Authors: Annie Rains

Welcome to Forever (31 page)

BOOK: Welcome to Forever

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“Good.” He slipped the key into the ignition and turned, expecting the gnashing-metal sound to answer himâin which case he'd add chauffeur to his list of job duties this morning. Instead, her engine revved to life.

Julie pushed on his shoulder. “See? Now, if you don't mind, I'll slip back behind the wheel and be going home.”

Lawson didn't budge. “I don't trust it.
Her,
” he clarified, unable to help himself. “Let me follow you back to your house. I want to make sure you get there all right. And I meant what I said. I'll come take a look later.”

“Not necessary.”

Lawson contained his grin. He couldn't decide if her stubbornness was a turnoff or a complete turn-on. “Have you ever heard of chivalry? Women are supposed to like that stuff.” And most usually did. He slid his hat back onto his head and pushed open the driver's-side door. “I'll follow behind you and then be on my way. You're staying at your sister Kat's old house, right?”

Julie's eyebrows lowered. “How did you know that?” she asked.

“Relax. Micah mentioned that you were staying at her house right now. Just wait for me to get in my truck.” He stepped out, adjusting his cowboy hat to keep the rain out of his eyes, and walked toward his truck. It'd been attraction at first sight when he'd met Julie last yearâon his end, at least. Julie, on the other hand, hadn't been interested. Same as now, only he wasn't flirting with her at the moment. All he was trying to do was help.

He opened his truck door, got inside, and looked over at Julie's car as he cranked his own engine. Except Julie's car wasn't there anymore. With a glance in the rearview mirror, he saw her turning out of the parking lot. “Ah, hell,” he said, backing out of the spot and chasing after her.
Turnoff,
he decided.

Five minutes later, he slowed his truck as Julie pulled into her driveway. He watched her step out of her car, then hurry toward the front door, not bothering to look back.

“You're welcome,” he muttered to himself, watching her fidget with her house keys. They dropped to the porch and she bent to pick them up, reminding him of the position she'd been in when he'd walked up on her this morning.

Turn-on,
he thought, despite himself. Julie Chandler was definitely a turn-on.

Since she'd gotten home safely, he continued driving, creating as much distance as he could between himself and the pretty yogi who clearly hated his guts. And that was a good thing, because otherwise he might be tempted to go knock on that front door and offer to help pull that stick out of her sweet little ass.

He didn't have time for another sparring match with Julie Chandler, though. He'd been released to get back to regular duty last Friday. No more paper pushing for him. He needed to go home and put on some dry clothes. Then it was time he got back to doing what he lovedâflying.

Julie peeked through the blinds in the front window and exhaled as she saw Lawson's truck fade into the distance. Her morning so far had gone about as disastrously as possible.

Heading to the fridge, she collected some fruit for her morning smoothie. She might as well enjoy this, because if she didn't get a job quickly, it might be her last decent meal for a while. She peeled a couple of bananas and tossed them in the blender. If Lawson hadn't walked in, Allison might have found a job for her. If he hadn't ruined her proposal packet, Allison might be reviewing it right now.

Tossing in some frozen berries, she chided herself. She wasn't being fair and she knew it. Lawson had only been trying to help. After her experience with her ex, she'd promised herself she wouldn't turn into one of those bitter, man-hating women. But that's exactly how she'd acted this morning.
Ugh.

She scooped a couple generous spoonfuls of yogurt into the blender and pressed the
ON
button, watching as the fruit swirled around, surrendering to the machine's blades. Next time she saw Lawson, she owed him an apology. She was a nice person. Daren hadn't robbed her of that. She didn't owe Lawson a date, however, which is what he'd tried so hard to get when she'd first met him last year. Dating was the furthest thing from what she needed right now.

Pouring her smoothie into a cup, she walked to the kitchen counter and sat on the stool in front of it. She pulled her computer to her to continue looking for a job as she drank. There had to be something out there for her.

As she scrolled through the new postings on a local job site, hope shriveled inside her.

Dog walker.

Chef.

Babysitter.

She had no experience with kids or dogs. And making this smoothie was as good as she got when it came to skills in the kitchen. With a sigh, she grabbed her drink and her yoga mat and decided to do something she was good at: yoga on the beach. She'd found that even if it was raining here, the sun was usually shining just east of the Seaside Bridge. Maybe a few calming poses surrounded by nature would take her mind off unemployment, stacks of bills, and a certain sexy cowboy turned Marine.