Tuesday Tales – Picture Prompt – Haunted Hearts

11141122_10205895674849827_8134279105872976668_nWelcome back to Tuesday Tales!  This weeks prompt is this picture.

Due to time constraints, we’re jumping to the 12th book my Holidays at Lake Point series, Haunted Hearts.

Jenna Vogel is a bank teller with a side job as the host of the town’s ghost tours. She also has a secret, she’s a sensitive, which is how she manages to help people get evidence on almost every single tour.

Bryce is a lawyer with a secret as well…despite his well established reputation around town as a man-whore who can, and does, sleep with anything with boobs…he’s actually the opposite. His cousin spreads the rumors and he actually encourages them b/c he’s had his heart broken one too many times.

Bryce just moved to town and had never met Jenna before, but spots her out one day at The Diner. His cousin notices his instant attraction to the blonde and sets the up on a tour. The next evening, Bryce goes for a run at the local park and here is the all-too-brief, but in the 300 word count limit result:

The narrow dirt path wound through the thick of woods for two miles before emerging on a small tree lined lane at the back of the park. He swung around the path and back to the bridge to cross over into the main park. As he rounded the path to the bridge he stopped short in surprise.

In the middle of the bridge stood Jenna. Her arms draped casually over the side, a breeze stirring her curls as her eyes closed. Again that sexy, secretive smirk played across her lips.

His lungs seized up reminding him that he’d stopped in the middle of a good run, and that he’d managed to stop breathing altogether.

He gulped in air, bending over as his body coughed in retaliation for the world’s worst way to stop running. Both his hands pressed hard against his knees, his chest bowing at each heaving gasp until he managed to get himself together.

That’s when he noticed hands on his back, and Jenna’s quiet voice seeped into his awareness. “Are you all right?”

He nodded fiercely and held up a finger to let her know he needed another second. Once he was sure he could speak without hacking up another lung, he managed to stand. “Sorry.”

“If you wanted my attention you really only had to say hello.”

“I thought I’d go for the drama tactic.” He laughed when she did. “I mean, if that hadn’t work I could have tried breaking my ankle, now that would’ve really had you running.”

“Maybe in the opposite direction. I don’t handle others pain well.” She cringed, a delicate wrinkle forming in her nose when she did. “Your coughing fit was difficult enough, if there’s real pain I get sick.”

“Is that so?”

 

*~*

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Tuesday Tales – Stiff – The Raven

VelliWelcome back to Tuesday Tales!  This weeks prompt is Stiff.

Back again with The Raven, the 4th book in my Tribe series.

In this weeks installment, Velli gets an idea in the middle of the night. Before they came to the sanctuary to work on her friend John’s little problem, she made Kane promise to not let her get lost in the lab.

Also, her past is not pretty by a long shot and she has a tendency to run (she ran away from Kane for 6 whole years before he found her again). She has spent years believing, and experiencing, that the worst can, and usually will happen, to her.

Being with her mate has helped her move past such thoughts most of the time, but sometimes they creep back in.

Oh, and translations…Shëntse Táno means “Fucking Wolf”. And Möchésé táno means what it’s followed by “Ravenwolf”.

Hope you enjoy:

“Spirits, that’s it.”

Kane startled awake when the woman wrapped in his arms shouted in his ear and bolted from the bed. He rubbed his eyes as they adjusted to the dark. “Vels? What the actual fuck?”

“Sorry. I got an idea.” She kissed his temple. “Go back to sleep. If Aidan wakes, I pumped earlier and there’s plenty of milk in the fridge.”

“No no no.” He grabbed her hand. “You promised.”

“I know, but I thought I’d be done long before the next moon when we came. If I put this off it might be another moon before we can go home.”

“Bribery is not the way to go.”

“Kane.” She yelped when he yanked her back in bed. “Stop. I have to go now before I forget what I was thinking.”

“You never forget anything.”

“Not entirely true,” her tone wobbled.

He cursed inwardly for the accidental reminder of the organization. They’d been doing well pretending that huge massive problem wasn’t looming over their heads. “Vels.”

