Page 9 of Echoes in the Night

“Where’d you go?”

“SoCal. My major was fashion design. Damn, you didn’t find my backpack. My latest design book was in it.”

“I’m sorry.”

Throwing the cover off, she leans forward and puts her hand on my knee. “Jaxon, you saved my life. Everything else can be replaced or recreated. If I can’t remember what I drew, it must not have been very good.”

Something tightens in my chest. I cover her hand with my much larger one. I study the contrast of her soft pale hand under my work hardened one. What I’d give to have a woman like this.

Whoa boy, she’s fifteen years younger than you. What would she want with an old man?

“I’ve got to go check on the chickens.”

“Can I go with? I’ve never been around any kind of farm animals. Do you have cattle too? Horses?”

“No. Just chickens. Let me find some heavier clothes for you to put on. It’s not a bad idea to teach you about winter ropes.”

“What are they?” she asks as she follows me to the closet next to the bathroom.

I hand her a pair of my jeans to put on over the sweatpants she’s wearing, a thermal shirt, and a button up flannel to cover that. I pull out an old brass flip-top buckle that I adjust around her waist to hold everything in place. “It’s an old-time practice that we still use when a storm is as blinding as this. You tie one end of a rope to your house and one to the barn so you can find your way from one to the other. Since we’re higher on the mountain and can get hit hard, it’s a fool proof backup Gramps and I always used.”

Standing back I take in her outfit and smile.

“What are you smiling at?” she quips before shuffling to the bathroom to look in the mirror. Her laughter is like sunshine in this old house. I meet her gaze in the glass, and she smiles back.

“Not my normal style, but it may have promise.” She laughs.

I bundle her up in one of my coats, rolling the sleeves so just her hands show. “There’s not a pair of boots that will stay onyour feet. So we’re gonna load them up in socks and then wrap them in burlap. I’ll be carrying you to the barn anyway.”

“You can’t?—”

“We’ve been over this, babe.”

She sticks her tongue out at me and my cock goes instantly hard.

Chapter Six

Maura

It’s clear that honesty is important to Jax. He didn’t have to tell me everything. I’m so glad he did. I realize he’s a total stranger, but I sense I can trust him.

The little glimpses of sorrow in his eyes make me sad for him, for the boy he was. The man he is. I know how much it hurts to lose the only one who cared when his gramps died, and he couldn’t even be there. I’m glad he has this refuge. This reminder.

He pulls on a jacket, turns his back to me and squats a little. “Put your arms around my neck and wrap your legs around my hips. It’s gonna be cold.”

The first step onto the porch steals my breath and I bury my face against his neck. Damn, he smells good. That same woodsy scent that was all over the pillow warms me in all my girly places.

I’ve never had a boyfriend. The bogus dates my father set up and insisted I go on were potential contract dates that had nothing to do with what I wanted or who I liked.

Then there was the one and only disastrous pity fuck that my supposed friend in college set up. Talk about disappointment.

No one has ever made me feel seen for myself. Until now.

“This is the rope I told you about.” He lifts his hand to show me his grasp on the rope tied to the porch rail. “Right now, I can see the barn, but a flurry could hit at any moment in this kind of storm, so I’ll keep hold of this until we reach the barn door.”

Something tells me my big burly mountain man would not be holding the rope, but he wants to make damn sure I would.

Inside the barn is cool but not as cold as outside. He lowers me to my bundled feet and flips a switch. I’m stunned. “Wha—what is all this furniture?”

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