She got up from her chair and wandered around the living room, pausing at the mantel where I had a few pictures of me with my siblings. “Is this your family?”
“Yeah.”
“And your parents?” She picked up a small, framed photo of my mom and dad on their wedding day. Back when they looked so young and hopeful, so totally unaware of the tragedy waiting for them down the road.
Seeing her touch my things felt like she was trespassing on my heart. My chair scraped against the wooden floor as I got up and walked over to the fireplace. I took the photo from her and set it back on the mantel face down. I didn’t want her to go, but I also wasn’t sure I could handle having her in my space much longer.
“Once you’re warmed up, I can give you a ride back to Nellie’s cabin.”
She cocked her head and studied me. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“You’re not. I just don’t get many visitors.” Especially ones who made me want to rip off their clothes and take them on my kitchen table.
Her gaze shifted to a photo of me standing with the fire crew. Nellie’s husband Gunther knelt down in the front. “Are you a firefighter?”
“Not anymore. That was taken a long time ago.” I scanned the faces of the dozen men staring back at me. We’d been part of a volunteer crew Gunther ran every summer. Nellie gathered all the lost souls she could from the high school and Gunther gave us a purpose. “That’s Nellie’s husband in the front. He used to have us clear trails in the summers.”
Joely didn’t say anything for a full minute, just studied the picture. Then she glanced back up at me. “You look different.”
I chuckled. “I was about forty pounds lighter back then.”
“Not just that.” Joely looked from me back to the photo. “You’re actually smiling.”
“Smiles aren’t as easy to come by nowadays.” That was as much as I could tell her, or at least as much as I was willing to share. She’d already gotten too close and taken way too much of an interest in my life. I wasn’t used to it and wasn’t sure I liked it. Being around her made me feel things I hadn’t felt in years. Things like hope.
“Well, for what it’s worth, you have a very nice smile.” Her gaze lingered on the photo for a few more seconds, then she walked back to the table and set down her mug. “You don’t have to drive me back to the cabin. I can walk from here.”
Knots tightened in my gut at the compliment, but I ignored it. “I don’t mind. Also, those pants are probably going to fall off before you make it down the drive.”
I nodded at my sweats. She had them tied around her waist, but they still pooled at her feet.
“If you’re sure you don’t mind…” her voice trailed off.
I would have given a kidney to know what she was thinking, but I was too damn stubborn to ask. Or maybe I was afraid of how she might answer. Either way, I ignored the heat racing through my system and walked over to put my mug in the sink.
“Don’t mind at all. I’ll run your clothes through the wash with some of Nellie’s scrub and bring them over when they’re dry.” It would give me another reason to see her.
“That’s really not necessary.”
“You don’t have a washer and dryer at the cabin, and I don’t mind.” I grabbed my keys and held the door for her to pass. The scent of my soap drifted off her skin as she walked by, and I struggled to keep from reaching for her. I’d never had an issue staying in control, but something about Joely pushed me past my limit. I needed to get her out of my cabin before I did something I’d definitely regret.
“You got me there.” She stopped on my front porch and turned to face me. “Thanks for the rescue. For the clothes. For the coffee. I really appreciate it.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
She reached up and put her palm on my chest. “It is to me. You’re not nearly as grumpy and growly as you pretend to be, you know.”
I wanted to slip my arm behind her back and jerk her against me. Fist my hand in her long dark hair and tip her chin back so I could devour her. Instead, I wrapped my fingers around hers and pulled them from my chest. “You don’t know me well enough to make judgements like that, sweetpea.”
The ice around my heart thawed as she stared up at me. I could see the stubborn glint in her eye as she decided how best to respond. My breath caught while I waited. If she pushed me any further, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to resist her.
Finally, the edges of her mouth curled up in a slight smile. “I guess we’ll have to see.”
She walked to the truck, her ass swaying back and forth, leaving me standing on the porch with my heart in my throat. I pulled myself together and followed, both eager to get her out of my space and wishing she’d never leave. I’d never be able to sit at my table again without seeing the flash of her smile across from me. Or stand by my fireplace without feeling her next to me.
In the space of twenty-four hours, everything had changed.
I’d dropped Joely off at the cabin and returned home. The space felt smaller, almost suffocating without her in it. With the threat of a thunderstorm heading toward Hard Timber, I decided to pack a bag and get back to what I’d been planning on doing before Nellie had talked me into helping her. We hadn’t had rain in a while and there was a bunch of dry brush on the trails that needed to be cleared.
