by Debbie Mason
Bella whined, pulling Abby’s attention from the book. She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting there reading, but she’d known almost from the first line that this was a book she’d complete. Until that moment, she hadn’t felt a connection to her great-aunt. She hadn’t felt anything for the woman Hunter, Elsa, and Owen loved. But now she could almost hear her voice, and she wanted to know more about the girl who’d been banished from her home in the big city to the mountains of North Carolina. She was almost tempted to skip ahead, but something told her she needed to read every line of her great-aunt’s story in order.
Abby closed the book and tucked it under her arm. As she went to stand up, she noticed four more books with similar covers and of a similar size sitting on the fourth shelf from the bottom. A book for every decade, she surmised. She pulled out the first book in the row and opened it. Sure enough, it had been written in the 1980s.
Abby set the book on the end of the bed and went to close the other set of drapes. Her thoughts were still stuck in the pages of her great-aunt’s journal so she didn’t look out. Though it didn’t escape her notice that her aunt had arrived on what was probably a night much like this, and she’d survived.
With that comforting thought in mind, Abby walked over to give Bella a cuddle. “I’ll be right back, Boo.” After offering Bella another treat, Abby went to her bedroom to retrieve her nightie. She decided that when she had some extra money, she’d replace the nightwear with something more suitable for farmhouse living.
She stuck her head out into the hall to make sure Bella wasn’t crying before ducking into the bathroom for a quick shower and to change. When she came out of the bathroom, the shirt Hunter had lent her caught her eye. It was hanging on the back of the chair by the bed. She’d forgotten to wash it and give it back to him. Maybe tomorrow she’d use it as an excuse to see him. Remembering what Haley had said, Abby thought she’d wait a few days.
She went over to the chair and picked up the soft denim shirt, slipping it on to ward off the damp chill in the air. It still smelled like Hunter, like cedar and clean mountain air. She inhaled again, deeper this time. There was something calming about the smell, which surprised her. Calm wasn’t an emotion she attributed to Hunter. He certainly didn’t make her feel that way.
Although the drama of their encounters probably didn’t help. Neither did his sheer size and the testosterone that seemed to ooze from his pores. Or his cranky demeanor. It was no wonder he made her nervous, she thought, remembering the warm tingle she’d get low in…She sighed. As she’d clearly established earlier in the week, the warm tingles Hunter gave her had nothing to do with nerves.
And maybe because she’d thought of Hunter just before crawling into bed with Bella, Abby woke up to hear him calling her name. The room was dark. Sometime in the night she must’ve turned off the lantern. She strained to hear above the howling wind and the creaks and groans of the house. It sounded like it moaned as the wind tried to tear it apart.
She was just about to berate herself for having the thought when she heard a man’s voice and what sounded like the pounding of heavy boots coming down the hall. Then the door flung open at the same time the wind roared and the house shook. A shadow raced from the doorway to throw itself on Abby. The solid, muscular weight of the body covering hers forced the air from her lungs. Her pained grunt morphed into a scream as chunks of the ceiling fell and a tree limb ripped through the roof.
As quickly as the terrifying noise had filled the room, it faded. The bedroom grew eerily still and quiet as she stared at the thick, leafy tree limb that stabbed the hardwood floor just inches from the side of the bed. Then she turned her gaze to the rain-soaked man who covered her body with his, and thought the Universe worked in mysterious ways.
* * *
She’s all right. Hunter silently repeated the statement a couple times in an effort to calm his jackhammering heart. The thought that she wouldn’t survive the storm had been forefront on his mind as he raced the black clouds back to Honeysuckle Ridge. He was having a hard time moving past the scenarios that had played out in his head.
Within minutes of Abby walking across the meadow to the farm, SAR (search-and-rescue) had called to ask Hunter for his help in finding a missing five-year-old who’d wandered from one of the campsites. The storm had just unleashed its fury, making a difficult job even more difficult. Hunter had found the little boy down by Willow Creek. The grateful parents had no idea the danger their son had been in, and not only from a flash flood but also from a protective mama bear.
