by Annie Rains
“Who would laugh? Not me.” He sat down in a foldout chair beside her. “Not your grandma.”
“I dunno. The kids at school are real jerks,” she said. “Mean girls exist, and they’re all in my class this year.”
“Don’t listen to them.”
Maddie rolled her eyes before letting them narrow in on him. “You don’t understand.”
“I do, actually. When I was your age, I got picked on a lot too. It was right along that time that I started collecting pets. I got along better with animals than I did people.” And he’d never lost his affection for four-legged creatures. “Eventually I found some kids who were nice enough, and we’re still friends today.” He was talking about Mitch and Alex, the best guys he knew. When kids had been mean to Tuck growing up, Mitch had threatened to beat them up. And Alex, true to his love of the law even back then, had threatened to tell the school’s principal.
Maddie reached out to pet Shadow, a cascade of hair falling over her eyes. Shadow leaned into Maddie’s hand, providing calming pressure through her palm. “I love animals but Grandma won’t let me have pets. Not even a fish.”
Tuck frowned. “Well, I’m sure you can make your case when you’re able to do all the work that comes along with keeping a pet yourself. Do your exercises.” He tapped the sheet on Maddie’s lap. “Then we’ll work on warming your grandma up to the idea of a cat or a dog.”
“A cat,” Maddie said with the smallest of smiles. “Shadow is great but I’ve always wanted a kitten.” In this moment, it was all he could do not to go get her one, or two or three, from the local rescue shelter.
They both turned to the sound of a car coming up the driveway.
“I guess our time is up.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a foil-wrapped piece of chocolate. He’d gotten a whole bag at the grocery store the other day, taking his sister’s advice on females.
Just as Halona had said, Maddie smiled widely. Well, what do you know? Chocolate was the way to a girl’s heart. He’d have to remember that.
“Thanks,” she said.
“You’re welcome.” He walked behind her chair and pushed her through the grass toward Beverly’s parked vehicle. Judging by the looks of the older woman who didn’t move to get out, he wondered if she should even be behind the wheel.
“You okay?” he asked, dipping inside the passenger door after he’d helped Maddie into the seat.
“Just a little green,” Beverly said shakily.
“Ginger is good for nausea.” Tuck had learned that while caring for Renee. “Need me to follow you home? To make sure you get there okay?”
“No, that’s not necessary. We live just a couple of miles away. We’ll be there in a flash.” She looked over at Maddie. “I’m sure you’re tired too. We’ll eat and rest. How does that sound?”
“Like every other night,” Maddie said, her voice thick with sarcasm once again. Tuck guessed chocolate didn’t fix everything. Maddie looked up at him. “And I might do these exercises before bed.”
“Good idea. See you on Monday.”
“Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are my favorite,” she added.
“Good to know.” He stepped away from the car and waved as Beverly drove off with Maddie. Then he turned toward the house, desperately wanting to go inside and have a tall glass of tea, or something stronger after the day he’d had. As he walked, his gaze wandered to the garage apartment. He’d seen Mitch drive up with Josie half an hour earlier. She was here, and the right thing to do was welcome her and see if she needed anything.
With a sigh of resignation, he veered toward the garage and climbed the steps, making a mental note to hammer in a few loose nails. The last thing he needed was to have Josie trip and need more physical therapy.
At the top of the staircase, he knocked twice on the door. It swung open on its own.
“Josie? It’s me, Tuck,” he called, poking his head inside the living area. “Josie?”
The front room was empty. The door to the bathroom was open with the lights off. Same with the bedroom. She wasn’t here. The only evidence that she ever had been was her red luggage set sitting in the middle of the floor.
Where is she?
He headed back down the steps, looking out along the creek. Not there either. His gaze traveled to the field of wildflowers, the stables, and the storage building beside the barn. He was about to turn toward the other side of the house when he saw movement behind the building. Josie turned the corner and appeared to be dancing. Left, right, spin.
