Taking A Chance (Rebels 0f Forbidden Lake Book 2)

by Elana Johnson

  “That was my sister,” he said. “She’s not blonde, but she’s going to pose as you to go to your apartment and get a few things for you.” He got two forks out of the drawer in the island and turned to get plates down from the cupboard. “Probably not for a few days, but I told her that was okay.”

  “It’s fine,” Allegra said, coming into the kitchen with him. “Can I make coffee?”

  “Be my guest,” he said, kicking himself for not making coffee. It was literally one of the first things he did each morning, but today he felt completely off his game. “Do you have to go into work?”

  “Nope, they closed everything down today,” she said.

  “Me too.”

  Their eyes met, and she said, “So we’re stuck here for the day.”

  “Looks like it.”

  Sally whined, and Phoenix moved toward the back door to let the dogs out. Allegra came with him, panic in her eyes. “I’ll just hide right here,” she whispered.

  “You think he’s going to be out there watching?”

  “I have no idea,” she said, her fingers reaching out and gripping Phoenix’s arm for a moment. Pressure, and then gone.

  He nodded and opened the door, stepping outside with the dogs so he could clear a path for them. The snow still fell in lazy swirls, and the world was beautiful blanketed in all white. He took the shovel he kept right beside the back door and cleared the back porch, down the few steps to the patio, and a small patch of lawn for Sally.

  With that done, he retreated back to the warmth and safety of the cabin, only to find Allegra hadn’t moved at all. He busied himself with getting fresh food and water for the dogs, and then he opened the back door to let them back in. He scrubbed down their backs and paws so the house wouldn’t be full of snow, and then he turned the deadbolt and looked at Allegra.

  “I really don’t think he’s still going to be out there. It’s freezing.”

  She nodded and went back into the kitchen to finish making the coffee. “I’m sure you’re right. I’d just rather be safe than sorry.”

  He nodded, sure she was right. He split up the eggs onto two plates and set one in front of the barstool where she’d eaten last night.

  “So,” she said once the coffee was set and had started to brew. “Why don’t you go to town?”

  He choked on his bite of scrambled eggs and looked at her. “What?”

  “I heard you tell your sister that you don’t go to town.” She got up and started opening cupboards. “Mugs?”

  He joined her in the kitchen, still trying to clear food from the wrong pipe. “Right here.” He opened the cupboard beside the sink and handed her a mug.

  She looked up at him, pure innocence on her face. “Why don’t you go to town?” She wasn’t asking so she could make fun of him. At least Phoenix didn’t think she was.

  “Is this going to be a game of Twenty Questions today?” he asked.

  “I believe you only gave your sister three,” she said with a flash of fire in her eyes. “And I’m just asking this one.”

  “I don’t like questions,” he said.

  “Well, I don’t like being trapped out in the middle of nowhere without a phone charger or my toothbrush. So get over it.” She turned her back on him and poured herself a cup of coffee. “I don’t suppose someone as rustic as you has cream?”

  “I have cream,” he said with a hint of acid in his voice. He got it out for her, as well as the sugar bowl, the fight leaving his body.

  He sure liked having her in his kitchen, and if the way she’d cuddled into him last night had told him anything, she didn’t hate him as much as he’d originally thought.

  He’d already admitted that he liked her, though he hadn’t identified what kind of like. He certainly didn’t want her asking clarifying questions about that.

  “What kind of phone?” he asked, stepping over to his junk drawer and opening it. “I’m sure I have something here that will charge you up.”

  She faced him again, and she definitely seemed charged already. “You think so?” she asked, taking a dangerous step toward him.

  “Yeah.” His hands hung limply at his sides as she came over, her eyes never leaving his. She sipped her coffee and set it on the counter before looking into the drawer.

  Phoenix had lost his mind. Completely lost it. Allegra smelled like coffee and cream and flowers, and he wanted her to stay in his cabin until they could make a plan to be together.

  The very idea was ridiculous, and yet there it hung in his mind.

  “I don’t go to town,” he started, his voice somewhat robotic. “Because I’m embarrassed. See, last time I went to town, I stood in the park and waited for my fiancée to walk down the aisle.”

  Allegra stilled in her search for the right cord. She lifted her eyes to his, and he saw only compassion—which somehow annoyed him.

  “She never came,” Phoenix said, a healthy dose of that same humiliation diving through him. “And I’d rather not be reminded of that every time I need milk or toilet paper.” He stepped around her and poured himself a cup of coffee and returned to his now-cold plate of eggs.

  He stuck them in the microwave and hit the thirty-second button. “So I order everything online, and I don’t have a car, and I live out here.”

  Allegra went back to searching through his drawer, finally pulling out a cord and plugging it into the wall behind her. He pulled his hot-again eggs from the microwave and sat down as she plugged in her phone, collected her coffee, and joined him at the bar.

  “I’m so sorry, Phoenix,” she said, reaching over and covering his hand with hers. “She must’ve been blind, dumb, and completely clueless.”

  Phoenix stalled in stabbing a forkful of eggs. He looked at Allegra, that same energy crackling between them that had always been there. This time, though, he didn’t use it to hurl insults at her or get his irritation all knotted up.

