Page 4 of Craved By the Lumberjack

Kingston didn’t seem to think all that much about it, though. He was busy sipping beer. It became clear that he wouldn’t take a bite until I started eating, so I needed to move things along.

But as the show kicked in, I regretted the idea. There was a tiny table just off the kitchen. I should have set us up there. But this was unique and fun and…me. It was just that if I wanted to impress a guy, maybe a little lessmewould be in order.

But a few minutes later, I’d forgotten all that. The show was in full force, and I was on my third bite of taco. More than once, I’d had to quickly swallow so I could call out an answer.

Kingston’s gaze darted over to me. Was he surprised? He didn’t expect me to be such a sharp cookie? He was older and wiser, for sure, but I was damn smart. Always had been. Especially when it came to things that didn’t translate to real-world skills.

It was exactly why I was a college dropout making money on food delivery. My skills in any one thing were lacking, but I was mediocre at just about everything. And I was great at random knowledge.

Suddenly, though, my trivia skills were coming in handy. If I could impress this guy, maybe it would be worth it. Something about him had my insides heating up, and my insides hadn’t heated up this much over a guy in my entire history on this Earth.

For that, I’d study trivia every day for the rest of my life.

3

KINGSTON

God, this woman was amazing. Not only did she get a lot of answers right, but she looked like a goddess doing it.

She’d kicked off her shoes and sat cross-legged, both socked feet on the cushion. Her hair was pulled over to the side as she sat back, relaxed and happy.

We’d both finished our meals, but neither of us had made a move to get up, even though the show ended long ago. Instead, she’d poured her second glass of wine while I polished off my second beer as we got to know each other.

“Pre-med,” she said. “Well, I was going to be a doctor, then a nurse, then maybe a vet. And finally, I just dropped out.”

I blinked in surprise. That progression sounded unusual. But “usual” was not a word I’d associate with Delta. Even her name was extraordinary. I’d been excited to finally learn it when she introduced herself during a commercial break. It had been a little hard to believe I’d sat in her cabin for a full ten minutes without knowing her name.

No, Delta was anything but normal. She was unique. Intriguing. The kind of woman you wanted to get to know. Shewas a woman who’d pulled up two TV trays for our first date and put on a game show her grandma watched.

Was this a date? I didn’t know if it qualified as one, but I sure as hell wanted it to be.

“College wasn’t for me,” she said. “I didn’t even enjoy the partying. I don’t know, I guess I just can’t see putting my entire living in the hands of some company or hospital or whatever.”

“So, you work for yourself now?” I asked. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

“Yeah.” She let out a laugh and took a long sip of wine before continuing. “It’s not exactly the highest-paying work. Not to complain. It lets me pursue my real passion.”

Now we were getting down to it. I was guessing she was a writer, maybe a singer. Yes, I could definitely see her sitting with a guitar, making music.

“Bees,” she said.

Or at least that’s what I heard. I nearly choked on the swig of beer I was swallowing. I quickly regrouped.

“Bees?” I asked.

“No, beads.” She held up her left arm to display a bracelet in a variety of eye-popping colors. “There’s an art to making jewelry out of them. But the supplies are expensive, and I barely sell enough online to break even. Being able to stay here for free is a huge help.”

He wasn’t paying her to house-sit? Didn’t house sitters usually get paid?

“I don’t have my own store yet, though. That’s a whole thing.”

“A shop? I’d bet you’d do well with a storefront in this town.”

“A storefront would be way too expensive, although I have thought about asking one of the local gift shops if I can put my stuff there on consignment.”

I didn’t know how any of that worked, but I did know enough people in this town that I could help her. I definitely wantedto help her, but I didn’t want to make promises I couldn’t keep. Maybe I’d do stuff behind the scenes and let her know if anything sounded promising.

“It’ll all work out,” she said. “I’m thinking about doing some ride-share driving too. There’s none of that in this town, and we’re really too far from an airport for me to do all that well, but I’m looking into it.”

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