I come fast, a low groan tearing from my throat. The water washes away my release as I catch my breath, but the relief doesn’t last long. By the time I’ve dried off and dressed, I feeleven more frustrated than before. And it’s all because of the city princess sleeping in my bed.
I spendthe next few hours outside my cabin, chopping wood by the beam of my flashlight. The snow has stopped, and the sun is finally peeking up from behind the trees, painting the sky pink and orange until I don’t need the flashlight anymore. I’ve nearly cut enough wood to fulfill the order from the mill. Just a few more logs to go.
The money I make selling lumber to the sawmill and other businesses around Cherry Hollow is pretty modest. But it’s enough to put food on the table, and I enjoy the work. It grounds me. Empties my mind like nothing else can.
But not today.
Not even the satisfying crack of my axe splitting wood can stop me from thinking about Aria.
“Thorne?”
I freeze, my arm in midair, looking toward the forest. Clay is striding toward me through the trees, carrying a bundle of firewood in one arm.
“Hey,” I say as he approaches, the dawn sunlight catching on his metal leg.
“Thought I heard your axe.”
Clay and I don’t do social calls. If he’s here, there’s a reason.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
As usual, he gets straight to the point. “Brewer saw some cougar tracks in the snow near Sugar Creek. Thought I’d come warn you.”
I nod. Clay’s younger brother, Brewer, has a damn good eye. I’ve always said he should have been a sniper instead of a rifleman.
“Thanks for the head’s up. Appreciate it.”
His gaze darts to my cabin. “You got company?”
I follow his eyeline just in time to see the twitch of a curtain falling back into place. My heart does a backflip. Aria must be awake.
“Yeah.” I turn away. “Bonnie Lawson’s grandkid showed up from New York. Thinks she owns half my cabin.”
Clay raises an eyebrow. “And does she?”
“It’s complicated.”
I avoid going into detail. Aria barely mentioned the cabin last night, and I’m grateful. My feelings about the whole thing are conflicted as hell, but I’m not an idiot. If she inherited her dad’s share of the cabin, that’s legally binding. There’s nothing I can do about it. But it doesn’t mean I have to like it…no matter how beautiful my new co-owner is.
“Anyway,” I continue, “she ended up stuck here overnight. My truck wouldn’t start, so I couldn’t drive her back to Bonnie’s.”
Clay frowns. “Want me to take her? I’m just about to head into town. Can stop by the tavern?—”
“No.” The word slips out immediately, brisker than I mean it to. I quickly add, “Thanks, but it’s fine. I’ll figure something out.”
I know I should go ask Aria—give her the option to leave with Clay. If he’d offered yesterday when she first arrived, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. Hell, I’d have begged him to drive her out of my life before I lost my damn mind.
But it’s too late for that now.
I’m not ready to let her go.
“You should be careful.” Clay’s watching me, head cocked. “These city girls…they never leave.”
“What do you mean?”
He frowns ominously. “I have a buddy called Ridge. This time last year, he ended up double-booked in a cabin with a city girl. Now they’re married.”
He says it like a warning. Clay’s even less of a romantic than I am. He talks about love like it’s a contagious disease he’s afraid to catch.
