Page 89 of Smitten with the Single Dad

“You sure?”

Much like he’d done to her earlier that day, she cupped his stubbly jaw. “Yes. I am glad you are feeling better. Your boys have missed you.”

“I appreciate you stepping up and helping out when I was bedridden. I didn’t expect that of you.”

She shrugged, which made the neck of her gray T-shirt slide off one shoulder. “I know. But I love them too. I was happy to help.” Then she let go of him and began clearing the table. “Besides, while you are upstairs, I can eat more of these delicious potatoes without your eyes on me. If nobody is around to see it, it didn’t happen. Right?”

His chuckle was deep and throaty, but it didn’t stir her belly the way it should have. Instead, she was distracted by her own words.

If nobody is around to see it, it didn’t happen.

That was exactly how the police officers treated her that night.

Nobody saw Track attack her or her defend herself, therefore it didn’t happen. All they had were the facts. The evidence. And those pointed to her killing her boss.

Her brain was a million miles away, and she was on her second glass of wine as she closed the dishwasher and turned it on. Strong, warm arms wrapped around her middle and a kiss landed on her shoulder. “Bennett’s coming over to sit for a bit so we can go for a walk.”

“You feel okay enough to go?”

“I’ve been doing my exercises. Wolfe came yesterday for another chiro treatment, and as long as I remember to pivot at the waist and not the neck, I’m okay. I just need to be gentle. I’m on the mend though.”

She spun in his arms and looped her arms around his neck. “I can be gentle with you.”

His mouth lifted at one corner. “Yeah?”

“Mm-hmm.”

They were just about to kiss when there was a knock and the front door opened. “I can come back,” Bennett said, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

“No. We’re all good. Just need to grab the bug spray.”

“Oh, there are bugs?” Vica asked.

“Mosquitos,” Bennett confirmed. “A creek runs on one side of Bonn’s land, and any area that is standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitos. It’s something we’ll need to think about and deal with if we get the land.”

“When,” Wyatt corrected. “Whenwe get the land.”

Bennett snorted and took a seat on the couch, pulling out his laptop. “Might as well work.”

Vica and Wyatt quickly sprayed each other down with insect repellent. She grabbed her cardigan and he grabbed a hoodie, then they were out the door. It wasn’t dark just yet, but twilight was setting in. Without saying a word, they stuck to the shadows along the houses until they reached the house on the end,which belonged to Jagger.

“Just down here,” Wyatt whispered, pulling through a small trail that forced them to no longer hold hands and walk single file.

It was about five minutes through the dense woods, the muted light of the ending day playing tricks with her eyes, before they emerged into a clearing.

It was mostly just tall, overgrown grass that had gone to seed, instantly reminding her of the fields in Tuscany. One of her favorite places in the entire world to visit, rest and relax.

Very few places rivaled the Tuscan countryside, or a sunset over the vineyards from the terrace while drinking good Italian wine and eating olives, focaccia and cheese. Her belly rumbled and her heart ached as the memory became almost visceral.

Wyatt glanced down at her and squeezed her hand. “You all right?”

Stuffing down the emotions threatening to bubble up, she smiled and nodded. “The place is really beautiful.”

His smile eased the sudden strain in her chest.

She continued to take in the landscape.

A small cube-shaped, ramshackle, one-story dwelling squatted in the center of the tall grass. The brown, shake siding was falling off parts of the cabin and the windows were boarded up, but bright red geraniums burned like fire in the windowsill boxes and from twin hanging baskets on either side of the rotting porch steps.

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