Page 18 of Protected By the Surly Carpenter

I already know that it will splinter my heart into fragments that no amount of wood glue or screws could ever fix.

10

ELENA

Clark’s body wash smells like cedar and pine. No wonder the scent of him drives me wild. As I splash around in his shower, I feel utterly spoiled.

By all measures, I haven’t had the easiest life. Mom had to work her ass off to support the two of us until I was old enough to get my first serving job and could help out.

Things were calmer after Dad left, since she didn’t have to worry about…whatever he’d been getting up to. But it meant money was always tight, and we knew he could return at any moment to try to take anything of value we might have.

This is why I tend to assume that darkness is always lurking just around the corner.

After getting dressed, I put my hair up in a high ponytail and meet Clark on the deck where I’m delighted to see he’s made us brunch. “Living here must be paradise,” I murmur over my first sip of incredible coffee.

He coughs as if he’s just swallowed a toast crumb the wrong way. Then I realize he’s giving me one of those beaming, genuine smiles. “Living here has been great up till now. But if a…well,if there were a sweet girl here with me…you know. Everything would be complete.”

Oh my. As my lips part, desperately trying to think of what I’m supposed to say to that, he holds up a hand. “It’s far too soon to be thinking along those lines yet. I don’t want you to think I’m rushing or pressuring you. I just want you to know that I’m…open…to those sorts of ideas when we get there.”

“Yes. When we get there,“ I grin back, and he takes my hand, pulling me gently to sit on his lap.

“You said you ended up in Old Hemlock Valley because it’s kind of off the grid,” he says. “How long were you planning on staying here?”

“Maybe three months or so? I figured Dad would stop looking for me, and I could head to New York to visit Aunt Carla and check out the safety deposit box.”

“And after that?”

I shrug. “Who knows. I mean, ultimately I’d like to find a cute little apartment somewhere I can work as a server in a nicer place.” I catch his deflated look. “Oh, Jim’s Pizza is great, and the people are amazing, for the most part. I mean nicer as in fancier, so the tips are higher.”

“But… You want to be an accent coach.”

I just love the way he studies my expressions so intently, as if he’s really trying to understand my thought process. “Of course I do, but it’s going to take a while to get enough regular clients to pay the rent without a serving job as well.”

“I see.” He stares off into the trees for a moment. “If it’s okay for me to ask, why did your mother get a safety deposit box near your aunt, not where you were living?” I slump against his shoulder. “You don’t have to tell me,” he adds quickly, stroking my back.

“No, it’s okay.” I take a slow breath, cringing at the memory. “I was around sixteen and coming back from a waitressing job.When I put my key in the lock, I realized it was already open. I heard some muttered swearing from inside, then a couple of guys taking off through the back porch door. Mom stayed at work later than I did, so I guess they thought they had more time to snoop around. All they managed to get was the pizza money we always kept in the cookie jar and a couple of mom’s collectable figurines. We figured it was Dad’s doing.”

“What a fucking bastard,” Clark mutters under his breath. “Sending thugs to ransack his ex-wife and daughter’s house? Unbelievable.”

“Yeah, well, we were used to seeing some pretty scummy people lurking around. They were definitely keeping tabs on us. So we made it look like we were moving to Oregon, which would have made sense because one of Mom’s best friends from high school is there. Instead, we went south. Then northeast.”

“All that moving around sounds exhausting.”

Sitting cuddled in Clark’s lap, almost our entire bodies touching, all the fear and tension simply drains out of me. As if the memories hold less power over me now. “Well, we can’t all be mountain folk like you,” I laugh. “Planted in the same spot in the forest until the end of time.”

He nuzzles my throat gently, letting his teeth scrape over my collarbone until I’m shuddering against him. “At some point, we’re going to have to chat about our future together,” he says. “If we both want one, that is. What that might look like.” His deep eyes meet mine, as he smiles gently. “But that’s another topic for another day, since I really do have to get several sets of shelves sanded so I can get the first coat of stain on.”

“Sure. Maybe I can make dinner?”

“That would be fantastic. Thank you.” He stands up with me still sitting on him, holding me up and rocking me back and forth until I burst out laughing. “Just don’t come into the workshopwithout calling or texting first, okay? I fall really hard into the zone, and there are a lot of big power tools in there.”

“Understood. Text me when you’d like me to bring you another coffee. I’ll clean up in here.”

He sets me down, then kisses the top of my head. “Thank you, beautiful.”

As I clean the kitchen, I hear the occasional buzz of a power tool through the open window. I go through everything in his fridge and pantry, wishing there were just a couple more things so I could make a proper lasagna. All I’m missing are the ricotta and the basil.

I listen again at the window. The buzzing was sporadic at first, but now it’s a steady grind. I don’t want to interrupt him just to run me into town and back. It’s the middle of the day. Downtown will be filled with people.

---