Love So Unexpected (The Lawson Brothers #6) Read online

  He was funny and kind. He truly listened and didn’t seem to judge her. It was freeing.

  It was also terrifying.

  She had no plans for Jessamine. Her plans were Roswell.

  Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot she could do to help Dinah. The woman had the cleanest house in America. David took care of the outside chores, and she’d struck up a conversation with Caleb—originally, because it meant so much to Dinah— that had led to tonight’s date. She didn’t regret that one bit, or her original motive behind it. Although, if she were honest, she hadn’t needed a push from Dinah to go in search of Caleb. He’d interested her all on his own.

  In any case, lunchtime seemed to be where Sofia helped her the most because Dinah said it was the fastest she’d ever made and delivered food out to the fields where a crew of five men worked.

  “How often does your mother make lunch for everyone?” she asked while they walked barefoot on the sand.

  Waves lapped at the shore with a dull roar. Every so often the water would come up high enough to tickle her toes, and she would sink a little into the wet sand.

  “Every day we work. Unless there’s something pressing, I don’t have the guys work on weekends.”

  “Is that pretty standard, for the household to bring lunch?”

  “Yeah. Some farms send out for lunch and dock their employees’ paychecks for it.”

  “But not y’all.”

  “No. Dad always said that lunch is part of our benefits package, and there are always those who take advantage of the men working for them. Most of them are first or second generation American. English isn’t their first language. A good employer looks out for his employees.”

  She stumbled a little, and Caleb caught her, his hands on her bare arms. Her breath stuttered a little while her heart began to beat faster. His head dipped, their bodies closer. Just as she thought he would kiss her, he stepped back.

  “You okay?”

  No. “Yes. Thanks for not letting me fall.”

  “Wouldn’t want you to ruin your pretty dress.”

  She laughed. “This old thing?”

  “Now you’re sounding like a true Southern belle.” He let go of her, then began to walk again. “Ready to go home?”

  She didn’t have a home in Jessamine, but she didn’t bother to correct him. “Yes.”

  As they got drew closer to the parking lot, Sofia stopped and grabbed Caleb’s hand. “Thank you for a wonderful time.” Leaning up, she kissed him on the cheek—lingering far longer than she should have, but he smelled incredible.

  “It was my pleasure.”

  Chapter Six

  Sofia paced the kitchen, waiting for the oven to heat up, so she could bake a batch of homemade cinnamon muffins for Sunday’s breakfast, her temper growing hotter with each passing second.

  If it had been such a pleasure to take her out, why had Caleb avoided her for almost a week?

  It wasn’t as if he didn’t know where she was, and it wasn’t like they didn’t see each other every day when she brought lunch to the fields with his mother.

  She sighed.

  To be fair, he hadn’t completely ignored her. He’d smiled her way and made sure to let her know how good the meal was.

  Her temper started cooling down.

  What was she expecting from him? From herself?

  Maybe she was bored. Maybe she was tired of doing the same thing day in and day out without really contributing, even if Dinah and David insisted on her getting her bearings before going job searching.

  She seized on that. “I need a job.” If she had a job that regularly took her away from the farm, then she wouldn’t have time to think about Caleb or his reasons for not asking her out again.

  “The muffins can wait.” She turned off the oven and placed the bowl of dough in the fridge, then went in search of Dinah. She found her on the back porch, holding David’s hand as they rocked side by side and talked in quiet voices.

  Her heart pinched at the picture they made. So comfortable with one another, and so completely in love. She wanted a love like that. A love that stayed the same no matter how many years had passed.

  “Do you guys mind if I borrow the car to go into town?” she asked.

  David stopped rocking. “Actually, Dinah and I have a surprise for you.”

  Confused, she glanced between them. “You do?”

  With a smile, Dinah rose from her seat and held out a set of keys. “This is for you.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  David joined them, pointing across the way. “See that truck?”

  Sofia turned slightly, finding a light blue truck with flared sides. “Yes.”

  “It’s for you to use. Come and go as you please. We don’t want you to feel like you have to ask for permission. Already filled it up with gas, too.”

  Gratitude nearly overwhelmed her. “I can’t possibly take this.”

  Heavy footsteps sounded behind her. “It’s just a loaner.”

  Caleb! Her heart thumped hard against her chest. She whirled around. He had a smudge of dirt on his cheek, and small cuts adorned his knuckles.

  “Did you have something to do with this?”

  “It was his idea,” Dinah pointed out.

  Caleb smiled a little, his cheeks flushing. “It was a group effort.”

  “A group effort didn’t get Old Blue running again. That was all you, son,” his father pointed out with a fair amount of pride in his voice.

  Sofia’s mouth fell open. “You did this all by yourself?”

  Caleb ducked his head, his smile turning bashful. “Had a little help from my brother, Lucas.”

  Any other man would have taken credit, but not this one. Not even when his parents were quick to point out the work he’d done. She wasn’t sure what to make of Caleb Lawson. Was he real? He had to be flawed somehow.

  She let her gaze travel up and down his sexy body. Yeah. Nope.

