Page 17 of I'll Carry You

“Don’t worry about it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found myself in the middle of a play being asked to kiss a pretty girl. Pretty much my normal Friday night.”

She didn’t really want to know what his normal Friday night was like. She looked over at him, and a snort of laughter choked out of her throat. He grinned at her. “Yeah, well, mine usually involves waking up on the couch and finding myself watching some sort of cartoon two hours after my son has fallen asleep.”

“Those Smurfs are basically like sleep therapy.”

He clearly knew nothing about modern cartoons, but she didn’t blame him.

She pulled up in front of his cabin. Would he linger in the car? She wasn’t ready to say good night yet for some strange reason. “I’m pretty sure Laura has a list of the Christmas events at the front desk. I can grab you one if you want.”Stupid, Jen. A single, hot guy like him won’t be interested in Christmas festivals and tree lightings.

An easy smile tipped at his lips, the hint of a dimple on his left cheek.God, stop staring at him.“Are you going to be there?” he asked, reaching for the handle.

She shook her head with a rueful shrug. “I don’t have a ton of spare time right now.”

“Then I’ll probably pass.” He checked his phone and frowned at it. Snapping his head up, he met her gaze. “Thanks for the ride.”

He gently closed the car door, silhouetted against the porch light as he walked toward it. The implication that maybe he’d have gone to those Christmas events if she was there wasn’t lost on her, but he’d seemed to realize he’d put his foot in his mouth and hightailed it out of the car.

Maybe whatever attraction she had toward him wasn’t completely one-sided.

Or maybe it was wishful thinking. She’d spent enough time self-pitying her lack of desirability the last few days. And Lindsay was right: she longed to feel desired again.

Jen let out a slow breath and chewed on her lower lip, watching him for a few seconds before she threw the car into reverse. Whomever Jason was, she was thankful he was passing through. He'd seemed cold and indifferent—judgmental—when she met him. But back in the nursing home, she’d sensed kindness and a decent sense of humor.And he could certainly kiss.No, it was good he wasn’t staying in Brandywood. Jen knew her kryptonite.

ChapterSeven

Kissing Jen Kleinhad been a monumental mistake.

Jason pulled his heel back, stretching. The dim haze of dawn barely lit the road to the cabins, the route he’d taken on his morning run. Though the cabins were nestled in the woods, they weren’t so far out from the historic part of Brandywood, as he’d discovered on the six-mile trek in the morning.

He pulled one arm over the opposite shoulder, filling his lungs with the wintry morning air. He’d always hated running in the cold, but he hated not running more. And this morning, he’d needed to pound his frustrations out with sprints so fast they made his sides ache.

Somehow, kissing Jen felt a bit like breaking a rule even he hadn’t broken before. And worse was the way his body had responded to her.

He’d enjoyed it.

He wasn’t supposed to enjoy kissing his brother’s ex-girlfriend. And he definitely wasn’t supposed to enjoy being around her.

That damn kiss. It was like opening a bar of the world’s finest wine and only having one tiny taste. Just enough to confirm that he wanted more. That one taste made him a drooling idiot.

Both facts troubled him in different ways. She wasn’t his type at all. But he never would have guessed she’d have been Kevin’s, either. Kid notwithstanding, she seemed like the type of girl who didn’t get into trouble.

He’d wanted to warn her off the night before, let her know to stay away from him. He didn’t want to like her. And he’d seen the hint of pleasure on her face. She didn’t mind being around him, either.

Damn Mildred.If she’d just talked to him and let him leave, he’d never been forced to deal with Jen. This complicated things in ways he didn’t want to face. He didn’t want to be sympathetic to Jen or her problems. Screwing his brother didn’t make her entitled to the Cavanaugh family fortune or business. If that were true, a long line of other women would also qualify, both from his and Kevin’s exploits. Jason was practically a saint next to Kevin, at least when they’d been in college.

Kevin’s reputation was known. Jason guessed it was part of the reason his grandfather had changed his will the way he had. That and the fact that Jason had dared discuss with the old man some changes Jason planned to make someday to help bring things into the 21stcentury. The mere idea of his life’s work in Jason’s hands had been an “affront” to his grandfather’s legacy.

He’d ended up doing worse in his paranoia by giving Bill Powell a controlling stake.

As Jason’s running shoes collided with the gravel up the driveway, he felt his frustrations slipping back into his crowded mind. That was the worst part of this situation. Even if he wanted to feel sympathy for Jen and her son, giving away his inheritance would screw over everyone at the company who needed the changes Jason wanted to make.

Jason approached the cabin he’d rented, which had the architecture of a chalet. He hadn’t bothered to look at the view from the loft, despite the promise on the website that it offered “stunning views” of the mountains. The Appalachians hardly impressed him.

As he drew closer, he noticed a car parked outside the cabin, an electric car that fit into Brandywood’s sea of trucks and SUVs as well as his sports car did.

TJ sat on his front porch, swaying on the swing. He’d extended both arms on the back of the swing and wore an impish grin on his face.

How had he tracked him down so exactly? Jason scowled at him, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the hem of his shirt. “What’re you doing here?”

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