Someday Will Never Come: Part 1

THUNK!...

…THUNK!

     The sound repeated itself over and over. It was deep. Booming. And it kinda had a grinding quality to it. Almost as if there was a large construction rake digging at the ground.

THUNK!...

…….Thunk!THUNK!

     Whatever the noise was, it was starting to get really annoying.  

     'Holy crap. Who the hell is starting a construction job on a Sunday morning?' Aubrey thought groggily. Still half asleep, she clung to the welcoming, black numbness of her early morning nap as hard as she could. But she was slowly pushed into consciousness as the noise continued to pound away in the background.

     Irritated at being woken up she rolled over onto her other side, trying to put her back to the sound and fall back into a blissful doze.  She stretched lazily and let her muscles relax back into the cushioned frame of the large wooden lawn chair she was laying in. Quickly, she faded back into the familiar grasp of her nap. The day was all planned out and it was going to be an enjoyably lazy one, starting with a nap in the sun. She loved being able to lie out under the sun and just let the warmth sink into her skin; it somehow both woke her up and relaxed her.

     Moments later Aubrey had tuned out the loud noise. Quickly it became a soft, repetitive white noise, and her brain hardly acknowledged it.  'Just a little while longer…then I'll get my ass up and go to the gym and wash my car and everything else. Or…I could always skip the gym…just have Juice It U-..Up…,' Aubrey's mind went back to sleep and the thought trailed off.

     But all too soon, a loud and insistent barking pierced her quietly dozing mind. Aubrey cringed and annoyance instantly etched itself across her face.

     "Shh! Quiet down little dog! Didn't we just talked about this, or are you actually tryin' to wake her up?" A deep voice said hurriedly in a quiet drawl.

     One of Aubrey's eyebrows raised. Somehow the voice almost sounded louder than the barking. 'Hunh? Who's talking?...' Eyes still closed, Aubrey groaned and her face scrunched up into wondering denial.  '..Wait..was that MY dog?'

     Both the loud, yet oddly soft, voice and the insistent barking continued as she blinked herself awake. Her dark brown eyes stayed half closed as she sat up and turned her head towards the noise, blearily trying to see through the sun's glare. Several feet away at the far end of the yard, the stout form of her dog stood in the planters that ran along the cinderblock wall. The dog's head tilted up as far as she could stretch and was barking at something on the other side. The dog's muscular red and white body quivered in excitement, her tail wagging furiously as she jumped up and balanced her front paws on the wall. Titling her head back even more, the dog gave a couple more sharp barks. Confused, Aubrey watched her dog for a few more moments with eyes that were still half closed. She knew that bark. Usually that meant the dog wanted attention and love. Or food. Aubrey's own head finally tilted up to see what the dog was barking at.

     Aubrey's glanced reached the top of the wall, and her eyes instantly went round in surprise, her jaw almost hitting her chest. "..Oh..," Aubrey said in a small voice.

     The thick, grey cinderblock wall ended at almost seven feet tall at the top, and there easily leaning over it was the upper torso and black haired head of a giant. He was peering down at her dog and quietly mumbling a few words in the smooth drawl she had heard earlier.

     Aubrey blinked and felt her body tense as a wave of a nervous adrenaline rushed through her. She had known that at some point, someone would move into the house behind hers. And considering that she had bought her own house at a great deal because the houses behind her own were being rebuilt for giant-sized occupants, the obvious conclusion had been that whoever moved in would actually be a giant. She just never thought that she'd wake up and find a new giant neighbor randomly leaning over the back wall. And so damn far into her backyard too.

     "H-hey! Bell!" Aubrey quickly threw her legs over the side of the chair and stood up. Taking a step forward, she called out to her dog again, hoping her voice stayed steady. "Here girl! Bellpepper come!"