“Give me five minutes to write this down. Please.”

“I thought you had to go.” He was glad she wasn’t, but he really didn’t want to draw out their stay any longer than they had to.

“I do, I should…but…fuck.”

“Easy.”

“There’s just too much.” She sat, her whole body now tense. “I should start this test now so it’s done soon. But I need to talk to you. Then there’s the bird. And the kids. And I promised I wouldn’t get lost down there. I made you swear not to let me, but if I don’t—”

“Easy.” He clasped her hand and used it to tug her back down to the bed. “What’s going on? You were fine a few minutes ago.”

“You reminded me of something. Something we need to discuss.”

“Can it wait?”

“No. Yes. No. It’s waited a long time already.” She curled close against him. “Part of me thinks we should deal with the latest crisis. The rest knows I have to tell you, but I’m scared you’ll think I’m all batshit crazy again.”

“How about we compromise?”

“How’s that?”

He rested his chin on her head, trailing his finger along her shoulder. “We’ll leave a note for Kimi, and take Aidan with us. While you run your tests, I’ll wait in the office with Aidan and once you’re able to, we’ll talk about this other thing.”

“I don’t like it when you’re calm and logical. It’s annoying as hell.”

“Poor baby.”

“The horrors I live through being your mate.” She chuckled against his chest. “Fine. We’ll do things your way. Live less stressfully and all that crap.”

“You’re just mad you’re getting used to it.”

“I am. It’ll hurt more when it’s all taken away.”

He reached for her as the last statement faded into the dark, but she was already in the closet getting dressed. Damn that woman for her sometimes inhuman speed. Rather than confront her outright, he gave her a minute to calm down. He grabbed his buckskins and slipped them on before padding over to the closet door. “You still think that?”

Her whole body grew stiff at the question, he could tell even in the dark of night. The Wolf in him sensed it as much as the scent of fear that edged into what had become the sweet scent of the calm air she’d acquired in the months at the reservation. A faint whisper caught the air, “Shëntse Táno.”

He crept up behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. There wasn’t a ripple of surprise in her at his touch, not that he expected one. What he expected more was some sort of attack, but she stayed still. “Don’t blame my Wolf .”

“I was not blaming your fucking Wolf, I was blaming you. Or is your Native name not Möchésé táno? Hm, Ravenwolf?” She leaned back against him. “You know I never let that go. I may never let that go. The instinct to run is not as great with you, and Kimi and Aidan, but I always fear the world tumbling down around me. I likely always will.”

“Even with the Spirits reassurances, and that of the Sage?”

“Even with all of that.”

He rubbed his hands along her arms gently. Even though he knew years of self-doubt, self-loathing, and pure torture couldn’t be erased in the short time they’d had together, he hated that part of her still succumbed to what her past had bred in her. “What can I do?”

“You’re doing everything right.”

“Should I do more wrong, then?”

 

*~*

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Tuesday Tales – Old – The Raven

VelliWelcome back to Tuesday Tales!  This weeks prompt is Old.

Well well well it’s been a long time since I have played this game!  I’ve had a rough start to my year (let’s not talk about how far behind I am on my writing goals).  BUT, in the past couple of weeks I’ve really begun to push myself back into working. With edits in on book one of my Tribe series, I decided to get a kick start on book 4, The Raven before I really have to buckle down for the next in my Lake Point series.

So here we are with my favorite Shifter native Tribesmen, Nirvelli “Velli” Misu and Kane (no last name).  As a refresher, Velli’s been to hell and back but in this fourth book she’s sort of actually found happiness. Kane is a 300+ years old Shifter with Healing magic. The bird they are referring to is an ancient Raven, one of the last of his kind on this earth. In some Native mythologies the Raven is known as a bringer of magic. He has sought out Velli for reasons unknown to her, although she’s begun to speculate. She didn’t come to the sanctuary to find out, she came to help out a friend – unfortunately the friend’s sanctuary is where this bird lives.

Is that clear as mud? lol. Sorry, trying to get you somewhat caught up before I throw you to the ~ahem~ Wolves:

“I don’t think I get what you’re saying.” Kane paced the length of the room. On the bed Velli glared at him deeper with every step. “What do you mean?”

