Page 34 of Built of Second Chances

He chuckled and kissed her hair. “Feeling’s mutual.”

“Hiding is so much easier than fighting.”

A larger chuckle rumbled through him. “But it’s not as much fun.”

She leaned back to look up at him. “Fun?”

He smiled. “I’m standing in the moonlight with a strong and sexy woman wrapped in my arms. Fun.”

She shook her head but had to smile, too. “Men.”

“We’ve got your back, Tessa. All of us. And we have skills. Again, all of us. We needyourskills to help us collate the data into something useful, something we can use. Then we can form a plan of action. Until then, we keep life going as normal here. No one knows you’re here. And no one’s able to just drop in and take your photo. You’re safe. We’re safe. And we’ll all be safer if we can eliminate the threat.”

She tucked herself back into his hug while she thought about his words. They made sense. They were logical. Was it her heart making her think that? Was she selfishly staying?

“Come on. I told the others we’d talk again in the morning. Let’s get some rest. It’s always easier to think clearly when we’re not exhausted.”

She nodded and Flynn kept her under his arm as they moved into the lodge.

As they opened the door, she remembered the cat. “I forgot Ginger.”

As if the thought had conjured them up, Sam and Tansy walked up behind them with the cat. Jetson followed. Tansy smiled as the cat leapt from her arms and moved to explore the space. “I’ve been researching natural cat litters. I’ve got Aisling bringing some sawdust up from the sawmill for tonight. But there are good options with corn, wheat, pine, grass seeds. It’ll be fun to try the different options and see which are most effective.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Only you would think litter box experiments might be fun.”

They all laughed, but Tessa turned to them. “I’m sorry I walked out. I’m a little overwhelmed.”

Tansy smiled. “And tired and scared and worried. No problem. Why don’t we talk again in the morning? The guys don’t have clients coming until ten, so there’s lots of time. And there’s no rush.”

Sam nodded. “You know we’ve got a lot of safety precautions in place. We’ll have lots of warning if a problem comes to us.”

They weren’t upset with her and still wanted to help. Tessa hugged them both and then headed up the stairs to her room with Flynn on her heels.

He leaned against the door frame and smiled. “Why don’t I grab us something to eat? Then we can get some actual sleep. We’re all safe here.”

Her stomach growled, but the thought of climbing down and back up the stairs while she was so tired wasn’t a fun one. She smiled. “Sounds good. I think I’ll grab a shower, but I’ll be quick.”

Flynn’s eyes heated and she wanted to invite him to join her in the shower. But she wasn’t quite that brave.

He grinned. “Go ahead. That thought will give me some fantasies to enjoy later tonight. I’ll be back in a few.”

This time, it wasn’t fear or panic that had her heart pounding. It was pure desire. She’d been too broken for too long to give much thought to sex, but when Flynn had reappeared in her life, he’d woken that part of her.

She wanted him. Wanted to explore a whole new world with him. But that would mean he’d see all the scars, find all the ways in which she’d been broken.

As she bundled her hair on top of her head and moved into the shower, she tried to look herself over with a critical eye. Scars crisscrossed her legs and wrists. There were more on her sides where they’d had to fix ribs and lungs. Then the burn scars on her back.

Overall, she was a mess.

She’d always wanted to get tiny flowers tattooed into the web of scars. All the flowers Flynn’s dad had mentioned. Including one for the mother she’d never known. A rose for Rosa. But sitting in a tattoo shop for the required hours was too big a risk. She’d been told to blend in. Fade into the background. Don’t have anything stand out that could identify her.

If Flynn’s idea worked, she could take the risk. Get the tattoos she wanted. The ones that would remind her of the good things and people in life.

Tessa quickly dried off and threw on the yoga pants and t-shirt she’d brought in with her. Her body was tingling and she wondered what Flynn would do if she walked out in a towel. Or naked.

She wanted to be that brave, wanted to take that step. But she was also working mostly on adrenaline. Maybe after she had a few hours’ sleep, she could make better sense of everything.

She wasn’t going to use Flynn to block out the fear. If she slept with him, it would be because she was clear-headed enough to know she was ready to take that step.

---