Page 37

With his strong hands gripping her, Sadie pushed against him and made it to her feet.

She brushed bits of dried grass and decapitated wildflowers from her cutoff shorts and pale pink T-shirt. She found her right flip-flop that had flown off when she landed in the grass.

“Anything hurt?”

She lifted a shoulder, then winced. “My right shoulder hurts a little, but I’m sure it will be fine.” She lifted her left hand. “I think I angered a bee and it stung me.”

He reached for her hand. “Let me see.”

Sadie held out her hand, and he took it. He ran a rough, calloused finger over the growing red spot.

“Are you allergic to bee stings?”

Sadie shrugged, then winced again. When would she learn? “I don’t know. I don’t remember being stung before.”

Asher lifted his sunglasses, then brought her hand closer to his face. He touched the swollen flesh, and Sadie sucked in a breath. “We need to get that stinger out.”

“I have a tiny sewing kit in my bag.” She nodded toward the spilled bike where her bag lay in the grass.

Asher lifted a brow. “Seriously?”

Sadie shrugged her left shoulder. “A gift from Gran.”

Pulling her hand away and missing the warmth of his touch almost immediately, Sadie swiped the bag off the ground and unzipped it. She pulled out a small blue cloth pouch that heldher sewing kit and a few Band-aids. After finding a needle, she handed it to him.

His eyebrows furrowed and his mouth tightened as he focused and removed the stinger from her hand. He brushed his index finger over the wound. “Feel anything?”

“Just your finger.”

“Good.” Asher handed her the needle, then peered at her hand again. His calloused finger traveled slowly over the reddened spot then across her palm. “It may itch for a while, but if it starts to hurt, or if the pain and itching travel up your arm, you may want to get it checked out.”

“Thanks.” She stifled a shiver at his tender touch, then pulled her hand away and tucked it in her front pocket. Then she looked at the bike still lying on the ground. Releasing a sigh, she reached down and righted it. Holding on to the handlebars, she turned back to him. “Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.”

He shot her one of his rare smiles that sent a jolt straight to her stomach. “Sure thing. Anytime.”

As she moved the bike back to the road and balanced herself on the seat, Sadie pondered his words. While she was sure he meant it, she couldn’t risk leaning on him on a regular basis.

Seeing that he was a nicer guy than she thought originally played a risky game with her heart. One she couldn’t afford to lose, so it was better to keep her distance.

With her opinion changing about Asher, that may be easier said than done.

Asher needed to focus on fixing Hetty’s closet door rather than remembering the feel of her granddaughter’s soft skin.

When he’d come out of the stable and had seen Sadie fall off her bike, he didn’t think. He just ran.

And running to her constantly was going to get him into trouble.

But he couldn’t…he wouldn’t walk away from someone in need.

Somehow, he had to shut off his brain to keep rewinding that moment like an old movie.

Asher forced his attention back to the closet. He dragged a finger over the faint spot on the wooden frame where the door had rubbed a time or two while being opened and closed.

He pushed it open as wide as it would go and peered at the hinges. One of the screw heads appeared bent, as if it had drifted out of the hole. Asher braced the hinge with his thumb and forefinger and gave it a little jiggle. It shifted slightly. He closed the door and headed for the living room.

He crouched next to the chair where Hetty had been reading his aunt’s latest novel. “Hetty, looks like one of the screws may be stripped and that’s causing the door to rub against the frame. I’m going to remove the door from the hinges so I can check the other holes, maybe fill them in and realign everything.”

She turned the book upside down and set it on the table. “Well, aren’t you just the sweetest.”