“If I knew I wouldn’t be asking you now would I?”

“You know that isn’t what I meant, smartass.”

“All I did was ask why a Raven’s feathers would be turning silver.” She pushed to standing. By the time he’d made another circuit of the room she stood in front of him to block his path. “I thought they were gray at first, but today I got a better look and I’d swear they were silver.”

“It’s a Raven, Raven feathers are black.”

“Duh.”

He growled when she rolled her eyes. He didn’t like what she was telling him at all. Whatever it mean, he was sure it wasn’t good, and he was triple sure he didn’t want her involved in whatever it was. “Asking you ignore it is pretty pointless, isn’t it?”

“Not entirely.” She set her hands on his chest. “I haven’t said a word to the bird. I’m pretty sure he wanted me to see it this last time, so I kept my mouth shut. I don’t know what it means, and I won’t say a word until I have a better idea.”

“But asking you to forget and move onto something else?”

She shrugged.

“That’s what I thought. It’s pointless.”

“I think something’s wrong. While I don’t trust him to lead me down that path himself, I want to know what’s going on. I’m too curious to let it go.”

“You’re curiosity is a dangerous thing, you know.”

“I know.” She grinned as she met his gaze. “For all we know it’s a style choice and he was looking for a fashion critique.”

“You really think we’re that lucky?” He chuckled at her answering shrug. “If you were to give him a fashion critique what would it be?”

“He’s gone far too subtle with it.” She practically hopped with her enthusiasm over the silly subject. “The silver is too hidden to be glimpsed easily. At least one feather should be visible enough to make us seek out the rest.”

He frowned, even though she said it in jest. “Why wouldn’t he just mask them from you? He sure has the ability.”

“What if he doesn’t? What if it’s an illness?” The giddiness of the moment passed as her features lost their spark of joy. “What if that’s why he wanted me?”

“He’s an ancient Spirit. I don’t think illness is likely.”

She sighed and sank onto the bed. “I sort of like the old bird.”

“That doesn’t mean you need to get sucked into whatever ploy he’s scheming.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “Just leave it be, would you? Do what we came here for.”

“Sorry.” She sank down next to him. “I know you still don’t trust him, and I don’t trust him completely either.”

“Then drop it. I’d rather us not be stuck here any longer than necessary.” He draped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. His tension eased as she snuggled closer. “I also like having you happy, and most of all, safe.”

“Blah blah blah.” The way she wrapped her arms tighter around him didn’t match her droll tone. “You’re such a sap in your old age.”

“You hate that you like it.”

“You don’t know me.”

“Oh, but I do. Which is why I also know you haven’t dropped the subject. You’re placating me with your nearness.”

“I just want to call Noelle and check her grandmother’s journals.”

“Then will you let it go?” He didn’t like how she’d managed to get wrapped up with the bird. Even though he trusted her to be smart and not get wrapped up in any sort of deal with the bird, he didn’t like where this was going at all.

“Depends on what they say.”

“Vels.”

Rather than answer, she moved fast enough to surprise him. In a quick minute she straddled him. Every nerve in his body came alive at her simple, possessive touch.

He groaned and gripped her hips. “Vels. You’re changing the subject.”

Her lips brushed along his ear. “You’re complaining?”

“I should, but fuck no I’m not.”

She squealed when he grabbed her around the waist and spun her fast until he had her pinned hard against the bed. With a husky chuckle she arched into him. “You are such a man.”

“You never complained before.”

“And I’m not now. Come here.”

 

*~*

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Tuesday Tales – Random – Love for Hire

KendallWelcome back to Tuesday Tales!  This weeks prompt is Random.

Time to move onto my Labor Day story.  Meet Kendall and Levi from my upcoming release, Love for Hire.  She’s a food truck owner by day with a secret…by night she’s a high paid escort in the nearby city of Rochester. Levi is his dad’s legacy that’s leaving the family business, but his family doesn’t know it yet.  He’s hired Kendall (whose escort name is Bryn) to escort him to a company awards dinner:

Kendall watched the city pass by the town car window. Nerves tangled in her stomach until she needed to sip at some soda water. Tonight’s appointment hadn’t been on her schedule, but her friend and partner in crime, Shea, had ended up with food poisoning and asked Kendall to stand in.

