Page 13 of Protecting Her Secrets

Walker

We step insideafter the chores and strip off the winter gear to the soundtrack of Skylar’s teeth chattering.

“I was the same way my first winter here. It took me a couple years to acclimate. I still get sick of the snow, but experiencing the other three seasons is worth the few months it’s like this. You should see the color change in the fall. It’s like straight out of a magazine.”

“You love it here,” she says.

“Did you think I’d stay somewhere I hated just so I didn’t have to go back to Bakersfield?”

“No, that’s not it.” She wraps her arms around herself as I wait for her to explain. After a minute of awkward silence, I give her an out because I’m not ready to reveal my speculations about her life since I’ve been gone, so I can’t expect her to.

“You’re a popsicle. You need a hot shower,” I say. “Leave all this shit on the ground. I’ll take care of it later.”

“No, I can help?—”

“Skylar, leave it. You’re not used to the weather, and it’s the second time you’ve been out in it today. You need to warm up.” Without any thought, I take her hand. I immediately realize my mistake, but she doesn’t even flinch, so I don’t release her. For all my bravado back at the grocery store, I sure am letting my guard down quickly. But her dainty hand feels so good in mine, I can’t seem to let go. “Come on. You can shower in my bathroom since it’s been renovated. I’m still working on the other two.”

“Two?” she asks, and I realize I haven’t given her a tour.

“I guess if you’re gonna be snowed in here, you should know where everything is. Sprocket, wait.” My best friend lies down and huffs, not happy to be left behind.

“That’s a cute name.”

“I can’t take credit for it. He came to me already named from the rescue.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. His previous family relinquished ownership because he had too much energy. I have all this land for a dog to roam, so it worked out.”

“It’s so weird to see you with all these animals. You never even had a fish growing up.”

“Mom and I lived in apartments and couldn’t afford to feed an animal, let alone swing a pet deposit. Then we moved in with Von, and he’s apparently allergic.” I lead her past the kitchen and living room, since she has already seen them, and take her to the back rooms.

“How are your mom and Von?”

“They were good last I heard. But Mom only calls at Christmas, so who knows.” Thankfully, we come to the first bedroom, so I can change the subject, but unfortunately, I have to release her hand so she can step inside. “This is my game room, I guess. It’s where my friends and I play poker sometimes. My video games are in here too.”

She steps inside, looking fucking adorable in just a pair of my gray long johns. They’re obviously too big, but since they’re meant to be snug on me, they don’t drown her the way my sweats do.

“I love all the windows and access to the outside this place has,” she says, walking over to the glass door to the backyard. Even with the upper deck shielding the area from the snow, the wind has blown around a few inches that has gathered along the bottom.

“It’s the main reason I bought it.” I tuck my hands in my pockets. “That and the seclusion.”

“You said you’ve been renovating?”

“When I have time.” I give her a jerk of my chin. “Let me show you the rest.”

The rest of the lower level consists of a workout room, a bathroom, and more uninteresting spaces like the garage and closets. Despite it being nothing truly special, she acts like owning this place is something incredible that I should be proud of. I shouldn’t give a damn what she thinks, but my chest puffs up at her praise. She’s the only one who truly knows how far I’ve come.

When we start to ascend the stairs, I get nervous for the first time. The lower level is average and normal, but I spend a lot of time up here in the winter, so I wanted it to be more personal.

The stairs lead right to the loft library. It’s painted blue-gray and has built-in bookcases on either side of the dormer window that lets in a lot of natural light. Given the barnyard-style roof, I could only hang paintings on the lower half of the walls, but I think it looks cool that way. In the middle of the room are two oversized brown leather chairs that face each other, with a coffee table in between and an antler chandelier that plays into the rustic vibe.

“Wow! This is amazing, Walker.” She traces a finger along the middle shelves of books. “Let me guess: nonfiction?”

“If it didn’t happen in real life, I don’t want to read it.”

She rolls her eyes but smiles wide. “How’d I know?”

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