chapter 35

She waved at David. “Nice meeting you too.”

“What will you do about the neighbors?” she asked, turning to face the hill again.

“Liam will go chat with them.” He frowned, holding on tighter when she slipped on a rock. “Let’s go back. It’s lunch time.”

She glanced over her shoulder when he said that. She’d thought Liam was at their back. He was already several yards away from them.

“Nice seeing you Liam!” she yelled.

Liam smiled, waved and turned back to the trail. Going up the hill wasn’t as easy as going down. She ended up depending on Ky and allowed him to help her most of the way up.

* * *

When they reached his cabin, the smell of food overpowered her. She didn’t realize how long their walk had been until her stomach growled. Ky smiled at her.

“We’ll feed you now.”

She would have been embarrassed except that whatever was being cooked smelled divine. Rays of sunlight highlighted the cabin in the woods giving it an almost fairytale look. It was like looking at a painting. Even the birds decided to chirp at that moment.

Seemed like nature was trying to tell her to move her ass out of the city. She’d not had a single allergic reaction or need for any of the meds she’d brought in case of poison ivy, poison oak, allergies, mosquitos or any other kind of bug bite. She rocked!

A short curvy blonde woman with her hair in a long braid down her back and a cropped top and shorts moved around the kitchen with ease. She stopped suddenly and turned to them, a wide smile covering her lips.

“Hi! I’m Jess.” She rushed forward and enveloped Nita in a tight hug. “You’re Nita. I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

“Thanks, that’s...so nice.” Weird but nice. She glanced at the bear but he was busy frowning at Jess.

“Do you mind if I leave you both alone for a few minutes?” he asked. “I need to make a few calls to make sure Liam’s all right and doesn’t encounter any resistance at the Greenfield place.”

“Go!” Jess urged. “I’ll keep Nita company.”

“Jess...”

“I’ll behave.” She grinned.

Some sort of non-verbal communication seemed to go on because after a few silent moments he sighed and left the room.

“Won’t you please sit, Nita? Tell me how do you like it up here?”

Nita had to smile. The other woman’s grin and energy was infectious. “I think it’s beautiful. I’m actually tired of living in the city. My place is too small. I’m wanting to get some flowers, a backyard, maybe a dog.”

Jess’s brows flew up. “Like a pet?”

Um, was there another kind? “Yes. I love furry little creatures.”

Jess burst into giggles. “I am so sorry.” She laughed. “You must think I’m crazy, but up here we don’t see many dogs. You know, the whole bear growly thing.”

“Oh!” That made sense. Sort of. “No wonder it’s so quiet.”

Jess snorted, standing to open lids on pots over the stove. “Stick around here when one of these guys is angry. Trust me, it is anything but quiet.”

“It’s very nice up here though. So open and green,” she murmured. The idea of a place outside the city rooted in her brain.

“Winter can be harsh,” Jess said, picking up a glass of ice water and taking a sip. “But if you have a cuddly someone to keep you warm, then it isn’t so bad.” She winked.

“I bet.” A nice big bear with lots of body heat to help keep her warm sounded really good.

“Jess, mom would like for you to help Mrs. Roberts go back to her cabin,” Ky said from the other room.

“Darn it.” Jess sighed. She turned off the heat on the pots and glanced at Nita. “The food is ready. Today’s special is baked salmon and vegetables for lunch and beef stew for dinner. The salad is in the fridge.”

Wow. Talk about multitasking. “You really didn’t have to.”

She raised a hand and stopped Nita. “I did. You do not want to be eating PB&J all day today and then tomorrow too. It’s sweet that he tries, but it gets old real soon. I had to endure a week of it when I got sick once and mom and dad were traveling. Suffice it to say I am no longer a fan.”

Nita was caught off guard by Jess’s impromptu hug as she headed out the door.

“It’s been lovely meeting you, Nita. We’ll have to catch up before you go home.”

“Absolutely. Thanks so much for the food.” She waved goodbye.

Jess made her feel so at home. As if she were part of the family. Other than Tally, Nita didn’t have real close friends. It was nice to meet another woman who didn’t appear to be a psychotic bitch. With Nita’s luck, they always started out friendly enough and ended up blaming her for their bad decisions in life. It’s why she didn’t have many friends. It was why she only spoke to Tally about her life.

She closed the kitchen door and locked it. Then she headed for the sound of Ky’s voice. Gliding her hand over beautiful carved wooden eagles, bears and foxes, she marveled at the craftsmanship. Someone had taken a long time to create those decorative pieces.

A smile crept over her lips as she listened to his voice grow closer. “No. We will not back down and let it go. Tell them if we catch one of them on our land there’s not going to be calling the sheriff next time.”

Something about a man being so commanding and aggressive shot a spark of lust down her spine. She was such a sick freak. God. All she needed to do was get on all fours now and ask the big bear to spank her. Or even better, lick her honey. She bit back a laugh. Hah!

You need therapy. And sex too!

She reached the massive office and stood there at first, watching him face the large wall of glass showing a beautiful view of the woods. His big shoulders tensed. Then he pressed a button on the cell phone. “Selfish assholes!” he barked and turned to face her.

“Want to talk about it?”

Where the hell had that come from? She didn’t like talking about her own problems and there she was genuinely interested in whatever was frustrating the sexy bear. She’d prefer to see him smiling again instead of frowning.