As Hunter headed back to Honeysuckle Ridge from the search staging area, he had no intention of stopping at the farmhouse. He didn’t want to see Abby; didn’t think he’d ever see her again. And he’d been more than all right with that. But that was before he spotted the wall of dark clouds and the green tinge to the sky. Tornadoes were rare in the area, but he knew the signs.
Hunter reached for the lantern on the bedside table and turned it on. He lifted his gaze to survey the damage, checking to see if they were in immediate danger of the roof caving in. Water poured through the opening but then slowed to a trickle as the wind died down and everything quieted. He followed the length of the tree limb to where it jutted out from the hardwood floor. Unable to keep from asking himself the inevitable what if, he dragged his gaze to Abby’s swollen, bloodshot eyes.
He opened his mouth to ask if she was okay but didn’t get a chance because she threw her arms around his neck.
“Thank you, thank you for coming to save us. I’m so glad you don’t hate me.” She sobbed into his chest. “You tried to have me arrested six hours ago. I thought you’d never want to see us again.” She sniffed, then withdrew her arms from his neck to draw a whimpering Bella close.
“Seven hours ago.”
“Pardon me.”
“I tried to have you arrested seven hours ago. I shouldn’t have let my family talk me out of it. You would’ve been safer at the station than here.”
“But you forgive me, right? You’re here so that must mean you forgive me.”
“The reason I’m here is to make sure that you and the rat aren’t hurt in the storm.” As he pushed himself off the bed and offered her his hand, he once again looked up at the ceiling. Now that she was okay and the adrenaline rush had started to fade, anger was beginning to take the place of relief. “Come on. You can’t stay here.”
She ignored his hand and sat up. She wore his shirt over her nightgown, and she scooped a trembling Bella into her arms. “So you were worried about us, but you still hate me.”
“I don’t hate you, Abby.”
“Somehow you make that sound worse. Like I’m not worth the effort it would take to hate me.”
“So you’d rather I hate you?” He gave his head a slight shake and picked up the lantern. He’d never understand women. No, he’d never understand this woman. He offered his hand again. “Come on. I’m taking you to the barn.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I guess it’s better than having you feel nothing for me at all.”
At a long, drawn-out creak from the ceiling, he grabbed her hand and yanked her off the bed and against his chest. “Trust me, Abby. I feel plenty for you.”
He did, and it wasn’t just annoyance or frustration or fear. He wanted her. He wished he didn’t but he did, and somehow he had to wrap his head around the why and the how of it and what he was going to do about it. But right now, he had to get them out of there.
She searched his face and gave a sad little nod. “I know. I’m a pain in your butt.”
He glanced up at the bulging ceiling. “At the moment, you are. We have to get out of here now.” He pulled her after him.
A chunk of plaster hit the bed seconds after they cleared the door.
“Wait.” She pushed Bella at him, then ran back into the room. “Go. I’ll catch up with you.”
He sent her an exasperated stare, tempted to leave her there. Instead he backtracked to follow her into the bedroom, w
atching in frustrated disbelief as she posed for a selfie with the tree. Then she grabbed a book and a package of dog treats and placed them in a shopping bag.
“Seriously, you’d risk the ceiling caving in on you to take a picture of yourself?” he said as he grabbed her and the bag.
“The selfie was an afterthought. I’m starting a new YouTube channel, and the picture will show just what my life in Highland Falls is like. It would’ve been better if I’d thought to capture the moment as it was happening, but…You wouldn’t be interested in reenacting it, would you?”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just ask me that.” He dragged her down the hall, quickening his pace.
“Just so you know, I’m not all about me. I went back for Bella’s treats and Liz’s journal.” She pulled her hand free.
Afraid she’d trip, he slowed his pace on the stairs to keep an eye on her. “I didn’t know she kept one,” he said once they reached the kitchen.