  “Want to take it for a test drive?” Caleb asked. He rubbed the back of his neck, peering at her from beneath his lashes. “I need to make sure you’re all right with a manual transmission.”

  She was perfectly all right with stick shift, but the allure of alone time with him was too much of a temptation for her to admit it.

  “I’ll grab my purse and meet you there.”

  Dashing inside, she grabbed her phone and purse, then headed to the truck. Caleb stood beside it, looking like something out of a country music video with his faded jeans, fitted T-shirt, and baseball cap. Except he didn’t have that smug, get-on-up-in-my-truck-little-darlin’ look on his face.

  “You want me to drive first?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I want to try.”`

  “Atta girl.”

  For no reason at all, his compliment made her want to sashay to the driver’s side. “Better hold on to your hat, country boy,” she said, getting inside.

  He joined her on the passenger side. “Yes ma’am.”

  With a playful roll of her eyes, she started up the engine and put the truck in first gear. After a few jerky shift changes, she got the hang of it and was soon cruising down the back path that led to the bigger fields behind the house.

  Wind blew through her hair, whipping it around. “Should’ve brought a hair tie with me.”

  “Maybe this will help.” He took off his cap and set it on her head. “Looks way better on you than me.”

  She grinned, then turned her attention to the road. “Any place special I should take you?”

  “Down by the pond is good.” He pointed to his left. “Take that path.”

  Following his instructions, she arrived in less than a minute and parked behind a fallen log. “Favorite spot to take the cows?”

  “Favorite spot to go skinny dipping.”

  Arching a brow, she asked, “You go skinny dipping?”

  His blue eyes turned dark. “Sometimes a body gets too hot and dusty not to.”

  That was so not what she needed to h
ear, because all she could imagine now was his bare body in the sun, the water rolling off him as he marched out of the pond and came to her.

  Instead of replying, she got out of the truck and walked around. Caleb joined her, yet still kept his distance. She didn’t like that at all. A piece of fruit had never been as forbidden to a woman as Caleb Lawson.

  Unable to take it any longer, she blurted, “Is there a reason you haven’t asked me to dinner again?”

  His brows drew together. “You asked me out, remember? I was waiting on the day and time.”

  “I what? Oh ... make you dinner.” Wincing, she rubbed her forehead. “I didn’t think of that. Honestly, I’m not sure how I’d go about it. I can’t entertain you in your parents’ home.”

  He rubbed a thumb across his bottom lip. “What about my home?”

  “You have a home?”

  “I don’t live with the cows, honey.”

  Why did he make the endearment sound so good while making her sound so silly? Normally, she’d tell a man off for calling her that. “Didn’t think you did.”

  She hadn’t thought of where he lived at all. Mostly, she assumed he lived in the apartment on the second floor of the barn. Dinah had mentioned it in passing while they were searching for an extra water hose.

  “You did.”

  “Maybe I thought you lived in the barn,” she admitted, sitting down on the fallen log.

  After a beat or two, he came to stand beside her. “Mind if I join you?”

  “You don’t have to ask,” she replied, but she patted the space beside her anyway.

  He sat, the nearness of him pure pleasure to her senses. “I know.”

  “But you did anyway.”

  “A gentleman is always considerate of others.” He leaned over a little and picked up a few rocks, then sent them skipping one by one across the surface of the pond. “Any luck with the job search?”

  “No, but that’s totally due to a lack of trying.” She picked up her own rock and chucked it at the water. “It’s hard to balance paying back your parents and finding time to go in search of one. The truck helps.”

  He handed her a pebble. “Try this one. Light and smoother. Flick it with your wrist at an angle.”

  She turned the small rock over and over in her hand. “Are you trying to distract me.”

  “And if I were?” He turned to her, his mouth so close she could kiss him, if she wanted. Oh good Lord, she wanted to, so badly.

  You can’t.

  Why not? His mouth is entirely kissable.

  Because Caleb is never leaving this farm, and you have other plans.

  At the last minute, she drew back. A glimmer of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

  “Then I’d say you’re doing a good job of it, but I really have to find a job, Caleb. I need to start saving again so I can pay your parents back and get down to Roswell,” she reminded them both. She needed the constant reminder.

  Jessamine was already becoming too much like home to her.

  He stretched out his legs in front of them. “Why are you in such a hurry? If my parents couldn’t afford to have you stay with them, then my mother wouldn’t have brought you home.”

  She gave him a skeptical look. “Yes, they would have, and you know it.”

  Holding up his hands in surrender, he smiled. “You got me there, but the thing is, they can afford it. Take your time, Sofia. Enjoy life while you’re here.”

  “You’re saying that because you want me to cook dinner for you.” She elbowed him lightly in the side.

  “I am a transparent man.” He bit the side of his lip, then tilted his head. “I’m glad you’re here, even if it’s just a temporary thing.”

  “You say temporary like it’s a bad word or something,” she said and laughed.

  His hot gaze ran over her. “In this case it is.”

  Caleb inwardly punched himself. Judging by the look on Sofia’s face, he shouldn’t have admitted how much he wanted her to stay. Okay, so he’d admitted it in a backward kind of way, but she looked ready to bolt.