     The dog instantly turned her triangular shaped head and looked back at Aubrey with sharp-tipped ears perked up. Instantly Bellpepper forgot about the huge stranger and leapt away from the wall. She ran straight over and sat down at her owner's feet, her white dipped tail still wagging furiously. Aubrey immediately bent over and ran her hands anxiously over the dog. Frowning as her hands lightly ran over the dog's short red fur, she quickly looked to see if there were any marks or bruises on her. 'I don't care how big he is. If that ass hurt my dog, Imma kill him.' But Bellpepper continued to wiggle happily under Aubrey's searching hands.

     "Ah…damnit, I'm sorry about this. Don't worry your dog is fine ma'am, I promise. ," the giant said, his slow drawl heavy with an apology.

     Aubrey's head snapped up and she looked at the giant with narrowed eyes. Usually she had a healthy sense of suspicion around other people she didn't know, and as of now, this weirdo was defiantly on the wrong side of it no matter what he said. But once her eyes met his, she took a sharp breath in and stood up completely straight. Thinking in general seemed to come to a stand still as she studied her new neighbor's face.

     The giant was now looking at Aubrey with a small apologetic grin, his dark eyebrows slightly furrowed; clearly he recognized that he had upset her. He was younger than she had originally guessed, probably in his later twenties like she was. His face was long though his jaw was square and strong. Eyes that wavered between blue, green, and every mix in between, were set under black brows that would almost be brooding; right now though his eyes seemed to almost be begging her to not yell. His sharp cheekbones were so prominent and angling under skin tanned with a richly dark undertone, that Aubrey took a guess he was part Native American.

     Aubrey swallowed. Her throat suddenly felt dry and rather paralyzed. 'Crap…why do I get a surprise wake-up call from a giant creep? LITERALLY with the 'giant' part too. Oh, and by the way, he's pretty damn gorgeous! That's just making this so freaking…confusing!' Aubrey mentally moped. She tried not to groan audibly and shook her head; the guy's looks had completely thrown off her madder-than-hell thought process. So much for the plan of just having a freaking relaxing day.  

     "Unh…Is something wrong with her then? I swear didn't touch your dog ma'am, let alone do anything to hurt her." The giant said, his uncertain drawl quickly changing into a defensive tone.

     Aubrey looked back up at the man that towered over her backyard wall and tried not to blush. "Oh…N-no. She seems fine."

     Trying to cover both the red tinge that was starting to spread to her cheeks and the scowl that had slipped onto her face, she looked back down; wisps of her reddish-brown brown hair fell from her messy braid and framed her face. Bellpepper was still obediently sitting at Aubrey's feet and was unaffected by the scowl on her owner's face. It was embarrassing that the giant had caught her so off guard and that his…pretty face was making her brain flatline so badly. At least he didn't seem to have noticed her odd behavior yet; if his question and tone was any kind of indicator of what he was thinking that is. Hopefully he thought she had been shaking her head to disagree with him. He'd damn deserve it too if she had. People shouldn't mess around with other people's dogs. 'Specially when the owner's asleep!'

     Feeling her anger rekindle, Aubrey gladly grabbed onto it and turned her scowl onto the giant. She felt a smug pleasure when he visibly winced at her narrow-eyed glare. Though the friendly and charming smile that had slid onto his face didn't slip under the pressure of her glare. If anything, it widened just slightly. 'Oh, it's gonna take more than that to appease me country boy.'
  
     "So, does there happen to be any chance of you telling me WHAT the crap you were doing with my dog? AND were you making that…outrageously loud noise a minute ago?" Aubrey said, her words coming out clipped to emphasize her annoyance.

     The giant finally frowned, the side of his mouth thoughtfully turning down. His eyes solemnly considered her for a moment, the color changing from a deep blue to a lighter sea green. Aubrey tried not to be distracted by how the color stood out more strongly against his tanned skin. 'C'mon, keep your head together! This guy is likely to be a big creep despite his smile and nice, country gentleman act.'
     
     "Well,…" he started slowly, his accent drawing the word out, "…I honestly wasn't doin' anything to your dog. I just came out here to do some planting, and she started barking when she saw me." The giant leaned away from the wall, straightening his back, and set his arm on the top of the wall.

