Love, English Style (Chapter Five)
Caroline Woodson

 

CHAPTER FIVE

 
Jared woke early. Visions of Hannah had teased and taunted him all night, causing him to do more tossing and turning than sleeping. She had been on his mind a lot since he’d been informed of her grandfather’s passing because he knew she would soon be his neighbor. Jared punched his pillows and lay back against them. Damn. If the truth were told, Hannah hadn’t been far from his mind since the first time he laid eyes on her when she was thirteen. Jared was sixteen and star of the football team. He was also the town’s resident bad boy. That first summer he’d seen her with her cousins at the Dairy Queen he’d been mesmerized by her eyes. She had the most amazing eyes. They were wide, hazel pools of innocence with long, lush lashes. He’d caught only glimpses of them though because although she seemed at ease with his friends, every time he made eye contact with her she quickly looked away.
Jared yawned and scrubbed his hand over his face as he remembered the last time he’d seen Hannah. He’d been nineteen and home for the summer from his first year of college. He and some friends had been out drinking on beer joint road when they decided to see what kind of fun they could have at the community fair. He’d seen Hannah as soon as he’d walked onto the fair grounds and hadn’t been able to look away. Jared walked around with his friends visiting the various games but when his buddies decided to spend their remaining few dollars at the kissing booth, Jared held back. He noticed Hannah was only handling the money, not giving out kisses and for some reason that pleased him very much. Jared hung around until the fair was over and he was sure Hannah’s cousins were occupied elsewhere before he approached the booth. He had a feeling that he wouldn’t have gotten any where near Hannah if one of her cousins’ had been there to get between them.
 
Jared swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat with his elbows propped on his thighs, hands hanging loosely between his open knees. He smiled slightly at the memory of the brash,

carefree boy he had been then. When the only things that mattered to him were where the next party was and which girl would warm his bed for a few hours that night. He’d practically goaded Hannah
into that kiss. He’d half expected her to turn him down flat and was surprised when she’d gently pulled the money from his fingers. As soon as his lips touched hers he knew he was in trouble. He’d felt things he’d never felt before and it scared the hell out of him and yet, he’d had to steel himself against his own body’s yearnings and end the kiss. The innocent passion he’d seen in Hannah’s expressive eyes was even more frightening. Somewhere in Jared’s liquor fogged mind he knew what he was feeling was more than just simple lust and the knowledge of that made his head swim. It’s what made him walk away from Hannah that night without saying a word. Since then he had managed to avoid Hannah if they happened to be in town at the same time. But he couldn’t avoid her grandfather’s funeral; he had too much respect for the family. Now Hannah Tate was his neighbor. Jared sighed and rubbed his forehead where a headache was beginning. He wanted Hannah, there was no use denying it. Hell, he’d wanted her for six years. The question was would Hannah be as responsive and turned on by him now as he knew she had been then. If last evening were any indication she would be. He couldn’t forget how she had looked in that wet t-shirt. He grinned at the memory of Hannah standing there proudly, almost as if she were daring him to keep looking at her. He knew without a doubt that sparks would fly when they finally came together . He would have to tread lightly though because he wasn’t ready for any family ties. No commitment. That would have to be the understanding. He had a funny feeling that Hannah would have her own ideas on that subject and they might not match his own. Damn.
 
Hannah woke to a piney breeze blowing through her window. She was still clutching the book of poems. She usually slept so well, but dreams of Jared had made for a restless night. She loved the smell of east Texas in the early morning. She hurriedly made her bed and slipped into her favorite jeans and an old t-shirt. Her t-shirt was well washed and stretched tightly across her breasts. She wanted to enjoy the cool morning because she knew that in a few hours the heat and humidity

would be almost unbearable. She tidied the house then wandered outside. Hannah checked the flowers she’d planted and made a mental note to water them in the evening before she went to bed.
Barefoot, Hannah picked her way across the drive to the pecan trees her great-grandfather planted and her Pa had tended so carefully. The limbs were heavy with pecans. Hannah would have to enlist the help of her cousins to gather them when they fell to the ground in the fall. Hannah turned when she heard the low rumble of a motor just in time to see Jared emerge from behind the house on the tractor. Even from where she stood she could see the sweat glistening on his bare chest and back. She looked at her watch. It was barely eight o’clock! He must have been mowing the back two acres while she slept and was now working on the back yard. The front yard still needed his attention. Suddenly the dreams that had plagued Hannah all night returned in vivid and graphic detail. She looked at Jared again and sighed heavily. She was in serious lust with this guy and didn’t know what to do about it. Jared saw her standing under the trees and stopped the tractor. He waved to her, then slipped his cowboy hat from his head and wiped the sweat from his brow. That simple gesture gave Hannah a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. Boy, did she ever have it bad.
Sighing, Hannah moved to speak to him, telling herself it would be unsociable to return his wave and then run back into the house. Especially since he was really doing her a favor by mowing her grass. Hannah was a great believer in people helping people. He needed the use of her tractor and she needed her lawn cut. It worked out well for both of them. That’s the only reason she’d agreed to continue the arrangement her grandfather had made with Jared. Hannah sighed. “You’re lying to yourself again,” she said under her breath. It was just unfortunate that the man doing her the favor happened to be the sexiest man in Houston County.
 
