Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
"What? Why are you smirking like that?" Her eyes sharpened as she jabbed a finger at me. "What?"
"Nothing. Just appreciating your kindness—opening your home to a stranger and not throwing me out even after learning who I am. Thank you."
"Yeah, whatever." She waved it off, but I caught the blush staining her cheeks.
"Think we can share a meal without you insulting me?"
"Without insults? Unlikely." She worried her bottom lip, drawing my gaze and stoking an inner heat. "But maybe we could discuss something besides your monstr—your business?"
"I accept your terms."
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
I laughed. Sparring with her was the most entertainment I'd had in ages.
Far too long, in fact.
"Thank you," I said after a weighted pause, then rose to serve myself a bowl of what promised to be exceptional homemade stew.
Chapter 5
Nix
The guestroom door creaked open. "You can sleep in here." I gestured inside, trying not to think about how close this gorgeous jerk would be to my bedroom. "The linens are clean but they aren't one million thread count. The pillows are new and fluffy though. Bathroom's across the hall."
The knowledge that he'd be sleeping just feet from my room wasn't as unappealing as it should've been, considering who he was and what he planned to do to Holiday Grove. That realization made my tone sharper than necessary.
"Your Army brother isn't going to storm in here in the middle of the night and torture me, right?"
I rolled my eyes. "I can neither confirm nor deny that, but considering how far from home he probably is and the weather outside, it's unlikely." Though that would've been hilarious.
"Well, I guess that's good enough. Thank you, Nix. I'll find a way to repay your kindness. I promise."
The urge to tell him to scrap his resort sat heavy on my tongue, but the past few hours hadn't been terrible. "Not necessary. It's what we do in Holiday Grove."
"Still."
"Good night, Lee." It was past ten o'clock, hours past my usual bedtime. Despite having the enemy at the other end of the hall, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
Too bad my peaceful sleep didn't last. My teeth chattered so violently they woke me up. The bedroom air bit at my exposed skin, somehow making me even colder. "What is going on?" I spent a full minute huddled under the blankets, giving myself a mental pep talk. "It's just a little cold. Go check the furnace."
I threw off my covers and fumbled for my slippers, finding them icy but better than the wooden floor. Without stopping for my robe, I rushed into the hallway and down the stairs toward the furnace at the back of the house. I knew every inch of this place—I'd grown up here, lived here most of my life. Managing in the dark should've been simple.
Instead, I slammed straight into something solid.
Not wall-solid. Person-solid.
Hard, warm, and unmistakably muscular.
I shoved what I belatedly recognized as a shirtless man away from me and screamed, even though the closest neighbor was a quarter mile up the road. "Let me go!" I pushed so hard I nearly toppled backward, but large, warm hands caught me moments before disaster. "Stop!" I shouted.
"Nix, it's Lee."
My body went rigid as I opened my eyes. Sure enough, the hot, shirtless creature in my house was Lee Lancaster. Reality crashed back. "I think the furnace is out."
He steadied me on my feet, managing not to grunt at the effort—mentally awarded him points for that. "The furnace is fine. We lost power."
My shoulders slumped. No power was far worse. "Furnace expert too?" The snark emerged automatically.
"My uncle Ty made sure my brother and I could handle basic home repairs."
"Good for Uncle Ty." I retraced my steps to the kitchen, where my heart sank at the view outside. Snow hadn't let up for hours, piling waist-high, and the power outage wasn't just us—the street lights leading into town were dark. "Well, this just got serious," I muttered, shoving my feet into the giant rubber boots in the mudroom.
"Where are you going?" Panic threaded through Lee's voice. "Nix, you can't go out there!"
A smile tugged at my lips. "Worried about me, Lee? Don't worry, if anything happens to me you can still ride out the storm here."
"Not. Funny."
"It was a little funny." I held my thumb and forefinger a hair's width apart. "Since we have no power until who knows when, we need heat. There's plenty of wood outside. I should've brought it in earlier but someone—" I shot him a pointed look "—distracted me."
"I can do that," he offered, sincerity in his tone.
The genuine offer was unsettling. "Thanks, but I'll be faster."
"Because I'm such a pansy ass city boy?"
I wrapped myself in a scarf and heavy work jacket, turning to him with a smile. "So sensitive. But no—Ryan's feet are twice your size, and those dress shoes would just get you hurt." And probably lead to a lawsuit.