     Her dark eyes quickly glancing up and down, Aubrey considered how much of his lean frame showed above the wall and guessed once he stood up he would possibly be more than twice the height of the wall. '…Maybe a lot more actually.' The thought almost made Aubrey go pale. But he stayed in a sitting position on his side of the wall, his eyes still quietly watching her as he tried to explain himself. "I did my best to keep her quiet so that you wouldn't wake up. Honestly, I was trying to not bother you with everythin' that was going on, cause yes, to answer the other question, I was making all that noise." He looked away from Aubrey for a moment and leaned down, his left arm moving forward like he was reaching for something on his side of the wall. He quickly sat back up and held up a large fork-like gardening tool over the top of the wall; dirt was still clinging to the metallic prongs.  A small smile reappeared as he set the tool down. "I just moved in and brought some cuttings from home to plant; strawberries mostly. Tomatoes. Some herbs. Me and my mother grew the original plants years ago, and I guess I couldn't part from having them around for whenever I'd want them."

     Aubrey's arms were crossed in front of her chest and her eyes still held their hostile and considering glint, but she felt her anger dying down again. She bit at the inside of her lip as she continued to listen and study the giant. Her anger might have be been giving in, but her suspicion stubbornly kept itself latched close.

     He must have detected the change in Aubrey's attitude towards him because a small amount of tension left the giant and his smile stretched broader again.

     "Sorry. Don't mean to ramble on. But I still swear that I was just trying to keep her…unh, Bellpepper right?...," hearing her name come from the stranger, Bellpepper turned her head and barked up at him, her tail still wagging away. Glancing down at the dog and seeing her exceptionally friendly response to him, he laughed. "Guess I heard it right then. But I really was just trying to keep her quiet. Well, maybe that's a bit of a lie." Suddenly looking sheepish, he ran a hand back through his short black hair. "I did kinda bribe her with some beef jerky I had on me. But that was it! Honest to God I'm telling the truth." He chuckled weakly and one of his eyebrows rose, a hopeful look that seemed practically begging and sincere.

     "Yah…ok," Aubrey replied with a small shake of her head and a smile slowly spreading across her face, " I'll believe it. She isn't actually hurt and…well she pretty much will do anything for food." Aubrey kneeled down next to Bellpepper and rubbed the dog fondly on the head. It hadn't taken long for her to realize that the giant's story was highly believable.

     Trying to be inconspicuous, she took a quick glance up at him from the corner of her dark eyes. That smile had little to do with it. She could almost admit that she wasn't lying to herself about that. Clearing her throat, she met the giant's gaze again. "I'm sorry, I probably overreacted a little."

     Aubrey looked back down at the dog in font of her and her eyes glazed over slightly, her face suddenly cast into a sadly stern shadow. "I just tend to become protective of her pretty quickly. People seem to react badly when they figure out Bell's a pitbull. They don't care to listen to me when I try to explain that Bellpepper hasn't ever hurt anyone, and that pitbulls are one of the friendliest breeds out there when they're raised right. They just react, and usually they do something really stupid. And really mean. There was this one guy who kicked at her when I took her to a dog park, and she hadn't done anything at all to him or his dog. Bellpepper even ran to hide behind me and didn't go after the jerk at all! Can you believe that?" A slight flush of embarrassment suddenly colored her cheeks and she looked back up at the giant. "Oh…Crap. I'm sorry. Again. I didn't mean to start…giving a speech or something."

     "No, no. You're fine," he answered quickly. Still feeling the heat from her embarrassment tinge her cheeks, Aubrey glanced over at the giant's face, studying his features to see if she could see any mocking humor in them. The serious look in his eyes and thoughtful scrunch of his eyebrows made her opinion of him rise.   

     The giant reached up and ran his hand back through his hair again, though this time she noticed that his hand paused for a moment before it reached his hairline. She wondered with an inward smile if he had forgot to put his cowboy hat on before going outside.