While Kendall was happy for some extra cash, and an excuse to get dolled up, she hated knowing little about her client. Lucky for her he’d agreed to meet her half an hour early.

The car pulled in front of the hotel right on time. She smiled as the driver came around and opened the door for her. “Thank you, Devon. I’ll need thirty minutes.”

“I’ll be here, Bryn.” Devon only knew her working name. Everyone connected with this job only knew her fake name. She was careful to never cross lives. “Do you need anything else in the car when I return?”

“No, we’re just going a few miles. I’m sure Mr. Brier can wait that long for a drink.” She dipped her head in a nod and headed into the lobby. Even though this appointment was last minute, she had insisted on her usual order of business. She always met her clients before the event to ensure the rules and expectations were clearly laid out.

Such things weren’t necessary with her regulars, but new clients always received the same treatment, and she wouldn’t change for a last minute hiccup. No matter how prepared Shea thought she’d made her.

Kendall glanced through the lobby, though she didn’t expect to see him there. She went straight for the bar, and scanned the room for the man she was supposed to meet. Shea had sent him a merlot colored tie from their collection, and Kendall had swiped Shea’s silver shawl, which were both Shea’s usual indicators.

They bought the ties together so they’d always know their clients. It was far better than walking up to a random stranger and asking if they’d paid a couple of grand for a date. Less illegal, too.

At the bar one gentleman stood out, mostly because his eyes were on the door—and consequently her. She held her breath, surprised at the shocking attractiveness of the man in the merlot tie.  She was used to older gentlemen, arrangements with a man closer to her age was less common, and this one was eye candy and then some. Rather than give into the immediate physical reaction she had to him, she shifted the shawl on her arm and started his direction.

He rose and after a tug to his lapels to straighten absolutely nothing out, but the move certainly called her attention to his strong hands, he held one of them out. “Bryn I assume?”

She almost corrected him and offered her real name, but manged to bit her tongue and nod instead. Once she gathered her wits about her, she smiled. “Levi, thank you for meeting me early. Since Priya’s sudden illness made this last minute.”

“It’s fine.” His rich voice coasted along her nerves like a teasing touch. “Priya explained you could be trusted as well. Since she came so highly recommended, I assumed the same for you.”

She could curse every inch of her reaction to him, and Shea for falling ill, and the idiotic chef that gave Shea food poisoning. This date could be trouble if she let it. Lucky for her, she was skilled at not letting it. “Then let’s sit and go over the details. My car will be back in about twenty minutes.”

He gestured to the chair beside him and called over the bartender. After he’d ordered her a very lovely Shiraz, he turned to give her his full attention. “I’ll let you take the lead. This is a first for me.”

“Then you’re much calmer than most men are first time around.” She met his gaze evenly, and put the strength of her routine behind herself. Attraction or not, she had a job to do, and she would do it. Never once in the past five years had she let an attraction affect her ability to keep things business-like, or go past what she was hired for. “First things first, will be payment.”

“I have the funds with me.”

“We’ll make the exchange in the car. Not after the date, before. It gets that bit of uncomfortableness out of the way.”

“Makes sense.”

“Of course, I’m sure Priya made it perfectly clear there is no sex.”

His eyes scanned her body, and his brows twitched briefly, but he nodded. “Yes. That isn’t what this is about anyway.”

She smirked when he finally lifted his gaze back to hers again. “Just remember that. Depending on what your needs are this evening, we’ll determine what is allowed.”

“You’re here to keep my mom off my back about my lack of a girlfriend. Also to distract my father. I’m telling him tomorrow I’m leaving our company, so I thought bringing a pretty girl would give him something to talk about besides my future aspirations after my award tonight.”

“I’m very good at distraction.” She chuckled. “Good, then I can say that affectionate touches are allowed to keep your mother convinced and your father intrigued.”

