Chapter 13

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

Ella wanted everything in this test kitchen to be perfect when the kids arrived in a few days.

She stood on her tiptoes to pull down a set of containers from the high counter so she could add flour to each one. That would save time when she taught the fundamentals of baking class next week.

Maybe her subject wasn't quite as invigorating or important as the other things the kids would be learning—like wilderness survival and basic automotive mechanics—but baking was still fun.

This test kitchen had been built out of one of the old houses on the Linear Tactical property last year. It contained six different work counters, complete with sinks, and just as many ovens and stovetops.

So far, it had been used by some of the therapists who brought clients out to the property, but this was the first time it would be used by Ella. She wanted everything to be perfect.

Thus, being here at nearly midnight to do more setup, when she had to be back at her shop at five a.m. At least the crazy hour gave her time to talk to her sister on the phone while she worked.

"But thank God for no more morning sickness."

Jess let out a huge, dramatic sigh, a standard response from her sister. "That's the truest thing anyone has ever said. I'm glad the National Science Board didn't send us out here during my first trimester."

"But you will definitely be home from Romania before this baby gets here, right? You know Mom and Dad will charter a plane and fly you home if they think you are anywhere close to giving birth."

Jess was a genius in every sense of the word and was a world-renowned biotechnology scientist. She was sent to all sorts of conferences and think tanks all over the planet. Had been doing this sort of thing since she was in her early teens.

"Ethan talks to Dad nearly every damn day. This baby isn't due for another two months, and I'm only scheduled to be here three weeks. But trying to convince either of them that the math is not worrisome is impossible."

Ella let out a low chuckle at the frustration in her sister's voice. "Ethan has always been protective of you, sis. I've heard all those stories about when you guys were kids and, even then, how protective he was."

"Oh, I know. And if he was protective before, it's a hundred times worse now. I thought Ethan was going to break some guy's arm because he accidentally bumped into me in a crowded elevator."

Ella stopped organizing the containers for a second. "Wow, that doesn't sound like Ethan. He's always so cool under pressure." Always had been. The calm yin to her sister's rather wild yang.

"It's the baby, I'm telling you. And I'm not going to lie… Ethan all aggressive is pretty sexy."

"You think Ethan is sexy, no matter what."

Jess chuckled. "Yes, that's true. And we both know there's someone you think is sexy no matter what, also."

Ella hadn't told her sister about what had happened with Colton. Under normal circumstances, she would've, but that night had gotten pushed to the wayside in light of the avalanche.

She knew he was back in town—Oak Creek was too small for her not to have heard the rumors. But she'd kept her head down, filling her hours between Fancy Pants and getting this test kitchen set up.

The one thing she'd always found true was the more she worked, the less time she had to sit around and think about Colton Harrison.

And she knew if she stopped working now, the very first thing she'd be thinking about was the fact that he'd been in town for at least a few days and hadn't made any effort to contact her at all. That pretty much told her all she needed to know, didn't it?

As if his refusal to let her into the hospital room that day hadn't told her enough.

"Pity fuck," she murmured under her breath without thinking.

"Did you just use the F-word? I'm gonna tell Mom."

Ella chuckled. Jess had never once told on Ella in her life. Ella could've murdered someone right in front of her sister, and Jess wouldn't tell a soul—would just help her figure out how to best hide the body.

"I just realized I was going to have to climb up on the counter to get to some of the items I need. This is what happens with the entire kitchen design team is over six feet. They needed supervision. Thus, the use of the F-word."

With her sister suitably distracted, Ella dragged a chair over to the counter so she could step up onto it and then open the highest cabinet.

"You've been listening to me talk for an hour. What's going on with you?"

Ella slid a set of bowls out of the way. Jess would be homing in on Colton soon. "I like listening to you talk. Plus, you live that jet-setter lifestyle I like to live through vicariously."

Ella had been to plenty of places when they'd been growing up. The whole family had traveled with her dad for his concert tours, and then they'd gone with Jess for some of her conferences when she was young.

