Page 6 of Rescued

“Well, what if it’s good? What if I open it up and he’s like the sweetest guy on Earth? Then what? Then I missed out on something great, and I’ve spent the last ten years of my life floundering.”

Jovie laughs. “I mean, face it, the dude sent you an actual letter. He wrote words on a piece of paper. You already know he’s perfect. Let’s seehowperfect.”

I lean up from the couch and hold the note in my hand. “I’ll call you if I decide to read it.”

“Ugh,” she huffs, “fine, but expect me to harass you every hour on the hour until I get that call. Also, take pictures of everything in town for me so I can get all hyped up for this tree farm. I feel like I need a Hallmark movie fantasy moment.”

“Oh, like some man is coming in to buy out the tree farm, but you and some random,more handsomedude have to chain yourselves to trees to save it, in the blistering cold, right before you fall in love?”

She giggles. “Yeah, except in my version, we fuck like animals in a warm cabin and the chains are for the bed, not the trees.”

I laugh. “I love you.”

“Love you more.” The phone line disconnects, and I go back to staring at the letter that I’m pretty sure I’m never going to open, as a rattling noise catches my attention at the back door.

Chapter Four

Gentry

I ride past the cabin on Moose River Avenue at least three times. It’s to the point where I’m going to make a scene if I keep going… but I’ve never been a quitter.

The light is on in the living room, and though sheer curtains cover the window frame, I can clearly see the figure of a woman on a couch. She’s leaned over, staring down at something in her hands.

Her hair is long and dark, and from here, she hasn’t changed a bit.

Fucking hell.

I can feel my body reacting. My heart rate increases, my chest tightens, and my cock thumps at my zipper.

She’s sixty feet away. The woman I’ve been thinking about for years, the woman I’ve been comparing all other women to, is less than a minute away.

Mere seconds until she’s against my chest, until I’m breathing her in, until my lips are on hers.What the fuck is wrong with me?

I park the truck outside the house opposite hers and leave it in drive so I can take off if anyone comes out, guns blazing. Wouldn’t put it past the folks out here to do something like that. Lotta people know me, but not many by my truck specifically.

My neck is hot and there’s a fluttering in my stomach that I don’t usually feel. Tingling floods my body and there’s suddenly an ache that I can’t control. It’s the same feeling I had a decade ago, and all at once, it’s flooding back.

She stands from the sofa and moves through the small cabin toward the back door. I lose track of her from here, and though it’s only a second, panic streaks through me. I don’t want to lose sight of her. Except when she returns, she’s standing with a man.

I can’t figure if he was in the house with her all along or if he came in the back door a second ago. Either way, she doesn’t look happy at his presence.

She’s standing near the window. Her body is tense and rigid, and though I have no right to be agitated, I am.

I clear my throat and order myself mentally to calm the fuck down. I don’t own Kelly. She’s a woman I talked to once. There’s nothing I can do about a man who’s most likely her husband standing with her.

She crosses her arms and shakes her head.

The man is clearly upset. His shoulders are wide and he’s waving his arms like he’s angry.

I can’t figure what the fuck would be so important to be angry about three weeks after the woman’s mother dies, but I remind myself that this isn’t my life. She’s not mine to protect. She knows this man, most likely much longer than she ever knew me. Whatever they’re arguing about is none of my business.

Still, I’m on edge. I don’t want her to be hollered at.

I tug at the collar of my flannel and stare toward the window unblinking as I drag my hand through my hair.

The man steps toward her, and she steps back.

Why did she step back?

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