Trusting His Heart

Could he be the one to make her stay?

Feisty, independent Cat Billings doesn't need romance, but she does need a change. Leaving behind a troubled youth and a career of flipping rundown houses, she heads to the small town of McCormick's Creek, Oregon to begin a high-end restoration.

Hard-working, hard-headed Justin Cooper refuses to say why he needs extra money, he just wants to keep his head down and focus on the job. But his co-contractor turns out to be a spirited, sassy gal who slides into his heart, but also thinks she can boss him around.

Tempers flare and sparks fly as Cat and Justin revive the old McCormick mansion, but Justin can't afford to be distracted and Cat has no plans to stay in town afterward. And both have pieces of their lives they aren't willing to share. Can love conquer the clashes between them and the secrets each is keeping?

"Jen Peters writes sweet and satisfying romances with a dose of persevering through troubles and just the right chemistry between characters."

Cat bounced in her seat, trying to control her excitement as she pushed her old pickup along the Oregon highway. A new place, a new job, hopefully a whole new shift in her career.

Bella, her yellow Lab, caught her energy and perked her ears up, thumping her tail against the passenger door.

“You’re going to wear a hole in it, kiddo,” Cat warned. Then she grinned and eased off the accelerator to watch a deer dance lightly across the mountain road and into the towering evergreens. Not something she usually saw back in Sacramento. Of course, she was a city girl, born and bred, and these long stretches of nothing but scenery weren’t something she was used to, either.

Bella went back to chewing her bumpy rubber bone and Cat turned her attention back to the road.

Three more deer darted out. Cat swerved to the right and hit the brakes, sending the Chevy fishtailing. They were too close, too fast.

“Bella!” She yanked the wheel harder and gasped, suddenly jolting to a stop in the drainage ditch beside the highway.

The last deer finished leaping gracefully across the asphalt to the safety of the forest.
Cat took a deep breath and blinked. Bella had landed on the dusty floor of the truck. “You okay, girl?” She ran her hands along the dog’s soft fur and down each sprawling leg. Nothing seemed hurt. Bella just looked at her with those big brown eyes, clambered back up, and stuck her nose into Cat’s armpit for comfort. Cat rubbed behind her ears, then rested her cheek against the dog’s soft back. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I don’t know how you put up with me, but I’m glad you do.”

With her heart still pounding, she shifted the old truck into reverse. The ditch was only a couple feet deep—she should be able to back out. The engine revved but the tires just spun. She sighed and groaned and then leaned her forehead against the steering wheel.

“Dang-blasted, grunt of a pig,” she muttered. Sam, her old mentor, had never let her swear when he was teaching her the building trade, and she’d stuck with his attitude even around all her rough-edged workers.

“OK,” she told Bella, “Some jacked-up idea of a ditch isn’t going to beat us.” She was used to having complete control over her life, and she wasn’t going to let that change now.

Bella nosed her neck, and Cat gently pushed her away. “You need to stay here, girl.” She patted her once more, then got out.

The brisk April air, far different from the Sacramento heat she had just left, raised goosebumps on her skin, and she wished she had dressed more warmly. She rubbed her arms, then checked that the table saw and the cargo box holding her tools were still strapped securely in the truck bed. The other two bags, crammed with her less-treasured belongings, had been jostled to the other side but hadn’t even tipped over.

That was a relief. She was staking her future on this new job, and she couldn’t show up without the tools to do it. She took a deep breath, inhaling the sharp tang of the pine forest in front of her, and stepped carefully through the weeds in her flip-flops.

Her front tires were planted firmly a foot and a half down the ditch, too deep to simply back out. She prided herself on her self-sufficiency, but there wasn’t a tool in her possession that would help. A tree branch might work for leverage, but she couldn’t possibly brace it against the axle and drive the truck out at the same time.

She slumped against the truck door. She was supposed to meet Mr. Blake in McCormick’s Creek in less than an hour, and Google Maps said she still had 40 minutes to go.

