Tabitha found herself sitting in her living room, staring out the window, waiting for all of Garret’s friends to scatter. They all seemed like nice enough men, even Zach, whose reputation preceded him. It had surprised her that he’d come over to give his condolences and then to ask her to give Garret a break and go out on a date with him.

Which meant that Garret hadn’t ever discussed their time together, much less what she’d asked of him. Or if he did, Zach was a nicer guy than any woman had ever given him credit for.

The last one of Garret’s friends climbed in their vehicle and drove off.

Her pulse soared like a peak reaching toward the bright-blue sky poking through a thick layer of clouds that hid the sun. Right now, she resented how the tall, muscular, sexy fireman made her want to forget her troubles in his strong arms for a night of what she knew would be more thrilling than the first time she parasailed off the top of a mountain in the Alps.

But she couldn’t let her brother’s death be in vain. She would finish what he started, even if it was the last thing she did.

Ding. Dong.

She jumped up from the sofa, adjusting her top as she tried to take her time answering the door. Garret had a way of making her feel like a seventeen-year-old girl, not a twenty-eight-year-old woman. His quiet, shy demeanor only added to the allure. He was the kind of man that you just knew, once you got past his awkwardness, would be a passionate and adoring lover. He would be the kind of boyfriend that when he gave his heart, it would yours forever.

And the kind of man that could steal hers with a mere glance.

Opening the door, she plastered on her best smile. “Thanks for coming over. I appreciate it.”

“My pleasure. What do you need?” He rubbed at his tired, dark-russet eyes. His five-o’clock shadow in full spicy-scruff mode made his face seem innocent with a touch of a sweet devil.

She could only imagine what it would be like to have to work a twenty-four-hour shift. She could barely work ten hours in a day without falling over from exhaustion. “I need you to look at two things for me.”

“Okay.”

She turned to avoid giving him the once-over, but she found it impossible not to look. His shoulders weren’t overly broad, but they were well-defined. His biceps bulged through his white T-shirt and oh, how his jeans hung on his hips. A tad baggy, but she could still see the definition in his thigh muscles.

Not to mention his tight ass.

Sculptors used his body for inspiration.

“Where are we going?” he asked as she stepped into her family room.

“I want you to look at my back door and tell me if you think someone might have tried to break in.” She leaned against the counter and folded her arms, knowing she was closing herself off. Her attraction to him only got in the way. Besides, he didn’t believe her.

So, why had she asked him over?

He stood two feet from her, hands on his hips, staring. “Why do you think that?” His tone was neither aggressive, nor sensitive.

If anything, it was indifferent.

“I thought I heard something last night in the backyard. I turned on all the lights and called the cops, who did nothing, of course. But when I opened the door this morning, it looked damaged.”

“What did the police say?”

“They walked around the yard and inside the house. They also took a report and said it was possible that someone tried to jimmy the door, but they found no other evidence.” While they had said all that, the one cop looked at her like she had ten heads. When she asked if they could dust for prints, he practically rolled his eyes. However, his partner did so, just in case, but said since the house was fifty years old, the damage could be wear and tear. That said, the door itself couldn’t be more than ten years old and the lock about the same.

“All right. Let me look.” Garret lowered himself to the floor and examined the lock. His long fingers ran across the wood. His biceps flexed with his effortless movement. He concentrated on that door almost as well as she concentrated on every inch of his body.

She found herself biting down on her fingernail and letting out an audible sigh. Her body even shuddered with a warm tingle going places that, thankfully, he couldn’t see.

He glanced over his shoulder. “Can you get me a screwdriver, both flat and Phillips head?”

“No problem.” She padded around the kitchen counter to the closet by the garage door and pulled out a small toolkit. With shaky fingers, she set it on the floor. “I think that should have everything you need.”

He nodded, flipping open the top. “You’re the owner, right?”

“Yes.” She narrowed her eyes, glancing over his shoulder as he unscrewed the plate on the side of the door. “Why?”

He pressed into the frayed wood. “It’s not rotted and based on looking at the back side, I’d say someone tried to pry the door open, so now it’s been weakened.” He quickly put the plate back on and stood, reaching out, pressing his large hand against the wall. “I’d replace the entire thing. It’s a standard door, so I’m sure a place like Home Repairs has it.”

“But you think someone could have tried to break in?” She desperately needed one person to believe her.

“It’s possible, but it doesn’t mean it happened last night. It could have been before you bought the house. But even so, there have been a couple of break-ins in the neighborhood. Why don’t you have a deadbolt? This doorknob lock is useless.”

She shrugged. “I kept saying I’d get a new lock. Just never did.”

“You said you’re working from home today?”

She nodded, trying to keep the drool from dripping out of the corner of her mouth. She wanted to reach up and run her fingertips over the day-old growth on the sides of his face. Most mornings, she’d see him all clean-shaven, which gave him a sophisticated rich boy look like he should be leaning against a private jet in a power suit.

