“I know that,” she sputtered, her dark eyes snapping sparks at him. “What else was I supposed to do? Huh? I couldn’t just leave it there, even after I chased the boys off. Without the ability to fly, it’s helpless. I felt sorry for it.”
How was it possible he found her even more appealing when her gaze was shooting daggers at him? He shifted, trying to ease the sudden tightness in his jeans.
She drew her lower lip between her teeth, glancing around as if she’d see an answer somewhere. Then she squared her shoulders and drew up taller. “Okay. Where would you go to find out what to do? There must be a local...” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Some sort of agency. A forest ranger or a wildlife and fisheries agent...someone somewhere so I could find out what to do.”
She must’ve taken his silence as unwillingness to help. Hell, he’d been too busy thinking X-rated thoughts to form a coherent answer. And the thing was, he couldn’t fault her for expecting him to help, considering the menagerie he had accumulated in the three years he’d been here. And he admired that she’d cared enough to stop. “You’d go to all that trouble?”
“I would.”
He blew out a breath and bowed to the inevitable. “Let’s get it settled in the barn for now and I’ll—”
“You’re going to help?”
Good Lord, she bounced on her toes and he was putty in her hands. “What the heck, I’ve got a bottle-fed calf, some maladjusted alpacas and crazy chickens, so a crow that can’t fly should fit right in.”
“Thank you,” she said, but her smug smile told him she’d known he’d end up helping.
No wonder the female population of Loon Lake thought he was a pushover. Because he damn well was. But he liked that Mary had turned to him. He grunted and pointed to the barn. “Bring it in there.”
“Thank you.” Mary said as she picked the box back up again.
“Yeah, you already said that,” he muttered and retrieved Elliott and his bouncy seat from the porch. “I hope you’re taking notes, big guy. Maybe you can avoid my mistakes.”
“I heard that,” she said over her shoulder.
“I’m sure you did.”
“I told you I knew someone who could help,” she told the box.
“Like with the calf, I will do my best, but—”
“I know it’s up to Mother Nature.” She set the box down.
He put Elliott in the office, sequestered away from the crow to avoid any harmful germs the bird carried. “Tell me what happened.”
Her look grew fierce. “They had a stick and I grabbed it out of one of the tormentors’ hands and threatened to hit him with it.”
Good Lord, she could’ve been hurt. “How old were these boys?”
She puffed out her cheeks and blew out the trapped air. “They looked around twelve or thirteen, maybe.”
Calm down, they were just kids. “How many were there?”
“Four, but don’t worry, I learned how to take care of myself. Not all of the foster homes I was placed in were...”
His head shot up, and he drew in a sharp breath. “Were what?”
She shrugged as if unaware of his distress. “Safe or even friendly. Anyway, after giving those boys a piece of my mind, I used my sweatshirt to cover it and get it into the car.”
The nonchalant way she described some of her treatment as a child in foster care sliced him open like a Ka-Bar knife. It hurt to know he was helpless to do anything about it. No wonder she wanted to help.
“Is that okay?”
“What? I’m sorry, is what okay?” He’d missed her question, too busy planning mayhem on anyone who’d been mean to her, including his own brother.
“If I set the box down here?” She motioned with her head at the workbench.
“Sure. We’ll need a place to keep it contained, since it’s not like I have birdcages lying around.” He was doing his best to resist the urge to take her into his arms, comfort her. Lord knew if he did, he’d end up doing things they might both regret. Or not.
“What? No birdcages?” She set the box down and wiped her hands on her shirt. “Tsk, tsk. A gross lack of foresight on your part.”
“For which I humbly apologize.” He bowed his head.
“As well you should.” She scowled but soon dissolved into a giggle.
“I’m going to go in the house and get an old sock.” And wrangle my libido into submission.
“A sock? For what?”
“To keep its wing immobilized while it heals.”
“See? I knew you’d know what to do.” She went to the sink and began washing her hands.
Did she have any clue how she was tying him in knots? Shaking his head, he headed to the house.
When he got back to the barn, Mary was talking to the crow in low, soothing tones. His gut tightened at the husky quality to her voice when she spoke like that.
“This should work.” He held up a sock with the foot cut off, leaving the ribbed portion intact. “It will act like a cast.”
“Cool.”
“Now we have to...” He made the mistake of looking at her and lost himself in her smile.
“Have to what?”
“Huh?” He mentally shook himself. Stay on task, soldier. “We’ll have to get it around the bird.”
“How do we do that?”
“Very carefully,” he managed with a straight face.
She rolled her eyes. “I walked right into that one.”
“Rule number one when you live on a farm with animals.” He touched the tip of her nose with his finger. “Watch. Your. Step.”
Brody located two pairs of heavy-duty gloves on his workbench, grateful he hadn’t gotten around to tossing the old, tattered ones. He gave Mary the better of the two. “Let’s see if we can do this without getting pecked.”
“Crows are pretty smart. Maybe he or she will understand that we’re trying to help.”
