The moment they were back at Julian’s, Marit began to refill his refrigerator with his groceries. Most of his casseroles were gone, and the dishes had been washed and returned. All he had was a few jars of condiments and prepared meals from the store. When Marit was finished there were three paper bags worth of groceries filling his refrigerator. It was terrifying. “All of that is going to go bad…”

  “No it’s not. I’m going to teach you how to fend for yourself.” Grabbing a few old pots and pans as if this was her kitchen, she frowned a bit and sighed. “Ok, there’s some stuff here that just needs to be thrown out. You need new kitchen stuff.”

  Julian noticed the sparkle of an idea in her gaze and shook his head. “No. No way. I want you to take that money and spend it on something completely frivolous for yourself.” It hadn’t taken him two weeks to realize that Marit was a woman who did not spend her money without cause. She had everything she needed, and a few extras, but those had been gifts from her cousins and family. It would please him greatly to see her let go for once.

  And there they were again… the thoughts that would get him in trouble.

  “Julian I still don’t feel right to take it.”

  “Fine. Then I’ll keep it and take you shopping one day and you’ll spend it on something.” Narrowing his eyes at her, he smirked. “But only if I approve. It has to be completely frivolous.”

  Marit groaned at that but didn’t argue. What she did do was motion him over to where she stood so that she could start ordering him around. “Ok. Fill that pot with water and put two hot dogs in it for me and however many you want.”

  Julian completed his task with a small amount of nerves, but when the stove didn’t electrocute him as he turned the burner on high, he found the next few steps were easier. Next he put the buns in the toaster oven and opened two cans of chili to heat up on the stove.

  “No no. Not high for that.” Marit chuckled, turning the knob down to a lower setting. Handing him a spoon she instructed, “Now you have to stir it a bit so it doesn’t get stuck and it heats evenly.”

  Moving away from him, leaving him alone at the stove, Julian stirred the chili and watched nervously for Marit’s return.

  Marit noticed the man’s worry and couldn’t help but smirk. Big and strong, she couldn’t imagine anything intimidating Julian Hollis, but here he was in a kitchen absolutely petrified. Stepping back over to the stove, she took his hand in hers and began to move it in circles. “Stir.” She reminded him before stepping away to gather the buns and grate the cheese.

  “They have bagged cheese.” He reminded her, the imprint of her hand against his still tingling. When she wasn’t flustered or nervous she touched him so easily. It pleased him. Far more than it should.

  Marit nodded. “They do, but not this cheese. It’s my favorite.” Cutting off a chunk she fed him a piece absentmindedly and then popped another in her own mouth.

  Julian liked the cheese fine, but he liked the fact that she fed him even more. “Ok, that’s good.”

  Marit nodded and removed the hot dogs from the burner. “Ok. So they are plump and I personally don’t care if they split open a bit myself.” Showing Julian the hot dog she let him study the look so that if he made his own he would know what they should look like.

  Julian nodded and watched while the woman set them in the buns and then put cheese on top. “I like to put a bit of cheese first and then the chilli and then more cheese.” She giggled, her face twisted in bliss as she caught a whiff of the chili.

  Julian turned off the stove when directed and spooned on the chili like Marit instructed. Two for her and four for him. She didn’t even bat an eye at his portion, but then she had a family full of large men working physically demanding jobs. When she didn’t put more cheese on top of her chili he questioned why before he could stop himself.

  “I thought you loved more cheese.”

  Her gaze drooped as she said, “Yeah but I need to drop a few pounds and cheese isn’t friendly to the waist line.”

  Those were her mothers words, Julian knew it. And it made him mad. Standing, he stalked back to the counter and took up the little board full of cheese, took a handful and dropped it on Marit’s food.

  Her expression shifted from sadness to shock as she looked up at his irate face. “You need to stop listening to your mom. It’s your life not hers and if some guy doesn’t like you for how you look then he’s a jackass and doesn’t deserve your time.”

  Marit was stunned. Not only by Julian’s words but by the conviction in them. In fact he almost seemed angry. Moved, because she never had anyone like him say something like that, from her family yes, but never from a man like Julian, Marit blinked and nodded her appreciation. “Um. Thank you.”

  “For?” Julian asked, a bit blindsided by the words of gratitude.

  Marit’s gaze ducked down. “For saying that. No one ever says anything to me except for my cousins.”