“Sounds about right.” He smiled and chuckled as well. “As far as dad goes I think just your presence is going to be plenty of distraction. You are stunning, and he never misses a moment to ogle a pretty girl.”

“I’m familiar with the type.” More than, actually. She took a sip of her wine and settled back in her seat. “Now to satisfy your mother, we should know a little about each other.”

“Or what you put forward in this job.”

“Touché.” She lifted her glass to his smarts. Most men were too busy enjoying the show to remember or recognize how many lies she put forth, right down to her name. “Let’s start with some basics. Tell me a little about yourself, don’t worry I have a stellar memory.”

“Born and raised in Rochester. My dad has been in advertising as long as I can remember. He started at the bottom and climbed right up to the top. The firm is his, and I’m in line to become CFO in five years when Lyle Bing retires.”

“Impressive.” As many lies as she lived, she was truly impressed by this. “But you don’t want it?”

“I thought I did a few years ago.” He shrugged. “Things change, but they don’t need to know about that right now.”

“Of course not.”

“What else do you need to know?”

“Everything I’d need to know if we’d been dating a couple of weeks. Surface details from favorite color to favorite vacation spot. Nothing too deep, you don’t seem the type to get too deep too fast.”

“I’m not. I like to take it slow.”

Shit, the man would seduce her with just his wit and voice if she wasn’t careful. Thank the heavens she was always careful.

 

*~*

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Tuesday Tales – Address – Free Falling

young gorgeous lady posing in lace dress over black. space for copyWelcome back to Tuesday Tales!  This weeks prompt is Address.

Back with Free Falling again. Over half done (I think) with this one, and loving it as much as the rest of Lake Point.

This week Ryan and Logan end up on a sort of unplanned date. Logan has just revealed some heavy details about his past, and Ryan has been moved by the events. So she decides to show him something:

“Come on.” She rose and tugged on his hand. “The air’s too thick in here. Come on.”

“What?” He furrowed his brow, possibly confused by the sudden change. “Where?”

“You’ll see. Come on.” With a grin, she dragged him from the coffee shop and out onto the square. When he headed toward her truck, she tugged him the other direction. Over his protests, she dragged him across the square, past the second hand clothes shop, past the antique store Past Overs and into the alley just beyond.

“Ryan?”

“Patience, Logan. And trust.”

He grunted at the last word, but his protest stopped.

She took the small victory as she led him back through the next side street and darted across the silent street into the funeral homes parking lot. “Right back here.” She pulled him around the fence into the tree line behind it. They crept through to a small opening she’d discovered a while back. She plopped down onto the bed of pine needles and patted the space beside her.

“What are we doing?” Despite the skepticism lingering in his tone, his lips bore the distinct curve of a smile.

“Enjoying the quiet.” She leaned closer and whispered. “With these pines, the stone fence, and the privacy fence on that side, this place is one of the quietest in Lake Point.”

“One of?”

“Hush and listen.”

“To what?”

“Hush.” This time he listened, and she happily lay back on the bed of needles. She sighed and closed her eyes. A breeze stirred the trees above, lending a slight rustle to the quiet night and helping to block any external noise.

His hand touched her shin, but remained there as the silence settled over both of them. After a few minutes he lay back on the needles beside her, a soft sigh slipping from his lips.

“We’re never so aware of the constant hum of our existence until it’s gone.”

“Do you come here often?”

“Not as often as my other favorite spot, but this does in a pinch when I’m in town.”

“Where’s your favorite?” He turned to look at her. In the faint light his eyes glittered, and his hand laced with hers.

“Oh, that’s as secret as my library.”

“You won’t show me?”

“That’s something you have to earn.”

“Then why show me this one?”

“I thought you needed it.” She turned toward him, studying the lines of his face in the dim light. At the rate she was going, she was going to do something she never let herself do, she was going to fall for him. “When you unload something like that, you need to find yourself again.”

“How would you know?”

“My life wasn’t all sunshine and roses and happy family. I know.” She set her hand on his shoulder, using her fingertips to trace the lines of muscle.

“I showed you mine.”

