Blue Colla Make Ya Holla (77 page)

T
he week passed
quickly for Anna. Her coworkers were unapologetic in their teasing throughout the week, ribbing her for getting them all caught spying. By the time the afternoon rolled around, she was just happy to have some man candy showing up at her house. After all, she didn’t know if he was married or an axe murderer. To her, he was just some deep-voiced, hot-as-sin, tattooed dream boat coming to quote her some prices on mowing her lawn.

Climbing into her beloved ’87 Camaro, Anna squealed. He really was coming over. She couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t excited. Excitement quickly turned to dismay as she turned her key over in the ignition and nothing happened. She tried again, nothing. Her radio was on, so it wasn’t the battery. Her fingers drummed on the steering wheel nervously as she ran through a short list of possible problems. Not the ignition itself. That would grind if it had been going out.

“Well, fuck me and fuck this car!” she shouted, bashing the steering wheel with all her might. Her red hair fell out of her ponytail and covered her face, hiding the tears streaming down her face. “Fuck my life!”

She watched as the last car left the parking lot. More hot tears flowed as she realized she was going to have to call a tow truck and pay for repairs on her car. There went all her money for the next month. Anna thumbed her phone on and was surprised to see a phone call coming in from Wilson’s Landscaping. Why was Kyle calling?

“Hey, Anna, I was calling to let you know I was going to be about fifteen minutes late,” Kyle said, a bit out of breath. “I had to run to the store to pick up a part for one of my crew’s small engines.”

“Hey, I was just about to call you to cancel anyway.” Her voice sounded dead in her ears. She just hoped he couldn’t tell she had been crying in frustration.

“What? Why?” Anna thought he sounded a little hurt.

“My stupid car won’t start, and I don’t know what’s wrong with it. Gotta call a tow truck and get this heap back to my house.” Her hands once again pounded on her steering wheel. “I don’t even know if I can afford you anymore because of this stupid thing!”

A slight chuckle sounded from the other end. “You can always afford me, sweetheart, but if you would like, I can swing by there and look at your car. I do know a bit about engines. I could at least keep you company while you wait on the tow truck if I can’t help you.”

“Oh my geebus, thank you so much. You really don’t have to, but I really appreciate it,” sobbed Anna. She was already grateful for his company and his offer of help.

“Be there in five.”

Anna hung up with Kyle and dabbed at her eyes with the bottom of her shirt. Her situation was still looking bleak, but at least she now had company. Maybe he could fix her car and the situation would be even better. She might just have to bake him thank-you cookies then.

*

“I have good
news for you, Anna,” Kyle said while lowering the hood of her car with a squelch. He rubbed his hands over his jean-covered thighs to rub off some of the grease on his hands. Anna couldn’t help but notice the pleasant way his legs filled out the material. Shaking herself out of her one-track mind, Anna looked up into Kyle’s bright green eyes. They were the color of fresh cut grass.

“My car’s not quite dead?” Her small joke brought a smile to his face.

“Not quite. Your beast still has some life. Just needs a new idle air sensor. It got gunked up, and now it won’t open all the way. But that’s okay because the part is cheap and it takes two screws. Fifteen minutes tops.”

Anna couldn’t help it—she ran over to him and gave him a huge hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Her face pressed into his solid chest, and she felt the tears come to her eyes.

“I thought I was so screwed, and I was going to have to go into debt, and I was going to have to bum rides from my already harried friends and…” It was like a freight train of worry just started out of her mouth before she could stop it.

Strong arms wrapped around her and pressed her into his muscular, warm body. She felt a hand go under her hair and rub her neck.

“Shhh…it’s all right, none of that. I’ll get your car problems fixed for now.”

Anna melted into his body, taking his comfort. It had been a long time since anyone had held her when she had a freak out. She allowed herself a few moments to take in the intoxicating scent—a mix of sunshine and fresh-cut grass—before looking up at his chiseled face. She found herself suddenly wanting to nip the shadowed line of his jaw. His full lower lip seemingly begged for her kisses.

