that.”
Be still my heart, the way he says my name. I could just sit here and listen to him all night.
“ If you jack the car... up,” he gives me that bad boy smile again, “Then you're trying to undo a ton of resistance. If you loosen the nuts first, there's no resistance.” He looks up at the sky pouring down on us, then back at me with those sweet molasses eyes, “No matter how wet it is.”
I do declare I'm blushing.
The sound of a deep drone makes him twist and look behind us, “Here comes my brother now.”
Sitting, getting sopping wet next to him, I notice he's steaming when his brother's bike backlights him. He shuts his bike down but leaves the light on, and all I can see is the silhouette of another tall man with long legs and wide shoulders strolling to us.
“ Car trouble?” he says, and his voice is exactly the same. I swear on my pounding heart it is!
“ Yup,” says Jo, standing. “Sherry, this is my brother Seithe. Seithe, I'd like ya ta meet Sherry.”
I dunno why but I stand too and feel like I need ta give a lil curtsy, ya know, the way we did in the pageant when we were lil uns.
He takes my hand, “What a pleasure to meet you.” Then he gives it a kiss and my knees get a lil wobbly on my ass.
Dang and goshdarnit, he's not from around here. Oh my gosh, his accent is just to die fowah. His voice is all rough and gravelly, deep and throaty, it comes out of him like he's peeling silk stockings down ya legs with his teeth.
“ Howdy. Where all ya'll from?”
Jo answers, “I've lived in Texas going on ten years now, Seithe's just visiting.”
He smiles at his brother, and I promise on Uncle Chuck's grave they're twins! Two of them!
“ Seithe, hand me that wheel would ya.”
Seithe looks at me, nods politely, and follows his brother's example, unzipping his jacket and handing it to me. Lord above I'm not strong enough ta hold two of them! Wet leather is darn heavy. I wasn't raised bailing hail. Have you ever tried liftin' a bail of hay? Ya'll need a bulldozer those thangs are so heavy. I'm worried all this extra weight on my tiny shoulders is just gonna snap the heels on my stilettos.
It's one heck of a wet dream watching these two boys workin as a team, changing my wheel faster than ya'll can say who's yer daddy.
Seithe puts the flat wheel in the trunk while Jo lowers the car back to the pavement. Scooping everything up, he hands it ta his brother, and then rinses his hands in the downpour, strolling back ta me with a glowing glint in his eye, gesturing to his jacket, “Thank you ma'am, I'll be needing that back now.”
Seithe swaggers to us, doin' the same, “She should drive right as rain now, but it would be best just to get your wheel alignment checked when you go get that baby repaired.”
It feels like a rock's been lifted off me giving their jackets back, but now I'm hella cold without them, “I don't know how ta thank ya'll. You're angels.”
They look at each other, and then at the same time they look at me, both of them wearing wicked smirks, as if mawmaw just caught em lookin at naughty lady bits.
Jo answers, “That's mighty kind of you to say, Sherry.”
Seithe purrs, “We'd never leave a lady in distress. We were only doing what anyone with a heart would do.”
“ You look cold. Let's get you back in your vehicle. Do you need us to follow you home just to make sure you get there safe?” says Jo, putting his hand flat in the bottom of my back, steering me, and making me wish I could just stand here and indulge in it a lil longer.
“ Were you on your way out?” says Seithe.
“ I was gonna meet the girls at Pravus, it's downtown, but now I dunno,” I say, reaching the door which Jo opens for me.
Gosh, I could just swoon for southern charm and manners.
“ You don't want to go there,” says Seithe, shaking his head.
“ Why not? I've heard only good thangs. Ya'll welcome ta join us.”
“ Phone them and tell them you won't be making it,” says Jo,