Read Cowboy's Pride (Welcome to Covendale Book 1) for Free Online Page B

knelt in front of the tool box on the ground, looking up at her with a tight expression. And his eyes were burning.
    “No. You can’t.” He grabbed the biggest socket wrench she’d ever seen, then stood and stared at the engine. “I can probably get it going,” he said without looking her way. “Just need to clean and gap the plug. But you should get it replaced as soon as possible. I don’t have the right size here.”
    “Okay.” The single word sounded lame and pathetic. She wanted to say something more—anything, really. Thanks for rescuing me. Sorry I said that. Why do you hate me so much? But he didn’t seem in the mood to listen, so she stepped back to give him space.
    He picked up the flashlight and stood there another minute before he tucked it under his arm and leaned forward. As he fitted the socket over one of the spark plugs, the flashlight dropped and hit the edge of the frame with a hollow clunk. It bounced off and rolled across the ground a few feet.
    Cam hung his head and sighed. “Could you hand me that?”
    “Sure.” Sydney grabbed the light and hesitated a second. “I can hold it for you,” she said. “It’d probably be easier.”
    “Fine. Just keep it still.”
    She watched him work the wrench, trying not to pay attention to the way his arms flexed with the movement. The rhythmic ratcheting sound was almost soothing, and definitely a lot more pleasant than the bitterness that etched his every word. There was no trace of the easygoing, quick-to-smile person he’d been in high school—up until the end, at least. Not that she’d paid any attention to him after he humiliated her.
    Well, maybe a little. And hadn’t she been just the tiniest bit satisfied that he seemed to be losing his popularity? He’d gone downhill pretty fast over the last month of his senior year, even before he lost his father.
    “Got it.” Cam straightened and extracted a mostly black spark plug from the socket. “Christ, Sydney. When’s the last time you had this thing tuned up?”
    “Um. It was around…never.”
    “What a surprise.” He knelt to the toolbox again, sprayed something all over the plug from a small, clear bottle, and then started wiping it with a rag. Black grime slowly gave way to off-white. “Listen, you have to replace this plug, and get your truck in for a tune-up,” he said without looking at her. “Engines are like people. They need some TLC, or they’ll up and quit on you.”
    “My engine is a person,” she said. “Got it.”
    “Why do I bother offering advice? Especially to you.” He slammed the rag back in the toolbox and stood. “Just hold the flashlight over here.”
    She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I was trying to make a joke. A bad one.”
    He sighed and leaned on the truck. “Okay. I guess I’m sorry, too.”
    “For what?”
    “I’m sorry your jokes are bad.” He smiled, just for an instant—and her heart stopped. God, what was wrong with her? “And I could be a little nicer,” he said. “So let’s get this beast started.”
    “All right.”
    She managed to hold the flashlight without letting her hands shake. All of a sudden, being this close to Cam seemed dangerous. She had to forcefully remind herself that she hated him.
    It only took a minute for him to get the spark plug back in. “Okay,” he said. “Hand me the light, and go ahead and give it a try.”
    She nodded, leaned into the truck and turned the key. The engine started right up.
    “Oh, God,” she said. “Thank you so much. You’re…you really are a genius.”
    “I just know machines.” He closed the hood and stood back. For a long moment he looked at her, but she couldn’t read anything in his expression. Finally, he said, “Make sure you get that serviced. It’s not going to stay running for long.”
    “I will. Cam…”
    He raised an eyebrow. In that split second, she could’ve kissed him.
    And a huge part of her wanted that more than anything.
    “Thank you,” she said on an