Page 10 of His Forever Princess

His brows crunched together, and he lowered his cup before he'd taken a drink. That wasn't tea in her mug.

"Since when do you drink coffee?"

She lowered her cup, her eyes following the motion as she set the mug on the counter. "I acquired the taste about five years ago. And there's no kettle."

He hadn't thought to pack one. They'd been in such a rush. He knew he'd put her tea bags in one of the grocery sacks, but he hadn’t given a thought as to whether or not there'd be a way to heat up the water.

"Sorry," he muttered. He hid his frown behind a sip of coffee. It was something else he didn't know about his wife. They were practically strangers now, weren't they? Even with three grown daughters between them.

The coffee turned bitter in his throat.

He scarfed down the eggs and toast she'd made, earning himself a sideways look that viscerally reminded him of their first meeting.

Then he took his meds. Started pulling on his boots.

"Are you going for firewood?" she asked. "It feels colder in here today."

He glanced around at the threadbare furnishings. There was no more wood in the iron holder near the stove. "Older cabins like this aren't always insulated that well. I'll grab some wood after I do some reconnaissance."

A haughty, bossy expression came over her. "What does that mean?"

He opened the door to find a light snow falling.

"I'm going to take a look around. Maybe hike down toward the road and make sure nobody's been in the woods since last night."

Her frown turned fierce. "It's snowing."

I know. He didn't say the words.

"And you're injured."

He grabbed the black vest from the small pile of belongings. "I'm fine. I'm hale enough to keep you safe. Let me do my job."

Her mouth trembled before she firmed her lips, a hardness overtaking her expression. Somehow he'd said the wrong thing.

He shrugged into the vest, ignoring the pull in his side. "I might be gone an hour. There's a second pistol locked in the case. There."

He pointed to a high shelf on the wall where he'd stashed his backup weapon. He'd given Alessandra shooting lessons himself, but that'd been years ago. He didn't know whether she'd kept up the practice. He didn't ask.

"I'll bring in some firewood when I come back."

He'd seen a pile stacked neatly between two trees, last night when he'd walked the perimeter of the cabin. It was set off from the cabin, at the edge of the woods.

He ducked outside without waiting for her to speak.

Last night, he'd been sure he could handle this. But being faced with a wife who had cooked breakfast, taken care of him? Not to mention how incredibly beautiful she was with her hair loose and a too-big sweatshirt.

For a long time, he'd been the only one who'd seen the softer, private side of the princess. The woman she could be at home, not the public face she showed when necessary.

He grumbled under his breath as he hiked away from the cabin. He needed to find his equilibrium.

He didn't walk a straight path through the pine forest that surrounded the cabin. For one thing, the mountainside grew steeper and steeper, and he had to take a roundabout path to keep from sliding down on his tookus. He also wanted the chance to catch any footprints or broken twigs, and he didn't know which direction an enemy might've come from.

It took longer than he'd thought to reach the winding mountain road they'd driven up yesterday. The air seemed to grow colder as he followed the road in both directions, from far enough away that he remained mostly hidden in the trees.

He didn't see any signs that anyone had been there.

That was good.

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