Vexed in Vermont (Yours Truly: The Lovelorn Book 12)

by Marie Higgins

  She rushed to his side and touched his forehead. It wasn’t hot. In fact, he felt a little cold. “Are you all right?”

  “Except for the bullet holes in my arm, I’m fine. Why?”

  She couldn’t tell him that it wasn’t in his nature to give her a compliment. That particular conversation she didn’t want to visit. “You feel cool.”

  “I do feel a little chilled.”

  “I built a fire, so maybe it will warm up the cave a little. Or...” She moved to one of her supply shelves and pulled down a wool blanket. “I suppose we can wrap this around you, too.”

  Without thinking first, she moved close to him and started wrapping the blanket around his shoulders. He watched her, and she realized she should have let him do this personal thing. She quickly stopped and stepped back.

  “Thank you.” He pulled the blanket around him more without taking his eyes off her. “This helps.”

  “Good.” She wrung her hands nervously against her middle. “And I have some beans warming up in the pan, and I’ll make you some coffee, too.”

  He smiled. “Aren’t you the little caregiver now?” He cocked his head. “Maybe you have changed a little after all.”

  She snorted a laugh and moved back to the fire to stir the beans. “Of course, I’ve changed. However,” she briefly peeked at him over her shoulder, “I’ve always been a caregiver. You just never wanted to get to know me to find out.” She stared down at the beans. “For as long as I remember, I’ve always wanted to take care of animals. I remember before my parents died, we had a dog. He’d been my best friend, but then he went blind and died.” She paused for a moment, remembering that sad time. “I had wished there was something that could have been done for old Copper. He was the best dog in the world.”

  “I suppose I didn’t take the time to get to know you. But then, you were just a child, and I was seven years older. We had nothing in common.”

  She removed the pan from the fire and set it on a flat stone. “No, but you didn’t need to be mean to me, either.” After the words tumbled out of her mouth, she groaned. She really shouldn’t have opened the conversation to that.

  “I was only mean to you because you were mean to me.”

  “What?” She spun around, facing him. “When was I ever mean to you?”

  “You honestly don’t remember?”

  “Apparently,” she folded her arms, “your memories are vastly different from mine.”

  He nodded. “So, tell me what you remember as a child?”

  “For starters, there was the cellar that you would lock me in every time you had your friends over. You told me that if I made a sound, the devil would find me.” She tapped her forefinger on her arm. “Oh, and how could I forget those times you burned the ends of my hair as a threat for me to not tell your father of some of the things you’d done?” She cocked her head. “And have you forgotten those times Aunt Betty threw me a party and invited my friends? You had always sneaked into my bedroom and somehow altered my gowns beforehand. During the party, my friends laughed at me, Adrian. Do you know how humiliating that is for a ten-year-old girl?” Her voice cracked with emotion, so she stopped.

  As she studied his expression, she thought to see humor in his eyes or that wicked grin on his mouth. Instead, he frowned.

  “Actually, I had forgotten about your hair and cutting your gowns.”

  “But you remember the cellar?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you don’t think that was mean?”

  He pulled the blanket around him a little tighter. “I was with my friends. You always wanted to be with me, but I didn’t want you around. I told you to go away several times, but you never did. That’s when I started putting you in the cellar and locking the door.”

  She turned back to the fire and threw another log on. She blinked, trying not to cry in front of him. Crying made her weak, and she was determined never to be that way in front of him again. “Is that why you thought I was mean to you – because I wanted to be with you and your friends?”

  “No, that’s not why.”

  She stirred the hot coals around with a stick. “Then tell me.”

  “You waited up for me when I came home after drinking with my friends. You sneaked into my room dressed as Satan himself, knowing that I would believe I’d died and gone to hell because of my intoxicated state.”

  She bit her bottom lip. Perhaps she had done that a time or two, only excusing her action to get back at him for locking her in the cellar.