While Ella liked to travel, Oak Creek was always where she'd wanted to be .

"You're a good listener for everyone, little sis. But your life is just as important as anyone else's."

"You know me, I'm good. It's a busy week between the shop, individual baking orders, and setting up for the camp."

"I was wondering why you were calling me at nearly midnight your time."

Ella winced. She should've known that her sister would quickly figure out the time difference. "Just trying to get everything done. And wanted to hear your voice since you are one of the smartest people on the planet."

"More importantly, I am sister to the wonderful Ella O'Conner."

Ella smiled. "And don't forget mother to my little niece or nephew. So, let your husband be overprotective and get home safe in a few weeks."

They talked a few more minutes before Jess had to head off to an early-morning meeting there in Romania. Ella disconnected the call on her watch and was about to get down from the counter when she realized she needed one more set of bowls.

She opened another cabinet and muttered a curse when she saw the ones she needed were along the far wall. She studied the far cabinet door, estimating her reach. It would be a stretch, but she could reach it. It would be easier than getting down, dragging the chair over there, and going back up.

She stretched, going up on her tiptoes, and realized almost immediately that she'd made a mistake as she began to lose her balance. She was going to fall.

Shit. This was going to hurt. She tried to twist so that her arm and shoulder could take the brunt of the impact, but it wasn't as easily done as thought.

Her entire body tensed as she closed her eyes, bracing for a crash into the floor, but it didn't come. Instead, a set of arms stopped her fall.

She blinked her eyes open, completely unable to believe that it was Colton holding her.

"That was not a good idea," he said .

She was so shocked that she just blinked up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Evidently, saving you from cracking your head open."

He was still holding her in his arms. She squirmed. "Put me down. I'm too heavy."

The sound that came out of his mouth could not be called anything less than a scoff. "Please. You are insulting both of us. I could hold these gorgeous curves of yours for an hour without breaking a sweat."

They locked eyes. Honestly, Colton looked as surprised that he'd said that as she did hearing it.

But yet, he still didn't put her down.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked.

She nodded. "I was trying to get some bowls. I lost my balance."

He nodded too. "I saw that part. That would've been a hard fall."

"You're right. Thank you. I should've been more careful."

He slowly let her down to the floor. She couldn't help but be aware of how their bodies touched the entire way.

As soon as her feet were on the floor, she backed away. No doubt all this chemistry was just in her mind. She was not letting herself go there again.

"What are you doing here, Colton?" There was a bite to her voice, one she rarely used, but she couldn't help it.

"Here in Oak Creek, or here in this building?"

She shrugged and turned back toward the counter so that she could set out the bowls the way they were needed. She'd go ahead and get that done since she'd risked her life to get them.

"Both, I guess. I heard you were in town…" But he didn't come see her and hadn't made any effort to reach out, so she assumed he didn't want to talk to her at all.

"Yeah." He cleared his throat slightly. "I haven't left Linear Tactical property since I got here. I got some bright idea about building an obstacle course for the kids' camp, and that has basically filled my time twenty-four seven. "

She didn't look at him. "Understandable."

"I'm telling the truth, Butterscotch."

She looked over to find him standing much closer than she'd expected. Once again, he looked about as surprised at what he'd said as she was to hear it.

"And Oak Creek is my hometown too. Maybe I just needed to be here for a while."

She closed her eyes and rubbed the center of her forehead. She was being unfair. The man had almost died just two months ago. Had died, if you considered that Boy Riley had done CPR on his son.

"Of course it is. You're right."

She looked over at him and felt even worse. He looked great—Colton always looked great—but also, he looked… off . "Are you okay?"

He tensed just slightly, but she saw it. "What do you mean?"

He wasn't okay. She wasn't sure how she knew that, but she did. But his being off could have to do with a number of things, including general awkwardness, given their personal situation. So she didn't want to read too much into it.

"I guess I mean, why are you in a test kitchen at midnight? That seems out of the norm for you, so are you okay?"

