Page 16 of Big Daddy Mountain Man

Amber was in good hands, alright.

She might just be in Daddy’s hands.

CHAPTER NINE

The sun had fully set by the time Amber arrived at the Collier cabin.

“You were right,” she told Sawyer as they approached it. “It’s dark out here.”

“That’s why I left the truck on so the headlights can give us a little something.” He shook his head. “It’s not much, though.”

As they kept walking to the porch, Amber tried to reach for her suitcase as Sawyer carried it.

“I got it,” he said.

Again, she thought of arguing just like at the diner, but that hunch came right back to the forefront of her mind: Sawyer was a man you didn’t argue with.

“Thank you, Sir,” she said.

The old wooden porch creaked as they stepped up onto it.

“Hold on.” Sawyer clicked on the LED flashlight he’d retrieved from his truck’s glove compartment and swept the bright beam across the porch’s puncheons. “Looks steady enough but let me go first. Walk where I walk.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He went cautiously but made it to the front door without incident.

“How do you get in here?” he asked.

“The extra key is right up there, Sir,” she replied, stepping beside him and reaching up for the dusty old porchlight fixture that hung on the wall just to the right of the door.

“Hold on, little girl,” he said quickly. “It’s springtime and all the bugs and critters are waking up. Don’t reach back there without looking first.”

Amber gasped. Shehatedcreepy-crawlies. “Thank you, Sir. Are there a lot of them around here?”

He chuckled. “You might say that. But no more than anywhere else, I suppose.”

She gulped at the sudden chill that traced her spine and watched as Sawyer shone the light on the fixture and craned his neck to examine it. Finally, he brought his hand up, grabbed the rectangular plastic box that sat hidden behind it, and pulled out the key.

As he unlocked the door, he said, “Don’t put that key back there. There’s no reason to, now. You keep it with you so someone can’t find it and get in. Are there any other spare keys hidden around her?”

She thought of telling him he was kind of bossy but decided it was better to hold that comment to herself.

Besides, it wasn’t bothering her. Had he not warned her, she might have reached her hand right into a spider’s web or grabbed a scorpion! And he was right about the key. She needed to be safe, and that’s what he was doing—keeping her safe.

She felt a warmth start in the pit of her stomach before spreading outward.

Was this what it felt like to have a Daddy?

Maybe one day she would know firsthand. The way things were already shaping up in Big Cedar, she didn’t doubt it one bit. The universe seemed to be smiling on her.

Right now, though, her immediate concern was getting situated in that old cabin.

Sawyer had to jiggle the door a bit once it was unlocked, but he got it open quickly and stepped inside, going first. Amber knew the gesture wasn’t born out of ungentlemanly behavior. Far from it.

He was going first to make sure it was safe.

She stood behind him and peered around his strong left arm. It felt wonderful to be so close to him, the warmth radiating off his taut body.

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