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evening, fighting the appalling desire to wrap herself around his powerful body and press her mouth heatedly against his.
    She took a deep breath. Then another, feeling disoriented and unlike herself. Her eyes were glued to the sweaty, sinewy stretch of his bare shoulders. God, what was the matter with her? The man had just groped her without invitation.
    And turned away as if nothing had happened. Anger flared, brighter suddenly than the simmer of passion. Drawing another shaky breath, Julia blindly reached for a plank. The wood was rough beneath her fingers as they curled around it. She lifted the board in her hands.
    In a moment of pure impulse and opportunity, she saw Caleb bend forward, reaching over the beam. Without thought, Julia cocked the plank back and swung.
    Pow ! The wood hit Caleb's rear, catching him off guard an d off balance. In slow motion, J ulia saw his feet leave the ground as he tumbled forward. Within a second, he'd flipped forward and landed in the hard dirt beneath the floor frame.
    The total disbelief in his face as he stared up at her warmed Julia's soul. She laid the plank down.
    "Well," she smiled down at Caleb where he lay on the ground. "I think I've had enough for today."

CHAPTER THREE
    "Well, if it isn't the doctor come to survey the peasants at work," Caleb's voice vibrated in Julia's ear.
    Julia stiffened away from the pickup she'd been leaning against. Caleb had appeared at her shoulder from out of nowhere. She'd have sworn he was yards away moments ago, conferring with Dan, his second-in-command. Her position against the truck had been chosen deliberately with that in mind.
    She never should have let him touch her. The memory of his hand on her body left her edgy and tense.
    "Good afternoon, Caleb."
    "So formal?" He teased. "After what we've been to each other?"
    "I think that's better forgotten," Julia asserted firmly, not meeting his gaze.
    "I thought you'd say that, but I've still got the bruises," his face contorted in mock pain as he shifted his weight.
    Julia's eyes unwillingly fixed on his firm derriere.
    "Don't be ridiculous," she retorted. "That little tap didn't hurt any more than your pride."
    "Is that where a man's pride is located, anatomically speaking?" He propped one arm against the pickup truck, obviously enjoying himself.
    Julia stared determinedly at the house before them. She didn't even want to speculate where, anatomically speaking, Caleb's pride might be located.
    "You're making good progress." She nodded toward the log framework.
    "I am?"
    His voice was a velvety purr that stirred the hair by her ear. Julia refused to acknowledge his insinuation.
    "Yes. You've done a lot in just a few days," she persevered.
    Caleb turned to look at the soaring vee of timber that would create a cathedral ceiling over the living area. "Yep," he drawled, "it's coming along."
    He leaned back against the truck, his arms crossed over his chest. "I figured once we started on the actual construction, curiosity would overcome your chicken-heartedness."
    "What?" Julia whipped around to stare at him.
    "You heard me."
    "You think I'm scared to come here and see-"
    "To see me," Caleb completed her sentence with equanimity.
    "You're insane and — unbelievably conceited! ” Julia sputtered, wondering what had given her away.
    “ I don ’ t think so. It was pretty obvious I ’ m the last person you wanted to run into. ” He pushed back his cap and smiled down at her with confidence.
    “ Wanting to avoid you doesn ’ t necessarily mean I ’ m afraid of you, ” Julia countered.
    The grain of truth in his accusation didn ’ t help. She wasn ’ t actually scared of Caleb, just reasonably cautious. What intelligent woman wouldn ’ t run from a sexy man who watched her with a predator ’ s soulless eyes?
    “ Well, maybe not scared of me, ” Caleb amended, “ more like scared of the attraction between us. ”
    “ If you think, ” she gasped, indignant “ that you can excuse your