What he didn’t say was that he appreciated Abby wanting to keep Liz’s book safe. He glanced at her bare feet and went to the cupboard under the stairs, grabbing a pair of Liz’s rubber boots and a rain poncho.
“I didn’t know that cupboard was there. Thanks,” she said when he handed her the boots and poncho. As she pulled on the boots, she raised an eyebrow at him. “Just like I didn’t know there was a washer and dryer in the closet.”
He held back a smile. “I didn’t want to spoil your fun.” Or his, because it had been pretty amusing listening to her complain while hand-washing her laundry in the sink.
“Thanks.” She glanced at him as he helped her pull the poncho over her head. “And thank you for coming tonight, even if you haven’t forgiven me.” She moved to the kitchen counter and picked up a container. “I made you a fresh batch of berry doughnuts.”
“I know. I heard you.”
“You were there the entire time I was pouring out my heart to you, begging for your forgiveness, and you didn’t say a single word? Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?” She grimaced. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It’s not about how you made me feel. It’s about how I made you feel. I honestly didn’t think what I did was that horrible. Until I looked at it from your perspective with some help from Haley.” She offered him the container. “I know it doesn’t come close to making things right, but I truly am sorry, Hunter. If there’s anything I can do, anything at all to make it up to you, please tell me, and I’ll do it.”
She stood in front of him wearing an olive-green rain poncho, her curly red hair a tangled mess, her eyes bloodshot and swollen, and the first thing that he thought of asking her for was a kiss. He must be losing his mind. And since the one thing that Abby Everhart did that was guaranteed to make him lose his mind, especially with her staying with him for the night, he said, “Don’t talk for the next eight hours.”
“But—”
“Not a word.”
“Wait, wait. I just need to get this straight. So you’ll really and truly forgive me if I don’t talk for eight hours? You won’t hold a grudge and throw it in my face every day? And you’ll still help me with the house?”
“Yes, I’ll forgive you. I won’t hold a grudge. And I’ll help you with the house. Your time starts—”
“Just one more. I promise. It’s the last one.”
He nodded, and she smiled. “Okay, just because the tree made a hole in the master bedroom doesn’t mean the entire roof has to be replaced, does it?”
“Afraid so.” Her face crumpled, and he slid an arm around her shoulders, tucking her close as he guided her from the house. And not just to comfort her. He didn’t want her to see that half the covered porch was gone. He’d wait until tomorrow to tell her the full extent of the damage.
Chapter Fourteen
I can hear the wheels turning in your head,” Hunter muttered from where he lay on top of a sleeping bag beside the bed that he’d given up for Abby last night.
She rolled onto her side and stared down at him with pleading eyes. He had no idea how hard it was for her not to speak.
His eyes were closed, and she found her own drifting to his mouth. To his full, beautifully shaped lips that she’d wanted to kiss last night out of gratitude and relief, and maybe, just maybe, a little want and need.
“It’s six in the morning,” he said, and she gave a guilty start. Praying that his eyes were still closed and he didn’t see her staring down at him. They were, thank goodness.
“You have thirty more minutes to go.” He continued. “Six hours if I counted the times you talked in your sleep.”
She winced and was glad he couldn’t see the face she’d just made. She hadn’t been talking in her sleep; she’d been talking to him when he’d returned in the middle of the night. Then, remembering their agreement, she’d mumbled some nonsensical words and pretended she was asleep.
The poor guy must be exhausted. He’d dropped her and Bella off, left Wolf to look after them, and then headed back to put in several hours on the house. Supposedly to mop up the water in the master bedroom and repair whatever other leaks he found, but she got the feeling there was something else he was concerned about that he wasn’t sharing.
She lay on her back and bit down on her bottom lip to keep from talking. Hunter could probably go days on end without speaking to anyone. It would drive her insane. She tossed and turned on the double-size bed. She had no idea how he fit on the mattress. Surely his feet hung over the edge. As far as being comfortable? It was hardly comfy and cozy.
