Catching Hell: A Hot Contemporary Romance Read online

  “Sounds like you have your work cut out for you.”

  “I do. I have seven weeks left before Aunt Minnie’s deadline.”

  “Seven weeks before everything goes to the birds.”

  Yeah. He was definitely laughing at her. But she forced herself to shrug like she didn’t really care. “Because Mr. Samson dragged his feet for so long, I can’t get a reliable contractor to take on the job in the time that’s left.”

  “And how am I supposed to help?”

  “I have a handyman who can do most of the work. But he needs another pair of hands for a lot of it. The house is a gorgeous old colonial, but Aunt Minnie didn’t put much into it for…decades.” Ever, she thought.

  Emily had been living in the house for a year, and she was used to its eccentricities. So what if it took the water fifteen minutes to heat up for a shower? What if a strong north wind sliced through the gaps between the windows and their sills, forcing her to sleep beneath a pile of blankets in the king-size bed on the second floor?

  She continued. “There’s a lot of straightforward physical stuff that needs to be done—upgrading the electricity, reworking the plumbing. The floors need refinishing, and the house has to be painted top to bottom.”

  “And you think I’m the man for the job.”

  She thought he was the man for some job. She bit her tongue to keep from making that utterly inappropriate suggestion. Instead, she nodded toward Anna and Zach, who had observed their entire exchange with palpable amusement. “They think you’re the man for the job. If things were left to me, I’d hire a second handyman.”

  Anna waved off her skepticism. “Tyler owes the court one hundred hours. He has three months to complete his service, but there’s no penalty if he wraps things up early.”

  * * *

  That was Tyler’s cue to say how hard he was willing to work. But instead he found himself saying, “Sorry. Sounds like you need someone else to do the job.” He saw Ms. Benson frown, and Ormond looked pissed, but they’d have to get over it.

  Sure, Tyler could do the handyman crap. He’d learned all that and more, working with his daddy. One advantage of having a hard-ass father who made him do his chores before he could get out of the house for practice, day in, day out, the entire time he was growing up.

  But what would happen after the painting was done? If he still owed time, she’d ask for help setting up the computers. Putting books on shelves. Doing a hundred things he couldn’t do.

  Shit. If he was going to fuck up, he might as well do it right now, instead of letting six weeks go by. Instead of letting Emily Holt get to the very edge of her deadline, then telling her she was screwed.

  Because suddenly, inexplicably, he really didn’t want to disappoint Emily Holt.

  Not when she was standing there, looking like he’d just taken away her favorite stuffed animal. Not when her eyes were welling up with sudden tears, when she was staring straight ahead with an obvious determination not to blink. Not when her lower lip was trembling.

  And that was a damn sexy lower lip. He could picture himself reaching out to touch it with his forefinger. Her mouth would be warm, hot, like her palm had been when they’d shaken hands.

  Community service was supposed to be a punishment. He knew that. It would force him to take time away from the ballpark, from the team, from settling into his new life in Raleigh.

  But community service didn’t seem nearly as bad, if Emily Holt was his jailer.

  There. She was pulling herself together. She barely took a heartbeat to press her manicured nails right beneath her eyes, obviously forbidding herself to cry. She licked her lips—damn!—and she raised her chin with a look of defiance that was only underscored by the shake of her blond curls.

  “Mr. Brock, I understand if you’re not interested in helping out with Minerva House. It really wasn’t fair for Anna and Zach to put you on the spot this way.”

  There was fire beneath her words. Pride. She was blushing again, and the color looked good on her cheeks.

  Shit. He’d just have to make sure the hundred hours ended before the physical work was done. Shoving down his own nerves, the flash of cold fire that ate away at his gut when he thought about all those computers, all those books, he said, “Shoot. I’ve got to do something to satisfy the court. We can make this work. Just don’t call me ‘Mr. Brock.’ I’m Tyler.”

  Her sudden smile caught him by surprise. She wasn’t just some random woman who could sign his papers and get him out of jail, free. She was beautiful. Beautiful enough that his jeans suddenly felt too tight. Eager to disguise his cock’s version of being a reliable worker, he stepped forward and offered up a handshake. “I’m game, if you are.”

  * * *

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  Thank you for reading Catching Hell! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please help other readers find this book and others in the Diamond Brides series:

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  ALSO BY MINDY KLASKY

  The Diamond Brides Series

  Perfect Pitch

  Catching Hell

  Reaching First

  (Perfect Pitch, Catching Hell, and Reaching First available as a boxed set)

  Second Thoughts

  Third Degree

  Stopping Short

  (Second Thoughts, Third Degree, and Stopping Short available as a boxed set)

  From Left Field

  Center Stage

  Always Right

  (From Left Field, Third Degree, and Stopping Short available as a boxed set)

  (Entire series available as a boxed set)

  The Jane Madison Series

  Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft

  Sorcery and the Single Girl

  Magic and the Modern Girl

  (Available as a boxed set)

  The Jane Madison Academy Series

  Single Witch’s Survival Guide

  The As You Wish Series

  Act One, Wish One (formerly How Not to Make a Wish)

  Wishing in the Wings (formerly When Good Wishes Go Bad)

  Wish Upon a Star (formerly To Wish or Not to Wish)

  (Available as a boxed set)

  Stand-Alone Works

  Capitol Magic

  Fright Court

  Season of Sacrifice

  The Glasswrights Series

  The Glasswrights’ Apprentice

  The Glasswrights’ Progress

  The Glasswrights’ Journeyman

  The Glasswrights’ Test

  The Glasswrights’ Master

  Harlequin Special Editions

  The Daddy Dance

  The Mogul’s Maybe Marriage

  ABOUT MINDY KLASKY

  Mindy Klasky learned to read when her parents shoved a book in her hands and told her she could travel anywhere in the world through stories. She never forgot that advice.

  Mindy’s travels took her through multiple careers – from litigator to librarian to full-time writer. Mindy’s travels have also taken her through various literary genres for readers of all ages – from traditional fantasy to paranormal chick-lit to category romance, from middle-grade to young adult to adult.

  In her spare time, Mindy knits, quilts, and tries to tame her endless to-be-read shelf. Her husband and cats do their best to fill the left-over minutes.

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