She wrinkled her nose, once again reminding him of the tantalizing Samantha fromBewitched.“I’m not hungry.”
“Well, I cooked for you, so I’ll be insulted if you don’t.Whoever was here is gone...at least for now.No way someone’s going to sit in the cold that long.Besides, the footprints disappeared into the woods.”
“If they were still out there, now they know you’re with me.”Her voice wasn’t as shaky anymore.
He gave her a small smile.“Good.”
She sighed, lifted the fork, and shoved some eggs into her mouth.
“Tell me who would want to hurt you,” he said.The statement sounded pushier than he would’ve liked, but if she had an inkling about who was behind this, he needed to know.
One slight shoulder lifted, and she ripped off a piece of her toast.“No one.I mean, Trevor was bent out of shape.But that was months ago.Besides, he’s done everything he can to avoid me.I think he’d be flat-out mortified to get caught here again.”
Jaxon sucked back a mouthful of the kombucha she’d poured.The fermented tea tingled his tongue, and the sensation was followed by the rich flavor of vanilla and some kind of fruit.A moan breezed out of his lips.“Man, that’s good.”
She grinned.Her eyes lit up for the first time since he hauled her inside.“It’s a new recipe.Vanilla and wild cherry.”She moved the eggs around on her plate.“You like the grapefruit sage, right?”
Warmth heated his belly.She did remember.“This is my new favorite.”He took another sip.As much as he wanted to get lost in conversation with her, to get to know the real McKenna, now wasn’t the time.Which was really shitty considering he’d probably never get the chance to be this close to her again.
“So who else might be upset with you?”He raised his eyebrows, determined to continue their previous conversation.
She tucked in the corner of her mouth.“I had an irritated client last week, but other than that—”
He frowned.“Irritated how?”
She took another bite and returned her attention to his face.“I’ve been working with a woman for a couple of months, and let’s just say she’s not willing to give up the things that put her body in an unhealthy position to begin with.I explained to her that she won’t see results from our treatments if she’s insistent on keeping her bad habits.”
Jaxon dragged his thumbnail over his beard.McKenna’s reasoning made sense.He knew firsthand that he could work his ass off at the gym and get minimal results if he didn’t change his diet.“She didn’t like that?”
A tense guffaw escaped her delicate lips.“You could say that.She basically called me a phony and stormed out.”
“But do you think she’d try to mess with you?Damage your property?”
“No, of course not.But I also didn’t think she’d fly off the handle like she did.”
“Hmm.All right.Anything else?What about back home?”
“Home?”
“Yeah, you said you were a registered nurse before you moved here.Is there anyone from your past who would want to reach out to you?”He’d chosen his words carefully, not wanting to spook her out of confiding in him.Tampering with her generator and fuel was a far cry from “reaching out.”
She stabbed a chunk of egg with her fork.“Not that I can think of.”
“You didn’t piss off anyone in the medical field before you left?”
Her eyes met his.Laughter sparked in her irises.“Yeah, I’m sure everyone has a vendetta against me they’ve been holding on to for six years.”
He shrugged.“Stranger things have happened.”
“Not to me.People thought I was weird leaving a stable career that I’d gone through four years of school for, but no one ever held it against me.”
“Hmm.Okay, well someone’s got something against you, and the sooner we figure out who your enemies are, the better we’re able to stay one step ahead.”
She shoved the last bite of food in her mouth and carried their plates to the sink.“Heck, it could be a kid playing a prank.We’re better off focusing on staying warm and keeping a lookout for more trouble.The snow has to clear soon.”
He could think of a million ways to keep warm with McKenna, all of which would make him perfectly content to be holed up in a cabin for the next few days.He watched as she rinsed and washed their plates.Her hair trailed down her back, and his fingers ached to twirl in the silky strands.But even more, he wanted to kiss her full lips.She’d probably taste like kombucha and incense or—
He coughed into his arm and cleared his throat.She spun around and her eyes narrowed.