  “Yeah?” he asked, unsure of why he needed validation from her.

  “Oh, yeah,” she said slowly. “If I had a guy like you, I’d show up.” She lifted her mug to her lips and drank, finally breaking the connection between them and focusing on her breakfast.

  Phoenix followed her lead, but her words screamed through his mind.

  If I had a guy like you, I’d show up.

  So maybe she would go out with him if he asked. Or stay in with him, as the case may be.

  Chapter Eight

  Allegra wanted to be as honest and forthcoming with Phoenix as he had been with her. So as she ate her cold eggs, she mulled over what to tell him.

  “Devon and I dated for six months,” she started when he got up to put his plate in the dishwasher. She liked that he rinsed his dishes and put them immediately in the machine. He wasn’t a neat freak, but he knew how to take care of his business.

  He leaned against the counter beside the sink and folded his arms, his dark hair and eye combination dangerous to her defenses against him. And that beard…it should be illegal to grow a beard as sexy as Phoenix’s.

  “Anyway, he started saying weird stuff,” Allegra said. “About how many kids we’d have, and when the best times to have babies were. He said I should have the kids naturally, and then he took me by a little white house that was for sale on Lakeshore Drive, and said it would be perfect for us.” She paused, her thoughts spiraling back to that scary time.

  “We hadn’t even talked about kids yet,” she said. “Or marriage. Or anything. It was all very odd.”

  “Do you want kids?” he asked.

  “Sure,” she said. “But I don’t think my husband should dictate how or when I have them.” She watched him, and he seemed to agree with her. “Devon showed me all these articles on natural childbirth.” She shook her head. “It got weird really fast.”

  “Sounds like it.”

  “When I pushed back, he turned controlling, always texting me. If I didn’t respond within five minutes, he called. He accused me of cheating on him when I was simply out in the forest wo
rking. He turned paranoid and wouldn’t let me leave his house one night. That’s when I broke up with him and called my friend to come get me.”

  “And when did the stalking start?”

  “Not too long after that,” she said. “It was the end of August when we broke up. I noticed him following me in early September. I filed for a restraining order, but I didn’t have a lawyer, and Devon showed up to the court hearing and had an explanation for everything. He laughed it off. There was no proof of domestic violence or that I was in any danger.”

  Allegra pushed away the rest of her eggs and stood. “This just goes in the dishwasher?”

  “Are you going to finish those?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “The dogs will love you forever if you give them to them.” He nodded to where his pooches lay on the floor just beyond the edge of the island.

  She grinned at them and set the plate in front of them. “There you go, guys.” Dozer practically swiped up the remaining eggs with one lick, but Sally managed to get a few bites too. Allegra turned back to Phoenix, who still guarded the sink like it held gold in the drainpipe.

  “And he’s been following me ever since,” she said. “Though it has increased to daily stalking and sitting outside my building late at night since the holidays.”

  “And then chasing you through a snowstorm in the dark,” he added.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “I think you’ll get the restraining order this time.”

  “I hope so.” Allegra rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Can I help you get more wood? I noticed our stock is pretty low.”

  “I’ve got tons in the lean-to,” he said, glancing toward the stove. “I’ll bring it in. You can put something on the TV if you want.” He smiled at her. “I don’t have any romantic comedies, but I have cable.”

  She smiled back, grateful beyond words for this safe haven, for his generosity in sharing his small space with her. “Thank you, Phoenix,” she said, her words wobbling a little.

  He gripped her elbows with both hands and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead. “Be right back,” he said before slipping out the back door.

  Allegra went to the couch and sat down, sure this day would be full of boredom punctuated with naps. But as she watched Phoenix bring in armful after armful of wood, she decided she could watch him work all day and never be bored.

  Once the wood bin was full again, he exhaled heavily and stretched his back, a grimace of pain flashing across his face. He looked at her, and she glanced away quickly, but she hadn’t turned on the TV and she didn’t have anything to distract her.

  Heat filled her face, most of it fueled by embarrassment than she’d been caught gawking at him. But surely he knew he was a male specimen to be admired, what with those huge, wood-chopping biceps, wide shoulders, and six-foot-five frame.

  She heard the rattle of pills in a bottle and risked getting caught again as she watched him swallow them. He then set a rectangular bag on top of the stove and came around the couch to sit beside her.

  He lifted his arm over her shoulders, and she melted into his side. How that had become normal and easy, she had no idea.

  “I have a bad back,” he said. “An old injury from my childhood.”

  “I’m sorry. Does it bother you a lot?”

  “Especially in the winter,” he said. “When I overdo things.”

  “Like swing an axe around for hours.”

  He chuckled and pressed another kiss to her temple. “Yeah, just like that.”

  She glanced up at him, finding his face so close and so beautiful. “Is this weird?”

  “Define ‘this’.”

  “Really? You need me to define it?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Your attitude is so spicy.” His face bloomed into a grin. “It’s a little odd, but I’m just rolling with it.”

  “I’ve had a crush on you since I met you,” she blurted, horrified that he started laughing.

  “You’re joking.”

  “I am not,” she said defensively, folding her arms and straightening so she wasn’t glued to his side.

