Mending Hearts (The American Soldier Collection 11)

The man was quite attractive and big. He had dark brown wavy hair, big blue eyes, and a tattoo on his bicep that showed slightly from beneath the T-shirt he wore. He held her gaze and gave her a kind smile as Deanna gave her arm a nudge.

“You said you wanted to look around a little more. Come on. Let’s make sure that there’s nothing else this kind man needs to deliver later to your house,” Deanna teased.

“The name’s Jeb, miss.”

“Nice to meet you, Jeb. I’m Deanna, and this is Alana. It’s her house you’ll be delivering the furniture to.”

“Great. Nice to meet you. Both,” he added, although he held only Alana’s gaze, not Deanna’s.

Agnes chuckled.

“Well, meet us downstairs when you’re done. I’m getting a sold sign for these things, Jeb,” Agnes told him, and Deanna and Alana began walking.

“Nice guy. Big,” Deanna added as they continued to look around.

* * * *

Jeb couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of the pretty, petite brunette he’d just met. She had gorgeous green eyes, full lips, and a body that instantly made his body react. That was different. He never got all hard just from checking out some woman. She seemed young, and yet mature, maybe even sophisticated. Either way, as he walked downstairs to grab Gator, he was still thinking about the woman.

“Hey, we got a delivery to make at the end of the day,” he told Gator, who was rolling up some rope they’d just used on another delivery right in Salvation.

“No problem. Is it something big?” Gator asked.

Jeb was looking up toward the stairs as Alana and her friend were walking down. Gator gave Jeb’s back a tap.

“Is it me, or is that an angel descending the stairs?”

Jeb half chuckled at Gator’s description. Through the stained glass, the sunlight shot rays of colored lights over the staircase and against the lower walls. As Alana walked down them, she sure did look like an angel. A pretty little delicate one. His heart hammered in his chest.

“Are you still browsing?” Jeb asked her.

“I don’t think so. I didn’t come here with that much money or expecting to buy a lot,” Alana told him.

“Well, that piece you picked upstairs is gorgeous.” He licked his lower lip as he looked her body over. She was pretty damn gorgeous too. Her friend, who appeared a little older, chuckled as she walked by.

Gator cleared his throat. Alana looked away from Jeb and to Gator. She looked intimidated as she quickly lowered her eyes and took a step back. Gator was a pretty big man. Big muscles and wide shoulders, plus tall. He towered over most men.

“This is my friend, Gator. Gator, meet Alana. We’ll be delivering some furniture and things to her on our way home later.”

Gator reached his hand out for her to shake. She didn’t hesitate as she smiled softly at him.

“Nice to meet you, miss.”

Jeb watched the exchange. He saw the instant attraction and something happen when Alana and Gator’s hands touched. They both paused and then quickly pulled back. Gator’s eyes roamed over Alana’s body. She looked away shyly, then back again. Excitement began to bubble in his gut.

She pulled back.

“Oh, here’s my address. Do you know where it is?” she asked Jeb as she handed him the slip of paper. When their fingers touched, her lower lip dropped, and she quickly pulled back.

“Sure, darling, this isn’t far from our place at all.” He handed the slip of paper to Gator as he kept his eyes glued to Alana’s green eyes. She was breathtaking. She had to have a boyfriend. Shit, that pissed him off. He was shocked as he wondered why he was so instantly attracted to the young woman and why the thought of her with a boyfriend angered him.

“I know this place. It’s a pretty little cottage behind Ron Jackson’s place. God, they used to have this big garden in the back. It was something else,” Gator told her.

Her eyes widened, and she seemed encouraged to continue talking.

“What else do you know about the cottage?”

“It belonged to Ron’s aunt. She was a really nice lady, and one of the first main residents of Tranquility. You know it’s a fairly new town? But growing in leaps and bounds,” Gator told her.