     "That's crazy that someone would go after a dog like that when there hasn't been any trouble." A concerned twist to his mouth made his dark eyebrows furrow together again. "Back home, I knew a few people who had dogs that were pitbulls or pitbull mixes, and the only one that caused any trouble belonged to a drunken asshole." He smiled again and laughed softly, his eyes turning almost pure green as the sunlight reflected off his irises. "Honestly I had to keep myself from stealing that dog away from its owner. I always wanted a dog when I was a kid, but my parents were always worried that the poor thing wouldn't last long in a house with three boys our size. Oh,…," he paused, a sheepishly guilty look on his face, "Damnit. Thinking of my mother always reminds me when I'm being rude."

     Aubrey watched the giant with a confused look as the arm he had been leaning on left its resting place on the top of the wall. Even though her perspective was so low and from the other side of a wall, he was tall enough that she could see him try to rub his hands clean on his worn out black t-shirt. "My name's Shane Kearney. Well again that's not the full truth I guess." He chuckled and turned his gaze back to her. "The full name is Elan Shane Kearney." She tried not to jump when he reached over the top of the wall with his right hand and leaned forward. His reach was long enough that the huge hand ended up only about three feet away from where she was still kneeling. Dark eyes going wide from surprise, she looked away from the offered hand and back up to the giant's face.

     " 'Course my mother won't stop calling me Elan no matter how much I ask. Mine and my brothers' names were passed down from someone on her side of the family, so she tends to be stubborn about it. But once the kids at school started in with the nicknames, I started to get everyone else to go with my middle name. Even one of my cousins started calling me 'Elle'. Took some convincing, …but I got him to stop eventually," he finished and the lopsided smile on his face looked mischievous.

     His hand was extended the whole time and the wide smile on his tanned face shone with genuine friendliness. His eyes were warm; the emotion in them was hard to read, but they were undeniably warm. Aubrey felt a small shiver pass through her. Those eyes made her feel like something inside could start to…melt.

     "Oh…heh, yah." She replied lamely as her eyes traveled down to the huge hand in front of her. 'Go on, move! You're just shaking hands!' Making herself breathe evenly, Aubrey stood up and walked the short distance to where his long fingered hand lingered about four feet over the grass.

     For some reason she became very aware that she was only wearing short, red workout shorts and a couple of layered tank tops; it was a common enough choice for her, comfortable for both lounging and working out. But somehow it suddenly felt like not enough clothing to really cover her, and it left her feeling oddly vulnerable. God help her, but she was also feeling too damn disheveled to be meeting someone with a look like THAT on his face. And that…that feeling itself definitely irked her. Usually she was comfortable enough to not feel obligated to dress up every time she faced the world, and for the most part she would happily go grocery shopping in the same outfit. '..Now I'm wishing I had at least ran my flatiron through my hair! Why is this guy getting under my skin so easily?'
  
     She stopped when she was less than a foot away from the giant's hand, her skin feeling the sunlight burn against her shoulders and the cool grass scratch slightly against her feet. Aubrey's senses were making everything feel hyper real, and she shuddered inwardly from anticipation and adrenaline. Her interactions with giants had been exceptionally limited until the last several years, after she had moved away from her parents' home and into the more mixed city she now lived in. But even after having a few years to adjust, she always felt more comfortable when she kept a respectful distance between them and herself. The reaction she was having to this giant severely surprised her.

     Aubrey's eyes moved back up to his. Her gaze became locked with his, the look in them simply holding her's. Her right hand lifted away from her side and easily slipped into his massive one.

     Shock jolted through her when she felt his hand gently curl around hers and she looked down. He had carefully gripped her hand, a few of his fingers lightly pressing her hand in greeting. Her hand was held against fingers that were wider than her palm and she found that her brain was soaking in the sensation; the fingers were warm, the calluses marking them rubbed against her skin but didn't scratch, and his grip was strong, unquestionably strong, but the huge hand had deftly molded itself around hers.

