“Maybe if you’d get your butt in gear, I wouldn’t have to tell on you.” Ethan winked before he disappeared down one of the lines of corn.
“You don’t have to be out here, Nik.” Her father walked over and stood beside her.
“Please call me Nicole.” The old nicknames shouldn’t bother her, but she hadn’t been called any of them for the past couple of decades. They just sounded weird. Besides, why wouldn’t she want to be out here? “I like helping out.”
Her dad looked down the rows of corn. It was as tall as they were and would be harvested in the next few weeks. “It’s a lot of hard work, but at least it’s honest work.”
She put her arm around his waist and leaned against his side for only a second. After all, they were hot and sweaty, but that didn’t mean a side hug wasn’t nice. “You’re a good man, Dad.”
“Wish your mom had thought so.” He took his hat off and hit it across his thigh. “Sun’s a bear today.”
That was about as emotional as her father got, whereas her mother was emotional all the time. “Yup, it’s pretty hot out.”
“Make sure to get that weed over there and check for bugs.” Her father disappeared behind another row.
They’d been out all morning, since 6:00 a.m. She was looking forward to a nice, long shower before running into Sam. Not that she was going to get pretty just to muck about in the muddy pen to drive the hogs into the trailer. But she could at least get rid of a layer of sweat before he saw her.
Maybe she’d sneak away now to get that shower. She glanced around to see if her father or brothers were nearby. Smiling, she spun toward the house and slammed straight into someone.
Strong hands grabbed her shoulders, and when she drew in a breath filled with a manly scent, she knew immediately whose chest she’d almost broken her nose on.
She grinned up at him while rubbing her nose. “Hey, Sam. What are you doing in our field?”
“Working.” He set her back slightly.
She must be disgusting. Even her hair felt sticky. She didn’t even bother to run a hand through her hair or try to primp at all. It couldn’t be helped.
“I thought I wouldn’t see you until we came over to help with the hogs.” She rubbed her gloved hands over her backside, trying to brush off some of the dirt that had surely accumulated there when she’d pulled the last dozen or so weeds. “So what are you doing over here? Did they tell you I wasn’t pulling my weight? Because I can pull a mean weed. Wait, I know! It’s because I don’t know all the bug names, isn’t it?”
“If I help over here, it’ll go quicker.” Sam shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He had on jeans and a long-sleeved shirt as she did. While it kept the plants from cutting up her arms, it didn’t help with the heat. However, he looked as if he’d just stepped out of the shower. His dark hair was slicked back under a cap. The sun made his blue eyes seem even deeper as it drew out the darker shades. She pulled her gaze from those eyes before she lost herself in them or said something stupid.
“That’s great,” she said. “Maybe you can tell me what some of these bugs are called. I think Dad and the brats avoid me because they know I’ll talk their ear off if they come near. But you don’t mind if I talk, do you?” She watched his face carefully.
He shrugged but looked distinctly uncomfortable, as if he really would like her to just remain quiet but didn’t want to upset her. If he wasn’t going to protest, she’d talk his ear off because she liked chatting with him. Even if he was just being polite, she couldn’t help her smile.
“I knew I could count on you.”
When she moved to grab her bucket, he held up a hand. “No hugs.”
She laughed. “Oh, trust me, I’m not hugging anyone smelling like I do. I don’t believe in sharing sweat when hugging. Don’t worry, though...I’ll just hug you more next time.”
When he grimaced, she laughed again.
“You’ll get used to it. I swear.” She bent down to pull another weed.
He walked beside her silently, pulling weeds as he went. Investigating the leaves and corncobs. Occasionally he’d point out an insect and let her know whether it was beneficial or needed to be gotten rid of.
She talked about nonsense the entire time. He didn’t respond, but it didn’t bother her. She was glad for the company. She got only that partial smile, though. Not even a flash of dimple. What would it take to make Sam Ward smile? When her mind started turning over certain ways to make a man like Sam smile, she bent down to tie her shoe to hide her suddenly red face. When they made it to the end of her row, her father was there.
“John,” Sam acknowledged.
“You ready for us?” Dad put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow.
“The trailer is at the gate, ready for loading.”
“Good, good.” Her father turned to her as if noticing her for the first time. “You coming with, kid?”
She hated it when he called her “kid.” Even “Nik” was better than “kid.” “Yeah. I was hoping to take a quick shower first, though.”
“No need,” her father said. “Just going to get muddy anyway. Come on.”
They followed him down the hill, where Ethan and Wes waited next to their dad’s truck.
“Why don’t you ride with Sam?” Dad said and left them to join the boys.
“Well, that’s not at all awkward.” Nicole smiled up at Sam. “Do you have room for me?”
He nodded and led the way over to his truck. He pulled open the passenger door, and she climbed into the truck.
She slid off her gloves and put them in her lap, suddenly very conscious of the small space and her current lack of personal hygiene. Her deodorant had given up at least a half hour ago, and while she would have loved to believe her sweat didn’t stink...she was fairly certain she didn’t smell like a bed of roses right now, but more like the fertilizer. “Sorry for the smell. Normally I bathe before getting into enclosed spaces with other people.”
“It doesn’t bother me.” He started the truck and drove up the driveway.
“I suppose when you work with cows, pigs and sheep all day, one stinky human isn’t overwhelming.” She turned to watch his expression.
“You don’t stink.” His tone didn’t imply anything negative or even positive, but the simple comment made her heart sing a little.
“Thanks, but you don’t have to be nice. After all, I’m about to climb into your hog pen and get all muddy. I’m sure the hogs won’t mind the smell.” She glanced out the window as they passed the field where their tree house was. Friends didn’t care if other friends liked the way they smelled. She didn’t know how to act around him. So she did what she did best—talk. “I don’t think I’ve carried my cell phone around with me at all. It’s odd because I always checked it in LA. But the reception is so iffy at Dad’s that I just don’t bother. The funny thing is, I don’t really feel like I’m missing anything.”
“Don’t you have friends who call?” Sam asked.
“Funny thing, that.” She twisted in her seat to face him. “Jeremy got our friends. Turns out they were mostly his to start. The friends I had in college all went their separate ways, but we email once in a while.”
The lack of people to hang out with had made her decision to head back to her dad’s that much easier. She could just imagine what Jeremy was saying about