  Settling back down, Julian began to eat when Marit did and found that while it was a very basic meal and nowhere near five stars, it was delicious. “Ok.. This is good.” He muttered out between bites as he wolfed his food down.

  Marit smiled at the man’s exuberance and finished her own meal shortly after he did. By that time the yard was busy all over again and they were back out to work. The hours passed quickly and before they knew it Andrea was there, clearing out the yard.

  There wasn’t an ounce of furniture left, only a few baubles that they could donate to the county warehouse. “I’ll send the boys down to pick up the last of this stuff. They’re running the rest of our things down to the Warehouse tomorrow.”

  “What’s the Warehouse?” Julian asked, as he finished repacking the boxes.

  “It’s a huge warehouse that one of the families in the county bought up. It’s a second hand store.” Marit explained, sealing the last of the boxes for the boys.

  Andrea was taking time to watch the ebb and flow between Marit and Julian and had to forcibly contain her excitement. Normally she would never want to rush her cousin into a man’s arms, but there was just something about Julian that she liked.

  He didn’t paw at Marit, but he showed significant interest. His body language was open and receptive, and when they touched it was with just the right amount of spark. And that was only because Julian was reigning it in to not overwhelm Marit.

  That man screamed sex and a good time. He knew he was good looking, drop dead gorgeous actually, and with a body like that Andrea knew he was very aware of how the ladies responded to him. Everything about him was damn near perfection. He was almost too much of a pretty boy, but the rugged five o’clock shadow he kept going helped make him look a little wild. A little dangerous.

  Women liked that. Especially women in Howard County. A woman from the farming towns needed a strong man, and they wanted a protector. A man was supposed to fulfill his role, but still accept that a woman could take care of herself. That’s how the world was changing. The new generation of women were modern and go-getters, but they still liked a man who wanted to take care of her. She didn’t need it, but she liked it.

  Andrea had no doubt Julian could take care of her cousin. Trinity still wasn’t so sure, she didn’t like that he wasn’t divorced, but a man who ran away from his life and cut all communication from his family certainly wasn’t in love with his estranged wife. Still, their older cousin was a stickler for some tradition and she didn’t want Marit tangled up in something sordid like a divorce.

  She just had to check one thing, and once she knew the results she knew if she would continue to help push them together through Marit’s willful blindness to a man’s interest in her, or leave them be. There was no way Julian would succeed on his own. Not with Marit.

  “Should we get going?” Andrea asked, heading back to her car.

  Julian nodded and took out his keys. “Yeah. I’m starving. Want to ride with me?” He asked, shaking his keys at the woman beside him.

  Marit stared longingly at the pristine set of keys and sighed. Oh his truck was a beauty. Nodding, she headed to the passenger side but was cut off by Julian when he took her hand and led her to the driver’s side door. “What?”

  Chuckling, Julian opened the door for Marit and handed her the keys. “Well you know where we’re going. I’ll drive home.”

  Marit couldn’t believe that this man was offering, no letting her, drive his brand new truck. The men in her family would sooner chop off their right arm than let any woman drive their trucks, hell they didn’t let any other man drive it either. A man’s car was sacred, not that the women were any better about it.

  No one drove her truck, not even her cousins. “You're sure?” She just had to double check.

  Julian nodded and offered his hand. “Need help up?”

  Marit shook her head, put one foot on the bar and slid onto the driver's seat. The interior still smelled new. Brand new. “Shes beautiful.” Marit coo’d, rubbing her hands over the stearing wheel and the seats.

  All black interior, perfect upholstery without a single flaw, the truck had all the bells and whistles. She was sure it could probably drive itself. Not that she would let it, this was too good an opportunity to pass up.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Putting the machine in gear, she made the sweetest of purrs, and with ease she was out on the open road. “She drives like a dream.” Marit murmured, touching and playing with the buttons along the dash.

  Julian was amused at how easy it was to make the woman next to him happy. She was practically glowing just due to a simple gesture. Where he came from the only thing that would’ve gotten him a reaction like this from his ex wife would have been a ridiculous amount of money spent on something she certainly didn’t need, and even then it wasn’t always a guarantee. The moment she hit the big leagues on t.v., suddenly his ‘measley’ club and income wasn’t as special as it had once been.

