Page 21 of Allie's Shelter

“Oh. She’s my assistant.”

Assistant, right. She rolled her eyes.

“You’ll meet her eventually I suppose.”

“Yay.”

“That’s not very convincing. Are you jealous?”

She pretended she couldn’t hear him as they tramped over pine needles, twigs, and leaves on their way. “Where are we going?”

His chuckle at her avoidance drifted back over his broad shoulders. She tried to ignore both his physique and his amusement.

“Somewhere private where we can catch our breath and start unraveling your trouble.”

“Will Eva be there?” Her jealousy was obvious and so very annoying, but she couldn’t seem to squash it.

“Not right away. Really, I think you two would like each other.”

Really, she wished for a Taser to zap him. “You’re probably right,” she said sweetly. “We can compare notes on that mouth of yours.” She was immensely satisfied when he stubbed his toe as he stepped out into the sunshine. But he had the last laugh.

“Ross,” she breathed his name as she took in the view and realized where they were. “Why did you bring me here?”

Chapter four

Ross knew this was the last place she’d want to be with him. After all these years, it was the last place he wanted her to be with him. However, it was absolutely the safest place for her.

The knot in his gut confirmed this decision had personal disaster written all over it. When she found out he was the owner of record for this bit of land and the house too…well, he didn’t dare speculate on the wide range of her possible reactions.

Growing up, everyone in town saw her as the good-hearted and always polite young lady. He knew about the fiery temper under that warm smile full of Southern charm. Their ‘discussion’ at the hotel proved not much had changed.

Knowing she’d rather punch him than hear him out, it was tempting to lie and tell her another member of his team owned the place and they used it as a safe house. He might even have tried to get away with lying if she’d still been in the shock that nearly immobilized her in the sheriff’s office.

When he glanced back at her, he knew there was no chance for that. He was out of luck. Her eyes were perfectly clear as she took in the home he’d built on the dreams he’d lost. He sighed. She deserved to know. Deserved an honest explanation.

“This is your place?”

Knowing it was the obvious and expected question didn’t make him feel any more prepared to answer it. But waiting to tell her wouldn’t change anything and there was no good answer other than the truth. “On paper, yes.” He kept his face neutral when she shot him a hard look. “I don’t spend much time here,” he clarified. “So while it’s true I am the owner, my official address is elsewhere.”

That revelation sent both her brows shooting toward her hairline, but she didn’t pursue what ‘elsewhere’ meant.

“Why?”

Of course Allie would go for the jugular. He reminded himself he’d once found her open and direct nature immensely appealing. “The parcel of land came up for sale and it seemed like the thing to do.” There, that sounded reasonable and casual. In reality, it hadn’t been casual at all.

When the previous owner put the land on the market, he could hardly think for the sweet rush of memories of making love to Allie on the bank of the lake, under a blanket of stars and moonlight. That night, so young and stupid and cow-eyed in love, he’d thought of the future, had dreamed of making a life right here with her. He cleared his throat as the recollections struck hard, the way they did every time he visited this place.

The future had looked so bright and shining and wide open. Then things changed, he’d left town, and she’d never replied to any of his letters. Knowing she’d never see it, when the opportunity came up, he jumped on it. Despite the bittersweet memories, he couldn’t let anyone else have this particular piece of land. A couple years later, Ross let a buddy build a house that would never be a home, because he had the money and his friend needed the work.

“This was our place,” she whispered.

“Was it?”

She scowled at him. “Don’t be a jerk.”

He shrugged a shoulder and strolled up to the house. He thought casual thoughts that edged toward bored. Anything to buffer his heart from the painful memories. The past rejection was likely to be compounded by another rejection momentarily. He was sure her reaction to him and this house wouldn’t improve when he led her inside.

He didn’t visit the place often. The last time had been over a year ago when he needed to recuperate from a bullet wound. No one but Eva and Rick knew about that visit, that he’d been so close to Haleswood. When they’d been planning this assignment, exploring scenarios and the odds that Allie might return to her hometown, he refused to use this house as a base of operations. He’d never planned this house for recovery team use. This was his private refuge.