  “You had a funny way of showing it,” he said.

  “You’re intimidating,” she said.

  Something crossed his face, and he frowned. “My brother just said the woman he likes told him that too.”

  “Maybe it’s an Addler family trait,” she said dryly.

  “Or maybe you guys jump to conclusions before you even know us.” He raised his eyebrows. “Ever thought of that?”

  “The first time I met you, you yelled at me to get off your lawn.”

  “I did not,” he said with a scoff.

  “Yes, you did.” She grinned and nodded emphatically. “Like an eighty-year-old man who’s spent his life making sure his grass is exactly the right shade of green and precisely a half an inch long.”

  Phoenix looked thoughtful for a moment, looking past her as if he could see their first meeting in his head. “I had been spending a lot of time on my lawn that summer,” he said. “Before that, this place was just surrounded by dirt, and it takes a lot of effort to grow a good lawn in perpetual shade.”

  “Yes, well. You yelled at me.”

  He kneaded her closer, right into his chest until she’d returned to her previous position. “Yes, well, I’m sorry.”

  Allegra basked in the sound of those words coming from him. “I’ve wanted you to apologize for so many things,” she said. “It sounds nice coming from you.”

  “What else?” he asked. “The rangers?”

  “Yes, that’s the biggest one,” she said.

  “Have you forgotten how many injunctions you filed against me or my family?”

  Guilt moved through her, and she shook her head. “So we’re both not perfect.”

  “Oh, I disagree,” he said, dipping his head and skating the tip of his nose down her cheek. “I think you’re pretty dang close. Besides the injunctions, of course.”

  Allegra sighed into his touch, wondering if he was really going to kiss her. Wondering if she wanted him too. Knowing she did.

  “I like you too,” she whispered just before picking up the remote and clicking on the television. He chuckled, her message obviously received loud and clear.

  * * *

  The next morning, the sky had cleared and the sound of constant dripping annoyed her. Dozer stood at the window looking out onto the front porch, and he hadn’t moved since Phoenix had left a half an hour ago.

  Allegra’s nerves fired on all cylinders, and the caffeine she drank to soothe herself only put her more on-edge.

  The rest of the day yesterday had been easy and carefree, with movies and music while they put together a jigsaw puzzle. He hadn’t tried to kiss her again, and no more hard questions had been asked. He’d made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with a special mustard-mayo spread on the inside that had made her taste buds perk up in delight. They’d talked for a bit about their plans for the next day, and he’d left her in the living room with his lips branded on her cheek.

  And this morning, he’d done exactly as they’d planned and gone to get her car. How he was going to get her tiny coupe down the lane to his house in the snow, she didn’t know. It was melting, but not that fast.

  She started the dishwasher and folded the blanket she used at night, draping it over the back of the couch. She added wood to the stove, and set his rice bag to heat. He’d said that sometimes even walking was hard, especially if his back was already sore, which it was.

  Allegra just needed something to get her anxiety to settle, but his cabin was small and there weren’t enough chores to distract her for very long. Not only was she worried about Phoenix out in the snowy wilderness, she wasn’t sure what he’d find when he got to the parking lot.

  Devon had never exhibited overt violence toward her or her belongings, but he’d also never chased her through the woods before. She shivered and noticed that Dozer had laid down on the floor in front of the couch whe
re Sally slept.

  The dogs weren’t concerned; maybe she should relax too. But she didn’t. Couldn’t. At least not until she heard someone coming up the front steps. Her heart pounded in her ears until she heard Phoenix say, “It’s just me, Allegra. Open the door,” through the thick wood.

  She flew over to the front door and pulled it open. His eyes were bright spots of dark light beneath his hat, and his cheeks glowed with pink that testified how cold it was outside.

  “Car’s fine,” he said as he entered the cabin. “I’m wet and frozen.”

  She closed the door behind him and locked it before following him over to the wood burning stove, where he shed his coat and let it fall to the floor. “We should get you out of those clothes,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and tipping up onto her toes.

  “Ha ha,” he said, plenty of playfulness in his eyes—until he saw that she wasn’t really teasing him.

  They looked at one another for several long moments before he ducked his head and claimed her mouth with his.

  Allegra held onto those broad shoulders as fireworks exploded down her throat and through her whole body.

  Oh, yes, kissing him was every bit as wonderful as she’d dreamt it would be. He held onto her hips and kissed her as if he hadn’t taken a five-year hiatus from dating, from women, or from social interaction at all.

  “I’m a little rusty,” he said into her mouth, pausing for a moment.

  “You’re doing fine,” she whispered back, kissing him again. So much better than fine, actually, but she didn’t want to take the time to tell him.

  Chapter Nine

  Phoenix had not kissed a woman in a very long time. Too long. Thankfully, he seemed to still know what to do, and Allegra didn’t seem to mind his fumblings one little bit. She kissed him back with as much fervor as he felt moving through him, finally pulling away after what felt like a long time.

  “So I guess you were worried about me,” he said, holding her close and dipping his head to inhale the scent of her skin. She smelled like cologne and cleaner, and he couldn’t wait until Mia brought her fruity, flowery shampoos to the cabin.