She needed another person. Sam’s words echoed from her teenage years. “Ain’t no shame in asking for help if you can’t do it all yourself, little girl.” She smiled at the memory of the wise old builder who had set her on this path.

Cat glanced down the highway. A few cars had whizzed past without slowing down, just like back home. She watched them go and shrugged. Oregon might be a beautiful paradise, but people were the same all over. However, as she searched under the trees for a downed branch, a truck pulled to a stop. A shiny, oversized red Ford F-250, to be exact.

The man who climbed out had his face hidden in the shadow of his ball cap, allowing her to see only a strong jaw covered in stubble, but he was wearing jeans and work boots, and his broad shoulders looked like they’d be at home carrying a stack of 2x6’s. Her shoulders relaxed in relief—the two of them would surely be able to back the truck out.

Then she stiffened again. Strangers might be sincere and helpful, but they could also be keen to take advantage of a stranded woman. While her shorts weren’t too short and her top covered her well enough, it was best to be on her guard.

“Need some help?” the man asked, taking his cap off to reveal eyes the color of the evergreens towering beside the road. Dark hair curled lightly over his ears, and his face softened with a smile.

Bella stood inside the cab and nosed the window.

The man watched them, waiting. His body was quiet and his face calm.

“Deer,” she said, finally deciding to trust him. “I saw the first one, but then three more jumped out.”

He glanced at her California license plate and the corner of his mouth quirked up. “One of the rules to learn in Oregon is that there’s always a second set of deer.”

His voice was deep and a little hoarse, reminding Cat of one of her half-brothers when he yelled too much. “Thanks, I’ll remember that.”

“April’s a little cool for shorts,” he commented.

She rubbed her chilly arms. “It was hot coming up I-5 and my a/c isn’t great.” At least he wasn’t running his eyes up and down her body like new workers on her job sites usually did. Not obviously, anyway.

“Hope you packed some warmer clothes for your visit. Or are you staying?”

So was he concerned or just judgmental? Between his husky voice and perfectly fitted jeans, she wouldn’t mind talking to him long enough to find out, but now wasn’t the time. “Look, I’m sorry,” she said, “but I really need to get going. I’m hoping you stopped because you could help?”

He shrugged and nodded. “Easy as pie, the truck’s got a winch.”

Five minutes later she was hooked up and being reeled in by his gorgeous red pickup. Five minutes after that, she was unhooked and reaching for a handshake.

“Name’s Justin,” he said.

“I’m Cat. And thank you.” His hands were calloused and strong, not that she should be noticing that. “I’m sorry, I’m late for a job. I really appreciate it.”

She hopped in, ruffled Bella’s fur and pulled out, waving at him on the way and trying not to think about those broad shoulders.

Five miles up the highway, when she should have been gathering her thoughts for Mr. Blake, she was still thinking about him.
Not that broad shoulders and warm hands and a truck to die for weren’t great things. But she wasn’t interested in quick hook-ups, and her nomadic lifestyle didn’t make for great long-term relationships. She wasn’t good at relationships anyway. She’d watched her mother’s boyfriends come and go on a monthly basis, and the only thing close to real love she’d seen was her brother and his wife.

She smiled, thinking of them, glad someone in this world had a good marriage. But nothing in her life went smoothly, and she knew in her core that she’d never find someone to love forever. It was easier just to avoid relationships altogether. So once she had rehabbed a couple of houses in an area, she was quite ready to pull up stakes, leave all the people behind, and head to a new place.

Except this time she wasn’t relocating just to fix and flip another outdated ranch house. The whole reason to come to McCormick’s Creek was to renovate a mansion she’d never seen in a tiny town she’d never heard of, miles from civilization. It was a project she could put her heart into, a project that would hopefully give her the career shift she’d been looking for.

Another twenty-six miles up the highway, the McCormick’s Creek, pop. 6,414 sign gave a faded welcome.