     "Umm…Hey Shane," Aubrey replied, relieved to hear her voice sound friendly and not shaky. She blinked a couple of times and tilted her head, her eyes traveling the length of the muscular arm in front of her and up to the black haired giant who was still easily leaning over the top of the wall. Swallowing back the knot of weird emotion that was catching in her throat, she smiled and hoped that embarrassment and confusion weren't written across her face. "I'm Aubrey Gray. I have to say that it's nicer meeting you knowing that you're not actually trying to hurt my dog," she said. Her lips turned up at the edges in a wry smile; dry sarcasm was a fallback mode when a situation got out of control. 'Let's see if he can take a sarcastic sense of humor. ...Dear God, though I'd rather not see myself going completely dumb in front of him if he actually has a good sense of humor.'

     "Oh yah? You know, I'm gonna have to write that down." Shane said with a laugh. He slowly uncurled his hand from around Aubrey's, letting her pull her hand away from his own large one. Lifting the same hand, he rubbed his fingers over the slight amount of stubble on his jaw, pretending to look thoughtful. "Actually, maybe I should just get alot more information and write it all down in a book. How does 'How NOT to Scare Your New Neighbors into Calling the Cops; For Dummies' sound?" Leaning his arm on the wall again, he waved his hand in a small, contemplative gesture, but winced through his smile, "I could even run a few more experiments and see how people react."

     "Yaaahh… Well speaking from experience…," she chuckled, "…I honestly can't say that would be the best idea. At all." Aubrey's chuckle turned into a laugh. Shane's deep laugh was infectious. And the quick wit he seemed to have was quickly impressing her too. Looks and maybe brains too, all wrapped up in a rather uncomfortably tall package. 'Well...it might not be THAT uncomfortable…….maybe..' Her hand unconsciously flexed. There was still a light and almost burning impression tingling her skin from when he had held it; it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.  

     "Okay. I'll definitely take that into advisement ma'am." Shane reached up and, looking like he was holding onto the brim of an invisible hat, pretended to tip his hat to her. He had a serious look on his face, but his blue-green eyes gleamed with humor.

     "Oh wow! That was….well that was something there cowboy." Aubrey crossed her arms and laughed hard enough that she snorted slightly.

     "Oh c'mon now! At least I got you to laugh. That's an improvement I think." He grinned teasingly, looking particularly pleased with himself.

     Trying to get her owner's and the giant's attention, Bellpepper barked and practically pranced over to stand in the planters. She sat down in a clear spot and looked between the two, her tail wagging furiously as she waited to see who would start to pet her first.

     "Ah Red, back to get me in trouble again?" Shane said. His voice was slightly softer and the accent became more noticeable. He reached down and started to gently pet the dog, his finger gently rubbing the top of her head and then stroking down her back. "You're such a little trouble maker, dog." A fond smile slipped onto his face.

     Aubrey watched Shane and Bellpepper, her arms still crossed and a small, considering smile on her face. She didn't worry about letting the giant near her dog anymore. The look on his face and the care he took with his movements said plainly enough that he would never try to hurt Bellpepper. Her dark eyes watched the two of them for a couple of quiet moments, letting her feelings change and build inside. Trying to make any sense of them was going to be a ridiculously hard challenge. But she'd save that for later. A lot later. She snorted at the thought.

    Still petting Bellpepper, Shane looked up with his eyebrows raised as if he just remembered something. "Actually, now that I think of it, I was also tryin' to have this one here stay quiet so that I could try hear the music while it played on your phone." He lifted his chin and gestured to a spot behind Aubrey.

     "Really?" Face slightly scrunched, she turned around and her eyes went the lawn chair she had been laying in. Glancing at the thick armrest, she noticed that her cell phone was still sitting there. "Ooohh yah. Right." She turned back to Shane, her head naturally tilting back. It still shook her up a bit on the inside when she remembered that he was still sitting down even though he easily towered over the wall. "I just set a timer so that it'll shuffle through my songs when I lay out here. What song caught your interest?" Aubrey grinned. Music was something she loved to talk about and she definitely loved to know that someone else appreciated her taste.