  To her at least. He had hosted parties for some of the biggest celebrities long before his ex was even a whisper in the upper circles. His club had been known for its privacy and willingness to cater to those who could pay and wanted their privacy. When she became more popular he had to increase security to uphold those same ideals, but it kept him at the top of the scene.

  If anything that woman had caused him more problems than she was worth and shortly after her show hit the big time, he convinced her to go find other clubs that would support her new found celebrity. It had worked to appeal to her ego, and off she went to torture other unsuspecting souls and their business.

  Shaking off the thoughts, Julian turned his attention back to Marit and asked, “So is this how a man gets something? Just let a woman drive his truck?”

  Marit nodded. “Yeah. Pretty sure you could buy her a car and she’d marry you.”

  Chuckling, Julian murmured, “I’ll keep that in mind. Probably cheaper than a big diamond.”

  Marit laughed and thanked him yet again for his kind gesture.

  Waving her off, the dark haired man turned back to the road and began to memorize the way to the barbeque. “So where is it exactly?”

  “In town. At the park across from the courthouse. There are grills set up and women who have been cooking all day. It’s a pretty big feast. Dancing and music. A bar.” Marit informed him.

  “Well of course a bar.” Julian scoffed playfully. “You gonna save me a dance?” There it was, that beautiful shade of pink all over her plump cheeks. She was so damn beautiful.

  Marit could feel him staring at the side of her face, his baby blue eyes burning a hole in the side of her head and if she didn’t know any better she would say he was flirting. Get a hold of yourself girl. You’re just friends.

  Yeah, but none of her male friends had ever looked at her the way Julian did. There was so much intensity behind his gaze, and it made her painfully self conscious about everything about her. The way she would blush, the way her palms would become slick with sweat, but especially the way her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest and run around her body never to stop.

  Turning to gaze at that handsome face, his tawdry little smile teasing her, Marit eventually found her voice and shook her head. “Oh no. I do not dance.” She hated dancing, it felt like everyone was just staring at her. The girls had to get her pretty drunk to get her out on the floor.

  “Oh come on! Just one. At least a slow, heartbreaking country song.” Julian taunted, aware that he had gotten her with the mention of country. Anyone could slow dance, and what he wouldn’t give to feel her against his body.

  “How’d you know I like country?” Had he been talking to her cousins. No. Surely not. Girl pull it together.

  “Well, first of all, that’s what plays in the shop and you are the one who controls the music. I’d go out on a limb and say your favorite is Garth Brooks. Which is good. He’s a great artist.”

  “You. You like Garth?” Marit asked incredulously, staring at him in disbelief.

  Julian nodded. “Of course. Otherwise my grandfather wouldn’t let me set foot in his house when I was younger.”

  That was true. Old man Hollis loved country music, he was always out on the floor at the parties. He didn’t have much patience for anything else, just music and cars. It was a weird combination but no one questioned the old man. Marit could remember her first dance with him. He had been so kind to her fragile seventeen year old self.

  “That’s true. Your grandfather loved music, and he loved dancing.” Marit’s eyes were lost to her memories before she turned to face Julian. “Did he teach you how?”

  Those were fond memories for Julian. His grandfather had taught him a lot about the things he loved. He knew enough about cars to last him a lifetime and plenty about women and being a gentleman. “He always said that when you dance with a woman she needs a strong leader. Not because she can’t lead herself, but because she’s trusting you to do it and you need to show her you can.”

  His soft blue orbs were bright with the old memory and it warmed Marit’s heart to hear that Julian had such good memories of his grandfather. He didn’t seem close to his mother and rumor had it he never knew his father, but his grandfather had been important to him. “That sounds like something he would say.”

  Julian smiled slightly and sighed. “Said life was like a dance…”

  “You learn as you go?” Marit teased, throwing in the old line from an old John Michael Montgomery song. Julian seemed to know it and lightly swatted her leg.

  “No! Knock it off you, I’m trying to be insightful here.” He scolded her, his voice growly and low in an attempt to appear serious.

  The flick to her thigh had barely registered on her radar, but she delivered one of her own for the injustice. “Ok, ok. Sorry, go on.” In all honesty she was curious to hear what he had to say.

  Julian waited a few moments before he actually said the sage old advice he would receive from his grandfather, usually each time he was pulled out of his house by his mother. “He said life is like a dance. There would always be different songs. Sometimes fast, others slow. Some sad, and some happy. The important thing to do was always keep your partner close and lead her through it. Again, not because she needed you to, but because she chose you to be with her, and it was your duty as her man to take care of her.”