What is she doing? And why was she doing it near his storage building? They hadn’t established rules yet but the building was off-limits. He’d okayed Mitch to go in and get a couple of things but that was it. Renee’s stuff was inside, and while he couldn’t live with it, he wasn’t ready to part with her things just yet either.
Tuck picked up his pace, heading in Josie’s direction. Unaware of him, she continued whatever she was doing. From a distance, it looked like one of the tribal dances his mom liked to teach at the community center once a month. As he got closer, he realized she was taking a few steps and holding up her cell phone. A few more steps, forward and back, left and right, holding that phone of hers overhead and craning to look at the screen.
“You won’t find reception out here,” he said once he was only a few feet away.
Josie jolted and yanked her phone to her side.
He almost laughed, which seemed to happen a lot when he was around her. “You won’t find anything you need out here. No need for you to come this far out.”
Josie blinked at him, her mouth tightening. “Is that how you welcome all your renters to your home?”
“You’re my first renter so, yeah, I guess so.” He held open his arms. “Welcome to Hope Cottage.”
Her demeanor softened as she looked around. “It’s beautiful here.” Her gaze swept back to meet his. “But I don’t think I can stay somewhere without phone reception. I have work to do. That involves checking in with my boss regularly.”
“Don’t worry. You can get cell reception on my deck. I’m not sure why but the signal is perfect there. At least for me.”
“I can use your deck?” she asked, walking alongside him toward the house.
“Of course. The only place I’d rather you not go is that shed back there.” He glanced over at her, and his pulse quickened. She was a lot more beautiful to look at than this field of flowers. It was more than that though. There was something about her eyes and her smile, confident and unsure at the same time. There was also the anticipation of what she’d say next, because her words never ceased to surprise him.
She met his gaze and gave him a questioning look. Then she stumbled forward.
His arms went out to catch her, snatching her from her free fall and pulling her body firmly against him. He didn’t move for a long moment. She didn’t either. They just stood there in a field of wildflowers, holding each other with their eyes locked.
Suddenly his mouth was dry, and his heart was thudding painfully against his ribs. Agreeing to have her live here was a bad decision. He was dipping his toe back into dating but a simple glance at Josie felt like dipping a hell of a lot more than that.
Josie’s lips parted to say something but no noise came out.
“Looks like we, uh, might have ended our physical therapy sessions a little too soon,” he teased.
“No, I’m fine. The ground is just a little uneven here.” To prove her point, she pushed off him and started walking again, hurried now as if he were a threat, when it was exactly the opposite. He was the one in danger here.
His eyes lowered to admire her curves. Then he blinked, roped in his gaze and good sense, and followed her. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come knock on my door.”
She glanced over her shoulder, still moving hurriedly. She was definitely trying to get away from him. “Great. Thank you.”
She veered toward her apartment, and he retreated to the house, where Shadow was resting
near his chair and waiting faithfully for Tuck’s return. He patted her head and then finally went into the kitchen to get himself that glass of green tea he’d needed half an hour ago. His parched throat needed it even more now.
A soft knock on his door drew his attention.
Shadow ran to the door with an answering woof. Tuck set his glass down and went to see who it was, already knowing. He’d just left Josie not two minutes ago. Or rather she’d left him.
When he opened the door, she was standing there, hands wringing in front of her. “Something wrong?” he asked.
She nodded quickly. “Spider. A big one.”
Doubtful. He’d spent half the night cleaning the apartment. There were no eggs or evidence of any spiders or insects. It was spotless up there. “Where?”
“Blocking the doorway. I can’t get inside.”
He lifted a brow. “It’s outside the apartment?”
“Yes, blocking the door. I move, and he moves.”
“He?” Tuck couldn’t help grinning.
She scowled back at him—almost as well as Maddie had earlier. He was half-tempted to reach into his pocket and offer Josie a chocolate too.
