Defined By Deceit

Chapter Fifteen

Good heavens above. Who is this man? Shane thought when he pulled up to the movie theater. He had been in construction since he was knee high to a grasshopper and following Big Daddy Smith around the job sites with his little Fisher-Price toolbox. Shane had never, in all those years, seen a man so broad and masterfully built; he apparently lived and breathed physical fitness. A man that looked as if he was chock-full of a double dose of testosterone, but oozed a type of sensitive masculinity.

“Who the hell is that?” he said, to himself more than to his best friend and foreman; Jack Hammond.

Jack peered up the sidewalk and nonchalantly shrugged his tired shoulders. They’d had a long day on the site, three guys hadn’t showed up, so he and Jack had double the work load. They didn’t want to go to Bubba’s Bar tonight; knowing if they did, they’d drink a few and not want to get up at four a.m. to be back to work; so they figured, why not a movie. It took Shane a few seconds before he was even able to reach for the door handle and get out the tall truck. Sallie Ann was on him like a cheap suit. Jack elbowed him in the arm.

“You coming, or you gonna stare at Sallie flirtin’?”

Shane eased down from the cab and tried to smooth his wrinkled flannel shirt. His jean jacket was worn and dusty, but oh well. Thinking again, he yanked it off, threw it back in the truck, and slammed the heavy door. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to let his strong forearms show. Tucking his thumbs in his jean pockets, he glanced down one last time, wincing at his work jeans and steel toe boots.

“You done missy? Or do you need to apply some lipstick too?” Jack stumbled back, laughing hard at his own joke, but Shane ignored him. From where he stood, he could see that the guy was not into Sallie Ann, not even a little bit. His eyes gave it away. He looked more than a little confused, maybe a tad afraid. Well who wouldn’t be if a young woman just came out of nowhere and practically molested you on a public sidewalk?

“You best go on over there, I can see you’re dyin’ to.”

“I swear that girl gonna be in a bad way, she keeps that up. Her daddy’d tear her a new hide if he got wind of her behavior.”

Jack shook his head, walking beside him. “Yeah, she’s quick and slick.”

“Slicker than a harpooned hippo in a banana tree.”

“Amen to that.”

“Go on and get the tickets, I’ll be right in.”

“Got it.”

Shane was shooing Sallie Ann away when the most intense dark eyes he’d ever seen caught his own brown ones and held him there like a hostage. It was startling and fascinating at the same time.

“So you can call or just come by the site in the morning. We’re at the corner of Montgomery and North Wilson. My assistant, Jessie, should be at the desk; she can give you the application.”

“Shane Jr., we watching the movie or shooting the breeze?” Jack yelled.

He stopped himself from yelling at Jack to fuck off, wanting to appear cool in front of this silent, mysterious man. “Yeah. Coming.” He turned his attention back to Llew and stuck his hand out again. A second handshake was warranted when you first meet someone, so he hoped it didn’t appear to be what it truly was… his desire to feel that big, heavy hand in his again.

“Likewise. Thanks again,” Llew said in an octave so deep, Shane could feel it in his chest. He held up Shane’s business card as he said it, and spun on his heel to leave.

Shane watched him walk away. Damn. That was a big man. Shane bet the big man could handle his own in and out of the bedroom. He’d always loved the strong, silent type. So many men these days talked and griped almost as much as the ladies. It’d be nice to spend time with someone who enjoyed calm and quiet as much as he did.

“Dude. Come the hell on!” Jack snapped again, forcing Shane to cut his ogling off before Llew turned the corner out of sight.

See what I mean.

“Jessie, did anyone come by today applying for a job?” Shane asked, bursting through the trailer door. He had one ear trained on her response while the other was tilted towards his hand-held radio, listening to his foreman’s directions to where he’d stashed the architect’s blueprints.

“Yes. Three people actually. One man and two women. I know you were hoping for more, but give it some time. We’ve only had the ad up for a couple days.” Jessie swiveled around in her chair and dug out three manila files from one of her many file cabinets. The woman was a stickler about leaving items in their assigned place. She was meticulous, and her organization skills bordered on OCD. No one dared mess with her side of the trailer. Shane’s desk; however, had a nonexistent system. His motto was to ask someone else where something was.