     Shane replied to her grin with his own. "Well, I'd have to say that most of what I heard was stuff I listen to, but mostly it was the Credence Clearwater Revival that made me listen. When 'Someday Will Never Come' played, I probably just wasted the whole time listening to it." His smiling dimming a little, he looked anxiously at the walls of the neighboring houses around them, "Its probably a good thing that yours is the only house that has this gap. If anyone else had seen me, they'd likely of called the cops to check on the 'random giant' who was just sitting around with a stupid look on his face."   

     "You know, I always thought that space between the shed on your side and my back wall would end up being a problem," she replied with a teasingly knowing smirk.

     Shane shook his head and laughed, "Good Lord, I can bet that you did. Probably why you bought such a scary guard dog, am I right?" His laughter faded into a deep chuckle as he carefully rubbed Bellpepper's side, gently encouraging the dog to roll over onto her back. She happily complied with the giant's gentle fingers and her head lulled to the side with a blissful look on her canine face while he rubbed her stomach.

     "Holy crap…," Aubrey rolled her eyes and shook her head her pitbull's behavior, "Oh yah, she's utterly terrifying isn't she?" But her laugh bubbled out of her even as she tried to give Bellpepper a disapproving look.

     A loud alarm suddenly sounded, the bell like tones coming from right behind Aubrey. Startling both her and Shane, and they shared a blank glance before she spun around to find the source of the noise. "OH! Geez, I completely forgot that I set that stupid thing." She quickly walked back to the lawn chair and snatched up her cell phone. The alarm continued to ring, loudly refusing to turn off as she jabbed at the screen in building annoyance. It finally gave in after several attempts to unlock the screen and allowed Aubrey to silence the alarm. "I sometimes have the feeling that this thing hates me on a deeply personal level," she said with a long suffering scowl on her face. Dropping the cell into a pocket, she looked back at Shane, "You know what I mean?"

     "Hey don't look at me Miss Gray. I get along just fine with the technology that I have. If anything, I'm just a bit of a tech-geek." A roguish grin that made his eyes flash to a confusing mix between blue and green spread across his face.

     Aubrey looked away to avoid being transfixed. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms petulantly. "Oh that's wonderful. I have a new, giant neighbor who's a bit of a slightly creepy country boy, AND he also happens to be able to out knowledge me when it comes to stuff about technology? Hmm…that could almost be the premise of a bad stalker movie. Maybe its a good thing my alarm went off; hopefully I can make a quick get away before this gets really awkward." Turning back to meet Shane's eyes, she smiled to take the sting from her words, though it hardly tempered the challenge in her grin.

     The giant snorted. "And you city people are always so jumpy when a man tries to be neighborly, let alone is actually friendly. Not to mention how touchy you all get when one of us southern hicks knows how to turn a computer on." He drawled the words heavily and raised an eyebrow in a challenge of his own. Though the smile he couldn't keep from his mouth let her know he was sharing in the joke right along with her.

     "Okok, I get the hint!" Aubrey snickered. "But...yah, I kinda do have to actually go." Suddenly feeling a little awkward again, she put her hands in her pockets, "I have errands to run before I go meet…umm…someone...for dinner tonight." Her voice wavered slightly and she didn't meet his eyes for a moment. She had only known the guy for a few minutes and she was already starting to feel guilty for the crush she knew was growing.

     "Oh. Yah of course," Shane replied. His tone seemed to waver too, sounding confused for a moment.

     Feeling her insides flutter at the change in his voice, Aubrey looked back up at him, and her dark eyes caught a glimpse of Shane's before he shifted his gaze away. A jolt of shock made the fluttering worse for a moment. His blue-green eyes were mixed and layered with emotion, making them hard to read again. The expression had been mostly hidden by eyelids that had drooped over his eyes thoughtfully, but had there actually been a little disappointment mixed in there?

