Page 4 of The Mountain Man's Flame

I glance at the couch where Aiden is stirring again.

He opens his eyes and reaches for his head. I hurry over to him and grab his hand before he can touch his forehead. It took a long time to get the bleeding to stop. I don’t want him to accidentally start it again. “Easy there. You have a minor—well, I hope it’s minor—head injury.”

He groans. “Where am I?”

“The library,” I explain. It’s a good thing he’s asking questions, I think. I hope it is. There’s no way for me to get him medical attention at this point.

He moves to sit up and I put a hand on his back to help him. Damn, his skin is warm through his t-shirt. He leans into my touch and turns his head toward me. His breath fans my face when he speaks, “And how did I get here, angel?”

I fight a shiver that has nothing to do with the dropping temperature in this room. “I’m not sure. Do you remember anything from today?”

He thinks for a moment. “I remember this morning. I had cereal and milk. I was at the fire station and played a game of basketball with Ben. Then…” His voice trails off and he looks confused.

“Well, it’s OK,” I try to encourage. “The book says a lot of patients who have head trauma can’t recall the incident that led to it.”

“Can you help me find my keys?” He pats his pockets.

I already pulled off his coat earlier. It was cold and wet. I set it in front of the little space heater that’s in the center of the room. The old library is drafty on the best of days and with theweather, there’s no way the aging HVAC unit will be able to keep up. “You can’t drive. You have a head injury. Besides, we’re in the middle of a snowstorm.”

“What?” He pushes to his feet and takes one wobbly step forward then another. When he has his balance, he strides over to the window and looks out of it. He swears under his breath when he sees the snow.

“You want half a bowl of mac and cheese? It’s the cheap stuff but I’ll share,” I offer, trying to distract him. I don’t like the short-term memory loss, but he seems in better shape than I thought he would be.

He frowns and rubs his chest. “I think I was in a car accident. I feel like a steering wheel hit me.” He pulls up his shirt and there’s a very distinctive square shape around his beautiful six-pack. It’s definitely going to bruise.

“That looks like maybe you got hit with a book,” I explain, wondering if he’s going to be mad at me. I don’t know enough about Aiden to guess what kind of person he is. His eyes are kind, but I tend to be a bad judge of character with men. It’s why I have the two-date rule.

I take the cellphone charger from Mrs. Kay’s desk that I spotted in a drawer earlier. I was a bit focused on getting the first aid kit for Aiden. But now that he’s up, I want to charge my phone for a few minutes.

He runs his big fingers along his ribcage before nodding. “Nothing is broken. Wait a second. How would I have been hit with a book?”

“I thought you were a black bear,” I mumble as I remove the mac cup from the microwave. There’s only one fork so it looks like we’ll be sharing.

To my surprise, Aiden laughs. He throws his head back with a deep, loud sound that ends with a pained grimace. “Since when can bears turn doorknobs?”

I scowl at him. “I saw it on an internet video once. Why do you think I don’t live in freakin’ Colorado?”

“It’s still pretty rare,” he points out, his lips twitching. “Most bears are more scared of you than you are of them.”

“You know who says that?” I ask, spearing a macaroni noodle. “People who end up as lunch. Now, do you want some sludgy cheese and undercooked noodles?”

He crosses to his jacket and pulls out a large package of Skittles. “I’ll spring for dessert.”

I sit on the couch and Aiden sits next to me. He’s a big guy but there’s still more room on his other side. He’s sitting this close to me on purpose. I just don’t know why. Maybe he’s trying to annoy me. “You don’t happen to have a little sister, do you?”

My brother treated me the same way. He always did things on purpose just to get a reaction from me. Not that I didn’t deserve some of his antics. I definitely made his life miserable when we were growing up.

“Why?” He asks as I pass him the fork and dish. He grimaces at his first bite.

“You seem like the annoying older brother type,” I answer, trying to shift away from him. Not that I can. He’s boxed me in but the feeling of his denim-clad thigh against mine is making me crazy. I keep wanting to reach out and run my fingers up his leg. I don’t know what this is about. I’ve never had this type of reaction to another man.

He grins. “Aww, you like me, angel.”

3

AIDEN

There’ssomething about the blush staining Nova’s cheeks that makes me want to do more things to annoy her. I’ve never felt this way around a woman or had such an instant connection. Deep in my gut, I already know why that is. I’ve found her, my one. My soulmate.

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