Page 11 of Her Mountain Man Rescuer

It takes me a second to speak. My eyes are still processing his thick, muscular body—so broad that he makes his king-sized bed look more like a single.

“Uh…I…think there’s someone trying to get into my window,” I say, the words rekindling my fear. “I can hear something.”

Weston is already up. He’s wearing a pair of dark boxers and nothing else, but before I can ogle him too openly, he strides past me, eyes burning with intensity as he heads out the door and into the guestroom. I follow. His muscles ripple as he looks back at me, making sure I’m far away from the window before he wrenches it open. A squeak of fear tears from my throat. Then Weston’s shoulders relax.

“It’s a raccoon,” he says.

I swallow hard. “You’re sure?”

“Positive. It ran away when I opened the window.”

Heat rises to my cheeks as he pulls it closed again.

God, I’m such an idiot.

I can’t believe I woke him up because of a raccoon.

“I’m so sorry.” Shame floods me as I bury my face in my hands. “You must think I’m nuts.”

Tears sting my eyes, completing my embarrassment, and I feel Weston’s hand on my shoulder. “I don’t think you’re nuts. You’re just not used to all the weird noises out here.”

I sit on the edge of the bed, facing the fire. Weston sits beside me, his arm wrapping around my shoulders as a sob escapes my throat.

“It’s okay, Audrey.”

I shake my head. “It’s not okay.” A surge of anger floods me, a frustration that I can’t put into words. “I—ugh, this just isn’t who I am. All jumpy and scared of my own shadow. It’s not me.” Sniffing hard, I wipe my eyes and say, “Somebody broke into my apartment last month. And I’ve been trying so hard not to think about it, but when I heard that noise outside the window, it just—” I taper off, the words dying on my tongue.

“Shit.” Weston’s arm squeezes me reassuringly. “I’m sorry. That sounds scary as hell. Especially for a woman living alone.”

“Yeah.” I hug myself, closing my eyes tight. “I know I need to get over it. It’s not like I was even there when it happened, but it’s just left me feeling so…vulnerable, I guess.”

“Hell, I don’t blame you. Did they take anything?”

“All the cash in my apartment, which wasn’t much. My camera. My laptop. I had all my work stuff backed up, luckily.” I sigh, my stomach roiling as I remember that day. “It’s not so much what they took. It was knowing that a stranger had been in my apartment, rooting around in my stuff. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before, and it left me with this fear that I just can’t shake.”

I’d been feeling crappy that morning, missing Lila, so I went out to treat myself to a coffee and a slice of cake at a nearby cafe. Then I took a walk in the park. I was only gone a couple of hours, but when I got home, the whole place had been ransacked. It feltso violating. So scary. What if I’d been home? Would the thief have hurt me?

“Did the police ever find him?” Weston asks, a steely note in his voice. “The bastard that did it?”

“No. I filed a report and everything, but I’m not holding out much hope. You’re the only person I’ve told besides the police.”

Weston raises an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell Lila?”

“No…” Despite my good intentions, I feel a pang of guilt. “She had just moved away to be with Ridge, and I didn’t want to rain on her parade with my crappy news. I got the locks changed and just tried to move on with things.”

Weston is quiet for a moment, his hand rubbing my back almost absent-mindedly. When I chance a glance at him, his eyes are fixed on the fire, his rugged features taut with rage.

“Makes me sick,” he mutters. “You shouldn’t have to live in fear because of some asshole. Goddammit, I wish I’d been there to meet him. I’d make him regret it.”

I don’t doubt Weston’s words for a second. There’s something protective, almost primal, in the way he’s scowling at the flames. It makes me feel safe. Even if it had been something scarier than a raccoon at my window, I know Weston would have been a match for anything. A wave of affection washes over me, and I relax against him, savoring his touch.

“Thanks for being so understanding,” I say. “It must have seemed pretty weird, the way I reacted to that raccoon.”

“It’s not weird at all, Audrey. It’s totally normal to feel scared and vulnerable after something like that.”

I can’t help smiling. “It’s pretty hard to imagineyoubeing scared of anything.”

Weston makes a noise in his throat. “Everyone gets scared. I’ve been scared plenty of times. It’s how you know you’re human…still kicking.”

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