“We’ll keep its head covered. It keeps wild animals calm.” Brody put a scrap of cloth over the bird’s head. “Here. Can you hold that in place while I slip the sock around the body?”
The crow squawked and tried to peck him, but the gloves did their job and he got the makeshift cast on.
He poked around until he located a bale of hardware cloth and brought it to a stack of lumber. “It will need someplace safe to stay while it heals.”
“You might need this.” She lugged a toolbox over. “Tell me how to help without trying to argue with me.”
He laughed and brushed a curl off her cheek. Resisting the urge to touch was a losing battle. “I’ll need you to hold up the sides until I can get them nailed in place.”
“What were you going to use the wood and all this wire for?”
“Fencing.” He gathered the supplies and set them down in the middle of the barn so he’d have space to work.
“What were you going to fence in?”
“The fence was to keep something out.” He began laying out the boards in a square pattern. “If I plant a garden, I need to keep the poachers out.”
“Poachers?”
“Rabbits, mice, raccoons and other assorted varmints.” He scrounged up his best glower. “And don’t go giving me grief about bunny rabbits needing to eat.”
She pouted. “Well, they do.”
Man, she made pouting desirable. “Uh-huh. Hand me that hammer, please.”
She handed it to him. “What kind of things would you plant in your garden?”
“The usual...tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash...maybe some watermelon.” He hammered the nails.
“It would be fun to watch them grow.” Her tone was wistful.
“If you like standing around and watching things grow.” Yeah, and he’d be the first in line to watch her.
She punched him on the shoulder. “Quit making fun.”
/> “But you’re such an easy target.” He couldn’t hide his grin.
She stuck out her tongue. “Brat.”
“Can’t wait for Elliott to start copying you.” He pounded in another nail.
She clamped her mouth shut and glanced toward the office as if she expected Elliott to be watching.
He chuckled. “Could you hold this in place for me?”
As they worked, Mary told him about a magazine article she had read recently while in the pediatrician’s waiting room about crows and their intelligence, going on and on and citing examples of their abilities. If not for enjoying the sound of her voice, his eyes might have glazed over.
Still, he couldn’t help pulling her leg. “How long have you been waiting to use that trivia?”
She frowned. “It’s not trivia. It’s scientific fact.”
“Well, this crow was smart enough to get injured while you were around.”
“All I did was save him from walking here. I’m sure he would have found you sooner or later.”
“You think so?” He raised an eyebrow in amusement. Damn, he needed to pay attention to the job at hand or he’d be nailing his fingers.
“I know so.” She nodded once.
He used a pneumatic staple gun to fasten the hardware cloth to the frame and screwed in the hinges for the door. Poking through his toolbox, he found a hook-and-eye set to use as a door latch.
He stood back to admire his handiwork. “I think that should work until it recovers.”
“Serenity.”
He turned to look at her. “Beg pardon?”
“That’s what I’ve decided to name the crow. I don’t know whether it’s male or female, but Serenity is gender neutral.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “Serenity, huh?”
“Unless you have a better idea?”
“Not a one.” Oh, he had lots of ideas, but none that included a crow. Or clothes.
She got the box with the crow and he put it inside the cage, leaving the top open so the crow could hop out when it wanted. He shimmied back out of the cage and secured the hook.
She sighed. “I hate locking it up.”
“It’s more for protection.”
“I know, but whenever people say it’s for your own good...”
Brody ran a hand through his hair. When he decided to buy the farm, he’d had visions of becoming a hermit; back then quiet and solitude had been his friends. But the residents of Loon Lake, while giving him his space, had somehow woven a spell and claimed him as one of their own. Now he was sharing his home with a baby and discussing a wild crow with a beautiful woman.
When he first brought them here, he’d been looking for reasons they needed to leave. Now he was looking for reasons to keep them here. And that was dangerous.
She studied the bird. “I need to look up what to feed it.”
“Peanuts in the shell, fresh fruit, mealworms and mmmhhff—”
She threw her arms around him. “Thank you.”
The sweet, flowery scent of her hair surrounded him. Oh, man, he was in trouble.
He stood motionless, fighting the urge to throw his arms around her, because if he did, they’d end up on the floor of the barn in a tangle of—Stop! She’s here because you’re her son’s uncle. And that was a fact no amount of time, space or wishing would ever change.
She must’ve realized how stiffly he was holding himself, because she dropped her arms and would have backed away if he hadn’t caught her hand. He couldn’t let her go thinking he was rejecting her. He swallowed hard. What could he say? “Mary, I...”
She tugged her hand free. “It’s okay. I get it. Complicated.”
She’d collected Elliott and disappeared before he could form a coherent thought, let alone a verbal answer.
Chapter Nine
Distance. She needed distance. Mary marched across the yard, into the house and up the stairs. She left Elliott, asleep in his seat, in his room and went into hers. She balled her hands into fists. What was wrong with her? Elliott was six months old, so her rioting hormones had settled back to normal. Never in her life had she thrown herself at a man. Even with Roger, he’d done the pursuing. No one in her life had ever pursued her with such determination as Roger had, and she’d let ego cloud her judgment. Had she somehow done that again?