“If you don’t get it, I’m going to set up camp down here at your place.”
And that ultimatum sent his mind on a dangerous path. Josie spending the night under his roof was the last thing he needed, and the only thing he wanted.
* * *
“We just don’t have big, furry spiders like that where I’m from,” Josie explained as she followed Tuck over to the detached garage. “The spiders in New York stay hidden in the gutters. You never see them.”
She felt a little silly but spiders jumped. And she didn’t want to smoosh it with her tennis shoe; it might haunt her forever. But if it lunged at her and bit her, well, people died from spider bites, right? She’d read all about it as research she’d once done for an article on glamping, which was the glamorous version of camping.
She stayed at the bottom of the steps while Tuck and Shadow climbed to the top. He appeared to move his foot and chase the thing away. Then he looked down at the bottom of the steps where she was cowering. He turned her doorknob, opened her front door, and gestured for her to go inside.
“What if it comes back?” she asked.
“It won’t,” he said, not budging from the top. “But if it does, you can call me, and I’ll come get it.”
“I don’t have phone reception up there, remember?” She started up the steps, drawing closer to him and ready to jump into his arms if the arachnid pounced.
“Hmm. That is a dilemma.” He gave her a wide grin. “I’ll look into getting a signal-booster device for up here. Future renters will need one anyway.”
“Thank you,” she said, deciding to worry about more spiders if and when more eight-legged critters actually appeared. Right now, Tuck was the obstacle in her path.
“You’re welcome. Since I’m already up here, is there anything else I can help you with?”
Her overactive imagination took off running. “Um, nope. I don’t think so. I plan to order takeout, maybe Thai, and work for the rest of the night.”
His grin fell away.
“What?”
“Well, even though we’re only a mile from downtown, Blueberry Creek is technically outside the city limits. Boondock territory is the technical term around here.”
“No deliveries?” she asked.
“And no Thai, I’m afraid. Not unless you want to drive up the mountain.”
Her heart sank. All the comforts of home were being stripped away one by one. Takeout was what sustained her in New York, and good Thai was her go-to when she was having a bad day. Or a good one. Or when she was feeling lonely and missing Kaitlyn. Pretty much any time her emotions were unraveling at all—like now.
“I’m going to grill some chicken on the back deck. I have more than enough thawing if you want to join me. Then you can go to the grocery store tomorrow and stock your minifridge.”
She really was trying to be good when it came to him. She only checked him out when he wasn’t looking, and she was keeping her comments as innocent as possible. She couldn’t cut off the buzz of awareness between them though. Did he feel it too? “A girl’s gotta eat, I guess. Thank you.”
“No problem.” He started down the steps and then turned back. “Maybe we can have that drink you suggested the other day.”
She’d hoped he had forgotten about that. “Sure.”
“Give me about an hour?” he asked.
“It’s a date,” she replied without thinking. That seemed to be a habit of hers when he was around. Before he could respond, she stepped into her apartment and shut the door behind her, barring sexy physical therapists and big, hairy spiders. Was she this socially inept in New York? Or was it just here, with this man?
* * *
An hour later, Josie stepped onto Tuck’s back deck. The sun was already down behind the pinewood forest, giving it an inky contrast.
He looked up from the grill and nodded as she approached. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Josie took a moment to pat Shadow’s head. “Hello to you as well. Do you get grilled chicken too?” she asked the dog.
“She wishes,” Tuck said.
Josie smiled, feeling a little flutter of nerves in her belly. “Can I help?”
“No, it’s almost done. Just sit down and relax. You get cell reception here so you might want to pull out your phone.” He glanced up and winked at her.
It wasn’t a bad idea.
She pulled her cell out and saw that she’d missed several texts from Kaitlyn already.
How is it?
Are you okay?
Need anything?
There was also a text from her mom: Did you make it home safely?
Right. Josie had forgotten to tell her mother about her change of plans. She tapped her index finger along her screen and responded to that inquiry first.
