Page 2 of Built of Second Chances

Maybe she could get Graham Buchanan to convert one of the old snowmobiles to solar power to help her make the trek to this cabin in the winter. The man was a genius with vehicles and electricity. He shared the Midnight Security business with Tansy’s fiancé and a few others.

Tessa tied the canoe up at the dock and hauled herself up. A flash of movement on the porch had her smiling. The stray cat wouldn’t admit it yet, but she was starting to trust Tessa. The saucer of tuna she’d left out sat empty and the tiny cat had hung around after eating. Waiting for Tessa.

“Come on, Ginger. You can come inside where it’s warm. You don’t have to be out here on your own.” She continued to speak softly as she crept up to the porch. The cat peeked around the wall and watched her, but when Tessa paused, she scampered off again.

Tessa waited a few minutes and kept talking, but the animal didn’t reappear. She sighed and unlocked the door with the code from the app on her phone. After a few dangerous incidents on the property over the past few months, Tansy had invented an app that connected to the lock that scrambled the code every day. Every building on the property was equipped with similar locks and they would keep out most people. Of course, a determined person could break in the windows, but Tessa had already peeked through the front window. The only other window was intact and the cabin was secure.

Once inside, Tessa wrapped herself in the blanket that rested on the couch. It was too late in the day to stay long, so she wouldn’t fire up the pellet stove, but she wanted to warm up her body before she headed back.

The old injuries had healed as much as they were going to heal and she’d learned to cope with them. She’d also learned enough tricks to help her avoid revealing her weakness to others.

Weakness led to questions. Questions led to lies. And guilt. And then another move.

She didn’t want to screw up this place. Didn’t want to leave. Was it possible to have a forever home? She hadn’t believed in forever in over a decade. She wasn’t sure she’d truly believed it even before then.

Although one boy had made her want to believe. No. She couldn’t think of him. Couldn’t remember him at all. That way lay heartache and danger.

Shaking her head at her stray thoughts, Tessa paced the cabin’s room and planned her next steps for data collection. Tomorrow she’d start cataloging the birds who stayed in Vermont for the winter. Her first step would be to find where they roosted and nested.

Instead of thinking abouthim, she’d collect more data and try to capture a stray cat.

She’d focus on the future.

Not the past.

Flynn Walker was glad he’d switched from his cowboy boots to hiking boots and traded his Stetson for a knitted cap. Vermont at the end of November was no joke.

As part of the FBI’s organized crime unit, Flynn had spent most of his adult life in big cities in the southern US. Far different from the ranch where he’d grown up on the outskirts of Houston.

He’d worked in Chicago for a month one January and that had been an eye-opener. He’d learned to be prepared. And that layers were the key to not freezing your ass off.

Flynn grabbed his duffel and then climbed out of the rental car and locked up. Early winter at Midnight Lake was going to require another learning curve. One he was eager to take.

He’d leaped at the chance to partner up with some of his buddies when Sam Young wanted to jump the FBI ship and start up a business aimed at training people to protect themselves and others. Even if it meant spending time in actual winter.

Flynn looked around the area where Sam had instructed him to park. A huge old sawmill took up most of the lot, but it was a treed area with paths in different directions. He knew they lead to other buildings, mostly sheds, but one that was an old blacksmith shop.

The parking area behind the sawmill had a half-dozen electric charging stations and another couple that were hydrogen chargers. Something he knew nothing about.

Sam’s wife, Tansy, was a scientist and inventor. She’d pulled the entire property off the grid. He’d met the tiny woman a few times and she was a real spitfire. Quiet as a mouse, but always thinking and putting those thoughts into action.

Sam’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Well, well, if it isn’t the King of the Rodeo gracing us with his presence.”

Flynn shot his finger up at Sam even as he walked over to haul his friend into a hug. “Your Tansy figure out how to make it snow to try to scare me off?”

From behind him, Graham’s voice chimed in. “If this much snow scares you, you’re never going to make it. We’re going to have to thicken your blood, cowboy.”

A stunning redhead walked with his buddy. They must have been in the sawmill when he drove up.

He shook his friend’s hand, then hugged him as well. “Good to see you, Buchanan.”

“You too, Flynn. This is Aisling Gallagher. She’s mine, so keep your thoughts and hands to yourself.”

The woman blushed but laughed. Then she reached forward and pulled Flynn into a hug while Graham growled.

Flynn laughed and hugged her again. “Quite the place y’all got here.”

Sam grinned. “It’s part yours too. Come on, let’s start in. Tansy texted that she’s got a pot of minestrone simmering. That’ll warm up your bones.”

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