However, she preferred the outdoorsy type, and the man standing in front of her now should be wearing a flannel shirt, unbuttoned, and riding a horse.

“I plan on it, unless something happens, and I have to go out.”

“Perfect. I’ll go get the right door and a much better lock. Have you considered putting in a couple of security cameras?”

She shook her head, letting her mind drift from doing the dirty with Mr. Hot Buns to the second reason she’d wanted him to stop by.

“They are easy to install, and you can control them from an app on your phone. Do you want me to get that done today as well?” He pushed off the wall and rested his ass against the counter, leaning back and crossing his ankles. He had a few wrinkles around the eyes and a scar on the bottom of the chin, and those slight imperfections made him even more decadent.

“I don’t want to put you out. Besides you must be exhausted, so I can hire—”

“It will be weeks before you’ll get a handyman out here. I’ve got nothing going on, so no biggie, and I promise my fee will be really low.”

She arched a brow. “And what might that be?”

He scratched the side of his head. His light-brown hair flowed a little over his ear, but he normally kept his hair short on the sides, a smidgen longer on top, and it was always a little messy, like someone had ran their fingers through the strands and ruffled them.

“For the door? Dinner would work. And for the lock and deadbolt, I think a nice bottle of wine would be good payment.”

She laughed. “And for the security cameras?”

“A stroll to Timmy’s Treats for some ice cream, since this will probably take a few hours.”

“It’s a deal,” she said, shoving out her hand. Though she should have thought about it and then made him put a dollar value on the work, but then she figured they could talk about the things she found on the computer.

“You mentioned there were two things you wanted to show me?”

If she told him now, he might get pissed and walk out of her house, not helping her with the door. “We can talk about that over dinner.”

“Sounds good.” He rested his hands on her shoulders, massaging gently.

Oh, how she wanted to feel those fingers digging into her flesh.

Sucking in a slow breath, she filled her lungs with what smelled like crisp air on top of a mountain on a foggy day with a slight drizzle trickling from the hazy sky. “I really appreciate the help.”

“It’s the least I can do for letting my idiot friend come over and hit on you.”

She tilted her head. “That’s what he said? Because all he did was give me his condolences for my brother.”

Garret licked his full lips. She stared as his tongue slowly glided over the plump flesh. “Zach can be a good guy when he wants to be.”

“He took out a friend of mine once. It didn’t end well for her. You know, I’ll call you later, never calls, and then she finds out he’s dating some girl she works with.”

“He’s going to run out of women willing to date him.”

Without thinking too much about how her actions could be taken, she looped her arms around his middle. His tight muscles twitched under her touch. “I’m sorry I got so mad at you when all you’ve ever done is help me. But I think after you read something I found on my brother’s computer, you might think like I do.”

He drew his lips into a tight line. “I know you’re hurting, but—”

“Just read it. That’s all I ask.” She held her breath, staring into his dreamy, rich mocha orbs that reminded her of the river of chocolate in the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and she wanted to jump in naked for a nice, warm bath, letting him coat her skin.

“I’m really sorry about what happened to your brother, and I’m here for you if you need anything, so yes, I’ll read it. But don’t expect me to give you the answers you want to hear. I won’t do that. I will, however, always be honest with my opinion.”

She dropped her forehead to his firm chest, focusing on the rise and fall of his breath. “My brother was a lot of things, drug addict included, but I told you he was worried something might happen to him.”

“That could be paranoia caused by drug use.”

“I know it could be, but I know my brother and he wasn’t using the last time I saw him.”

His hands ran up and down her arms before he gripped her forearms, taking a step back. “I read those reports three times. There is nothing hinky about them.”

“But did you talk to—”

“I’m going to go get my tools, take some measurements, and head to the store. We can talk about this tonight.”

“I’d rather pay you cash. You’re going to side with your own and not consider the possibility that maybe someone in the local police or fire department, or even higher up could be corrupt and capable—”

“Trust me. I know some bad people in my profession. One of my own tried to kill my buddy Brodie and his wife, so don’t you dare make that assumption of me. I looked at everything you asked me to with a watchful eye. I tried to find foul play, but it’s just not there. Now, excuse me while I take care of your door, and then I’ll read whatever it is, and I’ll treat it the same way I did the last time.” He let out a big huff before turning and stomping out of the kitchen. “I won’t take your money, but I will need to eat.”

She clenched her fists, then shook them out with a violent whip of her wrists. The media had made a mockery of her brother’s death the second she started questioning the reports. They dug up every wrongdoing he’d ever been caught in but didn’t once look at the good things he’d done, or how he’d begun to turn his life around.

He didn’t overdose on drugs and accidentally burn his house down.

And she was going to prove it with or without Garret’s help.