Page 41 of Wilde Secrets

Don’t scare the woman. She’s had a rough enough time as it is.

He grunted and turned away to load the rest of his gear into the back of the truck. “Just to clear the road.”

“Oh. Ok.”

Did she sound disappointed? He looked up, resting his arms on the side of the tray.

“What? Starting to like the idea of being stuck here with me?” He grinned. Logan wasn’t a flirter, but with Harper he couldn’t help it.

“What?” She darted a look at him, flustered. “No. Of course not.”

“So you want me to go?”

She scowled and stomped her foot in a way that made Logan grin. She was utterly adorable.

“Argh!” She threw her hands in the air and turned to go back into the house. “Have fun with the… the stuff!” She called over her shoulder before letting the door bang shut.

Logan laughed and finished loading the truck. The work would tire him out enough that he wouldn’t think about the woman with curves just made to fill his hands. Amber-brown eyes that he wanted to see go liquid with desire. He wondered how much she’d blush if he told her exactly where he wanted to put his mouth.

Catching himself, he stopped laughing, and with a curse, yanked open the truck’s door and climbed in, determined to do whatever it took to wear himself out.

It was starting to get dark when Logan came home. He’d managed to clear away most of the larger branches on the road, leaving just loose-leaf matter for the wind. His neighbor was visiting his daughter and her children in Boston, so he’d gone to check on his house. There was no damage, but Logan had to move a small tree from where it had fallen across the drive. It had taken more time than he’d anticipated, but it was better to do the job properly than leave it for someone else to do later.

Logan liked his neighbor and didn’t mind helping him out now and then.

The log that had washed up to block the road was too big for him to deal with on his own. Logan moved the smaller branches and cleared the site as best he could to make the job easier later.

While he was working, Rowan had arrived with Cassie, who’d dropped him off to pick up his truck.

“Can you apologize to Harper for me?” She asked Logan, wringing her hands.

He was pulling a branch away from the road, dragging it out of the way. He grunted as he tossed it into the ditch opposite where Harper’s little rental lay crushed.

“You can apologize to her yourself.”

“I’m not sure she’ll want to see me. Besides, she’s only here for a short time.”

Logan grunted, not wanting to answer.

The more time he spent with the curvy blonde, the more he didn’t want her to leave. And the reasons why were not something he really wanted to face up to right now.

So he’d kept clearing as much as he could, pushing until the light had dropped low enough that he was forced to stop.

Now, back home again, he closed the door on the truck and made his way to the mud room, stripping off his boots and tossing his socks in the hamper he kept there for dirty work clothes. He’d need to do a load of laundry tomorrow, he noted as he pulled off his sweaty tee shirt and added it to the pile.

Logan padded into the house, his bare feet quiet on the wooden floors. He’d never come home to someone in his house before and he smiled, following the smell of baking into the kitchen.

There was a tray of cookies cooling on a rack he couldn’t remember owning. He snagged one and blew on it to cool it before taking a bite.

Chocolate and ginger burst on his tongue and he moaned, closing his eyes and slumping against the counter. It was absolutely delicious.

He wondered where Harper was as he made his way to the fridge and pulled out a beer, flipping off the top. He grabbed another cookie, taking it and his beer to the deck.

She was sitting on the steps that led down to the grassy lawn, the last of the afternoon sunlight lighting her honey blonde hair in golden hues. From where Logan was standing, he could see her in profile, the guitar balanced on one knee, the strap around her neck. She had a pen gripped between her teeth as she carefully picked at the instrument.

Muttered curses accompanied the strumming, and Logan’s lips twitched. With the pen in her teeth it sounded more like ‘thuck’.

Logan took a swig of his beer. He trod softly on the boards of the deck and dropped down on the step next to her. She froze, hands immediately stilling on the strings and stiffened.

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