              Jared’s narrowed eyes drank in the sight as Hannah approached. She had a lush, womanly body. The kind a man could get lost in and not want to be found. His eyes started at her tiny, bare feet then moved to the jeans that hugged her hips. His eyes moved upward and the blood drained from his face and pooled hot and heavy right below his belt buckle. Her shirt stretched tight over


breasts that swayed gently as she walked. Lust slammed through his body. Taking a deep breath and praying for control, he jumped down from the tractor.
“Hi , Jared said, keeping his eyes firmly on Hannah’s face. “I thought I’d get an early start on the grass before it gets so hot. I hope I didn’t wake you.
            Hannah, who had been studying his thickly muscled chest dragged her eyes up to meet his. “Oh no, I’ve been awake for a while now. Then she surprised them both by asking, “Would you like some breakfast?
Hannah set the skillet down on the stove top with a little more force than was needed. “I must be outta my cotton pickin’ mind,” she muttered, as she pulled eggs, bacon and butter out of the fridge. Jared had looked as shocked as she’d felt when the invitation tumbled out of her mouth, but he had accepted quickly. Hannah paced back and forth in the small kitchen. She closed her eyes and imagined sitting at her small table with Jared. He would be so very close. She didn’t know how she was going to keep from touching him. “I’m a masochist,” she said aloud. “I need to have that printed on a shirt or maybe just tattoo it on my forehead.” What in the world were they gonna talk about?
         Suddenly Hannah ran upstairs to brush her thick, cinnamon colored hair, then hastily pulled it back into a ponytail. She caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror as she hurried out of the room and it stopped her dead in her tracks. There she stood, barefoot in old ratty jeans, no make-up, a shirt that was at least one size too small and oh crap, no bra! Hannah jerked a bra out of a drawer and slipped it on in record time. Muttering to herself about being senile at such a young age, she headed back to the kitchen.
 
           Jared had been standing at the back door for a good ten minutes, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, trying to convince himself that he should just make up some excuse and high tail it home. Trouble was, he wanted to have breakfast with Hannah. He wanted to talk to her, be close to her, to…ah hell, he just wanted. His knuckles had rapped on the door before he even knew it.


Hannah jumped when she heard the knock and the knife she’d been using to chop onions for their omelets sliced the palm of her hand instead. The knife clattered to the floor as the pain shot up Hannah’s arm. “Ouch, damn it!” she said loudly. Hearing the noise, Jared opened the door and saw
Hannah standing at the sink, water spilling over her bloody hand. Jared saw the knife on the floor along with a few drops of blood and asked, “Do you have a first aid kit?”
Hannah nodded, “In the hall bath medicine cabinet.”
Jared returned with the kit and sat Hannah down at the table. He held her small hand gently in his and examined the cut. “I don’t think you need stitches, but you’ll need to keep it clean and bandaged.” Hannah nodded and watched as he applied antibiotic ointment and then the bandage, but he didn’t release her hand.
          “Why don’t I finish the yard and get cleaned up and we’ll go to town for breakfast, he said, his calloused thumb making lazy circles on the back of her hand. Hannah squirmed in her chair. He was making her crazy and all he’d done was bandage her hand. The warmth of his hand was spreading through her entire body.
           “I’m not dressed to go to town,” was all she could think to say. Jared looked pointedly at her shirt and grinned, “I like what you’re wearin’.
 
           Hannah smiled slowly, a blush blooming on her cheeks. His scent was driving her crazy. It was a combination of sweat, soap and virile male. And it made her feel reckless. Without realizing she did so, she leaned closer to him, their bodies almost touching. “Thanks for bandaging my hand Jared.”
She looked into Jared’s hot eyes, his nostrils flaring and almost as if she were in a trance she leaned closer and her lips touched his.

 

 

Copyright © 1995 Caroline Woodson
Published on the World Wide Web by "www.storymania.com"