I let out a little gasp of surprise, and he stepped back so we weren’t touching. “Too much?”
“No. Not at all. How else can I learn?”
That made him step in again until his body skimmed mine. My pulse sped up and I could hardly focus on the axe in my hands. Everything in me was attuned to the man at my back.
He was nothing like my ex.
Taller, broader, stronger, wilder.
Hall was made of the woods, whereas Rodney had been a lazy fuck who had hardly wanted to mow the lawn. We’d had fights over that before he ended it with me. Not that those were ouronlyfights.
His big fingers wrapped around mine, repositioning them on the handle. His palms were rough with calluses, and I just wanted to drop the axe and lean back into his arms.
“Wider stance,” he murmured near my ear. Then his boot nudged my feet apart. “You want a solid base.”
My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could feel it. Every cell in my body had come alive the second he’d touched me. I barely knew this man, but my body didn’t seem to care about logic.
“Now.” His breath was warm against my neck. “Lift it up and bring it down in one smooth motion. Let the weight of the axe do the work.”
He guided my arms up, then down. The axe bit into the log with a satisfyingthunk, splitting it cleanly in two. “I did it!”
“You sure did,” Hall said, his voice rougher than before. He stepped back quickly, putting distance between us. “Do it again.”
I missed the warmth of him immediately. But I lifted the axe and tried again, grateful for something to focus on besides the way my skin was tingling.
By the time we’d worked through a dozen logs, I was sweating and laughing at my own clumsiness. Hall watched me with something that looked almost like wonder in his eyes, though he tried to hide it behind his usual stoic expression.
“You’re a natural,” he joked.
“Liar,” I grinned at him. “But thank you for teaching me. It feels good to do something physical. It helps get my mind off things.”
His gaze held mine for a beat too long. Then he looked away, clearing his throat. “We should get dinner started.”
I burned the pasta.
“I swear I know how to cook,” I waved smoke away from the stove while Hall calmly took over, dumping the blackened mess and starting fresh. “I just got distracted talking about Hannah. She comes into work every Monday with a new complaint about her neighbor’s dog, and I can’t get her to leave my desk until the phone rings. But really, she just wants someone to chat with. She’s lonely, you know? Her husband passed away two years ago, and her kids live in California. So I always make time for her, even when we’re busy, because sometimes people just need someone tolistento them.”
Hall made a sound that might have been agreement. I’d already noticed he wasn’t much of a talker, so I had to hold up his end a bit.
He moved around me in the small kitchen, reaching past me for the olive oil, his arm brushing mine. I lost my train of thought completely.
“Anyway,” I managed to say, “she’s sweet. I like my job. The people in Fernwood have been so welcoming.”
“You talk a lot,” Hall said. But there was no criticism in his tone. If anything, he sounded almost… fond.
“Nervous habit, sorry.” I accidentally bumped his hip with mine as I moved to set the table, suddenly embarrassed. I was too wide and always bumping into people and furniture. And I knew damn well I talked too much. “Does it bother you?”
“No.” He glanced at me over his shoulder, and something warm flickered in his eyes. “I like it.”
A few minutes later he produced a finished meal that actually resembled something a person might want to eat.
And when we tucked into it, I realized the man could cook. “You’ve been hiding your skillset, Hall. Why didn’t you tell me you’re a gourmet cook?”
He snorted. “I’m not. It’s just pasta with a little sauce and some ground beef.”
Maybe, but it tasted different from what I normally served myself, as though the flavors blended differently under his touch. “Maybe you could teach me how to cook, too.” Glancing at him shyly, I added, “I’ve never been great in the kitchen.”
An unexpected laugh barked out of him, and he blurted out, “Maybe we need to keep yououtof kitchens. First you burn yours down. Then you tried to burn mine down, too.”