  He wasn’t sure why really, since she’d been the one to bring up his lack of attention to her. Honestly, he had been waiting on her to make the next move and invite him to do something. But now that he knew better ... the ball was in his court. If he wanted to spend time with her while she merely bided hers, then he’d have to be the one doing the pursuing. Fine with him.

  Only, he wasn’t sure if he could do it properly. Hell, he hadn’t done it when he’d met Iris. They clicked immediately and always seemed to find a way to be around one another. Then again, Iris had been as crazy about him as he was about her.

  “I think I need to go.”

  He wasn’t going to force her to stay. Maybe she wasn’t into him. Maybe the reason she’d gone out with him was because she was bored. Maybe—

  “But I want to make plans with you before I go into town.”

  He blinked at her. “Excuse me?”

  “Dinner plans. You said I could cook for you at your house,” she clarified, her smile turning only a little shy. Sofia wasn’t the shy type, and he liked that about her.

  “Yeah, I did.” His voice came out far gruffer than he intended. He cleared his throat. “How about tomorrow evening? Momma usually cooks after church, but I’ll tell her that—”

  “Don’t you dare tell that woman she can’t cook for her family,” Sofia all but shouted at him. “That’s how she shows her love.”

  Her fierce loyalty to his mother made his heart beat faster. “I know that, and I wasn’t going to tell her not to cook. Only to scale back a little. Sometimes she cooks for ten.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s okay.” She stood, wiping off her cute ass with the palms of her hands. “Where is your house?”

  “Up the road a ways.” For a second he panicked at the thought of having her all to himself. You want her all to yourself, remember? “What time should I pick you up?”

  “Depends on what time you want to eat,” she said with a saucy grin.

  “Six-thirty is good.”

  “Are you that habitual?”

  He shrugged a little. “I get in late and up early. Seems like a good time.”

  “Pick me up at three.” She walked away, still wearing his baseball cap. He liked how it looked on her, liked how her dark hair flowed out from under it. But what he liked most? The fact that he’d been the one to fix a problem for her, and not just her pretty hair getting in her face.

  It had given him pure pleasure to work on Old Blue for her. When he’d approached his dad about providing transportation for Sofia, David hadn’t batted an eye at his request. Just told him to make sure he filled up the tank when he was done. Of course, his mom had read more into it than she should have. He was merely doing something nice for a woman who was down on her luck. Nothing more than that.

  Or so he told himself.

  “Are you coming?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him. Beneath the afternoon sun, she looked like an angel. And angel with a killer body, but an angel nonetheless.

  His heart thumped against his chest. “Yup.”

  *

  Later that day, Caleb decided to take Preston up on his standing offer of beer and darts at Whiskey Hollow The bar was a local watering hole, but in the past year, Preston swore things had gone more upscale with the new owners.

  In any case, Caleb hadn’t darkened the door of Whiskey Hollow in years, when his brothers had to literally drag his drunk tail out of there.

  So, it was only slightly embarrassing to walk inside, but it’d been over a decade since that night, and the place did look different.

  He looked around the bar, finding Preston near the back, playing darts by himself. For a guy with a supposed horn-dog reputation, his cousin was rarely in the company of women. He didn’t show up with them to family events, and they didn’t surround him tonight.

  The only reason, he supposed, that Preston could still have that moniker was because reputations stuck to
a man, no matter how long it had been since he’d acted in such a way.

  “As I live and breathe, Caleb Lawson has finally decided to grace us with his presence,” Preston said, but since he didn’t shout it to the world, Caleb decided not to throat punch him. Besides, he knew he was only giving him shit.

  “Don’t get too excited. I just came here to beat your ass in darts.”

  Preston grabbed his hand and did the half-hug thing that men did when they were happy to see one another. “Doesn’t matter. I’m happy to have some company.”

  Caleb looked around the bar. It was already half-full at only seven in the evening. Most people didn’t bother to show up until after ten.

  “No date tonight?” he asked.

  “Too busy.” Preston handed Caleb some darts, then erased the scores on the chalk board. “You’re up first.”

  They played a few games without talking much; just the way Caleb liked it. All right, so he didn’t talk much, but his cousin did, and that suited him just fine. Mostly because it gave him time to think about Sofia. Her pretty smile. The way she looked in a pair of shorts. Man, she had some legs—all golden brown and long. She filled out a shirt nicely too. Hell, she looked good in everything she wore.

  But even more than that, she seemed to genuinely care about his parents, especially his mother. That was something unexpected. Then again, everything about Sofia was unexpected.

  “I’m thinking of giving up the medical field for good.”

  That announcement drew Caleb up short. Instead of throwing the last dart, he said, “To do what?”

  Preston grinned. “Isn’t it obvious I’m one of the owners of Whiskey Hollow?”

  “Not really,” Caleb replied, then took aim. He hit the board dead center, but refrained from celebrating.

  “I’ve been singing its praises for the past thirty minutes. Haven’t you heard anything I said?”

  “Um ... sorry,” he muttered.

  Preston rolled his eyes. “Never mind. I’m not offended. You and that head of yours.”

  “I was busy thinking about my uh, date from last Saturday evening.”