Page 6

The small fire I started centered in the wide fireplace crackles and shoots sparks up the chimney. Clover sips from her coffee and sighs. “This is nice. What I’d naively hoped for when I signed up with the matching agency. A comfortable cabin, logs burning in the fireplace…” She glances at me then returns her attention to the fire. “Pleasant company.”

“I’m assuming Pete didn’t meet those standards.” Most everything I’ve heard about him paint him as far from being good company. Especially to someone as bright and lively as Clover.

She gives a soft snort then angles on her end of the couch to face me, tucking one leg up on the cushion. “Let me sum it up in two words. Gas fireplace.”

I arch my brows and scratch at the edge of my beard. “Gas? Out here? That’s…”

“I call it sacrilege. Yep, all you have to do is flip a switch like a light and there it is. Fire. And not even fake logs. The fire rises out of something like chunky glass shards. It’s pretty, I guess. Just not what I expected. Especially when he forbade me from turning it on.”

“So, a gas fireplace that isn’t used.” I roll my gaze and she chuckles. I’m curious and hope my next question doesn’t put a damper on our pleasant evening. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want, but I’m curious. What made you run today?”

“Remember I told you before that we had an argument?”

“I guess I forgot that.”

Her shoulders rise in a slight shrug. “Doesn’t matter.”

From the tense set of her jaw, it does, even with her denial. “I’m sorry. I’m not accustomed to coming across women with pink suitcases trying to get up a steep incline.”

The tension eases with her smile. “And you had other things to think and worry about. This morning wasn’t the first… um… altercation Pete and I had. It was, however, the last straw. He made it clear he didn’t like much of anything about me. I was too cheerful. I made too much fuss over unimportant things like an overgrown garden plot that looks like it had never really been used. Get this… he claims to have a gardener who will take care of it come spring. A gardener?

“So yesterday I wanted to make his cold, sterile house feel more like a home. If I was going to marry him, shouldn’t the house reflect my likes as well? I didn’t do much. Just moved a few books on one of the shelves near that stupid fireplace and set out a few of my crystals.”

“That’s when he told you rocks belong outside?”

“You do remember. Yeah. No reason to bring the outdoors inside. Riddle me this, Knight. If you build a cabin, a home secluded in the mountains, wouldn’t you want to reflect the nature all around you on the inside as well?”

I glance around my tiny cabin. My bed frame is made of logs and branches. A neat woodpile sits in one corner next to a bench a friend carved from a fallen tree. “Makes sense.”

“But, oh no. Not to Pete Henderson. One leaf or clump of dirt on his pristine tile floor is almost criminal.” The sarcasm fades from her tone and expression. “I suppose it wouldn’t have been so bad if he’d just asked me to move my crystals. Or given me someplace out of his sight where I could keep them. No, that would have been kind.”

“What did he do?” I’ve got a mental list of lacks and behaviors he needs to atone for. Right now, I need to remain calm and supportive.

She wraps her fingers around the purple stone hanging from a silver chain at the base of her throat. “He swept my stones off the shelf, scattering them across the floor. Then he laughed, told me to clean up my mess, and disappeared. That’s when I knew there was no way I could stay with him. Not for even another day. I grabbed my stuff and headed toward town. Or so I thought.”

“It’s difficult to find your way when you don’t know the mountains. Especially when you don’t want to take any well used trails.”

“You don’t think I’m being stupid, do you?”

The importance of my answer hangs heavily in the air between us. “For getting away from an uncomfortable situation? No. For wandering alone through the forest, that wasn’t a bright move.”

“I know. But I don’t regret it. That mistake got me here. With you.”

Her hazel eyes go wide and that beautiful pink flushes across her cheeks, tempting me to chase the color with my mouth against her skin. I don’t want to frighten her. Or make her uncomfortable. We’ve got a few days together. Making her run again would be one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done.

Even for just these short days, I want her to feel at home here. To give her the opportunity to see what a more realistic life in the mountains can be. Shit, I want her to stay. Here. With me. What the fuck?

Shoving my inappropriate thoughts to the back of my mind, I search for a way to help her relax. The perfect solution pops into my brain. “Were any of your stones damaged by his actions?”

five

Clover

My brows lower and I frown. I hadn’t even considered damage. “I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you check them now?”

“I can wait.” I can’t risk having Knight laugh at me. Or turn away from me like Pete did.