Get a hold of yourself, girl,
she chided.
He’s a stranger! But what a hot, kind stranger.

“Hey, don’t think so hard,” Kyle finally said, lightly thumbing her chin. “I can practically hear your inner gears turning. I am glad I could be here to help a pretty girl out.”

Anna sighed and pulled away from his embrace. “Pfffttt,” she dismissed. “I bet I am really pretty with my bright red hair and equally bright red eyes.” She lifted up her messy hair playfully and dabbed at the corners of her eyes.

“Your eyes look like crystals after you cry.”

Anna felt the blush creep into her skin, and she looked down. “Whatever.” She dragged her foot across the ground, trying to distract herself from the compliments. She might start thinking he liked her if he kept it up.

Daring to look up, Anna met his eyes. He beamed at her.

“Let’s hop in my truck and get that part. There’s an AutoZone just down the road.”

Anna climbed into his white F-150 and looked around. The floorboard was covered in grass clippings and dirt. The dash had various catalogs for power lawn equipment and blank invoices. She saw a black leather datebook that had some dirty fingerprints on it. A lone McDonald’s cup sat in the cup holder.

“My truck, my music, by the way, so if you don’t like Brantley Gilbert, I’m afraid you are going to have to suffer.”

Anna giggled and looked over at Kyle. He was not a man she would have pegged for a country music fan.

“What? You think someone like me wouldn’t listen to some country?”

Anna shook her head. “I figured Metallica or Korn, but not Brantley.”

He laughed and glanced at her. “Oh, I like them too, but some days I just enjoy myself some country.”

Anna nodded in agreement. “Me too.”

“I am glad we are in agreement on what to listen to at least. Music is generally the first way you learn if you will get along with someone or not.”

Anna nodded again. “It is. I can’t be friends with people who regularly listen to Kenny G or Michael Bolton. They remind me of my grandma too much!”

“Now, now, there are some good Michael Bolton songs. How ’bout ‘Jack Sparrow’? You can’t lie and say that’s a bad song.”

Kyle began to belt out several lines of the Lonely Island song causing Anna to clutch her stomach in a fit of giggles.

“Oh my geebus! Stop! That song is too funny!” His Michael Bolton impersonation was killing her.

Kyle laughed too.

“Another Lonely Island fan, I see. Let me serenade you with more!”

Kyle sang lines from at least three other songs, causing Anna to snort.

“Ha ha ha ha, I made you snort! That’s awesome!” Kyle blurted. He banged his steering wheel in amusement.

“Oh, shush!” Anna continued to laugh. She was enjoying his company and was regretting that they were now pulling into the parking lot of the auto parts store.

A few minutes later they were done recovering the part and were back at her car, pulling the old part off.

“Tell me why you have an old Camaro instead of some little compact car. Don’t get me wrong, I love these cars myself, especially since my old man drove one when I was younger, but there has to be a reason why you are driving some unruly, gas-guzzling beast that’s hard to drive in rain and snow,” Kyle said while banging on the small part he was replacing.

Anna leaned against her blue baby casually and folded her arms against her chest. Her father had asked her the same question a few weeks ago, and she was tired of having to explain it.

“I just love these things. My dad bought one when I was fifteen, and I was only allowed to drive it on weekends when I was in high school. I fell in love with Camaros then and wanted one of the new ones when they first came out. But when I drove one, something was missing. I dunno what it was, but once I found this old man, I knew I would never be happy driving any other car. I might eventually get a little Honda or something, but for now, this is enough for me.”

Kyle looked up from under the hood of her car and nodded.

“I get that. People sometimes ask me why I am driving around some beat-up, seventeen-year-old pickup, but I love it and plan on driving it until it falls apart.”

Kyle wiped his hands on some napkins Anna had recovered from inside her car, and slammed the hood shut.

“Well, we are done here. Want me to follow you home? If you still wanted one, I could give you a quote on your lawn too.”