That wasn't what she'd meant, but it at least made sense.

"I'm staying over at one of the cabins and saw the lights on here and thought I'd better check it out."

"Oh." That made sense, although she hadn't thought this building could be seen from any of the cabins.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" he continued.

"I'm teaching a few classes for the kids' camp and wanted to make sure everything was ready."

"At midnight?"

She shrugged. "It was the only time I had today. And I know Bear has his hands full with everything else, so I assured him I'd take care of all this myself so he didn't have to worry about it."

"I don't think Bear would want you to be working at midnight. "

"I don't mind." She poured a set amount of baking powder into each of the bowls. "And everyone's been working long hours, but it's for a good cause."

"Yes, it is."

He was closer. Just like at the hotel, he'd moved without her hearing him and was now right behind her. She kept her focus on the containers in front of her, measuring and then remeasuring when she forgot how much she'd already put in one bowl.

"I know Bear is glad to have you here. I haven't made it to that side of the property yet, but I heard about the obstacle course."

"We finished it tonight."

Why was he so close ? "That's good. Just in the nick of time."

"Why, Butterscotch?"

She had to dump out her measured baking powder for the third time. There was no way she could do anything when he was this close.

"Why what?" Her voice was a squeak.

"Why did you sneak off that night while I was sleeping?"

She spun and found him as close as she'd known he'd be. She'd thought facing him would be easier.

It wasn't.

Even worse was that he actually looked a little hurt. As if what had happened between them had been something real.

She shook her head. "Why did I leave? I think the real question is, why did you invite me to your room to begin with?"

One dark eyebrow rose. "I thought we both wanted something to happen between us. What I didn't think was that you were a trophy hunter."

"A what ?"

He shrugged. "I'm somewhat famous. I know there are women who get off on spending the night with any sort of celebrity. I just didn't think you were one of them."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. " What ?"

He shrugged again. "I thought we were friends. Even if you weren't interested in pursuing anything beyond that night, it felt pretty shitty for you to just sneak out while I was sleeping."

She blinked up at him. "Do you really not remember what you said to me right before you drifted off for your nap?"

"I remember that you'd blown my mind and saying I couldn't wait for a round two."

Was he telling the truth? Was that really all he remembered? Nothing about Lincoln revealing that she was basically a sure thing?

Colton eased just the slightest bit closer, a predatory look coming into his brown eyes. "Was it not as good for you? Hell, I'm nowhere near God's gift to women, but I don't usually have complaints. If it wasn't good, we could've tried again—or tried something else —right away. You didn't have to sneak out."

Without a doubt, he'd already thought about what the something else could be. Her throat went dry. "I— No. It's not that it wasn't good. It was amazing. But I…"

She let the sentence fade off. She didn't want to bring up what she'd thought that night. There was no way she could force the words pity fuck out of her mouth in front of him.

"Explain it to me, Butterscotch. Explain why you left when I wanted you again so badly."

"I…"

He was going to kiss her. And she wanted it. Even as she knew it was the biggest possible mistake she could make, she still wanted it.

She would never not want to kiss Colton.

He eased in, lips skimming against her temple. "At least give me the chance to show you round two now."

She felt his breath against her cheekbone then down her jaw. This was a bad idea. She'd been depressed for weeks after what happened last time. Letting it happen again would just lead her back to that. She'd lose the ground she'd fought so hard to gain.

But she knew she wasn't going to stop Colton. She'd never been able to make herself keep distance from him .

He circled her hips with his hands and drew her closer. She tried to block out the fact that she'd gained five pounds since he'd last seen her—feeding her depression, even though she knew better.

"Colton, I?—"

"Let me kiss you, Butterscotch."

As if she was going to say no to kisses or anything else from him. "Yes."

But his lips didn't even make it to her before the door opened, startling them both.

Two men walked in, giving Colton a friendly wave.

"Hey, boss," one of them said. "We've been looking all over for you."