I’ll be staying in Sweetwater Springs for a few more weeks. Long story. I’ll tell you tomorrow. But I’m okay. Don’t worry.
As long as you’re okay, her mom replied quickly.
Josie smiled to herself. Her mom had worked full-time until Josie’s senior year when she’d married Josie’s stepdad. Since then, her mom had become more doting. She’d even had a few of Josie’s friends over for holiday meals, something she’d never had time for during Josie’s younger years. No matter what though, her mom had always done the best she could—even when it didn’t seem like enough.
Love you, Mom, she texted and then set her phone on the outdoor table in front of her. She could respond to Kaitlyn later.
“Did the world fall apart while you were out of reach?” Tuck asked, sliding a bowl of grilled potatoes to the table’s center. A moment later, he slid a plate of chicken breasts onto the table and one with bread slices beside it.
“No. It’s still spinning on its axis for the moment…Mmm, that looks delicious.” She breathed in the aroma of grilled food, feeling her mouth salivate.
“Hope so. Be right back.” He walked inside the house and came back out with a pitcher. He lifted her empty glass and filled it to the brim and then poured himself a glass too. “This is green tea,” he told her. “I swear by it.”
“For what?” she asked as he sat down.
“For everything. Health, mood, sleep.”
She nodded and lifted her glass. “Well, I take my physical therapist’s orders very seriously.” She sipped generously. “Wow, I’ll have to get some of this when I’m back to real life.”
“So your boss is fine with you staying longer in Sweetwater Springs?” he asked.
She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “He doesn’t really have a choice unless he wants to fire me. I can work away from the office. Bart and I probably need space from each other right now anyway.”
“Why is that?”
She chewed and swallowed a bite of chicken. “Well, my new boss and I don’t see eye to eye on what makes a good
story.” She shook her head. “Bart has no idea what Loving Life’s readers want.”
Tuck was watching her as she talked, which made her blood pressure rise. She felt the heat fill her cheeks even though the night air was cool and refreshing. She reached for her glass of green tea, also cool and refreshing, and took a sip to quench the sudden dryness of her throat. “What I’m really irritated by is the fact that Bart is changing everything at the magazine now that he’s in charge. He’s probably thrilled that I’m out of his way while he does it.” She popped a piece of chicken into her mouth as she thought. “Bart’s father was my former boss, and we were pretty close.”
“Oh,” Tuck said knowingly.
“Noooo.” She laughed. “Not close in that way. Gary was more like a father figure to me, and he always told me I was like a daughter to him. We worked well together. Bart didn’t even have a job at the magazine until his dad had a heart attack last month. Bart doesn’t know anything about the culture we’ve created. He’s inexperienced, and frankly I’m shocked that Gary put him in charge.”
Anger knotted at the center of her chest. Not at Gary, whom she loved. She was mad at the situation that she had absolutely no control over. “Anyway, I’m going to make the most of it. I’ll finish writing this follow-up article on the town and look for something else in the meantime. I’ve already perused job possibilities a little bit.”
“Yeah? Anything good?” Tuck asked.
“Nothing that jumped out at me.”
“Unlike hairy spiders,” Tuck teased.
She laughed, nearly choking on her bite of chicken. “That’s not funny. Did you see how big it was?”
“I did. Almost the size of my thumbnail.”
“Don’t make me come over there,” she warned, even though scooting closer seemed like a really good idea as far as her libido was concerned.
Tuck held up his hands in surrender. “You’re right. It was gigantic. The King Kong of spiders.”
“That’s better.” She reached for a piece of bread and started buttering it. “And you fought it off like a true hero.”
* * *
Tuck was enjoying tonight just a little too much. The more time he spent with Josie, the more things he discovered he liked about her. She was ambitious and conscientious. She flirted just enough to pull him in but kept him at arm’s length, which seemed to fuel his interest in her.
