Page 7 of Jagger

“The jackets you have are too thin for the area.” His words sounded like he was chastising me, but I didn’t take the bait. He studied me intently, including allowing his eyes to fall to my arms.

Dropping my arms into my lap, I almost told him I could be pretty nasty myself when shoved into a corner.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when a waitress appeared almost immediately, but I was.

“Samantha, these young ladies are my guests so anything they’d like is on the house,” Jagger told her.

“Yes, sir.”

“What would you like to drink?” he asked me. When I hesitated, he lifted his eyebrows. “White wine?”

“I’m not a white wine kind of girl. Merlot? Cabernet?” I still felt guilty, but the thought of a glass of wine seemed like a small slice of heaven right now.

He nodded as if appreciative. “Bring my guest a glass of our finest cabernet and reserve the bottle. And for the little lady?”

I wouldn’t have thought a man as gruff as he appeared to be would allow my little girl to feel more comfortable in strange surroundings.

“Milk for the little princess,” I told them both. Her nose wrinkled, but she knew better than to ask for her favorite soda. Although I could tell she was going to try to twist his arm.

“And you, Mr. Fox?” Samantha asked.

“I’ll have a bourbon. Neat. We’ll also have three juicy cheeseburgers with all the trimmings, including crispy fries.”

I would ordinarily be pissed when a man dared order for me, but this time, I was honestly grateful. Exhaustion was taking a toll, the stress of worrying and wondering sapping my energy.

“Coming right up, sir.”

Being comfortable around a stranger wasn’t possible and I sensed he wasn’t interested in chitchatting. At least Cally did it for us, jabbering about deer she’d seen on the way. She loved animals, constantly asking for a guinea pig or a puppy, neither of which she’d been allowed to have.

Jagger tried to engage, his uncomfortable demeanor apparent by the tenseness in his body and the pulsing of the thick cords in his neck. He was ruggedly handsome, completely unlike the men I was used to dealing with. Especially with the beard and mustache. I could see him in jeans and holding an ax, a flannel shirt tossed over a log after he’d gotten sweaty. The thought and the naughty images forced me to bite back a laugh. He was also doing everything not to look in my direction.

After the milk was brought, Cally stopped talking long enough for me to get a word in edgewise. I was just as uncomfortable doing so as he was talking. “It’s pretty here.”

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Real pretty in Danger Falls this time of year. Like I give a…” He caught himself before cursing in front of my daughter, which prompted me to laugh.

His brow furrowed, making him look even more dangerous. “What?”

“Nothing. Danger Falls. That’s the name of the town?”

“Yep. Did you get lost coming up the mountain?” His question was almost accusatory.

“Not really. I just didn’t remember the name.” I was a terrible liar. I’d forgotten it the moment I’d tossed our things into the back of the SUV, screeching out of the driveway before Joel returned to a house he no longer belonged in.

Neither did I.

“Mmm… Well, it’s a quaint and happy little town in a beautiful part of the country. So I’m told.”

“You don’t like it here?” I took a sip of wine and thought it to be as close to heaven as I’d ever experienced. “This is delicious. Thank you.”

“Not particularly,” he answered, giving a slight nod. The man was as closed off as anyone I’d ever met.

“Then why are you here?”

I had a suspicion the man didn’t like being hassled with questions. The expression he wore screamed of a shutdown. Maybe even a warning to let it go.

Fortunately, the food arrived a few seconds later.

I was too busy paying attention to keeping Cally eating to notice until much later that he’d been staring at me. When I finally caught a glimpse of his pensive face, I was instantly on alert. What if he was going to report where I was?

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