     The expression was quickly gone from his features, his smile smoothly sliding back into place as he gave Bellpepper a final rub. "Well, goodbye Bellpepper. I think your mother wants you to leave the creepy giant alone now," he teasingly urged the dog and brought his hand back up to the top of the wall. Whining hopefully, dog rolled back over onto her stomach and gave Shane's departing fingers a lick. "Go on you little whiner. I've got work to finish anyway." The giant chuckled again and turned back to Aubrey. "It was good to meet you Miss Aubrey Gray. Hopefully I didn't spoil your morning too badly."

     "It was nice meeting you too Shane. And nah, I think my day will be alright," Aubrey grinned back.

     Her smile faltered, feeling reluctant to leave. She started to lightly bite at the inside corner of her lip and looked away. Building up what resolve she felt, she mentally stomped down on her confused feelings. If she didn't watch herself, she would try to say something funny and ended up starting the conversation again.

     "Well…Bye then. C'mon Bellpepper," Aubrey said, the words coming out quickly. She snapped her fingers to get the dog's attention and walked away, heading towards the back door of her house. Her bare feet left the grassy yard and stepped onto the cold concrete of her back porch, not pausing to look back to see if the pitbull was following; Bellpepper was well trained and had almost immediately obeyed her owner's call. Aubrey tried not to think about the other reason she didn't look behind her. She could almost swear that she felt Shane's gaze on her back as he watched her go. 'Damnit! Why do I always end up being attached to someone when the really good guys seem to finally come around? Crap on my life. Well…at least I know where he lives.' She snorted derisively and pulled the sliding glass door open, letting Bellpepper run inside first.

     "Oh, hey Aubrey?" The giant's almost rumbling drawl made her pause, stopping her just short of following the dog inside.

     With an eyebrow raised questioningly, Aubrey turned around and looked back. Her perspective from farther away made it easier to see the almost entire half of Shane that showed above the wall. Broad shoulders, a lean and muscular frame that was in no way boney, interestingly dark skin, cheekbones that looked like they could cut something, and a look in his eyes that could convince her to get into trouble when she was already trying to make one relationship work. "Yah Shane?" She bit at the inside of her lip again when she felt a small thrill when she said his name. 'I really have to start trying to squash this! It's just a little crush!'

      "Sorry, I know you got your day all ready to go, but I just wanted to ask if you liked strawberries. Incase I don't see you again soon." He was still smiling, but now the friendly look was edged with a challenge that glinted warmly in his blue-green eyes. "The strawberry vines traveled well and I should have some showing in a week or so I think."

     Aubrey leaned against the sliding glass door, her hand still holding onto the handle behind her so that her elbow was bent to the side. She tilted head slightly to one side and looked back at him with a considering gaze. She couldn't resist the urge to let the dare reflect in her own eyes. "Hunh. Really that soon? Well yah, I love strawberries actually."

    "Good. These'll be a bit bigger than what you might usually have, but I hear that they're sweeter for it. I'll leave 'em covered up and by the wall here." The slight laugh lines around Shane's eyes deepened as his smile grew wider. The almost triumphant gleam on his face almost made Aubrey laugh and roll her eyes.

     "Ok, that sounds good," she replied, trying to stay calm and cool in front of the giant's attempts at charming her. Though her will to stay slightly aloof melted at the last moment. "Thanks Shane. I'll be looking forward to them. See you later." Aubrey turned around and tried to quickly, though smoothly, slip back inside.

     "Have a good day Miss Gray." Shane's deep voice just sneaked in behind her, making it through the closing crack between the glass door and the door jam.

     Shaking her head and laughing softly in disbelief, Aubrey turned around to look at the giant. His face was turned away now, eyes looking back to the plot of land in front of him. His arm raised and fell as he started to work on loosening the ground again; the noise was much softer than earlier, but still noticeable even though she was inside. Shane's face was in profile to her, but the large smile on his face was unmistakable.

     Aubrey shook her head again and headed toward her room, a smile still playing across her face. 'Geez. Gotta have the last word don't you cowboy?'