These two guys, man and dog, were fast becoming her favorite companions.
Tomorrow, she promised herself, she’d get her head together and readjust her priorities. For tonight, she just drifted to sleep.
* * *
HUNTER CHOPPED WOOD with a vengeance, but it didn’t help.
Place the wood, swing the ax, move the neatly split pieces into the pile.
Think about Jodi... Repeat.
With the evening sun on his bare shoulders and back, he felt sweat drip, and he felt the turmoil in his brain.
Damn it, she confused him.
Sleeping with her had gone better than he’d expected. She’d awakened him with a kiss, her hair draping either side of his face, one of his hands inadvertently resting on her small but perfect ass.
Jodi hadn’t seemed to mind. With her palms framing his face, she’d nuzzled into the kiss with a near desperation that had him drawing her a little closer, holding her tighter—and then she’d abandoned him for the bathroom. When she’d emerged, she was ready to go and no amount of fast talking on his part had dissuaded her.
Claiming the night had been awesome, that she’d slept better than she could ever remember, she’d stepped outside and called negligently, “Later, gator,” and that was that.
Both he and Turbo had stood at the window, watching her stride up the road to her property. He’d grabbed the binoculars to ensure she got inside, that everything was still secure, and then...he’d gotten irked.
Two hours had passed before he’d heard her truck and stepped outside. She’d been polite, stopping to tell him she was heading into town for cleanup from the storm. Plenty of businesses needed fallen limbs and messy debris removed from their storefronts. She’d smiled and asked if he needed anything while she was in town.
Unsure what to say or do, for once unable to read her, Hunter had asked about dinner, but she’d declined, saying she’d likely just grab something in between jobs.
Hadn’t been easy, but he’d resisted asking when she might be back. Her pleasant expression couldn’t conceal a cooled attitude. What it meant, he couldn’t guess.
He’d had his own yard cleanup to do, but luckily the chickens had hunkered down in their coop, none the worse from the storm. They were now happily attacking bugs and worms that had risen to the surface of the dirt within their enclosure.
With his lead connected to a grommet on the chicken coop, Turbo slept peacefully in the sun. He was used to Hunter chopping wood in the early evening.
Hunter kept going over it again and again. During the night he’d heard Jodi’s breathing even into sleep and felt the heaviness of her limbs that proved she was truly out. He’d dozed off and on, waking to ensure she was still there, that she was settled.
That she was safe.
She’d awakened several times, too. Though she didn’t move or make a sound, he’d felt it whenever she’d stirred. She’d go alert, listening, waiting for God knew what, and then she’d relax again, only to repeat the procedure every hour or so.
In so many ways, it had felt right keeping her that close.
At least to him. Apparently, not to her—but then, Jodi was different, from other women, from every other person he knew...even from himself. How she dealt with trauma was unique. His head told him that he had to let her figure it out.
His gut told him something altogether different.
Long after her work hours should have ended, she finally returned. He heard her truck again—the one consolation to having her live so close. He stepped to the side yard and saw her drive by. She didn’t stop, and he didn’t bother waving her down.
Now, with every beat of his heart, he fought the urge to go after her.
He was just bringing the ax down hard, his muscles flexed, when Turbo burst into a state of alarm by croaking and howling and jumping. Deliberately, Hunter sank the ax into the stump and reached for his discarded shirt, using it to swipe the sweat off his face. “Easy,” he told Turbo, and wondered if Jodi had managed a change of heart all on her own.
Taking the dog into the house, he secured the back door and headed for the front, reaching it just as a heavy knock sounded.
No, that wouldn’t be Jodi. Her knock, a sort of rap-rap-rap, had sounded entirely different from the heavy thump hitting his door. What the fuck? No one came to his house. No one dared. He looked out a window...and saw Worth Linlow.
Glad to have a target for his simmering discontent, Hunter jerked open the door and glared.
Worth automatically took a step back before he caught himself. Then he tried on a smile and came forward again. “Hunter.” He made a point of looking around. “Damn nice spread you have here.”
“Did you not see the No Trespassing signs? Several of them?”
“Well, sure.” Uncertain now, Worth tucked his hands into his slacks. “Figured those were for strangers and solicitors.”
“They’re for everyone—and you know that.”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to show up unannounced.”
Yet that’s exactly what he’d done. Hunter knew there had to be a reason, and whatever it was, he didn’t like it. “What do you want?”
Trying to sound jovial, Worth said, “Fuck you, too, buddy. Guess you had a bad day with the storm?”
“My day was fine.” His day had been totally fucked. “I’ve made it clear to you and everyone else that I don’t accept people on my property.”
“I know, but it’s not like you’re burying bodies out here, right?”
Hunter narrowed his eyes. “You have one minute.”
“Right.” Worth cleared his throat. “Can I come in?”
For an answer, Hunter held on to the door with one hand and propped his shoulder on the frame, making sure Turbo couldn’t get around him. His dog loved everyone, with few exceptions—and Worth was one of them. Turbo was trying his damnedest to push past Hunter’s legs. To do what, Hunter couldn’t guess. Since he’d had him, Turbo had never bitten anyone.
“Fine, I’ll get right to it. I bought another car.” Looking proud of himself, Worth rocked back on his heels. “I’ve had my eye on a ’65 Mustang Cobra for a while now. Surprisingly, the guy just sold it to me for way less than he had been asking. Interior is in great shape, but the body could use a little work. I figure after you do your thing, it’ll be prime. What do you say?”
“I say you could have called me as you’ve done in the past. Why show up in person?”
“I was in the area.”
“What area is that?”