She laughed. “You used the same logic with the library. Sorry, but it’s a story for another day, another time.”

“Fuck. Time.” He tapped his watch, the glow lighting his features briefly. A sigh escaped and he lay back. “I thought it was later. I thought I was late getting Sher.”

“How long do you have?”

“About twenty minutes still.”

“Then let’s get you back to your girl.”

“And then what?” His hand tightened on hers. “Are you done here? With me? I do have a daughter.”

“A fact I’m well aware of.” She squeezed his hand right back. “I told you, coffee and no promises.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“That means for the sake of your daughter we are going to play this by ear. I don’t know what’s going to happen, and you’re going to have to accept that getting into anything means you don’t know what will happen. You can’t know what will happen. Address the elephant in the room.”

“She asked me if we were dating.”

“The elephant.”

“Are we?”

She chuckled and flopped back to stare at the pine canopy above them. “I think against my better judgment we’ll go with yes, but I still can’t make any promises. We’ll go a step at a time and if you tell Noah—”

“I’d rather cut my dick off.”

“Oh, good. That’s the threat I was going to make.”

 

*~*

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Tuesday Tales – Arm – Free Falling

young gorgeous lady posing in lace dress over black. space for copyWelcome back to Tuesday Tales!  This weeks prompt is Arm.

Well, Stars, Stripes & Motorbikes is with my editor, so it was time to move on to the Independence Day story for 2015, Free Falling. My heroine, Ryan, is a furniture builder/designer that sets her own hours…mostly so she can always have a three day weekend to go out and pick up guys. She’s not looking for a commitment.

Logan is a single dad who has to be dragged out, where he meets Ryan.  They had a really great night together, but since then there’s been a lot of tension…namely because Logan’s daughter unexpectedly came home and found Ryan in his bed.

For today’s post, Ryan has to deliver a hand-carved mantel to her clients house.:

The Bennett’s lived in Ryan’s favorite neighborhood in all of Lake Point, and where she hoped to live herself one day. Houses rarely went up for sale there, and the old stately homes stood as a testament to the town’s rich history.

Of course, Ryan loved the intricate details in the old homes, including woodwork throughout every area of the homes. Every few years she got a call from the neighborhood from someone else wanting to update and asking her to handle the woodwork. Thankfully the neighbors were all close, having all lived there forever, and so word of her skills had made it around.

In fact, that’s how the Bennett’s had gotten her name. She hoped the mantel was just an initial test, as the living room and dining room beside had both been emptied when she’d come to do measurements and discuss design. Usually that was a good sign a remodel was in the works.

She hopped out of the truck and went around to the back of her trailer. In a quick, practiced motion she had the trailer unlocked and open with the ramp in place. Rather than try to move the whole piece and try to lug the heavy item into the house, she’d left it in pieces for easy reassembly and transport.

Each piece was carefully wrapped, and the whole lot had been sealed in a box currently banded to a dolly. If everything went according to plan she’d have the mantel unpacked and assembled well before her appointment time at ten.

She halted with her arm extended, the memory of the awkward encounter with Logan at the bank two days before pulling her out of her work-focus. Rather than cave to the incessant thoughts of what should have been nothing more than another one night stand, she hauled the dolly onto the ramp.

On her way out of the trailer she grabbed her large tool bag and slung it over her head, cross-wise. She pulled the dolly up the driveway to the Bennett’s front stoop, and then one step at a time until she was on the porch. By the time she made it up, Mrs. Bennett was already at the door, holding it open with a welcoming smile.

“Good morning. You’re right on time, aren’t you?” Rather than meet her gaze, Mrs. Bennett was staring beyond Ryan toward her truck.

Confused, Ryan glanced back, wondering if there was something wrong with her truck. “I try to be. Do I need to move the truck?”

“What? Oh, no.” The smile returned to Mrs. Bennett’s features, but this time Ryan would almost dare to call it sly, like a cat that had a canary by the tail feather. “Come on inside. Will that fit through the door all right?”

“Definitely. I made sure to use a box that would fit through my shop door.” Ryan pulled the dolly over the threshold, glad to see they’d put some cardboard boxes across the hardwood floor to protect it as she’d suggested.

