LITMIR.BIZ

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on tiptoe,” Des said.

      After she made sure Sam was buckled into his car seat, she got in the driver’s seat and lowered her window. Like son, like mother? She shook her head, but couldn’t help gawking as Des leaned over the hood of her Camry to hook the jumper cables to her dead battery. To prevent drooling, she ordered herself to think about the cost of a new battery—and at Christmastime—instead of how luscious his butt looked, caressed by all that faded denim. But it wasn’t just his glutes making her mouth water. The stubble that peppered his face, the two-haircuts-past-due thick, black hair and the intense dark brown eyes all sent her pulse racing.

      “Natalie?” Des asked, his tone laced with impatience.

      Nothing like getting caught daydreaming about the super-hot naval officer. How many times had he called her name? “Sorry. What?”

      “I’m going to start my engine and I’ll let you know when to try yours again. Wait for my signal.”

      She nodded and he went to his truck. Once they got her car started, he came back and removed the cables, rolling them up as he walked toward his pickup. She was glad to see that his limp wasn’t as pronounced today.

      Grabbing the roll of paper towels she had on the passenger seat, Natalie tore off a few. He came back to her car, and she offered him the towels through her open window.

      “Thanks.” He wiped his hands. “Stay here while I shut the barn door.”

      “Why?” She checked her watch. Sam’s session would be starting soon. “What are you doing?”

      “I’m going to follow you and make sure you make it to the therapy place.” He spoke as if his actions were a given.

      His concern brought delicious warmth to her insides. Again making her yearn for something she hadn’t even realized was missing from her current existence. Okay, maybe she’d realized it, but she’d been ignoring the vague discontent. There’s nothing missing. You have a full, satisfying life, she repeated to herself. And she did. So what if she hadn’t dated in the three years since Ryan’s death? Sam had been her top priority during that time. Ryan’s generous life insurance payout gave her financial stability and the nursery school in Nashville where she’d been employed part-time had permitted Sam to attend free of charge. Here in Loon Lake she’d met Mary Wilson through volunteering at the weekly payment-optional luncheons at the church. When the Wilsons’ summer camp cook had taken ill, she’d stepped in. The Wilsons had also allowed her to bring Sam and even invited her back next summer.

      Full life or not, since meeting Des she’d wondered if she had room for more. Something more. Or rather, someone more. And that was disconcerting.

      She stuck her head out the car window. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. I’ve already taken up too much of your time.”

      He shook his head, his dark hair falling across his forehead. “Unless you plan on letting the car run the entire time you’re there, you might need another jump.”

      She fought the urge to brush his hair back, to touch it to see if it felt as soft as it looked. “That wouldn’t be good for the environment, would it?”

      “No, ma’am, it wouldn’t.”

      She snickered at his use of ma’am. “Aha, I see what you did there.”

      “So it’s settled. I’ll follow you.”

      She’d love for him to come along, but she didn’t want him to see her and Sam as a nuisance. Yeah, as if he didn’t already, considering the way she’d barged into his life with her demands for Christmas ornaments.

      He crossed his arms over his chest. “Besides, aren’t you the one trying to convince me to support this enterprise?”

      That did make sense. “Are you saying you might be so overcome by what you see, you’ll do whatever I ask?”

      Des dropped his arms and snorted a laugh. “Too late for that.”

      A flush of warmth spread through her and she couldn’t contain her grin. Was he saying he felt an attraction, too? Was that a possibility? Des might act all gruff and surly but she suspected beneath all that he was a caring man bent on protecting himself. Don’t go spinning fairy tales, she cautioned herself. Des might be a case of WYSIWYG—What You See is What You Get. Yeah, the problem with rainbow optimism was that you often got your heart broken.

      On her wedding day, she’d assumed they’d happily grow old together, but two years later a stranger’s careless actions had taken Ryan from them and changed the course of their lives in an instant. Because of it, Sam would have to grow up without his dad.

      Ryan had convinced her to drop out of college when Sam was born. He’d had a decent paying job at a tech start-up in Nashville so her degree hadn’t been a priority then. Now she understood how short-sighted she’d been.

      As much as she needed optimism, facing reality was key to planning for the future.

      She waited for Des to come back and climb into his truck before she put the car in gear and made her way to the therapy center.

      Conflicting thoughts vied for space in her head during the drive to the stable. She hardly knew Des. Or what had happened to make him keep the world at arm’s length. Few wounds healed without permanent scars. She’d have to be crazy to even try bringing him out of his self-imposed exile. She had enough on her plate with Sam, finishing her degree and starting a career, as opposed to the lower-paying jobs she’d had since Ryan’s death.

      Last year, she’d inherited her grandmother’s summer home, a duplex in Loon Lake. After careful deliberation, Natalie had decided not to sell the place, but to move to the quaint town she’d remembered and loved from childhood visits.

      Thanks to the inheritance she lived mortgage-free plus collected rent from the tenant on the other side of the two-family home. That monthly rent paid her utility bills and helped with upkeep. With Ryan’s generous life insurance payout, she’d been able to spend time with Sam when he’d needed her during his recovery and rehabilitation. But now was the time for a concrete plan for their future. Finishing her degree so she could get a decent job was the first step. She’d set aside a portion of the life insurance for Sam’s college fund and had refused to draw from it. Next year, when Sam started school, she’d have more time to devote to online studies or attend classes at the nearest university.

      She pulled into the packed earth parking lot of the hippotherapy center and chose two spots together in case Des needed to jump-start her car again. She smiled. It was nice to think someone had her back. Even though she’d lived in Loon Lake for a short time, many of the residents remembered her grandmother and were friendly and helpful, treating her as if she’d lived there all her life. But it would be nice to know she had someone more permanent to share life’s ups and downs with. What was she doing? She barely knew this man, so no more spinning fairy tales.

      Once the auction benefitting the equine therapy center was over, maybe she could still take baked goods to Des. And maybe he’d have to take out a restraining order on me. She laughed at herself as she turned off her engine and got out and opened the rear door. Sam scrambled out of the car and she held out her hand. He dutifully took it, but she knew the day was coming when he’d refuse to comply. She’d gotten into the habit of insisting on holding his hand because he couldn’t answer if she called to him.

      He’d gotten away from her once when he darted under a rack of clothes in a department store. She’d frantically called to him, despite knowing he couldn’t answer. After five agonizing minutes that felt like fifty, she’d found him, but from that day forward she’d insisted he hold her hand in public. She suspected that his seeing her anguished tears that day had scared him and he hadn’t fought holding her hand since then.

      Turning to Des, who’d parked and was getting out of his truck, she said, “I’m going to take Sam in to get saddled up. Over there by the fence is the perfect spot to watch his session.”

      He nodded and she took off

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