Free What a Woman Needs by Judi Fennell Page A

have to get a big shot. Nick Miller had to do that when he stepped on one on the playground.”
    Beth winced, remembering when that’d happened. The blood had scared the kids, and then one had shared the big needle myth, which set Nick and the rest of the kids off. It would be a birthday party Nick would never forget, but unfortunately not for good reasons. It was part of the reason her younger three were so terrified of needles.
    “Like anything else, guys, you learn how to do it properly and you reduce your risk of injury.” Bryan pried out the other nail. “Now both of you hold on to Sherman ’cause he’s going to want to run when I lift this board off him.”
    “I have his collar,” Mark said from the other side.
    “I have his tail,” said Tommy trying to grab the stub that constituted Sherman’s wagging appendage.
    “You can’t hold him by his tail,” said Mark scathingly. Amazing how the two minutes separating their births gave Mark the big-brother mentality.
    “Can too.”
    “Cannot.”
    “Can—”
    “Guys, both of you hold on. He’s going to want to get away. Ready?”
    “Yeah,” they said in unison, a sound so sweet to Beth’s ears. Hadn’t been so much when they’d wailed in unison as infants, but this . . . definitely.
    “One.” Bryan pried the board away from the one next to it with that curved end of the hammer. “Two.” He slid his fingers beneath it and set the hammer down, then grabbed the other side. “Three.” He pulled the board back just enough that Sherman could wiggle through, right onto Mark, who, thankfully, didn’t let go of his collar.
    “Told you I could get him!”
    “I helped!” Tommy was off and running toward the gate to get to the other side of the fence.
    “That’s right, Tom. You did. Now hold on to him, guys.” Bryan set the board back in place, grabbed two new nails, and hammered them in.
    “Bryan! You did it!” Maggie ran across the yard and flung her arms around his neck as she leapt onto his back. “You saved Sherman! Again!”
    Again?
Again
? Beth admitted to a twinge of hurt.
She
was the one who’d found Sherman and untangled him from the clothesline.
She
was the one who’d puffed into his snout and carried him to the car.
She
was the one who’d been terrified she’d have to break the news to her kids that someone else they loved had died. Yet Bryan was the one getting the hugs?
    “Your mom saved Sherman the other day, Maggie. Not me.”
    Well, now he
did
deserve a hug for being so darn chivalrous.
    Beth reached the two of them as he peeled her daughter’s arms from around his neck and stood up.
    Her steps faltered. She’d forgotten how tall he was. How he filled out that shirt.
    That’s because he wasn’t wearing
a shirt in your dream last night, sweetie.
    How observant he was . . . His left eyebrow arched as she blushed yet again.
    “Thank you.” She tried to keep the huskiness out of her voice.
    “No problem. The dog managed to wedge himself in there pretty good.”
    “Not for Sherman. Well, I mean, yes, for that but also for . . .” She glanced down at Maggie and cupped her daughter’s chin. “Why don’t you go help your brothers bring Sherman back home where he belongs?”
    “Okay, Mommy.”
    Beth gnawed on her bottom lip for a second as she watched Maggie skip off, then looked up at Bryan. “I meant for what you just said to Maggie. That I saved Sherman. I know it shouldn’t be a big deal, but—”
    “Hey, you don’t have to explain. Or thank me.” He touched her arm in a companionable sort of way—until electricity shot up her arm. His, too, if his reaction was anything to go by because he yanked his hand away so quickly it was awkward.
    “I—”
    “I’m—”
    “What were you—”
    “You first.”
    Awkward reigned supreme.
    Of course Bryan would be the one to break it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
    “No. It’s fine. It’s just . . . I’m not used to—”
    “Oh right. I hadn’t