A well of emotion rose inside of her again.She blinked hard, willing the sting behind her eyes to settle.It took all her control not to just fall apart.She focused on breathing slowly and finishing up with the eggs.
After a while Axel broke the silence.
“Do you have a pencil and paper?I can take a look around and make a list of what needs fixing?”
The normalcy of the request steadied her more than she expected.
“Yes, notepad and pencils and pens are right there in the last drawer.”
She wanted to warn him not to make a big list because she was still trying to deal with the chaotic finances Tim had left for her to deal with.But that problem would be temporarily solved when she sold his truck.It should bring in a pretty penny.
Her stomach twisted with grief and resentment and anger at Tim for spending too much, for being so damned charming when he wanted to be and for her not seeing it until he was dead and she was out of the situation for good.
Axel was up again and out of the corner of her eye she watched him slide that drawer open with his large hand and pick out a pencil and notebook.Then he returned to his chair again.
She looked over her shoulder and he was already writing.
That man had never had a problem keeping himself busy.Total opposite of Tim, who’d be bored and looking toherfor entertainment instead of finding something to do on his own.
She shouldn’t compare the two men.Should stop thinking ill of the dead.Maybe it was part of the grieving process.She sure hoped so because she was so pissed off at Tim.So mad that he’d died and that he hadn’t been the man she’d thought.Upon his death, she’d even discovered he’d had a gambling habit, along with his other vices.
Funny how things came to light after someone died.
Axel kept writing in his notebook as she served him eggs, toast, and more coffee.
“I’d forgotten how focused you become when your mind is set on something.Time for you to polish off the eggs and I need to get outside and let the horses out.Mind if I leave?”
Axel nodded and just kept scribbling.
“Okay, see you later,” she said.
He merely grunted and she almost laughed but quickly slipped outside.
The moment the warm air hit her face, she exhaled shakily, grateful for the space to breathe.
* * * * *
After leading all the horses into the adjoining pasture, Jenna sought refuge inside the coolness of the barn with her cell phone.Perspiring slightly, she grit her teeth in frustration as this call, one of many since she’d gotten out of the house, went directly to voicemail.
She disconnected.No use leaving yet another message.Cyn would get back to her in her own sweet time it seemed.She slid the cell phone back into her pocket, trying to steady her nerves before heading back outside.
How had she been so wrong in putting Cyn in charge of Cowboys Online?The woman had appeared so competent as her assistant.For several years, she hadn’t made a mistake.Others in the organization had, but not Cyn.She thought she could trust the woman, especially after Jenna had taken her under her wing and mentored her.She’d never expected to be betrayed in this way without being told about Axel and Nick coming here.
Jenna closed her eyes and forced herself to inhale slowly to the count of four, then exhaled to the count of four.
Axel was here with another prisoner.She’d seen their gear stacked up on one of the white wood chairs on her porch.The same chair Sam had sat in when he’d last been here.She wished she’d been insistent on him giving her a phone number where he could be reached.She could question him if Cyn had approached him about bringing in two prisoners to help him with his farm.But surely if that were the case, he would have said something?
She shook her head in frustration and opened her eyes and suddenly caught movement past the open barn doors where she spied Axel standing in front of the ranch house gazing upward toward its roof.His silhouette had her breath quickening again.But this time not in anger or panic, but in that familiar excitement of arousal.
Suddenly her breasts felt heavier, her pussy dropped and felt oh so puffy and swollen and her ass throbbed with an intense need to be penetrated.
No.No.No.
Just don't look at him.Get back to work.Ignore him.
She blew out a tense breath.She just couldn't stop watching him.He was like a magnet.Had always been a magnet.
She observed as he scribbled something on that notebook and then he strolled to the corner of the house and disappeared on the other side.
