Home Sweet Home: A Sweet, Texas Novella by Candis Terry

backed away from the window and closed it tight. Then and only then did she notice the big puddle of water beneath her feet. Her bare feet. Bare legs. Bare … crap. Now she knew what he’d been looking at.
    With the exception of a few patches of bubbles, she was naked as the day she was born.
    “Oh, good God, Paige.” She looked into the steamy bathroom mirror. “Really?”
    Disgusted with herself for the temporary loss of her mind, she grabbed her fuzzy robe off the hook on the back of the door and shoved her arms through. Her wet feet slapped and squeaked against the hardwood floor as she headed downstairs.
    “You stay here,” she told Cricket, as the dog and her wagging behind beat her to the door.
    By the time Paige opened the kitchen door and stepped out onto the back patio, Aiden had commenced unstrapping the cherry-picker. Dodging the sharp pebbles beneath her feet, she hurried over to where he’d parked.
    “Third time’s a charm,” she said, looking up at the magnificent view of his perfect jeans-covered ass while he bent over and unhooked the strap from beneath the machine. “What are you doing?”
    He righted himself and began to neatly fold the straps. “Unhooking this cherry-picker,” he drawled as though anyone in their right mind could see what he was doing.
    “I can see that. The question is why there’s a cherry-picker in my driveway and why is it about to be unloaded from this trailer? And why are you here with a cherry-picker?”
    “The other day, I noticed that while most of the lower branches of the apple trees had been picked clean, the top branches still held fruit. You’ve got enough space between trees to maneuver this around, and it’s safer than a ladder.”
    “In case you’ve forgotten, I don’t like heights. Which is why there’s still fruit on the top branches. I’d rather lose the fruit than break my neck climbing a ladder.” She folded her arms. “Which still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
    “I came to help.”
    “I told you I didn’t need your help.”
    He jumped down from the trailer and landed in front of her. His boots made little puffs of dirt float up into the air. “I got that message loud and clear.”
    “Yet you’re here. With a cherry-picker.”
    “Yep.” He flashed a smile, then turned away to unlatch another strap.
    “So since you obviously heard me but didn’t listen to me, you probably aren’t going to admit you saw me hanging naked out the window either.”
    “Why would I deny it?” Grin fully in place, he turned back around to face her. His eyes did a quick scan up and down her body. His smile remained like he could still picture her minus the fuzzy robe. “It was the best thing I’ve seen all day.”
    “I thought someone was tearing down my barn. Or that aliens had landed.”
    “Those would have been really happy aliens.”
    When his eyebrows lifted suggestively, she chuckled. “What am I going to do with you?”
    “Loaded question.” He tossed the webbed strap onto the side rail of the trailer. “For now, if you could just step back, I’ll unload this thing.”
    “It’s too dark to pick apples tonight.”
    “Correct. But it’s here. Ready to go first thing in the morning. I don’t have to have it back to the rental place until just before it closes tomorrow.”
    “Aiden, as much as I appreciate the thought and the effort, I don’t have it in my budget to pay for this. It would just be easier to take a loss on the apples left on the trees.”
    “No worries. I got it for free.”
    “Free? How’d you manage that?”
    His smile did nothing but raise more questions. “How about you back up a safe distance and let me unload this thing. We can talk later.”
    “Promise?”
    He gave a nod toward the patio. “Now get that stuffed animal you’re wearing in gear and get moving.”
    “Aye-aye, sir.” Conceding—for now—she saluted him, then turned on her heel and, dodging those same sharp pebbles, moved up onto the patio.
    For ten minutes, she sat in one of her comfy patio chairs watching Aiden in his