the passenger seat. “Where are we going?”

  “To the store. I’m going to show you how to make something even you can’t mess up.” She informed him with a smile. Backing out, she set them on their journey and Julian could honestly say he was a little nervous.