  “And then there was that time when I had graduated school. My father and Betty invited most of the town, if you remember correctly, and Betty had the cook make my favorite dish.”

  Inwardly, she groaned as the memory returned.

  “Nicolette? Tell me you remember what happened.”

  Taking a deep breath, she stood and faced him. “I had been learning about certain herbs that year, and I found one that would... um, well, that would upset a person’s stomach, so I put it in your food.”

  He shook his head. “It had done more than just upset my stomach. I spent most of the night in the outhouse, if you recall, instead of with my guests. You say how you were humiliated? Well, so was I, and it’s much more difficult for a young man to feel that way in front of his peers.”

  Guilt filled her, and she couldn’t believe she had been so vindictive. She’d convinced herself she was paying him back for all the mean things he’d done to her.

  Slowly, she walked to the cot and sat down beside him. She didn’t look at his face, and thankfully, he didn’t look her way, either.

  “I suppose we were both rotten to each other and felt that we had good reason,” she said in a tight voice.

  “Yeah.”

  She stared at the fire as her chest continued to feel heavier. “I had wanted your attention, because you were the only one in the house that was close to being my age. It hurt that you hadn’t considered me family. More than anything, I had wanted a family, just as all my friends had.”

  Adrian sighed deeply. “I resented you from the day you moved in. I knew my father had wanted a daughter, and when he started spoiling you, I felt neglected. I thought he was giving you all of the love and attention he should have been giving me.”

  Finally, she turned and looked at him. His gaze was on the fire. “Adrian, your father loved you more than me. I don’t know why you didn’t see it, because I did.”

  Shrugging, he met her gaze. “Once again, we saw things differently.”

  “I’m sorry you felt that way,” she whispered. “If I had known, I would have done something to show you that your father wasn’t spoiling me. It was only Aunt Betty.”

  “And I’m sorry for...” He paused as he stared into her eyes.

  During the silence, her heart raced. Could he really be apologizing? She didn’t dare believe he’d do it, only because she knew she’d be let down when he didn’t say the words.

  He sighed and grasped her hand that rested on her lap. “I’m sorry for not being the family you had wanted. I was fortunate enough to have an older brother, but I never realized what you were going through. Will you forgive me for being so selfish?”

  Her mind scrambled and unscrambled his words, trying to understand them. He wasn’t really apologizing for being mean to her, but he was still apologizing. Tears burned her eyes and she blinked quickly, before he noticed.

  “I’ll forgive you for being selfish if you forgive me for being a bratty little girl who wanted everyone’s attention.”

  Adrian smiled, and her heart did a few silly flip-flops in her chest. Why would she have such an odd reaction? Maybe she was the one who was feverish, instead.

  “Yes, I’ll forgive you.” He nodded.

  “Then I shall forgive you, too.”

  His thumb rubbed across her knuckles, and she suddenly realized how gentle he was to her right now.

  “So... what do we do now?” he asked.

  “What do you mean?”

 
; “Do we hug or something?”

  Heat surged through her from the mere thought, and she laughed uncomfortably. “Like friends?”

  “Yes, like friends.”

  “Well, as your caregiver, I don’t think you should move your arm, but I suppose a one-arm hug will be appropriate.”

  She leaned in and he slid his right arm around her, pulling her closer. As she wrapped her arms around him, she was careful not to bump his injury. His face moved to her hair, and she could have sworn he rubbed his cheek against her. Tingles grew inside her and her heartbeat sped up, so she pulled away before she was overwhelmed by those odd sensations.

  Before she could finish pulling back, he cupped the side of her face, keeping her close. Her mouth turned dry. His hazel eyes sparkled, and she felt like she was... floating.

  “I don’t think I’ve thanked you for helping me.” He stroked his thumb across her cheek. “I’m grateful you didn’t let me bleed to death.”

  “That wouldn’t make me a very good Veterinarian, would it?”

  He smiled. “Do you still think I’m an animal?”

