2. Micah

CHAPTER 2

Micah

S he's glaring at me again. I can feel it burning into my backside and it's my own damn fault. The guys tried to tell me that Heidi Crane is no slouch on a construction site. She grew up with it. Grew into it. She knows what she's doing.

But like a dumbass I made the mistake of trying to push her out of the way when one of the guys asked her to help pick up a huge piece of wood and move it with him.

She's hated me ever since.

Not that I blame her. I freely admit I messed up. But as soon as I saw her gorgeous, glowing face, lightly tanned and her aquamarine eyes, I was sunk. I was a goner and I couldn't do anything but try and get close to her. I wanted to protect her, take care of her, make love to her until she screamed my name.

Instead, I tried to take care of her by undermining her on her new job. It was a damn fool move but I was in love and I was dumber than a box of rocks. All the blood in my body rushed below my waistline and I became a gibbering idiot.

That's the excuse I was going to use anyway.

To me, she's delicate and frail. Feminine and gloriously alive. But in reality she's a woman who's fully capable of taking care of herself just like any other woman. It just so happens that I fell in love immediately and I needed her like I needed air to breathe.

I hunger for her.

I turn around and see her behind me, glaring at me. "Hey, Crane! Come on! We've got to get these pieces moved. Come on! Quit staring at Reese! He's good!"

She stares at me for one second more and I smile at her. She doesn't smile. Just spins around and walks away.

And damn do I like watching that woman walk away! She's got a rounded, firm ass that begs for my hands.

I'm a big, beefy guy. Six foot six and proportionally huge everywhere. Big shoulders, big thighs, big arms and a big package to go with all of it. I don't like tiny women. My big hands feel like they'd break some fragile little thing.

I don't need to worry about that with Heidi. Her vibrant auburn hair is braided and hangs down her back. Her back is straight, her hips wide, her thighs thick and her ass is juicy. Every part of her is perfect for me. Her aquamarine eyes are beautiful but yet a little weathered in the corners thanks to her age.

Do I care that she's about ten years older than me? Fuck no! Doesn't matter to me at all! Don't get me wrong. I'm not looking for a mommy. I'm looking for a woman that I can stand beside and raise a family with one day.

I grab some of the two by fours we're using to frame in the house that we're currently working on and another one of the guys, Damian grabs the other. Between the two of us we wrestle that shit in place. Damian's a hard guy to understand sometimes. He works all around the place but his major deal is the finished products that he works on for friends and family that everyone has tried to talk him into selling. He just growls, his mouth curling behind his beard. Nobody argues with him. He wants what he wants and he absolutely doesn't want a bunch of people clamoring for his stuff.

"Get your head in the game, kid," he snarls at me.

I jerk myself back to the present and we finish up the last part of the side we're working on. Hopefully within a week or two we'll be able to start building the walls and then start on the roof.

I like framing. It's hard work hauling all this shit around and getting measurements right. Hard as hell to haul stuff up for roofing and all the rest of the shit that we start for the filler to come along. The walls and the trim. It's a step by step process that if you know what you're doing, it all makes sense. One thing leads to another thing to another. Easy peasy.

My eye is caught by Heidi's figure as she straightens up. I glance over and see that Jameson is hauling ass up to her. I don't usually see the boss running for one of the crew. We don't have a ton of emergencies around here. This job site is one of the best ones I've worked on. Everything is well-run and generally safe.

"Heidi! Hey! There's a call from Cassie's school! They need to talk to you!"

"Shit!" I hear her holler and then run, her tits bouncing. My eyes follow every bouncy movement and I know that I should cool it. I'm being an ass. But then her peach of an ass is facing me and I groan under my breath.

"Hold on a minute, Damian. I need to go to the bathroom."

He rolls his eyes and drops the wood he's holding. "Do what you gotta do to get your head in the game, dude. But don't lie to me. You're shit at it!"

I grin and run after Heidi, rubbing my hands off on my jeans. She ducks into the office on the job site and I hear her voice on the phone. "What!" I stand quietly and unashamedly eavesdrop.

She gets quiet and I swear I can hear her heavy breathing. "Yes, I'll be right there."

She hangs up the phone. "Dammit!"

"Problem, Heidi?"

"Cassie's had an accident in gym class and they're getting her checked out at the hospital. They're not sure if she's got something broken or not."

"Okay. So you need to go. Don't worry bout it. Head on out and take care of your little girl."

"I had a friend drop me off at the base of the mountain today. I walked up to the site because my truck is on the fritz."

"So you need a ride? Don't worry. We'll get you someone to take you to your daughter."

Without thinking, I rap at the screen door. "I couldn't help but overhear you. I would be happy to take Crane to her daughter."

Jameson narrows his eyes and glares at me. "Eavesdropping? Really?"

"No." I flush and he glares at me, his mouth narrowing. "I mean, I was gonna ask you something and I followed you and heard Heidi's issues."

"I don't want you to take me anywhere," she snaps, her face flushed lightly. Her aqua eyes burn through me like laser beams.

"Come on, Heidi. I promise I'll make sure that you get to your daughter quickly. Otherwise you're gonna have to sit around here and wait and hope that it's not a big deal for someone to take you."

She huffs and her full lips thin but I think she knows that she's got a problem, that she's gonna have to let me help.

"Fine. Let's go though. I want to get this over with as soon as possible. I need to see my daughter and if that means I have to put up with you, Micah, I guess I'll just have to do that." She holds up one hand when I open my mouth. "But…don't talk to me. I don't want to even hear your voice."

I nod my head and mime turning a key on a lock over my mouth. She watches me, her brow furrowed and her blue eyes narrowed with suspicion.

She finally turns on her heel and if I wasn't paying attention, she would have disappeared out the door.

I run after her and Jameson smirks. "Enjoy yourself, asshole! Try not to piss her off too much."

"Whatever," I snap at him and ignore his booming laughter as I run after Heidi's retreating form.

This is my chance. I'll just have to figure out how to get her to talk to me.

Because I need to know what's going on and how I can fix it. Because I absolutely need to fix this for her. I need to take care of her.

Preferably without pissing her off yet again.