Mary Beth gulped, staring at the way he stood, with one hip cocked to the side and long legs apart, rocking back on his heels. He seemed so different from how he’d appeared on the night they’d met by chance: the gallant gentleman in evening wear who’d kissed her tears away had morphed into a hands-on guy who could swing a hammer and build things without looking at the plans. She wasn’t sure which Parr she preferred. Right now, this one, all man and all muscle, blocked everything else from her mind.

“I feel bad,” Alma said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have ordered it. But you know what happens with online shopping. It’s too easy.”

“Next time read the customer reviews,” Parr muttered, bending to lay out the longest lumber in the approximate shape of a wall frame. He squatted, using a small tool to check a corner angle.

“I did, son. They were all five-star.”

“Dead giveaway right there. The manufacturer paid for those.”

“Oh dear. I am sorry,” Alma fretted.

“I’ll manage, Mom. At least the foundation is ready,” he said to Mary Beth, nodding to a rectangle of concrete framed by planks as he rose. “All I have to do after the basic framing is set the uprights in those holes.”

“Oh.” She just stood there, transfixed by the sight of him so close, stripped to the waist. His musculature, something she’d only guessed at when he was clothed, was fully displayed, his bare skin burnished by the late afternoon sun to a deep gold.

He moved with athletic ease, stepping through the pieces of the project to face her. “What’s in the box?”

She’d almost forgotten she was holding it. “Bean plants.”

“Why, Mary Beth. Are you starting a farm?” A glimmer of amusement lit up his dark eyes.

“No. It’s a school science project. A friend of mine—a teacher—asked me to, um, babysit the plants during the break.”

“I see.”

She shifted position, wishing she could put the box down somewhere, afraid she would knock down or trip over the scattered lumber.

“Mary Beth, you can set that over there.” Alma took charge, pointing to the dense shade under an old chinaberry tree. “How long do you think this will take to finish, Parr?”

“About a day. Then I have to get back to Memphis.”

Mary Beth made her way over the uneven lawn to the spot Alma had indicated, setting down the box. She stood up and brushed bits of dirt from her skirt as she straightened.

The sound of a ringing phone from inside the house got Alma’s attention.

“’Scuse me, you two. Be right back.”