Well shit, that was fucking awkward. Hearing that Ellie Dawson was heading up here had set me on edge. Back when we were at school, she was the most adorable girl ever. But she was my kid sister’s best friend, and younger, and well you just didn’t do that kind of shit. But now, well, she was still my kid sister’s best friend, and she was still younger, but she was also an adult, a beautiful, smart, feisty woman and I still had the same stupid crush on her that I always had. More so, because she had most definitely improved over the years that I hadn’t seen her, and I didn’t even think that was something that had been possible, can you really improve on perfection?

Years might have passed, but I settled into the same familiar pattern of shit stirring and teasing, it was easier than being open with her, and the fear she might not actually like me anyway. I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t, I had spent an eternity being a proper cock around her, and here I was still doing it even now.

Her comments to me during the day proved, in my mind, that I was right to keep that guard up though and keep taking the piss. I had to admit that I was a little stung by her comment about not being able to understand big words. Sure, I work for my sister as a maintenance guy. I’m good with my hands. But what she doesn’t know is that my brothers and I actually made the money that bought Daphne her first property, that we’re her silent partners in the business, and that I liked it because it left me a lot of time for reading. I wasn’t highbrow, but I also wasn’t as thick as Ellie seemed to already think I was. Hell, I'd even read her books. She’s good. Not that I’d admit that to her after her comments over dinner.

I still couldn’t let her go to bed without being nice to her though. We were here for a while together and being a dickhead to her all the time wouldn’t exactly make us staying here together easy. She had cooked for us both, and I was grateful to her for that.

It wasn’t long before I was heading to bed myself. I pulled the door closed on the cottage and made sure it was locked before heading back over to the farmhouse and heading to my bedroom. I lay there in the darkness thinking about the fact that she was lying just a few yards away from me. My idiot brain thought about what she might be wearing, or not wearing, and not for the first time in my life my cock throbbed because of Ellie Dawson. This was going to be a nightmare. I absently palmed my dick. Jesus, what was I doing? One day around her and I was back to jerking off like a teenager while I fantasised about her? I really hoped that she was going to get this book finished and she would be on her merry way again soon. But I wasn’t sure that I believed that was what I really wanted.

I couldn’t get myself settled into any kind of sleep. I spend five hours tossing and turning before I finally gave up and went for a run to try and get myself focused enough to get my work done. The air was crisp, and the sun was just coming up as I pounded my way along the road. I zoned out and pushed myself hard, I needed to feel the burn, I needed to get rid of some of the tension I had brewing inside.

It was an hour later when I finally made it back to the farm. Ellie must still have been asleep because there was no sign of life in the cottage at all. Curtains were still shut, and not a light was on, so I went back into the farmhouse and jumped into the shower. Once I was dried and dressed, I got myself some coffee, ready to get out and get started on the list of chores that I had for today.

I was a reasonable distance from the house and the cottage, working on the tree line at the very top of the garden, all the trees needed their weakest looking branches trimmed off. That was better than risking them falling in the middle of a next severe storm. I started the small chainsaw up and started to lop off the branches I needed to.

About fifteen minutes later I heard it.

“HEY! HEY ASSHOLE!”

I looked down the ladder and found Ellie red-faced, arms folded over her chest, hair in a messy ‘just woke up’ bun. I turned off the chainsaw and looked down at her. “What’s up?”

“What’s up? What’s UP? It’s twenty-past eight in the fucking morning, and here you are making a racket with a bloody chainsaw!”

“I have work to do,” I smirked, she was just a little bit hot when she was so pissed off.

“And I was sleeping, you arrogant twat!”

“Don’t you have work of your own to do?”

“That’s not the point, I couldn’t sleep last night, it’s too fucking quiet around here.”

I grinned at her and reached for the cord on the chainsaw. “Well then allow me to make some noise for you now and then you might be able to sleep.” I didn’t wait for her reply, I restarted the chainsaw and revved it over her next little rant. I put my hand to my ear like I couldn’t hear her.

“UUUGHHH!!!!” She stomped off back to the house, I chuckled to myself as I got back to work. She is a handful. I had to admit if she had been any other woman that would have completely put me off, but because it was her, I found myself even more turned on. I shook my head at my reaction to her and got on with the job that I had started.