Page 34 of Rescued Hearts

When she reached Gray, her stomach gave a small flutter. “How’s it going, cowboy?”

He glanced up at her, lips quirked. “That was smooth,” he murmured with a nod toward the guy making a dreamcatcher.

“Was it?” She tilted her head toward him, her long hair swinging forward.

He stilled, looking at the wave of hair dangling so close to him that he could reach out and thread his fingers through the mass the way he had done during that kiss. When he’d pulled her in, deepening the caress, she thought her body would combust.

“You adapt fast,” he commented.

She answered with a shrug. “It’s not about the craft. It’s about what makes them feel like they can actually do it. No one wants to struggle through something just to feel like they failed at it.”

Something flickered in Gray’s eyes. “You really get people, don’t you?”

She opened her mouth to deflect the praise, but the man sitting next to Gray spoke. “This quiets my mind more than the horses do.”

She beamed at him. “I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying it. My name’s Honor.”

“Crew.”

She leaned in to see he had chosen to make a bracelet just like Gray was.

Crew threw a look back and forth between her and Gray, before he got to work, turning the pliers methodically. “I have more control over this wire than I do a horse.”

A sudden tightness of emotion clamped Honor’s throat. She hadn’t realized how much these men needed this—but Gray had.

He shifted beside her, and his fingers brushed the back of her hand as he reached for a brass bead. The touch sent a warm shiver through her skin.

She watched him slip the bead onto the wire and crimp it using a tool. He wrapped the wire once, twice, his hands oh so steady.

“That’s going to be beautiful.”

He looked up into her eyes. “I hope I can do it justice.”

Her stomach dipped, and heat crept into her cheeks. Why did it feel like Gray wasn’t talking about the bracelet?

* * * * *

Gray wasn’t a man who was easily impressed, but watching Honor work with the vets shifted something inside him. She was natural. Effortless.

Like she belonged here.

When the guys began to trickle in, Gray watched her closely for signs of discomfort. Some of their injuries were difficult to see, even for someone like him who’d seen…

Well,things.

But she hadn’t batted an eye, only circled through the group, chatting with each man and encouraging them as needed. She never made anyone feel awkward for having missing body parts or scars. She gave them all a project they could excel at.

Bryce had missing fingers? Here’s a thicker wire to try out. Marco’s hands tremored too much for intricate beadwork? Try this larger wire-wrapping project.

The woman really had thought of everything and adapted in ways that surprised the hell out of Gray.

She also didn’t treat anyone like they were fragile. Though if she knew the truth behind some of their stoic expressions, she might think twice about their states of mind.

The guys would pick up on any pity too, but Honor didn’t treat them any differently from the ladies who attended her workshop at the bookstore.

And damn if that didn’t do something to him.

Rolling his shoulders, he forced himself to focus on the wire and beads in his hand. He wasn’t here to get caught up in her. And the fact that Crew—someone who didn’t know Gray well—picked up some tension between him and Honor straightaway told Gray that he was a little too transparent.

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