Anna pushed off from her car, happy this afternoon was going much better than she could have expected when she first couldn’t start her car. “Sure. Let’s go!”

It took them ten uneventful minutes to get out to Anna’s house on Otter Gap Road. Since her place of employment was already on the edge of town, her house was well into the country. Dwarfed by an acre of field in the front and two acres of lightly wooded backyard, her small two-bedroom house was perfect as far as Anna was concerned. It was far enough back no one could see into her open windows but not so far back she couldn’t see someone pulling into her paved driveway. Eventually she wanted to start a garden on part of the property and dig a pond, but for now she was happy with her overgrown flower beds and shade trees. Her house might not be new, and it might not be large, but she had bought it for the land. She was lucky a family friend was moving to Florida and had wanted to sell it cheap.

“Welcome to Casa Mara, home to Anna and Chester, the big ginger tabby.” Anna gestured, welcoming Kyle to her home when he got out of his truck.

“Damn, lady, got enough yard?” Kyle clicked his tongue, taking in the fence row separating her property from the rolling cow pasture next to it.

“Yeah, it’s a bit much for me to maintain, obviously, since I don’t have one of those big riding mowers you landscapers do.” Anna surveyed the six-inch high grass. “Takes me all weekend with my tiny push mower, and it died last weekend cutting the weeds along the fence row, so yeah, I need help.”

Kyle chuckled and jotted down some notes on a scratch pad he had taken from his truck.

“I can fix you right up. Let me walk around for a few minutes, and I can give you a price, okay?”

Anna nodded and headed towards the house. “Kyle, just come right on in the front door when you are done. I will have some tea waiting out for you.”

Kyle simply grunted and walked around the side of her house, mumbling. Anna was a little worried he would quote her some outrageous price now that he had seen her yard, but then she remembered he hadn’t even mentioned what she owed him for the part for her car. Maybe he would give her a discount for being a hot mess.

Anna deposited her purse on the small end table inside her front door and headed straight to the kitchen, where her howling ball of fur was waiting by his food dish.

“Chester, my main man, how was your day of napping?” she cooed, opening a new can of food for him.

A simple meow was his only response as Chester dug in.

“Does your cat talk back?”

Anna jumped and turned towards the voice. “Kyle! You scared me to death. I wasn’t expecting you in so quickly.”

Kyle smiled and slid into a seat at her kitchen bar. “I didn’t need much time. I have a pretty standard rate for property like yours. I was mainly just looking to see if you had any thickets or sinkholes out there.”

Anna busied herself getting down tea glasses and pouring their refreshments.

“So how bad is it?” she asked, putting the glass of tea down in front of him. She remained standing comfortably on the other side of the bar.

“Not bad at all. Your land is pretty flat with no major obstacles, so a crew should be able to get in and out easily.”

He then quoted her a price that was about what she was thinking it should cost.

“Oh, excellent.” Anna was relieved. “When can you guys come out here?”

Within a few minutes, Anna and Kyle had a date, time, and method of payment worked out for lawn care. She was excited to finally not have to worry about at least one item in her life.

“I guess I should be going,” Kyle finally said. He sounded slightly disappointed, and Anna suddenly didn’t want him to go. She reached out her hand and placed it on his colorful forearm. She could feel him tense under her fingers. Her blue eyes met his green ones.

“Wait, what do I owe you for helping me out today? We didn’t discuss it.”

Kyle shifted in his seat and looked down where she was touching him. Anna studied his handsome, chiseled face while he was momentarily distracted. He had a small scar running beside his slightly crooked nose. It gave him a tough-guy look. Another small scar ran through his right eyebrow, as if it had been split in a fight. Long, dark lashes framed rounded eyes. A dimple parted the two halves of his perfect chin below two inviting lips. Anna’s brain began thinking about what it would be like to kiss this man and take him back to her bed. She wondered if the nipple rings she could see pushing his shirt out made his nipples really sensitive like some of the women she knew had said.