“Good.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “See you tomorrow, neighbor.”
I walked back to my cabin with the plate of cookies in my hand, feeling like I’d just made a promise I had no business keeping.
That night, I sat on my couch and ate three of her cookies.
They were good. Better than good. Soft in the middle, crisp at the edges, with just the right amount of chocolate.
I pictured her in that kitchen, measuring flour and cracking eggs, thinking about me. Making something for me. It had been a long time since anyone had made me anything.
I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t deserve her warmth or her smile or her determination to make me laugh.
I was a man with blood on his hands—maybe not literally, but close enough. Kevin was dead because of me. Because I made the wrong call. Because I was careless.
I’d come to Iron Peak to disappear. To punish myself with solitude. To make sure I never got close enough to anyone to hurt them again.
And now there was a blonde law student next door who looked at me like I was worth knowing.
I needed to keep my distance. I needed to find reasons not to go over there tomorrow. I needed to let her study in peace, finish her house-sitting, and go back to her life without ever learning what kind of man I really was.
I lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling, listing every reason this was a bad idea.
Then I thought about the way she’d said, “See you tomorrow, neighbor.” The warmth in it. The certainty.
She was expecting me.
I closed my eyes and let out a long breath. I was going to go over there tomorrow. I knew it like I knew my own name. And the day after that. And the day after that.
I should keep my distance.
I wasn’t going to.
3
EMORY
The knock on the door made me jump hard enough to send my highlighter skittering off the table.
I blinked at my laptop screen, trying to remember what day it was. Tuesday? Wednesday? The days had blurred together into an endless loop of contract law, property rights, and case studies that all sounded the same after a while.
Another knock. Louder.
I pushed to my feet too quickly, and the room tilted. When had I last eaten? Breakfast, maybe. I had a vague memory of a granola bar around nine that morning.
A glance at my phone told me it was almost six in the evening. Nine hours. I’d been studying for nine hours straight without food. No wonder I felt awful.
I shuffled to the door and opened it to find Kai standing on the porch, looking annoyingly put together in jeans and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His dark eyes swept over me, and something flickered in his expression—concern, maybe. Or amusement. With him, it was hard to tell.
“You look terrible,” he said.
“Thanks. That’s exactly what every girl wants to hear.”
“When did you last eat?”
I opened my mouth to answer, then closed it. The fact that I had to think about it probably told him everything he wanted to know.
“That’s what I thought.” He nodded toward his truck in the driveway. “I’m going into town for dinner. Come with me.”
It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t even really an invitation. It was more like an order, delivered in that low, steady voice that had become familiar over the past few days.
