Page 92 of True North

I open my eyes and push off the doorframe. Harry folds me into his embrace. I sink into him, letting the long day melt into his sturdy embrace.

“You makin’ eyes at this old place is kind of adorable, Lou.”

I push back and look up.

His arms still hold me close, his eyes lit up with mirth.

“For your information, Harrison Rawlins, the only time I ‘make eyes’ is when you’re around.”

“Is that so,” he says softly with a chuckle, leaning in, his lips brushing past my ear as he takes a swift, light nibble. My body instantly presses against his again. “I think it’s time to go home, Lou.”

Untangling myself from his tight hold, I yawn. “Sure is. Wait a sec while I lock up and grab my stuff?”

“How about this. You lock up, and I’ll grab your bags.”

“Bag. There’s only one.”

He chuckles, dotting a kiss to the crown of my head as he walks inside and up the stairs. I finish as fast as I can and close up. Harry stands at the front door, waitin’ as I say my goodbyes and head out. Locking the front door and leaving the back for Mama to take care of, I follow Harry to the truck.

“I thought you’re following me out?”

“Nah, I want you close. Besides, we can do it next week.”

As if he read my mind, I sag with relief. I am too exhausted to drive across the street, let alone an hour home.

Home.

It sounds more right every time I say it.

Placing my bag in the back of the pickup, he holds my door open. I hesitate on the sidewalk, taking one last look up to the window that was my apartment. At the almost deserted Main Street of Lewistown I have been living in for months. It’s silly, really. I mean, I’ll be back for my shift at the diner in two days.

Still, it’s a significant change.

Warmth folds around me from behind. Stubble sweeps over my neck. “Come on, darlin’.”

I spin in his hold, and he sweeps me up. I hum as he deposits my weary body on the passenger’s seat. He fills the doorway, arms resting on the roof of the truck, head dipped. “One last question...”

I look up at him. The angles of his jaw are tight. His eyes are fueled by intensity as he studies my face. Throat working, he swallows. He opens his mouth, but slams it shut again.

His eyes close, and I need to know what is goin’ on in that head of his.

“What is it, Harry?”

He taps on the roof with a finger before pushing off suddenly. “Nah, forget it, was stupid. Let’s get you home.”

He shuts the door, and my gaze is stuck on him as he rounds the front of the vehicle, opens his door, sinks into his seat, and fires up the truck.

Okay... What’s that all about?

I figure I should let it go, maybe ask later. As the truck travels past the little town’s outskirts, I lean against the window. Sleep drags me into its abyss.

ChapterTwenty-Four

HARRY

Lou is out cold. One side of her face squished against the window, each breath coming steady and shallow. I roll the old truck into the ranch, pulling up by the house. She doesn’t wake when I kill the engine, and I sit there for a moment, taking her in. I thought I knew what I wanted when we were young. But the woman she is today, and what lies between us now, makes the first go we had at this seem like nothing more than puppy love.

I glance to the darkened house.

---