  “Well... I still have my reservations.”

  His gaze dropped to her mouth, and she lost her breath. Oh, heavens! That couldn’t mean what she thought it meant. No, she wouldn’t believe he was entertaining those kinds of thoughts.

  “Be glad I don’t show you my animal side.”

  The fluttering in her chest was racing now, keeping up with her erratic pulse. What was he talking about? Images popped into her mind that shouldn’t be there at all. With any other man, she wouldn’t have thought such improper things, but with Adrian... well, she knew what kind of young man he’d been before leaving to join the military. Indeed, he didn’t have morals back then.

  She couldn’t allow him to corrupt her mind, which meant that she needed to stop this conversation immediately.

  SIX

  Something was wrong with Adrian. Being shot and losing so much blood had somehow altered his thoughts. Why else would he stare at the girl he couldn’t wait to get away from when he was a boy, and now look upon her as if she was an angel? A sweet smelling angel, at that. He couldn’t help himself from burying his face in her hair when they hugged and smelling her intoxicating flowery scent. Seeing her so lovely in her dress didn’t help matters, either. She was all woman, and he’d been without one for several months.

  Maybe he was just lonely... yet, he’d been lonely before, and seeing a pretty woman had never made him lose his mind. Not like now. Obviously, it had something to do with being shot.

  Nicolette’s shoulders stiffened and she moved back. “How do you know I haven’t already seen your animal side?” She arched an eyebrow. “You forget, I used to follow you and your friends around.”

  Although he should be upset at her, he just didn’t care anymore about what she’d done in the past. That part of his life was behind him now – and he was a better person today.

  He grinned. “Oh, so you do know?” Playfully, he bumped her arm. “Did you learn anything?”

  When she laughed, it sounded forced. “I learned how alcohol could alter a man’s mind and make him do foolish things.”

  “That’s a very good thing to learn.” He winked. “Because I will never consume that foul drink again.”

  Her face brightened. “Good. I’m happy to know that you have learned a lesson, as well.”

  She moved off the cot and back over to the pan sitting on a flat rock. She stirred a spoon inside before taking an empty bowl and dishing out the beans.

  “You’re probably hungry,” she said.

  “I am.”

  She brought him the bowl. He took it from her and set it in his lap, but then realized he wasn’t sure how he was going to eat without the use of both hands. She had moved back to the coffee and poured him a cup. As she carried it to him, her gaze moved between his face and the bowl on his lap.

  “Oh, dear. You probably need help eating.”

  He shrugged. “I think I do.”

  She set the coffee cup on a nearby table before moving back to the cot and taking the bowl and spoon from him. “Then I suppose I shall feed you.”

  Neither of them spoke a word as she fed him the beans. He couldn’t believe how much he enjoyed watching her expression as she did this simple task. He wanted to laugh over the way she opened her mouth as if trying to help him to open his own mouth. But, he didn’t laugh, because humor wasn’t the emotion filling him right now. She was so darn pretty, and he enjoyed studying her face. She had remarkable brown eyes that twinkled whenever she laughed. Her nose was perfect and straight, and her heart-shaped mouth... was just the kind he would like to kiss.

  Kiss? Where had that thought come from? Why would he want to kiss Lottie? Then again, the more he gazed upon her beauty, the more he saw the mature woman and not the irritating little girl, and slowly the past slipped out of his mind and all he could think about was the future... which included taking her into his arms and kissing her passionately.

  Of course, he’d wait until after he had eaten. He might even wait until he was cleaned up a little more.

  “You’re done.” She smiled. “Unless you want more. I could make you more.”

  “No, I’ve had enough beans.”

  She turned to lift his coffee cup off the table. “Here’s your coffee. Be careful, it’s still a little hot.”

  He was glad he could drink this by himself. Of course, he still watched her, and she made sure he could drink without her help.

