Heavy.Fartoo heavy. But it was too late. The box started to tilt and she cried out, already scrunching her eyes for when it fell on her face.
Suddenly, fast footsteps sounded and her name was shouted before warmth permeated her back and strong arms reached over her head, taking the box from her fingers.
She froze briefly, then turned to see Cody standing close behind her, concern on his face.
He lowered the box to his feet, his muscles flexing, before straightening. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t realize…” How heavy it was? That was stupid. Ofcoursea case of beer was heavy. “I shouldn’t have attempted to lift the box.”
“If that had fallen on you…” A muscle flexed in his jaw.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not angry, just worried.”
She hadn’t expected worry. Maybe because not a lot of people had worried about her throughout her life.
Silence trickled by, each second falling into the next. In that quiet, she became very aware of how close he stood. How it was just the two of them and it would be so incredibly easy to do something she shouldn’t.
Without her permission, her eyes lowered to his lips. Suddenly, every part of her wanted to do something she’d never done before—take a chance on a man who was still basically a stranger.
She lifted her gaze back up to find Cody’s eyes had darkened.
Oh, God, what was she doing? She couldn’t kiss him. He was her boss. He was helping her out while she hid from her family and saved money to keep running. Because shewasrunning…and would eventuallykeeprunning.
She stepped back, her ass colliding with the shelves. “I, um, should be getting home now.”
Before he could respond, she turned and walked—or more accurately, ran—back into the bar. She grabbed her bag from the office and was about to step through the bar door when warm fingers wrapped around her upper arm, the touch gentle but firm.
She stopped and glanced over her shoulder.
His blue eyes were still intense, like the ocean in the midst of a storm. “Hey. You sure you’re okay?”
No. She was far from okay. She was crushing on a man she absolutely shouldn’t be. “Yes. I’m fine. Closed tomorrow, right? I’ll see you Tuesday?”
He nodded slowly. “I’ll see you Tuesday.”
For a moment, she wanted to just pause time and get lost in those beautiful eyes. Argh. She needed to stop. Stop staring and dreaming and wanting.
She turned and pushed outside, heading straight toward her car. She was halfway down the street when a flicker of something caught her eye. She stopped. The movement had come from right beside a car parked on the other side of the road. Was someone there?
Something cold slithered over her skin, and she sped up her steps. The second she was behind the wheel, she locked the doors, her heart beating so hard in her chest she could almost feel the rattle of her ribs. It had probably been nothing. But when you were running, everything felt like something.
The drive home felt too long even though it wasn’t long at all. She forced herself to forget the shadow, but then Cody’s blue eyes immediately took their place. The heat that had cascaded off his body. The way his thumb had caressed her skin in his hold.
When she finally got home, she climbed out of her car and moved to the cabin door. She frowned and slowed when she saw muddy footsteps on the small porch.
Whose were they? Ali’s?
Her gaze shot around the area, another chill sweeping over her skin before she shoved her key into the door and pushed inside. Immediately, the warmth from the fire slid over her chilled skin. Ali always started it before Harper got home, and it was a godsend when she returned after a late shift.
Quickly, she moved into the bathroom and set her phone on the counter. The second she stood beneath the stream of water in the shower, she forced her mind off the muddy footprints, but again, her imagination betrayed her and flicked back to Cody. His two brothers had popped into the bar again tonight, and just like Cody, they were a million feet tall with broad shoulders and chiseled jaws.
How was it that one family could produce so many good-looking men? And not just that, they all looked at her like they saw far too much.
Was it the former soldiers in them?
For a moment tonight, she’d thought Cody might kiss her. Or at least that he wanted to kiss her. But that was crazy, right? He dated model-looking women like Vanessa, while Harper was…well, she was ordinary.
