Page 13 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bargain

Light from a single bulb attached to the side of the barn leads me through the heavy trees until I finally step out next to the livestock pens—the woefully inadequate ones.

She’s been patching them, doing her best to keep the animals contained, but the roaming chickens are as much a draw for a predator like a bear or a coyote as that cow was.

I grind my teeth together, trying to fight back the anger rising that this woman has been here alone all this time.

Is she so stubborn that she couldn’t ask for help, or has Pops’ memory issue finally put someone’s life in jeopardy?

Neither is good.

No one can survive up here like this without people to rely on and trust, without neighbors who will come to your aid, something I’m seeing more and more as I look around her property, even in the darkness.

I return the shovel to its place and make my way up to the house, the porch lit by another single bulb. The smell of whatever she’s cooking reaches me, making my stomach rumble.

But I can’t eventhinkabout eating until I speak with Camille and figure out…something.

The tears that formed in her beautiful blue eyes when she spoke earlier were enough to cement my resolve that I’m not leaving here without at least a glimmer of a plan of how to save this for her.

I step up and knock on the door.

Muffled words she must be speaking to Davey reach me before it opens hesitantly. She cracks it and peeks out, keeping the door closed as much as she can.

Still doesn’t trust me.

Got it.

It’s not a bad thing, really.

I’m almost proud of the way she held that shotgun on me earlier and the wariness she still has in her sharp gaze now.

I offer her what I hope is a reassuring smile to try to assuage some of her unease. “I’m all finished.”

Some of the tension releases from her dark brow. “Thank you.”

I try to glance behind her into the house to ensure Davey isn’t close enough to hear anything, but she blocks my view protectively.

Can’t say I blame her.

I’m a stranger to her—nothing more than a man she met once through a car window years ago.

Why should she trust me when I know she’s alone up here? When there are people in this world who would take advantage of that in a heartbeat?

I hold up my hands before she reaches for that shotgun again. “There are some things we need to talk about, things I don’t think you’re going to want your son to hear.”

Her jaw tightens, and her beautiful Caribbean gaze narrows on me. “If you’re all right with it, can you step out so we can have a conversation?”

She glances back, her fingers tightening on the wood jamb. “He’s occupied with his blocks right now, but we can’t leave the porch.”

I give her a tight nod. “Of course, I understand.”

The door opens enough for her to slip out, her hand immediately falling to her barely visible expanding belly, though in other clothing, it may be more noticeable. The heavy sweater she now wears seems an odd choice for as warm as it still is, but maybe it’s intentional, protecting what lies underneath.

“I don’t think you’re going to have any other trouble, but I suggest you keep that shotgun of yours loaded and ready in case anything comes looking for that cow…or one of the chickens.”

She bobs her head gently.

“And though I appreciate your desire not to scare your son, if there is something here, you need to fire. You need to scare it away from the property. The longer they’re here and think they have free rein, the more dangerous it is because they’ll just keep coming back.”

Her gaze hardens again, but there’s a determination in it that wasn’t there only a moment ago.

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