  Julian’s eyes were far away as he recounted the words, and Marit could see he held them in high esteem. There were a host of questions floating around her head, but they were way too personal. “That’s lovely. And damn your grandpa was a bit of a feminist for his day and age.”

  Julian smirked. “He always told me not to piss off a woman. He’d say don’t forget boy she don’t need you, you need her. Keep her happy and life will go on as it should.”

  “I don’t think that’s true.” Well, not all of it. When Marit had Julian’s attention, his bright gaze intent on hers, she had to remind herself to breathe. That look just burned right through her, straight down to the pit of her stomach and set her body on fire. “I think a person needs another person, man, woman, what have you. And they are both just as important to the other. They can exist without the other, but life will always be a little more somber.”

  Well, he couldn’t argue with that. Sliding from the truck and over to her side before she could, Julian offered his hand and let her slide down out of the truck. When Marit turned his keys back over to him he could’ve sworn she frowned. “You know I don’t mind if you want to drive her another time.”

  Marit looked up at the man and sighed. Oh he was too good to be true. Still, someone would snap him up soon so she wasn’t going to get her hopes up too much. The moment he found a woman to date she would cease to be anything but a work acquaintance. Not because she was threatening to other women, but because she wasn’t useful to the guy anymore.

  Just thinking about losing this budding friendship put a hurt on Marit’s tender heart, but she didn’t want to worry Julian or her cousins. Hell she was already dealing with enough crap from her mother. So, plastering on her happy face she led the way to the gate and was motioned through along with Julian.

  “Don’t we pay?” He asked, sticking his wallet back in his back jeans pocket. “And am I under dressed?”

  Marit looked around and noticed why he was concerned. Some where dressed up in their finest, where as others had holey jeans and grease stained shirts on. Looking over at Julian, dressed in his ripped up jeans and white t-shirt she shook her head. She wasn’t in much better shape. She had on her favorite pair of ‘fat’ jeans as she called them that tapered around her ankle, and a dark grey v-neck shirt that laid over her hips and stopped just a few inches above her knee. “Nah. Some people just like to dress up. You look fine.”

  The man looked better than fine. Every available female and some who weren’t available, were staring in his general direction. It was about that time Marit spotted Trish who was headed their way. “Over here.” Julian called out, grabbing her hand to tow her in the opposite direction of the incoming blond.

  Moving through the crowd to the opposite side of the park, her cousins had already scoped out a picnic table and claimed it for their own. Just a few feet from the bar no less. “There you are.” Andrea shouted, jumping up to hug them both.

  “Sorry, wanted to take my time. He let me drive his truck.” Gasps of horror and pleasure greeted the admission.

  Tristan, Phillip and Jenson all stared at Julian like he had broken some unspoken male code, while the three girls at the table looked at him in amazement. “Ok I like him.” One of the women said.

  She was slightly shorter than Andrea, and while she favored the other woman, she had a more serious, don’t fuck with me, air about her. Dark brown hair halfway down her back with matching eyes set in well sculpted features, she was trim, but not nearly as small as Andrea. There was some weight on her here and there, but Julian could tell it was muscle. She was definitely stunning.

  “Julian.” He offered his hand, and she took it, giving him a firm handshake that felt easy and natural. “Phoebe.”

  Nodding to Trinity, the smallest of the cousins and by far the scariest, Julian sat down beside Marit. When the guys started to scold him for his folly, Trinity cut it off efficiently and shut them up. “Ok. That’s a hell of a trick.” Julian whispered to Marit.

  Marit chuckled. “That’s Trinity. She’s the oldest. None of us mess with her.”

  Julian knew those types of women. Hell he was 6’3 and had handled himself against numerous types of unsavory character, but he had learned quick and at an early age not to mess with certain types of women. Trinity was one of those types.

  Jenson stood and moved past, lightly smacking Marit’s back to get her attention. It took everything in Julian not to reach out and smack him back. “Come on cuz. Let’s go get drinks.”

  “Ok.” Marit stood and followed after her cousin.

  Julian had had every intention of following when a hand reached out and took his own.

