Read Online Heart Of Gold by Bird Jessica - Free Book Online Page B

meet-and-greet with the Farrell household would only slow her
down.
    Liar.
    She knew
the real reason she was so eager to get going, and it didn't have anything to
do with tents or shovels. She had a strong desire to avoid Nick Farrell. Their
two previous encounters had established a disturbing trend. Each time, he got
further under her skin and her unwanted attraction to him seemed to be getting
stronger. One more meeting and she could end up doing something really
ludicrous. Like kissing the man.
    Just
then, Cort leapt out of the front door. Even though his jagged black hair was
standing at stiff attention, he was wearing a fresh pair of khaki shorts and a
white polo shirt. The look was a cross between post-modern Goth and the British
Sloane Ranger set. His smile was all-American track star.
    The kid
was going to be a lady-killer just like his uncle, she decided, waving at him.
    “I
saw you drive up and told Uncle Nick you're here. He's on the phone, as usual,
and is gonna be for a while. Hey, you need some help with all that?”
    Carter
laughed as she opened the rear. “Does a drowning man need a life
jacket?”
    “You
know what you want?”
    “A
gondola?”
    “I'll
be right back.”
    With a
practiced hand, she began unloading, stacking duffle bags and crates on top of
each other. As the pile grew beside the car, it looked more overwhelming than
it had when it was still packed inside.
    Minutes
later, she heard a roar and saw Cort racing over on a four-wheeler.
    “That's
the most beautiful thing I've ever seen,” she exclaimed, seeing the task
become exponentially more manageable and the chances of not tangling with the
elder Farrell improve. Hopefully, they could get her stuff out of the man's
front yard before he ended his call.
    “There's
an access road that hooks into the back trail,” Cort explained.
“I can get pretty close to the site and carry the stuff the rest of the
way.”
    "You
are heaven sent!”
    As Carter
turned back to the car, she caught a glowing smile on the teenager's face. It
was sweet of him to be so helpful, she thought.
    Using bungee cords, they
secured a load on the back rack of the four-wheeler and Cort ran it up the
mountain, dropped it off, and returned. In just over an hour; the car was empty
and Carter was further along than she'd expected to be by the middle of
the day. Nick hadn't shown his face either and she felt as though a small
victory was in reach when the last load was anchored on the machine. Quickly,
she changed into hiking boots, twisted her hair into a ball, and tugged a
baseball hat over it. Then, she strapped on a full pack that weighed
sixty pounds.
    “That's
real heavy,” Cort commented with awe. “Shouldn't we take it up on the
four-wheeler?”
    “I'm
fine. Hauling this on a separate trip would be a waste of gas.”
    "Are
you sure I can't—”
    The
kitchen's screen door clapped shut and both of them turned to see Nick come
out of the mansion. Carter smothered a curse. She'd been so close.
    “That's
quite a load you've been moving,” he drawled.
    She
watched as a laconic smile lifted his lips and had to tell herself not to look
away quickly. He was even more attractive than she remembered,
unfortunately. Dressed in tennis whites with a bag  of rackets slung over his
shoulder, he looked tan and virile. His arms were imposingly strong and so were
the muscles in his legs. She was a little surprised at how athletic he seemed
to be.
    She
wondered what he looked like in swimming trunks and then wanted to kick
herself.
    To her
chagrin, Nick didn't stop until he was standing two feet from her. She tried to
inch away but found the Jeep's rear bumper pressed up against the back of her
legs. With him so close, she could smell that tangy aftershave, and she noticed
he was freshly shaved.
    “Do
you always bring this much stuff?” he asked with a teasing light in his
eye. “Looks like enough for an army. You planning on invading Canada in your spare time?”
    She
fought