In the bathroom she washed her face and began brushing her hair. Once Elliott woke, she’d go into town and check out some of the businesses on Main Street. She’d noticed a bookstore and a needlework shop, both customers of Randall Burke’s. She could introduce herself and let them know Randall would be doing less and less.
“Mary?”
She twirled toward Brody’s voice, the brush slipping out of her hand and clattering onto the tile floor.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He held up his hands, palms out.
“No problem. I didn’t hear you come up the stairs.” She stooped to pick up the brush and used those few seconds to compose herself.
“I...” He tugged on his ear. “I want to apologize for my behavior.”
“What do you mean?” She wasn’t making the mistake of assuming or taking anything for granted. She needed to know where she stood with Brody.
“I gave you the impression that I didn’t want your kisses. Nothing could be further from the truth.” He ran his hand through his hair. From the state of it, it appeared he’d been doing that quite a bit.
“I shouldn’t have thrown myself at you.” She set the brush down. “It was...inappropriate.”
Good Lord. She sounded like some hapless heroine from one of her Regency romances.
“Inappropriate?” His eyebrows shot up to disappear under his disheveled hair.
“Impulsive?” And how was this better?
“I’d say inevitable.” He stepped closer and reached out, hooking his hand around her waist. “Please? Let me apologize for giving you the wrong idea.”
“Well... I...” She pulled back enough to look at his face but not enough to slip from his embrace. “I gotta be honest and say you’re confusing me with your mixed signals.”
“I know.” He pulled her closer and rested his forehead against hers. “I didn’t want you to think I was taking advantage of our situation. I needed to be sure you weren’t just expressing gratitude for my help with the crow.”
“That wasn’t gratitude. Believe me, I know the difference,” she assured him and ran her hands across his back, enjoying the way his muscles flexed under her fingers.
He exhaled, his breath warming her face, warming her heart. “Mary, I... I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you.”
“You have?” Her heart pounded as their breath commingled.
“You don’t look convinced.” His arms tightened around her.
“Well—”
He eased her closer, fitting her against him, her softness to his hardness. And oh, boy, his muscles weren’t the only things hard on him. She wiggled closer.
“Mmm.” His lips fastened on hers. He lifted his head, his blue eyes dark with desire. “What say you now?”
“Huh?” She was lost in a haze of desire.
“Are you convinced I want you every bit as much as you want me?”
She ran her tongue over her teeth, then her lips, feeling powerful when his pupils dilated. “Maybe I could use a little more convincing.”
He lowered his head. “I’ll see what I can do.”
He deepened the kiss as she lifted her arms from his waist to loop around his neck, urging him closer.
He lifted his head, his blue eyes intent. “If...if this isn’t what you want—”
She silenced him with her fingers over his lips. “I’m an adult and I understand ramifications... I also know what I want.”
“Thank God,” he muttered and scooped he
r up. “Your bed or mine?”
“Wait. Do you have condoms?”
“Mine it is.”
In his room, he laid her on the bed and shucked off his boots before joining her. He brought his mouth down on hers and she opened immediately for him, her tongue meeting his. Without lifting his mouth from hers, he began unbuttoning her blouse. After getting the first few buttons undone, he reached under the fabric to cup her breast. He pinched the nipple through the fabric.
He lifted his mouth from hers to trail kisses along the skin he’d exposed.
She buried her hands in his thick hair and tugged him closer as he kissed his way to her breasts. He ran his tongue over the lace covered valley.
“This is convenient.” He grinned and flicked open the front clasp of her bra.
He captured a nipple with his mouth, but, as much as she hated to, she pulled him away. “Careful. You might get more than you bargained for.”
“I don’t under—oh.” He grinned. “I guess those belong to the little guy for now.”
“I’m weaning, so most of his feedings are bottle, but I don’t want to send the wrong message to my body.”
“Gotcha.”
Abandoning her breasts, he undid the remaining buttons and pulled the fabric apart. He slowly worked his way down to her navel and circled it with his tongue.
Abruptly he sat up and pulled his shirt over his head. He grabbed a condom from the nightstand, set it on the bed and eased back down next to her. She ran her hands over his bare chest, admiring the muscle definition and the sprinkling of dark, curly hair. “This farming business agrees with you.”
He chuckled, that delicious low sound that made all her hormones stand up and salute.
“I keep up with my military routine between all that farming.” He flexed his abs and grinned, obviously pleased with her admiration.
He laid back and pulled her with him so she landed partially on top. She kissed his chest and licked his flat nipples until he sucked in a breath and rolled over, reversing their positions.
He unsnapped her jeans. “Let’s get you out of these so I can see you.”
She quickly shimmied out of the jeans and tossed them aside.
He started to pull her panties off and stopped, sucking in a sharp breath. “Mary?”
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