  “I brought you some clean clothes.” She stood and moved to one of the gunny sacks near her desk. “Your trunks were delivered yesterday, so your father knows you’ll arrive home any day now.”

  “Yes, I suppose I should move around and gain my strength back. Hopefully, we’ll be able to head back home tonight.”

  “I don’t know.” She brought one of the sacks to him, setting it on the cot. “When I went home to get the supplies, I saw the man who was outside earlier.” She motioned toward the cave’s opening. “He was with two other men. I didn’t recognize any of them, but I’ll never forget their faces.”

  “Where were they?”

  “On the road between the house and just before entering the woods.”

  He cursed under his breath and slugged his fist against the gunny sack. “They are probably watching and waiting for me to return.”

  “That’s what I thought, too.”

  He raised his gaze to her. “Did they recognize you?”

  She shook her head. “I changed clothes, and they didn’t give me a second glance when I passed them.”

  His gut twisted in worry. “Are you certain they didn’t follow?”

  “Of course. I wasn’t about to lead them back here.”

  “I just...” He sighed, frowning.

  “What is it, Adrian?” She squatted in front of him, resting her hand on his knee.

  He glanced at the spot where the heat from her body was merging into his leg. He should remind her how inappropriate it was for her to touch his knee like that, and yet, he enjoyed the personal moment between them.

  “I just can’t believe they wouldn’t give you a second glance.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of how pretty you are.” Her yellow blouse brightened the color of her face. Not only had she changed her clothes, but she had fixed her hair differently. She’d pulled the hair away from her face and tied it with a ribbon that matched her blouse. He couldn’t understand how she could pass by any man without them taking a second look. Her face beamed red, and he thought it was adorable.

  “Adrian, you don’t have to lie to me. I have tough skin, you know.”

  She swatted his knee and began to rise, but he grasped her arm with his left hand, stopping her. Pain shot through his arm from using it, but since he was still holding his coffee cup, he had no other choice.

  “Adrian,” she gasped. “You shouldn’t use your arm yet.”

  “I need to try. How else am I going t
o gain my strength?” He took another sip from his coffee before handing the cup back to her. “In fact, if you’ll help me stand, I want to start walking now.”

  She placed the cup back on the table and moved closer to him. “Let me slip my arm around your waist and help you stand.”

  As she got in position, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and scooted to the edge of the cot. It was difficult not to press his face against her hair again and inhale her flowery scent. But she started lifting, so he didn’t have time, anyway.

  Once he was on his feet, dizziness assailed him. Closing his eyes, he tried to control the swaying motion spinning in his head. Nicolette must have known he’d be unsteady, and she quickly wrapped both arms around his waist, holding him still.

  “Are you all right?”

  Without opening his eyes, he could hear the panic in her voice. His heart melted. She really did care about him.

  Nodding, he took in several deep and calculated breaths. Slowly, the dizziness left, and his head was filled with her scent, instead. When he finally looked at her, she peered at him with wide eyes. Heavens, she was breathtaking... and so very near.

  He dropped his gaze to her mouth again. Was it too soon to kiss her? She was in his arms – or one arm, at least – and she was so close. He could just pull her closer and lower his mouth to hers...

  She hitched a breath and pulled back. Her eyes had widened even more, and her cheeks had flamed with color again.

  “I think,” she said and swallowed noisily, “that we should get you back home. I also think once you’ve changed out of your uniform, that those men might not spot you so easily.” She licked her lips. “And, I think I know a way through the woods to get you back to the house so they won’t see you.”

  Disappointment filled him. So, perhaps it was too soon to kiss her. But there would definitely be another time. He’d make sure of that.

  LIFE AS NICOLETTE KNEW it had changed so drastically in such a short time, she wasn’t sure how to deal with it.

  With Adrian back in her life now, she struggled with her emotions. Although at first, she didn’t think she’d ever forgive him, she really had when they were at the cave. And now, a week later, she was still as confused as she’d been back then.