Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

As Brynn watched Colby wolf down a double-decker sandwich with all the fixings, she realized that if he stayed, they were gonna need more food.

He had an appetite kind of like she’d heard for teenage boys who would eat you out of house and home. Not that she knew anything about that. Her father had rarely had an appetite, especially toward the end. And she’d never developed any other relationships close enough to get to the living together stage.

She must have been staring because suddenly he met her look full-on with those startlingly green eyes. “Sorry,” he said, grinning before taking another big bite.

He chewed slower this time, still watching her in a way that made her want to squirm. His attention was unnerving; her response was even more so.

Mostly because she couldn’t control it. And she didn’t like anything she couldn’t control.

“I guess being out in the snow is kind of like swimming as a kid...makes you feel like you’re starving.”

Oh wow, that wink. Talk about unnerving. “Funny how that works.”

“So, you know Maria?” he asked. “That’s really cool. She was such a nice woman...and she was so happy on her wedding day.”

He paused, as if waiting for her to fill the silence. Something she had no intention of doing. Not only did she not know Maria outside of the correspondence they’d had through the last five years over the farm and house, but she had told him she had no intention of getting to know him.

He took a couple more bites, then went on. “Terrible luck to travel here and have this storm hit?—”

Not from her perspective. At least, not until the storm blew him in.

“I hope you weren’t planning on visiting around much.”

With a sigh, she started fixing herself half a sandwich. They were gonna have to conserve, after all.

He eyed the bread as if contemplating making another sandwich, so she reached in the cupboard and pulled out a bag of her homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Hers and her father’s favorite.

He smiled as he saw what was in the bag. The first cookie disappeared in seconds, but the second lasted long enough for him to frown at her halfway through. Why was he still just as sexy as when he was in full-on tease mode?

She mourned as yet another cookie disappeared.

“I didn’t think you were serious about that not getting to know each other bit, but I guess you were.”

Social pressure caused her to soften. “Look, no offense, but I don’t know you from Adam.”

“Oh, right.”

He chewed slowly, mulling that over. “Well, I grew up here in Thornbury Woods...”

I know that. She bit her lip to keep the admission in. She wanted to be irritated, but at least they wouldn’t be sitting in awkward silence.

“My parents worked out at the quarry,” he said between bites. “But if you aren’t familiar, there aren’t a lot of ways to better yourself in Childress County. I mean, we don’t have so much as a community college here. If you want to go to university, you go to Nashville or Knoxville even.”

She hadn’t actually known that, having left when she was around eight.

“You have to cross county lines to even go to trade school, and most people rarely come back. It can get pretty boring here, besides the usual beer and hunting.”

“Sounds exciting.”

He smirked. “Oh, it is...not. So when it came time, I moved up north and went to school for sports medicine, with a history minor. But I’ve almost always worked in rescue.”

He started cleaning up the sandwich makings.

“In the meantime, my parents moved to Florida. I hadn’t planned on moving back to the old birth-place, but my granddad got sick and needed someone to help him out.”

Brynn traced his movements between the counter and the other touchpoints in the kitchen, taking in the tall length of him that she hadn’t been able to truly appreciate when distracted by other...parts. Her cheeks burned just thinking about that moment of revelation.

But his current tight-fit thermals, which would have made other men look silly, skimmed his muscled legs while his flannel shirt emphasized broad shoulders that looked perfectly capable of rescuing someone. Not that she needed anything like that.

“Anyway, he passed on about a year ago now.” He paused at the center island, laying his hands flat on the clean counter now that he had nothing to do with them. “And I’m just here.”

“I’m sorry. I know how hard that is.”

She tried to steel herself against the softening she felt inside, but there wasn’t any harm in shared sympathy. Right? “My father died seven months ago.”

“It is hard.”

She didn’t really want to talk about it, but how uncomfortable would they be in total silence? “So you just, what, rescue?”

He flashed a half grin. “I’m on call with the local rescue group, which is mostly small stuff with the occasional tragedy thrown in. Accidents on farms and the forests here can get ugly. But for my day job, I help manage a local BBQ restaurant and bar.”

She could somehow see him working very well with customers. That smile would certainly charm any woman but also make men feel liked and included. He probably brought in plenty of tips.

“It gave me time when I needed it to be with my granddad.”

Silence reigned for a moment, but Brynn forced herself to take a quick drink of sweet tea. Even though she’d laid out her ultimatum, she felt like they were at a crossroads. She could go on being stubborn and make this whole stay very unpleasant, even though one quick look at the pelting ice outside the kitchen windows reassured her he couldn’t control the weather or getting stranded here.

What happened had happened...she still had to protect herself somehow. But she still found herself saying, “My name is Brynn Asher.”

His glass thunked as it hit the counter. “Brynn Asher? Old farmer Asher’s daughter?”

“He wasn’t actually that old.”

“To a ten-year-old, he was. Wow. Little Brynn all grown up.”

Why did that make her feel both uncomfortable inside but also sparked a thrill that he also remembered her name?

“I’ve had a lot going on since my dad’s death. I’ve spent a lot of time working through my dad’s estate, including decisions I had to make for his business?—”

“Oh, what did he do after y’all moved?”

“He was a nature photographer and I helped him sell his stock to galleries and private collectors.” Colby didn’t look turned off by that so she added, “We’d recently licensed some of his work for products that are sold in national park gift shops, so I have had some work to do.”

Which was an understatement. Because her father had kept his illness a secret, she’d had no way to prepare for what would happen after his death. And his denial seemed to extend to not preparing for it himself, thus the legalities had been quite complicated.

“Maria thought I’d enjoy the quiet here.”

Colby’s sudden skeptical look caused a tingle of worry. “But why here?” he finally asked. “It’s nowhere.”

True if you weren’t looking for the things she was. “If you think it’s nowhere, why are you here?” Better to focus on him. But his answer surprised her.

“Honestly, I haven’t figured that out yet.”

Brynn felt like she was standing on the edge of some deep philosophical waters that she wasn’t ready to dip her toe into, especially since she had enough questions and uncertainty of her own.

And a mission he was standing in the way of.

Considering she needed to start searching, how was she going to do that with him here? Her simple explanation of taking a vacation didn’t jive with checking for hidden photographs in the house.

In that moment, it was all a little overwhelming. Brynn liked being in control. Nothing about this current situation was under her control. She didn’t like that one bit.

“Let me get you some blankets.”

He nodded. “So where are you planning to sleep?”

“Upstairs. And you’re sleeping on the couch.”

“Hmm...guess my school bus buddy still doesn’t think she knows me well enough?”

Not enough for him to be upstairs with her. If he was up there, she definitely wouldn’t be able to search for anything.

“I know a few things, Big Boy.” More than enough considering what she’d seen in the shower, but not nearly enough to trust him with her secrets.