Like the rest of the space, the bed was basic and plain and appeared to be handmade, which didn’t surprise her. The former Delta Force soldier was an extremely talented and resourceful man. But what did surprise her was the lack of family photos, of anything personal, for that matter. Then again, it probably shouldn’t.
She glanced at the bedside table. He did have books though. A lot of them. That was just one more thing they didn’t have in common; he obviously loved to read, and she hated it. Although her aunt’s journal might prove to be the exception. Abby shifted in the bed, stretching out her legs and feet to see if Hunter could fit. Just like she thought: he wouldn’t.
At the drawn-out sigh coming from the floor, she decided she’d make a cup of coffee and head outside before she drove herself and Hunter nuts. Inch by careful inch, she pushed herself upright on the bed so as not to disturb him.
He cracked one eye open. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She pointed at the coffeepot on the small counter near the woodstove and mimed making herself a cup and taking it outside to drink. He opened his other eye to stare at her. She had a feeling he found her miming as annoying as her talking.
She stood up and nodded at the bed. When he gave her a blank stare, she silently acted out him getting up and crawling into the bed. She glanced over her shoulder to see if he’d gotten the idea and noticed that Wolf and Bella were now sharing the large dog bed in the corner. She went to say aww but then closed her mouth and pressed her hands against her chest, looking at Hunter to see if he’d noticed the heartwarming sight.
He gave his head a clearly frustrated shake. “You’re as annoying not talking as you are talking, so just talk.”
She opened her mouth, then clamped it shut. There was no way she was going through that torture and not having him forgive her. She tried to act it out silently, but at his increasingly exasperated expression, she mouthed Will you still forgive me?
“For…Yes, I forgive you. Just don’t ever do it again.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. That’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And I swear, I’ll guard your privacy with my life. I won’t let anyone—”
“Abby.”
“Yes?”
“Technically, you haven’t spoken for a total of forty-five minutes. You were asleep the rest of the time.”
“That’s crazy. I can go without talking way longer than that. You’ve been working at the house with me for days…” He crossed his
arms, and she corrected herself. “Okay, so you’ve been working, and I’ve been helping. Fine, overseeing. But I have been tidying up. You have to give me that at least.”
“I’ll give you that, but you’ve just proved my point. I’ve spent a couple of days under the same roof with you, and, trust me, you’re always talking. And if you’re not talking to me, you’re talking to the rat.”
She looked at him and made a zip it motion with her finger across her lips. She had to unzip them almost immediately and made a face.
He laughed, then looked surprised that he had. It wasn’t the first time she’d made him laugh, and he’d had the same reaction each and every time. It made her sad to think he hadn’t had occasion to laugh in quite some time. Even though her life had been kind of crappy for the past several months, she was pretty sure she’d found something to laugh about every day, or if not to laugh, at least to smile about. She smiled now, though inwardly because she didn’t want Hunter to know that she was happy she’d made him laugh.
“I’ll zip right back up. I just didn’t want to go through the whole acting-out thing again.” She nodded at the mattress. “You should grab a couple hours’ sleep in your bed. I’ll go outside and have my coffee, get organized for my day.”
He sat up and scrubbed his hands over his face. “I’m good, thanks. I’ll just grab a shower and then go up to the house with you. Don’t go without me, okay?”
“I won’t.” She smiled at Wolf, who’d lifted his head when Hunter stood. When Wolf lay back down, Bella snuggled closer. Abby could’ve sworn Wolf sighed, but unlike every other time, he didn’t nudge her away. “Aww, did you see that? Bella’s growing on Wolf.”
“More like she’s tenacious, and he recognizes when he’s in a battle he can’t win.”
“Aww, they’re like me and you.”
He gave her a dark look.
“I’ll, ah, just get my coffee now and go outside.” It wasn’t exactly a big space, and he was a big man so Abby brushed against him as she shuffled to the counter. “Sorry.” She smiled and made a zip it motion across her lips again. This time he didn’t laugh. But she wasn’t sure if he didn’t because it wasn’t funny the second time around or because he’d felt the same jolt of awareness that she had when her chest brushed against his.