  Turning, he found very intent, very serious brown eyes watching him. This was a side to Andrea he had never seen before, but before he could ask her about what was going on, someone came up and sat exactly where Marit had been.

  Turning he caught sight of blond and blue and found himself rather surprised that there was a man beside him. “Hey Andrea.”

  “Oh boy I know you are not coming up to us to ask about Marit.” Trinity cut off her conversation with Phoebe rapidly and soon the new comer was under the very intense gazes of the three Pearce cousins. Julian almost felt sorry for him.

  Who was this guy?

  Flicking his gaze to Andrea, she rolled her eyes and introduced them. “Julian… Jackass. Jackass… Julian.”

  The boy turned and held his hand out. “Oh hey sorry man. I’m Westin.”

  Realization dawned on Julian after a short while of turning the name around in his head. This was the guy Marit’s mother was trying to set her up with. Giving him a quick once over, Julian couldn’t find anything terribly wrong with him physically, but there was something off about his personality that he didn’t care for.

  Shorter than himself, he was taller than Marit and had the typical build of most men his age in the area. He was probably around Andrea’s age more than Marit’s, not that they were far apart, but sometimes even a year was too much in certain circumstances. It was clear he was a farmer by how he dressed, and while he had that good boy country smile, it looked too brittle to be real.

  This guy was just interested in the end result. He really was a jackass, wrapped up in the appearance of a nice guy. He probably still notched his bed post every time he slept with a woman.

  Marit might be one of those notches too. He told himself that thought alone was enough to make him see red. He didn’t want this guy anywhere near Marit. “Julian.” He introduced, his demeanor shifting dramatically to signify this man was not welcome.

  Westin sensed it too as he tried to find an ally at the table, but none of the girls were helping him out. Phoebe actually got up to leave before she got in another fight for the week and Trinity inched in closer to give the man a piece of her mind.

  He didn’t get very far. “I’m just wondering if you could help me talk to Marit.”

  “Why? So you can go on a few dates and dump her for your ex for the third time?”

  “That happened once.”

  “One time too many boy. My cousin isn’t there waiting around for you.” Trinity hissed, her dark gaze on fire as she began to rise off of the bench to get closer to the man irritating her.

  It was about then that Westin’s good boy attitude shifted and his gaze turned menacing. Julian had no doubt that Trinity could and would put him in his place, but he wasn’t about to sit down while the boy lost his manners to a lady.

  “Look.” Stepping in to diffuse the situation and drag the man’s attention from the woman ready to rip him apart, to him, he smiled and said. “I think you’re making them uncomfortable and I think you’re making Marit uncomfortable.”

  Westin scoffed. “No offense but you’re new in town. You don’t know Marit. She and I…”

  “You and she have nothing!” This time it was Andrea to jump in, outraged at the smug look at the man’s face. She couldn’t stand him, and he had nothing with her cousin. Her cousin had cried on her shoulder for a whole weekend about what happened to him.

  Westin’s gaze narrowed at Andrea. “I think you should butt out.”

  “Well I think you…” Julian cut her off as she began to stand, her fists balled up tight and he knew it wouldn’t be long until the punches started flying.

  “Look.” Cutting everyone off, both Trinity and Andrea on their feet, he could see that Phillip and Tristan were also up and Jenson and Marit were watching warily from the bar. “I think you need to go. It’s obvious that you aren’t welcome around Marit.”

  Westin however, didn’t move. “Look dude. Her mother likes me. So whether or not her cousins do, I really don’t care. It’d make it easier, but it doesn’t need to happen.” Standing, the man moved into Julian’s face and if he weren’t actually mad at the man’s insistence, he would’ve laughed.

  There weren’t many things more funny that a man shorter than you trying to get in your face and intimidate you. Not that he hadn’t met a few smaller men than himself who gave him a good beating, but Julian knew he could take Westin without breaking a sweat. “So, I’m going to go talk to Marit and that’s that.”

  Julian latched onto the man’s arm and turned him back around to face him. He could feel his anger firing up and if this guy didn’t stop pushing him, he was going to end up laid out on the grass. “You aren’t.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I didn’t stutter.” Flames sprung up in Julian’s crystal blue gaze. “You aren’t going to go talk to her.” He stated matter of factly, blocking the path that would lead Westin to Marit. There was no way this guy was going to get near her.

  If he wanted to, he had to go through Julian. And everyone knew he wouldn’t.