“Richard. Our new mantel is here!”

The murmur of conversation that had been filtering through the house quieted. Richard called back, “Coming.”

Ryan pulled off her tool bag and set it aside. One by one she pulled out the tools she’d need, rising only when Richard appeared.

Rather than an immediate greeting, as he usually gave her, he was stopped by a tug on his arm from his wife. There was a quiet exchange, during which Richard’s own smile nearly broke his face. He crossed the room with his hand extended. “Good to see you again.”

“Good to see you too.” Ryan did her best to keep her voice even and not show her confusion over the unusual behavior. “Like I said before, I’m not here to interrupt your day. You can go about your business and I’ll be out of your hair in no time.”

“We appreciate it, although I’m awful excited to see it in place.” Richard wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulder, a gesture that seemed both habit and pure affection. “That box looks heavy, though. Do you need help lowering it?”

She was more than capable of handling her job, but she wouldn’t be so rude as to say as much. Instead she tried a polite decline of the offer. “Oh no, I’m fi—”

“Logan!” Richard interrupted her, but the name was what made her still in her attempts to rebuff his offer of help.

The whole thing was a coincidence, of course. Fate wouldn’t be such a bastard as to throw her in the path of Logan again. Right?

Wrong. A moment later, Logan stepped into the room. Like her own vibrant mood had faded at the simple mention of the  name, Logan’s own cheery smile disappeared into a cloudy scowl. He immediately turned away from her to face his father. “Yeah, dad?”

A million curses she didn’t dare voice flew through her head, but she forced a smile. “Really, Mr. Bennett. It’s fine.  You have company, you should go enjoy yourself. I’ll be done soon enough.” Maybe even quicker now that she had every reason to get the heck out of Dodge.

“Why don’t you help her with that crate, son?” Richard continued on as if she hadn’t spoken. “We’ll keep Sher occupied.”

“I’m right here.” The young girl from the other morning walked in, a book in one hand. “Why do I need to keep occupied?”

Ryan immediately turned to put more focus into reorganizing her tool layout in hopes the girl wouldn’t recognize her. “Really, I’m fine. I do this all the time.”

“You heard her. She’s fine. Come on, Sher. Let’s take your grandpa and see if you can’t beat him at another game of chess.” Logan’s tone started cold, but warmed up with every word to his daughter. This was just a fabulous mess.

“What’s in the box?” Sheridan didn’t bother to respond to her dad. “Hey, I know you.”

Ryan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Rather than answer, she turned her attention to the crate. She ignored the simmering discussion nearby to do her job. By the time she had the crate flat on the ground and the crowbar position to open it, the young girl was at her side.

“Whatcha doing?” Sheridan eyed the box curiously.

“I’m putting a mantel up for your grandparents.” Ryan didn’t have any heart to be cruel or cold to the girl. It wouldn’t be the first time a child was curious about what she was doing, and she never turned them away.

“Sheridan.” Logan snapped. “Why don’t we let her work?”

“I want to see, dad. How do you do it?” Sheridan turned rich blue eyes, just like her father’s, up toward her.

Ryan grinned, despite the tension in the room. “The mantel is all ready to go. I carved all the pieces in my shop and made sure everything fit together, and now I’m going to put it up here.”

“Can I watch?”

“Sheridan. We should stop bothering her.” Logan stepped closer.

“It’s fine.” Ryan waved him off. “So long as she stays back when I ask her to, she might even be able to help me. I have a feeling Sheridan is a good listener, aren’t you?”

“I am. Smart too.” Sheridan stood tall.

“And so modest.” Ryan chuckled. “She won’t be in the way.”

“Come on, son.” Richard moved to usher Logan from the room.

Mrs. Bennett followed suit, and soon all three had left Ryan alone with her one-night-stand’s daughter. If things could get any more awkward, Ryan had no idea how. Especially since Sheridan clearly recognized her.

Ryan turned her attention to the girl. “Sure you want to stay?”

“Yeah. I want to see how you do this.”

“All right.”

 

*~*

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