“I needed a change.”
Falcon nodded and looked pointedly at his leg. “How are you doing? Healing?”
Seth appreciated that his friend didn’t say anything specific. He didn’t talk about his injury much. Or the nightmares that went with it. For an answer, he shrugged. “Good. Not much to complain about.”
Which made Sean’s eyebrows shoot up. Message received. The man wouldn’t discuss his leg in front of the others. Or the nightmares. That was a discussion reserved for when they were in groups of people who knew exactly the kind of hell they’d been through.
Since he’d been stateside, Seth had been mostly on his own. In Vermont, he was surrounded by friends, both on the farm and here in town. It was weird having people know his business, but it wasn’t bad.
Across the table, Mara laughed at something Piper said, and something inside Seth loosened.
It wasn’t bad at all.
Chapter 6
It's Our Little Secret
Mara was glad the kitchen they shared was huge. They’d need it for the amount of food they’d bought, with more on the way.
Fiona was amazing. The woman not only ran the grocery store; she was also a talented baker and cook in her own right. She sold homemade jams and jellies. Frozen meals the people on the farm bought when it was their night to cook.
She shared her suppliers willingly. Almost everything was from other Vermont and New Hampshire locations. Seth felt as strongly about shopping locally as Mara did, so it was great to have those connections. Fiona had told them to mention they were her friends when they ordered, to smooth the way with people they didn’t know.
Vermont was very different from the places she’d worked before. Anson hadn’t cared much about local suppliers, only the bottom line.
Mara figured shopping locally and making connections were worth far more than a few pennies saved.
It took four trips to bring all their purchases in from the vehicle. When the cloth bags and boxes sat on the table, she and Seth shared a look. Time to figure out how to share the pantry, fridge, and freezer spaces.
She pointed. “Why don’t you organize the freezer any way you’d like? You’ll need a lot more space than I will. Mostly, it’ll be butter for me.”
He nodded. “I’ll start there. The coolers will have kept this cool, but I want everything in there first.”
Which made sense. Pantry items could wait. Mara put in her earbuds and decided on a Western playlist. Inspired by the Saloon, she hummed along to “Oklahoma” and “Anything You Can Do.”
The fridge was double-sized, so there should be plenty of room for both of them. Seth would require more space here as well, since most of her larger supplies were pantry items like flours and sugars.
It didn’t take long for her to fill up the door on the left-hand side of the fridge and load the fruits and vegetables into the crisper bins. The settings were already perfect, but she wasn’t sure if that was thanks to Gray or Seth.
She was deep into the emotions of “Secret Love” from Calamity Jane when something brushed her arm.
She whirled, yanking the buds from her ears.
Seth. Just Seth.
He held up his hand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare the crap out of you.”
She sucked in a deep breath, trying to control her galloping heart. “Not your fault. I was lost in the song and the task. I forgot I wasn’t alone.”
Which was a miracle. Especially when she knew she’d been alone with a man. She’d worked with Anson for years and had become accustomed to being on alert. He hadn’t actually gotten handsy until the last few months, but something about him had kept her wary from the beginning.
If she’d needed proof Seth was nothing like Anson, she had it now. Not only had she relaxed in his presence, but he’d also only lightly brushed her elbow to get her attention and then backed away from her, with concern evident in his face and posture.
He frowned at her. “Do I need to kick someone’s ass?”
“What? No, of course not.”
He studied her. “Bullshit. Someone touched you without permission.”
